[To TILE EDITOR OP THE "spicrievon..1 Sin,—Sir Joseph Lawrence, M.P.,
who has been painting in the Times a doleful picture of the tinplate trade as an industry ruined by hostile tariffs, will be interested to learn that Sir John Jones Jenkins, a leading tinplate manufacturer, has seceded from the Liberal Unionist party on account of Mr. Chamberlain's fiscal proposals. Sir John Jenkins has been prominently identified with the tinplate trade for over forty years, and no man is entitled to speak with greater authority on everything connected with that important South Wales in- dustry. His secession from the Liberal Unionist party is re- markable for two reasons. Ever since 1886 he has been a
close political friend of Mr. Chamberlain, and their personal relations continue to be cordial, if not intimate. It was generally expected that Sir John would have championed the Unionist cause in Swansea at the next General Election in opposition to Sir George Newnes, and his secession has caused dismay among Swansea Conservatives. I say " Conserva- tives " advisedly, because Liberal Unionism in South Wales is
a negligible quantity. "My withdrawal from the Unionist party," he says, "is taken entirely on account of my disagree- ment with Mr. Chamberlain's proposal to alter our fiscal policy. I think that would be more detrimental to the nation than Home-rule." Sir John Jenkins takes precisely the same view of the tinplate trade that you courteously allowed me to express a few weeks ago in the Spectator. The following quotation from a declaration of his views published in the South Wales Press of August 17th is of peculiar interest in the present conjuncture :— "Mr. Chamberlain says if the working men have to pay a little more for their food they will have increased wages. • It naturally follows from this that the increased wages will increase the cost of our manufactured products, and, consequently, we should be in a worse position to compete with the other manufacturers of the world than we are at present. As to retaliatory measures, my belief is that to take any steps in that direction would be only beginning a war of tariffs, and it is very difficult to predict the serious consequences such a war would entail upon us and our Empire. It is quite true that very many of our trades have suf- fered in various ways, and from various causes—some of them possibly from foreign competition—but before we had any foreign competition our trades suffered frequently from over-production and other reasons. I remember when I was a boy that the Upper Copper Works at Morriston stopped for this reason. • Copper was then the principal product of this district, and many people said that the prosperity of Morriston had gone for ever. But if you compare the Morriston of that time—nearly sixty years ago.— with the prosperous Morriston of to-day you will find that these dismal prognostications were entirely wrong."
Referring to Mr. Gilbertson's recent address to the members of the Swansea Metal Exchange, Sir John said :— " I quite agree with him that we have suffered from the McKinley Tariff of the United States, but we have regained the position we held at the time of its enactment by the suc- cess of our efforts to open other markets. The tinplate trade has always been a fluctuating one. It is not a difficult trade to go into, and there have always been periods both of great prosperity and great depression. The periods of depression &re generally brought about by over-production. In a few instances other causes have influenced it, but, as a rule, it has arisen through our eagerness to increase production rather faster than the world has been 'able to use our eemmodities. The tinplate trade has now recovered from the American tariff to a great extent, and lately the production of tinplates per mill has been greatly increased, because the men now follow machinery. A mill now, instead of turning out five hundred boxes per week, can produce almost double that quantity. But the fact is, tariff or no tariff, we could not have permanently retained the American = market. Before the imposition of • the American tariff I pointed • out that we should have sooner or later to face American com- petition. I look upon the development of Canada in much the same way as I viewed that of America. I am very favourable to Canada, but at the same time I look on the Canadians as shrewd business men, and the development of Canada is in the direction of manufactures that will largely compete with our own. My relations with Mr. Chamberlain ? I notice that some people charge him with having an ulterior object in propounding this question, but from my long experience of Mr. Chamberlain, I think he is perfectly sincere in what he advocates, and thoroughly loyal to what he believes to be the cause of the country. But at the same time I disagree with him, and on that account I am parting company with him."
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