"and the balance from Germany, Turkey, "Persia, etc.

"It would be beyond the scope of this "article to deal more than generally with "the suggestion made. That the country (" would have to make some sacrifice goes "without saying. It will be seen that if

we establish a reserve of corn sufficient "for one year's consumption, we must "buy about twenty-five million quarters, "which, at the average price of wheat

now, would mean, roughly, £30,000,000 "sterling. It is obvious that we could "not buy this all at once; it must be "done by advance orders gradually, and "be, as it were, grown specially for us.

"These £30,000,000 sterling could be

"raised, and should be raised in this "country alone, by the issue of Imperial "Corn Bonds bearing interest at 2 or 3

per cent., redeemable at the option of "the Government. The interest should "be paid by an addition to the income "tax. If it was necessary to make the "interest on the bonds as high as 3 per "cent., it would amount to £900,000 per annum, and an addition of only one penny to the income tax would produce

(on the returns of 1893) £2,239,800, "leaving an ample margin for con"struction of granaries and cost of "maintenance.

"If it is objected that an addition to "the income tax would be unfair for this (( 'purpose, because the reserve of corn

would be chiefly for the benefit of those "who do not pay income tax, then the money would have to be raised by a "Sinking Fund probably.

"It will be said that directly it was "known that the Government intended "to establish such a reserve of corn the "price would go up, and it doubtless

"would, but the Government would fix "its own price, and refuse to buy except "at that price, and would get it in time. "In any case the price would be nothing "like what it would be in war time. In "1812 the price of wheat was £6 6s. Od.

per quarter; just at present it is about "£1 6s. Od., though the average for 1894 "was only 22s.

"It is not contended that £30,000,000 "worth of corn stored in this country "would enable us all to live as com"fortably as we do now if all our food "supplies from abroad were cut off, or "that this is the limit of the quantity

we ought to have as a reserve; but if our land is not cultivated, it is not "because it is barren, and the sole object "of the reserve would be to give us time "to make it again productive of cereals "and live stock to the extent of our "needs. As our need lessened, that of "our enemies to again sell us their sur

plus would increase their starving pro"ducers would fight on our side for peace.

"Reservoirs of corn have become as

"much a necessity for the preservation "of the national life of this country as "reservoirs of water.

"It might well be that once our "farmers had again, as formerly, over"taken with their supplies the demands "of the country, they could retain the "position, and the golden days of agri"culture would return. With half their "freight-waggons idle, our railway com"panies would distribute the enormously "increased production of our fields and "l seas at even lower rates than they now "charge the foreigner.

"We provision Gibraltar for two years, "and this country, the citadel of the "Empire, with a week's supply. What "do our possible enemies calculate on "when thinking of war with us? Not "that they could beat us in battle on the "sea. No, their sole hope is, as was Napoleon's, to 'destroy her commerce "-starve her to death.'

"R. B. MARSTON.”*

*The suggestions made in this article more than twelve months ago are worked out in greater detail, and with both modifications and additions in this book.-R. B. M.

As will be seen presently, the writer of the weekly article "Agriculture at Home and Abroad," in the Standard, did me the honour to criticise my statements, and dispute-I wish I could say refute-my arguments.

There is one point in the first criticism that appeared in the Standard to which I would like specially to refer, and that is where the writer says—

"It would be a very short-sighted policy on the part of farmers to advocate this scheme, especially as English wheat is seldom dry enough to store well, and it would be much less wasteful to store foreign grain."

I have many friends among English farmers, and this admonition from the Standard brought their wrath down on my head. But the last thing I would do-knowing something of the difficulties and distress under which our farmers have so nobly fought for many years past-is to advocate anything which would injure them, or our corn-merchants either, and the measure I suggested in the Nineteenth Century and have elaborated in these pages will not, I am convinced, injure them one iota,