BfZy M^JS ^: pnother, until it is believed, that over- come by the united intluences, Canada can no longer resist the force of blnndishment and bludgeon, but that she will yield willingly to the wiles of b.(,r enslaver. To this end the Gloucester fisherinen are encouraged to OK-roach on our fishing grounds, and we are accused of brutality if we ven- ture to oppose them. J>y virtue of the Washington Treaty our tish were admitted free, but the tins to contain the canned tish were taxed at a rate sufficient to make up the relinrpiished duty. Notwithstanding that fresh fish for " immediate consumption" are admitted Iree by the United States tariff, fresh tish from Canada, p,vcked in ice to [)reserve them in transport, are charged with duty on the i)retence that this packing in ice is a method of curing ; the most hara'^sing regulations have been enforced against our lake steamers; workmen are liindered from going to their employ mciiit under various pretexts ; Canadian contractors are, by new and vexatious regula- tions, prevented from fid tilling their contracts in the United States. Kvery frivolous pretext is made use of to worry and annoy Canadians in pursuit of their legitimate business. The flogging part of the process has been actively employed without bringing us a bit nearer to the frame of mind which would drive us to seek admission into the sheltering arms of the neighbour- ing repuljlic. To men of any spirit, to a people with the slightest spark of self respect, it is inconceivable that any nation, no matter how powerful, couul coerce any people, no matter how weak, into seeking for absor])tion for the sake of esc&ping annoyance, or with tlie delusive ho[)e of gain. Is Canada so helpless as might l»e inferred from the continuance of such tactics on the part of the United States 1 It is true that there are always men on the fringes of sucti a population as ours, who aie actuated by no other motive tlian the love of gain; men who have come here with no fixed determination to beconie a por- tion of the resident population, or to make it a home for themselves and their children. If they can make money here, good and well, no matter what the cost may be to the country ; if not, they strike their tents without regret, and puisue their nomadic course to other pastures, where they may hope to live nioro easily and to collect heavifir lleeces from the flocks ainonj^st wliicb they nuiy choose to dwell for the time heiiig. Often, being n)en of oily address and fluent tongues, they can lead awaj the young and tlie unthinking, whether these he young or old. The tendencies which made |»o>5sil>le the success ot tlie South Sea J>ul)hle, the Mississi[)pi fjchenie, the railway mania, are not yet extinct. "^I'he schemes and the men who nianijjulate them change, but the Siime dcsiie remains lO be pandered to — the desire to make money easily, which, ai)i)ealing to a certain section of the pci)ulation, gradually per- meates all society, until the crash comes, leaving behind widespread ruin and desolation. In dealing with the y/uis fatuun of Commercial Union, little would require to be said were the f.eople let j to exercise their own sound judguieiit. We Canadians are proud of our country, we have a noble heritage ; our pi'o- gress has been solid and substantial and we believe that there is room on the northern })art of this continent for two communities to grow up side by side, eaich having its own system of government, each running its course according to the l)ent of its own constitution. We Canadians, in our sober, steadfast way, lieliove that we may, nay must, become a powerful community, not perha])S so showy and brilliant as our immediate neighbours, but most assuredly as sensitive to the honour of our country ; as keenly alive to what should constitute its highest interest, which is not the sordid hope of immense gains, to be made by a sci'aml)l'} for wealth on the Stock Exchange or by gambling in whetiX s{)eculations. But these are precisely the motives appealed to by the advocates of Commercial Union : " You cannot," they say, " get reciprocity ; ths United States will never grant you that precious boon, l)ut enter with us into Commercial Union ; leave to us the care of your financial concerns ; we can at Washington fix the duties and collect them through our officers, appointed, if it so please you, by your own oflicials, no longer entitled to be dignified by the titl'e of a government; but by whomsoever apnointed, we shall tike care they are controlled from Washington. You are now part of a great empire, yet have complete control of your own financial affairs, uncontrolled in the framing of your tarilfs, and, except in name, at perfect liberty to make your own treaties, in doing wdiich you are strengthened by the support of Great Britain, which makes the treaties nominally, but only as you wish, and enforces them by her influence and power. Give up that connection and make money by cotnmercial union with us. We will control your tarifis ; we will make your treaties ; we will save you from blundering and extravagance in the disposal of your revenues. Become our vassal, and give up ail foolish ideas of managing your own aflfairs. You will find it much easier to trust to our tender mercies than to strive and struggle against mani- fest destiny." It may seem strange (although admitting of explanation) that the crusade for a Commercial Union sliould be inaugui'ated when the most bril- liant prof.pects are o|)ening of an enlarged and continually expanding foreign trade. The Colonial Exhibition of 1886 placed in evidence before the civilized world, and notably before the sister colonies, not only the immense natural resources of Canada, but the almost incredible progress she has made in arts and manufactures. From the attractive, if untutored, leather, birch and bead work of the Indian nations, to the modern school of painting and 5 8cii][tture; the most ingenious niuchinery, for domestic use, for the furm, for the workshop, foi- the steainsliij), for tlie railway — everything was there ready to he used at iioine or sent abroad. Textile fabrics suitable for use anywhei-e or everywhere, the finest fruit, the best Hour, in a word, every- thini^ recpiired by other countries to supply theiv. with food, clothing or shelter. The result has l)een to raise a desire to trade directly with Canada; on the part of other countries that have hitherto, in the case of many articles of commerce, dealt entirely with the United States. Then the extension of our railways, the enliirgemeiit of our canals, arid the im[)rovement of our harbours, have threatened to divert from the United »Stat 's much of the carrying trade to the possession of which they have always laid claim. It is to the dread of the rapid expansion of Canadian trade, commerce and industry, to the detriment of the commercial communitv of the United States, that we must look tor the cause that has led to the ]>resent agitation for commercial union, which is purely American in its origin, supported by qunsi Canadians whose interests are, in reality, bound up with those of the United States. If ever there was a question of policy that demanded the calmest consideration and the most dispassionate judgment, it is the one now before the country. On its decision may depend the fate of Canada ; her whole existence nuiy be at stake, and the (]uestion of whether we are to rule ourselves or to be ruled from Washington determined. < 'over up and con- ceal the effect of connnercial union as far as can l)e dene l)y artful phrases, that is the question to be settled. In such circumstances it might be thought that, in so extreme a crisis, faction and l)arty spirit would be banished from the minds of all excei)t the unreasoning. But, unfortunately, there are already symptoms that this all important question is abouc to be regarded trom a strictly party point of view. One side affects to treat it with indifference ; the other declares that the very air is full of it, and that there will be no cessation of agitation until the measure is carried. How far is this latter statement correct ] That thei-e is a good deal of noise admits of no doubt, but what is the depth of feeling and how much is there of reality] A close investigation leads to the belief that there is more «i0und than substance in its advocacy. A little stoiy, after the manner of the late President Lincoln, may be introduced here, not inapj ropriately. "Two young men caminng on a western prairie one evening were alarmed by the fearful howling of wolves. From their camp, as from a centre, the air to the' very verge of the liorizon on all sides seemed to lie tilled with the apalling sound, the very heavens re-echoed the howling of the innumerable wolves that must have been assembled to ])roduce s\ich a volume of hellish discord. Tom, one of the yoimg men, who had lived in a Western State where wolvea were not uncommon, asked Jim, who had never seen one, to accompany him to drive away the pack. With fear and tnMnbling Jim followed, ready to fly at tlie first moment, yet ashamed to show his terror. As they approached the focus of the storm of sound, Jim was asked how many wolves he thought were about them. Seeing that his companion treated the matter lightly he made a guess at what he thought a lidiculously small number — twenty or thirty. Passing round a bush, they discover':;d two miserable coyotes — Ooldwin Smith and Erastus Wiman." As these are, in reality, the two most prominent advocates for Coinmer- cinl Union, wlioso, liowling is re ecliocd hy a certain class of* join-nals, and tak(;n up l)y a few broken down and discredited j)olitioians, it in not unfair to look to tlKiir piisi history. Tlie first political act of Mr. (Joldwin Smith was tlio publication of a series of letters in the London Diuh/ ^N'c/r.s, advocating the. severance of all ties \)C't\veen the mother coiinti'v and the rest of the empire. His aigunients, brittly stat d, were that the United Kingdom of Great Ih-itain and Ireland should isolate itself from all inteiesls apart from those which might centre in the two islands and the smaller ones which lined its coasts ; that colonies were a source of cost, danger and annoyance; and that the islanders could make nioie money without than with th(Mn. In short they were lO be mere money making machines, and plethoric with wealth, were to become "Like the dull weeds tlirit rot on Lethe's shore." A chance expression used by Disraeli in his " liOthttir," respeotin'g a "social parasite," was applied l)y (jrcddwin Smith to himself, and it became to him like a shirt of Nessus, his inordinate vanity supplying the materials for the consuming wound to his self-conceit. Leaving England, where, he declared, there was not enough of li'berty for a man of his quality, he can)e to the United States, which he sooti left, averring that he could find no liberty there at all. No sooner had he reached Toronto, than he set to work to excite a desire among Canadians to become annexed to the United States, a country which, by his own account, was not good enough for him, but was very well suited for the inferior clay of which Canadians are com])osed. He is a man without either home or country. It is true In has a comfort- able house; but walls, roof and furniture cannot make a home to a man who is content nowhere. He lives in this country, but he takes no pride \\\ it ; has no regard for its honour; looks upon it as a mere resting place, and would leave it to-morrow without one ])ang. What is the secret of his utter and entire failure as a public teachei ? He is a i)oli.shed writer; uses the language with an ease and grace that are exceptional. Yet he convinces no one ; he has been able to form no school of the Prophets, each member of which would look to him with reverence and hang on his words of awful truth. How is this? Men far inferior ta him in attainments have gathered round them devoted and enthusiastic fol- lowers. But these men had beliefs, faith, strong convictions, to which they held, I'ightly or wrongly, and in which, others believed, attracted by the earnestness of their teachers. Coldwin Smith a[)parently believes in nothiqg, not even — so far as can be judged by his whirligig course — in himself. He is a perfect master of fallacy; assuming as axioms statements which require the most rigorous demonstration, and building upon unwarranted assump- tions a superstructure whose foundation is worthle.ss. Such a course imposes for the time on those unaccustomed to follow closely a train of reasoning ; but even they discover before long the trick of argument, although they may not be able to lay their finger on the weak spot containing the fallacy itself. It is not necessary to believe that in thus acting Mr. Smith is consciously dis- honest; he, no doubt, means well, but the misfortune for hims(df and iov the country is, that he does not always know what he means. His 1 -tters on commercial union have, we are informed by cable, excited inte im? interest ia London. It nny be so ; but it would be very unsafe to take tins for granted on tho strensfth of tt cablognini received through the channel of the American Associated Press, and specially prepared to suit the tastes of Auiericaii readers. The other — Erastus Wiman — is of a different stamp. He has little knowledge of books ; but knows a good deal of men from the seam j side. Beginning life in a humble ])osition, he entered in a subordinate capacity into the employment of Dun & Co., and made hii way steadily from position to position until he became a partner, the firm taking the title of Dun, Wiman it Co., a Commercial Agency. Tlie business is Jiot one lield in dis- tinguished honour amongst the mercantile community, although no doubt, it has its use, like scavenging or chimney sweej)ing. Mr. Wiman beujngs to a cla.ss wliicli is a standing danger to tlie interests and pros|)erity of Ciuiada. He is one of those Americanized Canadians who are ready to .second tho schemes and carry out the })lans of Ameiican si)eculators, and who, posing as the true friends of Canada, can succeed in doing what the American could not accomplish. It was from a lower order of tliis class that tlte most suc- cessful crimps were selected to obtain^ from Canada tlie "food for powder" wanted during the war between the Northern and Southern United States ; the same class furnish the American laud si)eculators with emigration agents to induce Canadian emigrants to take u|) lots in the fertile valley of the Eden, in which the city of that name was situated, two of whose best known citi- zens were JVFr. Martin Chuzzlewit and Mi'. Mark Tapley, the high priest being the renowned Scaddor, engaged in superintending the sacrifice of the victims brought by these truly good gentlemen, the Americanized. Canadian Emigration Agents. Mr. Wiman has, liowever, been flying at higher game. He has been mixed up with all sorts of business, till he has acquired notoriety if not fame ; has his name on boards of directors of various companies ; is the leading spirit in the Canadian Club of New York, which has gained him much popularity ; he has done a little in the show business, like Bainum, and has managed to get liimself talked of. Hence, when the scheme of getting control of our Canadian Telegraph lines was conceived by American speculators, Mr. Erastus Wiman was pitched upon as the man most likely to induce the unlucky f.hai'eholders to walk into the trap. The plan was simple : " Sugar and Stick." On the one hand a rate of interest, re^spect- able in amount and regularl}' paid, would be. secured to the share- holders of the Montreal and Dominion Telegi'aph Co., if they consented to transfer the control of their property to a straw company to bo constructed for the purpose. That was die sugar. If they refused, war to the knife would be declared, competing lines built, and such a cutting of rates that utter and complete ruin of the two companies would be the result. That was the stick. Tlie story of the failure to pay the rate agreel on is too recent to require iviore than a reference; Mr. Wiman, the good genius, stepped in and the amount was i)aid through his intervention. But for how long will this state of security lastl It is evident tlie best judges of investment have no confidence in the permanency of the agreement, since the telegrai)h shares, easily disposable at 130 when the bargain was made, are now quoted at some- thing about 90, perhaps a trifle, but only a trifle, higher. It is a very remarkable warning to Canadians to disti'ust the promises of great gain com- ing from the lii)8 of Mr. Wiman; to look with doubt up m his highly wrought (lo8cri[)tion8 of the wealth and ease that ara to be oju" lot if we only consent to Coninioivial Union. Those propheoios aro of the Hame nature as those made to the telegraph ("ouipaJiies ; and may — in all prol)ability will — 011(1 in the same way. It would certainly appear t ) he our duty to act a wiser pai't than the Trojans, and examine, carefully the contents of the wooden horse before adnntting it within our walls. This is the ooui'se that has Ucmmi adoi)tle argument which is deserving of attention. It is stated by some of the farmers, and with pei'fect truth, that during the existence of the late reciprocity treaty they were able to make money and were prosperous ; and, arguing on this ground, it is maintained that if this were the result of a partial treaty how much greater would be the benefit from one of a much more extended, in fact of an unlimited, chai*^ acter, by which unrestricted access would fee obtained by the farmers of Canada to the markets ot the United States. On the question of securing higher j)rices, there may be pointed out for the consideration of the farmers themselves, a consideration they are abundantly able to give it and to arrive at a sound conclusion, the fact that, except under very peculiar circumstances, the agricultural products of the United States come into direct competition with our own in the markets of the world, and that we stand in the position of com|)etitora, not of producers in Canada and consumers in the United States. The fallacy, therefore, of this argument addressed to the very proper d<^ire of the farmer to make as much as he can out of the piodace of his field, unburdened by needless restrictions, becomes at once apparent. This is a question, however, which each farmer can think out tor himself. The other — that of the advantages of the late reciprocity treaty in enhancing the price of agricultural produce, and thus adding to the wealth and ease of the farmer — presents itself in a little more complicated form to the minds of those who were n it actively engaged during that period. Almost; a whole r"-neration his passed away since the ratiiication of tliat treaty, and to those who were affscted by it, the treaty itself stands out prominent, whilst the other t ircumstances that affected its operation have be^'ii forgotten. Admittuig to the fullest extent the statement that during the continu- ance of the reciprocity treaty, the farmers enjoyed exceptional prosperity, (leaviTig aside the fact that in some parts of the country the very reverse was the case; it is fair to ask was that pi'osperity due to the o[)eration of the treaty, or to other causes, coincident with it in point of time, but bearing to it no other relation ? Now it cannot ho forgottm tliat there were two causes at work (liirintia, and 126 in New Brunswick. It is evident that tfie enormous outlay on these lines "and the money poured in from iiritisli capitalists for their construction, covering a lar^e part of the time during which the reciprocity treaty was ia existence, were alono sufficient to account for the rise in the price of farm pro- duce, even had no treaty been in existfviC'?. To this, however, must be added the outbreak of the (Jriinem war, followed immeiiately after by the Indian mutiny, both of which, tho last in a minor degree, tended to enhance the price of all we had to sell, and enriched the fanners far beyon I what they could have hoj)ed under the mo-tt t'avoui-able conditions, had the treaty stood ' alone, and unaffected by the circumstances just referred to. One of the strouijest proofs of the inability of the reciprocity treaty to maintain remunerative prices, or to fulfil any single part of the ol)ject for ■which it is to be ol)tained, is to be found in the history of the period during which it w-as in existence. In 1857 the Grand Trunk was completed, as waa also the Great Western, with the exception of the Komo!;a and Sarnia portion, which was opened in 1858. Tho Crimean war had ended* some time before, and the Indian mutiny Vjeen suppre.ssed shortly after. It was a condition of affairs to test the value of the reciprocity treaty, as a measure tending to maintain equilibrium in pi'ices. It was still in operation and continued so for some years longer. Yet had it the slightest effect in warding off the fall in prices which followed immediately on the cessation of the abnormal expen- 'diture on railway building ( Those who passeeriod of inflation arising from enormous expendituies on public works, and the rit-e in prices due to war, followed by a complete collapse when these causes had Ceased, the existence of the reciprtcity treaty having no influence either in the rse or fall. In the second period, prices rose enonnously owing to the civil war, the withdrawal of so many men from peaceful pursuits having so cri[)pled every industry in the United States that almost all the necetisaries of life had to be pujchased abi'oad, wilii the consequent rise in Canada of the prie of ever> thing that could be produced or imported. Every branch of bu in- ss felt the impetus thus given ; in towi s the stores were tilled with Americans purchasing clothing and luxuries that had V)een impoited and had paid duties to tie Canadian Customs ; fiirmers could >carcely raise enough to supply the de- ma. id ; mortgfigHS weie rt-moved tnd wealth flowed into the country, not becaube of the rrciprocity treaty, which was in existence from 1857 to 18G0, when there was the greatest.distre.ss, as well as in ISGl to 18GG, when every- thing prospered. But there was one very perious influence, aifecting the perjnanent pros- p^'rity of Canada, exercised by the reciprocity treaty. It taught us to depend almost entirely on the United States for the sale of our raw materials, the great bulk of our forest products being ship[>ed in a crude state to furnish employment for the skilled lal)0ur of the United States. The deleterious influence is shown very clearly by Sir Edward Thornton and Mr. George Brown, in their joint memorandum on "Commercial Reciprocity," presented in 1874. After stating the fact of the industry of Canada having been largely directed to suj)j)ly the American market for home consumption, as v)eU as J or exportation (or in other words that we gave the Americans the profits of a trade we should have done ourselves), the repeal of the reciprocity treaty in 1866 rendered imperatively necessary prompt measures to open new markets. Mr. Brown might have added that this bhould have been done long before, instead of placing ourselves at the mercy of any siogle customer. However, he does not, but proceeds to state the measures taken and then gives the result. No apology is necessary for quoting the paragraph in full. The memorandum says : " Only seven .fiscal years have passed since the repeal ot the treaty, but already the loss inflicted by it has been more tliau made up, and excellent outlets in new directions opened for Canadian commerce ; with an increasing annual proportion of the vast carrying trade formerly done for the provinces by the railways, canals and steamships of the Kepub- lic, trausferred to Canadian hands. The traffic between the United States and the provinces at once fell, from an average during the three years before the repeal (according to Ameri- can official statistics) of nearly $75,000,000 per annum to an average of $57,000,000 jier annum during the iirst three years following the repeal. The act of confederation, too, removed from the category of foreign commerce to that of home consumption, the large in- terchanges of commodities between the several sections of the Dominion ; and the aggregate foreign commerce of the provinces consequently fell in the fi;>t year after the repeal of the treaty to $139,202,615 from §l()0,40t\455 in the previous \yi>\ iy vc'-oveied from the blow, and the volume of iti foreign commerce gradually incn-ii n-i niuil, in tiie seventh year from the repeal of the treaty, it reached the great sum ('o:- u people of four millions) of 11 $235,301,203 — being seventji-five millions higher than it had ever reached in any year of the treaty's existence. (Memo: p 13.) Tlie italics are not in the original, but are used to call attention to the remarkable fact stated by Mr. Brown, which deserves to be carefully pon- dered l»y every thinking man. As to the statement " That we gave tli . Americans the profits of a trade we i-hould have done directly onr.-el»es," the following ]■aH^age from Mr. Brown's niem()randiim is very signiticaiit, sui»[)orting, as it also does, the statement that we stand in the relation of '• competitois, not of producers in Canada Uv c.insumers in the United Stit^s." Tlu* memorandum, in a paragraph having the title ''Tiatlic driven from United States channels," says : "In regard to wheat, flowr, provisions, and other articles of which the I'lnited States have a surplus as well as Canada, the etlect of the duties upon tliem lias ]>eon to send through Canadian channels, direct to the ^Maritime Provinces, the "West India Islands iina Great Britain, a vast amount of products that were forinerlj' s-olil to New York and Boston houses, and shipped to the same markets through American channels. "VVIicrc two countries alongsiile of each other hove a large annual surplus of the same article, and that article is in a world wide demand, heavy duties against each other can hardly be ell'ective. The stuff will find its way to market by some other route." (Memo ; p. IG.) It wjuld be well if our farmers rememb?red the effect the round-about trade, put a stop to by the abrogati'^n (f the reciprocity treaty, had on their own reputations and reviiiues. The choicest d.iiry pioduce of Canada, hfr beautiful butter «nd exce'leuc cheese, were brandvd us American, Avhile all the miserable cidls of striped butter, of all colours and qualitirs in one tub, were branded as Canadian. It is undeniable that tlii.s was the practice, one ■which not only injured the character of the Dominion at large as a dairy country, out compelled the fai'mer to ta'« e a reduced piice for his butter and cheese, so much were Canadian brands distrusted, until a direct trade was organized as the immediate consequence of the repeal of the reciprocity treatv. What assurance is there that under "commercial xmion " the same game will not be played*? Not at first, as Canadian farmers have made themselves favourably known iu European markets, but before very long, as the same tactics will most assuredly be resorted to on the first opportunity, and speedily Canadian dairy jn-oduce will bear as unsavoury a name as it did whilst we enjoyed the privileges of the I'eciprocity treaty, the name being one of them, all Canadian fruit disappparing in transit and none being sold in the British markets, where was sold only fine American fruit. Names are things, and our famers should quietly think out for themselves this very interesting question, now laid before them, which they have been asked to decide at hented conventions, where cut and dry resolutions are submitted to them, on which they are requested to vote without due, or, it may be said, any consideration. Take counsel with the town clerk, of Ephesus : " Do nothing rashly." This counsel is the more necessary in view of the complete cliango in our financial condition, weie such a jiroposal as that for commercial union to be carried into effect. This as})ect of the case has been most skilfully avoided by the advocates of what they are now calling unre.stricted recipio^ 12 city, the original riiinio appearing to these gentlemen to indicate too plainly the political effect that would he produced by what they Jillege to be simply a commercial ariange.nent. The financial question is of too serious import to he relegated to the unimportant position assigned to it. It is a tpiestion which must occupy a very jjromintnit [)art in the discussion, were other difficulties removed. By the propjsal for Commercial Union all customs duties are to be abolishet' on goods of all descrii)tions passing reciprocally Vieiiween Canada and the United States, being the growth and produce of the resi)ective countries. All goods imported are, on the other hand, to be charged with a rate of duty which must, by the very nature of the agreement, be fixed at Washington, although doubtless a clause may be inserted that the rates of such duties shall be fixed by a mutual arrangement. It is idle to maintain, as will no doubt be done, that by this mutual arrangement no excessive duties can be levied. If Canada attem[)t to resist the imposition of prohibi- tory duties on all goods, except those coming from the United States, one of two things must happen : either Canada must submit or the Commercial Union must come to an end in the n^osc disastrous manner for the smaller country, and the disaster will be wide spread in proportion to the extent of the trade done under the new system. The customs returns are significant. In H8(i, the total duties collected on imports were $19,427,397, of which $6,790,081 were collected on imports from the United States, leaving a balance from the rest of the world of ^12,637,316. In other words, there would be a permanent reduction in our revenue of (in round numbers) seven millions of doUai-s, were no extension of the trade from which this is derived to take place. But this does not truly represent the loss that would be the result. By the very terms of Commercial Union we are bound down to deal only in one market, that of the United States, and the whole p dicy of that country is to secure its self-dependence, so that on every improvement in the processes of manufactures, or the introduction of any new branch of industry, duties are levied to protect the manufacturers and to exclude the introduc- tion of fbi-eign products. It is by the policy of the United States in this respect that we would be bound ; it is impossible to disguise this fact, it admits of no doubt, far less denial. The deficiency, therefore, in the revenues of Canada from customs would be not simply the seven millions collected from the United States, but the total customs duties derived from all other countries. This may be treated as a rhetorical flourish and ridiculed accord- ingly, but the statement cannot be set aside by such means, nor its accuracy disproved by such methods. It is the fixed and settled policy of the United States to maintain a protective tariff, increased if necessaiy to such a point as will act as an absolute prohibition to the admission of such goods as can be manufactured in the United States. Whichever political party may be in power it must maintain the same policy. This being so, and the revenues of the United States having, by means of high duties which reduce but do not prohibit importation, Xnmn swelled above the wants of the government of the country, thei'e are only two courses open "by which a reduction could be accom- plished : the one is so to reduce the customs duties on the bulk of the impor- tations and to add so largely to the free list as to bring down the revenues to an amount commensui-ate with the wants of the country ; or the other, to 13 increase the duties to sucli a rate aa will absolutely exchule foreign goods, and by this means destroy the revenue now derived from that source. The latter is the plan which finds most favour, and may not impossibly be adopted, unless some very i-emarkable change take place in the trade policy of the United States, which there is not tlie slightest reasor to expect. This, then, would be the course we would be compelled to follow were Commercial Union to be adoi)ted, and thus from our total revenue nearly sixty per cent, would vanish " at one fell swoop." But tijere is another method by which the revenue might certainly be extinguished, even were the system of prohibitory duties not applied. There is a somewhat importflut international obligation known as " tbe most favoured nation clause" by which Canada is Ijound to admit the gooils of all nations enjoying this right, at the low -st rate of duty accepted from any other nation. Without, speaking too positively on the subject, i)referring to leave the decision of this point to men skilled in that l)rancli of the law, it is a pirt of the case whicli should be most seriously an i earnestly ulscussed. Canada is brought face to face with the fact, that by one means or other, the adoption of the proposed Commercial Union would mean at the very outset, the wiping out ot nearly sixty per cent, of her income and the com|>lete vesjriclion of her markets to one customer, and of her purchases to one provid<.'r. One astoimding fact is to be noticed in connection with the proposal for Commercial Union, and that is, that the journals and men who have given it the greatest support, are those who have heretofore declared that the country has been running to destruccion owing to the high duti- s that have been levied on the importation of such goods as can be manufactured in the country. It is not necessary here to discuss the wisdom or otherwise of what is known as the National Palicy. That is a question on which difference of opinion exists. The [)oint now under notice is the very extraordinary course of the men who have expressed their belief in its unwisdom and who have opposed the policy of levying high duties, as one inconsistent with the pros- perity and progress of the country, but who now swallow with relish a proposal that is to enforce duties to which those now imposed in Canada are a Ilea bite. The average customs duties collected in Canada, taking for this the last six years, is 19 per cent. Those in the United States average ujjwards of 40 per cent. Have the advocates of Free Trade nothing to say on this point? Or is that a crime in Canada, which is a virtue in the United States i There is another large slice to \>e taken before long from the revenue of Canada, if the faithful efforts of the i>arty of prohibition can accomplish it. The excise duties derived from wine, spirits and malt liquor amount to the considerable sum of $."i, 602,830 annually. Should the demand for the prohibition of the manufacture or importation of liquors become so great that it can no longer be resisted, it might be possible by a re-arrangeraent of the incidence of taxation to provide for the loss of this amount of revenue. But if to this loss be added that of the customs duties, bringing up the total deficiency to upwards of $•23,000,000, it is difficult to conceive how the amount could be supplied except by a heavy income tax. But the party of prohibition must face another side of this question bes'des its financial aspect. It By (Joinmercial (Jnion, or, to use the otlier term, luires trie ted reciprooity, Caiiiida must admit fn;o of duty all the s[)irit.s aui malt that can be uianu- factared in tlie United States, so that no matter liow clearly the law bo flamed nor how stringent its provisions, CanaJa would bo compdled to admit what is knowix as the ''soul destroyinsc poison," at the risk of setting aside the provisions of the treaty of Commercial Union. jNIuch more nii<^ht b'^ said on the various aspects of the question, altogether apart from the considerati )na of the change it would bring about in our pol'tical relations. Hitherto we have lived and prosj)ered as a part of tlie greatest empire the world has yet seen, attached by the silver cords of love to the mother country of wh'ch we are proud, whilst, feeling a just and worthy pi*ide in that ])articular ])ortion of the empire to which we more immediately belong. Tn the early years of her history, after the transfer of the country from French to British rule, mistakes were doubtless committel, but these mistakes arose fi-om a state of political feeling that affected the people of the British Islands as much, if not more, thMU it did thosr who left their restricted area and entered into the enjoyments of a larger domain to be cleared, cultivated and rendered fit for the home of an industrious people. Subject to such vicissi- tudes as pioneers in all times have been exposed to; not always, it must be confessed, ruled wisely from the Colonial OlHce, Canada has advanced with ever increasing freedom, }>rotecfced from many dangers by the influence and when necessary, the power of Britain, until she now posse.sses all the elements of prosperity and has attained to a position to warrant her sons in anticipating a rapidly accelerating rate of progress in everything that can con- tribute to her spiritual, mental and material welfae. A time may come when circumstinces shall dictate the loving and pacific separation of tiie ties that bind ns to the honoured mother land, to occupy the ])osition of. a faithful powerful ally, instead of being a portion of the Great Empire. Tlie desire for independence on the part of those who chafe under even the slight remnants of rtjstraint which are imposed by being under the fule of one sovereign, our beloved Queen, has the element in it of a noble, altliough it must be confessed, a mistaken ambition. But to seek to wrench asunder these bonds, if they can l)e called bonds, that attach us to the K npire, not to rule ourselves but to become a mere pnadlcle of the United States, and to bo ruled from Washington with a rod of iron, instead of being led by the mild sway under wiiich we at present live, does not afford a high evidence of the self- respect or pride of race on the part of *^^hose who coolly discuss what would be a national misfortune, whose gravicy is abnost incalcuhible. It is impossible to lielieve that any real Canadians can entertain serious views of annexation to the United States : if there are diliiculties to be overcome let us face them like men and •' from the nettle danger pluck the flower of safety." Canada has passed through many severe triils; poverty, threatened bankruptcy, hostile tariffs, -even war, have fallen to her lot, but she never was in a better position than slie is to-day to enter upon a long caree.r of agricultural, industrial and mercantile prosperity, with all the public and social amenities that this implies. But let us once give up the control of our own affairs and what guarantee have we for the future ] If we should enter upon Commercial Union, as we are asked to do, on the elusive ground of the 15 . wealth we would gain by it, the first effect wouM be the retluction by nearly three-fourtlis of our public income to be made u[), nobody can tell how. Whut would become of our internal improvements 1 To carry th^e on must war taxes be imposed, stam}) duties on every portable article we use, every sort of device resorted to that the want of the duties we have hitherto received might be made up? Our commerce abroad would cease; the comi)lete ruin of our ship building interests would follow ; the farmer, ground down by direct taxation, would bitterly rue (even were the price of wheat raised, which is an impossibility, the price being ruled by the European markets) the day he listened to the promise of the wealth he was to become master of, and find to his sorrow, like the fairy gold, his riches had turned into withered leaves. But the Canadians are told that the United Stales would be generous, and that her peoi)le do not grudge to help; that if help were wanted it wouhl be given freely. Are Canadians beggars] Do they ask help when they can heJp themselves? Are they prepared to appeal, cap in hand, to Washington for a trifle to build tlieir railways ; to excavate their canals ; to improve their navigable waters '? Has it come to this, that Canadians can be so insulted, without exciting in them one spark of righteous indignation 1 The scheme of subjugation has been well planned. The whole telegraphic system has been taken possession of by American s))eculators ; newspapers have been subsidized ; dece[)tivo statements have been circulated, calculated to deceive the most intelligent, and to a certain extent an im])ression has been made. But the true state of the case should be made known. The question should be discussed from all sides. The men of Canada are not yet so lost to their own self-respect aiff* sense of dignity as to abandon the great future which lies before them for the paltry temptation of a mess of pottage, which they would never get, or to accept the situation of poor old Belisarius, the victorious Roman general who, ruined by the jealousy of the Emperor, went from door to door, holding out his old battered helmet with the mournful demand : " Da mihi oholum." Are Canaiians prepared to go to Washington, and with mangy fur ca[)3 extended, for we could afford no new ones in the days of unrestricted reciprocity, pitifully appeal for a few cents to help them in their dilhjulties ? God forbid I Quebec Libera t,.