Page:The empire and the century.djvu/110

 We hear of her augmented efforts to ruin herself by Protection, of her dear food and her meat famines, her socialism and her militarism. Eppuir si muove. In the close race for commercial supremacy her shadow already falls before us and lengthens as we run. And Germany, let us remember, keeps her agriculture intact, and improves with every year the yield of her soil. When we remember the degree to which the latest British returns are swollen by the temporary circumstances of the cotton boom (where the rise of values represents no real extension of trade), it will already appear probable that this country, should the processes revealed by the above table be continued, will be reduced to the third place as an exporting Power before the present generation is out. We must, in any case, become gradually weaker and weaker by comparison in man-power and money-power.

'Power' is a purely relative conception. Upon that simple and fundamental truth Mr. Chamberlain has from the first based his position. Since the Birmingham speech of May 15, 1908, nothing has occurred which impairs the force of his contentions.

Finally, if anything were required to fortify this exposition of the case, it will be found in the important, though incomplete, evidence of the two volumes known as the Inquiry Blue-books. Of such increase as has been shown in the total value of British exports dining the last quarter of a century, much more than half must be set down to the vast development of our coal shipments. But England must stand or fall as a manufacturing nation. How is it with us in that vital matter? From the statistics contained in the Inquiry Blue-books (completed by the later returns of the countries concerned), I have compiled a separate table showing once more by quinquennial averages the comparative progress of this country and its protected competitors in the export of manufactures only: