Why The British System Of Free Trade Is Taught In American Colleges

Protection of their industries is the aw of all civilized nations, with the ingle exception of Great Britain. And he built up her industries and made hem powerlul by protectien, asshe now ïakes powerful her commercial marine n the same way. But with all her powrs of persuasión, of reasoning, of patonage and of diplomacy, for more than orty years she has not gained one soliary convert araong the nations. All her great colonies refuse to follow her exept the Cape of New South Wales, and hey have becoine so shaky that the Cobden Club is making desperate efforts o save them. Free trade, then, is exclusively the iritish system, as protection is the American system. There are soine considerations that may partially explain the dishonorable act that so many colleges advocate and ;each the British system, and attack, with a singular animus, their own na;ional system, which has made our ountry strong and great. In the first place, all our older colleges are of direct English origin. Our first iret college presidents and professors were Englishmen and of Knglish educadon. All colleges are conservative. Nothing preserves its character from age to age like an endowed institution of learning. Besides, all our text books vere Euglish to the middle of this century. The apparent exceptions were inglish works worked over. Adam Smith's great work, "The Wealth of Nations," was published in 1676, and bat gave the tone to the teaching of poitical economy. Our statesmen adopted various proective tariffs as a matter of necessity, without the slightest regard to the teachng of the colleges. Until 1846, the British government held to protection with no srnall regard to Adam Smith. Then it veered round to free trade. From that time onward, English literature, the English universities, English diplomacy, have all united in the effort o lead this country into the delusive ath of free trade. The Cobden Club ïad that in view confessedly from the )eginning. Our colleges have been taken possession of; prizes for free trade essays are offered by the Cobden Club, or its agents ; professors of declared free rade views are made honorary mem)era of that great club, which contains all the elect of England's learning and )ower. The American members are jetted and made of, is decidedly for free -rade ; but let one advance the doctrines of protection, on English soil, and he will be about as comfortable as Stanley's jarty under the wasp trees in darkest África. Our colleges must be excus r their un-American course. They fer the iterature and the fashions n mother country. Besides, free trade is the dn rine that can most easily be taught. ; is founded upon "assumptioD." ; has no need of facts. lts princip ■ are necessarily tme and if facts don't agree with thein, so much the worse for the facts. The last thirty years have held up to :he world a magnificent demonstration of the differing effects of these two systems. England boasts of her iucrease in wealth by free trade, but has to confess that America, under protection, has "gone by her on a canter," as Mr. Gladstone expresses it. While England was adding fifteen thousand millions to her wealth, the United States added thirty thousand millions to hers. While England added six millions to her population, under f ree trade, the United States added eighteen millions to hers, under protection. And now we hear the cry f rom "Darkest England." Every tenth man is a pauper. A good English newspaper declares that "Not less than six millions are living in great poverty and degradation." The smoke of their torment rises up in the nostrils of the nation. Slie pours upon us a constant Niágara of her paupers and her crimináis. We support her paupers and build jailsfor lier crimináis The free trade colleges have to acknowledge these facts, but they do not care for facts. They build their castles upon "assuuiptions."