CHRISTIANITY AND SOCIALISM. 



98 



Professor Hull. — The Chairman considered that the subject so 

 ably dealt with by Canon Cunningham was one of supreme impor- 

 tance at the present time. The large number of capable men out 

 of employment could not fail to draw out the sympathies of us all, 

 and the difficulties of finding a remedy were immense. The Rev. 

 Mr. Pyke had referred to a large plan of Government emigration 

 to our colonies, but he (the speaker) felt strongly that Tariff' Reform 

 was by far the most urgent, and most likely to benefit the working 

 classes and the community at large. The important work recently 

 issued on this subject shows that this country is yearly falling 

 behind other manufacturing countries in production; owing to- 

 the fact of free imports on our part, and import duties on theirs."^ 

 Want of employment necessarily gives rise to discontent and 

 destitution, and induces men to listen to Socialistic schemes for 

 their benefit. The present condition of England is very similar to 

 that of Germany, especially Prussia. In 1873-4, after the close of 

 the great war, when, notwithstanding the enormous inflow of 

 money from France in payment of the indemnity, trade and manu- 

 factures were found to fall off there were large numbers of 

 unemplo3'ed workmen — and Socialistic ideas and the "Red Monster 

 of Revolution " were spreading amongst the people. Bismarck, 

 the greatest statesman of modern times, found it necessary to 

 examine into the cause of this abnormal state of society, and 

 looking around at the condition of neighbouring states as compared 

 with his own he found that Germany was surrounded by a wall of 

 protective countries, in which German manufactures were submitted 

 to import duties, while Germany itself gave their productions an 

 open door, t With Prince Bismarck to discover an evil was to im- 

 mediately take measures to remedy it; and he induced his country 

 to adopt measures for tariff" reform — by which reciprocal duties 

 were imposed on imported goods from neighbouring states. This 

 has been the policy of Germany ever since — and we all know the 

 result. German manufactures are replacing those of England; 

 and we have even gone so far as to give our coal (our one great 

 natural asset) free to our rivals — wherewith to beat us out of the 

 markets of the world. Can it be wondered at that a condition of 



^ Report of the Tariff Commission^ \o\.. 'w (" Engineering Industries "), 

 1909. 



t Frince Bismarck, by Charles Lowe, vol. ii, p. 456 et seq. (1887). 



