HOW TO STABILISE PRICES 123 



tected articles, and if they were not confined to grain 

 and flour it would be possible to give assistance to 

 every class of farmer. If continued for a series of 

 years, they would undoubtedly lead gradually to the 

 increase of arable land and more employment in 

 agriculture, and in any case the State would have a 

 new source of revenue instead of a new liability as 

 under the proposals for a guarantee and bonus. On 

 the other hand, it may be doubted whether import 

 duties without such a guarantee as we have suggested 

 would give the farmer the security which would be 

 necessary. In the first place, if the produce of the 

 Dominions were subject to a substantial preference 

 over foreign produce, it is open to doubt whether the 

 home output would be sufficiently benefited. In the 

 second place, though a sHding scale might be adopted, 

 we doubt whether the necessary stability of home 

 prices could be assured. In any event, for the pur- 

 pose of employing the ex-Service men, it is essential 

 to get a large area of grass land broken up very 

 quickly, and for this, the operation of import duties 

 would be too slow. 



67. But it is important to observe that no one of 

 these three suggested methods excludes either of the 

 other two. The bonus is expressly for the purpose 

 of obtaining prompt action. The guarantee and im- 

 port duties could easily be combined, for if import 

 duties raised the price of wheat to the level of the 

 guarantee, no demand would be made on the Ex- 

 chequer, and if the import duties did not produce a 

 sufficient stability of minimum prices, the Exchequer 

 would only be called on to make good the balance. 



