The same system of State help was extended to shipping until the great German liners, one of which, indeed, was actually subsidized by England, were more than holding their own with the oldest and most celebrated British companies.
"Protection, alike in agriculture and in manufacture, bound the whole empire together in essentially Imperial bonds.

Right or wrong in theory--which it is not here necessary to discuss--there can be no doubt whatever that this policy entirely changed the face of Germany, and rendered her our most formidable competitor in every market.
Emigration, which had been proceeding on a vast scale, almost entirely ceased.

The savings banks were overflowing with deposits.

The position of the workers was greatly improved.

Not only were German Colonies secured in Africa and Asia, which were more trouble than they were worth, but very profitable commerce with our own Colonies and Dependencies was growing by leaps and bounds, at the expense of the out-of-date but self-satisfied commercialists of Old England.