immense “amount of confusion throughout the country that the inconvenience would far more than counterbalance the advantages we should derive in our foreign commercial relations.” The home trade of all countries is of far greater volume, and consequently of more importance, than the traffic carried across their borders. The export trade, enormous as it may be, is small in comparison with the turnover within our own territorial limits. Domestic needs have first to be supplied, and it is one of the blots upon the fairness of Commissions which have been chosen to enquire into this subject, that there has been careful abstention from calling as witnesses representatives of the purely home trade, whose interests are vitally affected. It has been pointed out previously that this may be in large part due to the fact that while advocates of change have their Associations, and can thus, upon any demand, push forward any number of witnesses in favour of their views, on the other side there is no organisation of any kind. But just as in proportion to their seeming slothfulness on this matter, terrible would be the wrath of the people if, by any mischance, they were forced into revolutionising their old-time methods. Fortunately our legislators, knowing the temper of their countrymen, have not proved so neglectful of national interests as to give practical effect to the recommendations of so-called reformers, and are not likely in future to yield to a demand which is clamoured for by only a few, and is unsupported by those who would be most affected. The literature of Select Committees, with witnesses of one class before them, is rich with references to export trade and scientific computations, but is silent in estimating what disabilities would be inflicted upon the home traders by such a sweeping and uncalled-for alteration.
