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Les diagrammas suivants illustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 i i: 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 N Th£ object of the following Remarku is briefly to point out the policy of maintaining in its present state the dis- criminating scale of Duties on Foreign and Colonial Timber, and the injurious effects which any alteration in those duties in favour of foreign wood must inevitably produce on our North American possessions, and on the important interests connected with them. These effects are shortly considered in reference to — 1. The Timber Trade itself, which would thus be thrown altogether into the hands of Foreigners. 2. The Consumer, who, from the competition induced by the present duties in regard to Foreign and North American wood, is now supplied at the lowest possible price ; but who, were competition removed, would be placed in the power of the Foreigner, both in regard to price and supply. 3. The Capital Invested In this trade, in mills, warehouses, wharfs, and other establishments, the certain destruction of which would follow any alteration of duty. 4. The Growing Prosperity of the Colonies, which would receive a fatal check from the same cause. 5. Emigration, by means of which Government has encouraged and stimulated a rapidly-increasing population to apply itself to the very labour which any unfavourable ehange would effectually stop, and reduce to a state of destitution the great body of emigrants, who, under the present system, are enabled not only to maintain them- selves, but to become purchasers of British manufactures to a large amount. 6. The Manufacturer, to whom a ready and im- proving market is now afforded for almost every article of home production, but for which the demand would soon come to an end, if the stimulus were withdrawn. 7. The SmriMNG Interest, which hus hitherto fouiui its best cniploymeiit in the Colonial Timber Trade, bnt %vhich would suflfer to an alarming extent, if that Trade were abandoned, while the maritime wealth and power of Foreign States would be built upon the ruins of our own. 8. The Revenue of the country, wh'ch would experi- ence positive injury by any change in the existing scale of duties, inusnmch as such change would eventually operate as a tax on the consumer, in the shape of additional price.* * These various topics arc treated and commented on nt considerable length by Sir Howard Douglas and Mr. Bliss, in tlieir recently published puinphlets on Colonial Trade, a perusal of which wc would recommend to tliose wlio arc desirous of obtaining full information on this most important subject. Air. Bliss, in his " Statistics of the Trade, Industry, and Resources of British America," has compiled, with great care, from official returns, a body of Tables which throw much light on the direct as well as intcr-ooloniol commerce of our Nortli American Provinces. The (luofltioti regarding the policy of affording protection to our North American Timher Trade, by a discriminating rate of duties, is one which has, at various periods, enga- ged the attention of tlio Legisla^jre ; and, as the scale now in force was not adopted until eftt. a long and laborious investigation, so any interference with it should be viewed with a jealous eye, as involving the safety and permanency of the Colonial connection between Great Britain and her North American possessions. It has been argued, indeed, that the country, and the Colonies themselves, would ultimately derive benefit were the duties to be remodelled ; but a very slight attention to the subject, and reference to facts confirmed by official documents, will sufficiently shev/, that the immediate con- sequence of Guch a measure would be not only utter anni- hilation to the Colonial Timber Trade, but ruin to the many, varied, and extensive interests dependent on it. The operation of the Statutes 1 and 2 Geo. IV. cap. 37 and 84, by which 10s. per load was imposed on Fir Timber fit for naval purposes, and 10s. per load taken off Foreign wood, rendered it barely possible either for the colonist or trader to realise a saving profit ; and the duties are now so nicely balanced, that a preponderance, however slight, in favour of the Baltic trader, would entirely prevent the possibility of further competition with him. The Colonial Timber Trade must, in that case, necessarily be abandoned ; and this result would be equally produced, whether the ac- tual duties on Baltic Timber were diminished, or those on wood of Colonial growth increased. This will appear evi- dent, on comparing the cost of Colonial wood with the mar- ket priclb (which is regulated by the cost and duties) of the foreign article ; nor will any of the component parts of the price of North American Timber (viz. freight, labour, and merchant's charges) bear reduction so as to enable the trade to be continued at lower profits. Freights have been gra- 6 dually fulling for lovoral years past ; and it is assortod, that Duother decline equal to that which has taken place sin ^ .§1 I. a> -58 ■E-t •c o e m (8 V o a. Feet. 11,305,000 3,905,000 2,920,000 8,805,000 2,660,000 16,600,000 4,500,000 6,200,000 38,955,000 9,000,000 103,840,000 £ 28,262 9,785 6,050 22,012 6,675 39,800 11,250 15,500 99,476 22,600 s. d 10 10 10 261,210 10 CI 320 287 105 324 84 800 103 118 1357 300 3798 That the sudden impulse of improvement which has carried the Colonies forward to their present station in wealth and consequence may be ascribed to the influence of the Timber Trade, is evident from the great and rapid change made on those possessions since that trade com- menced, as compared with the stationary condition in which they were before ; and this not only in regard to internal improvements, but in the progressively increasing com- merce with the United Kingdom during the last twenty years. Prior to 1309, the Colonial Timber Trade was of comparatively little importance ; but since that period a commerce has sprung up, in the interchange of home manu- factures for the produce of the forests, that has become incalculably advantageous in a national point of view. B 10 In the year 1792* (the last year of peace) the official value of imports into the Colonies was £1,119,991. In 1802 they amounted to £1,350,896 ; this exceeded by £300,000 any succeeding year until 1809. Up to the latter period, therefore, the imports had, for a series of years, been actually declining; but a remarkable in- crease appears to have taken place during the three first years after the Timber Trade commenced, and they have been steadily improving, until 1831 (when the latest returns were made up) ; the total amount of those imports was, according to the official Tables, £4,329,036 sterling ; and the exports at the same period amounted to £3,304,702 sterling. The particulars of these suras are as follow : — Account of the value of all Imports and Exports, into and from the Northern Colonies, in 1631, Imports. Exports. Quebec, ., £1,866,902 £1,467,062 Prince Edward's Island 660,000 61,519 St. John's, Newfoundland, 640,000... 707,196 St. John's, N. B 661,316 387,204 St. Andrew's, 173,333 123,944 Halifax 1,447,643 827,460 Hudson's Bay, 71,846 107,516 Sterling, 4,810,039 £4,329,039 3,671,891 £3,304,702 In thus tracing the prosperity of our North American possessions to the rise and growing influence of the Tim- ber Trade, it becomes an important inquiry, whether that prosperity is now placed on so secure a footing as to warrant the expectation of its continued advance, in- dependently of the trade to which it owes its origin ? Thb expectation can scarcely be indulged in ; — the Colo- nies can only as yet be considered in a state of infancy — vigorous indeed, but still requiring the fostering hand of the mother country. Like all new settlemeb.;s, they pos- sess few articles of exports beyond the produce of their woods;- New Brunswick indeed has no other. On these • Bliss. ■ \ 11 >• i< h they must almost entirely depend ; and if their means of paying for British manufactures cease, the importation of those manufactures must cease also as a matter of course ; consequently, the large amount of capital, now in activity among a British people, would (in so far as it could) be withdrawn from the Colonies into Foreign countries. Another very important point of view in which this ques- tion must be considered, is, as it is connected with Emigra- tion. It has, for a series of years, been the policy of Great Britain to encourage and direct the current of emigration to North America, whereby the country is not only relieved from a redundant population, but a considerable proportion of persons who would otherwise have become chargeable on the public as paupers, are removed to a situation where the)r may, in a healthy climate, better their condition, as well as contribute by their labour to the prosperity of ihe Colonies and the empire. Under the existing system a cheap and ready conveyance is provided by means of the lumber ships, — so much so indeed, that they are said to have formed a bridge for emigrants across the Atlantic ; — and so ready and abundant has been the employment hitherto found for these strangers, and that chiefly by the Lumber Trade, that although, in the course of last year, upwards of 50,000 arrived at Quebec, yet few of them have become chargeable to the Cauadas, or left that country for the United States. The pursuits of emigrants are, it is true, essentially agri- cultural ; but agricultural operations, in a land covered with forests must commence, and be accompanied, by the oper- ations of the lumberer. By means of the profits derived from the sale of trees fit for timber, the settlers have been enabled to remove those which were only an encumbrance, and to I ing the ground which they cover -'d into tillage and pasture. It is well known that the winter is longer in Canada than in more Southern climates ; agricultural work is then, of course, at a stand ; but during that season the Timber Trade finds occupation for emigrants and farmers. Id furnishing a constant employment for the labour of them- selves and their horses and oxen, and creating an extensive demand for farm produce of every kind. Hence the Tim- ber Trade acts both directly and indirectly in a very ad- vantageous manner on agricultural improvement, and the value procured from the woods (greater part of which is laid out on the soil) likewise enables the colonists to become consumers of British manufactures to a very considerable Extent. To the demand for these indeed no probable limit can be set, for independently of the supplies required by the native inhabitants, the continued influx of emigrants occa- sions a consumption of manufactures which is rapidly in- creasing. The demand by the emigrants to Canada alone amounts at the present time to £78,000 per annum. Thus a positive employment for productive industry is created. Were this trade, therefore, put a stop to, so as to with- draw the demand for timber from the Colonies, and trans- fer it to other quarters, it would no longer be in the power of the Canadas to take our surplus population, or to give them any support. . . ' i : r ■ On turning to the amount of British manufactures con- sumed by the timber countries of Europe, we find that it bears no comparison with the supply required by our North American provinces.* The policy of Foreign Governments limits the demand for British goods, and the importation into their countries seldom exceeds a certain point ; nor does it fluctuate with a greater or less consumption in Britain of their timbers or other produce. THbe trade with Prussia affords a striking illustration of what the others evince in a lesser degree. Between 1802 and 1819, our importations of timber and deals from that country declined by 109,505 loads, while our exports thither exhibit a small advance. Between 1819 and 1829, importation had in- creased by 59,937 loads, and the exports declined nearly one-half.f The difference, therefore, must have been paid * Douglas. t Bliss. •■ >1-^ 13 ' u < J. for in gold ; an exportation of which article has always a tendency to produce a doubly injurious effect ; first by en- hancing the value of specie, and next, by impairing the credit of its substitute. It may be remarked, in further evidence of the same fact, that the immense importations of foreign corn, occasioned by the scarcity of 1816-17, were almost entirely remitted for in gold, no increase whatever having then taken place in the consumption of British manufac- tures beyond the usual average demand, and the Baltic ships having, with scarcely an exception, returned home in ballast. Now, the whole population of British America derive their supplies from the manufactures of Britain, and that demand is steadily increasing. It is a most ma^r}il consideration, too, that every operation of Colonial traffic replaces two capitals, the employment and distribution of which puts in motion and supports British labour, and al- ternately augments the resources of the same community.* The Baltic trade, it is true, has the effect of replacing two capitals also, but one only of these is British — the other puts in motion the industry of Foreigners exclusively. The following accounts shew the relative value to the home manufactures of the Baltic and Canada trades, and also the relative increase of those trades in the space of four years, within a recent period.f Principal Articlea of Home Production exported from the United Kingdom to the North of Europe and British America. Cotton Goods. 1824. Russia, ... ... ... ••. ••• Sweden, ) ic\<\ nH± Norway, J 403.054 Denmark, 461,609 Prussia, 436,283 Yards. 2,646,871 1,300,946 1828. 21,864 364,505 248,416 9,100 Yards. 2,602,267 643,885 British Nortli American Colonies, 3,947,817 5,580,723 3,146,162 9,202,255 * Brougham's Colonial Policy. t Bliss. 14 Linens. 1824. RuKHia, • ••• 8wetieii, Norway, ••• t»> Denmark, . • • «•• Priuwia, ... ••• ••• Yards. 724 7,660 862 103 8,625 9,349 Britiith North American Colonies, ... 8,192,624 1828. 3,066 9,393 . 10,787 14,254 Yardn. 2,155 3., 500 39,655 2,834,642 1824. ••• ••• Russia, ... Sweden, ) Norway, $ Denmark, ... Prussia, British North American Colonies, Woollens. i' ■ ■' ^'':-ri-k Pieces. ... .•• 37,198 ... 1,359 1,818 ... 1,687 4,864 1828. 355 1,663 1,356 123 t Pieces. 38,515 3,497 42,062 42,012 ies, ... 76,345 < r* 63,558 Woollens. ■■■'■"■':r^' Russia, Sweden, J Norway, \ Denmark, ... Prussia, 1824. ••• ••• • •• Yards.' ... 123,926 ... 6,168 17,542 ... 4,707 28,417 '■^A':'; 152,343 British North American Colonies, ... 938,897 1628. 1,940 9,232 3,700 772 Yards. 127,126 15,644 142,770 1,123,276 > il A Russia, Sweden, ) Norway, \ Denmark, Prussia, 1824. Leather. . .■■-.■;*-v.,v..' Lbs. 2,134 1828. 256 Lbs. 1,445 ... 2,468 196 4,798 979 36 1,270 6,116 2,716 s, ... 445,640 '- ■■'- ■ : '-/-'^ : 324,303 \ 15 > i -^ Russia, Sweden, ) Norway, J Denmark, ... Prussia,... Earthenware. 1824 Pieces. ...435,520 • •• ••• ••• ••• ••• f •• ...632,522 607,983 ... 105,495 1,346,000 n 1,781,520 1,250,181 British North American Colonies, ... 2,567,561 1,745,207 Iron and Steel, Wrought and Unwrought. 1828. Pieces. 122,813 34,620 512,442 , 536,534 43,772 1,127,368 1824. Russia, Sweden, ) Norway, J "• Denmark, Prussia, ... ••• ••• ••• ••• 21 ... 172 14 Tons. . 65 207 272 1828. 120 41 477 1,089 British North American Colonies, ... 6,442 Hardware and Cutlery. 1824. Russia, Sweden, ) Norway, ) Denmark, Prussia, ... 774 ... 836 740 Cwt. 2,532 2,350 4,882 1828. 107 535 764 544 Tons. 44 1,727 1,771 5,930 Cwt. 3,080 1,950 5,030 15,412 British North American Colonies, ... 14,845 By Parliamentary Returns made up to January, 1830, it appears that the average quantity of shipping actually en- gaged in the North American trade was upwards of 430,000 tons, which is nearly one-fifth of the whole foreign trade of the country.* Tlie proportion of vessels which arrive from the Colonies with other freights than wood has been esti- mated at 28,000 tons; allowing for this quantity, and about three-tenths of the remaining 402,000 for repeated voyages during the year, the residue of 281,400 tons — (exceeding 1000 ships with their crews) — would be put in jeopardy were a change to be made in the duties on timber. It has * Douglas. J«\ 16 Imm'ii (iII('p^imI thai oiu!-liHir of thifitonnnge would still retain itiii|)loyiiMtiii ill tlio (Colonial trade, and the other half be pi'ovidiMJ for ill tho iiicreaHo of the Daltic and Coal trades. Hut that our NhipN would not Hud remunerative employ- iitmit ill tlin l<'or<>ifrii 'I'iiiiher trade is sufficiently obvious, IVoiii tlin widl-tfHtahliMhud fact — proved by Custom-house KittiiniM — that tho Swuch^s, Danes, and Prussians, as well UN Norwi'^iuiiN, employ, in nearly every instance, their own NhlpN : and as they can, from various causes, build their veNNidN at hair the (^mt, and victual and man them at one- Ihird the expeiiNe of HrltiHh shipH, ho they can always afford to carry timber at a rate which puts competition on the part oC the hritiNh Ship-owner entirely out of the question ; and toreif^n Nhips and ft>reig-n merchants, with those con- nected with them, would alone enjoy the benefit of a niouoptdy (Iium created.'* The e\pe«'(atioii alMo held out of employment in the Coal ( rade NeeiiiM et' vessels to exist, the Timber ships are not those which would probably be taken up; their pecu- liar buihU and |>reat draught of water, rendering them untit ft>r the pui'p*)so. The »b*>ve statement may be exemplified by a compara- tive view of the expense inoidentiU to a Foreign and British \esseU f\»r one year, empU»yed in the Bjiltic Timber trade; and it must be remembertHK that both these ships now enter our ^mrts on precisely eipuU terms.:^ ViMvi^H. BrtH»h. (\v»i vvl'buiWu*^ A't> 10 OiHfrUw £it»0»> £l3 10 0...£oOOO Ws^jv* v'*' i'iH>wu», a U> e i>*r m<»nth.... W 10 0... ISO 5J XUuvv 1 10 p^cr vk», St; 4 10 0... 108 SC» Smmiwiv. IS O jvr do>. 24 500 X34o:i £«>•>«*»» • M'i>rv^»i' t Wis*. % GouI\i. m V 17 The quantity of shipping employed in the active inter- course which now prevails between the Southern or West Indian and the Northern Colonies also forms subject of interesting* inquiry as connected with the present subject, since a continuance of that intercourse mainly depends on protection to the North American staple trade being continued or withdrawn. The annexed Return shew^ the number of ships, tons, and men employed in the inter- colonial trade during the year 1830. . Inwards. UTWARDS. 1 Ships. Tons Men. Ships. Tons. Men. Quebec, 63 6 83 75 90 304 9,710 696 8,826 14,530 16,871 30,980 529 37 582 665 809 1,806 67 9 93 60 150 317 8,113 878 10,628 10,334 26,180 32,356 453 49 688 501 1,319 1,979 Prince Edward's Island,... St. John's, Newfoundland, St. John's, N. B St. Andrew's, Halifax, Total 621 81.613 4,428 686 88,489 4,989 In 1831,'*' the arrivals of all vesseluiu' fraught with the ruin of lliilitih Mhip-ownerii, — driving thouttaiuU of our siulors into the Morviee td' the United States, to seek for that em- ployment in foreign inerehant tthips which is denied them in our own — oeeaMioning the decrease of demand for our lUiuiufaetureii — increatting |muperisin, l»y checking emigra- tion- and throwing an advantage in the scale of our rivaU, w ho may again he as they have formerly been, our enemies. 'I'he experience of the ^uust alforils vis too solid grounds of apprehontiiou for the future. This is viewing the matter merely in regard to its expe- diency ; but tis implicating the C^overumeut of the country in a charge of bad faith to those, who« ou the express iuvi- Uitiou and eucouragemeut of the Ministry of the day, were induced to embark their property iu this trade— it is utterly mdefeusible. VVheu this i^uestiou was agitated in 1831. much stress was laid i>u the assertion, that au alteration iu the duties would be a saving to the country ; but it was well remaiketl by one who took a statesmanlike view of the subject, m a speech replete with sound argumeut,^ and who, in denying the conclusion, observed ou the principle contended tor- — '* that it was but biui economy which had not jufstice for its basis.'* - - ' 10*. 1 Id. t ^if- Attwowd. -> r r Since tlio foregoing Remarks were printed, the Report of the Commons' Committee on Munufuctiires, Commerce, and Shipping has appeared, and contains a mans of valuable evidence on all those heads. In reference to the Shipping Interest, however, the information afforded is far from gratifying, inasmuch as it exhibits, on the testimony of practical gentlemen from every part of the kingdom, a deplorable picture of the depression and distress under which our commercial marine is now labouring. It may be observed, that with scarcely an exception, cUl the witnesses who were examined before the committee on the subject in question, not only agreed in their statement of/itctSf but coincided, in a very remarkable manner, in opinion as to the causes which have produced the depres- sion so generally felt. From their united evidence it is incontestible that shipping property has been most un- productive of late years, and has undergone a deprecia- tion in value to the extent of at least one-half, arising as well from the fall in price as in consequence of the want of necessary repairs, which the unremunerativc employment of their capital incapacitates the ship-owners from making. The depression of the shipping trade may be dated from the year 1824, when the causes after specified came into operation ; since which period freights have been gradually declining, and are now reduced considerably under what they ever were at any former time. So low indeed have these fallen that, unless a change speedily takes place for the better, nothing less is contemplated than ruin to half the ship-owners in Britain. One inevitable consequence of such a state of things has been the introduction of a practice that has gained ground to a prodigious extent — that of borrowing money on the mortgage of ships. Tliis system is found to prevail the more as the owner becomes poorer ; and it is believed that no tliu groutur part uf our •hipping m how under mortgage. It IM no unuHUiil occurrunce for HhipM ho circumstanced to he Mold off in order to pay th^orth America — the checking of emigration to our Colonies — and the shutting up an important market for our manufactured goods, by depriving the colonists of the means of paying for them : their only returns, either directly or indirectly, being in lumber. . 24 Should the competition in the supply of Timber between the Baltic producer and North America be broken by equalization of duties, the price would be at least one-third more than it is at present. Nor is this mere supposition ; for it is notorious, that when, in 1831, it was in contempla- tion to reduce the duty on Baltic timber, foreign producers were so ready to raise their price, that contracts were made at a certain rate if the law remained as it was, and at so much higher if the expected Act should pass. But with the competition, as it has hitherto existed in this branch, the price of Baltic wood is now at as low a price, with the advanced duty, as it was in 1794 and 1795, when it paid only a small duty. The whole of these details are verified by a numerous and most respectable body of gentlemen, whose testimony acquires a double force from the extraordinary anxiety manifested throughout the examination to elicit a contrary result ; but it is proper at the same time to mention, that two of the witnesses examined before the Committee differed very materially in their views from all the others, and gave hi evidence diametrically opposed to theirs. It is needless to make any comment on that part of the evidence which forms the exception alluded to, ftirther than to observe, that when we find, in the room of practical information, the speculations of a visionary theory, or assertions confidently brought forward which turn out on investigation to rest altogether on mere vague hearsay; and when these are contrasted with Jbcts founded on personal knowledge, and established by indisputable docu- ments — we can have little hesitation in determining to whbh parties credit is due. ^ ,i On reviewing the Evidence, of which a brief summary has just been attempted, it is satisfactory to observe, that the foregoing Remarks are fully borne out by the best authority — that of well-informed men, intimately and prac- tically acquainted with the subject. There is one argu- ment, however, mainly relied on by the promoters of an alteration in duties on timber, which has been but k,iightly touched on, and may now again be adverted to, namely, *' that the present system forces the people of this country to use an inferior qualUy of wood ui a high price," — an as- sertion which has been so often repeated, as to have almost become t\n axiom with the advocates of the new doctrines. Now, this is assuming one of two things, — either that Bal- tic timber is excluded altogether from our market by the present discriminating duties, or that it can only be pro- cured at such an extravagant rate as virtually prohibits its use. But what is the fact? Reference to the Table already quoted* shews at one glance, that not only is price actually kept down by the present scale, but that importa- tion of wood from the North of Europe to a large extent has been uninterrupted, and that Baltic wood may be had at the present day at a very moderate rate in any port of the kingdom. The consumer is, therefore, by no means driven to use colonial wood against his will, since, if he prefer European, he can readily obtain it at as low a price as when the duty was a mere trifle. And so far from the present system fbrdng an inferior article on the market, it is owing to that system exclusively that the consumer is enabled to make a ' choice which would otherwise be beyond his reach. Another plea set up for altering the duties on timber is the supposed additional revenue which would accrue in the increased amount of those duties, were the major part of the supply to be brought from Norway and the coasts * Page 7. D N~ 99 M^- 2^: of the Baltic ; but the promoters of a narrow policy are either ignorant of the fact, that the measure fropi which they expect such increase in one branch would occasion a defalcation in others to a fearful extent, — together with the total destruction of capital embarked in the Colonial and Shipping Trades, and the ruin of thousands connected therewith ; — or, being aware of these consequences, they rashly venture to sacrifice all those interests to uncertain experiments in Legislation, for the purpose apparently of maintaining the paradox, that the Policy which raised Great Britain to her boasted pre-eminence amongst na- tions was altogether founded in error; and that she is competent to maintain her place, even though she were destitute of "Ships, Colonies, and Commerce." M( 'W.. Reed and Son, Printers, Sunderland. -. tV';.^;vl'r i '»;,i ■,'.,, iti mm