[To THE EDITOR OP TEE "SPECTAT010 . 1
Sun,—Possibly Tariff Reform did not increase the Unionist vote at the Bolton election by reason of the way in which the suggested tax on foreign corn was dealt with by opponents of the Unionist candidate. In your statements in regard to "food taxes" you invariably appear to me to forget that the amount of national revenue which we obtain annually from food, drink, and tobacco is over £50,000,000 sterling, and has not been less than this amount for many years. In com- parison with this the Tariff Reform corn-tax proposals are insignificant.
As an instance of the methods adopted at elections, may
I mention my own experience ? On the night before the poll, while walking past a schoolroom in my constituency, I saw
a lady distributing cards to the school children. Having obtained one I found that it contained the words, "Why not tax land instead of the children's bread ? " and on it was depicted a pretty child carrying a loaf of bread under her arm. One can easily imagine the effect of this card when placed on the parents' ten-table!
It is quite clear to me that in asking for a Referendum on Colonial Preference and Tariff Reform you are simply asking for what you believe will kill the first constructive policy of the Unionist Party. On page 897 of last week's issue you say :-
"If we were the leaders of the Unionist Party we should have made a very different and, we are sure, a much wiser choice. But we are not its leaders, and they have decided, as we think wrongly, not to have a Referendum on the Food Taxes."
Does anyone really believe that it is possible to have a
satisfactory Referendum on food taxation ? If so, let theist ask themselves the question, "What would be the result of a
Referendum in regard to the taxation of tea and sugar ? " Surely it would not be possible for any Budget to be passed into law which contained food-taxation proposals of any kind. Speaking as one with a considerable amount of political experience and knowledge of the Unionist Party in the House of Commons, may I say that whether it be in a few months or twenty years, Tariff Reform will, I believe, remain "the first constructive plank in the Unionist platform," and a candidate who deals fully with Tariff Reform from every aspect of the question, and does not fail to answer the insidious methods of the Liberal Party by a full and frank discussion of the whole question from the colonial point of view, will in the end triumph. The Bolton election was lost chiefly by the placard issued the night before the poll, accusing the Unionist Party of endeavouring to break trades unionism. A well-known member of the Liberal Party stated after the election that if this placard had been issued some hours previously the majority would have been nearly two thousand. Apologizing for troubling you with this letter, and thanking you in anticipation for inserting it, I am, Sir, &c., TARIFF REFORMER.
[We cannot admit that a tariff or a part of a tariff could not be submitted to the people and passed, for the very good reason that a general tariff, including taxes on articles of food, was only a few years ago submitted to the Swiss electors and passed.—En. Spectator.]
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