COMPETITIVE CONDITIONS IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE. 87

established representatives in Peking and Petrograd, who advise
purchasers in the interests of members, but do not solicit for individual
 firms. It publishes a directory of its members in different
languages for the information of buyers, selects agents in foreign
countries for British firms in addition to the aid furnished by its
own representatives, and had planned a form of financial organization
 to secure for members necessary financial aid (through. bank
loans) in developing foreign commerce. This last-mentioned service
 was interrupted by the outbreak of the war. The association
also issues confidential bulletins to its members containing reports
of foreign trade opportunities and similar material, and has devised
a trade-mark or “chop” for their use in China, purchasers being
advised that articles bearing this “chop” are purely British products
 and that the association will aid in maintaining cordial relations,
ste.
In the great textile industry there are a number of associations
covering different branches and having different purposes and activities,
 such as the Cotton Spinners &amp; Manufacturers’ Association, of
Manchester, a federdtion of local associations formed more than 40
years ago, the Cotton Waste Spinners &amp; Manufacturers’ Association,
the Nottingham Lace Manufacturers’ Association, the Linen Merchants’
 Association, etc. While these loose associations play their part
in bringing about a certain unity of action among manufacturers of
textiles, the effective combinations among the manufacturing concerns
in this industry are of more direct importance to this inquiry and are
discussed in detail later. (See pp. 249-255.)
In other branches of British industry there are also numerous trade
associations, the total for all industries for the United Kingdom
approximating 1,200 organizations. Examples are the associations
in the paper, pottery, boot and shoe, saddlery, brush, cycle, automobile,
 mining, and tobacco industries.
Combinations in British industry.—Practically the only law
affecting combinations in England is the ancient common law under
which agreements in restraint of trade are null and void. The
policy of the law is to encourage competition, but it does not prohibit
 combination. * Furthermore, while agreements in restraint of
trade are invalid, the English courts give a wide scope to freedom
of contract, and they have never interfered with a consolidation
of competing industrial enterprises into a single company on this
ground.” *
In spite of its strongly individualistic character, British industry
has developed a number of highly effective combinations. Some of
these have concerned themselves primarily with the home market, but
1 Francis Walker, Annals of the American Acaaemy of Political and Social Science,
July, 1912. Dp. 192.