June 1895.] EXTRACTS FROM DIPLOMATIC iND CONSULAR 67 



REPORTS. 



soft and of poor quality, in 1894. The average production has 

 been 38,271,000 quarters, and the average import 5,27l,OM 

 quarters. France is dependent on supplies from abroad for an-"^ 

 average quantity of 14 per cent, of her own production. ^ 



At the outset, protection was^ advocated by agriculturists as 4 

 boon, because, it was said, the consumer would not bear or feel the 

 incidence of the tariff, and customs duties would help to maintain 

 prices at figures satisfactory to growers. 



The progress of the import duties may be traced for thirty 

 years past. In ISGl the sliding scale which had been enacted in 

 1853 having been abolished, a tariff duty of Is. O^d. per quarter of 

 wheat was enacted. The country remained quiescent and satis^ 

 fied with the result till 1881 when a new tariff was passed by 

 Parliament introducing protective duties for French manu- 

 factures on a large scale. Agriculturists began to agitate for 

 a share of protection for land produce ; and, in 1885, the duty 

 on wheat was raised to 5s. 2^d. per quarter. The arguments 

 used to justify this change were that growers would be enabled 

 to transform their plant, and improve their methods of cultiva- 

 tion, so as to prevent rapid fluctuations of price and to meet 

 the competition of cheap labour and abundant yields in the 

 United States, India, Australia, and Russia. 



Wheat in 1884 was quoted at 35.s. Id. to S7s. 11 ^d. per. 

 quarter. In 1885, under the influence of the new duty, prices 

 rose to 37s. and 39s. S^d. per quarter. But this was not con- 

 sidered satisfactory. Agriculturists asked for more protection, 

 and got it. The duty on wheat was raised on March 30, 1887, 

 to 8s. 8|cZ. per quarter. At first the effect was an advanced 

 quotation of 43s. 7|c/. per quarter, but this did not last. In 

 £B89, 41s. lO^d. per quarter was quoted, in 1890, 41s. Q^d. per 

 quarter, a temporary rise brought prices up to 48s. lO^d. per 

 quarter, and then they fell suddenly to 34s. lO^d. per quarter. 

 On February 27, 1894, the duty was further raised to 12s. 2^d, 

 per quarter. But the market having been stocked in anticipa- 

 tion by an extraordinary import of 3,208,000 quarters of wheat 

 during January and February, prices continued to fall ; and 

 when wheat was 30s. 6Jd per quarter in Paris, and 21s. lO^d. 

 per quarter at Marseilles, agriculturists, taking no account of 

 overstock, continued to demand a further increase of duty to 

 17s. 5 J c?. per quarter, or the re-establishment of the sliding scale. 

 Yet, Sir J. Crowe points out, the figures of imports of wheat must 

 have shown that France cannot supply herself; that in spite of 

 the duty, France, since 1885, has taken 2,750,000 quarters, 

 3,208,000 quarters, 3,667,000 quarters, 5,042,000 quarters, and in 

 1891-92 as much as 8,708,000 quarters and 8,250,000 quarters 

 from abroad, and that if the irnport f ell to 4,583,000 quarters 

 in 1893, it rose ag^in to 5,500,000 quarters in 1894. In 1880, 

 when there was practically no duty, the import did not exceed 

 9,167,000 quarters. 



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