110 Timehri. 



to the discussion of the real problems. He thought that they were all 

 agreed that closer trade relations with Canada were desirable. (Hear, 

 hear). The question was what form these closer relations should take. 

 With their permission he would like to outline a few alternative forms, 

 giving the advantages and disadvantages of each, so that they could 

 decide which they would adopt. The first and most natural suggestion 

 was an increase of the preference. Under the present treaty there was a 

 preference of 20 per cent. If that had not been sufficient to force trade 

 into British channels he suggested that it should be increased to 50 per 

 cent. By this arrangement in the first place difficulties of revenue were 

 done away with. It raised no troubles of revenue whatever because it 

 was within the power of the colony to make that arrangement without 

 reducing the minimum that it wished to collect for taxation purposes. 

 If they did as Barbados did which was to increase the general tariff so 

 that there was but 5 per cent, difference they could make the minimum 

 which they thought was necessary to collect in the way of revenue 

 whatever they chose to make it. An arrangement like that would force 

 all the trade into British channels which was absolutely necessary for 

 the whole of the Empire. Every part of the Empire must trade with 

 every other part of the Empire. (Hear hear.) They could give absolutely 

 the same preference to the Mother Country by which Britain and Canada 

 would be on exactly the same basis. 



The Customs Union. 



The second suggestion was that prepared by Capt. Reid whom he 

 met for the first time when he was in Canada in 1912. He desired to 

 say how much he appreciated the amount of thought which Captain Reid 

 had devoted to the lengthy and well thought out scheme he had prepared. 

 (Hear, hear). The question of trade relations between the different parts 

 of the Empire was really the greatest of Imperial problems facing the 

 Empire to-day, and any contribution which helped to solve that problem 

 was not merely of local but of Imperial importance because whatever 

 assisted in solving the problem was likely to be copied. That British 

 Guiana and Captain Reid should have taken the leadership pleased him 

 very much, and the idea of having no tariff whatever between Canada and 

 this colony appealed to him very strongly. He would like to see an 

 absolute abolition of the tariff. It appealed to him so strongly that he 

 felt inclined to say that he could not support it exactly as it was. Finally 

 he concluded that it raised very serious problems of revenue. He 

 noticed that Captain Reid had suggested raising the tax on sugar 

 exports to Canada which might or might not fall upon the Canadian 

 consumer. Canada was a rich country ; it was never so prosperous as it 

 is now, yet it needed to look at the revenue position, What they really 

 wanted was just enough of a preference that would give British goods 

 from every part of the Empire control of the markets of every other part 

 of the Empire without any interference with revenue whatever. On a 50 

 per cent, preference they could solve all that. Ho suggested raising the 

 general tariff rather than merely reducing their revenue on the preference. 



