It is almost certain that if the Unionists went to
the country again on a Protectionist platform they would be beaten as before. The demand for cheap necessaries has an overwhelming force; We are not so pedantic as to regard Free Trade as a kind of incantation which can exorcize all the industrial ghosts that haunt us ; we admit that the War left problems which have to be dealt with not in accordance with a formula but on their merits. On the whole, however, we are sure that the Government will be wise to stick to the plan, which has so far served them well, of allowing safeguarding measures where dire need is proved throughout a whole industry, but nowhere else, and, even then, only if the saving of the industry is necessary to the well-being of the nation. The bias has rightly been against allowing a duty.
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