Mr. Arthur Elliot, the Member for Durham City, who has
resigned the office of Financial Secretary, has written an admirable letter to Mr. James Todd, which was published in Wednesday's papers. He could not, he says, remain any longer in a Government "which is steadily tending to Protec- tion." "The time has come," says Mr. Elliot, "when men must make up their minds for or against the policy of taxing foreign imports of food, such as corn, meat, butter, cheese, &c. This, though deferred for the moment, will be the ulti- mate issue, and I believe such a policy would prove injurious to the interests of this country and of the Empire." As regards "retaliation" and "fiscal freedom," Mr. Elliot declares that he so far agrees with the Prime Minister's pamphlet that he thinks the Government ought to be free to consider every case as it arises on its merits, and to take such action thereupon as it thinks right, subject, of course, to the approval of Parliament. "This, however, is the position at present, and I am in favour of maintaining it." That is sound sense. Parliament has, and always has had, the power to retaliate, but it has not done so because in every specific case it has been demonstrable that the " cure " would have been worse than the disease.
