no material ties are stronger to bind the scattered States of the Empire together than the close financial relations existing between the Colonies and the Metropolis. It was largely due to financial considerations that, until quite lately, all colonial produce came to England for distribution to the rest of the world; it is financial dependence in many cases which keeps the Colonies our customers in spite of temptations fix)m our foreign competitors; while on the side of the Mother Country widespread investments in colonial securities, public and private, associate the interests of thousands—and indirectly of millions—of people at home with Imperial stability, to whom it might otherwise be a phrase, or, at most, an aspiration. By all means let us value every tie of sentiment, and cherish to the utmost moral as distinct from material ideals of Empire; but if these can be fortified by common interests and mutual obligations, we shall not fail to strengthen, and perhaps make indestructible, the bond that unites us.
So far only the centripetal aspects of Imperial Trade have been dealt with. The picture would not be complete if some of the centrifugal tendencies, which undoubtedly exist, were not briefly indicated.
At one time the colonial markets were almost entirely supplied from home, even foreign goods finding their way to them through London, and in return practically the whole of the produce of the Colonies came to the ports of the Mother Country. In recent years a change has taken place. Our foreign competitors have made a resolute attack upon the markets of the Empire, and have succeeded not only in supplying a large share of their wants, but in obtaining directly an increased proportion of their produce. During the last ten years the imports into our Colonies and possessions from foreign countries have increased by 125 per cent., while British imports have only increased by 75 per cent. In the case of exports from the Colonies, those to foreign countries have increased by 85 per cent, against only 85 per cent, of an increase to the United Kingdom. All
