IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 4. ktu ^ jjUi |2.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 Ui Bin IL2^ 11.4 ill 1.6 m '/, /: w ^^^ '/ C^ \ ;v <> 4>, ^'X Wi^ %>:'^^ ib CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 1980 Technical Notes / Notes techniques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Physical features of this copy which may alter any of the images in the reproduction are checked below. L'Institut a microfilm^ le mellleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Certains d6fauts susceptibles de nuire it la quality de la reproduction sont not6s ci-dessous. 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The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes ou les planches trop grandes pour 6tre reproduites en un seui clich6 sont fiimdes d partir de I'angle sup6rieure gauche, de gauche & droite et de haut en bas, en prenant le ncmbre d'images ndcessaire. Le diagramme suivant iliustre la mdthode : 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 6 t 6 ! a 1^- zi ?^-;^^ f^ < vi CX-Vn -£, . 1) / THE WIMAN--EDGAR LETTERS; A Skriks ok Oi'KN Lkttkrs Hkiwkkn Mh. .1. I>. Kimjak. M.IV. Tokonto. ANIt Mk. FiKASTlH WiMAN. NkW VoRK. UNRKSTRICTED RECIPROCITY AS hrSTINCUisHKD KK(>V COMMERCIAL UNION. n\ - 5>o C7 H FIRST LETTKH M K. EDGAR To MR. WIMAN. If frontier Customs Ui>a>e8 swept siwa.v unil'orni tarifTn necesHary Thii objeL-tioiiableto)>oth coun- tries— I'nder Eljfiii Treiity no uiiiforui tariff, hut free tradf in natural prmluctn— Draft treaty of 1874 abolished no Customs Houses, but admitted both natural products and manufac- tures free Standinjf proposals to France and Spain to same effect -Complete reciprocity feasible without uniform tariffs -('ustonis officials would be busy passintf entries of free ifoong list of articles, not only the growth and produce, but also the nuimifticture of the United States, free of duty. Yet it was not suggested that the Custom Houses should be abolished, nor that we should be in any respects tied down in our taiiH' legislation outside of the terms of the treaty. We know that there are many goods under our present tariff which only come in free when they are shown to have been biought from a certain country, or to be intended for a special purpose, while other goods of the same class are taxed. In our Customs law it is provided that when France or Spain make changes in their tariff favorable to Canada, it will be i-ompetent to us to throw off the duty on wines injported from tho.'^e countries Oui' tariff against all other countries will remain as before, and proofs will be required from the impoiter that the articles come from France or Spain. It does seem to me perfectly clear that a coujplete system of reci|)rocity of tariffs between (Janada and the United States can be carried out without aVmlishing our (customs Houses, or tying our hands as to tariff legislation in any other respect. The Customs House officials might have their hands full in looking after the entries of free goods, but we pay them excellent salaries ; and if it be for the general good of the country I fail to see why they should not do the extra work. It is reasonably expected that a re- mission of duties would largely increase the volume of trade, and free tradr luit not unif< rin tarifTM Same under (ieorKc Hrovrn draft -If ('UHtoms ilouteg maintainiMl, uniform tariffs* not riMjuired Korfi(f«> '/ooiIh would pa> duties, troodK on the free lint tietwecn the two iHiuntrioR would paHH fret- Kree lift miifht he unlimited Kxaniple of "wilt " now taxed from one lountrv and free from uiiother- Fraudulent ontrieH |)O0itible then nt now^ - EiiKlnndii free*im|N>rta tioni have all to he paNHeil through CuHtomn-CnreHtrieted reeiprocit> to he had hy enlanr iuK free list Cnnndian trade intereata xhould prevail over British in thl» <-a«e TOKONTO. Nov. 'ilst. 1HS7. Ekastus Wiman, E8(^., New York : Dkak Hik, -In my letter t») you of I Ith inst., I |M»iMtey identifying; it too chisely with a uniform tarirt' for the United States and Canada, and the warning was appa rently not given too soon. Mr (vh»iml)erlain. at his interview with the j>ress in Washington on the ISth inst., is reported to have stated that "the most important reason wliy the project of Commercial Union could not he successfully inaugurated was the fact that the Tariff Acts of the two countries do not agree, and that it would he dittitult to devise a plan which could meet tliis ol>je(;tion." It is u.seless to deny that there aie both practical and sentimental difficulties in the way of establishing a uniform tariti' for the two countries against the rest of the worhl, and of maintaining tliis uniformity during the life of a reciprocity treaty. I suppose these difficulties are not insuperable, yet they are so serious that 1 do not desire to see the prospect of Free Trade with the United States eml>ar- ras.sed by them. In my former letter I refeired to the fact that under the Elgin Treaty of 1854, we had a fair amount of Free Trade with the United States without adopting their Customs duties. ( )ur Customs-houses were not abolished on the frontier. Certain article.s, the produce of both countries, were mutually admitted free of duty, and were entered and pa^ssed through the Customs-houses as free g(K)ds. in 1874 the Oeorge Brown draft treaty, which was provisionally sanctioned by the American Government, proposed a muih larger free list between the two countries, and embraced a number of manufactures. There was, however, in it no proposal to abolish Customs- houses nor to legislate for uniform tariffs. Why has it been supposed that a uniform tariff was indispensable ? For no other reason in the world except because it has been suggested that, jiWolition of all frontier Customs-houses is aii essential put of Free Traile with the rnited States. If the interuatioiial Cuatoius houKeu are reuioved it would he, as in If^tiT, when Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Old Canada r«;inoved their inter- provincial (.'usnoins houHUH. Their HtJp'H'nte tariffs were jthandoned. and the existing uniform Custonis duties were adopted. It is therefore plain th.it if eomplete Reciprocity does not involve the aholition of frontier Custtims houses, neither does it involve a uniformitv of tariff's. [ freely admit that, in itself, the sweeping away of frontier Customs-houses would l»e a .saving of nioney, and would increase the facility of trading between the two countries ; hut there are many more ditKculti«?s in the way of doing so, than we need to import linto the discussion of enlarged Reciprocity. If we maintain an independent tariti' against the rest of the world, outside of the American Union of States, we will require the frontiei- (/Ustoms-houses to collect duties upon the large quantities of foreign goods that reach Catiada through the United States, in bond or other, wise. All articles made free between the two countries would be entered by the importer at some (Justoms-liou.se as free, and passed without duty. What practical difficulty is there in that plan .' If a treaty be made, even as wide as Mr. Butterwoith s Bill, and if "all articles of whatever name or nature produced in the two countries respectively " be mutu^dly admitted free of duty, there is nothing to prevent the importer of these articles making the ordinary- oath, when he takes his papers to the Customs-house, to swear that they are produced in the United State.s, and they will come in free. To give an illustration as to the working of such a system, let us take the article of imported *' salt ' under our pre.sent tariff' There is a duty of 8c. per 100 lbs. upon salt in bulk, and I'Jc. when in packages, unless the importer can show that it is imported from the United Kingdom, or other British possession, or for the use of sea or gulf fisheries. If these facts are shown by affidavit, the Customs officer will pass the .salt in free of duty. Our free list is full of articles that are only free when special facts regarding them are proved before the Customs collector, just as under Reciprocity witfi the United States a long list of articles would be free, when the fact of their production in the United States was proved. - Fraudulent entries might be made of such goods, Just as fraudu lent entries are often made to avoid duties under our present tarii}'. r» The p«Mwiltics for breach of the law are very severe, and w(»uUl continue to he enforced at least uw well as they are now Eriifliind offers free trade to the world except as to a few articles, yet everything,' that she imports free has to he passed throu^'h )»er customs. We have a considerable fiee list yet. ourselves, and so has the United States; hut importers of these articles have all t(» show ^iouikIm for their free admission before passinj^ tlu^ frontier. It is impossible for any one to deny that it is perfectly open for the commission, now sitting' at Washin»^ton, t(t propose an increase of the Free List between the two countries to an unlimited extent. A sound and ample precedent for this exists in the Elgin Treaty, it is only a question of degree, and they can give us Tnrestricted Reciprocity l»y simply enlarging the Free List. It is true that it is hopeless for us to expect Recipi-ocity with the United States, which will not involve a certain amount of discrimina- tion against Britain. Tn this vital matter Canadian interests may be thwarted by Mr. Chamberlain, who represents England and not Canada, the trade interests of Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester, and not the farmers or lumbermen of Canada. For that reason the negotiation of this Treaty should never have been entru.steil to an envoy of Down- ing street. What an opportunity thete is to-day for the assertion at Washington of the national rights and dignity of Canada ! There is one Canadian statesman, whom our people could have trusted, had he been a member of the Commission, for Edward Blake has before now borne himself erect in a struggle for our rights, when face to face with the Imperial Ministers. Let us hope that the Washington Commission of 1«87 will not mark a practical abandonment of the rights which Canada asserted to make her own commercial arrangements witli the United States, when she sent Hon George Brown there to negotiate in 1874. Yours truly, .T. I), Em;AK. TIIIKI) LKITKK MR. W I.MAN To M K K IX J AH. iVatdfiil for iinrnatrii'ti.'d rm:iproiritv if (>'iiiiiiiiercial rninti not lituiiialilc Tiiruti plui.« of tr.ulu allmiii'K wllh r S tlflliini — <>l of |h'.4 ilirKintlilr, liiii;iii>|ioK'»t» Unru- striorixl Kui-iprMi'itx >»-iit»juctii)im to iiinioriiiit.vof tarillM--i'oiiiiiiuri ial rniuii ulttitiiiKlilf li^ iiiiitual|i)flHlati to the lentjth of Coiunien'ial Hnion. unthM- whi(rh the two countries would l>e coniniercially united, and th<» custonis line hetween them completely altolished. 1 would rejoice most heartily with yj>u if some Tueasure of international character could he made practical, re- ^^ardint; which there would he no dilf(f*rence of opinion in Can*ula ; for personally, while lal>orin<; hard to accomplish the l)rf)adest results in the shape of enlarjjfed commerci;il relations with the United States, I would l)e profcmndiy ;,'i-ateful for the achievement of the lesser result, so lon<; us these relations were improved, and Canada ol)taii\ed the l)enetit of a maiket ff)rher vast products, so valuable and ao contigu- ous. To make plain the three ways in which the advantage of a trade alliancte with the United Stales mi;iht lie ol^tained l»y the people of Uanada, they may l»e enun»erated as follows : 1. — The re-enactment of the Limited Reciprocity Treaty of 1854, for the exchanjje of natural products only. 2.— Unrestricted reciproj'ity for the exohaivge of natural pioductn and manufactures by nlean.^ 0|f a fice list, and the maintenance of Oustom Houses. ,3. — Commercial Union, with a complete inteirhange of every article whether natural, manufactured, or improved, implying the aboli- tion of the custom hou.ses between the two countries, a uniform tariff' and inteinal revenue schedule, resulting in a trade relation between the two countries as intimate as that which now e.vists V)etween the Provinces or between the States themselves. Now, so far as I understand the matter, any one of these conces- 7 nioiiN wotiUI alximiHiitly sHtJKty (.'aiDula ; .iiui if tliH tirst ttiid U'tu\\, Hw«'«'piri^ of t\u' |»ro|n>.mi|H couUl Imj etfocte*!, tlier"»* would ^M* littl«, if any, (lesiro to uo furtln-r l»y «n*»n tin* most iinlnit inJvomte of Coiii- ritHr«;iul Union. ThtM'tt is an almost univcrsvil ai^iccrnHnt that thn ro-t*nartnM'nt of tlio ( >M Ki'fipi'oi'itv TrHatv would li*' numt WtMU'ticMal, and if that could lie atrcct(> dit!VMvnct' of opinion prevailing in Oanada on the subject t)f traar»?ain, and one is uttei ly unwillin;j to trade, it is useless to discuss the proposal. Thercffore, the tiist plan in the ahove enumerated list .seems out of <|uestion, and may lie relepited to those safe re<^ions where tenderfooted politicians love to roam ; if the discussion of this plan affords them safe ground for advocacy, it does no p.irticulai" harm, ane most acceptable throu«(hout (^anada. It is, as you say, r.n extension of the plan as laid down in the ti'eaty of 1874, ur<»ed by (Jeneral Urant on the part of the I'nited States, and by the Hon. (Jeor^e lirown, on the part of (Janada. Had this nej^otation l)een successful, no act in (ieneral (irant's tulministration would hav(^ paralleled it in impoi'tance and benelicial results to the United St!lt<^s : wliile its consummation, as the result of Mr. Urown's efforts, would have added a lustre to a name alieady famous in (Janada, and that would have been intei'national in its sc»)pe. liut the treaty was not accepted by tlu' Senate of the United States, and largely, I believe, because of tlie unfortunate* period in the session at which it came before them. It was in June, 1874, after- a most exciting session^ in which very little legislation had l)een accorrrplished, with some six or seven thousand measui'es still pending, the weather extremely hot, and in view of other adverse circumstances, the question was never really reached, much less passed upon. After the lapse of thirteen years, ftnd an enormous gr-owth iu uiaiiufa^turing energies, the i^uestiou noWj is w^lether' the United States would agree U) this proposition or not. 'I am iiK-liricd to ltoli«>v<* ttnit tlicy would do so, liut only on the conditjoit tliat the ( 'aiiiuliiin < iovcrniiMMit ('<»uld lie piinaiU'd upon to make the proposal on Ko»n«* l»asis so as to includt*, not only natural prmluets, hut a// articles mil nufactur(>c unnecessary, and a complete control n^tained of the fiscal policy of the country, which, it is urped, could not he had under Commercial Union in its fullest sense, liut you will understand that Unrestricted Ileciprocity can only he j(ot by its hein^ asked for hy the (tovernnient of ('anada. It is in vain that they ask for reciprocity in natural products, l»ut it mi;^ht not he in vain ii all th^ 8tat«H, or all tb" Fnivinc-ea. The advantageM which would reuult t'roni this trade uni'm it is difticult to over-etitiinat«, and the ( i)nse({uenc»'N are perhapH more lar-rftachin^ than thoHe of any other event, in the wln»le category »»f even ^. posaihle on the continunt of North America. The conclusion, therefore, in, that while Uie firtit plan iii the fore going lint -the old reciprocity treaty — iu iiupoHhible, theuecond, thatuf unrestricted reciprocicy, is possible only by the early and prompt action of the Canadian (iovernment, speaking on bt'half of the people, and making at once the necessary propositions, which, from t^ie knowledge of the fact, I believe could be promptly carried through, in view of the agitation and interest which has been excited in the question here, hut if no such action is taken by the representatives of the Canadian (iovernment, it is impossible to conceive that the American Congress could be induced to initiate a move of this limited character. The attractions of the larger proposal, included in (commercial Union in its fullest sense, ca:. be very plainly set forth, to the average American statesman, and as that is practically the measure now before Congress, it is useless to talk of anything less liberal in its scope, unless it is a compromise proposed by the (Jovernraent of Canada to the Executive t)f the United States in full settlement of the fishery dispute. The result of some thought on the subject to my own mind is, therefoi'e, that the responsibility for obtaining Unrestricted Kecipro city at the present moment lests upon the Government of Canada ; that failure in assuming tht^t duty will result in an otter of Commercial Union to its fullest extent by the Congress of the United States, in the passage of the Butterworth Bill. Whether or not such a result will be achieved this session it is possible to foresee, but the signs all point in this direction ; for the readjustment of the taritt, the peculiar condition ot the Protectionists and Free Trade Party, and other cu- cumstances make the present a most auspicious opportunity for the passage of such a measure. 1 am, Truly youi-s, . . E&AMXUM WuiAJi. l.^v 10 FOURTH LKTTKR MK. KlHJAR TO MR. WIMAN. Suddeu removal of dutieH injurious tu trade— .StockH on hand wuuld depreciate- Drop in revcnnt- would be tpo ifreat Reduction in duties must be ifradua! and after ample notice— Opportu nit.v Ut worlc off stocks and And new o'peniiiKM for trade Draft treaty of 1871 ifave three years- New treaty could irive unrestricted reciprocity with ample HafeiriiunU ai^lnHt injury to busincHH interewts. Kkahtuh Wiman, Kh(v., New York: . , Dkak Sir, In niy two former letters to you I have eiuleavoi-ed to point out tie t'eaaibility of an Unlimited Reciprocity between the United States and Canada by the extension of the Free List. I wisli now to refer Ut an objection, which is raised in Canada, against a pnj posal to place manufactured goods, as well as natural products, upon the free lists of the two countries. It is contended, with much force, that the early, sudden and complete removal of these duties would liavr a serious effect u|)on the trade of the country. It is true that stocks in the hands of importers, upon which duties had been paid, would be ruinously depreciated by suddenly throwing open the door to the admis- sion of the same goods, free. The stocks and raw material of manu- factureis, upon which duties have beeh paid, would also depreciate, and much of their plant might be useless until adapted to the new require- ments of their business. The striking off so many customs duties at a blow would also reduce the Canadian revenue to an extent that could not be borne by our finanires at the moment, for time would be required to re-ai-range U '.blic income and expenditure. For all these reasons it must be "e*^' d that extensive remissions of duties upon manu- factured goods mid not be made suddenly, but only after ample notice ; and, ev< when the reduction begins, it must be gradual. In this way alone would importers have an opportunity to work off their old stocks, and to regulate their new importations to suit the new open- ings for trade. The dreaded Ainerican competitor would not be allowed to come in with a rush, but the Canadians would have the fullest opportunity to readjust their business at every point, both by way of defending their old territory, and in arranging for aggressive operations to be carriee a fearful responsibility resting upon the members of both sides of that Commission for the disastrous complications which are likely to ensue. Youi's truly, Toronto, Nov. 28, 1887. J. D. Edgar.