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Whenever possible, these have b»', this panacea of a free trade in C!>ni and low prici-s be brought about,) you will be deceived as to Ine propheeied gradation from *' necessaries to com- forts 1 and comforts to luxuries 1" such never was the state of man, least of all of agriculturists ; search history, read the accounts of every country which the travelling spirit of the age has made known to us, for a refutation of so gratifying but delusive an anticipation ; how, may I ask, can comforts and luxuries be possibly acquired by a whole people ? are they not the rewards of constant personal labour and attention to a daily occupation, or the acquirement of the superior intelligence of tt minority, who find such employment for the greater nuniber ; but if these too had such induU gencies, who would be found to work ; *' necessity is the mother of invention" and of labour too. An your intelligent countryman, Shirrefi", says, ** thi is may be harsh language, but it is sound philosophy." Least of all, in a densely populated country like Kngland, can any such Utopian change be ex- pected by low prices. Have you forgotten that there exists, (or to shew us the manner in which to get rid of,) the national debt! the parish and county rates 1 and above all, the poor rates ! —the former contracted at high prices, when every thing was in proportion ; but on your po, sitioiijr to be collected hereafter when every thing but itself has fallen one half in value — thus in- creasing its own value 100 per cent 1 Have you forgotten that though political economy may say, "employ foreigners to do all the work for you thai i I f income derived from profits, will purchase — will ena- ble bim to indulge in cjmfttts^ where before be could only atTord hecessaries-/uxuru'^\ where hfforv Im vas plad tooootent himself witli romfivtn, —Chdninan on the Corn Tnuk, pp. 3-4. V i f : they can do cUcapci," our poor laws compel us to keep every man from stai'viiig, and therefore while we employ foreign labourers to do our work, we must convert our own unemployed labourers into paupers and keep them too at the public expense. But, sir, I take it to be altogether unnecessary to argue against the supposition, that upon the ivhole, an abstraction of labour from our population can bestow the means of increased comforts to it. What is the price of your ducks ? asked a freshly imported Patlaiider of a huckster; "seveu shil- lings a couple," said he ;— «* faith/* said the Irish- man, ** we can get them at sixpence a piece in my country ;"— " then why the devil dont you go back again," said the huckster ;— " just because we cant get the sixpence to buy them with I" veplied Pat. You seem to rest your arguments upon the as- sertions and opinions of Mr. Jacob, as upon a point d'appui of certainty. . — " Trifles light as air. Are to the jealous, confirmations itrong as proofs of holy writ ;" — And so I fear, that having adopted the same opi- nions, you respect his authority, and go as far as he goes, even if thct be much farther than you ever intended. Now, Mr. Jacob's book is not gospel to every body ; and it is shrewdly suspected by some, that he screwed his observations in some degree to square with his theory ; and that his information was not so frequently got at the fountain head as it might have been, being in general gathered from commercial and political men in cities, interested in their dicta. 1 could have been better pleaded had he not, when on the eve of proceeding on his mission, expressed himself as displeased with tlio advantage which, he said, Canada enjoyed over fo- reign nations, in the protection given to her a«= a t colony of Great Biitain. I would ask, ought she not to have such preference ? Shall the child of the bond-woman be heir with the free ? or shall the stranger have the privilege of the child ? Was ever a public commissioner more palpably wrong in his conclusions than was Mr. Jacob, as to the quantity of wheat that could be spared from the continent ? as was proved by the quantity import- ed from thence, even before his report had grown stale. On the Corn Exchange his opinions and as- sertions were at first received with astonishment, and then with doubts. Notwithstanding my long acquaintance and respect for the character and abilities of Mr. Jacob, (even before the Revolution or Emancipation of Spain had exhibited him in a public character,) I may venture to dispute both his opinions and assertions ; and, therefore, it is, that I do not agree with you as to the degree with which, through him, we are acquainted ** with the corn supplying powers of almost every country of Europe." — In a note you acknowledge, that *' Russia is a most important exct^ption ;" and, it is well you notice this omission, as since Mr. Ja- cob's publication, 1 have, in common with others, been invited into speculations in corn to be pur- chased ill Russia, under 17s. a-quarter I 1 And, at which price it might have been procured at different times and various places since the publi- cation of his report. In page 5, you say, " It is now ascertained that the continejital States of Europe could not make any great addition to their average surplus for shipment, &c. &c." * As Mr. it * It is now ascertainerl, and pretty pen orally ac- kiiowledfred, tliat the continental states of Europe could not make any great addition to their average surplus for shipment, except at a preatly increased cost of pro. dnction. All the lands suited to the culture of white crops, and situated at moderate distances from the V II ^ Jacob is, however, your only authority for this opinion, which, you say, is ** pretty generally ac- knowledged," I need not further attempt to con- fute it, than by saying, that such information as I am favoured with from other sources, leads me to doubt it greatly ; and, I consider myself authoiised to state, that an opinion, similar to my own, is ge- nerally held on the Corn Exchange. As to your opinion or rather assertion, that « America, and indeed all new countries, produc ing their corn by means of a small quantity of high priced labour, applied to lands of the greatest fer- tility, which are almost rent, tax and tithe free ;'* and that, therefore, ♦* Canada can deliver her corn in England at prices quite as low as Dantzig or any other corn.shipping port in Europe,"* I doubt it altogether ; or rather, 1 would say, I have no doubl about the matter.— What ! Canada with her ports shut up in ice one half the year, with 8000 miles of transport from her port of exit, making her freight double, and risk of damnge and sbipping markets, are already under pretty high til- lage ; and it is only by more skilful, and, at the same time, more extensive application of manures— in a word, by still higher tillage, that an increased quanti- ty could be drawn from the soW.— Chapman on tnc Corn Trade, p. 5. * America, and indeed all new countries, produce their corn, &c. by means of a small quantity of high priced labour, applied to lands of the greatest fertility, and which are almost rent, tax, and tithe-free; the richness of the soil, and the non-existence of burthens, more than compensating the high wages of labour and the distance from markets ; so that, with equal duties, or, with a trade in corn perfectly free and unrestrict- ed, Canada, as I shall hereafter have occasion to show, can deliver her corn in England, at prices quite as low as Dantzier, or any other corn shipping port in Kuro^.e. — Jb. p. G. 10 ri fijrtm;; J(ii,rJoul ; able to toiiipde with our Lu- r )|)t'un continental growth, grown by serfs too ! and within twelve days of her market from the ship- pinjipurt? Nay, that is really too bold an asser- tion, notwithsslanding the fertility of the soil, and the Canadian saying of ** beaucoup de neigc, bonne rccoite." — I have reiul the letters of John Young, Esq., under the signature of Agricoliiy with great pleasure ; but think that there is great reason to doubt his theory and assertions, as >,o the ameliora- tion of the climate of America, by the increase of agriculture, &c. to any thing like the extent he sujiposes it. His idea, that such changes are ef- ft cted partly by t'' j ** increase of population, and consequent evolution of animal heat, and warmth communicated to the atmosphere by t!ie lires within the houses," is, I grant, very philosophical, and is true as regarded the black hole of Calcutta, or, as revpecis a nigger mcthodist meeting, and the immediate iteighbout hood of such a city as Lon- don ; but on a population of one man to thirty acres, 1 should iniiigiiie that, prncticallij^ very little diU'ereiico would be found. Th's nmde of reason- ing, wherein philosophy is elevated above fact, is too much in fashion — the last winter in Amcrita surely proves but little for Mr. Young's opinions, J understand tli!it for seventeen years at least, there lias not be«jn experienced so severe a winter ill Morth America; and yet, without fear of dispute, those seventeen years have ofl'ered the greatest proof fiir trying his assertion; perhaps more clearing, draining, population, &c. has tti44en place during those years, than during a preceding century. I be- lieve the Hon. W. iJ. Felton, who has long resided in ('anada, inis little faith In the doctiine, neither liud IM*Tagg»rf, the engineer, and that hearty veteran, Mr. Adam Lyujburncr, in his eighty- «iitli year, though he nniy allow that s(»me change )iaii taken p'acc since he lirst knew Cunnda, ncnrh/ \. H \, ievciiii) y^pn- aincc, is very fur fiom al'owing an;, such cli'inges as yousetm ck'siroub to cbtablihli. 1'hat vcss<;!s do p;cneialiy arrive somewhat earlier and sail somewhat Liter in tiie seabon, may be attribut- ed rather to the iai()rovemeiits that have taken place butli in ship building and navigation, than to the change in the climate. Mr. I'oung certain- ly produces abundant ([uotationb to hold out his as. sertion, that the climate of Europe, and p.artieular- ly of England, has materially improved w.thin ** the last two thousand years ;*' but we should reniem. ber that even Caesar, Viigil, and Tacitus were swayed by self-vanily, poetical licence^ and llat- tery ; and wc may as well look for the actual danger to vessels in sailing near Scylla and Cha- rybdis, as for |)recise unvarnihhcd truth in such ac counts. May it nut rather be |,ranted, that whilst certain countries a.v greatly improved in their cli- mate by physical cl'janges caused therein by man, in regard to human health and life— the jictuul climate as to the return of sf-asons and veget.ilion rt- mains withoiil much ciian^e, taking an avcr.i:;c ni'w long period of years or cycie. *' The stork knowclh her aj);i()inted limes," and, allovving for the cJuinfse of stijlc, It does not appear that the arrival of tliu cuckoo uiul Nvvallovv, and seed time and harvest, have mu'ih varied in this country since Chaucec wrote, or our oldest hcrbuis were published. In page 17 you tjuote the "jnice of wheat of I'ppci* Canudii at Cs. Cd per busltel in January last/' * * Upper Canada wheat, liowever, of medium qiiiili- ty. could not be luid down lit Muiitreal iiiidor Gs. (id. pur busbcU (lliu IhsI adviccH, Ja.iuury 24. 1B3.2, quote IJppur (vaniida vvtical, ut 5n. (kI.) or 54a. 4d. in liondon, without duty. Nov» the aven'^jje price in I-'npland muiit be- low iiniot'd for f^ood wtieat to bring no more llian 5 Is. 4d. 'I'be medium price of n doilar por buslnl woiill coit .>Ub. Hd. ill liondon, wiltiout duty, (appou* 12 biit do not saj where ; — I believe llitTC was none in .Moiitteal at that time — so that, I presume Is. 1(1. lor transport was to be added— makinji; it ()S. 7(1. ; this, however, I know, that when it was to be got ill preparation for shippin}-, it was fJs. (id. currency. 1 cannot find fault with your caleulH- tion of cost of {growth laid down at Alontreai at 5s. 6d. per bushel as a possibly saving price ; and I am willing to allow that, without duty, such wheat might be laid down in London at .^Is Id. per quarter ; but you take nothing into account lor such seasons as the Canada grain /leatsnud lills with weavil ; and that is, n to 40 bushels per acre is a good crop on good land, and trom ] f, to "2'> on the worn-out soils of the Frencn seignories. You niake mention of Cu- . din V) a price wliich would cnahh Canada, qnnlity coiisulurt'd, to copo with any of Jlic rorn siipplyinit conntrioB of the north of Kiiropc In tfip present state of ilif corn laws, it in not likely that wheat in Cannda will bo loop under jii. Gd. ni n medium prico. that In, 5«. for I^ower Canada, and O's. for Upper (unndii wheat. And even vief llio conuuerco of (zraln quite unrestricted, I am inelined to think good wlieat would Kildom Ro below il'ln to ()js. per qu;uler hero, wliieh v.<»uld keep the price in Canada up at from G«. to Ch. fid. ; a priee wbicli operaten ns a deeidrd induremont to its exfenlfd culiivuiion. ifwpuKni on the I urn Ttmit', \u 17. 1 . 13 iiada wheat G4| lbs. pel bushel ; such I hare never seen, and am inclined to believe there may have been some inaccuracy in the weighing ; of six cargoes we received last year, the weights were 55. 5;S. 58. 5H. 5r^. (iO.— the three first being red, the two latter white wheat. I acknowledge that such weights ofl'er no just criterion, as from some unknown cause, the impoitof last year depre- ciated exceedingly by its transport, so as to entail a loss of il50 to the importers. Neither did it occur to n»c to observe, the *' every where plentifulness of gypsum," nor indeed of limestone in Canada. I take it, that the use of both arises from being de. composers of vegetable mutter causing fermenta- tion, and roquiiing on worn out soils such matter to work upon, for which leason (us I have seen in tlio Uniti'd States,) green crop'* ure frequently ploughed in where it is used. But now, sir, tak- ing your calculation of wheat at 5s. (id. per bushel at Montreal being a saving price, bringing it with charges to 51s. 4d. per quarter at London, and mine of 2s. 2|d. per bushel in Hussia or Poland, and oOs. per quarter in London, giving you the therein //it; highest freight, as if from Odessa, { would ask what prospect there is of Canada growth doing without protection 1 cannot but stop to notice what appears to me a 7Horc Jlagrnnt omission on your part in leaving the United States out of your ci'ilculation, than in Mr. Jacob leaving out llussia in his ! How could ( anadu cumpolc with her neighbour, whose soil is at least as good, climate better, ports alumi^s opc/i, and navigation of shorter duration and less risk, conse- quently siiving interest, insurance, time, and acci- dents. If I have found a marc's nest, or caught a Tartar, you will please acMse(|uence of such impulse, could possibly have rcarin i) Kngland • or whether it was even possible for any o!ie engaged in the lumber trade at that period, to have got out of It : I Such assertions may go down with a certain class of opinionists, and be referred to by M. 1 . 8, aye, and IMinisters, and be quoted in the fVestmimter and FMnburs;h Heviews, but ought, m fact, to he told to the marines ; however it is not ui.jiual now.a-.ls, to find a bold speculation or assertion stand in ihe room of a modest fact IT '? /T ^^ r" '""^ ^^ " t''° probabilit'y of I'nited States wheat being smu^^led through Ca- yada, and ask «* wliat is to prevent it."* i„ this * I am inclined to think, that the quantity exported ^,111? *^r' ""f P^'"taP" greater, owing to the fa- vorable change which has recently taken place in that imrt of our corn laws which relates to the trade in corn 1^ IS you aie certaiuly adminihtomi^ lu c.mceits nlrcituij ^.xkting u\ the brains of some of our jealous hut ill-informed legislators— there are not wantin-- some who do actually fancy that smu!,^:riinjr, to ru immense extent, does exUtivom the I'nited States ; not only^through Canada, but actuully throvirh Ire- land', as well as by vessels meeting at sea ! I uiid unless you kno-v personally of such sniuuniing of United States grain for shipping us Caniula growth, 1 think you are going greatly too far (as a Cana- dian,") to give currency to such opinions, which cannot be otherwise than prejudicial to her inter- ests whenever the question is broached in Parlia- bctween the United States and Canada. Wheat from tlio United States is now admitted into Canada free of duty, either for consumption or when ground at Cana- dian mills, for export, it being then considered coIo- nial produce, on the principle that manufacture, and not the growth of the raw material, constitutes ♦♦pro- duce;" hence, as English demand will keep up the price of wheat at Montreal and Quebec somewhat above the consumption price of New York, the former cities will receive much more than their usual supply from the borders of Lake Ontario, and from the western part of tho state of New York. To my knowledge, Anierican enterprise and capital were only waiting the decision of the Board of Trade on the question, whc- Vierjiour manufactured in Canada, out of United i^atcs wheat, would be comidcred as Canatiian pro^ duce, to eitablisfi extensive mills in Upper Canada. Besides which, what is to prevent the shipment of United States' wheat as the produce of Canada, when once it finds its way into the provincs and down to the shipping ports. Indeed, an opinion prevails, that the intention of raioiiters is, to open a hole through which tho wheat of America may quietly creep into Groat Britain, without exciting the alarm of the classes lutorested in dear food. If such be their intention, It must be confessed they have actol with profound "'"nn^ judgment. -C/rff/;wo« on in i^orn Tmdt\ pp x5 ^0. ' ment. I would ask, whether Canadian growers are not only willing to prevent it as a matter of Belf-protection, but whether they arc not even wil- ling to tax themselves with such grain, to keep it from interfering with the higher price which they get for their own growth for export. In page 21) you express a belief that *' the lum- ber trade of Canada is detrimental to its prosperi- ty." You know my opinions upon the value of this trade, and therefore I need not go at length into them as opposed to yours ; but I would ask, whether the opinion of one of your own Canadian authorities — one, to whom every idea that is called liberal, may be granted ; of whom you say in page 19, *» a man whose information on subjects con- nected with Canada is undisputed'*— Mr. Neilson, of Quebec, is to be disregarded ; he, in one of his (Quebec Gazelies for May, (last month) calls the lumber trade, the ** piotieer of improvement.*' What says Shirreff of the Ottawa River, a man whose htyle of writing and originality of ideas have delighted me, and of many others I might mention. Very much more might be added, were this attack on the lumber trade the first object of your book. By and bye a few other remarks may not be im- pertinent. In page SO, you say, " the timber trade has found a friend ; and, if my view be correct, the corn trade an enemy, in Mr. Uiiss, a lawyer of one of the Temples. Mr. Bliss has received a sort of perpetual retainer to support the lumber trade through thick and thin ; and, in a pamphlet of 120 pages, (a size which, to my knowledge, defeats its purpose,) he has, to use a legal phrase, made out a case. Now, this making out a case may be very good morality among gentlemen of the law, but in matter of trade, political economy or politics, it completely destroys the value of his statement." I presume then, my good sir, that you congra- 41 17 tulate yourself on not making out a case, and if so, in my humble opinion, you have succeeded to ad- miration and your heart's content. Really in your laboured mode of dividing the periods of your table to confute Mr. Bliss, in page SI, you have either failed to convince me that you are correct, or otherwise I have mystified myself in endeavouring to understand it. Now in thus freely writing to you, I cannot avoid expressing my sorrow, my extreme regret, at the manner in which you have thought fit to speak of Sir Howard Douglas, late Governor of New Brunswick,* and mi/ friend Bliss, Commercial ^ * In the controversy which took place on the subject in the winter of 1830-31, Sir Howard Douglas made hinriself conspicuous as being the first in the field— a trait, admirable perhaps in the soldier, but not no in the advocate for a monopoly trade, whore the defen- sive, one would suppose, would have been the safest posture. In his pamphlet his grand arguments are» tliat tlie emigrant first finds employment in lumbering, (3d ed. pp. 21, 23;) and secondly, that the lumber- man clears the ground for the agriculturist. To him who is acquainted with America, I need not point out the injudicious tt nerity of Sir Howard's advisers, (for advisers I feel convinced he had, inasmuch as he could not have promulgated such errors on his own observation,) in causin;; him to put forward with tho sanction and apparent authority of hia name, mis-state- ments of so glaring a nature. It must be within the observation of every one acquainted with Canada, that tho recent immigrant dues not find employment in lumbering, but in agriculture; the lumberman being almost always a native of Canada, or of tho United States, or, in some few cases, an old settler. And, secondly, that the lumberman does not clear the land for the settlur, but, on tho contrary, renders the pro- cess of clearing for cultivation more dilHcult and costly than it would have been, bad tfifijnftljxfi. foreat b?fiu ^ loft untouched. However,jwhatever may be the errors * f / 18 Agent for Canada. Your argument required it not, and I may be excused saying, that however the fashion of the day may reconcile one to such style, It is "better honored in the breach than in the observance." Because Sir Howard is a soldier, IS he of necemtij \oid of common sense ? or because he has governed a timber colony, is he less likely to tJC acquainted with the value of the lumber tmde ? or docs he deserve sarcasm, for an honorable at- tempt to defend those he has governed ? Is Bliss to be sneered at for being « a lawyer and living m one of the Temples ?'» Might it not be asked where your friend. Roebuck, lives, and what he is ? Js he a fool because « he is a lawyer, living in one of the Inns of Court ?'» As well might it be ques- tioned how far you and I are capable of writing common sense, or understanding any of those mat- ters, particularly the " most certain of sciences." IJut least you should write thus sneeringly of Bliss, because you do not know him ; let me acquaint you tbat he is a gentleman and a scholar, ufid a good one too ; a man of ability, urbanity and phi- lanthropy—one who has not Written became he has received « a sort of perpetual retainer to sup- port the umber trade," but who was offered the retainer because he had supported the lumber trade, from knowledge of it in his native colony and conviction of its importance to the interests mereof. My acquaintance with Mr. Bliss com- SL?.P ^*-'''l^°"«'"'''" pamphlet, there is a great lr\Z. ^ '"*^"V?'J """"'^^'st on the face of his work, uhhlTiri''''.!*^'' '"°'*'^» "^P '•^K'-ct the severity S?,?« t ^""^t».«« ^\^^^ is strong reason to think his p ace was the price of his opinions, or rather of the S^S'^nX'S*'''";- ^yi '« rr^ox.\h^n can be p ant! ^ to all the advocates of the existing stateot^ga.- Chapman m m Oivn Trade, pp.*29.:^$a^^ 19 raenced at the meeting called to sympathise with, and subscribe for the relief of the sufferers by the Miiamiclii^nre in 1821; the success of which mainly depended on the most beautiful appeal of Mr. Bliss on that occasion— it was then that the Canadians first learned to appreciate those abilities which have since been used so much to their ad- vantage and his own fame— and he has deserved what I think he has not not, \'u. gentlemanly treat- ment at your hands. Why he should be supposed an enemy to the corn trade bepause he advocates the timber trade, I am at a loss to conceive. Must I hate one child lying quiet in the cradle, because 1 rusJi forth to defend aLother which is menaced with destruction ? hi page S2, you say, " Much of the improve- ment which has taken place within the last few years, T attribute to the operations of the Canada L.aiid Company : their expenditure of capital on the roads alone, lightens much of the misery of the nevv comer, and 1 may say they are very popular in Canada. If Mr. Wakefield's principle be good for any thing too, they have also done much good by raising the price of land in Canada ; though there is yet much room for advance before they reach the price of the United States. I have just seen their statement, and 1 think all their assump. tions are on the safe side, and 1 sincerely wish 0" which 1 believe I am very generally joined^ that the profit to the stockholders may, and I ani happy to add, 1 believe they will, be conuuensurate with the great benefits which Canada has derived from their operations." Here, my good sir, we coincide entirely, as well in your good wishes an in your anticipations— and hereafter Mr. Gait will be better known us < Ca nada Gait,* than for all those writings which have done 80 nmch credit to his head and heart— and I trust that your good wishes will equally extend to- 20 wards the success of the « British American Laud Company," now formed with a view of carrying similar useful operations into effect in the Province, of Lower Canada, where the benefits are likely to be of so much more importance, by inducing into that Province British capital, British industry, and British feeling, all of which are so much wanted. And it is gratifying to be assured by you, that " the soil and climate of both the Canadas are highly favorable to the culture of wheat, and, in- deed, of every thing else ; and that there is nothing m the length and severity of the winter of the J^ovver Province to militate against it— or to pre- vent the most unlimited extension of almost every description of produce capable of being raised from the earth, and that if the climate is favorable for agriculture, the soil is still more so." I also agree with you that, «»led out to us the truth, and taught us a remedy. iiiw p t'^ ^Z^- ^ smi^: 22 political economy gaining that picdominance, of wliich its patroos so peitiuaciously declare it is deserving— much ia the same way as the cosmopo- litan views of some very good men are continually obstructed by individual, family and national inte- rests. I confess that to me it appears that the rules of this science, if proved at ail, are proved by the frequent exceptions to it: and strange, though true, that, as Mr. Huskisson said of the strictness of our navigation laws, <• England has prospered, not m consequence of, but in spite of them." Whe- from I or a per cent below, to I or fJ per cent above the nominal par, are from 1 or 2 per cent below to 1 or Z per cent above 8 per cent premiunv on the nurni^ J/al, which IS the real par, or from 6 or 7 to 9 or 10 per cent premium on the nominal par. The real fluctuations can seldom, indeed, for a long period, never, exceed 2 per cent from the real par, the cost of transmKting the precious metal being some- what under 1.^ per cent. In the month of August last the above real par exchan^fe advanced both in the United States and Canada to 11 per cent, (3 per cent) this fulfilled the condition (viz. a profit on the transac- tion) of an export of bullion, which accordingly took place to an extent sufficient to reduce the exchanse to yf a 9] per cent*; the Spanish dolIar,at the same time, owing to heavy supplies from all parts of the new world, rather declined here, thus raising the par above the average of 8 per cent, and consequently makinw the real exchange not much over 1 per cent, when the export of silver bullion became uo longer profitable.— Chnptnan on the Corn Trade, Jjyp. D.-^p. 40. * The export of cotton, which had been checked by the low I lie t r wxchange, (d a 7 per cent) in the sprinir , and pron :;tfci i,y tb-^ subsequent advance, again ope- rated in rvMM;,\ the exchanges. *^ rated in c\m 2S tber the wealtl. of the present genemtion of Bri ,.h sh.,M,w„ers and m, .chants, or the genfral t ade of ih. country, i, much indebted to Mollis k on or he change, he made to b ingu "m« • .ule I „,ll not enquire ; hut how often, alas 'do JIudTut t;:""'"™ '"»'"'*■' "'"" S^-^'^-'not r,.,""5' 1° '»<''«'"g« »g«in,_you State that « the rea; fluctuations can seldom, indeed, for a Ions s„„.e„h„t un/eTTr :f ct.K'r thar"'';l,e''t! J•'p^:^;:,t,-xre-Cg^;^^ m r^at silver valtte mt <-ka ^-n* "^i"Y^««»n.u whether ^Mnhcif .• . ^^^ ^^"^' P»einium, or wnetnei such alterations have been for a verv «L»f penod only ? And I would farller LUL her the abstraction of fion m- -rnn ^'W'* *»'"einer from the remittabTe mS„, 0,'.?,^!.?°"' "' 'r."""' ahpi- Hi,. -,^K 'neang or the colony wou d not .tver" re'dX '"%Zm''T' '^ 1"™"'^ "^ ♦;^„ • «. . """ar. Would not such an abstrRP S. s.ods't'orcVr'"''"'''" "' ^°"'- ■•'«m of ■jty to' rfo!- In r"wf^"="e'o'mrtJ7; '-'"- th no- roiV« <■!, . ' '^"ai comes to the same S s ;s?/. ■"•••*.•»-.—» .to „>,.; was chairm:;; v'hct: name"°°a; .t'^' ""'""•""" HouseofAj;^rs^rof:;%:^ theoiies, but a collection of business facts and ar- guments deduced therefrom. It may be regretted, iTherefoie, that you did not make a more liberal use of it ; allow me then to add the following, being the substance of part of that report. " Theory says that the real par according to the real value of coin as metal, will not long exceed the cost of carrying to equalize ; this is, however, contradicted or rendered doubtful by facts, and to shew that theory, however beautiful, will and must bend to circumstances, it is only necessary to re- mark that during the long war consequent on the French revolution, Great Britain furnished heavy snbsidies to other nations, whereby very large sums of money raised in the United Kingdom were spent abroad, and the exchange being then almost uni- formly against us, the Bullion Committee ascribed the very unfavorable state of the exchanges to those subsidies. Since the general peace, the ex- changes have almost uniformly been in favor of the United Kingdom, whilst it is notorious that inhabi- tants thereof, residing or travelling in foreign coun- tries, have expended in those countries from British sources, according to well grounded estimates, ten millions stcr'ing annually, being above threefold the amount of monies sent abroad for subsidies in any one year. This, indeed, is inexplicable and has confounded the most extensive and acute money dealers, who arc unable to assign a good reason for a fact which overturns all theoretical calculations upon the subject.** Seeing that I have now run through your book nnd noticed the most prominent features of it, I find that my letter has run to too great a length to add much thereto. That your pamphlet is an able production I con- fesB, as also that the tables in the appendix are veil drawn up, useful and instructing, and in conunoii with all who coniider the subject, 1 ricknowlcdgo t 23 myself much indebted to you for bringing them foi^- ward. On the whole, the work is very likely to assist in doing that which I believe will create in- finite mischief in England and injury to our colo- nies, if brought into play. Whilst England has poor laws, she must keep her poor ; whilst she has colonies, she must con- sider them as part of the nation ; whilst she has so large a population of manufacturers, she roust foster the best markets for consumption ; whilst she has a national debt, she must insure the pay- ment of its interest. How can she do the first, if foreign operatives are to do her work ; or the se- cond, if a protection to her own countrymen therein be not granted by discriminative duties on their produce with respect to foreigners. How can she perform the third, if she take no care to give every encouragement to those colonies, wherein the great- est consumers of her goods, in their highest state of manufacture, are to be found ; or the last, if this interest is to be racked out of her population, under measures which shall have tvncreased its effects a hundred fold. Let it not be forgotten that, whilst we are keeping one class of foreign labourers in comparative luxury, we may be supporting uur own in idleness ; whilst at the same time the collateral interests, shipping and manufacturing, arc alike suffering from want of eniployrnent — which prin- ciple then is the most creditable to our philan- thropy ? But, above all, let it not be forgotten, as it is in your argument, that no advantage can be granted to European foreigners, that will not bo claimed and allowed to the United States of Ame- rica ; and that so far as Canada is concerned, they have every advantage she enjoys and others super- added — making her nut a competitor, but a muiit dangerous rival, if not an extinguisher. This letter, from a mere practical man, may not have the effect of removing the opinions of thoie c 26 who already tliink with you ; such may not allow that my aigumeiits have any I'oundation either in practice Of in science. It will, however, shew that one who in deeply involved and interested in the prosperity of Canada, can dift'er from you iu regard to the means of benefitting her. I have the honor to be, Sir, your obedi' nt ser- vant) Nathaniel Gould. 1». s. — Since I finished my letter, I find, in the Nfw Monthly Magazine of July, the following observations in their review of M^t'uUoch^s Com- 7nercinl Dictionary^ and the whole tenor of the extract is so connected with the subject, and writ- ten in such good style and language, that I cannot forbear adding it ; indeed, it has put me strongly in mind of the manner and sentiments of the pre- sent Lord Chancellor in his «* Colonial rolicy." <* The advantaf^o arising to Great Britain, from extending; hot colonization, appears to usnioru pusltivu than Mr. M^CullocU is disposed to recognise. The concentration of intellectual and physical energies aris- ing from a high statu of civilization, requires a larger area for exercise, than is aiTurdcd by the geographical extent of the liritish islands. The establishment of colonies is, in fact, an augmentation of this area, and uiTers the only means of iuiding umploymont for a po« pulation, that) from the perfection of our social institu- tions, has a constant tendency to bccomu redundant. It is ulsu manifest, that the interchange of manufac- tured goods against raw producd, is likely to be car- ried on with more convenience and mutual advantage, between u parent state and her colonies, than between countries not so connected. This is so eminently the case with Grett UritaiUf that the maintenance of hor posiiio') in the Hcalo of naliuns, if divested of her colo- nial pottscisionsy leoniii to us utterly impusiiblc. \ '. 27 ** Again, Mr. M'CuIlocIi recognises the principle of protection to the home grower of corn, provided the duty imposed be limited to the amount of the local taxes, and he estimates these at six shillings the quar- ter ; this he would fix as the duty on importation, and he would, on the other hand, allow the same sum per quarter as a drawback on exportation— looking at this question, practically, we think that the interests of domestic agriculture require a much higher rate of protection than a mere counteracting of the local taxes upon the land." Now, it appears to nic that the argument of the magazine in both these cases is good, and that u much larger duty than proposed by Mr. Al'Culloch is required, so as to allow aa tmdcr protection to the colonial grower also. S