Page:What colonial preference means.djvu/11

9 {| class="table horizborder p9"
 * +IMPORTS OF FOOD, 1906.

Foreign Countries.||From Self- Governing Colonies.||From Other British Possessions.''|||Total.
 * || ||''From
 * || ||''From
 * A.||Grain and Flour||&ensp;51,429,402||9,604,589||6,846,598&ensp;&ensp;||67,880,589
 * ||Percentage||75.7||14.2||10.1||
 * B.||Meat, including animals for food||&ensp;39,152,754||12,810,914||62,785&emsp;||52,026,453
 * ||Percentage||75.2||24.6||&emsp;.2||
 * C.||Other food and drink||&ensp;84,427,651||15,009,852||14,094,784 ||113,532,287
 * ||Percentage||74.3||13.2||12.5||
 * D.||Tobacco||&ensp;4,640,302||10,128||68,397&emsp;||4,718,827
 * ||Percentage||98.3||&emsp;.2||&ensp;1.5||
 * |||Total&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;£&ensp;||179,650,109||37,435,483||21,072,564||238,158,156
 * || ||75.4||15.7||&ensp;8.9||
 * }
 * C.||Other food and drink||&ensp;84,427,651||15,009,852||14,094,784 ||113,532,287
 * ||Percentage||74.3||13.2||12.5||
 * D.||Tobacco||&ensp;4,640,302||10,128||68,397&emsp;||4,718,827
 * ||Percentage||98.3||&emsp;.2||&ensp;1.5||
 * |||Total&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;£&ensp;||179,650,109||37,435,483||21,072,564||238,158,156
 * || ||75.4||15.7||&ensp;8.9||
 * }
 * |||Total&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;£&ensp;||179,650,109||37,435,483||21,072,564||238,158,156
 * || ||75.4||15.7||&ensp;8.9||
 * }
 * || ||75.4||15.7||&ensp;8.9||
 * }

It will be seen, taking the figures as a whole, that more than three-quarters of our supplies reach us from foreign countries, and less than one-quarter from the British Empire. Of this amount less than one-sixth reaches us from the self-governing Colonies, and what reaches us from the other parts of the British Empire is not, generally speaking, food at all, but is mainly cocoa, coffee, and tea. The last-named commodity obviously, by the way, requires no preference, as it has practically already ousted China from our markets. The request of our self-governing Colonies is, therefore, that for less than one-sixth of our supplies we should raise the price of five-sixths of the food supplies we import, and also of the £200,000,000 or £300,000,000 of foods we produce at home. In other words, that for the sake of £37,000,000 worth from our Colonies we should raise the price to ourselves of £400,000,000 or £500,000,000 of food-stuffs. Assuming that the duty average 5 per cent., the cost to the nation would be £20,000,000 or £25,000,000 a year, and at 10 per cent. £40,000,000 or £50,000,000. It is