There are many rumours about the character of the forth-
coming Budget. The governing principle in the new financial year ought certainly to be that the restrictions on trade shall be removed as speedily as possible, and that manufibturers shall know exactly where they stand. Ignorance of what is going to happen is at the root of the present paralysis. At first sight one is tempted to say that it would be a good thing to have complete freedom of trade for a short period until the country has been restocked not only with raw materials in the strict sense, but with finch manufactured artioles as are the raw materials of many trades. On second thoughts, however, we see that, whatever the fiscal policy of the Government is going to be, it must be set on its permanent lines at once. Trade moves much too delicately to be arbitrarily switched on and off the track.
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