'Russia and India in 1903' [‎27v] (56/68)

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RUSSIA AND INDIA IN 1903.
with its great resources ought to be far more self-
supporting than she is. One day she will be a great
industrial and manufacturing country.” This Lord
Curzon strongly endorsed on January 20, 1903.
“ India,” he said, “ will become much more of a self
providing country than she now is, manufacturing out
of her own materials and with her own workmen a
great deal she now imports.Read this by the side
of the account of the distress at Oldham, in Lanca
shire recorded in The Times of India and draw the
obvious conclusion. Therefore I would invite all by
timely measures to do what can be done to lighten the
blow which is bound to fall, and by giving compensa
tion in one direction to British trade to avert loss in
another. Let none be afraid of trespassing out of their
province. The writing on the wall is clear. There is
a great change coming over the minds of the people
of England. There is not the slightest indication of
any tariff reduction in any part of the world, for the
experience of every nation is that of the progress
enjoyed by America under protection. Of course,
we have not stood still either under a directly oppo~
site system, but our progress has been less in propor
tion. We are not maintaining our lead. Our rivals
are closing on us. The Empire trade is the trade
which pays, which balances purchases by sales, and
imports - by exports. It is time then that we looked
to ourselves and our own interests, thought less about
the foreigner, that we checked the enormous growth
of foreign manufactured imports coming to our work
shop gates, free of all duty, to put our own people out
of employment.
Commercial Federation of the Empire.
India, the greatest possession of the British people,
can do much to help in the consolidation of the