The Free Trade Philosophy of Sir George Paish

• Published date: 01 January 2020
• Author: Jennifer Bolan Ulrich
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.12311
• Date: 01 January 2020

The Free Trade Philosophy

of Sir George Paish

By Jennifer Bolan Ulrich*

aBstract. Sir George Paish (1867–1957) was a British economist whose

unique position as a journalist, political advisor, and international

traveler gave him access to significant world events and leaders. Paish

wrote for and edited the financial magazine The Statist and earned

recognition as an expert on British and American railways. He lectured

and wrote on economics and international finance throughout his

adult life and advised David Lloyd George on economic subjects

between 1909–1915. Paish’s written works provide insight to early

20th-century economic affairs through the lens of his liberal, free trade

philosophy. This article examines many of Paish’s most relevant

reflections on free trade, following the chronology of his life.

Introduction

Sir George Paish (1867–1957) was a British economist and journalist

who rose from humble origins to advise world leaders. He was deeply

committed to the philosophy of free trade as mutually beneficial to all

nations. Free exchange on a global scale meant that consumers would

partake of the best options at the best price. In a world torn apart by

war, a global market was the best way forward. In his view, peace and

prosperity were possible through free trade economics.

According to the standards of the Victorian Era, Paish was a self-

made man. He was the youngest of 10 children in a working-class

family. His parents were domestic servants. His father’s placement as

a coachman was somewhat unstable because of his violent temper.

Paish left school at the age of 12 to help support the family. First, he

served as a copying clerk to a lawyer in London. Within two years, he

found work at an economic newspaper with higher pay. One of the

American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 79, No. 1 (January, 2020).

DOI: 10.1111/ajes.12311

© 2019 American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc

*Award-winning adjunct instructor for Liberty University Online. Master of Arts in

History, Liberty University. Thesis on the life of Sir George Paish, her great-great grand-

father. Email: jbolan@liberty.edu

140 The American Journal of Economics and Sociology

owners of The Statist saw a promising future for Paish and gave him

guidance to further his education by reading economic works. Of this

study, Paish (1950) credited Adam Smith specifically as a foundational

influence on his free trade ideas.1

He gradually worked his way up

from a clerk who drew charts to secretary, until he became an editor

and journalist. By the time he was 32, Paish was one of three senior

editors. Concurrently, he joined the Royal Statistical Society in 1899,

where he later presented and published his research.

In his position as editor, Paish forged connections with bankers,

railway owners, and investors. He also had the opportunity to travel to

the United States several times. These connections ultimately brought

him into his advisory role with David Lloyd George, first on the Board

of Trade, later joining him in the Treasury when Lloyd George became

the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Paish’s work for The Statist sent him to the United States in March

1899 where he wrote about British investment interests in American

railways. British investors were concerned about their bonds being

repaid in gold, not silver. During the 1896 U.S. presidential election,

the candidates had debated the merits of bimetallism (Paish 1950: 5).

The victory for William McKinley meant the defeat of the free-silver

position for the time. When interviewed, Paish stated that he intended

to study America’s “tariff system and the working out of protection.

Why are you buying so little of us? will be one of the questions I shall

try to solve” (New York Times 1899). Tariffs and protection were con-

trary to his free trade philosophy. In his memoirs, Paish mentions his

meeting with the American Secretary of the Treasury Lyman Gage to

confirm America’s commitment to the gold standard. Because of the

trade relationship between the two nations, having a consistent cur-

rency standard between them was mutually beneficial (Paish 1950).

More investments from British sources were likely, as long as they

were repaid on the same standard.2

Britain fought the Boer War in its South African colony from

1899–1902. Paish mentioned the war and its aftermath as an intro-

duction to the fair trade or “empire preference” movement advocated

by Joseph Chamberlain, a member of the Tory Party, which assumed

power in the election of 1900. Paish thought only trouble could come