Page:The New Protectionism.djvu/55

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DEFENCE AND OPULENCE
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from foreign countries. In 1913 we drew 65½ million hundredweight of wheat and wheat flour from foreign countries as against 57 millions from the Empire. In some years the Imperial contribution is much smaller. In 1908, for instance, the simultaneous failure of crops in Australia and India made us dependent for three-quarters of our imports upon foreign countries. For some raw materials of our staple trades our dependence upon foreign countries is absolute. Take, for example, cotton. The Imperial supply in 1913 amounted to only 71,915,000 pounds, as compared with 2,102,384,000 pounds from foreign sources. But what of that, it may be said? We shall still continue in our present amicable trade relations with the neutral countries. They will still buy our goods and sell us theirs as before. But will they? One inevitable effect of our tariff system would be to damage our trade with the great neutral markets and to improve the trade of Germany with them. Two forces would co-operate to this result.