A—s

402

themselves. It will stray further, I think, and it will examine the contributions which the self-governing Dominions make to the general cost of Imperial defence; and will contrast those contributions with a severe and an almost harsh exactitude with the great charges borne by the Mother Country. Mr. DEAKIN : We have enjoyed that already for some time. Mr. WINSTON CHURCHILL : It is perfectly true that there has been a debate upon that subject in the House of Commons, but the manner in which that question when raised was received by the whole House, ought, I think, to give great satisfaction to the representatives of the self-governing Dominions. We then refused to embark upon a policy of casting-up balances as between the Colonies anel the Mother Country, and, speaking on behalf.of the Colonial Office, I said that the British Empire existed on the principles of a family and not on those of a syndicate. But the introduction of those seven or eight taxes into the Budget of every year, will force a casting-up of balances every year from a severe financial point of view. Now, I think it has been said, and will be generally admitted, that there is no such a thing in this country as an anti-Colonial party. It does not exist. Even parties not reconciled to the British Government, who take no part in our public ceremonial, are glad to take opportunities of showing the representatives of the self-governing Dominions that they welcome them here, and desire to receive them with warmth and with cordiality. But I cannot conceive any process better calculated to create an anti-Colonial party, to manufacture an anti-Colonial party than this process of subjecting to the scrutiny of the House of Commons year by year, through the agency of taxation, the profit and loss, so to speak, in its narrow financial aspect, of the relations of Great Britain and her Dominions and dependencies. Then, T think, that this system of reciprocal preference, at its very outset, must involve conflict with the principle of self-government, which is at the root of all our Colonial and Imperial policy. The whole procedure of our Parliament arises primarily from the consideration of finance, and finance is the peg on which nearly all our discussions are hung, and from which many of them arise. That is the historic origin of a great portion of the House of Commons procedure, and there is no more deeply-rooted maxim than the maxim of "grievances before supply." Now, let me suppose a system of preference in operation. When the taxes come up to be voted each year, members would use those occasions for debating Colonial questions I cari imagine that they would say : We refuse to vote the preference tax to this or that self-governing Dominion unless our views, say, on native policy or some other question of internal importance to the Dominion affected have been met and have been accepted beforehand. At present, it is open to the Colony affected to say : These matters are matters which concern us; they are within the scope of responsible self-governing functions, and you are not called upon to interfere. It is open for the Dominion concerned to say that. It is also open for the representative of the Colonial Office in the House of Commons to say that, too, on their behalf. But it will no longer be open, I think, for any such defence to be offered when sums of money, or what would be regarded as equivalent to sums of money, have actually to be voted in the House of Commons through the agency of these taxes for the purpose of according preference to the different Dominions of the Crown, and T think, members will say, "If you complain of our interference, why "do you force us to interfere? You have forced us to consider now whether "we will or will not grant a preference to this or that particular Dominion " for this year. We say we are not prepared to do so unless or until our views " upon this or that particular internal question have been met and agreed to."

Twelfth Day. 7 May 1907.

Preferential Trade. (Mr. Churchill.)