Mr. J. H. Thomas must have thrown a statistical damper on the exuberant clams of the press-manufactured panties now advocate ing special nostrems.for the development of Empire trade. There plainly no ground for the assump-fon that the British Empire can withdraw behind the fortifications of a tariff wall and work out its own economic salvation regardless of the operations of the other commercial nations. For the sake of world peace that is all to the good; although competition for worlds markets leads, often to burning international) problems, it can also te great solvent of dificuties arising from Inck of contact, In the face of the figures quoted by the Secretary of State for the Dominions, it woald be folly to pretend that cither Great Britain or her Dominions can afford to ignore tte trade with foreign countries,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.