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PROTECTIONIST VICTORIES AND FREE TRADE SUCCESSES.
URING the American Civil War a friend of mine,
D who was a careful student of the military opera-
tions, used often to remark that the war was one in
which the South had all the victories, and the North
all the substantial successes.
I am often reminded of this when I hear the common
talk of the victories of Protection.
Free Trade, we are often told, is going back in the
world. Every country except England has a Protec-
tionist policy. Every day we hear of Protectionist
measures being introduced in this country or the other.
In other words, Protectionists are having many victo-
ries. They have not quite so many as they seem to
have. On the other side we have to count such a
victory as the last one of the Free Traders in New
. South Wales, or the recent stroke of Sir Wilfrid Laurier
and his colleagues in Canada ..
But we may grant to the Protectionists that they do
score many victories, or so-called victories. What I
wish to point out is the continual and substantial suc-
cess of Free Trade throughout the world.
Free Trade, in my view-i.e., the practice of Free
Trade-is really spreading and growing while Protec-
tionist politicians are talking of their victories, and
making a tremendous fuss over this and that petty in-
terference with trade-over an autonomous tariff, per-
haps, or over the stoppage of the importation of prison-
1 Speech delivered at the annual dinner of the North Staffordshire
Chamber of Commerce, at Stoke, December 15th, 1897.
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