In Committee of Supply on Monday last the President of
the Board of Trade reviewed the case of British trade. It was a gloomy tale, though the conclusion was not that we are bankrupt or necessarily about to face ruin. But whereas in 1913 we had a trade balance of £181 millions, " for the twelve months ended March of this year probably we are hardly better than square on the trade account. That is a very serious position." It is indeed. We have not space to follow here the President industry by indus- try. He would not count upon the revival of demand from many of our old customers, but hoped that new expansion would develop in the Empire. We have already quoted from Sir Alfred Mond's speech. Mr. Runciman went down to foundations when he said that to increase wealth God's gift of a bounteous world harvest would do more than any Board of Trade could do.
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