The speech delivered by the Prussian Minister of Finance to
the Prussian Landtag is worth the consideration of those who waver between Free-trade and Protection. Baron von Rheinbaben had a prosperity Budget to introduce, the revenue having risen unexpectedly, but he made some very noteworthy admissions. He urged the formation of syndi- cates and Rings as essential to resist the immense power (A foreign capital ; he regretted that syndicates and Ring's should allow prices to be artificially inflated; he thought the home market the surest and most constant, and to develop the home market he recommended more protection to agri- culture. There you have the effect of Protection in a nut- shell. To "develop the home market" you tax the people's food, and then are surprised that they complain of the "arti- ficial prices," which without Protection would be impossible. The remedy, however, says the Prussian Chancellor of the Exchequer, is not freedom, but more Rings and syndicates. Verily, the teachers of economics have a hard task.
