371

A.—s

Mr. LLOYD GEORGE : No, they have not done that. Sir JOSEPH WARD : India and the Cape \ Mr. LLOYD GEORGE : No; I can let the Conference know later on. There is a third line, and I shall be able to supply the information. 1 come to another point put by Mr. Deakin, who asked me about the Hade with protected countries When Mr. Chamberlain first raised the point, in the year 1903, the trade to protected countries had gone down very seriously. It is no use shutting our eyes to the fact that it was due, of course, to their imposition of tariffs against our goods. Tariffs had had their effect, and, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer said, we are the most formidable trade competitor, and the tariffs were very largely directed against us. Germany, France, and other countries wanted to build their industries within this wall of tariffs, and they undoubtedly managed to exclude our goods to a very large extent. I think Mr Chamberlain was quite right in saying that our trade with protected countries had gone down. Bui there again, there has been a turn since 1902, and our exports of manufactures, excluding ships, to the principal protected countries have gone up from 71,500,000/. in 1902 to about 90,000,000/. in 1906. May I point out that during the same years the trade with the Colonies has gone up from 94,000,000/. to 107,000,000/. \ Mr. DEAKIN : That is all the Colonies ? Mr. LLOYD GEORGE : That is all the Colonies. That is an increase of about 19,000,000/. in our trade with the principal protected countries, and an increase of 13,000,000/. in our exports to the Colonies. Adopting again the method of percentages, it is an increase of 26 per cent, in our trade with the principal protected countries and an increase of 14 per cent, in our trade with the Colonies. Mr. F. R. MOOR : You do not compare populations there. What is the population of your Colonies against these protected countries? Mr. DEAKIN : You are not comparing one with another. Mr. LLOYD GEORGE : Not at all. lam not in the slightest degree trying to disparage the trade with the Colonies. I was answering the point put'by Mr. Deakin, specifically how our trade with Germany, the United States of America, and France, and these protected countries was faring, and in answer I pointed out that there had been an increase of 26 per cent, in the last five years, and I also admitted that before that our trade with the principal protected countries had rather suffered from the high tariffs put up against it. This does not apply to our total exports, but to manufactured goods. No doubt if I had included coal the trade would have gone up considerably higher than even 26 per cent,, because there has been a great increase in our export of coal. Dr. JAMESON : The reason of that, you may take it, is the general increase in the wealth of the world. Mr. LLOYD GEORGE : Yes, there is no delusion about it at all. The only point I make is this:. that in this general increase in the wealth of the world, which has increased the volume of trade of the world, we have had a larger share than any other country as far as foreign trade is concerned. There is no doubt at all about that

Eleventh Day. (> .May 1907.

Preferential Trade.