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Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmds en commenpant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — *- signifie "A SUIVRE ", le symbole V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvant dtre filmds d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour §tre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est filmd d partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 i CI I A 57 CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT BETWIiEN r/yi? UNITED KINGDOM AND THE BRITISH POSSESSIONS. AN ESSAY BY JOHN ORMEROD PILKINGTON. M.A., UAKRISTER-AT-LAW. LONDON: P. S. KING & SON, 12 AND 14, KING STREET, WESTMINSTER. 1896. m it „ f -^ A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. IN his report on the Ottawa conference, Lord Jersey remarks that the arrangement proposed by the repre- sentatives of the colonial governments is not " a real customs union," and no doubt it is something very different from the American, as well as from the German pattern. On the other hand, " the removal of" internal " customs barriers " is a matter of no legitimate concern to countries outside a federation, and it is only with respect to external relations that the correct interpretation of the term is of any importance. The British government, solicitous for the application of the most- favoured-nation clause usually inserted in modern treaties of commerce, has always inclined to restrict the meaning of the expres- sion. Thus, in a correspondence which took place in 1873 between Lord Kimberley the secretary of state and Sir Hercules Robinson the governor of Victoria, the distinc- tion between a " customs union " and a mere " reciprocity agreement " was sedulously insisted upon. 1 he conference, aware of the narrowness of the official view, and evidently unprepared to contemplate cither the removal of internal barriers, or the establishment of a common fund with joint administration by a permanent representative council, wisely designated its proposition " a customs arrangement." As observed by De Tocqueville, " U esprit hiunain invente plus facilement les choses que les mots!' The important result of this discussion, which took place in the summer of 1894, is the authoritative pronouncement of colonial opinion that trade is the paramount object of the imperial connection ; that closer political alliance, un- A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. attended by commercial union, would not be an appreciable advantage ; that commercial union regulated in strict accord- ance with the free trade doctrine upheld by the imperial parliament for nearly half a century would be at present impracticable, and that therefore the first step towards the insurance of imperial unity against the risk of disintegra- tion should be in the way of mutual preference for internal, i.e., intra-imperial, commerce. Professor Goldwin Smith may be right when he assumes that the Ottawa deliberations have " pretty well settled that the colonies will not contribute to the defence of the empire," but he is scarcely justified in contending that " with military and naval confederation commercial federa- tion may be said practically to have received its quietus from this conference." On the contrary, the offer to discuss reciprocal terms may fairly be taken to indicate the opinion of the conference that each separate country of the empire has at its disposal some favour to bestow upon the rest, and that some kind of commercial federation on a basis of mutual benefits is not only to be desired, but attainable. Commercial federation does not necessarily involve mili- tary and naval confederation ; but on this latter point the second colonial conference was reticent. In the seven years that had elapsed since the representatives of the colonial governments assembled at Downing Street, the vague yearnings of imperialism had subsided. Trade and telegraphic communication formed the new programme. One of the most conspicuous errors of the federa- tive movement has been the reckless multiplication of federal objects. Little attempt has been made to distin- guish common from separate interests, and the patriotic purpose of imperial cohesion has been confused with all sorts of chauvinist ideas. Yet it is obvious that the integ- rity of the empire could be maintained consistently with a very large expansion of local responsibility, such as com- A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. 5 plete localisation of territorial defence, coupled with delega- tion to the several authorities of all essentially provincial business now transacted by the foreign and colonial de- partments of the imperial government ; and, as to eventual federation, the establishment of a customs union would pave the way to common political action without incur- ring the risk of political entanglement ; while the develop- ment of internal trade relations would, in course of time, oblige the whole empire to recognise its community of interest in sea power as the chief object of the imperial system. The effect of the Ottawa debates on the subject of intra-imperial trade is contained in the three historic resolutions, concerning which Lord Ripon subsequently addressed the governors of the colonies represented at the conference. The problem to be solved is to formulate a scheme sufficiently in accordance with the requirements of the first part* of the third resolution to meet with the approval of all the responsible colonial governments, yet without ren- dering necessary the abrogation of any proviso contained in the existing treaties between the United Kingdom and foreign powers. The circumstance that this particular pro- posal, which appears to explain all the rest, was the only one not carried unanimously, would suggest the feasibility of some compromise between free trade as established in the mother country, and the varying conditions of protec- tion adopted in the colonies. If the mother country obsti- nately refuses to entertain any proposal to grant preferential treatment of imports into the United Kingdom from the * " That this conference records its belief in the advisability of a customs arrangement between Great Britain and her colonies by which trade within the empire may be placed on a more favourable footing than that which is carried on with foreign countries." A 2 A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. British possessions, or if Canada and Victoria persistently decline to accept any interference, with their fiscal policy, there is certainly no " prospect of obtaining a practical result." The question is whether a plan for enlarging free trade in the aggregate at the cost of establishing in Great Britain and Ireland a few moderately protective duties devised mainly for the purpose of developing the British production of certain commodities, an ample supply of which from internal sources would materially increase the defen- sive strength of the empire, would deserve to be rejected as " involving any sanction to the principle of protec- tion." No project will be found acceptable to the im- perial parliament, unless at least some earnest attempt has been made to overcome the moral obstacle apprehended by Mr Gladstone. The other serious objections indicated in Lord Ripon's despatch (No. i) are not insuperable. In the first place, if the differential duty were only a moderate percentage of the value of the commodities taxed, the dislocation of trade would be a gradual, and not necessarily deleterious, process. Moreover, inasmuch as the demand for a customs union assumes the superior stability of commerce between homogeneous communities composing one imperial sys- tem, the progressive substitution of internal for foreign trade would be an imperceptible calamity, so long as the volume of trade were not thereby diminished, or arrested in its development. In answer to the general objection to taxes on food, it may be argued that England's dependence upon foreign supplies of necessaries constitutes a national danger, and that, if the enhanced value of the commodities taxed were counteracted by the cheapening of other articles from which duties were simultaneously removed, the real wages of the workman would not be diminished. No very great extension of bonding facilities would A CUSTOMS ARKANC.EMENT. of be needed for foreign food on the way to other markets, especially if most of the staple products of tropical countries were excluded from the operation of the new duty. As for the treaties, the preference of British produce in the United Kingdom is not prevented by any treaty stipulation, and mutual preference accorded to each other by lip'tish colonies is certainly not restrained by the Belgian treaty, although the corresponding clause in the convention with the Zollverein is somewhat obscure. With respect to most-favoured-nation clauses in general, Sir Charles Dilke remarks that " it has now become usual to admit without question customs unions, established on the basis of a common customs frontier as regards foreign nations, and the suppression of the customs frontier as regards the states forming the union," so that the abolition of barriers between any two or more colonies might be effected without giving reasonable ground for any protest ; but the empire, as a whole, has nothing to gain from the establishment of mutually preferential tariffs between any two or more dependencies, and it is clear that preferential treatment of imports from the United Kingdom cannot be accorded by any of the colonies without denouncing both these compacts, and thereby altering the sense of the most-favoured-nation clause in every other con.mercial treaty to which the United Kingdom is a party. The mother country is not likely to endanger her foreign trade by any such proceeding. Even if the volume of her colonial trade were not so enormously disproportionate in value when compared with her foreign trade, the national conscience of England would rebel against a recantation of principles which have, for half a century, been the pride of her people and the justification of her vast dominion. The agitation against these treaties is unreasonable. To couple the proposal for an intra- imperial customs arrangement with a demand that the responsible colonies ought to be freed from restrictions A CUSTOMS AKRANGEMENT. imposed upon them without their own consent, is illogical. The bargains were made by the British government acting on behalf of the empire as a unit. Subject to the stipula- tions contained in these treaties, the responsible governments have been allowed to regulate their own tariffs. Any colony desirous of further separation from the fiscal policy of the mother country would be perfectly justified in asking to be relieved from all imperial engagements ; but, on the con- trary, if a commercial league is to be formed, the empire must again be reckoned as a unit, and the policy which is to regulate the external trade relations of each part must be regarded as the affair of the whole. The question discussed in Lord Ripon's despatch of even date (No. 2) may well be dealt with on the occasion of the establishment of a customs union. It is preposterous to suppose that the colonies will always be content to transact the whole of their international business through London. The views of Sir Henry Wrixon, who, as law officer of the Victorian government, fails to comprehend any other arrangement that would not destroy the unity of the empire, are perhaps shared by the majority of leading men in the colonies at the present time ; but he himself admits the existence of a conflicting doctrine. Practical unity might be preserved in spite of the delegation to local authorities of very large powers over local affairs of an international character, and notwithstanding some con- cession of plenipotentiary faculty with respect to provincial governors acting in harmony with their local legislatures. It has been seriously proposed to institute a uniform tariff for foreign imports, and to abolish throughout the Empire all customs duties on British products or manu- factures, excepting only such charges as may be needed for countervailing excise. Whether any, or what portion, of the duties collected at home ports on foreign goods destined for Indian or colonial consumption is to be distributed is A CUSTOMS ARKANGEMKNT. not made clear. The preponderance of foreign trade at home and of Ikitish trade in the possessions must be taken into account. In the near future, the mother country would have very much to lose in foreij^n, and comparatively little to gain in IJritish markets ; while apart from this con- sideration are discernible the horns of a most bewildering dilemma, the obvious unfairness to India and the colonies, if the imperial government were to retain all the duties collected at home ports, and the inevitable unpopularity in the mother country of any proposal to part with a portion of the proceeds; for to bond all g -/"ds in transit, or to grant drawbacks on re-exports, would cause too much expense and inconvenience; whi'e to appropriate any of this revenue obtained from the colonial consumer to pur- po.ses of imperial defence, as has hei ■'. suggested, would necessitate joint control of the navy, i constitutional reform which few responsible English statesmen would be disposed even to consider. The institution of imperial due*^ to be levied in conjunction with local tariffs, and to be set apart for such purposes as the maintenance of postal and tele- graphic intercourse without reference to strategic considera- tions, the development of trade routes, and the collection of commercial intelligence, might perhaps be effected with- out necessarily involving the admission of the responsible colonies to share in the direction of imperial policy, but besides the innumerable difficulties which would attend the formation of a representative council to administer the common fund, the co-existence of two independent tariffs would inevitably provoke antagonism. Thus, in the French colonies, the inherent incongruity of the metropolitan doiiane and the provincial octroi de nier has been proved by experience. Again, although there is a political section in Canada disposed to favour the mother country for the purpose of retaliating upon the United States, the tariffs of the respon- 10 A CUSTOMS ARRANCIEMENT. sible colonies, and notably Victoria and New Zealand, are as a rule framed with the undisguised intention of fostering local industry by stifling competition, sometimes that of their British neighbours, but always that of the United Kingdom. Moreover, it would be against the interest of colonial agriculture, horticulture, and mining, to prefer English to American machinery, just as it would be fooli.sh for Indian and colonial producers to discourage the sub- sidised foreign steamers which give direct access to the markets of Continental Europe, or to place any impediment in the way of German and French rivalry with the mother country in textile fabrics, leather goods, and household furni- ture. In British /\merica the trade with the United States is almost equal to that with the empire, and the obvious advan- tages of the nearer market must, sooner or later, incline the balance, whilst in Australasia, and in British South Africa, American tools and American machinery are especially sought after as, if not intrinsically superior, generally better suited to local requirements than English goods of the same description. In India, German and French trade has assumed large dimensions, and in most of th.. colonies it has afforded sensible relief from the high prices and low qualities formerly imposed by powerfully organised rings. The perfect union of the imperial protectionists, the kind of bargain of which Mill wrote when he said that " the result of the whole transaction is the ridiculous one, that each party loses much in order that the other may gain a little," is, perhaps fortunately, impossible. The difficulty of reconciling the fiscal methods adopted by the various components of the proposed union is in itself an obstacle so great, that unless the value of the prospective gain can be clearly demonstrated, tampering with the actual order of things seems unwarrantable. Any scheme of federation for the British empire must admit the levy of 1 A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. II dues upon internal trade. At the same time, all internal barriers are to be counted as imperfections to be reduced or abolished whenever practicable, and some measure of common policy must be invented. Mr Chamberlain, in his speech at the opening of the third congress of chambers of commerce, referred to the proposal of the Ottawa conference, that "while the colonies should be left absolutely free to impose what protective duties they please both on foreign countries and upon British commerce, they should be required to make a small discrimination in favour of British trade," and expressed his opinion that " there is not the slightest chance that in any reasonable time this country, or the parliament of this country, would adopt so one-sided an agreement." The single commercial favour the colonies could grant to the mother country would be the removal, in whole or in part, of duties on manufactures, and this favour would not be acceptable unless extended to the goods of every country where British commerce enjoys most-favoured-nation privi- leges. The question is whether, in return for such a favour, the mother country could afford to tax her inhabitants by imposing upon foreign commodities in her own markets new charges from which colonial produce should be exempt. Nor must the risk of provoking retaliation be forgotten. All idea of unfriendliness could be disclaimed ; but, in case of opposition from abroad, it would be prudent to reserve the power of inflicting penal rates on imports from countries venturing to deny most-favoured-natiun treatment ; for, although counter-retaliation might be economically wrong, the known possession of the weapon would probably dis- pense with the occasion for its employment. In the selection of commodities for the operation of the new duty great care would have to be exercised. The manufactures of India being a mere fraction of her total exports, it may be said that the staple products of all the 12 A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. British possessions are raw materials and articles of food. Now the danger to an export-manufacturing country of enhancing the cost of its materials is, of course, patent, and although, with the exception of cotton and certain qualities of iron, India and the colonies together could perhaps, after a few years, supply all the demands of British manufacturers, it would not be easy to obtain the consent of any trade that might be affected. The exemption of the two most important industries would be invidious. Articles of food or drink appear to be the only com- modities available. The provision and liquor trades are already subject to special inspection and restriction, and these existing hindrances to traffic would not necessarily be augmented. The export trade in prepared foods, the cost of which might be enhanced, e.g., biscuits, jam, and pickles, depends more upon excellence than upon cheapness of manufacture. The same may be said of exported beer and spirits, the foreign and colonial consumption of which would probably sustain a slight increase of price. The hardship that would otherwise result to the working classes would have to be prevented by the abolition of charges equally oppressive, such as the actual duties on tea, coffee, cocoa, and tobacco. If the development of British supplies for British con- sumption is to be kept in view, all Indian and colonial food products should have the privilege of free entry to the home market. The Anglo-Belgian treaty of 1862, and the Anglo-German treaty of 1865, would preclude the extension of similar immunity to exports from the United Kingdom to the British possessions, unless indeed all Indian or colonial duties on articles of the same description were to be abolished ; which would, presumably, be found inconvenient. The benefit to be obtained in return for the preferential treatment of Indian and colonial staples thus conceded by the mother country would be the i A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. 13 'Si i z immediate reduction within the lowest Hmit that could be agreed upon of the Indian and colonial duties on manu- factures of every kind, and the progressive abatement of all these charges at a reasonable rate until final extinction. A compromise would have to be effected between the government of the United Kingdom and the governments of the responsible colonies, and therefore in the arrange- ment of terms, the interests of those possessions which were not parties to the agreement would be properly- regarded as in the keeping of the imperial government, and to be safeguarded in conformity with the economic principles approved by the mother country. With the exception of wheat, maize, and sugar, none of the staple exports of the possessions referred to are largely produced in any responsible colony, so that there should be little difficulty in arranging the free list with a view to the especial benefit of India and the tropical colonies. The best kind of union that can be imagined is a league for the abolition of the custom house throughout the British dominions, nor can any project be claimed as permanently advantageous to British interests unless it be designed to accelerate the progress of the whole empire in the direction of perfectly free trade. To justify a compro- mise with protection, the preference of British trade with the United Kingdom must be granted only in consideration of the gradual removal of the existing protective tariffs. Too much stress must not be laid upon the strategical advantage to be obtained by the development of imperial sources of food supply : the maritime predominance required to secure Great Britain and Ireland from invasion, and the outlying naval bases from capture, would suffice to keep open the communications of the United Kingdom not only with the possessions, but with neutral countries. It may be argued, moreover, that raw material for their manufac- tures and markets for the sale of their wares are the real A3 tf 14 A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. ip.i ' means of subsistence for the inhabitants of the British Isles. On the other hand, a uniform rate upon foreign imports of provisions in general would be protection in its least offensive form, and indeed, but for the circumstance that the profit of the revenue would be smaller in proportion to the enhanced cost to the consumer, the new duty would be less objectionable than the breakfast-table tariff which it is proposed to replace. The pioneers of free trade took pains to show that their doctrine, which inculcated removal of every disadvantage to foreign, or special preference for national industry, did not involve total abolition of taxed commodities ; and yet it seems hardly presumptuous to foretell that the continued drift of fiscal progress must, sooner or later, overwhelm the whole system of indirect taxation ; for free trade is, after all, only ^ detail of fiscal reform, and regarded in this light every removal or reduction of an indirect tax may be claimed as an advance. Everywhere the most serious obstacle to such removals or reductions will be found to be the financial embarrassment of the government, a difficulty aggravated by the hostile influence of various sectional interests. Thus in the United Kingdom, where irreconcilable differences of opinion concerning the regulation of the liquor traffic prohibit any great interference with that source of revenue, the support accorded to successive chancellors of the exchequer in their resistance to the popular demand for a free breakfast table, the applause which greets the annual display of ministerial affection for the tobacco duty, and the execration poured upon the death duties of 1894, serve to indicate the powerful forces arrayed against any large addition to the income tax, or against any further experiments upon accumulated wealth. On the other hand, some means would have to be found for alleviating the incidence of any new burden. A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. IS Writing in the Contemporary, Mr Mulhall has demon- strated the feasibility of aboHshing the breakfast duties, together with schedules B, D, and E, of the income-tax, and has also illustrated the prodigious expansion which has taken place of late years in the value of invested capital, and the number of excessively large fortunes. It was in 1874 that Fawcett "directed attention to the very important fact that the unprecedented increase in wealth, which has taken place in England during the last quarter of a century, has not been accompanied by a corresponding improvement in the material condition of many classes of labourers." Whilst these assertions remain unrefuted, it is trifling to insinuate that the taxation of particular luxuries is a kind of enforced contribution, which every man may proportion to his means, Adam Smith approved of the taxation of tobacco as not necessarily occasioning any rise of wages, but having only the effect of a sumptuary law. In the eighteenth century tobacco was an extravagance : to-day it affords one of the few pleasures that enter into the normally miserable existence of the poor. Again, the optional character attributed to this tax is one more argument against it. If it be desirable to touch the pocket of the working man, the charges he is called upon to pay should be such as he cannot possibly escape. Very little can be said in favour of any taxes upon commodities ; but all these imposts upon luxuries are especially objectionable, for regarded as a means of abatement of some practice partaking of the nature of a public nuisance, taxation is at best a clumsy device savouring of an unjust privilege to wealth, regarded as a restraint of some form of self- indulgence innocuous to the community, it is an unwarrant- able interference with individual liberty. Abroad, England's free trade professions are not unfrequently discredited, and even well-informed Frenchmen like M. de Lanessan and M. Paul Leroy- Beau lieu cast occasional aspersions upon i6 A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. the spotless purity of her economic principles. To contend that the breakfast-table duties are in no sense protective . is palpable hypocrisy : the taxation of tea, coffee, and cocoa most certainly protects the brewers and distillers. Instead of various charges upon particular commodities, the proposed duty would be a general tax upon food, drink, or forage. The exemptions indicated are few, definite, and reasonable, and, far from protecting local industry, are designed to promote the consumption of commodities which cannot be produced within the British Isles. In India, a marvellous development of commerce with all countries has been brought about by the impulse of the free trade policy pursued since the transference of adminis- tration to the crown, although, as a matter of fact, the English standard of free trade was not reached until a very few years ago. That the Indian government s) ould be constrained to reimpose a mild customs tariff is very much to be regretted. An import duty cannot but be an impediment to trade, and the interests of India, as well as those of Lancashire and of Scotland, are thereby prejudiced. The foundation of an imperial customs union would necessitate the return of the Indian government to better courses. At the same time it would be expedient to recognise that for the present the opium and salt revenues are indispensable. With respect to the crown colonies, the success of Hong Kong and Singapore ought long ago to have con- vinced Downing Street that a free port in a taxed neigh- bourhood is bound to develop into a central exchange. The Mauritius, East Africa, West Africa, the West Indies, all offer excellent localities for the establishment of trading centres, where foreign competitors might be compelled to become auxiliaries of British enterprise. If any foreign settlement in the neighbourhood were to be remodelled on the same plan, which is most unlikely (although it is to be A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. 1^ ing to ign on be observed that the French have ceased to exact transit dues in Indo-China, and are now attempting to create in Somali- land a free port that shall be the rival of Aden and of Zanzibar), the only difference to England would be that her lion's share of the expansion of trade would take place under a foreign flag. The total customs revenue of the crown colonies, inclusive of duties on exports and those to countervail excise, amounts to less than ;^2, 500,000, and no doubt the mother country could well afford to facilitate the readjustment of taxation by advancing loans to the local governments ; but the democracy of the United Kingdom lacks sympathy for tropical plantations, and, except perhaps on account of outposts required for naval purposes, would be hardly persuaded. In India, and in the crown colonies, the tariffs are pro- fessedly non-protective, so that the revenue deficit is the only difficulty to be dealt with ; and a limitation of the tariff to domestic animals, articles of food or drink, and articles of forage or provender, appears to be in all cases practicable. Recent events encourage the surmise that the power of the protectionists in the responsible colonies has been over- rated. Even in Victoria, where protection has been carried to such an excess as to earn for this colony the singular distinction of being generally cited as the most shocking example of democratic ineptitude for statesmanship, the publication in 1894 of the Melbourne tariff board's report revealed the fact that the number of persons living on the wages and profits of protected industry is, after all, a com- paratively insignificant minority, and here, as in the United States, time and experience are exposing the cherished fallacy that protection benefits the employee. In New South Wales the conflict has resolved itself into a struggle between the labour party and the landholders. The selec- tion of free trade, meaning the gradual abolition of all i8 A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMExN'T. import duties except those upon intoxicants and narcotics, as the first item in the labour programme, the unsuc- cessful attempt of the non-representative chamber to thwart the popular movement, the result of Mr Reid's appeal to the country, and his crowning victory in the legislature, have reinstated the parent colony as political leader of Australasia. The slight heed given to the warning of the late Sir Henry Parkes, that this establishment of free trade in one colony would delay federation of the Australian group, may be explained by the circumstance that many among the promoters of the proposed commonwealth are undisguisedly animated by a wish for the amalgamation of protected areas with a view to the firmer consolidation of their obnoxious system. Newfoundland, where the customs tariff is said to be maintained for revenue purposes, and because of the expense and inconvenience that would attend collection, is insolvent. In Canada the prospect is brighten- ing. The triumph of Mr Laurier may be taken to mean the discomilture of the unyielding protectionists, who qualify their offer of preference for British commerce by a declara- tion against all interference with their prohibitive tariff No colony has more to gain from the adoption of free trade. To an unprejudiced observer, incorporation with the United States appears to be the only alternative, and the notion of cultivating the British trade at the cost of access to the American market the most extraordinary perverseness. In answer to the objection that more than half the Dominion revenue is derived from import duties, it may be urged that New South Wales is finding her way through even greater difficulties. In South Africa, dire ;t taxation, except of natives, is generally disapproved ; but local manufacturing interests are few and unimportant, and the political influ- ence of the farmers inclines to diminish. If each government were to retain the right of abso- lutely prohibiting the import of any specified article, then A CUSTOiMS ARRANGEMENT. 19 wherever, in the opinion of the legislature, the interest of the producer might appear to surpass in public importance the interest of the consumer, a local industry could be pre- served. In other cases, compensation would have to be paid to the capitalists and employment found for the hands. Here and there the governments concerned might perhaps acquire and carry on such works as could be utilised for the needs of the public service. In Australasia, where the railways are generally owned and managed by the state, the course suggested would De merely a small extension of the already adopted practice of state socialism. Such opposition as might be expected from individualists would be mollified by strictly confining the government factories to the supply of stores for public departments, e.g., rails and rolling stock for the railways ; furniture and stationery for the public offices, asylums, and prisons ; clothing, boots, and saddlery for the military and police. Most of the articles mentioned are at present obtained from Europe, although the unfettered choice of markets claimed by ministers of both parties at home is not allowed. A scheme might be prepared by the colonial office in communication with the agents-general, and the respon- sible governments might be invited to send delegates to a conference in London, where conditions could be proposed and discussed, and the outline settled. The imperial par- liament and the several responsible legislatures could then be asked to nominate plenipotentiaries to attend a subse- quent conference. The form of publication would be immaterial ; the simplest would be a royal charter. In the first place, it is clear that some special favour must be granted to colonial trade with the mother country. A discriminating duty of not less than 10 per cent, ad valorem levied upon all foreign imports of the descriptions classified in the London custom-house returns as agricul- 20 A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. •i •a tural produce, with an additional duty of not less than lo per cent, ad valorem upon all foreign alcohol, would be a sufficient preference. The peculiar inconvenience of ad valorem duties could be avoided by so framing the stipula- tion that the rate to be charged upon each commodity could be calculated according to the actual average value of articles of the same description. The taxed commodi- ties might be enumerated as domestic animals, articles of food or drink, and forage or provender. Domestic animals would include horses, which, to judge from what has hap- pened in Germany, would otherwise be imported in substi- tution for cattle. Indian or colonial produce officially certified in accordance with fixed regulations would be exempt. The most obvious method of preventing any in- crease to the average cost of living would be the abolition of the breakfast-table tariff and the tobacco duties, together with some abatement of the excise and countervailing duties on British beer and spirits and the import duties on colonial wine. This would compensate the general rise that would take place in the price of milk, poultry, eggs, bread, sugar, green fruit other than apples, and fresh vegetables. The cost of preparation and distribution would be unaffected, while competition within the protected area would soon become so keen that in all probability the enhancement of wholesale values would not permanently exceed half the percentage of the duty. Canada and Australasia are actually competent to furnish at present prices all the live animals, beef, mutton, cheese, butter, and apples required by the United Kingdom from abroad. Foreign ham, bacon, and pork would be ousted by colonial beef and mutton. It is not proposed to tax fish. Tea, coffee, cocoa, and spices would be exempt. Thus all loss to the individual consumer would be averted. The dues collected on foreign provisions would be received by the imperial treasury in partial compensation for the taxes abandoned ; A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. 31 the addition to the price of milk, poultry, eggs, corn, grain, meal, flour, fruit, vegetables, and hay produced in the British Isles would be distributed at home ; the amount, if any, to be extracted from the inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland, considered as a community, would be limited to the enhanced wholesale value of their total consumption of corn, grain, meal, flour, sugar, oranges, lemons, and dried or otherwise preserved fruit, produced in India or in the colonies, minus the profits that would accrue to the manu- facturing and mining industries, the shipping, and the rail- ways of the mother country from the enlarged volume of the British and foreign trade of the empire. The deficiency in the revenue could be made up by withdrawing the greater part of the grants in aid of local taxation, increasing the inhabited house duty on dwelling-houses assessed at more than ^60, raising the scale of new estate duty in all cases where the principal value exceeds ;^io,CK)0, adding to the tax on income assessed under schedules A and C. The displacement of foreign produce would be gradual, and for one or two years the discriminative duty might be expected to produce about ^10,000,000, and thus reimburse the treasury for the abandonment of the tobacco duties, so that, if the suggested alleviation of the charges on British alcohol were to be postponed, the required increase of direct taxation would not at first exceed ^,'4,500,000, and could be gradually introduced. There would certainly be some revival of rural industry in the British Isles, and the annual value of agricultural land would be for a time con- siderably enhanced ; the progressive depopulation of the country districts, and the corresponding congestion of un- employed labour in the towns, would be in some measure arrested ; England would become less dependent upon foreign supplies of food ; and the war strength of the empire would be materially augmented. It may be that the danger of starvation is not so real as some alarmists 'Jf 22 A CUSTCJMS ARRANGEMENT. IV I would have it believed, and it is not to be denied that peace rather than war is the normal condition of things with a view to which commercial arrangements should be made; and it may be also, that in a European war in which the United States were not involved, England's enemies would hesitate to declare food contraband, as France did with rice in her last war with China ; but it is clear that the benevolent neutrality of the Americans is not yet to be counted upon, and in any case absolute dependence upon their good will or their commercial instinct would reduce the British empire to a position of subservience. In every other respect England is, if not fully equipped, at least capable of equipping herself to defy any conceivable com- bination of foreign foes. Besides the preferential treatment of certain products, there are other privileges which the mother country could well afford to confirm or extend as the case might bi. In the first place, every facility should be given for the formation of the responsible colonies into three federal groups, and on this account full liberty should be reserved to each representative government to accord special prefer- ence by way of abatement or abolition of import duty on goods from anywhere within the prospective group. At the same time, with a view to the encouragement of intra-imperial traffic in food and forage, a similar privilege should be reserved to the Indian government, and to that of every other British possession, in regard to special pre- ferences for imports of these descriptions from any part of the empire without the British Isles. To facilitate the improvement of trade relations between Canada and the United States, and in order to avoid creating any new obstacle to the commercial consolidation of all South Africa, and with a view to the development of British spheres of influence in other parts of the same con- tinent, and taking into account existing circumstances on A CUSTOMS ARKANOEMENT. n the frontier of Portuguese India, the total, but not the partial, abolition of duty upon any commodity should be permitted in regard to commodities of all descriptions imported across the frontier of a conterminous British possession or foreign country. Subject to all the conditions of the customs union, every responsible colony should be empowered to conclude treaties of commerce with any other responsible colony, or with any foreign country, to appoint commercial agents with the status of consuls in all other parts of the empire, and consular representatives in all foreign countries, and to grant exequaturs to commercial agents of other colonies, or . ) consular representatives of foreign states, for which purposes it would be necessary that plenary powers should be conferred by the crown upon each governor. These powers would be strictly limited to matters of commerce, and in no w^.y impair the territorial integrity of the empire. There would be no reason to fear that the enjoyment of this privilege would lead to a demand for separate diplomatic representation. In return for all these concessions the responsible colonies might be invited to set about the adoption of free trade. Import duties to countervail excise should not be inter- fered with ; but the classes of articles subject to excise should be clearly defined, thus : throughout the empire, intoxicants, in all the possessions, narcotics, in India and Ceylon, salt. A comprehensive free list should be drawn up. The commodities enumerated should be exempt from all except countervailing duties throughout the empire, and irrespec- tive of origin. The free circulation of raw materials in every part of the empire, the development of planting industries in India and the crown colonies, the removal of impediments to British trade with foreign countries outside 24 A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. Europe, the assurance of cheap fuel at every British port, the prevention of fishery disputes, should be aimed at. Thus, besides raw materials of all kinds, except such articles as are chiefly used for food, drink, or forage, the list should include tea, coffee, cocca, spices, drugs, oil, coal, fish, ice, and salt. In accordance with the general practice of civilised nations, printed matter would be exempted. The only opposition to free literature would be in Canada, where natural resources for papermaking cause book pro- duction to be regarded as a manufacturing industry. It is by the reduction or removal of colonial tariffs upon manufactured articles that the interests of the British Isles can be best served. A general abatement to 20 per cent., and a progressive reduction of this limit at the rate of i per cent, per annum until final extinction, would enable each colony to effect a gradual readjustment of taxation. This restriction should apply to all duties other than countervailing levied upon any description of British or most-favoured-nation products or manufactures imported to any of the possessions, and no duties should be levied upon any British or most-favoured- nation commodities other than domestic animals, articles of food or drink, and forage, imported to India or to the crown colonies. The free ports should remain free. The Bermudas, and perhaps the Falkland Islands, might well be added to the number. The pecuniary risk to the mother country would, in each case, be insignificant. Subject to the preferences expressly permitted or enjoined, equal treatment throughout the empire should be insisted upon for all British commerce, as well as for the commerce of every nation which in all its dominions accords most-favoured-foreign-nation treatment to all British com- merce ; and it should be distinctly stipulated that the fullest protection the municipal law affords should every- M ¥\ '. A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. 25 where be extended not only to the persons and property of all British subjects, but also to the persons and property of foreigners from countries where British subjects are properly treated. Every government of the empire should have power to prohibit the immigration of persons of mature age and apparently unable to support themselves, among whom might well be classed the absolutely illiterate. Civilised communities which educate the children within their power are surely justified in declining to receive adult barbarians. Quarantine regulations, and restrictions or prohibitions concerning the import of live animals, should not be inter- fered with, and the option of absolutely excluding any particular commodity, or class of commodities, should be reserved. The special taxation of real or personal estate vested in absentees should be expressly permitted. Certain incidental advantages might be secured by the same agreement. With respect to patents, registered designs, and copy- right, a clause might be inserted providing that in every part of the empire the local facilities for acquiring exclusive rights should be the same for all British subjects. Further than this it would be imprudent to proceed in the present unsettled state of the law and of public opinion. The marking of foreign merchandise is another thorny questicii. All that could be laid down would be that each government should promise to make such regulations as circumstances would permit. As in the matter of patents, designs, and copyright, it is obvious that the agreement could not bind any legislature to make laws. The demand of the London chamber of commerce for the abolition of light dues in the British Isles should be acceded to, and, if practicable, these payments should be prohibited also throughout the possessions. Foreign vessels -ft ; ii •'■'t^ A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. taking passengers or cargo from British ports should be compelled to submit to all regulations imposed upon British shipping. It would be inexpedient to burden the compact with any reference to postal or telegraphic communication. Imperial penny postage, subsidies to steamship companies, the engagement of mail steamers as reserve cruisers, sub- sidies for strategic cables, although proper subjects for con- sideration by any federal council which may hereafter be constituted, are all matters quite independent of customs tariffs, and to be regulated from time to time as occasion may require. Coinage, currency, mercantile law, are ques- tions the discussion of which would be better postponed. Disputes about the meaning of any clause in the agree- ment should be referred to the judicial committee of the privy council, and, as at the commencement of the Zoll- verein, no revision should be permissible, unless with the unanimous consent of all the parties to the agreement. The duration of the discriminative tariff to be applied to certain foreign imports in the United Kingdom would have to be at least twenty-one years, that is, until one year after the extinction of all the Indian or colonial duties, other than countervailing, levied upon British or most-favoured- foreign-nation commodities. The option of further continu- ance could be entrusted to the crown, acting, it would be presumed, in the undivided interest of the whole federation. A commercial arrangement of this kind would promote intercourse between the separate British communities, without reducing the volume of trade between the empire and foreign countries. The displacement of foreign by British produce in the provision market of Great Britain and Ireland, and the consequent contraction of foreign trade with the British Isles, would be amply compensated by the simultaneous development of India and the colonies as markets for English manufactures. It is true that the A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. 27 gradual removal of the obnoxious tariffs would open these markets to all comers ; but, in the first place, exports from the possessions to the United Kingdom would have to be paid for by exports from the United Kingdom to the possessions, and moreover it is in open markets that the manufacturers of the mother country are best qualified to compete. At the same time, there would be nothing to interfere with the expansion of foreign trade with the pos- sessions ; which, it would be reasonable to anticipate, would at least counterbalance the diminution of foreign trade with the United Kingdom. According to the theory of the political economists, colonial trade is to be reckoned as rather less desirable than foreign trade. Actual circumstances must, however, be taken into account. England stands alone. The rest of the world declines to compete with her upon equal terms, and each of the great European powers, as well as the United States, is determined to restrict the importation of English goods. The same rivals are seeking new markets, from which England is to be excluded. The conditions suggested as the basis of an agreement between the United Kingdom and the responsible colonies are intended to develop British trade in those regions within and without the empire wb'ch offer most room for expansion, and the fairest promise of a permanent outlet, to secure regular markets which neither war nor commercial jealousy could close, to obtain improved facilities for victualling the British Isles and the coaling-stations in time of war, to multiply the means and the motives for maintaining the integrity of the empire. If these objects were secured, the empire would be in a better position to withstand the strain of war, but there would remain the necessity of providing for the defence of British territory and British maritime commerce. It-: I f^ "j-1.1 A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. England, either in conjunction with other naval powers or alone, has to maintain at all costs the police of the seas. As time goes on, it is quite possible the mother country may be glad to accept the assistance of her colonies ; but that time is not yet, and in any case the proposal ought to come spontaneously, and not in compliance with a plaintive request for contributions as the price of shares in the management and disposal of the navy. A responsible share in the navy involves a responsible share in the Indian Empire, and in the crown colonies, and in all foreign affairs of the United Kingdom. The inconvenience of joint control is manifest, and it is difficult to conceive any satisfactory arrangement for sharing the expense. The protection afforded to colonial coasts by the navy is an incident of the maritime predominance essential to the independence of the British Isles, to the safety of their sea-borne com- merce, and to the retention of British rule in Asia. If, in return, the responsible colonies will undertake the efficient defence of their harbours, and grant to the fleet every facility for the use of these harbours as naval bases, nothing more ought to be expected. Colonial navies should, for the present, be limited to such vessels as gunboats and torpedo- boats intended only for use within territorial waters, whilst every ship of the royal navy should be at the absolute disposal of the imperial authorities. The mistake of the Australian squadron has been generally condemned. The only form of contribution that would be unobjectionable would be a voluntary payment of ;;'remiums for the insur- ance of colonial shipping and cargoes against war risks. Initiated in this manner, state war-insurance might be the germ of a maritime association that, in course of years, would grow into an Anglo-Saxon league for the defence of British and of American commerce upon the high seas. On the other hand, imperial responsibility concerning purely local interests might be gradually delegated. Thus, T" A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. 29 if England would decide to adopt as an absolutely invariable rule the principle of non-intervention in Continental quarrels which, English statesmen sometimes pretend, has guided her international conduct since 181 5, the land forces of the empire might be everywhere localised. The case of Egypt affords no argument in support of the contention that a mobile army is needed for service outside the borders of the empire. It may be for the best interests of the Egyptians that the bombardment of the forts at Alexandria was followed by the despatch of a military expedition which has resulted in an indefinitely protracted occupation of the country, the question is whether England has thereby obtained for herself any advantage which could not have been as well secured by action within the range of her ships' guns. Not only the responsible colonies, but India and the other possessions, might be entirely garrisoned by local troops. No difficulty would be experienced in obtain- ing trained soldiers for this purpose. The only unavoidable exception would be the fortified harbours in the crown colonies, which could be held by marine artillery and infantry. It would be necessary to add considerably to the number cf these forces, and therefore it would be expedient that Portsmouth and the other dockyard towns in the United Kingdom should be, in time of peace, wholly garrisoned by them. In order to maintain the military reserves within the British Isles at a strength calculated to resist invasion, it might become necessary to have recourse to a modified form of conscription without barracks. There would be no imperial troops available for punitive expedi- tions in Africa ; but the ability of Englishmen in the colonies to take care of themselves when left alone has been amply illustrated. The collapse of the Maoris in 1869, and the conquest of Matabeleland in 1894, are two remarkable instances. It is much to be regretted, that in British North America, and in British South Africa, the ■'>■! .•.■:.'ij '^:<$ 30 A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. B 1 I*- -■ li i total withdrawal of imperial troops has not yet been effected. The social ard political conditions of India do not exist in any other of the possessions, and, in fact, nothing could be imagined more out of harmony with active colonial life than the presence of an imperial garrison ; which, in more ways than one, is undoubtedly a demoralising influence, for not only does it pervade colonial society with a spirit of dependence, but it acts as a perpetual incentive to the discovery of opportunities for utilising the resources of the old country. Besides territorial defence, the external relations of the separate governments with their British, as with their foreign neighbours, might, without any sacrifice of autonomy, be entrusted to local supervision at provincial centres. To commence with, instead of the inconvenient division of responsibility between the Foreign, India, and Colonial Offices, condemned by Sir Lepel Griffin, and exposed in Mr Curzon's book on the Far East, all British interests in Asia could be placed in charge of the Indian government at Calcutta. In like manner, the West Indies, British Honduras, and Biitish Guiana might be united under a central authority at Kingston, and the West African settle- ments under a central authority at Freetown. In other parts of the world it would be better to await the complete federation of the responsible colonies into their relative groups. There seems, at present, little probability of political union between Australia and New Zealand. The inclusion of Tasmania in the prospective Australian commonwealth is generally assumed, although to a dis- interested observer it may appear that, unless Hobart is to be capital, the island will be better advised to stand aloof. If consolidation of British interests in the South Pacific be impracticable, the respective claims of Australia and New ''caland will require adjustment. In South Africa, the Ti'perial government may be said to have already entered A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. 31 upon the course suggested. This local centralisation woald not commit the empire to a subsequent political union of the whole. At the same time, no fresh obstacle would be placed in the way of imperial federation. A similar group- ing of possessions has been recommended to France by M. de Lanessan, and subsequently carried out in Indo- China and in West Africa. The result appears to be satisfactory in every respect except the increase of expendi- ture caused by the further multiplication of officials. In the British empire the same policy would probably be economical. If the supervision of the chartered company had been entrusted to the government of Cape Colony, British South Africa would not now be lamenting over the unfortunate enterprise of Dr Jameson, and the consequent native rising in Rhodesia. Questions concerning territorial integrity or expansion must remain under imperial control. There is, however, much international business which might well be conducted on the spot. For this purpose it would be necessary that each governor-general, or other chief magistrate, should be invested by the crown with the quality of a plenipotentiary. No difficulty would occur in compelling foreign powers to deal with this official. Any power refusing to do so would have no right to complain if exequaturs were refused to its consuls in all the territories concerned. Signs are not wanting that in some, if not in all, of the responsible colonies the time approaches when the crown will be invited to -relinquish its prerogative of appointing the governor. It would in no way impair the dignity of the crown to confer upon an elected chief magistrate the same quality of a plenipotentiary. Fears are sometimes expressed that consciousness of individual weakness is the strongest sentiment of each colony's loyalty, and that to encourage federal grouping is to hasten the dissolution of the empire, as though " divide < 1 '11 s» A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. r'i I, i ?// imperes" were a rule of conduct for the parent to her offspring. A more real danger to be apprehended is lest the subordinate governments be divested of too many powers on behalf of the confederation. When, if ever, the desire for absolute independence becomes general, it will not be worth while attempting to stave off the inevitable. In the meantime, the fortunes of the empire may be en- trusted to that genius for decentralisation which has been signalised as the distinctive characteristic of the Anglo- Saxon race. It is from without rather than from within that the imperial fabric is threatened with disintegration. Deprived of all control of British foreign policy, eacn pos- session is exposed to the constant risk of being dragged into war on account of imperial interests in which it may have no apparent concern. Some mitigation of this griev- ance might be effected by assigning to the London repre- sentatives of the responsible governments an advisory share in the direction of foreign affairs ; but if British unity is to be preserved, England will have to abstain from European complications. A temporary arrangement with Italy might, in conceivable circumstances, be excused ; but any permanent alliance with a European power would be extremely distasteful to colonial sentiment, and would also postpone the achievement of that durable good under- standing with the United States upon which the ascendency of Anglo-Saxon civilisation must eventually depend. The aspirations of the two english-speaking peoples are largely identical, and all risk of conflict might be avoided if Eng- land would recognise that within an ascertainable sphere American interests are superior, and the republic would accept the responsibility inseparable from the quasi-protec- torate claimed. Among the objects to be attained by closer union is the co-operative support of all the colonies in the friendly settlement of such questions as the control of the projected Nicaragua canal. Preferential treatment A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. 33 of Indian and colonial food imports to Great Britain and Ireland need not reduce the volume of trade between the empire and the United States. The arrangements advo- cated offer every facility for the removal of existing hin- drances to commercial intercourse between Canada and her neighbour, while in the old country the abolition of tobacco duties would certainly afford the Americans some compen- sation for the prejudicial effect of the discriminative tariff The proposed convention, details of which are appended IS designed for adaptation to existing circumstances. It may be that, before any definite plan has been submitted to the imperial parliament, Canada and Victoria will have followed the example of New South Wales ; in which case It will be possible to arrive at an agreement in strict accordance with the principles of free trade. The official inquiry instituted in 1895 will probably serve to elucidate the actual impracticability of any scheme which is not a compromise. t i 34 A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. SUMMARY. Conditions proposed as the basis of an Agreement between the Imperial Government and the Governments of New- foundland, Canada, New South Wales, Tasmania, the Cape of Good Hope, South Australia, New Zealand, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, and Natal, to be ratified by the Imperial Parliament and by the Legislatures of the several Colonies named : — I. Duties for Countervailing Excise. II. Free List. III. Duties on British Products and Manufactures. IV. Duties on certain Foreign Imports to the United Kingdom. V. Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment. Patents, Designs, Trade Marks, Copyright. VI, VII VIII Indication of Foreign Merchandise. Light Dues. IX. Shipping Regulations. X. Interprovincial and International Relations. XI. Qualifications. XII. Definition, Construction, Permanence. I. Import duties countervailing excise to be permitted {a.) in all parts of the Empire upon Intoxicants, (b.) in all the Possessions upon Narcotics, (c.) in India and Ceylon upon Salt. II. Except for countervailing excise, no import duty to be levied in any part of the Empire upon any of the com- modities here enumerated, viz. :— A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. 35 1. Coal. 2. Cocoa or cacao, or any preparation composed chiefly of Cocoa or cacao. 3. Coffee, or any preparation composed chiefly of Coffee. 4. Drugs. 5. Fish, or Fish oil. 6. Ice. 7. Oil of all Mineral or Vegetable kinds, or any fruits, nuts, or seeds from which Oil is commonly ex- pressed. 8. Printed paper. 9. Raw Materials of all kinds, except human Food or Drink, and Forage or Provender. 10. Salt. 11. Spices. 12. Tea. III. Except for countervailing excise (a.) no import duty to be levied in the British Isles, St Helena, the Bermudas, Gibraltar, the Straits Settlements, the Falkland Is- lands, or Hong Kong, upon any British commodity, {b.) no import duty to be levied in India, or in any Crown Colony, upon any British commodity other than a domestic Animal, an article of human Food or Drink, or an article of For- age or Provender, (c.) no import duty exceeding 20 per cent, of the actual average value of similar commodities during the first year after the coming into force of this Agreement, nor exceeding a limit of I per cent, less than the limit of the year next preceding in every subsequent h ■•V je A CUSTOMS ARRANGKMICNT. year until, at the exjMration of the twentieth year, all such duties have been extinguished, to be levied in any Possession upon any British commodity, provided that no article be deemed a British commodity, unless carried from a British port without transhipment at any Foreign Port, and duly certified as a British Product or Manufacture by the chief officer of customs, or by his deputy ; or, if there be no officer of customs, by the harbourmaster or chief officer of the harbour, or his deputy, at the Port of shipment, and duly certified likewise at any or every British Port of transhipment. IV. For twenty-one years from the date of the coming into force of this Agreement, and further, until the expira- tion of three years after the Queen in Council shall have ordered the abolition of all such duties in the British Isles, and notice of the same order shall have been given to all the Governments named as parties to this Agreement (which notice may be given at any time after the expiration of the eighteenth year), a duty of not less than lo per cent, of the actual average value of similar commodities, and upon goods subject to countervailing duty an additional duty of not less than lo per cent, of the actual average value of similar commodities, to be levied upon all domestic Animals, articles of human Food or Drink, and articles of Forage or Provender, imported to the United Kingdom or to the Isle of Man, with the cxccplion of (a.) commodities re-exported in the same condition within twelve months, (d.) commodities enumerated in the free list, (c.) British Products or Manufactures. Except (a.) abatement or abolition of duty in favour of all or any imports to Newfoundland from V. A CUSTOMS AKKANCIKMKNT. 37 Canada, or to Canada from Newfoundland, or to any one from any other responsible Colony in Australasia, or to Cape Colony from Natal, or to Natal from Cape Colony, (/a) ab.iUment or abolition of duty in favour of all or any domestic animals, articles of human food or drink, or articles of forage or j)ro- vender, imported into any one from an)- other possession, (c.) abolition of duty in favour of all or any imports to a I'ossession from across the frontier of an Adjoining Country, ((/.) the discrimination at^ainst domestic Animals, articles of human Food or Drink, and articles of Forage or Provender, produced or manu- factured in Foreign Countries, and imix:)rted to the United Kingdom or to the Isle of Man, Equal Treatment in all respects to be accorded in each part of the Empire to the commerce and navigation of every other part, and to the commerce and navigation of every Foreign Power, according in all its dominions Most- Favoured-Foreign-Nation treatment to the commerce and navigation of all parts of the Empire, and all the protection of the Municipal Law to be afforded in all parts of the F^mpirc to the person and property of every Jiritish Subject, and of every Citizen or Subject of a Foreign State afford- ing similar protection to all British Subjects. VI. All the advantages secured to local inventors, pro- ducers, manufacturers, and authors by the municipal law with respect to Patents, Registered Designs, Trade Marks, Copyright, and Acting Right, to be enjoyed in all parts of the Empire by every British inventor, producer, manufacturer, or author. ! > I ■ i ■u VII. Regulations adapted to the exigencies of local 38 A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. circumstances to be made and enforced in every part of the Empire for the purpose of compelling definite indication of the Foreign Origin of Foreign Products and Manufactures publicly offered for sale, and every reasonable precaution to be taken for the purpose of preventing fraudulent sub- stitution of Foreign for British goods. VIII. No Dues or charges in respect of any Lighthouse, buoy, or beacon to be levied upon any ship or cargo in any part of the Empire. IX. Every Foreign Vessel shipping passengers or cargo from a British Port to be compelled to conform to all the regulations to which British Ships are at the same port subject concerning Seaworthiness, Loading, general Equip- ment, Life-saving appliances, number of Crew, Sanitation, Medical stores, and number of Passengers. X. Subject to the provisions of this Agreement, each Responsible Colony to be empowered (rt.) to appoint Commercial Agents in any other part of the Empire, and diplomatic repre- sentatives of the rank of Consuls, or Vice- Consuls, in any Foreign Country, and to grant exequaturs to the Commercial Agents of other Responsible Colonies, or to the Consular Officers of Foreign Powers, (/k) to make Commercial Treaties, which do not concern territorial questions or any other matter directly affecting the dignity of the Crown, with any other Responsible Colony or with any Foreign Power. XI. Nothing in this Agreement (a.) to contravene or require the abrogation of any Foreign Treaty, (A) to prevent any reasonable regulations concern- ing Quarantine, A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. 39 {c.) to prevent any restriction or prohibition of the ingress of Insane, Infirm, or Illiterate persons, {d.) to prevent any restriction or prohibition of the import of Live Stock, either from all countries or from one or more specified British or Foreign States, Colonies, Possessions, or De- pendencies, {e.) to prevent any restriction or prohibition of the import of any Specified Article or Articles, {/.) to prevent general or special Taxation of the capital value or the income, or both, of any real or personal estate, or of any share, mort- gage, or pledge of real or personal estate, situated within and vested in some person or persons domiciled without the local juris- diction, {g.) to prevent the levy of any Dues, rates, fees, or payments on account of Pilotage, or for the construction, equipment, maintenance, or management of any Harbour, port, dock, wharf, quay, or pier, and not for or on account of any Lighthouse, buoy, or beacon. XII. For the purposes of this Agreement {a.) the " Empire " to include all Her Majesty's dominions, {b.) the " British Isles " to include the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands, (r.) a "Possession" to mean any ,<\r' of Her Majesty's dominions without the British Isles, {d.) " India" to include the Indian Empire and all its dependencies, (e.) a " Colony" to mean a separately administered possession without India, and each Colony to include its dependencies, i| 40 A CUSTOMS ARRANGEMENT. (/) a " Responsible Colony " to mean a Colony at this date enjoying the privilege of responsible government, (^.) a " Crown Colony " to mean a Colony not enjoying the privilege of responsible govern- ment, {h.) " Printed paper " to include printed books, pam- phlets, newspapers, engravings, lithographs, photographs, music, maps, and charts, (/.) " Raw Materials " to include all animal, vege- table, or mineral products which have not been subjected to any process other than cleansing or refining, or in some manner re- ducing in bulk or shape for the convenience of transport, and to include all old materials fit only for remanufacture, {J.) " Domestic Animals " to mean all kinds of cattle, goats, horses, poultry, sheep, or swine, {k.) a " British Product or Manufacture " to mean a commodity naturally or artificially pro- duced, or wholly or mainly manufactured within the Empire, (/,) " imports to a Possession from across the frontier of an Adjoining Country" to include all goods which, in passing from ar A.djoining Posses- sion or Foreign Country, have not been carried over the high seas, and all questions concerning the Construction of this Agree- ment to be referred to and decided by the Judicial Com- mittee of the Privy Council, and no Alteration or revision of any clause to be made until enacted by the Imperial Parliament, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several Colonies named as parties to this Agreement. to it *