A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK T HE spectacle of Lord Beaverbrook and Sir
Herbert Samuel clasping New Zealand in a joint embrace, and Lord Beaverbrook's papers enthusiastically acclaim- ing Sir Herbert as " one of us," is one of the brighter spots in the contemporary political scene. But it is not as surprising as it looks. New Zealand, in spite of the elusive replies of the Prime Minister and Mr. Thomas in the House of Commons, has clearly raised the question, however informally, of opening the door here to New Zealand dairy products in return for a wider. opening of New Zealand's door to British manufactures. Lord Beaverbrook, as an Empire Free Trader, naturally welcomes the idea of reducing tariffs within the Empire. The position of the Liberals is equally clear. Under a Free Trade system they objected to merely Imperial Free Trade because it involved tariffs against foreign countries. But now that we are under a Protectionist system they are for a reduction of tariffs anywhere, and the right place to begin is with Empire tariffs. So, starting from opposite camps, Empire Free Traders and Liberals meet on common ground, labelled,—for the moment, New Zealand. If Lord Beaverbrook could see the wisdom of regarding the Empire as a pattern and pioneer for the world in such matters as tariffs and peace and war, instead of wanting to wall it off from the world, the common ground might be considerably extended.
Previous page
