Page:The empire and the century.djvu/143

 and the neutral countries taken together amounted to £188,800,000. German exports to the same countries were £201,000,000, and, in addition, our chief continental competitor exported to the British Empire (Mother Country, Colonies, and dependencies together) to the enormous value of £68,000,000. Both facts give most furiously to think; the second fact particularly showing the immense degree to which German ability to rival us in financial power and to threaten our position at sea depends upon the preservation of present fiscal conditions throughout the British Empire. Le revenu c'est l'État; and we may safely add to that celebrated maxim: Commerce means revenue.

Free Traders must admit that the Power which, on the whole, is bound to become our chief naval competitor between the present and the next Trafalgar Centenary could hardly enjoy more favourable conditions for the growth of her trade and revenue than those with which we present her. The facilities enjoyed by Germany in this country under free imports promote her power to build battleships. Our disabilities in the German market in checking our trade injure our finance, and decrease our power to build battleships.

But while fiscal reform would indirectly strengthen our naval power by enabling us to obtain reciprocity from foreign countries, it is in the highest degree improbable that our lost supremacy in purely foreign trade can be under any circumstances regained. In a world of closing markets, where our commerce, as has been shown in detail, must arrive sooner or later in the neutral markets at the point of arrested development long ago reached in the protected markets, the only part of our trade which we can make relatively secure is our trade under the flag. Preference with the Colonies offers the only guarantee for the progress of our commerce and power. Those who say that preference is impossible mean nothing, unless they mean also that the preservation of the British Empire is impossible. 'You have an opportunity; you will never have it again.'