378 BPJTAIN FOT^ TPIE BRITON 



prosperity during the last lialf a century and more, has com- 

 bined Tariff-reform loith Land-reform and universal agriculture, 

 and it is to this happy combination, tliis blending of essential 

 factors to success to which they owe their prosperity, and not 

 to the adoption of one of them to the exchtsion of the other. Each 

 one of these countries first of all established agriculture as its 

 jjrimal industry, after which they set about building up and 

 developing their manufactures. That they have succeeded in 

 both of them is too manifest to need demonstration. Had they 

 sacrificed the land industry, or even sul)ordinated it to manu- 

 factures, they would as assuredly have failed as Great Britain 

 failed, indeed, as she will again fail if she attempts to run 

 British economics on the Tariff-reform platform alone. The 

 land industry and other industries have so many affinities that 

 to separate them would bo to sever ties that would cause atrophy 

 and death. To repeat what has been written on this subject 

 would be mere supererogation ; but to point out that we have 

 had enough of folly and madness in the past by attempting to 

 disregard the puissance of agriculture, is to counsel precaution. 

 Agriculture and manufactures are so bound together as to be 

 absolutely indissoluble, and not even " Protection " would 

 repair the damage and fill the breach if Tariff-reformers were 

 mad enough to trust to Tariff-reform alone. 



The "Cheap" Loaf — A Feee-tkade Sham 



The greatest economic fraud of modern times is that of the 

 " Cheap " loaf of the Free-traders. It is needless to go further 

 into the matter here, as the bubble lias burst and the working 

 classes at length realise what a veritable political " Will-o'-the- 

 wisp " the whole thing was. Indisputable evidence from every 

 conceivable source proves that the price of bread is practically the 

 same in every European country, includiny our oion, in spite of the 

 fact that in nearly every case those countries favour "Protection." 

 This meretricious " Cheap " loaf cry served its purpose for a 

 time ; but it has proved to be a dangerous, two-edged weapon 

 to those who used it, and it has now turned and smitten the 

 wielder. It is a commercial fact that the price of bread is not 

 regulated by the particular tariffs adopted by this country or 

 that, while it is also true that the price is, for some inscrutalde 

 reason, apparently outside and beyond the canons of economic 

 law. It is, moreover, known that for thirty years after Great 

 Britain adopted Free-trade, the price of bread was not reduced, 

 and even when it conmienced to fall, the market rates for wheat 

 were affected rather by the opening up of railways in all 

 countries, the application of steam to the mercantile marine. 



