Ill

THE RETURN TO GOLD

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this country. We are probably in a position tocarry the whole of the Empire and more thanhalf of the rest of the world with us, and thusrebuild the financial supremacy of London ona firm basis. Meanwhile, proposals for highprotection have ceased to be urgent. To throwthe country into a turmoil over them to theneglect of this other more urgent and import-ant problem would be a wrong and foolish thing.Let us give our whole attention and our unitedenergies to devising a sound international cur-rency policy for ourselves and the rest of theworld. For it is futile to suppose that we canrecover our former prosperity without such apolicy, or that tariffs can be any substitute for it.When the currency question has been settled,then we can return to protection and to ourother domestic issues with a solid basis to goupon; and that will be the time for a GeneralElection.