The Government and the Dominions . If, as we hope,
the Government will patiently and with good temper discuss with the Dominion Representatives every detail of the Preference proposal, a great deal will be gained, even in the event of a total failure to reach an agreement upon a tariff scheme as such. On Monday the Government let it be known that they accepted the principle that where any tariff is in existence in this country the Preferences which arc now given to the Dominions will not be abolished, so long as the tariff itself remains. Nothing less, surely, could have been expected. Under the inspiration of Mr. Snowden, the Government are behaving as a body of determined Free Traders, but from that point of view a Preference is always a desirable thing wherever a tariff exists, because it is a partial or local breaking-away from the tariff and therefore au approximation to Free Trade.
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