SOME BASIC FACTS.
Now there are certain basic facts from which we cannot escape, but which have received wholly inadequate recognition for many years past. One of these is that the people of Great Britain depend for their very existence upon adequate supplies from abroad of food- stuffs and raw materials. These, however, have to be paid for, and they can only be paid for by an adequate export on our part of goods and services. Ultimately it will be found that there is no other means of payment. Moreover, if there is to be real prosperity and an accumulation of fresh wealth, it is essential that our exports of goods and services should materially exceed the value of the goods and services received, otherwise we must be a debtor country and our power to control the exchanges must necessarily be weakened. In other words, the trade balance must be in our favour,
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