94 



THE RURAL PROBLEM 



follows : " The total imports into Great Britain in 1903 were 

 £528,247,850. This trade came through 89 ports— 70 in 

 England and 19 in Scotland. But about 93 per cent, of this 

 trade came through 15 ports as under : 



London imported 



Liverpool , , 

 Hull 



Manchester „ 



Harwich ,, 

 Southampton „ 



Glasgow ,, 



Leith ,, 



Bristol „ 



Newhaven ., 



Folkestone ,, 



Grimsby ,, 



Newcastle ,, 



Dover ,. 



Goole ,, 



137,132,088 



129,000,840 



32,601,063 



20,279,255 



19,391,913 



15,740,195 



14,408,658 



13,787,191 



12,751,022 



11,349,840 



11,053,872 



10,148,431 



10,051,602 



8,272,691 



6,391,159 



£488,359,816 



" This shows that imports go in full train loads and home 

 produce in small quantities, and the railways argue that the 

 home traders are only entitled to similar rates under similar 

 circumstances." 



The circumstances of the home traders are not and never 

 can be similar ; the most that co-operation can do for 

 agriculture is to minimise the enormous disadvantages which 

 the British agriculturist labours under as a result of the 

 argument of the railways to which the Commission referred. 

 It may be a good argument, it may be the only possible 

 argument from the railways' point of view. But this only 

 emphasises the folly of leaving so vital a factor of national 

 prosperity as the means of transit undoubtedly is in any 

 other hands than those of the nation itself. 



The grievance of the agriculturist is made greater by the 

 fact that rates are not only high, but almost farcically com- 

 plicated. There are over 200,000,000 different rates in 

 operation in this country. In Prussia any trader can get 

 the ordinary and special rates, and work out the cost 

 of carriage of any load to any part of the empire in two 

 or three minutes with the aid of a book issued by the 

 State for 6d. ; the Government keeps the preferential rate 



