285

A.—s

Dr. JAMESON : From different parts of the country—from England. A large number of those, I am glad to say, are from working men's associations. As Sir Joseph Ward said just now, and I quite agree, this thing must work slowly, but it is working slowly, and the working man is waking up to it. When Mr. Asquith interpolated yesterday while Mr. Deakin was speaking, and asked him how much of their goods go to Germany, and how much came back, I think the working man would have answered that question very well, and said : " Quite true, we could see all that wool in England " —and that is what the working man is learning—" and we would be employed to manufacture it." If you only put a tariff against Germany, probably it would be worth while for England to buy all that wool with that tariff against it, and the workman is, 1 think, beginning to think a good time would be coming for him. I agree with Sir Joseph Ward that none of us would be in favour of protection which would bear hardly on the working man here—an argument frequently used, but if that argument were carried out, and the workman had to pay a little more for some things he might be better off. Mr. ASQUITH : How is the wool that goes to Germany to be got here '( Dr. JAMESON : When the manufactured wool would be cheaper within the Empire, which, as Mr. Deakin said, was a large factor, then probably it would not pay Germany to manufacture quite so much, and we would have a little more manufacturing than Germany, and therefore employ more people. Mr. ASQUITH : My question was put with another object. Does wool come within the subject matter as to which you think preference ought to be given { Dr. JAMESON : As a matter of fact, wool at present comes in free. Mr. ASQUITH : I know. Dr. JAMESON : I take it on the secondary subject of manufacture. Wool is a raw material, and we do not want to put anything on it; but if you do not allow throughout the Empire the manufactured article from another country which gets wool cheap to come in on the same terms, probably the British will have the bigger market and bigger demand for the wool, and can pay more for the wool. Mr. ASQUITH : You represent Cape Colony, a country which exports a large quantity of wool to this country and which exports no food to this country, and I am thinking in my own mind how we are to give a preference to South Africa. Dr. JAMESON : I will come to that presently. Mr. ASQUITH : I thought it might be pertinent to this question of wool. Dr. JAMESON : We are rather, in South Africa, in the position of doing a great good and expecting to get very little back, but we expect to grow, as

Ninth Day. 1 May 1907.

Preferential Trade.