Colonial development is a desirable end, but why force it
on by artificial means P In time the United States will re- quire its food supplies for itself, and then will be the chance for Canada and Australia to become the granaries of the Empire,—and at no cost to the British consumer. Lord Rosebery dealt shortly with rural depopulation, which he showed to have been going on long before the repeal of the Corn-laws, and with the food-supply-in-time-of-war argument. Except in the case of a war with the United States—a con- tingency he refused to regard as possible—the United States, as a strong neutral Power, would be our surest supply ground. Lord Rosebery in conclusion dealt in a broad and statesman- like spirit with the Imperial aspect of the question. The heart of the Empire must be allowed equal freedom of develop- ment with the minor communities attached to it. It was a ruinous policy to impoverish the centre to enrich the outskirts. Lord Rosebery immediately afterwards addressed a second meeting, in which he dealt chiefly with the effect of Protection npon the price of food, and the cumulative character of any Protectionist legislation. We discuss elsewhere his comments upon the influence of the Press.
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