IMPERIAL FISCAL POLICY
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
SIR,—In your article last week on the Empire Crusaders, under the heading of " Imperial Fiscal Policy," you enumerate the various cases against imposing taxes on the imports of foreign foodstuffs, and allowing those from the Empire to come in free. It seems, however, that the fallacies of such a scheme become apparent if the examples of wheat and meat be taken.
Last year this country alone imported more than 103,000,000 cwt. of wheat, half of which came from foreign countries. Canada was the greatest exporter of this cereal with 41,000,000 cwt., and Australia fourth with 10,300,000 cwt. The two foreign countries, United States and Argentina, sent us about 24,000,000 cwt. each. This example of wheat alone shows us that there is no great balance with either the Empire or the foreigner as regards wheat export, but if all the grain imported into England, such as maize, barley, and oats, be taken into consideration, foreign countries export to us considerably more grain than the Empire.
It needs no great imagination to foresee the results of the failure of the Canadian or Australian crop from drought or any other cause. In the event of one of these circumstances occurring, a collapse of the Empire Crusaders' policy would seem inevitable, for in order to satisfy our needs we should be forced to buy from foreign countries.
Last year we imported about 16,000,000 cwt. of meat ; of this amount Argentina contributed over half, while the two exporters of Empire meat, New Zealand and Australia, sent us one fifth and one tenth, respectively. The remainder of the import is supplied by Uruguay and the United States. Here, again, if we are not to buy meat from foreign countries, how are we to obtain sufficient if anything interferes with the supply from Empire sources as did the great Australian drought in 1902? Even if the Empire supplies of meat kept normal, and we imported fro ni them only, there would be an Empire shortage of about 40,000,000 pounds a year ; in wheat only might the Empire become self-supporting.
If these tariffs are imposed, the foreign countries from which we import most of our foodstuffs would impose in all probability retaliatory tariffs on our goods, thereby causing a certain dislocation of our home industries, a state of affairs which will not be entirely remedied by free export to the Colonies.
The Empire Crusaders' scheme, too, would be liable to cause price fluctuations and manipulations which will be aggravated by any variation in the supply of Empire food- stuffs. Also a very considerable amount of our Overseas
banking business consists of financing shipments of meat and cereals from foreign countries to England.
As you say in your article, the scheme is risky, and however admirable or Utopian it may seem in theory, in practice it would appear to be almost impossible.—I am, Sir, &c., West Dene, Vernon Road, Leigh-on-Sea. J. C. FREEMAN.
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