515

A.—s

with imposing burdens on somebody else. However, Ido not want to enter into that. Now, take the benefits to be derived out of it. lam certain there would be a very considerable benefit to the Empire as a whole; we would benefit, the Colonies would benefit, each individually, and the Empire, as a whole, would be the richer for it. lam confident of that. But the experience of Canada has proved that, while preference has undoubtedly stimulated trade between the Mother Country and the Dominion, the relative effect on Canadian export trade, as a whole, has been much greater than that on the export trade of the United Kingdom. The only advantage of this proposal, if I may say so, is this : I think that it is useful as furnishing almost with mathematical precision Mr. Deakin's ideas as to the proportion of the burden of Imperial preference which should be borne by the Mother Country and by the self-governing Colonies respectively. Mr. DEAKIN : Pardon me, I do not think it has the slightest relation to it. Mr. LLOYD GEORGE : This is how it works. We are to contribute 4,500,000/.; the self-governing Colonies are to contribute all of them put together under 600,000/. I said yesterday we should have to put down 51. for every 1/. the Colonies put down. I was wrong. We should have to put down 11. 10s. for every 11. provided by the Colonies. Mr. DEAKIN : On this year's returns or what year ? Mr. LLOYD GEORGE : On the returns of 1905. That I think is a very unfair and improper proportion for the Mother Country to be asked to bear. I mean that we should get half the benefit with sevenfold the burden. Mr. DEAKIN : Who said half the benefit ? Mr. LLOYD GEORGE : Preference invariably means that. It is a greater development for the trade of the Colonies than for ours. It would be an advantage to us, but not the same advantage to us as to the Colonies. Mr. DEAKIN : Surely you are applying your reading of one particular preference by means of reduced duties in your favour, to cable services, mail services, and services of that kind undertaken each on its own merits. There is no proportion and no connection one with the other. Mr. LLOYD GEORGE : I am perfectly certain of this : it would mean a good deal more for the trade of the Colonies than for us. lam not putting it as an argument against you, but on the contrary as an argument in favour of it. Mr. DEAKIN : A cheap cable service cannot mean just as much in value to a small dominion as to this country. Mr. LLOYD GEORGE : No, it means that we should shift our trade very largely, and I think that would be an advantage from the Imperial point

Fourteenth Day. 9 May 1907.

Imperial Surtax on Foreign Imports. (Mr. Lloyd George.)

to it.