DUMPING.
At the fourth meeting of the Cabinet Committee, appointed by its own members, with right of co-option, to discover by what means our Fiscal Relations—suitable, no doubt, for an earlier age—might be brought into closer relation, or relations, with the modern, &c., &c.... All the members arrived most punctually, several peers waiting outside in the rain for some moments before the doors opened. (Paragraph.)
When the Bench was seated, silence was imposed by the voice of a herald, and Mr.Chamberlainrose:
He assured the Court he would detain them but a few moments. Lord Byron had wittily said that still waters ran deep, and he, for his part, after a long life spent in close, hard-headed bargaining, had noticed that the less a man said, the more he was worth. It was a rule he himself had always observed. In his conception of Empire, the silent man, who never spoke, butdid, should rule until he reached the sky.
(Here Lord Lansdowne began muttering to himself, Lord Halsbury openly pulled out his watch, Mr. Balfour shut his eyes and crossed his legs, and the Duke of Marlborough said “Hear, hear!” in a subdued voice.)
Mr. Chamberlain, continuing in a manner which combined courtesy with firmness, and which was emphasised by his favourite gesture, said that he felt it his duty to mention two painful incidents. One was the premature announcement in theDaily Mailthat he was backing down. He had no intention of backing down till next February, and there was an end of that. The second was the misadventure which had broken up last week’s sitting. He alluded to the false alarm of fire, and especially to the pouring of a four-inch stream of water into a building sacred to his own immortal predecessor, Mr. Pitt, the father of Lord Chatham and the Saviour of Europe—the man to whom we owed Gibraltar, and all that Gibraltar stood for.
“Courtesy and firmness”
“Courtesy and firmness”
“Courtesy and firmness”
Whoever gave that false alarm was unworthy of the name of Briton. A pro-Boer newspaper had gone so far as to ascribe it to a conspiracy against him among his own colleagues. (Here Mr. Chamberlain looked round, and was met by nervous laughter.) It was like a great deal else that such people said; it was a lie.
He had now passed several years in close intimacy with them all, and he could only say that a more honourable and courteous set ofmen he had never dealt with. He was sure they would reciprocate the feeling.
He could safely saythis: After visiting in all its extent the majesty of the Empire, and returning to England, he could only ascribe what had been done in his absence to the loyal support of the men around him.
Mr. Chamberlain here sat down. He rose again, however, in a moment, with the words, “I shall detain you but a very few minutes,” and some time after closed an interesting and fruitful speech by saying that the practice of “Dumping” was universally admitted, and that the business before the Court that day would consist in hearing from witnesses the form which the process took in various industries.
The first witness to be called was—
Mr.Henry Salter, manager of Messrs. Garrant and Schüler. He was willing to turn King’s Evidence. (Murmurs.)
Mr.Chamberlain: I hope the witness will be heard with respect. He is doing his duty, as did our brave allies on the veldt, and as did my old friend Le Caron. (To witness) Mr. Salter, I am proud to shake you by the hand. I wish I had known you in 1886. Such men are rare.
Witness, continuing, deposed that for no less than eight years past his employers had given away their German bicycles free.
[Sensation. A furious voice from the well of the court cried, “Let me get at him!” and an Anglo-Saxon of huge stature was with difficulty prevented from making an ugly rush. He turned out to be a patentee of the old style of high bicycles, who had been ruined by the competition of safeties.]
“An Anglo-Saxon of huge stature”
“An Anglo-Saxon of huge stature”
“An Anglo-Saxon of huge stature”
Witness, further examined, estimated the total number of bicycles he had thus offered free at a little over three millions.
Mr.Chamberlain(smiling): Oh, come, Mr. Salter, come!
Mr.Salter(shuffling uneasily): Business is business, my lord. (Loud laughter, in which Mr. Chamberlain joined.) There’s nothing to laugh at. Every man must make the best of himself.
LordLansdowne: How were these bicycles bestowed? Did you ask people to your country house, and give them by way of their private secretaries, or did you forget to send in the bill?
Mr.Salter: Neither, Sir Thomas; we put an advertisement in the papers, saying, a “£12 bicycle given away free.”
Mr.Balfour(with interest): I have seen such advertisements,but I never understood what they meant. The words alone seem to make no sense.
Mr.Salter(eagerly): They do, indeed, sir! All the competitors had to do was to send 1s.6d.in stamps, and to get orders for ten other bicycles. (A pause, after which the witness added, anxiously) Am I free now?
Mr.Balfour(in confusion): Yes—I suppose so—you may go.
Mr.Salter: Yes. But I mean⸺They can’t do anything to me?
LordHalsbury(peevishly): No! no! no! My good man! All this is privileged, of course.
[The witness, heaving a deep sigh of relief, walked slowly and rather insolently past two policemen, and sauntered into the street, where he was at once arrested.]
Mr.Chamberlain(briskly): That settles Bicycles. Now for Powder! Next!
[At the mention of “Powder” there stepped forward a most popular gentleman, with whom all members of the Committee warmly shook hands.]
Witness, examined, swore that while his discovery was still in the experimental stage, a hideous foreigner had appeared at his works, and had proposed “a deal.” This foreigner produced a sample of Powder which exploded practically at any moment the gunner might choose; at other times—in magazines or manufactories—the Powder would not explode. It kept in hot climates, and spread no disease aboard ship. It was certainly a mostremarkable product. The foreigner proposed that they should furnish it to the Government as witness’s own, and share profits. (Indignation.)
LordLansdowne: And you refused?
Witness: Certainly I refused, Lansdowne! I was not given my monopoly to let in foreign spies!
Mr.Balfour: We owe you a profound debt of gratitude!
Witness(visibly affected): Thank you, Arthur. I can only repay you all by loyal service; and I think your kindness will be partly justified when I tell you that I am within sight of producing powder that explodes. Some has already gone off by accident in one of my sheds and killed a German.
[Witness here shook hands again warmly all round and went out.]
Mr.Chamberlain: Oil! Next!
Mr.Elihu Z. Kapperswore that he was an American. In 1872 he first began to import mineral oil into this country. The people took kindly to it, and used it in a thousand ways. By 1880 he was importing 50,000 gallons a year of it. Meanwhile he was chiselled out by Mr. Rockefeller, and left to freeze. Mr. Rockefeller was a great man. He (witness) had then turned his attention to the English field, and had discovered vast lakes of oil in Devon, Norfolk, Denbigh, Cumberland, and Rutland. He had floated ten companies.
Mr.Balfour(aside): Wasted capital!
Witness: They had all gone bankrupt, and their bankruptcy was undoubtedly due to underselling from America. England had more undeveloped oil than any other country in the world.
Mr.Chamberlain: Now let me put you a practical question. If we prohibited the import of foreign oil, could you float an eleventh company?
Mr.Kapper(promptly): I have an eleventh floated already, Secretary—I could float a twelfth.
Witness was succeeded by young Mr.Garry, of Steynton Hall, Rugby, who swore that a foreigner, a Prince, had met him at the Savoy last June, and had given him several articles of foreign manufacture—a cane, a match-box, a dachshund, a wrist-watch, and a dozen of hock. In return he had given nothing. He had lent the Princesums of money on various occasions, but it had all remained in the country.
The next witness was LordRustington. His lordship was visibly affected by illness, and his face, framed by great whiskers, bore an anxious and even irritable expression. He hobbled on a stick and said “thank you” to an assistant who offered him a chair. He had received the summons. He was willing to give evidence on dumping. It was a growing evil. At first (in his case) tin cans, packing boxes, and paper were the only things to complain of. Last year boots were found.
Mr.Gerald Balfour(puzzled): How “found”?
Witness(testily): Please let me finish what I was going to say!... Were found, I say, and occasionally empty bottles as well⸺
Mr.Chamberlain: But, surely⸺
Witness(angrily): Will you let me finish a sentence? Empty bottles, certainly, empty bottles. And this year it was awful. Oldrakes, broken wheels, heaps of filthy hats, baskets, and—it might seem incredible—an old mowing-machine.
Cross-examined on the place of origin of these imports, witness said: It was the gipsies. They always camped near that corner of the home farm on the Pulboro’-road. They threw all sorts of things over the hedge⸺
Mr.Balfour(firmly): There is some error. This can have nothing to do with our inquiry. My dear Lord Rustentown⸺
Witness: Rustington!
[At this point the Committee consulted. After a little whispering Mr. Balfour explained with the utmost gentleness that there had been a mistake. The summons should have been sent to Lord Rustentown, the well-known ironfounder, money-lender, newspaper-proprietor, and supporter of the Government. If any apology of his⸺]
Witnessin a towering passion declared that the fault lay with this Government and their accursed folly in flooding the country with new peers and letting them take any accursed name they fancied. In the course of his remarks witness struck his game foot with his stick, and thereupon became so violent that he was compelled to retire.
There succeeded a dignified silence of some few minutes, at the close of which Lord Halsbury said:
LordHalsbury: Humph!
His lordship then rose to his full height and strode solemnly out of the room.
Mr.Gerald Balfourwas the next to leave. He hurried through the door without a word. ThePrime Ministerfollowed him, talking to himself.
LordLansdownesmiled a little anxiously, looked right and left at his colleagues, tapped on the table with his fingers, and then got up in his turn and went out in a thoughtful manner.
Throughout this painful scene Mr.Chamberlainsat immovable, with a fixed stare and with set lips. At last, in a tone of characteristic energy and resource, he broke the silence with the cry of “Next!” But in the universal uncertainty and alarm no one responded to the summons.
The unnatural tension was relaxed by the abrupt departure of the three remaining members of the Court, Mr.Austen Chamberlainpreceding his father, the Duke ofMarlboroughfollowing his chief.
As the audience dispersed, the gloomiest forebodings arose upon the subject of the next sitting.