1 8 Mr. E. J. Elliott on 



Mr. John Sinclair, following Mr. Elliott, said it seemed 

 almost impossible for the tariff reformer to convert the free trader 

 or for the latter to convert the tariff reformer. It seemed strange 

 that those gentlemen who had adopted tariff reform were still 

 unable to give any reason for their faith except the mere prophecy 

 of the millennium that would follow its adoption, while at the 

 same time they condemned Cobden in every mood and tense 

 because, forsooth, his prophecies had not come true. Those who 

 condemned prophecy should themselves be very careful how they 

 engaged in it. Since the repeal of the Corn Laws his belief was 

 that the prosperity of the country had gone up by leaps and 

 bounds ; so much so that last year we had reached record figures. 

 Why should they object to the prosperity of other lands ? Why 

 should they object to the German workers being well clothed and 

 fed? The more he had to spend the better probably would it be 

 for the people in the United Kingdom. The largest customer for 

 Belfast yarns was Germany, which imported more linen yarns 

 than any other two countries. Then, the United States was their 

 largest customer for linen goods, and it was not too much to say 

 that scarcely any American order went to the Continent until 

 Belfast had refused it. Their Belfast factories were at present as 

 full as they could be, and, although the spinners had not yet been 

 able to get rid of their surplus stocks, that also was coming, and 

 before long they would have a period of prosperity in this city 

 the like of which they had not experienced for some time. Mr. 

 Elliott had referred to Germany and the United States as examples 

 of the benefits derived from protection, but as a matter of fact 

 the latter did not pay its way ; every year there was a deficit in 

 its income as compared with its expenditure. It should also be 

 remembered that because of its vast area there was no possibility 

 of direct taxation in the United States ; they must put on some 

 kind of tariff, and if they chose to make that a high tariff instead 

 of a low one it was their own lookout. Whatever might be said 

 to the contrary, he contended that this was a free trade country 

 because the commodities on which duties were paid were mostly 

 luxuries. The difficulty about the tariff reform movement was 



