e progress of German trade during the last ten or fifteen
years, and I can discover no difference in character from the figures
which show the progress of British trade. Let the reader look for
himself. He will find the figures for fifteen years set out in the
following table, and a diagram to illustrate them. Let him notice that
what is called the _entrepot_ trade, consisting of goods merely passing
through the one country or the other, is in these figures excluded from
the comparison. Thus "British imports" here means the total imports into
the United Kingdom, _minus_ those goods which are subsequently
re-exported; "British exports" means all articles of British production
exported from the United Kingdom. The same interpretation applies to the
German figures, all goods in transit through Germany one way or the
other being excluded. The comparison is therefore complete. And what
does it show? That, so far from Germany's export trade increasing by
leaps and bounds, while ours is steadily declining, German trade has
followed, though at a lower level, the same general course as British
trade. Therefore, whatever else Protection may have done for Germany, it
certainly has not improved her export trade as compared with that of the
United Kingdom. An even more striking demonstration of the utter
hollowness of the Protectionist case can be seen when we turn from
exports to imports. If Protection is to do anything for a country it
must at least diminish imports from abroad while increasing exports from
home. That is the whole object of Protection, the great ambition which
every Protectionist statesman sets before him. Has Protection done this
for Germany? Once again let the reader look for himself at the figures
and the diagram. He will see that while German exports have remained
stationary, German imports have very largely increased, and moreover
that their increase has been relatively greater than the increase of
imports into Free-Trade England.

BRITISH AND GERMAN TRADE COMPARED.

Fifteen Years' Imports and Exports, exclusive of Goods in Transit.

In Millions Sterling.

-------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
|1880|'81|'82|'83|'84|'85|'86|'87|'88|'89|'90|'91|'92|'93|'94
-------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
Brit. Imports| 348|334|348|362|327|313|294|303|324|360|356|373|360|346|350
Brit. Exports| 223|234|242|240|233|213|213|222|234|249|2