THE FORMATION OF THE SCHEME 13
attention to the conditions under which our oversea trade is
carried. Our manufacturers and merchants, so far as the cost
of transport is concerned, only interest themselves in two
questions : what is the freight ? and what is the cost of insur-
ance ? They rarely devote serious attention to the factors that
go to make up the cost of oversea carriage ; whilst the under-
writer’s business is to take the risk whatever it may be, pro-
vided it can be covered under the law of average, by premiums
which in the aggregate will more than cover the losses. The
result: was that, somewhat unfortunately, the proposals came
to be regarded as merely shipowners’ schemes, and as such
they were suspect, although consistently supported by men
who could speak with great authority from the Admiralty point
of view.
The war in South Africa had forced the nation to consider the
necessity for national preparation, not only from the military
but also from the economic standpoint, and in 1903 an associa-
tion was formed to promote an official Inquiry into the security
of our food-supply in time of war. The Duke of Sutherland
presided, and its members represented every class and every
interest in the community. In the statement issued upon its
formation, this Association pointed out that more than three-
fourths of our population was dependent upon food which was
imported from abroad, and therefore liable to capture on its
way to our shores in the event of a war between Great Britain
and any of the Great Powers ; it added that many of the most
eminent men of business in the corn trade had signed their
names to the opinion ‘that if Great Britain should become
involved in a European war the country must be prepared to
see bread at famine prices to the poor’. The representations
made by this Association to Mr. Balfour’s Administration led
in 1903 to the appointment of the Royal Commission on Supply
of Food and Raw Material in Time of War. On this commission
Lord Balfour of Burleigh acted as Chairman, and His Maj esty
King George V served as a member. The inquiry was of the
most searching character, and the Report proved a very able
forecast of our economic conditions during the late war.
