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 ON 
 
 
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 THE TARIFF. 
 
 MAY 9th, 1870. 
 
 OTTAWA: 
 
 TIMES rUBLISIIING COMPANY, SPARKS STREET. 
 
 1870. 
 
 / 
 
\\. 
 
DEBATE IN THE SENATE 
 
 ON 
 
 THE T^RII^^IT. 
 
 SENATE. 
 
 Ottawa, May 9th, 1870. 
 
 Tho SPEAKFR took the Chair at three 
 o'clock. 
 
 After some routine busmess, 
 
 The Bill " to amend the Acts respecting 
 Customs and Inland Revenue, and to make 
 certain provisions respecting vessels navi- 
 gxting the Inland Waters of Canada above 
 Montreal," w.is read a first time. 
 
 THE TARIFF 
 
 lion. Mr. CAMPBELL moved that the 
 Bill be read a second time at the next 
 sitting of the House. 
 
 Hon. Mr. LETELLIER DE ST. JUST said 
 that he vould move in amendment that 
 the Bill be read that day six months, as he 
 was convinced that it would be most in- 
 expedient to pass a nuasure so contrary 
 to the interests of the people of the 
 Dominion. He was prepr-a-ed to acknow- 
 ledge that it was sound policy to interfere 
 as little as possible with money bills which 
 were sent up from the Commons; but, at 
 the same time, he felt that wlien measures 
 involving most important interests came 
 up for consideration, it became the duty 
 of the Senate, which was a sort of interme- 
 diary between the Crown and the people, 
 to take care that they did not sanction any 
 proceeding which would injuriously afi'ect 
 the public welfare. The measure before tiie 
 House imposed a lax on breadstuffs and 
 other articles of prime necessity, and it was 
 obligatory on the House to consider it with 
 great care before agreeing to its passage. 
 The manner, indeed, in which it had been 
 oarried through the other branch rendered 
 it more necessary for the Senate to con- 
 sider it with great circumspection. Eleven 
 out of thirteen members of the Govern- 
 ment had agreed that the policy they had 
 adopted was bad, and made a declaration 
 to tliat effect in the House ; but immedi- 
 ately afterwards it was found that their 
 
 views were reversed by tn-o others of their 
 colleagues. When it was seen that the 
 same Government which propounded one 
 policy in the afternoon, liad a diflerent one 
 in the evening, it was time for every man 
 who was anxious for the welfare of his 
 country to pause and consider the character 
 and effect of the measure, which had been 
 brought forward and passed in the Com- 
 mons under such extraordinary circum- 
 stances. Again, when it was founil that 
 the commercial cities of Quebec and On- 
 tario jiad declared themselves most em- 
 phatically in opposition to the moMure, 
 there was additional reason why the 
 Senate should interfere and save the 
 country from the consequences of a policy 
 which was so unsound. Breadstufts— 
 articles of primo necessity — were hence- 
 forth to be dearer, simply that the 
 Government might raise a revenue of about 
 eleven hun Ire.l thousand dollars ; but 
 surely some other moans could have been 
 devised to raise the amount without 
 burthening the masses of the people. No 
 doubt could exist in the mind of any one 
 that all the money requhed could have 
 been easily raised by imposing a small duty 
 on the luxuries of life instead of taxing the 
 necsssaries, which enter into the con- 
 sumption of the labouring class. The 
 House should also carefully consider the 
 effect of the policy upon the manufacturing 
 interests of the country. It was well 
 known how mmy difficulties stood in the 
 way of the establishment of manufactories 
 m this country— that they were chiefly 
 protected by the cheapness of the raw 
 material. Now it was obvious that the 
 moment a tax was imposed on the raw 
 product, there was a discrunination against 
 our manufacturing interests. Whether the 
 measure was considered with regard to our 
 manufacturing, our commercial, or our 
 shipping interests, it must be recogu zed 
 as embodying a policy most detrimental 
 to the best interests of thepominion ; and 
 he was convinced that the members of the 
 Government themselves, were they to re- 
 
veal tlii'ir Hocret thouglits, would confisa 
 that lio wus right. IIo would acknowletlge 
 that tlio motion which he had made was of 
 iin ixtraordinary character, and if it had 
 been i)rncticablo he would have preferred 
 moving in another way. If ho could have 
 tlono HO, he would lia'c moved to amend 
 the Bill, for he did not wish to deprive the 
 Government of the means of meeting the 
 puldio expenditures. Not being al)le to 
 pursue such a cour.so, he had chosen the 
 mode customary in the House of Lords, 
 and moved the six months" hoist. But it 
 might be said what would be the result of 
 j'ejecting a measiu-e providing means of 
 meeting the public expenditure. It was 
 true there might bo a dlHculty, but it was 
 one that could be removed by the (Jovern- 
 ment. In the year 18.')6, the Supply Bill 
 came before the Legislative Council of 
 Canada, in connection with the question of 
 the selection of the Seat of (Jovernment. 
 The selection of the Seat of (Tovernmont 
 was one of the privileges of the ( 'rown, but 
 inasmuch as the Legislative Assembly had 
 moved in the matter, the Council contend- 
 ed that they had the same right to bo con- 
 sulted, and decided linally that inas- 
 much as they had been overlooked they 
 would refuse the Supply. The Bill was 
 proposed for the first reading, and imme- 
 diately afterwards, and previous to the 
 second reading, it was moved that the 
 House .'^hould dispense with the 19th Kule, 
 and for reasons set forth in the Kesohition 
 declare •' th it it cannot concur in the Bill 
 of Supply.'- The Bill was tiiken back to the 
 Assembly, and the objectionable pait of it 
 repealed; and then it was returned to the 
 Legislative Council, where it rece^-ed the 
 assent of the House. If it wore a.sked what 
 the Government could do if they were 
 refused the means of mo(>ting taxation, he 
 would reply that they could pursue the 
 course that was taken in ]8a6. They 
 would take back the measure and amend 
 it so as to make it conform with what was 
 
 the sentiment of the House and country 
 
 nay, the sentiment of eleven members of 
 the Govei'nmont. If taxation was requisite 
 to raise money, let it be im])Osed u])on the 
 luxuries of the rich iind well-to-do classes 
 of the people. The Senate should not 
 hesitate a moment as to the proper course 
 for it to pursue in the case of a measure 
 which was notoriously obnoxious to all 
 classes of the peoi)le of the Dominion, from 
 one end to the other. If the Senate were 
 to interpose its authority in order to pre- 
 vent such injurious legislation Jieirig fast- 
 ened upon the country, it woukl win the 
 gratitude of the people. In any .system of 
 taxation for general purjwses, e.acli Pro. 
 yince should ho placed on the same fo(jt- 
 ing. No section should be benefited to 
 the injuiy of another, and yet that was 
 
 Hon. Mr. Letellier de St. Just. 
 
 exactly what the Bill was domg. In New 
 Brimswick and (^uitbec the people were 
 obliged to get considerable quantities of 
 their coul. Hour and wheat from al)road ; in- 
 stead of affording them facilities for doing 
 so, the Government proposed liurthening 
 them with taxes on commodities which 
 they required. The people of (Quebec, 
 Montreal, Toronto and other places in the 
 Province of okl Canada, were to have their 
 fuel ta.xed, ostensibly for the purpose of 
 benefiting a partiiailar class in a single 
 Province. Such a policy would only i)er- 
 petuate sectional jealousies, and prevent 
 the harmonious working of Confederation. 
 If the Bill pa.ssed, he was persuaded that 
 it would create an amount of irritation in 
 Nevy Brunswick that must lead to the most 
 prejudicial consequences, and to show that 
 he was not speaking without authority, he 
 would refer to the representatives of the 
 Province in the House, who, he felt con- 
 vinced, would vote against the measure. 
 Those gentlemen would declare 
 that the policy m (juestion was des- 
 tructive of the best interests of the 
 Province— subversive of the Confedera- 
 tion- -and directly in the interests of 
 the .advocates of annexation to the 
 American Union. In the other Pro- 
 vinces the consequences would be efjually 
 serious: trade and enterprize would bo 
 cramped and the people irritated ; and 
 under these circumstances he could not 
 bring himself to believe that there could 
 be found oven a majority among the sup- 
 porters of the Ciovernment pre2)ared to 
 sanction a policy whii'li was so ojiposed to 
 the true principles of economic science 
 and antagonistic to the true interests of 
 every section of the Dominion. 
 
 Hon. Mr. WILMOT followed, and said 
 that lie had no doul)t whatever that the 
 moticn of thehon. m(>mber for Grandville 
 was perfectly constitutional — entirely in 
 accordance with the iiractic^ of the House 
 of Lords as well as of the Council of the 
 old Province of Canada. He had little 
 hesitation in .seconding the motion, from 
 the fact that he knew that the Bill, as it 
 had pi., sed the other liranch of the Legis- 
 lature, would not meet with the approval 
 of the people of the Province from which 
 he came. He regretted that in almost all 
 measures relhtivo to Cu.stoins, he had been 
 obliged to express opinions contrary to 
 the (iovornment of the day. The increase 
 in the duties upon articles of necessity 
 had naturally created a great deal of 
 irritation in the Province of New Bruns- 
 wick, and atlcled to the dissatisfaction that 
 had already existed there. In maturing 
 a tariff; every care should be taken not to 
 press heavily upon the masses, or em- 
 barrass trade and enterprise ; and he must 
 acknowledge that such would be the ef- 
 
g. In New 
 leoplo were 
 uimtities of 
 al)road ; in- 
 2s I'or doing 
 liui'thoning 
 ties which 
 of (Quebec, 
 •kicew in the 
 o hnve their 
 
 purpose of 
 in a single 
 (1 only per- 
 lul prevent 
 ifedenition. 
 uaded that 
 rritation in 
 to the most 
 o .show that 
 ithority, he 
 ives of the 
 i felt con- 
 B measure, 
 declare 
 
 was des- 
 ts of the 
 Confedera- 
 nterests of 
 m to the 
 other Pro- 
 be e^iually 
 
 would 1)0 
 lated ; and 
 
 could not 
 here could 
 g the sup- 
 irei)ared to 
 ojiposod to 
 nic science 
 nterests ol 
 
 I, and said 
 'cr that the 
 ■ (frandville 
 entirely in 
 
 the House 
 ncil of the 
 
 had little 
 otion, from 
 3 Bill, as it 
 ' the Legis- 
 i approval 
 I'om which 
 
 almost all 
 e had been 
 ontrary to 
 lie increase 
 f necessity 
 it deal of 
 ew Bruns- 
 action that 
 maturing 
 ken not to 
 !s, or em- 
 id he must 
 be the ef- 
 
 fect of the present measuie. If the Gov- 
 ernment liati chosen to aid two and a 
 half per cent, to the ad valorem duties, 
 they would have raised a large limil in a 
 less objectional)lo way. But the uvw tariff 
 mposeil certiin specific, in addition to the 
 ad valorem duties ; and merchants would 
 have to make additional entries, and be 
 subject to mucii trouble and inoonvonitnce. 
 It was the true policy to havo a tariff of 
 as simple a character as i)Ossiblo ; liut tiie 
 jiresent me.isure only oomplicate<l matters. 
 The measure was called •' a national poli- 
 cy," on the ground that it was intondeil 
 to meet the policy adopted by the United 
 States with respect to oursoh os since the 
 repeal of the Kecijirocity Treaty. Look- 
 ing at it even from that stand-point, he 
 considered it ui\ju3tiHable. Before de- 
 cici'ng on the measure, the Government 
 should liive considered more carefully 
 whether it bore fairly on nil interests anil 
 sections, and was not calculated to bmeht 
 one locality or class at the expense of 
 the great majority. As respects the differ- 
 ential duty on salt, he had been under the 
 impression that under the Koyal instruc- 
 tions no such tax could be imposed. Gen- 
 tlemen connected with trade were aware 
 that coal was brought from Great Britain 
 a? ballast, and conse(iuently could be pro- 
 cured by our manufacturers and others at 
 a lower price than would otherwise be the 
 case. If coal hatl been chu'gcd an ad 
 raforem duty on the cost at the vlace of 
 production, the duty would not have been 
 felt, and it would have been able to com- 
 liete with the coal coming in from the 
 L/nited States, where the cost is consider- 
 ably higher. In whatever pjint of view ho 
 looked at the question, ho was convinced 
 that he was bound to vote for the rejec- 
 tion of the Bill. If it were rejected, ' he 
 thought that the Government would have 
 no difficulty in finding tlie means to meet 
 their obligations, especially as the amount 
 they required was very small. If the con- 
 sideration of the (juestion was postponed 
 for another year, they might be able to ma 
 turo a system which would meet with more 
 general acceptance. As respects the duty 
 on pickages, he added, he was sure that 
 it would cause a great deal of diisatisfac- 
 tion among importers, on account of the 
 complicated nature of tlie system. It 
 must bo considered, too, tint the pack- 
 ages, although costing considerable at the 
 place of shipment, were of little value at 
 the i)lace of arrival ; and it was, therefore, 
 manifestly unfair to tax such packages. 
 For these and other reasons, lo hoped that 
 the Senate would agree to reject the Bill. 
 ^ lion. Mr. CAMPBELL replied that the 
 Government, in his opinii.ai, had some 
 reason to complain of the course that had 
 been pursued by the hon. member for 
 
 Grandvillo, e.spooially in view of the man- 
 ner in which iiuhlio business liad been con- 
 ducted in th It branch of the Legislature. 
 The Government might ha"o e.\pe<!te(i 
 that if the hon. member had decided to 
 pursue the usuid course of miiking such a 
 motion on the first reading of the Bill, 
 he would have taken the opportunity ot 
 informing them of bis intentions. He did 
 nut think that anything that had occurred 
 I during the present or previous session 
 i could warrant h.m intal<ing the course that 
 : ho had and surprising tlie (iovernment 
 ' (laughter on the Upi)osition side). 
 
 I Hon. Mr. LETELLIER DE ST. JUST did 
 not suppose that the lion, member wished 
 to attribute motives to any one. 
 
 Hon. Mr. CAMPBELL meant that tlia 
 only interi)retation that the Government 
 could draw from the coiu'se of the hon. 
 gentleman was that he wished to surprise 
 them. It was not usual to make suck 
 motions until the Bill had come up for its 
 second reatling. However, the Govern- 
 ment were (juito content that the discussioa 
 should take place at that stage, though 
 he did feel that they might well hava 
 been informed of the intention of the 
 gentlemen opjjosite. Tho Government were 
 (juite prepared to defend their policy, and 
 discuss it on its merits, in the conhdence 
 that it would rece.ve the sanction and ap- 
 proval of a majority of the House. He did 
 not think tha, the hon, member hatl fairly 
 considered — and he hoped certainly that 
 others would do so — tho position in 
 which he would place the House with ref- 
 erence to the Bill of Sujiidy before them. 
 Honourable gentlemen should remember 
 that they were sent to the House, not 
 merely for the purposes of the present 
 Parliament,but to est d)lish asystem which, 
 it was to be hoped, would last for ages ; 
 and that the example they were now set- 
 ting would hiHuence those who should oc- 
 cu^jy their se its hereafter. Under these 
 circumstances the House should proceed 
 with great caution and reflect, not simply 
 ell the results of their action for the mo- 
 ment, but with reference to the future 
 legisl ition of this country. If it was really 
 desirable, — and he believed it was — thit 
 there should be a second Chamber of th© 
 Parliament in this country, it became of 
 great importitnce that the House should 
 confine itself to strict constitutional prac- 
 tice and usage, and that it should not be 
 diverted by any temporary reasons from 
 the course that it ought to pursue with 
 reference to matters which come especially 
 within the piirv ew of the oti^r 
 branch of the Legislature. Now he 
 was of opinion that a Bill regulating th© 
 tariff was hardly ever rejected m the upper 
 branch. Every one admitted that it could 
 
 / 
 
not bo iimoridod, iind, tliorofore, the lion 
 niemboi- hud moved that it be rojfcted en- 
 tirely. That WHS a courHo which' had never 
 been Uikon ii. the Parliiiment of C.inulu 
 
 Hon. Mr. LETELLIER de St. JUST —I 
 have just referred to such a case. 
 
 lion. Mr. C^AMl'BELL did not con.sider 
 It fully in point. Such a course w.i.s not 
 foUowo<l either in the Parliament of Can- 
 nda or m the Imperial Legislature, ile 
 had endeavoured to awcertain the practice 
 ol the liiitLsh Pailianient, and the only in- 
 stance, of late years, where the House of 
 Jvords had interfered with the action of the 
 Commons on a money Bill wi,s in the case 
 of the Paper Duty Bill, which was not a 
 measure involving a general tariff; like that 
 now und.-r consideration. Why was it that 
 the Tariff' Bill was never rejicted ? Be- 
 cause It iiad been passed by the House of 
 Commons,- the hotly which represented 
 the people, and was specially charged with 
 the imposition of taxation, Therefore it 
 was understood, tliat in accordance with 
 the Constitution, the Commons had the ex- 
 clusive right-and they had ever success- 
 fully vinilicated it— to deal with such 
 matters. Gentlemen who would look 
 luto the matter would find that after the 
 measure m question was rejected by the 
 Peers, Lord Palmerston roi'terated in the 
 strongest terms the exclusive right of Par- 
 Uamint to de:>l with such matters ; and 
 the result was that next session tlie same 
 measure was adoi)ted i)y the House of 
 Commons and went to the Lords where it 
 passed witli the Bill of Supply. His hon 
 friend opposite had referred to the case 
 that occurred in I8.J6 when the Legislative 
 Council objected to the course pursued 
 with reference to the seat of Government 
 In that case the Bill could be amended 
 without difficulty, by striking out the 
 Item providing for the expenses of the 
 seat ot Government. But the same thing 
 could not be done to the present Bill It 
 must be amended by supplying new items ; 
 andtheresut of the passage of the mo- 
 tion ot the hon. mem her would be that 
 tne matter would have to be reconsidered 
 in the House of Commons— that the mem- 
 bers would have to be summoned from all 
 parts of the country, and the 
 session consequently indefinitely 
 
 delayed, wliilst a new tariff was 
 mtroduced and all the usual forms pro- 
 ceeded with. He could not understand 
 bow gentlemen could deem it their duty 
 on a question of such a nature 
 to vote as the honourable gentl.^man's 
 resolution proposed. The effect of the 
 passage of such a motion must be to bring 
 the Senate into collision with the other 
 branch of the Legislature. He would call 
 attenti n — for it was a case 
 
 t.ie feeling that was exhibited, when an 
 address came to the Senate asking that its 
 clerk should be examined by a Committee 
 ot the Commons with ro-spect to the in- 
 
 Hon. 3Tr. Campbell 
 
 in point — to 
 
 Jemnity an<l m leage of hon. members. 
 1 h It was considered a matter of privilege 
 ?"«' 'ho ilouso refused permission to allow 
 Its ctHcer to be examined with respect to 
 Its accounts. Could it be supposed, then 
 that there would be no irritation in the 
 totnmons were the Senate to interfere 
 with their action respecting a measure 
 immediately within their i)urvicw, and of 
 which they are traditionnlly jealous ? Was 
 <t likely that they would recede from 
 thor position and allow them- 
 selves to be dictited to by the 
 Senate in reference to a measure which 
 must ongniato with themselves, and 
 which IS especially under their control in 
 accordance with our constitution? He 
 could not believe that those who wished to 
 see the Constitution preserved intact and 
 hmded down to j)08terity, were ready to 
 sanction any course which womd create 
 jealousies between the two branches of tlie 
 Legislature, andjeonardize the harmonious 
 operation of our legislative machinery. 
 J iiere'ore he would ask hon. gentlemen 
 in view of the future, and the security and 
 hu-mony of our Constitution, not to ap- 
 prove ot a course which was revolutionary 
 ami calculated to bring the two 
 Houses into serious conflict. With 
 these remarks respecting the con- 
 stitutional aspect of the question, he 
 would now refer to the merits of the mea- 
 sure Itself. It had been .said that there 
 were eleven members of the Government 
 really oi^posed to the present policy ; but 
 the fact was, that there was no division at 
 all in the Cabinet on the subject, and that 
 the Government were a unit and h:td so ttled 
 oil their policy after grave deliberation 
 and under the conviction that it was cal- 
 ciil ited to promote the interests of the 
 whole Dominion. The question was ne- 
 cessarily attended with difficulty— it could 
 not be an easy task to arrange a tariff' satis- 
 factory to the whole Dominion. If hon 
 gentlemen, who might hereafter find them- 
 selves members of a Cabinet, believed 
 that they would be able to frame such a 
 policy as would meet with universal ap- 
 proval, they would soon recognize their 
 mistake. It had been the desire of the 
 Government to frame a tariff" that 
 would embrace the interests of the 
 whole Dominion. The leading idea 
 was to protect the fisheries, and stimu- 
 L-ite certain great interests in all the Pro- 
 vinces. We had been endeavouring for 
 years to obtain a renewal of the Recipro- 
 city Treaty, but all our patience and for- 
 bearance had been perfectly futile; and 
 under these circumstances it became a 
 
Ijited, wlion an 
 I asking that its 
 ;>y a Committoe 
 pect to the in- 
 Hon. members, 
 or of privilege, 
 nission to allow 
 with respect to 
 Lipposed, then, 
 ritation in the 
 e to interfere 
 ng a measure 
 urvit^w, and of 
 jealous ? Was 
 I recede from 
 illow them- 
 
 to by the 
 neasure which 
 insolves, and 
 fieir control in 
 titution ? lie 
 who wished to 
 red intact and 
 were ready to 
 womd create 
 ranchoE of the 
 le harmonious 
 e machinery. 
 >n. gentlemen 
 e security and 
 n, not to ap- 
 revolutionary 
 g the two 
 iflict. With 
 ; the con- 
 question, ho 
 ■s of the mea- 
 d that there 
 
 Government 
 t policy ; but 
 no division at 
 ject, and that 
 idlwd settled 
 
 deliberation 
 t it was cal- 
 erests of the 
 tion was ne- 
 ilty— it could 
 
 a tariff' satis- 
 on. If hon. 
 ier find them- 
 let, believed 
 frame such a 
 iniversal ap- 
 iognize their 
 lesire of the 
 
 tariff" that 
 sta of th» 
 eading idea 
 
 and stimu- 
 
 all the Pro- 
 ivouiing for 
 ;he Recipro- 
 mce and for- 
 
 futile; and 
 t became a 
 
 matter for consideration whether it w.is not 
 advisable to pursue sucii a policy as would 
 keep our Hsiiorios within our own control 
 and stimulate couiinorcial intercourse be- 
 tween ourselves. The (iovcrnmont linully 
 adopted the present policy; and, gonlle- 
 inen, when tlioy objected to the ilutios on 
 wheat and coal, and other items in th • 
 t;iiiti; should remember that each and all 
 wore part of a general system, Dfficulties 
 arose, Hulise((Uont to the introduction of 
 the new policy, anil it w.n iipiirchemlca 
 lor a wliilu that the siuid'on of a nnjoiity 
 in the other branch woukl not bo given to 
 the scheme as u whole. I'ndor such cir- 
 cumstances, and anxious to avoid a crisis 
 at a very trying period in our alfiirs, tiio 
 < Jovermnont deviated snincwhat from their 
 policy for a time. Imt only to come l)uck 
 to it when they found it was i'ullv in ace .rd 
 with the majority. It hid been said by 
 tlio hon. member opposite that the (arilf 
 proposed to tax breadstufls and other ne- 
 cessiries of life. Now he (Mr. t'ami)!)cll> 
 denied that coal was a necessary of life. 
 
 Hon. Mr. LETELLIEU DE ST. Jl'.ST 
 explained tint he had said " Breadstuff's 
 and other articles of i)rime necessity." 
 
 Hon. Mr. CAMPBELL replied that nine- 
 tenths of the people were farmers wjio did 
 not use coal in any shape, and to them it 
 was not a necessary of lit'e. Coal was n.<ed 
 chiefly in manufactures— certainly in Onta- 
 rio, and did not enter into the consump- 
 tion of the general connnunity in the up- 
 per Province Now, if a duty on woo( I had 
 been proposed, that would have lieon a 
 tax on the masses. Honourable gentle- 
 men coming from the large cities, knew 
 perfectly well where the pressure on the 
 <luestion originated. Take for instance, 
 his hon. friend from Toronto (Mr. ^Icl'her'- 
 son) who was smiling in his usual mi<'ni- 
 licentway; he was at the head of a Lu'ge 
 establishment, which consumed largequan- 
 titics of coal. The tariff' might atlect such 
 an establishment in the city, but it certain- 
 ly did not interest the rural constituency 
 which he (Mr. Camiibell) represented. 
 Lven m Toronto, the consumers of coal 
 were exclusively to Ijo found among the 
 wealthy clisses, and the same might be 
 said of Ottawa, ami other towns. 
 But under any circumst mces. coal was not 
 an article of greater necessity than clotluni' 
 or boots and shoes, and vet those juiicle" 
 wereheivily taxed. It' was onlv a few 
 manufacturing establishments, after all 
 that had any real interest in the f]uestion 
 ot coal, so far as Ontario and the rural dis- 
 tricts of Quebec were concerned. The 
 arguments that had been adduced against i 
 other feitures of the tariff' were equally I 
 fallacious. Diil any one suppose th it we 
 were going to piy more for bread in conse- 1 
 
 i|uen>'e of the iinignilic mt tax on Ameri- 
 can Hour and wheat'/ The mijorityofour 
 our pooi)|e made th( ir own Hour, and could 
 supply their friends hi the Lower I'rovin- 
 cos with all that they re(iuirc<|. By en- 
 courag ng the coal of Nova .Sctia and the 
 Hour of (Jntario, cominercial intorcour.-o 
 would be encouraged between the two 
 Provinces, and the Confederation nors- 
 sarily strengtiiened. The (invernmont 
 had been led to umlerstaiid that a > ery 
 smill duty wouKl oualilo the coal owners of 
 Nova .S'oti I to supply the Dominion with 
 fuel. It was a wise jjolicy to make one 
 Province supply the wants of tiio other, 
 and keep the D</minion as in lepondent as 
 possible of the Americins. During the 
 rebellion in the Cnitod Statc.i, it wouM bo 
 remeinbereil that the (Icvornment issued 
 an order prohibiting the exportation of 
 coal altogether. 
 
 Hon. :\Ir. McI'HER.SON— That was only 
 anthracite coal, which cannot be got iu 
 Nova Scotia. 
 
 Hon. Mr. CAMPBELL— The prohibition 
 might have been i)ut on all kinds of coal • 
 and it was wi-e to guard against such' 
 dangers in the future. All should unite 
 in building up an Intercolonial Trade, and 
 stimulating native industry. He had been 
 toldby amtmber of the Legislature that 
 the result of the policy of the American' 
 in the particular just refcrreil to, had beei'i 
 to jeopardize the operations of a large es- 
 tablishment on liiike Erie, and the owner 
 confessed that he would rather see a dol- 
 [ lara ton put on coal thin be agiin sub- 
 ject to the same difficulty. The tax would' 
 soon be considered a Ijlessing if it had the 
 effect it was expecded to have— of sujiply- 
 ing our own coal to all parts of the Domin- 
 ion. He found that the Americans im- 
 posed ifl.2r> on Iiitumiiions coal, 4(J per 
 cent on the anthraci ,, '20 per cent a 
 bushel on wheat, and wheat H .ur, 10 per 
 cent on rye. Situate I as the Dominion 
 was, alongsitle of the United States, it 
 was necessary to shape our policy with 
 reference to theirs. He would not, how- 
 evei', dwell at any gre der length on the 
 question. He was himself most in- 
 Huenced by the constitutional aspect of 
 tlie subject, and ho implored hon. ' gen- 
 tlemen, before voting for the amendment, 
 to consider the conscipiences that would 
 ensue by coming hito collision with the 
 other branch of the Legislature, and the 
 effect of the example they would give to 
 those who succeeded them in the Senate. 
 
 ilon. Mr. MILLER said he rose with some 
 diffidence to address the Senate on the im- 
 portant question underconsideration, after 
 the very earnest ami persuasive speech of 
 the hon. Postm ister General. Tliat hon, 
 gentleman, from his ability an I position, 
 
iiH woli 118 (Vom lii-i j^i'oiit pcMMoiiiil iioiitilnr. 
 ity, <li'MTVo.lly puHst'.ssod ^rout inlliiojice 
 with tlu) lloiiso, ..nU lii.H lii'fli io;<;ii<l for 
 him m:i(io It 11 vt'iy iinploiusiiuf, duty tooi). 
 ' I'OJio him on tho pieaont ouoasiou. Jim ho 
 l)ohovt'(l im u roincseutitivo IVom (hn I'm- 
 vinco of Novii Ncotiti, it w.is his diiiv to 
 • 'l.poMo tlio Jtill b(.|(>r,, thil N..ii:it . "Not 
 only did ho ^.J^'l•ot lu'iii«ol.li>.od tojissiimo 
 it poHitioii of aiitaj,'oiiisiu towards Ins liou. 
 triond, hut Iio w.m also sony to I o coiti. 
 poiUid to i)laco liimselr in hostility to tho 
 (ioviTiuiu'iit of which tho lion, goiitlomiin 
 rtiw a distin«iiisht)d nionihor. Smco he 
 ua<l tho honour of iisoiit in tho Sonato, }io 
 had tiivon tho Uovcrnnu.-nt a cordial and 
 unwuvonng support, ovjn when in many 
 canes, his convictions lent only a (iiialiliod 
 approval to their acts. Coining as ho ditl 
 to this House strongly commuted to the 
 great exporimont of Uovorninent, which 
 under (;onfedcration,tho I'rovi.Ku-s of Jhit' 
 ish North Aiucrica wore endeavouring to 
 work out. and deeply mterestod as he w,is 
 in the success of that exi)orimcnt, ho had 
 lelt it his duty on all possible occasions to 
 give tho friends of thumoasuro his humhlo 
 a.Msistanco. ilc iiad not yot lost faith, al- 
 though many ol its earliest advocates had 
 in the great scheme of building up on Brit- 
 ish soil ,11 this continent a NowNitional- 
 ity under u .sound j.olicy and an ccon.jnii. 
 cal administration of public atliiirs. If 
 <lisaster were to overtake tliis great exjieri- 
 inent, it would bo in consc(|uen(e of the 
 mcai)acity of our rulers, and thoir want 
 of wisdom 111 forchig on tho country such 
 vicious legislation as the Lill i)elore 
 tl«3 'louse. To that Bill ho wii decidodly 
 opposed, as unsound in principle, and cei 
 
 tun to prove unjust m its operation, anl 
 injurious to the host interests of the whole 
 Dominion. JJut much as ho depid'atcd 
 the Bill itself, ho would iiilinitely pr.^fer 
 tho passage of a tariff a dozen tinies more 
 obnoxiuus to tho count:y, than that bv 
 any means this S mate slraild concur in the 
 oxtr.iordinary constitutional doctrine laid 
 down by the Hon. J'ostm ister General as 
 to their 2)ower to deal with a mousure of 
 this k,nd (hear, iioai). Against that doc 
 trine he j.iotostod. and called on this 
 Jlouse to protest in tho strongest nnnner 
 (hear, hoar). He regretted to hearsolibdi 
 an authority as the hon. gentleman dTs- 
 puting the uiinii.ililied right of the Jlouse 
 to exorcise a deliborative judgment upon 
 this Bill, ami to reject it if they .saw lit. 
 He must tell tlie Hon. I'ostmistertieneral 
 that this do('triiie was contrary to ;,ll ])re. 
 cedent, and it was neces.^nv ihit it should 
 bo met and its f dlicy exposed on its lir^t 
 assertion in this body (hear, hear). The 
 ])rivilegos of this IIou.se in resi)ect to ' 
 Money JJills were at Iwist equal to those of 
 the House of Lords, an I the Commons of 
 Hon. Mr. Miller. 1 
 
 hnglijiil hill invariably concctled to that 
 lirimch of tho Legislature th • right to deal 
 wilh such Bills, iM a whole, cither by ns- 
 
 seliting to or lejecting ;heni. l)isputOH 
 
 had from time to time iui-(Mi botwe. n tho 
 two Houses of I'arlianieni in England dur- 
 ing the last two or three hundred years as 
 to th« light claimed bv the Lords to ajucnd 
 Money JiilU— a cfuiii whih liad now in 
 pr.ictico been abandoned, but no dispute 
 could fairly exist as to tho aiisolute right 
 of rejection of such Bills by the I'jiper 
 House. :May, a great authority on rarlia- 
 mentary practice, said:— "The Lords were 
 not originally precluded from amending 
 Bills of .Supply; for there are numerous 
 cases on the Journals hi which tho Lords' 
 ftinenilments to such Bills wore agreed 
 to." I'racticall}', ho admitted this right 
 of amendment hiul been abandoned, 
 hy the Lords, and lio did not claim it for 
 the .Senate of this Dominion. But ho did 
 claim, and lie was sorry to hear it denied 
 or doubted in any .juarter, that thi- Uou.so. 
 under tho practice and i)rocoflonts of tl' > 
 Jlouse of Lords, possessed the right— tL„ 
 undoubted right— to reject this Tariff Bill, 
 or any other moasiiro emanating from tho 
 Commons. Wore the .Sennte to adopt the 
 position the Hon. Tostmaster (ieneral 
 asked tiiem to take— to acknowledge that 
 they had no right todeal with tlie (juestiou 
 before it, then they would establish a 
 lirccedent that wcjuld bo quoted for all 
 time to come against this body. (Heir, 
 hear.) They would yield their right to ex- 
 ercise those functions which they ought to 
 enjoy im.ler the ( 'oiistitution. In onh^r to 
 understand tluir true position, ho would 
 turn the attention of tho lluuse to tho 
 functions of the House of Lords in re- 
 ference to Money votes. Ho might 
 strengthen his position by old authorities, 
 but would not go back further than the 
 celebrated Conference of the Lords and 
 Commons in ICiTl, on a question of tliis 
 character. Then the Lords compliined, 
 m the linguage of their own Resolution, 
 '' that by a new maxim of the Commons a 
 hard and ignoble choice is left to the 
 Lords, eitlier to refuse the Crown Sujiplies 
 when most necessary, or to consent to 
 ways and projiositions of aid which neither 
 tlieir own judgiiu'iit nor the good of the 
 people can admit." Hero evidently the 
 right of alteration and amendment wa.s 
 contended for, and whit was tho answer of 
 the Commons? "Your Lordships first 
 reason i, from the happiness of the Con- 
 stitution tli.c the two Houses are mutual 
 checks on each other. Our answer is, ' So 
 they are still,' for Ymir LonUiip.i have a 
 ni'ijitth-c U, ill,; icJiok'.'' In contradiction to 
 w-hat had fallen from the linn. Postmaster 
 'ieneral. ho asserted th 't until this dav, 
 the light admitted Ly the Commons in 
 
;e(lp(l to that 
 
 i'i;irlit to deal 
 
 ei tiler l,y ns- 
 11. I)iHiiutos 
 I liotn'ci II tlio 
 Kiigland due- 
 ilii'd yciii','^ iiH 
 H'dsto umond 
 
 Imd now in 
 it no (lisimto 
 Iwoliito right 
 ,• tho Ujiper 
 ty on I'liAlii- 
 10 Lord.s wei'O 
 ni anionding 
 10 nuinoious 
 1 tlio Lords' 
 were iigrced 
 d this light 
 
 abandoned, 
 claim it I'or 
 
 But ho did 
 sar it doniod 
 t till- Uouso. 
 dents of th > 
 3 right— th„ 
 iHTaritrBill, 
 ng I'loiM tlio 
 to adopt the 
 ter (Jeneral 
 )wledge that 
 tho fiuestion 
 
 estaijlish a 
 oted i'or all 
 idy. (Heir, 
 ' light to ex- 
 ley ought to 
 
 In order to 
 1, he would 
 (jiise to tho 
 ^ords in re- 
 
 JIo might 
 autliorities, 
 icr than the 
 
 Lords and 
 tion of tliis 
 ■ompliined, 
 Ifesolution, 
 Commons a 
 eft to the 
 ivn .Sui)plies 
 consent to 
 lich neither 
 ;ood of the 
 idently the 
 dmont was 
 10 answer of 
 Iships first 
 if tlio Con- 
 tra mutual 
 wer is, ' So 
 i/is Ji((ve a 
 iidiction to 
 Postmaster 
 il this day, 
 jmmons in 
 
 tliiit oelohrato I c.iho hiH novnr boon yield- 
 ed on tho 0110 hand, or mu . ossfully (|ueM 
 tionod on the* other. Ho li. llongod the 
 hoiioiiralilo gontleiiiin to eite an inst in<<! 
 in whieh it had. Again, in lOH'.i, when tho 
 I'oll Hill w.is amended \>y tho Ihui.so of 
 Lords, the ComnioiiH insisted it was n 
 hrouch of privilege, and this was tho 
 language of their renionstraneo : "The 
 Lonh cannot alter the grant i)ropo.sed, or 
 otherwise interpose in such a Ihll than to 
 pass or reject tlie same, without alteration 
 or amendnunt.'' Coidd any admission of 
 the right to reject ho more dear or em- 
 jdiatic than those expressions, not of hasty 
 action, hut of soloniii dclitieration on tho 
 part of tho Commons? 
 
 iron. Mv. CAMrUELL— <Jan you cito a 
 ease in which tliis right has lieen exercised 
 in modern times ? 
 
 Hon. Mr. MILLEU could cito many 
 
 f-ases in proof of his i)osition. In IT.Vs, a 
 Bill to repeal tho duties iiayahle on tallow 
 imported from Ireland, having boon sent 
 to the JiOrds from tho rommons, was ro- 
 joctod by that House. In itlTl, a Bill for 
 tho imposition of duty on fonigii commo- 
 tlities was also rejected l)y the Lords. But 
 coming to more recent o.ises, in 178'.», a 
 Bill i'or placing a duty on cocoa-nuts, 
 which liad received the sinction of the 
 Commons, was thrown out in the L'ppor 
 Jlouse. In ISOT, a Bill for imposing cer- 
 tain duties on malt was rejecto I by the 
 Lords. In the same year a Bill to abolish 
 payments to officers of Customs in Ireland 
 was disallowed Avitliout remonstrance. A 
 Bill passed tho 1 louse of Commons in 
 1811 to suspend for a year tho duty on 
 corn-wash for the distillation of spirits in 
 England. That was a Bill of great imjior- 
 tanee, involving revenue to the amount of 
 ono million and a half of jiounds, and 
 underwent a long discussion in the Com- 
 mons. In both Houses the ministers took 
 an active part in tho debates. Yet tho 
 Bill was rejected by the Lords, and no 
 complaint was made on the 2)art of the 
 Commons. On the contrary, when the 
 Chancellor of the Exchernier introduced a 
 few days afterwards a Bill to provide for 
 tho loss of duties; he said, "I introduce 
 this Bill in consequence of the rejection of 
 a Bill by the other House."' (Hear, hear.) 
 llii would not troulilo tho Senate with i'ur- 
 ther cases, until he caino to the remark- 
 able Bill for the repeal of tho paper duties 
 in 1800. 
 
 Hon. Mr. CAMPBELL— What I mean to 
 say is, that my hon. friend cannot cite me 
 a case in which the Lords have rejected a 
 Tariff Bill. 
 
 Hon. Mr. MILLER - Perhaps not, but 
 why 'I The necessity for doing so could 
 hardly have arisen under tho practice of 
 
 tlio Hou-o of (-'ommoim prior to IStiU, 
 (Hear, heir). Wiiat was that practi(!0? 
 The hon. gentleman is as well acquaintetl 
 with it as any memiier of this House. Ha 
 well knows that in the rurliament of Enj. 
 land, until very recently, most of tho Bilfii 
 of Supply and Taxation related to spoeilio 
 commfHlitios. I'reviously to Isdo, a great 
 portion of tho revenue there was raised by 
 Acts imposing duties, so to speak, in ilo- 
 tail. Separate Acts wore pa.sHod placing 
 duties on <litlerent articles, any ono of 
 which, if obnoxious, couM bo rejected by 
 the Lords, without endangering tho whole 
 fiscal policy of the Administration. If 
 therefore an unjust or objectionable tax 
 were proposed to be imposi-d by tho Com- 
 ! mens, it would come before tho I^rds, not 
 in the Taritl'Bill, but usually in a separate 
 Bill to bo consideretl on its own merits. 
 Nearly all debateablo taxation was intro- 
 duced in that way, every item had to 
 stand or fall by itself. Ilonco the 
 reason why no necessity had occur- 
 red of rejecting a Tariff Bill. But 
 the right claimed and exorcised, the pr'ii- 
 ciple involved in the rejection of any mouoy 
 Bill, applied to tho Tariff as a whole, aa 
 well as to tho Tariff by items or parts. Tho 
 reverse of this proposition was too absurd 
 for argument (Hear, hear). In this coun- 
 try our practice had been ilitterent. Our 
 Tarifl Bills iueliRled nearly all tlescriptions 
 of taxation and supply. Tho Minister of 
 Finance gave no opportunity to Parlia- 
 ment of passing on sjiecilic items, apart 
 from tho general policy of tho (iovernment. 
 All wo coiilil do was to reject tho whole Bill, 
 if we considered it contained items of un- 
 wise or unjust taxation. Cur right to do 
 this should not bo doubted, and must be 
 .settled and admitted (hear, hoar). Would 
 it 1)0 .said that while under the practice 
 and precedents of tho House of Lords, we 
 had the right to reject Tax Bills in detail, 
 we had not tho right to do so when tho 
 substiinco of such Bills came before us in 
 the aggregate form of a Tariff Bill ? 
 
 The Hon. Postmaster (ieneral told the 
 Senate tluit this was tho first time since 
 its creation on which hon. gentlemen were 
 asked to pass a resolution such as that be- 
 fore the House, and he warned them 
 against the precedent their decision would 
 I estalilish. aiul tho example it woukl set. 
 j Ho would earnestly reiterate the warn- 
 j ing of the hon. gentleman. He begged to 
 j remiiul tho House that they were, lo some 
 I extent, called upon to establish a prece- 
 ; dent, and hi tho words of tho Hon. Post- 
 master (ieneral, set an example for 
 I future imitation (hear). What were that 
 I precedent and that example to be 'I A 
 I servile surrender of their undoubted rights 
 j or an S uiie(iuivocal assertion of them ? 
 i That Avas the issue the Postmaster General 
 
8 
 
 had placed before the h'enato, and 
 those who supported him must a<lopt 
 the degrading doctrine he propounded, 
 •or his part, he should prelir that thi 
 body should conso to exist rather than en- 
 . orso such a doctrine. Was it not more 
 
 Wv uiTr. ""f- r^^l^berative Assem 
 l)ly— that body which occupied tlio hidiest 
 position under the constitution-to dclib 
 erate where it was contended they had no 
 ight t . del. berate-but simplv, under to 
 hction of deliberation, to lo echo lo 
 wishes of tlie other brancli, and perfo na 
 no functions of tlieir own ? If tl,c Sem to 
 ;vore intended as a check on thfpori ' 
 
 ot the Dominion, ospociallv the smaller 
 ones itwnnldbe moit miwise and S 
 al, they would bo deposin- them^eh-es 
 irom the higli position they should occuw 
 ^vere tlioy to s.y tliat thev had no i?S?^ 
 
 Sm "'Ae.T as the 'one now"brfoJe 
 tiiem. Jherelore he agreed with tl,o 
 Postmaster General that' the co se t le 
 Senate would now pursue would be con 
 mdered as a precedent in the future ami 
 It was most impoV Mt, it should not be 
 such as would hereafter be cited aJhniit 
 ing their functions. He would especiX 
 press tins po.nt on hon. gentlemen^ rS 
 «entmg the smaller Provhices in die Con 
 
 SVnor'n"- ^"i '^^ constitution of tSs 
 .Vnat,, the weaker Provinces were guai. m- 
 ^ed a pro ection against the enSch- 
 ments of the more nowerfnl 
 commumties of the Dominion.^ In tie 
 House ot Commons, Ontario or Quebec 
 ^n easily over-ride the wishes of Nova 
 
 K tt We .f ""^^™^^ ^" ^"^ 1"estiom 
 for hm^ fi """ ''T ''^''^ ^^'-y flifterent, 
 IZii 1 "'® ^*™^"e'" Provinces unitec 
 could always resist unjust legislation It 
 was essential to the interests of these Pro 
 vmcesthat their representative hi thl 
 
 t xefancK^ '°".'-'°^ *^° impositL of 
 ta\es and the granting of supplies The 
 
 iinfe'Tn^Tf^'t"?^*"^^ M^Stime Pro 
 vmcfc, m the Senate was given for tne nu.- 
 pose of acting as a check on he mo. J 
 
 Fn Tli?o\r^'''^ ?' '"^^ Confederation 
 
 OfS % f '^™""'^ °*' *lie Legislature 
 
 Of what value would this check be, ^f the," 
 
 yieul un the ffreni, vi-Tl.f „„,i -,..•.•', "'^ 
 
 yieul up the g,-eat right and privi e4 of 
 con .filing taxation and tlic expendifures 
 oftheCrovernment? (Hear, hia, ) Xe-' 
 
 o.e, guard the pnviloges of this' .Senate 
 with a jealous care, as in it thev may -,1 
 wayshnd a safeguard against inVsHce or 
 owH^ssion. He feared he was\veSing 
 
 ritter the speech o*' the hon. Postmaster 
 General he felt it should l,e fully ,li„d 
 (hear, hoar.) He had alluded to the great 
 
 the British Parliament in I'iGO. If the 
 Hon. Mr. Miller. 
 
 House would indulge him, he would quote 
 , the opm.ons of some of the eminent men 
 Who took part m the debate on that 
 question, as to the privileges of the Upper 
 House in relation to Mo icy Bills. The 
 great speech of that occasion, in favour 
 ot those privileges, was made by Lord 
 Lyndhurs , then in his eighty-eighfh year 
 ^nff^'-f"" ""'/"'^ argument, that great 
 authority used this language :_" I take 
 eave to say that there is°nor an instance 
 to be found in which the House of Com- 
 mons has controverted our right to leioct 
 Money Bills. Over and over again, I ''re 
 peat It nothing can be found in the Par- 
 hamentaiy .Journals, or in any histo-y of 
 Parliamentary procoodin.'s, to show that 
 our riglit to reject Money Bills has been 
 questioned.- Lord Monteigle, who fol! 
 [lowed in the discussion, and who in a 
 H?2''^'n "l'S".nie.it moved the rejection of 
 the Bill, said in reference to the- speech of 
 
 le rned Iriend s speech, I do not think that 
 any one will be disposed to question the 
 n^}LT\TT^\'^^'^ "2lit of the House, 
 admitted by high autliorities, andsanction^ 
 by uncontradicted practice, to deal with 
 any Money Bill, as a whole, either by ac 
 
 d!&T°'wTf^"^ '^■' I" the same 
 cltbate Lord Chelmsford expressed himself 
 as follows: « We are all agreed as to the 
 privileges of the two Houses of Parliament 
 with respect to Money Bills. We are 
 agreed with reference to Bills of Supi^lv 
 and Taxation, that your Lordships have, at 
 all events, the power to reject them. You 
 have, to some extent, admitted you have 
 no power to alter Money Bills." Lord 
 ; Derby ^zsed language to the same effect, 
 [ and he could quote Blackstone and other 
 high authorities in support of the constitu- 
 tional right of the Upper Branch of Parlia- 
 ment to deal, as a wiiole, with all Money 
 Bills. He was only surprised that in the 
 face of such authorities tlie leader of the 
 Crovernment in this House would disimte 
 the privilege for which he contended. But 
 
 ^^''•"11"' ^' '''''' *■«'■ tl^e fii'st tune, he 
 considered the argument should be fairly 
 and fully met antl answered (hear, heir) 
 He would no^v say a fe^v n-orcls with re- 
 spect to the merits of tlie measure itself 
 which had been heralded as a portion of a 
 great national policy. The framers of the 
 policy harl certainly been fortunate in their 
 .selection of a name, whatever might be 
 Its shortcomings in other respects. No 
 doubt they felt that unpleasant things 
 n?nfn t; T'^'^'^^led under a specio.is 
 name He for one. was not remlv to ac- 
 cept die policy of the Bill as a true'nation- 
 al policy. Jiiasmi'ch as it might be in- 
 tended to operate ag,inst the American. 
 It Louid more properly bo collorl a retalia 
 tury policy, and as such it was ridiculous. 
 
 

 In t}iat point of view, if, was really worse 
 than no policy at all. If the Government 
 had brought down a measure adequately 
 protecting our coal and agricultural pro- 
 ducts, then it might with some propriety 
 be called a retaliatory, if not a national 
 policy ; but he was prepared to show that 
 the present scheme was entirely useless as 
 a means of protection, and could only bu 
 serviceable as a means of taxatiun. It 
 v;as proposed, in the first place, to levy 50 
 cents a ton upon coal coming into the Do- 
 minion. Every gentleman who laiow any- 
 thing of the trade of Canada was well 
 aware that above Montreal the 50 cents 
 would not be suilicient protection to the 
 coal of Nova Scotia ; and therel'ore Ameri- 
 can coal would continue to be brought into 
 the country, and the consumers would be 
 obliged to pay the tax themselves without 
 any benefit to our coal interests. If the 
 people of Ontario were desirous of paying 
 that tax, of course they were at perfect 
 liberty to do so ; but he thoujjht from the 
 expressions of public opinion in that Pro- 
 vince, the majority of the gentlemen re- 
 presenting it in the >Senate would not be 
 disponed to favour the imposition of that 
 duty. It had been said by 
 the hon. Postmaster-General that coal did 
 not go into actual consumption among the 
 poor; and although that might be, to a 
 large extent, true, yet it was well known 
 that when coal rose in price, wood also in- 
 creased in cost, correspondingly (hear, 
 hear). 
 
 Hon. Mr. CAMPBELL— To some ext?nt, 
 perhaps. 
 
 Hon. Mr. MILLER— Its cost would in- 
 crease _ considerably in the large cities. 
 Therefore, the price of wood was to be 
 raised during the long winter months, 
 when it was an article of prime necessity 
 alike among the rich and poor, and without 
 any benefit to the coal interests of Nova 
 Scotia. He would then ask if the House 
 was prepared to sanction a policj , which 
 was to raise revenue ui a way that woulcl 
 bear most unfairly on the poor peoi)lo of 
 this country. He did not tliink such a 
 course was worthy of being called a nation- 
 al policy. If it went into oi)eration, before 
 a year passed by, it would be condemned 
 from one end of tiie Dominion to the other. 
 Now how was this policy to benefit Nova 
 tJyotia ; whei'o was the Nova Scotia coal to 
 find a market ? Fifty cents a ton v.-ill not 
 send their coal above Montreal. Coukl 
 they even compete in Quebec for the supply 
 of thit locality ? He thouglit not. In Que- 
 bec, the average price of English coal was 
 20 shillings a chaldron, or 13 shillings and 
 4 pence a ton, and the market was now al 
 
 would be 15 shilling and 10 pence, or .say 
 16 shillings; but Nova Scotia coal could 
 not be put into the market at less than 20 
 shillings, and, therefore, it could not enter 
 into competition with the English article. 
 It was true that some enterprismg 
 gentlemen in Montreal had in- 
 vested considerable cajijital in the Nova 
 Scotia coal mines and might succeed by 
 their influence, and business con- 
 nections in introducing a small quantity 
 I into Montreal, but it could not be much. 
 I It would, therefore, be seen that this great 
 j concession to the coal interest of Nova 
 I Scotia amounted to nothing, but on the 
 j contrary, it was calculated to excite odium 
 I against that Province hi the other sections 
 j of the Dominion. He also objected to the 
 ; duty on rice, whicli is an article of luxury 
 I among the poor fisiiermen and labouring 
 j classes, and ought not to be taxed. It was 
 i an article that the Legislature of Nova 
 Scotia had always hesitated to touch for 
 the reason he had just given, and the duty 
 would certainly be considered of a most 
 objectionable character in the Maritime 
 Provinces. As respects the duty on Hour, 
 it was understood tc be a sort of compen- 
 sation to Ontario for the duty on coal. 
 Why was there no compensation to Quebec 
 and New Brunswick ? Last year the peo- 
 ple of Nova Scotia imported something 
 like 160,000 barrels of American flour and 
 60,000 barrels of corn meal, the duty on 
 which would amount to $50,000 a year. 
 These were articles that entered into the 
 consumption of the people generally, and 
 yet they were to be taxed under the great 
 " national policy." Even supposing 20,- 
 000 tons of coal could be sent this year 
 into Ontario and Quebec in consequence 
 of the protection of this tarifi"— and he 
 doubted whether such would be the case — 
 it would be only a few capitalists and 
 monopolists that would receive tlio benefit, 
 whereas the Hour duty would fall on all 
 classes ; and for that trilling advantage to 
 the coal owners the people of Nova Scotia 
 would have to pay §50,000 in duties on 
 breadbtuffs alone. 
 
 Hon. Mr. MITCHELL— A large portion 
 of that Hour was Canadian sent through in 
 bond. 
 
 Hon. Mr.,MILLEIl undertook to say tliat 
 he knew something about the trade of 
 Nova Scotia, and tliat he was quite correct 
 in his statement. Some Canadian flour 
 might have come from Boston, but the 
 larger proportion certainly was American. 
 
 Hon. Mr. MITCHELL sai I that his hoti. 
 friend was misinformed. 
 
 Hon. Mr. MILLER— If the hon. gentlo- 
 man would look at tlie trade returns of 
 
 togoLiier supplied from England. At 2shil- i Nova Seotia. whena duty wis iniposetl on 
 lings and 6 pence a ton, the whole cost American Hour, ho would liu I that he (Mr. 
 
 // 
 
10 
 
 Miller) was borne out by the facts. Pre- 
 vious to the Reciprocity Treaty, there was 
 a duty on Hour, and after the repeal of the 
 treaty it was re-imposed- His conclusions 
 were cb-awn from the returns of these 
 periods. 
 
 Hon. Mr. LETELLIER DE ,ST. JUST— 
 The duty was imposed for tne purposes of 
 revenue. 
 
 Hon. Mr. MILLER— The argument w<is 
 then used that by imposing a duty on 
 American Hour, we might facilitate nego- 
 tiations with the United States for a renew- 
 al of the Reciprocity Treaty. 
 
 Hon. Mr. MITCHELL— That will be 
 one of the effects of the present duty. 
 
 Hon. Mr. MELLER— The argument has 
 been totally dispelled by the facts of the 
 case for the past five or six years. He 
 also had strong objections to the duty on 
 agricultural products. It was likely, if the 
 Bill became law, that a proclamation, in 
 accordance with the original resolutions — 
 which might be fairly presumed to fore- 
 shadow the intentions of the Government — i 
 would be soon issued to put certain agri- 
 cultural products under the ten per cents. 
 Although the duty on flour and corn meal 
 would be a very serious tax on the i^eople 
 of Nova Scotia, it would not in a liu-ge sec- 
 tion of the Province produce so much 
 discontent as this provision of the Bill, 
 should it go into operation. A large portion 
 of the people of that Province were en- 
 gaged in mining, fishing, and maritime 
 pursuits. The people of a lirga section of 
 the Gulf and Atlantic sea-board depended 
 to a considerable extent upon Princ? 
 Edward Island for certain necessaries. In 
 the fall of the year, vessels leave many of 
 the numerous ports of Xova Scotia, antl 
 proceed to P. E. Islanil, where they get 
 cargoes of oats, potatoes, itc. These ves- 
 sels bring back their cargoes, and the 
 entries show — and they are not always 
 made— a very large import of agricultural 
 prodacts. If the people along a large sec- 
 tion of the sea coast were to find that 
 this agricultural produce was to be 
 taxed, as one of the results of Union, 
 they would naturally feel deeply irritated; 
 and the consequence would be t'uit the 
 harmoni.jus working of the Confederation 
 must be delayed. Such a tax was unjust 
 inpruiciple, and vexatious in its operation, 
 and calculated to do more to produce dis- 
 sension than any other system of taxation 
 that could be devised — more irritating 
 even than the iiostngo on newspapers or 
 the stamp duty. I'nder these circuni 
 stances he had a right to assert that the 
 measure wa,'- not a national policy. It was 
 a policy that would liear most unjustly on 
 the li'iiouring classes. It was not such a 
 policy as would draw forth the sentiment 
 
 Hon. Mr. Bliller. 
 
 that was expressed by a British statesman 
 when he hoped his name would go down to 
 the future as having given bread to the 
 poor, "unleavened by unjust taxation." 
 This Bill would not only leaven the bread of 
 rich and poor with the bitter leaven of un- 
 just taxation, but it would impose taxes on 
 nearly all the prime necessaries of life. 
 I Did such a result deserve io be dignified 
 ;with the name of a "National Policy?" 
 ; lie might be told tliat taking it in connec- 
 i tion with other matters of legislation, it 
 might be considered a national policy ; but 
 1 he was not able to appreciate such ari argu- 
 ment. The protection of the fisheries had 
 \ nothing whatever to do with the question. 
 I '.)ur fisheries were as much our pro- 
 , perty as our soil, and should bo 
 ' equally protected from the encroach- 
 ; ments of foreigners. It might with 
 i the same reason be argued that the expen- 
 I diture of $200,0U0 to meet the anticipated 
 Fenian raids, was a part of the grand na- 
 tional policy of which gentlemen opposite 
 were so fond of declaiming. The one was 
 as much a portion of the fiscal policy of 
 the country as the other. If the measure 
 went the length which it should, if it met 
 American products bj tlie same duties im- 
 posed on our commodities in American 
 markets, then there might be some rea- 
 son for supporting it, but to say that such 
 a tariff as the one i)roposed would ever 
 lead to reciprocity was nothing else than 
 an absurdity. 
 
 Hon. Mr. MITCHELL— Then the lion, 
 gentleman s objection is that we do not go 
 far enough. Is it so ? 
 
 Hon. Mr. MILLER— If they had imposed 
 a duty on co.d sufiScient to protect the 
 Nova Scotia product in Hamilton or Lon- 
 don, he would feel proud to support it. 
 
 Hon. Mr. MITCHELL— Would it not do 
 to send it to Toronto ? 
 
 Hon. Mr. MILLER— He did not believe 
 that any duty could be put on American coal 
 sufficient to be of service to Nova Scotia, 
 with justice to Ontario. It should be re- 
 collected that our m mufacturing interests 
 in this Dominion had claims on this Legis- 
 lature. If we could not protect them, we 
 should not crush them out of existence. 
 This assumed protection to Nova Scotia coal 
 would bear heavily on these enterprises. 
 The prosperity of this Dominion must to a 
 large extent depend on the growth and 
 success of its minufactories, but j'ou are 
 striking a heavy blow at them by this Bill, 
 lie supposed, however, it was all right, be- 
 cause it was a "National Policy." Ho 
 would not detain the House any longer on 
 the merits of the Bill as he rose chiefly to 
 speak to the Constitutional aspect of the 
 question. In couciusion, lie would say 
 that the country was looking anxiously to 
 
11 
 
 the action of this Senate on the question 
 before it. Should the House be met by 
 the argument — that it should not bring 
 itself into collision with the other branch Y 
 Could they be influenced by any intimation 
 of that kind ? Should they hesitate a 
 moment as to their proper course when 
 public opinion pointed so unmistakably 
 to it ? He believed if hon. gentlemen 
 ^ere true to the interests they represented 
 — if they rose above party considerations, 
 and those other influences susceptible of 
 being exercised in this House, and rejected 
 this Bill, they would win for themselves 
 the gratitude of the people from one end 
 of the Dominion to the other. The Senate 
 lia<l a duty to perform to the country and 
 to themselves, and that was to protect the 
 interests of the people, and, at the same 
 time, to assert and vindicate their own 
 rights and privileges. 
 
 Hon. Mr. McPHEItS(3N said that he was 
 impelled by a strong sense of public duty 
 to assume a position of hostility to the 
 Government on the important question 
 under consideration. At the outset, he 
 must say that he hid been as much 
 taken by surprise as any other member of 
 the House by the motion of the hon. mem- 
 ber for Grandville ; for he had expected 
 that the amendment would have been 
 moved when- the Bill came up for its se- 
 cond reading tomorrow. Such p. course 
 would be more in accordance with the 
 usage of the House ; but now that the 
 subject was fairly brought up, he was 
 obliged to deal with it. It was his inten- 
 tion to move an amendment to the amend- 
 ment, to the following effect : — 
 
 That all the words after "That " be left 
 out and the following inserted : 
 
 Resolved, — " That in the opinion of this 
 House, by subjectmg to duty of Customs 
 as proposed in the said Bill — breadstuff's of 
 any kind, or rice, coal and coke, salt, or 
 any of the " natural products " enumer- 
 ated in schedule C of the present tariff (31 
 Vic. chs. 7 and 44), and which at present 
 are admitted into Canada, free of duty — a 
 principle would be introduced, that Would 
 be partial in its operation botweeu the 
 Provinces constituting the Dominion, that 
 woukl distribute the burden of taxation 
 unequally and vexatiously amongst the 
 people, tliat would injuriously disturl) 
 trade, and tend to engender sentiments of 
 .sectionalism and disunion in the minds of 
 the people of Canada." 
 
 He regretteil exceedingly that it w.as his 
 duty to oppose the second reading of a 
 Bill of such importance as that under con- 
 sideration. He was fully conscious of the 
 rosponsiiiility of rijootinff n. measure com- 
 ing from the other branch and intended to 
 meet the public expen-i tares ; but he 
 
 did so under the conviction that any 
 other course would be antagonistic 
 to the best interests of the country. It 
 was not sutticient for members to 
 give a simple negative to the Bill — he 
 thought all sliould put their views on re- 
 cord. The gentlemen who opposed the 
 measure were not actuated by factious 
 motives, but by a high sense of public 
 duty. All the propositions in the amend- 
 ment he had just read could be easily sus- 
 tained. Ho believed it to be exceedingly 
 unsound to impose a duty on coal and 
 breadstuff's, or any natural products that 
 were now free. He acknowledged that 
 there was difficulty in framing a tariff^ that 
 would be acceptable to all the people of the 
 Dominion ; but certainly it would have been 
 an easy task to mature one that would be 
 more just to all sections than the measure 
 before the House. If it had been the ob- 
 ject to devise a tariff' that would set one 
 Province against another — that would cre- 
 ate and perpetuate sectional jealousies and 
 antipathies, the Government had certainly 
 succeeded. Breadstuff's were to be taxed 
 to please the people of Ontario ; but he 
 believed it was a great injustice to the 
 agriculturalists of Ontario to suppose that 
 they were prepared to accept such a tariff", 
 or that it would be a protection to them. 
 The market where their surplus produce 
 Wiis disposed of fixed the price of the 
 wholf>, and the duty could not be of any 
 positive advantage so far as the price of 
 their breadstuff's was concerned. Then, 
 the duty would be a great obstruction to 
 trade all throughout the country, which 
 should, in accordance with the true prin- 
 ciples of commerce, be left as unrestricted 
 as possible. Not only would the tariff" be 
 worthless to the people of Ontario, but it 
 would be most burthensome to the other 
 sections — to the fishermen and the great 
 masses of the people of Nova Scotia and 
 New Brunswick as well as of Quebec ; for 
 it was a well known fact that a large 
 quantity of breadstuff's were yearly taken 
 into the latter Province from the United 
 States. Then, as a part of this great "na- 
 tional policy" a duty was imposed on 
 foreign coal, as a means of propitiating the 
 people of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia, New 
 Brunswick and Quebec werfe taxed to sa- 
 tisfy Ontario — Quebec, Ontario, and New 
 Brunswick were to be burthened to please 
 a minority in Nova Scotia ! Nothing could 
 be more calculated to create dissension 
 and disturb the harmonious working of 
 Confederation than such legislation. The 
 lion. Postmaster General had said that he 
 (Mr. McPherson) was connected with an 
 establishment which consumed large quan- 
 tities of foreinn coali and therofore it was 
 natural that he should not favour that part 
 of the tariff'. Now he would say in reply 
 
12 
 
 that that estabUshmont VTould not be af- 
 fected by the policy to the extent of a 
 single dollar. 
 
 lion. Mr. CAMPBELL— Hear, hear. 
 
 Hon Mr. McPHERSON— The proprietors 
 would collect the duty for the Govern- 
 niont, but their customers wouUl pay it. 
 It was (juite true that the tax Avould be 
 bnrthensome to all inanufactuicrs in the 
 country, and make it more difficult lor 
 them to comi)ete with the foreign pro- 
 ducer. As respects the establishment 
 referred to, it only turned out railway iron, 
 and he must take that opportunity of say- 
 ing that when it was proposed there should 
 be no duty on that iron, he did not 
 oppose the proposition, for he had never 
 allowed himself to be influenced by his 
 private business in legislating for the 
 whole country. lie believed that a pro 
 tective duty was unjust, and could not 
 be supported on true principles. He was 
 also convinced that there was nothing 
 more illogical than that incidental protec- 
 tion which some said was one of the objects 
 of the measure. The object of a tariff was re- 
 venue, and in order to protect manufac- 
 tures sufKciently it was necessary to inter- 
 fere with the revenue. The duty on coal, 
 notwithstanding what the Postmaster Gen- 
 eral said, would be a very serious tax upon 
 the poor, in the cities. The inci < ase in 
 the price of that article would be really $1 
 a ton, and it must re-act upon the cost of 
 wood. He considered it a most unsound 
 principle to diminish the number of 
 articles on the free-hst, as it was done in 
 the present case. The policy of this coun- 
 try liitherto had been to follow the exam- 
 ple of England, and to raise the revenue 
 from leading articles and increase 
 the free list as much as possible. The 
 Finance Minister had acknowledged that 
 he did not expect t- ,ive much revenue 
 from the duty on eoul, breadstuffs, &c., 
 and probably he was right. That hon. 
 gentleman seemed to have reserved him- 
 self tor the duty on salt, as he made special 
 reference to it. That was a most oV)joction- 
 able tax, for salt was an article that was 
 consume! by every man, woman, and child: 
 but because, forsooth, some deposits had 
 been found in Ontario, the Dominion was 
 to be taxed. The Finance Minister had 
 said that '■ there was a gigantic monoply 
 on the other si>.l<} of the line, and it was 
 simply a question whether the infant man- 
 ufacture of salt in this country was to be 
 put down by persons who, without any re- 
 gard whatever to what the cost of it might 
 be, would crush in some way or other tliat 
 manufacture. " That monopoly hid existed 
 for a great many years in the state of ^'ew 
 York. Now, he had taken si.me trouble 
 to ascertain the price of salt for a number 
 
 Hon. Mr. McPherson. 
 
 of years; and he found that it was $1.50 
 per barrel in 18C3 ; $1.G0 in 1865 ; $1.75 in 
 1866-7, when the taxes were so high in the 
 United States ; $1.65 in 1868; $1.50 in 
 186y — the prices in the month of May of 
 each of those years. 8o last year the price 
 of the article had fallen to what was actu- 
 ally its normal cost. He was not able to 
 iind any evidence that the Canadian enter- 
 prise was being crushed out; but even 
 were it so, would the House sanction an in- 
 crease in the cost of the article, amounting 
 to 25 cents a barrel, which would have to 
 be paid by the consumers. Was the Iluuse 
 ready to subsidize every little enterprise 
 that might be estaldished in tliis country, 
 without reference to the masses of the 
 people ? The whole amount of capital in- 
 vested in the salt interest at Goderich 
 could not exceed $100,000; and if it was 
 the wish of the Government to encourage 
 that interest artificially, it was 
 bettei to give it a direct 
 subsidy than to increase the cost of the 
 article by a tax on the consumers. The 
 same argument would apply to the coal of 
 Nova Scotia. 'If it was the intention to 
 encourage monopolists at the expense of 
 the people, then let it be done directly 
 out of the consolidated fund, and we would 
 soon know what it would cost. Referring 
 to the tariff in other respects, he was ex- 
 ceedingly surprised to see how many 
 things were taken out of the free list be- 
 sides those to which he had been referring : 
 
 " Animals of all kinds, except such as 
 shall be imported for the improvement of 
 Stock, which sh dl be admitted free of 
 duty, under regulations to be made by the 
 Treasury Board, and approved by the Gov- 
 ernor in Council. Green Fruits of all kinds, 
 Hay, Straw, Bran. Seeds not classed as 
 cereals. Vegetables including potatoes 
 anrl other roots, Plants, Trees, and 
 Shrubs." 
 
 It was most objectionable to tax any of 
 such things, and he was suri)rised how the 
 Government could attempt to defend the 
 imjiost. Fruit trees and vegetables — of a 
 better description than we can grow — 
 ought not to be taxed, more than animals 
 imported for the improvement of 
 slock. The more the tariff was considered, 
 the more clearly would its injurious effects 
 be sen. The clause in reference to pack- 
 ages was most cumbrous, and had been 
 copied almost verbatim from the United 
 States tariff. The effect upon the cheaper 
 goods was to increase their cost 
 beyond the higher priced goods which 
 are less bulky and come in packages 
 which are not dear in proportion 
 to the contents. That provision would 
 mike a dilleronce of riiore than 5 percent, 
 in tbe price of the cho ip and more bulky 
 articles which are used in nine houses 
 
13 
 
 out of ten ; and Buoh goods as 
 were used by the wealthy 
 classes would be comparatively little af- 
 fected. The duty on coarse, bulky cheap 
 goods might range from 20 to 25 per cent. 
 This must be considered a discrimination 
 against the poor that was most objection- 
 able and ought not to be Banctioned by 
 the House. All the duty that the merchant 
 paid, whether on goods or packages, or back 
 charges must be put on the goods and 
 collected from the customer. He did not 
 object to the duty on tobacco, for he 
 tliuught stimulants of all kinds like luxu- 
 ries were fair subjects of taxation. The 
 Finance Minister need not have had any 
 difficulty in raising all the money that he 
 required, in a much less obnoxious manner 
 than was proposed in the Bill. He pro- 
 posed to increase all duties three quarters 
 of one per cent, and from this source he 
 estimated he will receive $425,000. There 
 would have been little objection to his 
 making the increase of duties one and one 
 half per cent, which would have yielded 
 according to his own estimate $850,000. 
 Tliis with the estimated increase of rev- 
 enue from tobacco of $300,000, would give 
 a total additional amount of $1,150,000, 
 being $50,000 more than ho estimated 
 would be received from all the addi- 
 tional duties imposed by this Bill 
 — $50,000 more than he asked — 
 He suggested that as the easiest plan of 
 raising all the revenue that might be re- 
 quired. If the public interests were to be 
 jeopardised by accepting the amendment 
 he proposed, he might hesitate to jjress it ; 
 but he knew that if the Taritt were 
 rejected no inconvenience need 
 arise. He had no doubt that the 
 Banks would purchase a large amount 
 of Dominion Notes in the course 
 of the year. He did not imagine that the 
 Government cared as to the source from 
 which they would receive the requisite re- 
 venue. The money received for Dominion 
 Notes would be used like any other re- 
 venue to pay debts. 
 
 Hon. Mr. MITCHELL did not deny that 
 Kioney so received would be exj^ended, 
 but what would be the effect upon capita- 
 lists ? Would they not hesitate to advance 
 money to a country whose debts were paid 
 in that way ? 
 
 Hon. Mr. McrHERSON— The hon. gen- 
 tleman could not deny thr t the proceeds 
 of Dominion Notes would b-j expended as 
 revenue. Pursuing the si/',, c under con- 
 sideration a little further, iio ..mst say tliat 
 the action of the Government in another 
 place had been such as to fetter that 
 House. The Budget should not be 
 a strictly party question, but in 
 consequence of the course taken by the 
 
 Government, in changing their policy and 
 subsequently going back to the original 
 propositions, they made the question one 
 of confidence or non-contidence, and pre- 
 vented the House of Commons freely ex- 
 ercising their judgment on the subject. In 
 this connection, Mr. McPherson referred 
 to the opinions of eminent British states- 
 men, to show that a Budget should not be 
 considered in a purely party aspect, and 
 went on to say that if the Tarift under con- 
 sideration had been discussed with perfect 
 freedom in the House of Commons, it 
 would not now be so unpalatable. The 
 Senate, however, was not fettered by such 
 considerations as prevailed in the popular 
 branch, and could deal with it, free from 
 party bias, and with a strict regard to the 
 great interests involved. Two years ago, 
 when the Criminal laws came up from the 
 Commons at a veiy advanced stage of the 
 session, the Senate refused to consider 
 them ; but there was not a word said about 
 such a proceeding affecting the stability of 
 the Government. The Senate, in the case 
 of the Tariff, was called upon to exorcise 
 its impartial judgment, especially as it was 
 a body representing particular sections or 
 Provinces which were unfairly dealt with in 
 the Bill. 
 
 It being six o'clock the Speaker left the 
 Chair. 
 
 AFTER RECESS. 
 
 The Senate resumed at eight o'clock, 
 and the debate on the tariff' was continued. 
 
 Hon. Mr. McPHERSON— Before the 
 House adjourned he had argued that, in- 
 stead of uxing the people, for the sake of 
 benefiting a few monopolists, it would have 
 been a wiser policy to have subsidized the 
 latter directly out of the public revenues. 
 It was well known that the majority of 
 the owners of the mines of Nova Scotia 
 were not residents of the country, and 
 therefore any benefit shown to them 
 would not be a benefit to the great mass 
 of the people of Nova Scotia. Therefore, 
 it would be seen that the tariff, so far as 
 it touched salt and coal, was only intend- 
 ed to benefit monopolists to the injury of 
 the great mass of the people. Many indi- 
 rect evils would be found to proceed from 
 the operation of the tariff". " A large num- 
 ber of the vessels that come every year 
 from the United Kingdom for timber were 
 freighted with coal instead of ballast. 
 Whatever they got for it went in reduc- 
 tion of the freight charges of the 
 Canadian product ; and it necessarily follow- 
 ed that any tax that increased the freight 
 must diminish the profit of the Canadian 
 dealers. The inland shipping of Ontario 
 
 as a large number of vessels were now en- 
 
14 
 
 gaged in carrying American coal. He did 
 not think the tax would be operative, but 
 if the expectations of the Government 
 were reaUzed, then the result would be 
 aa he had stated most injurious to our 
 marine. Another interest in Ontario would 
 also be affected by the salt duty, and that 
 was the Lake Fisheiy. The ocean iisheries 
 would not be touched inasmuch as the 
 salt used in curing the fi,sh was allowed to 
 come ill i'ree from Oreiit Britain and her 
 Possessions ; but there wom lo such pro- 
 tection afforded to the inland Iisheries. 
 Yet this was called a great 'national policy' 
 which was to protect all interests nnd please 
 all sections, and lead to the renewal of 
 Reciprocity with the United States. If ; 
 the last argument was correct, then the I 
 tariffwould destroy itself; but what ^vas i 
 more absurd than to suppose that an | 
 additional taxation of ourselves to the 
 amount of two hundred thousand dollars 
 was going to have the effect of forcing the 
 Americans to renew free trade with Can- 
 ada? If it was true that a mutual inter- 
 change of our products would be the best for 
 both countries, we should receive all that we 
 required from them untaxed, in other words 
 at the lowest possible rates for ourselves 
 (hear, hear). What could l^e more illogi- 
 cal than to say to the Americans— "If you 
 will not untax what is consumed by your 
 people, we shall impose a t;ix on what is 
 consumed by our own." If we could make 
 the Americans pay the taxes, then there 
 would be some reason in the arguments of 
 gentlemen opposite ; but so long as we 
 pay them ourselves, there could l)e_ noth- 
 ing advanced in favour of the tariff". Be- 
 fore recess he had stated that the course 
 he was pursuing was influenced by a high 
 sense of public duty ; and he had no hesi- 
 tation in urging the Senate to adopt the 
 amendment vvhieh he had laid before it. 
 If money was wanted, he imagined 
 that the Government would have 
 no difficulty in devising such a 
 tariff" as would be more acceptable to the 
 House and country thiui that now under 
 consideration. He believed that if the 
 Government had adhered to the changes 
 they had made on a memorable afternoon, 
 a few days ago, in the House of Commons, 
 they would liave acted more wisely ; for 
 the tariff, so amended, would have be(>n 
 lessoljeetio ible than the prestut mea- 
 sure, which was unpopular from one end 
 of the Dominion to the other. 
 
 Bon. Mr. MITCHELL— No, no. 
 
 Hon, Mr. McPHERSON The lion, gen- 
 tleman would soon see how manymemliers 
 from his own Province would support him 
 on the rjxiostinn. (Hear, hear). Pul>Uc 
 opinion was unmistakably opposed to tin- 
 measure ; he hud not seen a newspaper of 
 
 Hon. Mr. McPherson. 
 
 any mark or influence that was fully in 
 favor of it. The Local Legislature of 
 Nova Scotia had unanimously expressed 
 tl. sir dissent from the policy. In the 
 election shortly to come off in that Pro- 
 
 vince, no omdidftte he was assured was 
 likely to present himself, and pronounce in 
 favour of the new tarifi". In New 
 ; Brunswick and Quebec, the press was as a 
 , unit agiinst the measure. Under these 
 ' circumstfnces, a great responsibility de- 
 volved upon the Senate in dealing with a 
 Bill of so important a character. No doubt 
 ! could exist as to the perfect right of the 
 House to dispose of the question in the 
 way proposed ; and in this connection, 
 : Mr. Mcpherson (juoted from Todd, and 
 I other authorities on British Parliamentary 
 1 pi'iictice, in support of his argument. Not 
 I only were British precedents in favour of 
 the right of the Senate to deal with such a 
 subject, Canada could aflord examples in 
 the same direction. In 1859, the Legis- 
 . lature was sitting at Toronto, and the 
 I question of the removal of the seat of Gov- 
 ernment to Quebec arose. The Govern- 
 ment pledged itself to the Legislative As- 
 sembly to remove the Government to Que- 
 bec, but tlie Council was opposed to such 
 a removal. No item on the subject was 
 placed in the estimates— the Government 
 simply pledged itself on the question. 
 Hon. Mr. De Blaquiere moved, seconded 
 by Hon. Mr. Allan, that the Coun- 
 cil " feel itself called upon to de- 
 clare and resolve in defence of 
 its undoubted and unquestioned 
 rights, as a co-ordinate and co-equal branch 
 of the Legislature, and as the only iiieans 
 of preserving its independence, that it will 
 not take the question of Supply into con- 
 sideration, &c." The motion was carried, 
 and among the names constituting the 
 majority on that occasion, there was one 
 which would be considered as of great 
 authority — and deservedly so — the Hon. 
 Mr. C;ampbell, the present Postmaster Gen- 
 eral (laughter). 
 
 Hon. Mr. LETELLIEK DE ST. JUST— 
 That was "revolutionary!" 
 
 Hon. Mr. McPHERSON— At that time 
 Chancellor Vankoughnet took the ground 
 that the Postmaster General assumed now. 
 lilr. Campbell then said that the responsi- 
 bility rested on the Government and not 
 on the House. It was right to assume that 
 the hon. gentleman took the correct 
 view in 1859 rather than hi 1870. The Bill 
 was postponed, and the extreme step of 
 stopping the Supplies was taken, but a few 
 days afterwards the Government had an 
 addition of strength by the arrival of mom- 
 bers. (langbter) and the measure passed 
 by a majority of two. The only debateable 
 ground now, in fact, was whether the Sup- 
 
as fully in 
 islaturo of 
 
 expressed 
 '. In tho 
 1 that Pro- 
 vssurod was 
 renounce in 
 In New 
 538 was as a 
 Fnder these 
 isibility de- 
 iiling with a 
 . No doubt 
 right of tho 
 stion in the 
 connection, 
 
 Todd, and 
 irliamentary 
 iment. Not 
 in favour of 
 with such a 
 examples in 
 
 the Legis- 
 ito, and tho 
 scat of Gov- 
 riie Govorn- 
 ■gislative As- 
 ncntto Que- 
 osed to such 
 
 suhject was 
 Government 
 he question, 
 ed, seconded 
 ; the Coun- 
 pon to de- 
 defence of 
 unquestioned 
 -equal branch 
 
 only means 
 !e, that it will 
 iply intocon- 
 . was carried, 
 stituting the 
 lere was one 
 
 as of great 
 ?o — the Hon. 
 stmaster Gen- 
 
 3 ST. JUST— 
 
 At that time 
 k the ground 
 assumed now. 
 the responsi- 
 nent and not 
 o assume that 
 ; the correct 
 ?70. Tho Bill 
 treme step of 
 ken, but a few 
 mient had .".n 
 rrival of mom- 
 sasure .oassed 
 [dydebateable 
 5ther the Sup- 
 
 ply Bill could be amended in the Senate. 
 So iar OS he was individually concerned, he 
 had no other desire except to enhance the 
 usefulness of the House, and enable it to 
 win the respect and gratitude of the people 
 throughout the Dominion. 
 
 Hon. Mr. SANBORN said that no doubt 
 the Government felt thamselves so strong- 
 ly entrenched that they did not consider 
 it necessary to use any arguments in reply 
 to those which had been advanced in be- 
 half of the amendment. The constitu- 
 tional right ot the House to deal with the 
 question had been so fully maintained by 
 reference to the practice of the House of 
 Lords and the old Legislative Council of 
 Canada, that he neeJ not dwell on it at 
 that time ; but there was another argu- 
 ment on which less had been said, though 
 it appeared to him as forcible as any that 
 had been adducod. The Confederation 
 was formed upon certain principles which 
 were fully enunciated and discussed. Some 
 persons advocated the continuance of the 
 elective principle with respect to the for- 
 mation of the upper branch of the Legis- 
 lature ; others contended for the nomina- 
 tive principle. Those who sustained the 
 latter view took the ground that the repre- 
 sentative character of the House was not 
 unlike that which existed formerly— that 
 its members were nominated by a responsi- 
 ble Government, by those who represent- 
 ed the people. It was contended that the 
 members of the House would possess a 
 representative character, although they 
 would be necessarily more conservative 
 than the more popular branch. Tliese 
 views we:o sustained in the discussions on 1 
 the subject by those who held a high posi- 
 tion in the country. He found in the de- 
 bates on the Confederation scheme a re- 
 port of a , speech delivered by Hon. Mr. 
 Campbell, in which that hon. gentleman 
 said : "In Upper Canada, as had been 
 stated lately by an hon. member, the 
 population has increased very rapidly, and 
 would probably go on increasing in a much 
 larger ratio than that of Lower Canada, or 
 the other Provinces, and if the Legislative 
 Council were elective, the time might 
 come, when the people of that section 
 would fancy themselves entitled to an 
 increaseil representation in the Council, 
 and commence to agitate for it. They 
 might object to the fishing bounties paid to 
 the Lower Province, to the money expen- 
 ded there in fortifications, or to something 
 else, and claim a representation in the 
 Council, more in accordance with their 
 population, to enforce their 
 
 views and in view of such contingen- 
 cies tho delegates from those Provmces 
 conceived it would not be safe to trust 
 tlieir rigiits to an elective House." In those 
 remarks, the Hon, Postmaster General re- 
 
 cognized the principle of Provincial repre- 
 sentation. The Senate was bound not to 
 take into considenition any measure, 
 which would atfect injuriously tho interests 
 of any particular section. Further on, the • 
 same hon. gentleman said ; " And if that 
 was considered necessary in a country so 
 compact together as the United States, 
 how much more would it bo proper in a 
 Confederation, some of the sections of 
 which were separated from each other 
 by long narrow strips of land, or wido 
 estuaries, with small representation 
 in the popular branch, and looking chietly 
 to their equality in the Upper Chamber 
 for security for local rights and interests, 
 and institutions." Notliing, then, could 
 be plainer than the principle laid down by 
 the Postmaster General, that the repre- 
 sentative principle was applied to the Sen 
 ate. If he waa correct at that time, it 
 necessarily followed that he was now in 
 correct in saying that the House had no 
 right to reject that which might be injuri- 
 ous to the several Provinces. When the 
 constitution was formed, the prepon- 
 derance of representatives eryoyed by 
 Ontario and Quebec over Nova Scotia 
 and New Brunswick was very great, but 
 it was wisely provided that the three 
 sections of the Dominion — the Maritime 
 Provinces, and the two Canadas — 
 should be equally represented m the 
 Senate. In this way, the Lower Provinces 
 received a countervailing influence in the 
 upper branch, in order that their interests 
 might be protected. The Minister of Jus- 
 tice, speaking on the same subject in the 
 House of Commons, laid down the doc- 
 trine that " the man put into the Upper 
 1 House is as much a man of the people 
 the day after, as the day before his eleva- 
 tion." According to the British constitu- 
 tion the King, Lords and Commons, form- 
 ed the tliree branches of Parliament. The 
 Lords represented themselves, the Com- 
 mons represented the people, or in theory 
 the people themselves aosembledto delib- 
 erate on what was necessary for their in 
 terests. Now the Senate was in an entirely 
 different position from the Lords. The 
 members of the Senate had no separate 
 estate to maintain— they represented, in a 
 secondary degree, the people, for thoy were 
 appointed by those who were responsible 
 to the people. That position was support- 
 ed by the highest constitutional authority 
 in Parliament— by one whose opinions on 
 such subjects were entitled to the highest 
 respect, even by those who might 
 differ from him politically,— at 
 a time when the Legislature 
 was dibcnssing tho details of the Constitu- 
 tion for the Confederation. In the same 
 debate the Hon. George Brown said :— 
 " The desire was to render the Upper 
 
18 
 
 House a thoroughly independent body- 
 one that would he in the best position to 
 canvass dispassionately the measures of 
 this House, and stand up for the public in- 
 terests in opposition to hasty or partisan 
 legislation." Then in the British North 
 America Act itself, the 18th clause read : 
 " The Privileges, Immunities and Powers 
 to be held, enjoyed and exercised by the 
 Senate and by the House of Commons and 
 by the members thereof respectively, 
 shall be such as are from time to 
 time defined l;y Act of Parliament of 
 Canada, but so that the same shall never 
 exceed those, at the passing of this Act, 
 held, enjoyed, and exercised by the C0..1- 
 mons House of Parliament of the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and 
 by the members thereof." That clause 
 did not make the distinction that the pri- 
 vileges and immunities of the Senate should 
 never exceed those of the House of Com- 
 mons, but placed that body on an equal 
 footing with the other branch, and provided 
 that its powers might be extended by 
 an Act of our own Parliament. That 
 fact showed clearly that it was contem- 
 plated to constitute a Senate which 
 would be of equal power to the 
 Commons, though its powers would be 
 perhaps exercised with more moderation 
 and discretion. The fact that the name 
 of the Upper branch had been changed to 
 that of the Senate was very significant. 
 The history of the world showed that the 
 idea which the term conveyed was that the 
 Seniue had highei duties and responsibili- 
 ties than even the Legislative Council. In 
 the course of the present debate it had 
 been clearly demonstrated by honour- 
 able gentlemen opposite that he House 
 of Lords had undoubtedly tlie power 
 of rejecting even a Supply Bill. 
 It had also been clearly demonstrated, 
 that not merely a tax which came within 
 the Supply, and which was minor in its 
 character, but the Supply Bill itself had 
 been directly rejected by the late Legisla- 
 tive Council. The present Postmaster 
 General had himself "recognized the con- 
 stitutional right of the House to deal with 
 the question by his own recorded vote in 
 the old Council. It was certainly proper 
 that a measure imposing taxes on the 
 people, should emanate immediately from 
 a body, directly representing and under- 
 standing the wants of the people ; but in 
 the present case, the Senate was called 
 upon to express an opinion as to the pro- 
 priety of the burthens to be imposed on 
 the country. Such a right should, of 
 course, be exercised with great care ; and 
 the question now arose, whether the Se- 
 nate would be justified in exercising that 
 
 House of Commons. If the question had 
 not been made one of party, the tariff 
 would never have come up in its present 
 obnoxious shape tt) the Senate. When 
 the Supply Bill came up in the British Par- 
 liament, it was never the practice to treat 
 it as a strictly party question, involvmg 
 the fate of the Ministry. Two or three 
 adverse votes might be given against the 
 Government, but the House would not ne- 
 cessarily consider them as votes of want of 
 confidence. The Government, however, 
 had said, to their supporters, that unless 
 they assisted them in passing the measure, 
 obnoxious though it wasj another set of 
 men would probably come mto power. So 
 unpopular and unjust was the measure 
 considered, that the Government 
 were only sustained by a bare 
 majority on the motion against 
 the duty on breadstuffs. The Postmaster- 
 General had positively declared that the 
 Government was a unit on the question, 
 but no one could surely believe — especial- 
 ly after certain occurrences in the Com- 
 mons—that the Cabinet was by any means 
 satisfied with a measure which was raising 
 such a cry of dissatisfaction from one end 
 of the Dominion to the other. Now it was 
 often said that when an individual was as- 
 sailed on a particular point on which he 
 knew himself to be vulnerable, he invari- 
 ably insisted upon being relieved from even 
 the shadow of a suspicion. It was imposs- 
 ible to ascertair- how the Government 
 could be a unit on the question, when they 
 liad one policy before, and another after, 
 dinner. If they could be considered a unit 
 under such circumstances, it must be by a 
 species of legerdemain, which could not be 
 understood with reference to other associa- 
 tions of individuals. As respects the me- 
 rits of the measure itself, he must confess it 
 was most burthensome to the people. Luxu- 
 ries, used by the well-to-do classes, were fair 
 objects of taxation ; but the policy— the 
 great "national policy" — imposed duties 
 on the poor and labouring classes of the 
 people. It was urged that the coal duty 
 was a matter of little importance, except 
 to those who lived in cities ; but it had 
 been urged, with truth, that when you 
 raised the price of one description of fuel, 
 you necessarily enhanced the value of all 
 others. In many localities ot Quebec, 
 there was a very great scarcity of fuel- 
 that indeed was one of the causes of emi- 
 gration from certain districts of that Pro- 
 vince. Those who travelled over the coun- 
 try to St. Hyacinthe would see that the 
 country was as bare of fuel as were the 
 prairies of the North West. When the Post- 
 master General said that the duty on bread- 
 stuff's would not alter the price of a loaf of 
 bread, it was obvious that he had not 
 
 right. In answer to that question, he 1 —^ , — -— , . ,, , ,. , 
 
 would refer to the scate of things in the studied the science to which bakers applied 
 
 Hon. Mr. Sanborn. 
 
1 
 
 [uestion had 
 Y, the tariff 
 I its present 
 late. When 
 I British Par- 
 tice to treat 
 in, involving 
 'wo or three 
 L against the 
 ould not ne- 
 ?s of want of 
 it, however, 
 , that unlesj 
 the measure, 
 lother set of 
 > power. So 
 he measure 
 Government 
 f a bare 
 n against 
 Postmaster- 
 red that the 
 le question, 
 ire — especial- 
 n the Com- 
 y any means 
 was raising 
 )m one end 
 
 Now it was 
 dual was as- 
 an which he 
 3, he invari- 
 Bd from even 
 was imposs- 
 Government 
 n, when they 
 lother after, 
 iidoredaunit 
 aust be by a 
 could not be 
 Jther associa- 
 )ect8 the me- 
 lUst confess it 
 eople. Luxu- 
 ses, were fair 
 
 policy — the 
 posed duties 
 classes of the 
 le coal duty 
 mce, except 
 
 but it had 
 it when you 
 )tion of fuel, 
 
 value of all 
 
 ot Quebec, 
 ity of fuel- 
 uses of emi- 
 of that Pro- 
 iver the coun- 
 3oe that the 
 as were the 
 hen the Post- 
 luty on bread- 
 is of a loaf of 
 he had not 
 akerscpplied 
 
 17 
 
 the 
 it 
 in- 
 of 
 sec- 
 Bill 
 
 IhemsolvGs. Ho (Mr. S.) had found that 
 when there was the slightest rijo in flour, 
 the bakers were painfully alivo to the fact; 
 and he hud no doubt that the ullect of the 
 iluty would bo to put iv cent on a loaf, 
 without any reference to the actual tax on 
 the whole barrel. The rostniastor General 
 did not appear inclined to bo iiiHuenced by 
 the opinion of the cities; but in that 
 respect lio certainly dii'-^rod from his col- 
 league, the Finance Minister ; for if 
 H inking Bill showed anything, 
 was thit tlio groat B:»nking 
 torests of the largo cfntres 
 population were consulted. (Jtrtain 
 tlons were afl'ected injuriou.sly by the 
 — especially the Province from which ho 
 ramo. The tax on coal would notoriously 
 weigh heavily upon the population of 
 Queijec. The same people would also suf- 
 fer in the article of brea<lstufts, for they 
 were obliged to import Indian com and 
 flour from the TTnited States. No doubt, 
 the Minister of Marine felt that tho Pro- 
 vince of New Brunswick would suffbr by 
 the Bill. Tliat hon. gentleman gloried in 
 being a Liberal, but if that term' was to 
 mean anything, it should be applied to one 
 who espoused tho rights of tho people,and 
 under such circumstances, he would surely 
 rise above all party considerations and as- 
 sume that attitude which he must feel in 
 his heart was due to him as a 
 friend of tho jieoplo, and a repre- 
 sentative of New Brunswick (hear, hear). 
 It was only necessary to read the organs of 
 public opinion in that Province, and to see 
 the position of the majority of its repre- 
 sentatives in either branch, to conclutle 
 that the Tariff must be most odious to the 
 masses in that section. It was customary 
 with certain gentlemen to call the measure 
 a " National policy," and to defend it on 
 the ground that it would bring tho Ameri- 
 cans to their senses and restore Reciprocity 
 to us. Such an argument was so jiurely 
 absurd, that ho would not waste any time 
 in discussing it at length. The policy of 
 imposing taxes on fuel and foorl, which 
 were necessaries of life, could not be for 
 a moment defended on any substantial 
 ground ; it was a policy neither in the 
 direction of free trade nor of protection. 
 lie had great faith in fostering a mamifac- 
 turing industry, because ho believed that 
 farmers in the vicinity of manufactories, 
 were directly benefited ; but tho elToct of 
 the present measure was to burthen all 
 classes and confer beneiit on none. In 
 conclusion, he would merelysiiy that ptrty 
 considerations should not prevail in the 
 Senate — whatever position hon. gentlemen 
 might take could not afl'ect the stability 
 of thft Government. The diitv of the 
 Senate, under the circumstances, was 
 clearly defined, and that was to g' ' 
 
 against any unnecessary burthen being 
 inii)osed upon the people of the diflVrent 
 sections of tho Dominion ; and if hon. 
 geiitluiuoii fulled to re.spund to the public 
 opinion of tho country, they would be 
 recreant to the high trust reposed in 
 them. (Hear, hear.) 
 
 Hon. Mr. KEESOR said that he did not 
 wish to detain tho House for any time, but 
 ho was unwilling to allow the vote to be 
 taken without having given expression to 
 tho reasons which influenced him in the 
 course he was about to pursue. At the 
 outset he must express hia regret that the 
 <tovernnient hatl not given more reasons 
 why the House should support the Bill 
 under consideration. No doubt could 
 exist in the minds of any one that the Bill 
 was unpopular from one end of the Domin- 
 ion to the other ; and certainly a measure 
 which gave so much dissatisfaction ought 
 to be sustained by sound argument before 
 the Senate was asked to pass it. It was 
 not a national policy in any sense of the 
 term, for if it were such, such formidable 
 opposition to its passage would not have 
 arisen in every section of the Dominion. 
 It was urged that the duty on wheat was 
 an act of justice to the farmers of Ontario ; 
 but there was a very large quantity of sur- 
 plus produce raised in that Province, and 
 its value was regulated by the price in the 
 foreign market—whether that market was 
 in Montreal or [South America, and could 
 not be affected by the tariff. If we im- 
 
 Sosed a duty on American wheat and 
 our, the consumers would have to bear 
 the burthen. But there were other con- 
 siderations that should not be forgotten. 
 If we allowed the produce of the far West 
 to come through Ontario, as it had been 
 doing for a number of years, then we were 
 fostering a most lucrative commerce. Fif- 
 teen millions of bushels of American wheat 
 passed through the hands of Canadian 
 merchivnts last year. It might be said that 
 there was a drawback on that merchandize, 
 if it was intended for export ; but it was 
 well known that the very fact of the exist- 
 ence of such a duty must create annoy- 
 ance, and cramp that trwle, now so profit- 
 able to Cana<:la. He could not understand 
 how the Government could sanction 
 a policy which did not benefit 
 any great interest in the country, 
 but on the contrary must re-act injurious- 
 ly upon the farming community which was 
 deeply interested in the development of 
 all our commercial and, manufacturing 
 interests. In nine cases out of ten, 
 American coal was used in manufacturing 
 establishments throughout Ontario, and 
 the tax upon them would be very consider- 
 ji^ijlfi \\\ the course of a vear. It liad been 
 said by the Hon. Postmaster General that 
 tho duty on coal was only borne by tho 
 
\n 
 
 manufacturing ostablislimonts ; but it was 
 well known that whatever inoreaseil the 
 duty that tho manufacturer puid nocos- 
 Barily enhanced tho price of the article 
 which he had for sale. ' Take, for example, 
 railway iron. The duty would necessarily in- 
 terfere with any contracts that firms might 
 have made of lite. Parties engaged in 
 constructing certain railways in the West 
 applied to a certain firm to supply them 
 with the iron. Tho price was named, but 
 it was too high. The s.ime parties had 
 now agents in England to see it' thoy could 
 there get their iron cheaper. Was it fair 
 to throw difficulties in the way of such en- 
 terprizes ? A manufacturing interest should 
 be encouraged, inasmuch as it brought 
 additional consumers into tho country, and 
 stimulated the agriculture of tho Domi- 
 nion. He did not object to a littlo inci- 
 dental protection to manufactures, but 
 that protection was in no way aftbrdcd by 
 the measure before the House. The duty 
 on the coarse grains was particularly ob- 
 jectionable. It was well known that corn 
 was the only coarso grain brought in from 
 the United States, and inasmuch as it did 
 not enter into competition with our own 
 
 E reduce, the farmers of the West were not 
 eneHted by tlit; duty. He was aware 
 himself that within the past year 
 thousands upon thousands of bushels 
 of corn had been l)rought from 
 the United States. Not only would 
 the distilling and manufacturing interests 
 be effected by the tariff— the shipping in- 
 terest would also feel it. A drawback 
 might be allowed on corn exported, but 
 why throw difficulties in tho way of our 
 merchants and manufacturers? Under 
 these circumstances, he was convinced 
 that if the Senate had ever been called 
 upon to intorfero with tho legislation of 
 the country, it was in ti.o case of a mea- 
 sure which boro tmfairly on particular sec- 
 tions, and could not be justified even by 
 those who wore endeavouring to fasten it 
 upon the people. 
 
 Hon. Mr. IIOBERSTON said that he was 
 unwilling to give a silent vote on the mea- 
 sure which had already been so fully and 
 ably discussed. It was certainly one of 
 the most important questions that had 
 come up for consideration since the 
 commencement of the Union, and he re- 
 gretted that he was obliged to give a vote 
 on it adverse to the Government. He felt 
 it was the duty of the Senate to rise above 
 party feeling and deal with the question 
 in accordance with the true interests of 
 the country. The constitutionality of the 
 course proposed to bo taken by the oppo- 
 sition to the measure had been thorough- 
 ly stated, and it was not necessary that he 
 should go over that ground on the present 
 occasion. Looking at the general features 
 
 Hon. Mr. Reesor. 
 
 of the measure he must iay that iti effects 
 upon the interests of the dift'erent Pro- 
 vmces. and ultimately upon the Confeder- 
 ation itself, would be of a most serious 
 character. The Bill gave very general dis- 
 satisfaction, and would continue to create 
 an irritation that it would be Terf diffi- 
 cult to allay. Instead of endeavouring to 
 stimulate the manufactures of the coun- 
 tryj the Government had adopted a policy 
 which hampered them. An indirect tax 
 was put on manufactures, not only by tho 
 duty on coal, but by the duty on bread- 
 stuffs which enter into the consumption of 
 the labouring classes. If that shuuid be 
 the cfise, — and no one could doubt it — 
 then there should be no hesitation what- 
 ever on the part of tho Senate, as %o tho 
 propriety of rejecting tho measure. So 
 far as public opinion had expressed itself 
 it was most unequivocally against tho 
 adoption of so injurious and unjust a 
 policy. He saw no force in 
 tho argument that the duties 
 would have the effect of renewing more 
 liberal trade relations with the United 
 States. If ho remembered aright it was un- 
 derstood that the negotiations on the sub- 
 ject of Reciprocity terminated some time 
 ago, but since tho tariff had come up it 
 was said there was a greater chance 
 than ever of obtaining Reciprocity. Th« 
 whole amount of duties on American pro- 
 ducts was estimated at $200,000; and 
 would any one assart that the Americans 
 were going to give as a renewal of recipro- 
 city on that account. They would only 
 enter into reciprocity when they consider- 
 ed it was for their interests to do so 5 and 
 it was absurd to talk of coercing them. If 
 we chose to put a duty on goods necessary 
 for our own consumption wo would 
 also have the privilege of paying it. Look- 
 ing into the question of the coal duty, the 
 House would see how unfairly it would 
 operate. If you would take the article of 
 gas coal, it would cost, from 35s. to 408. a 
 ton in Glasgow, and the duty upon that 
 would bo about 6 per cent, ad valorem. 
 Steam coal, at the shipping ports, was Gs. 
 or 6s. 3d. a ton, and the duty on it would 
 be 33^ per cent. Common house coal was 
 93. a ton, and the duty upon that was 24 
 per cent. American house coal cost, on 
 the average, f 3.75 of our present money, 
 and the duty on it would be 13^ per cent. 
 Anthracite coal last year was $7.50 
 at the lowest price at the nearest 
 shipping port to Canada, and the duty 
 on it was CJ per cent. Now it would 
 be seen that whilst we would pay 33 i per 
 cent ad valorem on the coal imported 
 from (rreat Britain, we would only pay GJ 
 
 United States. Therefore a diiierential 
 duty, to all intents and purposesj was im- 
 
Vi 
 
 iti efTecU 
 jront Pro- 
 Confflcl«r- 
 3Bt ■erioui 
 ;eneral (iia- 
 ) to oreato 
 Terf diffi- 
 vouring to 
 the coun- 
 )d a policy 
 Klirect tax 
 »nly by the 
 on breiui- 
 umption of 
 HliuiUd be 
 loubt it— 
 tion wbat- 
 aa k) the 
 asure. So 
 ssed itself 
 ;ainat the 
 unjust a 
 force in 
 e duties 
 ving more 
 le United 
 ) itwaa un- 
 >n the sub- 
 some time 
 ome up it 
 er chance 
 city. The 
 rican pro- 
 ,000; and 
 Americans 
 of recipro- 
 ?ou).d only 
 
 Y consider- 
 
 so ; and 
 
 1 them. If 
 ) necessary 
 we would 
 ; it. Look- 
 
 l duty, the 
 
 Y it would 
 article of 
 . to 40s. a 
 upon (hat 
 id valorem, 
 rts, was 6s. 
 n it would 
 e coul was 
 at was 24 
 %l cost, on 
 mt money, 
 I per cent, 
 vas $7.50 
 e nearest 
 . the duty 
 
 it would 
 ay 33 i per 
 i imported 
 ily pay GJ 
 
 diiierential 
 3, was im- 
 
 posed against the English coal t>) the ox- 
 tent of 26 or 27 per cont. ; and yet, that 
 was called a great national policy. It was 
 certrinly very extraordinary to hear the 
 Postmastor (Joneral say that the duty 
 on cod would not bo felt outside the cities, 
 and there only by the wealthy people. 
 
 Hon. Mr. MrrCIIKLL wished to ask the 
 hon. member if ho was not aware thivt the 
 largest importation of coal was usoil m the 
 cities, and that the rural distric'.d hud no 
 interest in the matter. 
 
 Hon. Mr. ROBEUTSON— Would tlio 
 hon. gentleman say thit if the importa- 
 tion of coals was stopped, it woukl not 
 generally attect tho price of fuel? 
 
 Hon. Mr. MlTCIlELI^If tho entire im- 
 portation were stopped, it would "*li'<-t, 
 hut not seriously, the price of wood. Iho 
 rural districts, howover, would not leel it : 
 but, under any circumstances, the tan I 
 did not preclude the importation of coal. 
 Hon. Mr. IIOBEUTSON-It wns quite 
 certain that tho Nova Scotians could not 
 supply the people of the West with coal. 
 Hon. Mr. MITCIIELL-Tlio argumont 
 urged by the steamboat proi)rietor9 lor 
 taking oil" the canal tolls was— If you take 
 them off, we will obtiiin all the protection 
 we require, and with the rotiiin frnghts, 
 we can make our business pay. Ihero 
 was every re\son to believe that there 
 would bo an additional consumption ol 
 Nova Scotia coal by moans of the duty. 
 
 Hon. Mr. IIOBERTSON — That lact 
 showed clearly that the Dominion was pay- 
 ing a, subsidy to the Nova Scotia coal own- 
 ers at that time. Ho was not un- 
 willing to give a little incidental pro 
 lection to manufacturers, although lu^ 
 was a fr»se trader in i)rinciple. The pre- 
 sent measure, however, would only tcivl 
 to increase the expenses of the labouring 
 olassrs engaged in ship-buildui'r, or other 
 manufactures. Ho knew that it afldecl to 
 the expense of ships to have a quarter ot a 
 dollar imposed on Hour. He could not 
 understand on what grounds that tax 
 could be supported ; for it burthened tho 
 poor, and was declared by the Ontario mil- 
 lers to be no protection to them. The ob- 
 ject was to tax one Province for the beiio- 
 Kt of the other. New Brunswick had to 
 pay duties on breadstuffs and on co.il, im- 
 'er the delusion that it would benefit tho 
 millers of Ontario and the coal owners ot 
 Nova Scotiii, and she had to bear this bur- 
 then as one of the advantages of being a 
 section of the Dominion of Canada, ilio 
 people of that Province were promised 
 equal justice when they entered tho Con- 
 federation, but certahily there was no just- 
 ice in the Bill before the I!-'V>='" ; svr,:. .le 
 was positive it would lay the toundationn 
 of discord. He asserted .without fear of 
 
 oontnidiction that the men who were most 
 anxious to iiccomplish the union were now 
 the most bitterly oi)po»e 1 to it, on account 
 of tho legislation of the Canadian Parlia- 
 ment, and the manner in which the Con- 
 federation was being worked out. The 
 Hon. Minister of Marine and Fisheries 
 might Will move uneasily in his seat, 
 for ho knew that the assertion res- 
 pecting the state of things in his Pro- 
 vince was perfectly correct, and that 
 there wns no doubt tho I'eeling would in- 
 crease in intensity unless there was a 
 change for tho bettor in Dominion legisla- 
 tion. I'mler siuh circumstances it seemed 
 to him tiiat the Senato ha<l ample reasons 
 for adopting tho ameiulinent l.oforo the 
 House. Tho oU'ect of tho Bill might be 
 simply stated as setting one soclion against 
 another, and exciting jealousy luul preju- 
 dico from one end of tlio Dominion to tho 
 other. Itw.is impossible to look into the 
 details of tho Bill without scoing that must 
 disastrous results would follow fom its 
 operations. The mode of assessing tho duties 
 was certainly of a most extraordinary 
 character. Tlireequarters per cent, adtli^- 
 tional was put on all articles that pay 15 
 per cent, ad vatonin on which, according 
 to tho Finance Minister, $42"),(KX) was ex- 
 l)octed to be raised. Ever so many entries 
 would have to bo made at every Custom 
 
 House, ami tho stall' of odicors would have 
 to bo inn eased ; for it would bo impossible 
 for the ortlinary clerks to spare the time 
 reciuisito to make tho calculations that 
 would be demniided by the Bill. The same 
 stiteiiiciit was niiplicablo to merchants 
 <>n":i"cd in large buHiness, and having fro- 
 queiiUy to make entries. It was impossi- 
 ble to predict accurately tho amount of 
 roiil'usion and trouble that must arise 
 under tho Bill. The stipulate ns with 
 respect to packages wns most annoying. 
 There was not a man in the Domhiion, 
 who had anything to do with the importiv- 
 tions of wines, and was obliged to pay 
 for the c isks. The e^isk was included m 
 the price of the wine or brandy. Section 
 Eight of the former law was now repealed, 
 ami a most extr -.ordinary section substitu- 
 ted in its place, which ho must confess, ho 
 could not thoroughly comprehend. • 
 
 "8. The value for duty, of goods on which 
 an ad valorem Duty of Customs is imposed, 
 imported into Canada by sea, shall be the 
 actual value of such goods at tho last place 
 at which they are purchased j and the 
 value of such goods lor duty it • "tt 1 
 irom tho United States by Ian. " l 
 
 navigation, shall bo the act' ' Ji 
 
 sueh goods at the last place at v _ -ney 
 are purchased for importation into Canada, 
 o.„i «-li»nno. tbev are directly convejod, 
 wit'iout change "of package, to Canada j 
 and whatever be the countiy from which 
 
3) 
 
 i 
 
 tlio goodi nro imported, or in wliich tiny 
 aro |)urchaito(l, Buch wlim Mhall bo OHPcr- 
 tninnd by adding to thct viiluo of hiuIi 
 goods at the plnoo of growth, pnxluction, 
 or manufrtcture, thocost of tninsportutioii, 
 whether by land or watii, and of niilpiiu'tit 
 and tranHhipment, with all tho oxpeiiMOM 
 included, from the jiliuc of fjrowth, pro- 
 <Uiction, or mnnufacturc, to tho plmo 
 whoi-e the goods nro i>urclmHp(l, and if tlioy 
 are purchaHod in the I'nitod States, lln-ii 
 to the place whcnro thoy aro directly con- 
 veyed to Cnniidii n.«i nforosaid,— nnd such 
 value Khali include also tho value of any 
 box, ciiHO, 8 ick, j)acka;»o, or cov.-ring of 
 any kind in which «uch );oods aro 
 contained, and all export duties on such 
 goods, and all costs and charges incurred 
 prior to their purchase." 
 
 No one could comprehend tho actual 
 meaninj; of such n clause. How was ouo 
 to got the value of goods at New Yoik? 
 Such a clause might well pu/./lo any mor- 
 cliant. lie was sorry to sco that the 
 (Jovemmont h id been under the necessity 
 of adopting tho most obnoxious part of 
 tho Tar.if in the ucighhouring States. It 
 was almo.st un))racticable to ;,'et the infor- 
 mation asked for in tint vcxatioin ('lan-e. 
 J)id it mean that a m ui buyiug a ca.so of 
 nilks in New York would InVo to go and 
 find its cost in China, or whorev>r it was 
 manufactured, and trace every step ili.it 
 added to its price before it )eacho<l hiiuV 
 Take ag.iin the case of a bale of (Jciiuui 
 cloths. One man might gc) to lierliu and 
 purchase his cloth, andbesidcs th^vilne of 
 the invoice he would hivo to state every 
 shilling he might have In i)ay until ho got 
 it to its destination. Now su|)[ioso auotlier 
 person should purchase precisely tho same 
 class of goods in Liverpool ; when lie woul I 
 present himself at the Customs ho would 
 be met by the ot!i«pr with tho loniuk, 
 "What is tho cost at the jdace of 
 production?" fie might reply, '• I cannot 
 say, for I bought the case in Liverpool ; " 
 but the otiicer would tell him. "You 
 must furnish me with all the charges uiitil 
 the case got to Liverpool.'" Tho actual 
 result would be that ho w.aild pay tlio 
 charges on that cloth as far as Livt'-rpool 
 twice over. lie must confess he could not 
 see how such intricate, if not impossible, 
 entries were ever to be made; and yet tho 
 measure was called a "national policy." 
 It was certainly the most iucon.^'iuous 
 productioi. tr 'i ho had ever met with in 
 the courec of ..is, iusin^S:. expoi'ience. As 
 respects ti.^ i ,. of tb^^ packages, it must be 
 admitted .-r: a i • auua that it would fall on 
 the cousnuicrs. If a duty had to be im- 
 pose!, why not put it immedi itely on the 
 gor-.ds thcm-.elve-, rather th;m on the 
 packages. It was simply because the Gov- 
 ernment did not wish to acknowledge they 
 
 Hon. Mr. Robertson. 
 
 were increasing the duties to IS or 'M nor 
 cent., that they brought forward iiuch o 
 policy. It would have been far preferable 
 lo iiave imposed additional duties directly 
 than to have dcviced such nn annoying 
 and cumbrous mode of raising money. No 
 one (i.rtaiidy was prepared to refu.xo the 
 (iovernmont permission to raise all the 
 money they reipiired in u legitimate way, 
 but what ho and others objei^te(l to, waw 
 tho system ailoptid. If two and a lialf 
 j)er cent, additional hul been |»ut on all 
 tho (((/ vitlorcm gooils, they woidd have ac 
 tually raised more money than they nHke<l 
 for, and savi'd trouble and annoyance. 'J'he 
 value of the jiu'lcagcs, commercial men 
 said, could not be estimated with refer- 
 once to the value of tho contents. Tho 
 n\ore bulky and cdu' ijier goods came in 
 heavy p.ackages. As respects to- 
 biceo, it nuist be remembered 
 that it wa.s the luxury of tho poor man, 
 just as tho rich man's luxury was a cigar 
 or maiUura. Coming to another branch 
 of the subject, ho wouUl mention that ho 
 saw it stated that Nova .Scotia paper would 
 bi.' rece.ved at tho Customs and Inland 
 Kovenuo departments in. New Brunswick 
 at two and two tiiinls per cent discount in 
 [layment 'or duties. He presumed that 
 this was to I oa concession to New Bruns- 
 wick to make uj) for the abandonment of 
 tln^ r.solutious liy the (ioveinment for tho 
 assimilation of tho (Jurroncy. 
 
 lion. Mr. MlfCllELIr-TheCovernmint 
 were tlio tervants of rarliament, and Par- 
 1 ament had allowed tho (piestion to re- 
 in lin over lor the present. 
 
 Hon. Jlr. l[i )ni':UTS< )N— The C.overn- 
 mi.'nt promised to deal with the question, 
 and then ignominiously backed down at 
 the <lictation of the members from Nova 
 .Scolii. Now iJ.i per cent upon §.5 was 13^ 
 rents; the discount on Nova Scotia money 
 was K("^iotimo3 as low as ?>\, but that de- 
 pended on tho rate of oxclrmgo, and tho 
 average was ."> por cent or 1;') cents — so tho 
 couiicssi. n was no SU'M .n\it'b'.on after 
 all to New Brunswick mer, 'rt.'.nts. It must 
 bo consideie I, to,), that In *)."cli :ging the 
 money so collected t.oubidorabio expense 
 would be incuried. In i'act, it was impos- 
 sible to consider the preseut fiscal legisla- 
 tion of tho Dominion in any point of view 
 without .seeing how cumbrous, expensive 
 and unl't'.ir it was to the mercmtile in- 
 terests of the country. For such reasons, 
 ho believed the Senate was bound, by a 
 deep s'jnse of obligation, to the peoi^le of 
 the Dominion over whoso interests it was 
 bound to witch, to express its emphatic 
 protest against tho measure under con- 
 sideration, and relieve the eountr}' 
 from the burthens which, if it was allowed 
 to i)as8, it would impose upon all class©*.. 
 
91 
 
 or 'M i)or 
 (l such a 
 [)roforable 
 !» (iiiectly 
 nnuoyiiig 
 sney. No 
 ■I'I'UfO tho 
 
 10 all tlio 
 niito wny, 
 'A to, \va»t 
 11(1 a lialt' 
 )ut on all 
 I liiivo nc 
 luy nHkoil 
 lino*. 'J'lii' 
 Mcinl men 
 fitli lel'or- 
 >ntH. Tho 
 a oimo in 
 
 lOCtH to- 
 
 nenil)erp(l 
 loor ni:in, 
 iH n cigar 
 >r hi'iincli 
 
 11 that liu 
 per would 
 1(1 Inl'ind 
 Biunswkk 
 liscoiuit hi 
 med tlmt 
 ■w Bruns 
 inuiont of 
 put for tho 
 
 ovcrnmint 
 
 and Par 
 
 ion to re- 
 
 e (loveni- 
 
 quostion, 
 
 fl down at 
 
 from Nova 
 
 s.'iwja 13i 
 
 otia money 
 
 it that do- 
 
 ;o, and tlid 
 
 its — so tho 
 
 Iv on after 
 
 It mu3t 
 
 'ging the 
 
 o expense 
 
 vas impos- 
 
 ical legisla- 
 
 int of view 
 
 oxponsivo 
 
 I'cintile in 
 
 ;h reasons, 
 
 )und, by a 
 
 ! peoijlo of 
 
 rests it was 
 
 emphatic 
 
 jnder con- 
 
 5 country 
 
 vas allowed 
 
 all claBse». 
 
 Uo hail no hesitation whatoror in giving 
 Ilia vote aRiiinst the meaMuro, inai^inuch as 
 it could not atloct tho poHition of the Go- 
 yerninent, niid no groat inconvenience 
 need arine from the i)aKMago of tho amend- 
 ment. Ho wim aHsurnd that tho people, 
 from one end of the Donnnioii to the 
 other, would lie ("xceeding; gratified if 
 hon. gentlemen would consent to postpone 
 the Bill. The resolution clearly expronxed 
 the wish why the Soiiite should take tho 
 course they Wore asked to purmie, and he 
 was convinced that none other waH open 
 to those who were iiillucnced by a (lesire 
 t promote the true interests of tho 
 people. [Hcflf, he;ir.l 
 
 Hon. Mr. Abl-AN said tint ho knew the 
 House was becoming imp:iticnt, and he 
 had no desire to prolong the discussion 
 tint night furthor than was necessiry to 
 ](l«('e his vicw.s on record. Ho must say, 
 at tlie commencement, that there had been 
 no agreement b<Hw<^en the hon. member for 
 (»randvillo and otlur gentlemen on the 
 same side of tho Ibaisc, to take tho <iov- 
 ernment by surprise. Ho did not .suppose 
 that it W(iuld bo unfair to that hon. gen 
 tleraan if ho were to say that if the 
 nm(Midmont were to have tho cllect ot 
 bringing about a ch mgo of administration, 
 it would not bo a caii.so of dissatisfaction 
 to that hon. member ; but ho (Mr. Allan) 
 must say that ho was convinced that hon. 
 g(?ntlomau had ii it brought forward his 
 motion in a purely party .si>ii it. So far as 
 he was individu.illy concerned, ho could 
 assure the House tliiit ho hid no other ob- 
 ject in view except tho deferring cf a 
 mevsuro which h^' bolioved to be most un- 
 desirable. It had alw.iys been his pleasure 
 to support tlui C-overnmont on all mca- 
 8nre3 on which ho could {^onsciont'ously do 
 80 ; and, as regards the gentleman who 
 led the administration in tho House, he 
 (Mr. A) had groat reluctanci.! in assuming an 
 attitude of hostility to him above all others. 
 The present, however, was ono of those 
 cases when he ought not to bo influenced 
 V)y purely personal or party considerations. 
 It was not necessary for him to .say nmch 
 about tho constitutionality of tho proceed- 
 ings, after the remarks of tho hon. gentle- 
 men who preceded biin: but there was ono 
 passage in Todd's " Parliamentary Uovern- 
 ment," to which he would call particular 
 attention. Mr. Allan lead a quotation from 
 the authority in question, in elucidation of 
 his arguniiuit, and tlv^n went on to say that 
 tluTO was no doubt that tho Senate was 
 justilied in expressing an independent 
 opinion on a (juestiou of such a character 
 as that under consideration. Indeed, a 
 case in point had aheatly been mentioned 
 jj,- Yote t"kcn in 1S.;}9. in the old Legis- 
 lative Council, on the motion moved by 
 the Hon. Mr. DcBlacquiero, and which he 
 
 had the honour of leconding and lupporting 
 in compnny with tho present I'oHtmanter 
 (Jeneral. (Hear.) Without dwelling further 
 on a jioint on whii'li he wan convin(%tl 
 there ought not to be a doubt in the 
 minds of any one, namely, tho con»titu- 
 tional right of the House to tike the 
 cour«e the resolution asked it to pui-H'e- he 
 must briefly refer to the meritu of the 
 measure itself- of that " National Policy,'' 
 (if which they lately heard so much. An a 
 British Canulian. ho was very dosirouB of 
 
 building ujia sti-ong nationality in this part 
 of tho c(jntinont, but he must fnuikly ad- 
 mit that ho could not seo how the Confo 
 deration w.is to bo strengthened by 
 such a policy as that before the Hou«o. 
 What he understood by ft national policy 
 was ono which was essentially for tho goo I 
 of the country. Such a measure should be 
 considered cirefully aii'l conscientiously 
 in accordance with wh it wore bolioved to 
 bo the true interests of all sections of tin- 
 Dominion. With respect to the protection 
 of tho fisheries, he was prepared to 
 support the (iovornment in guard 
 ing tho rights and interests of 
 our follow subjects in any part of tho 
 Dominion ; but that (|U«stion was very 
 different from one which could only perpe- 
 tuate jealousies between tho didorent sec- 
 tions," instead of eroding harmony nu'l 
 cementing tho I'liion. The argument that 
 such legislati(Jn could ever tend to recipro- 
 city was too absurd. Was it po.ssiblo that 
 four millions of pe(H)lo could cooroo thirty- 
 eight millions into tho adoption of a parti- 
 cular commercial policy V Ho was strongly 
 oppo.sod to the moasui'e, beciuso ho be- 
 lieved, in the first place, it was 
 i obnoxious in i)riiiciple. Hi< hul_ 
 i no desire to i-ee the doctrine of 
 ' protection revived in T'anad i, and more 
 duties imposed than were ab-(olutely ne- 
 cessary for the purpo.-<es of revenue. For 
 that reason ho objected to ilio nioasure, 
 especidly as tho principle hiving been 
 once allowed, it was not o isy to recede. 
 Then he objected to the pol.cy, because it 
 would not "answer the purpose which its 
 promoters cl limed for it. A»y incidental 
 protection it might atlonl to any particular 
 interests— and it was doubted if any would 
 I really be given — would not compensate for 
 tho groat injury that would l;e done to the 
 shipping and commoiciid interests of the 
 country by driving into American chinnels 
 a large trade tint had hitherto passed 
 through Canada. In speaking on tlio 
 question, tho Postmaster-(ieneral ai>peared 
 to consider it a matter of inditlen nee what 
 the opinions of the cities might be; but 
 the House was Inrdly likely to agree [with 
 him that it should n(')t listen with rc.spect 
 to the wishes an.l soiitiments of tho 
 largo centres of intelligence, whence 
 
22 
 
 information radiated to all partg 
 of the countiy districts. When, 
 therefore, it vim seen that in the 
 ^iient centres of industry the measure was 
 most eniplmtically condemned, the House 
 h;ul most powerful reason for rejecting it 
 without the least hesitation. (Hear, 
 iiear). lie acknowledged that if, by the 
 imijosition of the duty, it was possible to 
 I oinpel the manufacturers of Western Ca- 
 nnda to use Nova Scotia coal, it would be 
 satisfactory ; but no one who wis conver- 
 sant with iho subject but acknowledged 
 that they could not be supplied from that 
 Province. Nova Scotia coal, ho was as- 
 sured, had been tried over and over in 
 tiie fu.rnacis of the large manufacturing 
 establishments, but not with satisfactory 
 results. No matter what the duty might 
 be, the proprietors would be ol'liged to 
 use the American anthracite conl. Then, 
 again, consider the ettbcts upon the poor- 
 er cl isses of thu population. It had lieen 
 asserted that so far as the great body of 
 our people were concerned, the taxes 
 would not ail'oct them in any way what- 
 ever, but lie could not agree with that 
 opinion. In the iirst place, he must state 
 it as a fict tlititc lal was being extensively 
 u.-ed among all olasscSj owing to the in- 
 crease in tlio price of wood — oven in the 
 l.u'ge henevoleut institutions they were 
 obliged to use it altogether. Eveiy one 
 was aware that the destruction of tlie ibr- 
 ests was g ing on most rapidly in every 
 l)art of the jjominion, and the jirice of 
 wood was annually hccoming higher ; and 
 theie was no doubt whatever that the 
 moment tlie additional taxation came into 
 operation the result would be to add to 
 the price of fiul. If the ettect of the 
 me;tsiiio. would 1 e to encourage intercolo- 
 nid tr.ade, it would be an argument in its 
 fivour, Init his idea of the best 
 means of cflecting so desirable an 
 object w IS to mcrease the facilities 
 f)f intercoiu^e between the didcrent. 
 members of the Union — to improve our 
 canals and extend the railways throughout 
 the Donunioii. During the i)ast seison, 
 the steauK-r JLt Majnsty, had made regular 
 trips between llalifa.\ and the upper ports, 
 but she could only go down to Montreal 
 half 1 ideii, iu eonsetiuence of the limited 
 capacity of the canals. 
 
 Hon. .^[r. .MITCMELI.— She always got 
 her full o ug,) at Montreal. 
 
 Ib)n. Mr. ALLAN — The results, how- 
 ever, w r.i far I'lom profitable to the 
 own IS. 
 
 Ilon.Mr. MITCHELL— Had been told 
 by th ■ owner of the Ijnat, Mr. Chisholm, 
 that the ro:;ult of taking off the canal 
 tolls, wouUl be to give a inargin for ijront, 
 and that if the propeller had not been 
 
 Hon. Mr. Allan, 
 
 wrecked, he would have made a good 
 season. 
 
 Hon. Mr. ALLAN went on to say that 
 although he felt it lo be a grave responsi- 
 bility to vote for the amendment, yet he 
 was compelled, for the reasons he had 
 given, to support it. He believed that 
 the measure was in itself inaugurating n 
 mischievious system of legislation — that 
 it would not encourage Intercolonial 
 trade — that, on the contrary, it would in- 
 terfere most seriously with many valuable 
 branches of industry throughout the Do- 
 minion to which coal was indispensable — 
 that it would press most heavily on a 
 large class who were obliged to use it on 
 account of the scarcity anc expense of 
 wood. Under such circumstances, there 
 was no other alternative open to him as a 
 member of the Senate, entrusted with the 
 responsible duty of guarding the interests 
 of all sections, than to vote against the 
 passage of a measure which waa likely to 
 operate so injuriously upon all classes in 
 the Dominion. 
 
 Hon. Mr. LOCKE said that the ques- 
 tion had been so ably argued by his hon. 
 friend and coUengue from Nova Scotia (Mr. 
 Miller,) who had clearly proved the consti- 
 tutional right of the Senate to deal with 
 the question, that it was not necessary ho 
 should delay the House with any prolong- 
 ed observations on that part of the sub- 
 ject. It hid been urged with force that 
 they were now entering upon a new era 
 in the history of this country, and that 
 the example the Senate might set would 
 bo considered a precedent for the future. 
 Ho thought the House had a perfect right 
 to estalilish such a jjrecedent as would 
 clearly define its authority as a body per- 
 ibrming responsible functions under the 
 constitution of a Dominion, which was to 
 become a great nat.onahty according to 
 the promoters of Confederation. As res- 
 pects the tariff itself, he must say at the 
 outset that the duty on coal would not be 
 considered a concession to the majority 
 of the people of Nova Scotia. The coal 
 interest was confined^to Pictou and Cape 
 Breton, and the tax,ifa benefit at all, could 
 ' only protect a minority of the population. 
 Whilst making a concession to the coal 
 counties of Eastern Nova Scotia, the bread 
 of the people in the West, was to be t;ixed. 
 The Western Counties traded cheaply with 
 the United States. At the end of the fish- 
 ing season, vessels left the western ports 
 for the United States, wliere they disposed 
 of their cargoes of fish and returned with 
 flour, rye and cornmeal. Only once in the 
 liistory of Nova Scotia had the coarse articles 
 of rye and meal been taxed. Rye could 
 not be procured in Canad.i on the same 
 terms as in the United Stiites, and the 
 
same remark applied to coni meal to a 
 large extent. Kice was also a commodity 
 essential to a large class of the population — 
 it was the luxui-y of the fishermoa and 
 poorer people. The man who was 
 not able to buy any other article of luxury 
 used rice — even the schooners when they 
 went to the fisheries took large quantities 
 with them. The Minister of Marine and 
 Fisheries was perfectly well awaie that 
 meal was an article of prime necessity, not 
 merely among fishermen, but especially 
 among lumbermen. lie would next refer 
 to the article of tobacco, which was already 
 taxed largely, it was the poor man's 
 Holace — absolutely necessary for liis com- 
 fort when he returned home after a hard 
 day's toil ; but now he had to pay upwarils 
 of 100 per cent, more for the luxury of 
 smoking his pipe. The duty on packages 
 was very troublesome and unfair. The 
 cask, for instance, in which molasses came 
 might be worth $5 in Cuba ; but when it 
 reached Nova Scotia its value was not more 
 than 75 or 80 cents. In the fisheries, sucli 
 casks were used to some extent for butts, 
 but otherwise they were useless, and would 
 have to be broken up for fuel. No where, 
 except perhaps in the United States, was 
 it usual to resort to the absurd expedient 
 of chargin g a duty on packages. It had 
 been well pointed out by the hon. gentle- 
 man from St. John (Mr. Eobertson; tliat 
 the Eighth Section would lead to great 
 trouble and inconvenience, inasmuch as it 
 was almost impossible to comply with its 
 provisions, and under any circumstances it 
 would require additional clerks in every 
 large mercantile establishment, and in Cus- 
 tom Houses as well. Yet this measure, so 
 perplexing and burthensome in its details, 
 was called a great national policy. Some 
 called it a "retaliatoiy policy," but before 
 it could be entitled to thut name, we 
 would have to impose duties on American 
 products equal to those they imposed on 
 our own. The measure afforded no con- 
 cessions to Nova Scotia — unless it was a 
 concession to tax seven-eighths of the peo- 
 ple for tho benefit of one-eighth. In- 
 deed, it was most questionable — in 
 fact, it was positively denied — if 
 the duty would operate beneficially for 
 the coal producers themselv es ; but even 
 under any circumstances it was a wrong po- 
 licy to tax the many for the advantage of 
 the few, (hear, hear ) The true principb, 
 which should be at the bottom of all legisla- 
 tion, was to leave tho people at liberty to 
 buy where they can purchase the cheapest 
 and sell in the dearest market. He had 
 no doubt whatever that i. was practico,ble 
 to raise any money that might be required 
 for the public expenditures by some 
 means which would not operate unfairly 
 on classes or sections of tiie people, ior 
 
 instance, additional revenue could more 
 satisfactorily be raised by making a slight 
 increase on the ad valorem duties from 5 
 to 1 5 per cent. He thought, after having 
 given full consideration to the subject, 
 that it was the wisest course for the House 
 to reject a measure which was creating 
 such wide-spread dissatisfaction, and re- 
 lieve the country from the irritation and 
 annoyance which would certainly arise 
 from its passage. 
 
 Hon. Mr. SKEAD said that he felt some- 
 what diffident in rising to speak on tho 
 question before the House at that late 
 hour of the night, but he could not give 
 a silent vote. The tariff ha<l b;en before 
 Parliament for a month — it h:ul been 
 thoroughly discussed in the House of 
 Commons and in the public press ; but 
 nevertheless he had not seen a single pe- 
 tition from the fanners in (Jutario com- 
 plaining of its ]irobablo effects. It was 
 true the cities of Montreal and IJuebec 
 objected to tho measure. 
 
 Hon. Mr. ALLAN — Tho people have 
 with reason thought that the objection- 
 able features of the measure would be 
 struck out. 
 
 Hon. Mr. SKEAD was not denying that 
 Toronto, which tho hon. mctiber repre- 
 sented, was opposed to certain features of 
 the tariff. He was not himself altogether 
 satisfied with the measure, but neverthe- 
 less ho had (confidence in the Government, 
 and believed that they had devised the 
 best ueasure possible under all the circum- 
 stances. They were obliged to raise addi- 
 tional revenue, and the only way they 
 could do it was by imposing such duties as 
 would be distributed over all sections. He 
 iloiibteci very much whether it was advis- 
 able to add to the fifteen per cent duties 
 at the present time. As a representative 
 of a lumbering district ho was opposed to 
 a tax on timber, and it was probable that 
 the Governmcni; would be obliged to resort 
 to such a step, should they not be allowed 
 to pass the present measure. He had been, 
 he must confess, much surprised at the 
 statement of the hon. member from Hali- 
 fax (Mr. Miller) tlrit English coal could be 
 bought so much cheaper than the Noya 
 Scotia article in the Quebec market. 
 
 Hon. Mr. MITCHELL s 'd that it was a 
 mistake to say that any ship would bring 
 the coal simply as ballast. 
 
 Hon. Mr. MILLEll had made his state- 
 ment on the best authority. 
 
 Hon. Mr. SKE.\D was of opinion tha 
 unless the Nova Scotia dealers produced 
 Coal cheaper, they could not expect to get 
 the Canada trade. 
 
 Hon. Mr. MILLER r.marked that they 
 could not get it under existing circum- 
 stances. 
 
3i 
 
 Hon. Mr. SKEAD said that it was 
 obviou-s to him that the national j>olicy 
 would work to the advantage of the coun- 
 try if it w iH properly carried out, and he 
 iifl ovisd it to Ijo the duty of the represen- 
 tatives of all .sections to assint it ; and under 
 ,itiy circumstances, if it did not operate 
 tjenelicially, it could Hoon lie repealed. It 
 wan a \;i.se policy, at the present time, to 
 ilirect all our legislation towards the 
 object of creating trade between 
 the Hfivoral I'rovincoH constituting 
 th- Dominion. The present measure was 
 K step in that direction, and was therefore 
 an <xperiinent worthy of trial. The Se- 
 nate slioiild also bear in mind the fact 
 that if it rejected the Bill before it, it 
 would subject th'j House of Commons to 
 much incf>nvf;nienoe, by delaying the pro- 
 gress of public business, and keeping 
 members for some time longer from their 
 homes and private affairs. He was not 
 prepared to assume the responsibility of 
 bringin/' the two Houses into collision 
 with eacn other, at a time when it was so 
 desirable to brmg the public business to a 
 close. In conclusion, he must observe 
 that he was desirous of seeing every 
 </'u8tom House on the frontier abolished, 
 and free trade established between Canada 
 and the world. Direct taxation was, 
 after all, the true principle of meeting 
 public expenditures; but whilst the 
 country was not i)repared to adopt such a 
 policy, he had to take things as he found 
 th. m, and ho would therefore vote for a 
 measure which had been matured })y the 
 (iovernment as a meins of raising the re- 
 venue to the amount required for the 
 public (;-\.igences. 
 
 Hon. Mr. BOUKINOT s.iid that before 
 the House divided, he felt it necessary to 
 make a few remarks on the very import- 
 ant question which had already occupied 
 so much time. He regretted that '.he 
 members of the (iovernment, and those 
 who were re idy to support them on the 
 (juestion, had not thought it advisable to 
 f.xpliiii more iully tlie reasons why the 
 House should give its assent to the 
 measure. He for one, would not apolo- 
 gi/x3 to the House for assuming a position 
 which he felt he was c.illed to assume by 
 .'I sense of the duty he owed to the 
 country. (Hear.) It was his undoubted 
 right, as a member of the Senate, to act 
 independently of Ministers, and he would 
 not hesitate to exen-ise it on the present 
 occasion. When the measure 
 
 w.is brought up in the House 
 of Commons, by the Government, ho 
 was in the city of Halifax, and in frequent 
 intercourse with the leading men engaged 
 in trade and interested in the coal mines 
 of the i'rovinoo : and not one of those'he 
 met expressed his satisfaction with the 
 
 Hon. Mr. Skead. 
 
 I tariff. The coal owners said they did not 
 ! ^rant the duty of .W cents, inasmuch as it 
 I would not be protection to them in the 
 Canadian Market. They all thought that 
 ! there was a dLsposition on the part of the 
 United .States to agree to amend their 
 < tariff so far as coal was concerned, and that 
 ' there was every probability that the pro- 
 i hibitory duty would be al olished or so 
 j lowered ns to allow the coal dealers of 
 j Nova Scotia to send their product into the 
 American Market with profit. It was well 
 known that public opinion in the Uniteil 
 States was tending to the a^^loption of a 
 more liberal commercid policy towairls 
 iJanada ; and under the circumstances 
 it was believed in Halifax that the policy 
 pressed in the Canadian I'arliament by cer- 
 tain prominent gentlemen was unsound, 
 and not calculated to benefit Nova Scotia 
 in the end. It was clear that the natural 
 market for the coal of Nova Scotia was the 
 United States, and that it would go there 
 despite the duty imposed on it. Many of 
 the vessels now engaged in the trade 
 brought back flour and meal, instead of 
 b.allast, and now it was proposed to tax 
 those commodities which the people al- 
 ways considered they shotild receive free. 
 Such legislation was in itself calculated to 
 burthen the very class which it was intend- 
 ed to benefit, and showed a want of fore- 
 sight on the part of those who had ma- 
 tured iuid forced it on the country. He 
 was confident that the insignificant duty 
 in question would never create trade be- 
 tween Canada and Nova Scotia — if trade 
 should ever spring up between East and 
 West, it must arise from natural causes, 
 (hear, hear) — not from such artificial and 
 unnatural expedients as now proposed. 
 It was out of the question for Nova Scotia 
 coal to compete with the British coal, 
 which, as it had been before observed, was 
 brought in as ballast. The best house coal 
 sold at Sydney for about lOs. a chaldron, 
 and for $1.75 at the new mines, and the 
 freight to Quebec would cost nearly as 
 much. Then the various charges that had 
 to be incurred in going up to Montreal, 
 were bo large pt present, that the coal trade 
 could not be made profitable. The policy 
 WIS unsatisfactory in whatever jioint of 
 view it might be considered. It wiis in no 
 way calculated to build up a " new na- 
 tionality," but was certain to perpetuate a 
 spirit of rivalry and sectionalism that 
 might lead to most .serious consequences 
 in the future. He was not prepared to 
 admit that a great favour had been 
 conferred upon Nova Sc^otia by a conces- 
 sion which could not benefit even the in- 
 terest it was intended to assist ; but under 
 any circumstances, ho protested, as a re- 
 presentative of that Province, against the 
 adoption of any measure that would create 
 
25 
 
 ill-feeling lietween ditTerent sections. As 
 respects the argument that wts used by 
 the opposite sMo — tint the eftect of re- 
 jecting the Bill would he to bring the Se- 
 nate into collision with the other branch 
 — he did not see much force in it. The 
 S.nate had a perfect right to pursue that 
 course which its members should dtem 
 most in accordance with the public inter- 
 ests, and even slioul I tliey differ from the 
 House of Commons he was convinced 
 there was enough liberalitj in that bcnly 
 to prevent any ditiiculty arising. He re- 
 gretted thitiiehad delayed the House, 
 ijut he could not refrain from e.\pres-ing 
 liis ojiinion on the ijuestion. thougli he 
 knew th it his lion, friends who hail pie- 
 c.d d him had exhausted tlie subjeet. He 
 had no h situion as t > the vote lie would 
 give that night, for it would be intiiienccd 
 i.y tlie desire to act for the interests of the 
 whole Dm niou ; ami those interests, he 
 w iS convinced, would be best subserved by 
 rejecting. I measure which would operate 
 most unsatisfactorily. 
 
 Hon. Mr. W.\RK' Mid that he had been 
 prepared to hear mmy diverse opinions 
 e.x'piessed on the .-ubjoot under considera- 
 tion, but certa.nly lie had never expected 
 to tind sucii unanimity. It was stati'dthit 
 it w.is the intention to I enelit Nova Scotia 
 and(»nt irio, and yet it was m st surpiising 
 to sie ni'Mubers from those sections 
 rising, one after the other, and express- 
 ing themselves oppose I to the me. sure. 
 I'he ertect upon New Uiiinswick was cleir- 
 ly to legislate her out of the Unimi. The 
 people of that Province hid to p ly taxes 
 on Hour and corn meal for the beiieiit of 
 Ontario, and on cod for the Ijenetit oi a 
 s.'ction of Nova S.-otia. He need liardly 
 till the House that it wis not possible to 
 force trade out of its natural channels, and 
 th:it the policy in (piestion would thei'efore 
 fail in that respect. He had tjeeii always 
 in favour of extending the canal sys- 
 tem of the Dominion, ami in tint w ly 
 f ellKating trade and ijitercourse between 
 ("inada and the woriil. Every eliort should 
 lie made to remove every barrier that pie- 
 vntedthe .^t. Liwreiice being the great 
 highway between the West and Europe. 
 The Maritime Provinces would be the car- 
 riers of that trade, and therefore he wish- 
 ed to see every faeility atforded to its ex- 
 ti'Usion. Those Provinces had the means 
 of Ijuilding ships cheaply, luid manning 
 
 legisldionof the Dominion had sofarbe^n 
 d trimental to the interests of New Bruns- 
 wick; but the opp.sition that the present 
 m&vsure met with in that Provin-e W!U» 
 c .nclusive evidence of thit fact, and justi- 
 Hed the coui-se he was now taking. 
 
 Hon. Mr. LETELI.IER DE ^'^. ,Wi^ 
 s.iid that the Postmister General, in tlm 
 remarks he had made at the commence- 
 ment of the debate, luul attempted to iu- 
 rtuence the House by a style of argument 
 that might be called in French, qutliiiif 
 chose (L' .tpirifujc. The House was toll that 
 the effect of throwing out the Bill 
 would be to create a collision be 
 tween the two Houses, and that 
 much delay and inconvenien, i- mu>t 
 arise from such a course. Now, referimg 
 to the proceedings of the I.egislati\tT 
 (."ouncil in 1S.">'.', he found the Postmaster 
 (ieneral agreing with the sentiments in 
 the resolution that was lulopted — senti 
 ments directly contrary to those which lie 
 had expressed tint afternoon. Now that 
 hon. gentleman was not prepared to assert 
 the rights and privileges of the Senate ; 
 but in LSj'J he assent<'il to the declaration, 
 " that the 1 egislative Council feels itself 
 bound, in deb nee of its unquestionable 
 rights as a co eijual branch of the Legi>la- 
 ture, and as the only means of presrrviiig 
 its independeiue not to take the (juestion 
 of supply into consideration."' Now ho 
 (M. de St. Just) argued that the motion 
 which he liad moved was precisely si- 
 milar in etfect to the one which he had 
 just read as having received the support 
 of the Postmister General. He did not 
 think the (Tovernment could fairly dedaie 
 they hid been taken by surprise — if the 
 Telegraph were to be brought up to give 
 evidence on the subject, (laughter,) he 
 thought the reverse would be shown ; and 
 h>'miist certainly tdce that opportunity of 
 congratulating the Government on the sii 
 tisfactnry results that had arisen from the 
 use they had been making of the useful 
 ageni'.y of circulating infurmation to their 
 friends. 
 
 The members were then called in unJ 
 tho House divided on Hon. Mr. Mcl'er 
 son's amendment, which was lost by tlie 
 following vote : — 
 
 CoNTKNTs: — Hon. Messr Allan, Blake, 
 Bourinot, Chart'ers, Christie, Cormier, 
 Dickson, Guevremont, Hamilton (Kings 
 
 which, according to the best authoiities, 
 was operating so injuriously to Am'^rican 
 commerce and enteri)rise. He regietted 
 llmt he w,is foieiid to ai'knowl»dge tint the 
 
 •3 
 
 Armand, Benson, Bill, Bureau, Burnham, 
 Cami)bell, Chapais, Crawford, Duchesnay, 
 E. U. J.; Dumouehol, Holmes, Kenny, 
 La:oste. McCrea, McDonald, ANh'Lelan. 
 
26 
 
 McMnster, Matheson, Mills, Mitchell, 
 Renaud, Eoss, Ryan, Seymour, Shaw, 
 Skead, Wilson.— 28. 
 
 The question then being fmt on llonor- 
 ahle Mr. LETELLIER DE ST. JUST'a mo- 
 tion in amendment, the same was also re- 
 solved in the negative. 
 
 The question being put on the Honor- 
 able Mr. CAMPBELL'S motion, viz. : 
 " That the said Bill be read a second time 
 at the next sitting of the House," the 
 same was resolved in the affirm itive. 
 
 The House then adjourned at midnight. 
 
lor- 
 
 iz. : 
 mo 
 the 
 
 'ht.