der given conditions. I can imagine a
firm or a country consenting for a time to work for less than no profit
in order to get a foothold in a new market. But we already have the
foothold, and have already worked it for what it is worth. If now we
discover that, for one reason or another, there is no more profit in it,
surely our wisest policy is to try something else. Otherwise we might
continue for ever to sell at a loss--individual or national--for the
sole pleasure of adding to the total figures of our turnover. Even the
Protectionists would hardly contend that along such lines lay national
prosperity.

INTER-IMPERIAL TRADE.

There is, however, another, though not entirely distinct, proposal for
dealing with the alleged mischief of German competition. It is
this--that we should try and persuade our Colonies and Possessions to
give preferential treatment to our goods in return for a similar
preference accorded by us to their goods. It would be unfair to call
this scheme Protectionist in the ordinary sense of the term, for it is
inspired as much by the desire to bring about a closer union of
different portions of the empire as by the fear of foreign competition;
but as it is with the question of foreign competition that we are here
primarily concerned, we will deal first with the Protectionist side of
the proposal. On this side the object aimed at is the destruction or
diminution of foreign competition in our Colonial markets. Undoubtedly,
were the Colonies willing to make the necessary tariff adjustments in
our favour, that object could be attained and our German rivals could be
excluded in part or in whole from Canada, from Australia, from India, or
from the Cape. So far so good. But what would that exclusion be worth to
us? In a previous article I referred to figures showing how
insignificant as compared with our own is German trade with our
Colonies. It is worth while to present these figures in a fuller form.
They will be found in the following table:--

IMPORTS INTO THE FOLLOWING BRITISH POSSESSIONS.

Average of the Three Years--1890, 1891, 1892.

In Millions Sterling.

-------------------------+----------+--------+--------+--------+--------
| Total | Amount | Amount | Amount | Amount
| Imports | from | from | from | from
| from all | United | United |Germany | France.
|Countries.|Kingdom.| Stat