London, Feb. 4.
In an historic speech delivered! this evening in the House of Commons, Mr. Neville, Chamberlain, Chancellor of the Exchequer, an: ounced that the Government had decided to introduce a system of moderate protection scientifically Adjusted to the needs of industry and agriculture in order to. adjust the adverse trade balance.
said. that from. March Basic duty of 10 per cent. would be Imposed on all impens except Wheat, meat, fish, raw cotton and Wool, tea and otter goods already Subject to duty.
"A superstructure of additional duties would be erected on the 10 cent, basis, these duties to be ved by the Treasury after recommendation by an independent Advisory committee. Neither has nor additional duty would be oper: Hive on_goouls, coming in from India or the Dominions before the Ottawa @conomic conference, and all products of Colonies and protectorates would be exempted.
Rarely has the House of Con mons been more crowded or animal ed than it was to-day when Mr. Neville the Chan: cellor of the the Government's policy for dealing with Britain's adverse trade balance a ecomptchensive system of Hie' Governments polley _re-resents x definite breach with itain's "century-old free trade tradition and for the first time in Nistory a Minister was heard speaking. against. his colleagues in. the Cabinet as, later in the debate, Sir Herbert Samuel, the Homie Sei tary, opposed the Government tarltt Bill, expressing the fear Britain would become wholly pr There were other dramatic in-eidents and a note of family triumph was struck by Sir Austen Chamber. Lain, uring question, tne, taking seat_on the back bench occupied by his father, Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, when'28 years ago, he lect the Governnient on te fiscal issue and split the great "Conservative arty into opposing factions The Chancellor of the Exchequer was rected by a storm of cheers when he rose to introduce the tar measure, "His first tribute was to the British taxpayer. While he
to affirm, confidently that' Viseou not yet ina position, jhe cal Snowden's melancholy. doubt abo the financial position be falsified, the British exhibited celt-sacrifice authorities gaping with il if the present high rate of tax collection wore maintain of the opinion that Brit affairs would conte out on the right side at the end of the financial year.
He instanced" the fact that infeome-tax payable on January 1 had been received to the amount of £€105,000,000 as against £60,000,000 Last year, and said he believed the same spirit would continue so that Any loss they might have to meet im other directions. would be made good.
'The Chancellor noted the almost miraculous steadiness in the cost living, " notwithstanding the. depreciated value of sterling. Sin Great Britain went off "the - gold] standard, he "aid, the cost of living had only' risen two points and was actually' six points below that year ago. The steadiness of storling was the best possible indication etrabe confidence felt abroad In "This doubtless had been fortified by the Bank of England's "recent repassments of Large foreign credits without. drawing fincher upon. its old reserves, It seemed te. him conditions were 0 shaping themselves that other countries which had been forced "for one reason or another to. forsake the gol standard were more and more: Lurhing towards sterling a8 the best measure of the valtie of currency during a period of suspension from the] normal standard, There was undoubtedly, claimed the; Chancellor, a more hopeful feeling in trade, although they had not yet torned the corner. Moreover, added to, the anxiety caused by re: parationsand) war debts, nobody could prophie=v how events in the Far Bast would react upon the rest. Of the world. The Government's plan to readjust the trade balance, hho said, must be flexible and clastic and readily adapted to suit changing conditions, They, therefore, proposed system' of moderate" protection, scientifically adjusted to the needs Jor industry and agriculture. As a basis they proposed a general ad valorem duty of 10 per cent, on all imports except for items mentioned Jon the free list, which include grain Jand wheal, and also tea pending the introduction of the budget, Tobacco, sugar, the McKenna snd safeguarding duties, as well as the Jabnormal duties and horticultural duties. will: continue, An independent salaried advisory tree, with not less than two, five, members. will full time to considering ional duties should be usee! and to studying the general rests of trade and industry. In the case of the Dominions, neither general nor the additional duties. will be operative before the Imperial Conference at Ottawa has bbecn held, All produce of all Colonies Protectorates and Man-"territories. will be com-the mubjeet of "retaliation." "The Board of Trade, he said, would be ithorined to impose a duty up. to 100 per cent., in. addition to existing duties, in the case of foreign countries who discriminated against British goods. There would be provision for negotiating mutual duties with foreign countries bat here, again, no. such arrangements will conelttded until after the Ottawa]
Tu this connection, Sir Neville [Chamberlain pointed' out that a qveat exporting country like Britain was foreed to look overseas for a great part of its trade and the catastrophic fallin gold prices. of Jeommodities which showed no signs: fof having reached bottom had Brought world trade to " deplorable Jcondition.. He referred to. the enormous growth of trade restrictions fall aver the world which had. ime posed tariff barriers on Bri trade. Many of Britain's problems Were international in character. and Jeould only be dealt with by wil ce-operation of other nations
her own control.
Gther problems, he said, were within last two years while ly exports 38 per cent. Such figures ied the necessity for action. They: desired to correct the ti balance by diminishing imports and culating exports, and. fortify finances with fresh revenue, raised by methods which put undue burden upon any section of the. community.
'They proposed, therefore, by the stem, of moderate protection, scientifically adjusted to. industry agriculture, to. transfer to in' own factories and elds elastic plan, which could be re and adapted to suit. changing conditions and by. its judicious use they hoped to make more efficient their methods of production and Jdisttibution. They, needed, also, to fuse it for negotiations with foreign feountries which hitherto had. paid little attention to their suggestions was, he said, prudent to be Joved with an instrament at least Jar effective as there which might be fused to discriminate against British Gade' in other countries. They wished to ike the opportunity of loitering advantages to countries of the e im return for advant-lages which they now give and which, in the near future, they may give in return.
They believed they had " policy chieh would bring new hope an heart to Britain and give to anew spirit of energy and' ce-operation throughout the empire.
Simplifying these proposals, the Chancellor said" wherever. there ie an existing duty the article thus unliable would be subject toa 10 per cent. general tariff.
Regarding the placing of wheat on the free list, he: reminded the House of the Government's intention to deal with it by the quota system. In the free list would also be found materials of two great textile industries—raw cotton. and raw wool, Tea was put into the free Hist because it was considered more convenient to deal with it in con-Jjunetion with other beverages suc! fas coffee and cocoa in the ordinary course of the budget.
On the super-structure of the ad valorem duties, he said, there would
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.