Professor Edgeworth's Lecture

Professor F. Y. Edgeworth delivered the second of his lectures yesterday evening on "The Exceptions to the Rule of Free Trade." Though the presumption is always against protection, he said, reliable economists have discussed several important exceptions to the rule of free trade. The first of these, protection for the sake of defense, must be settled largely by military experts, but the economist may insist that economic effects, such as the diversion of capital to less productive industries, be carefully considered. Protection to counteract foreign bounties, which constitutes the second exception, is apt to be carried too far, and protection of retaliation is likely to result in loss to the country which undertakes it. The tariffs for fostering young industries have to be adjusted with extreme nicety, and are often too long continued. great care must be exercised in estimating the probability that the conditions supposed in these exceptions actually exist in any given case. Generally the argument is stronger for the retention of protection when it has become inveterate than for its introduction as now proposal in some quarters of the United Kingdom.