FUNDAMENTAL CAUSES.
The real turn in the tide began with the acknowledge- ment last autumn by a small section of the old Socialist Government of the errors which had been committed in regard to the conduct of the National Finances. There was moreover a general recognithin that economic facts and necessities had been subordinated to political expediency, with the utmost danger to the community, and there was also a fairly general recognition of the effect that such conditions had produced on British credit in foreign countries. This recognition by a section of a political party was subsequently amply confirmed by the nation at the General Election which returned a National .Party pledged to give attention to the question of economy and a restoration of the trade balance. It is true that this recognition by politicians and by the public came too late to save the gold standard, but, in spite of the fact that we appeared to touch low- water mark in the matter of the national credit in Septem- ber of last year when we departed from gold, the real turn for. the better had come from the moment of recognizing past mistakes and taking steps to retrieve them.
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