Cotton Quotas in Ceylon The action of the Colonial Office
in approving the demand of the Ceylon Government for an increase of the quota of foreign cotton goods import into the island raises delicate questions, as the Manchester Guardian, its devotion to Free Trade at odds with its devotion to Lancashire's interests, has recognised with a little natural embarrassment. It obviously is bad for Lancashire if Cingalese buy Japanese products instead of Lancashire's, and the reason Japan can sell cheaper is that her weavers and spinners work longer hours for lower wages. But Ceylon is well on the way towards self-government, and to overrule a decision of her elected representatives for the benefit of British manu- facturers would be a serious and provocative step. Moreover the Ceylon Government very naturally regards the interest of the Cingalese consumer as paramount. He wants cheap goods, because he has little money to spend, and Japan offers them. Lancashire must inevitably suffer, but the only ground on which the action of the Ceylon Government or that of the Colonial Office could be held open to criticism would be the theory that the prosperity of any part of the Empire benefits all other parts and that therefore Lancashire's welfare should be of concern to Ceylon. But there is no warrant for imposing that view of Empire on Ceylon—though it was in fact so imposed three years ago.
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