MR. JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN ON THE " IMPERIAL COMMERCIAL LEAGUE"
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
SIR,—That the result of the taxation of foodstuffs will have a disastrous repercussion socially, politically and economically upon the people of this country, I am absolutely convinced. That the whole idea of an " Imperial Commercial League " is a mistake the gravity of which it is almost impossible to exaggerate will, I am equally certain, make itself apparent as its effects develop, both nationally and internationally. Here are Mr. Joseph Chamberlain's own words, envisaging a possibility which Ottawa has so unfortunately established.
The pronouncement on this vital question is of such interest and importance at the present juncture, when considered in relation to the position and standing of the speaker who uttered it, that I make no apology for this intrusion on your space. The words quoted were spoken in 1897, but I have not the reference to the place or occasion—I omitted these details from the cutting :
" Anything in the direction of an Imperial Commercial League would weaken the Empire internally, and excite the permanent hostility of the whole world. It would check the free import of the food of the people. It is impracticable ; but if it were practicable and done in the name of the Empire, it would make the Empire odious to the working people ; it would combine the world against us, we would be a cause of irritation."
86 Prospect Road, Tunbridge Wells.
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