On Thursday Lord Rosebery delivered a very striking speech to
the Council of the Liberal League. His main object was to point out the extreme danger of Socialism. In dealing with the Socialistic peril Lord Rosebery used the following words :—" We might be driven—I trust in God we never shall be driven—to the formidable option between Protection and Socialism ; and if it came to a choice between Socialism and Protection, I for one should have no hesitation, disagreeable as the course would be, in preferring Protection. I will tell you why. Protection is a great evil ; it is a great tyranny ; it is a great source of corruption ; but Socialism is the end of all things—Empire, religious faith, freedom, property—Socialism is the death-blow to all." We agree with Lord Rosebery in holding that if this hideous dilemma should actually be pre- sented to the nation, there would be no option for sane men but to choose Protection, since the adoption of Protection would not be irrevocable, while that of Socialism would be. As a. matter of fact, however, the dilemma can never occur, for the very sufficient reason that at the base Socialism and Protection are one. We point out in another column, under the heading of " The New Liberalism," how naturally and inevitably those who adopt the Socialistic pro- gramme gradually slide into Protection under one or other of its aliases. The advocates of Socialistic schemes soon reach some form of bounties or State help for industries, and from this to the forbidding of foreign competition in order to maintain a minimum standard of comfort is an easy transition.
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