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Las diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithode. 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 "4^ WltHOlDII Gext^^emen — The policy which I have uniformly advocated since the Union, met your approval at the comrrencement of the last Parliament. On my rqj? election, on two occasions after accepting office and a seat in the '^abinet, so itx^ portant did I consider it, that I assured you I would either carry it into operatioll or resign. That pledge has been fulfilled, and it is a source of gratification to me tc find, from the unanimity which prevails to return me, that it h^ met y%>ur approbation. , JlP^- GentlemexN — That you may realize the efforts made to attairUjB^dpct, aljow me to refer you to my evidence before the Finance Committ^|ti^mie, 1850, which gives the amount of every separate source and iteni of I'ec^MK^d ex* penditure, since the Union — the comparative amounts of receipt and expindilur© between Upper and Lower Canada, as well as the Federal Govjcrnment of tha United States, and the State Government of New York. From these statements it appears that your taxes^n imports have increased from £227,538, in 1840, to £640,940, in 1850, without"* reference to the increase of internal tasjcs, although the population only increased during the same period from 1,200,000 to 1,500,000. You will also find, that the provincial expenditure, incjuding the public v^-'"- which yield no revenue, averaged, from 1842 to 1850, u^ards of £700,00 year. This has been corroborated by a statement prepare|J»f<^th(?*'inance ' mittee last session from the official returns, which gave the precise sum of £76' 617 per year during the same period. The comparative receipts and expenditure! of the Provincial Government of Canada, and the Governmei>t of the State of New York, having been taken for a series of years, the two following tables are exhibited to shew the rapid increase of taxes under the one systena^ and the de- crease under the other, up to the present year. INCOME. . ...K niiii District Llhrarititt. ^er gove ii the Ihan usual, Dpenly ass |hat tte su : With n ,'subjeqts re diversion c ■from Quel from the ^ I of toll wo ^1850, are Tables i ! trade as oi I cient Simot R iim labile : unfiuiihed > of steamei . J.St. L|wre tra4o to E i;r- rta ^tire poll changed. Um'"i i' y'Ui ixt\y iiniaiM t Union, my r^ ;, so im^ ;)eratA Eition to et y^mr 5t, allow e, 1850, Riditure t of ^ tem^ttta 1840, to l1 though 300,t« c \^rks ,00 ce f£7a^ ndituw State of .bles are the de- £850,006 - 161,6®5 - 118,157 I A consti jlroperty, a .autho tobiii 14 .ch supported tHJgovernments before the Union. To effect this object, and ve uslj-om unKcessarv taxation, an amendment to our present constitution is indispensable. Byin^MfcAbly appropriating the toll from public works for the payment of*the plblic Wmt — thq.^ proceeds of public land for the support of edu- ction, and by maintaini^ the provincial government wholly from customs until t|e revenue from toll shall have freed us from debt, after which customs duties i^ay be wholly removed, and the provincial government supported from the re- 43nue deriyed from pubhc works, leaving all internal taxes for the benefit of the 4fft'rent logaliti^__ k has also become absolutely necessary to protect private dings of the last session demonstrate. An act was then Provincial Government to create an additional debt of raiLoad from Halifax to Montreal, in addition to the present w5,000,000, and other liabilities, which if carried out will involve the extent of £10,000,000. The remedy is simply to restrict the m creating any further debt without imposing a direct tax to meet nd then an appeal to the electors for their consent or disapproval. ThesPl^asures would place the finances of Canada in a better position than any ^er government in America, and could be easily accomplished by a convention, h the circumstances of the country require should be called at an early day. * KNTLHMEN — I havc dwclt upou the subject of the public expenditure longer than usual, because there are many among us calling themselves reformers, who ))penly assert that no reduction can be made. It is therefore highly desirable j^hat tbe subject should be understood. 1 With regard to Public Improvements, in my report of 1850-51, the various 'subjects relating thereto were fully entered into — the cause of the almost entire diversion of the commercial intercourse between the Vv^estern States and Canada, ■from Quebec to New York, also the greater part of the trade of Upper Canada from the St. Lawrence to the Hudson, and the remedy whereby the same amount iof toll would be secured as on the New York canals, which realized £850,000 in j 1856, are therein pointed out at length. ,^ /f-. U^"^ Tables and calculations were also entered into, assuming the data forjincreased trade as on the Erie and WcUand Canals, to prove that after setting apart a suff.- F,S. 26,783 I ...,_. _j ^ I rcient amount for maintenance and management, a sufficient smking fund to pay off K trie jMsblic debt before 1866, the surplus revenue would be ample to complete our f unfiniihed works, deepen the bed of the St. Lawrence, give sufficient aid to a line Iof steamers between Quebec and Liverpool, and to construct a cana^ between the jBt. L|wrence and Lake* Champlain — improvements which would command the ~ J^^^S tr|i4e to Europe, as well as a great share of that to New York, and relieve ^%- .d^;iV|t'ixi any future dobt ua Avell as from iai^es. | ' j ' entire policy for which I nad successfully struggled after the union of 1841 wholly changed. The work of connecting our great waters discontinued, and the Go- Uu i'i*'. U»ut any iuturu dobi ua well OM fi'oux laxus. JUL. istied }*tov. VVorkii which will yield an interest, . . 124,36-2— 186,580 X471,580 and Dibtricl Libniriea, 'roceeds of vState Lands, do. U. S. do. •75,000 41,250 116,250 Lilerary Institutions. Proc's of State Lands, 40,000 •do. U.S. do. 5,375-45,375 Class No. 3 — Salaries, &c. XU,250 Legislature, 24,250 161,634 Administration of Justice, Deaf, dumb, blind, insane, Pensions, Militia, Unproductive Tmprovem'ts, Other miscellaneous items, 26,625 25,091 Total Expenditure^, Less received froai Toll, £850^ do. L^^161,6^ To be made up fr 150,611 '62,2^0: l,011,62i5* ■ ■■ I ■'« »" ■ £150,611 Class No. 2. Annuity to Indians, for the purchase of Public Lands, JE6,655 Appropriation for C. Schools, 50,(X)() Local Literary Institutions, 12,700— 60,355 Class No. 3. Salaries und contingencies for the several departments of the Civil Government,. . . 40,402 ■Legislature, 49,310 Administration of Justice,. . 95,317 Charities and local grants, . 20,000 Pensions, (Militia, X9,965) 12,021 Other miscellaneous items, 120,809—337,859 Total expenditure, £878,794 Less received from Toll,. . . .£70,000 ^< " Land,... 20,000 — 90,000 £788,794 Leaving an excess of £137,169 to be made up from taxes, by a loan. /^ _„ This tabic shews that the taxes in New York, for the payment of commoj schools, district libraries, general education, pubhc wor^ymHhesupport of ^ state government, only amount to Al 18,157, which, ^o^MpHp'^^ ol 3, of peoj)le, averages oiily OH. .per head, while the inha»ii^of Canada a for the same objects £051,025, p.veraging, for a populM(Jf^f 1,500,000 per head. Attention to the classification will explain the cause, {^nd of one system over the other. It will be observed thaf^ is no tax, inasmuch as it has cheapened transportation, productions of other states and Canada, as an equivalent ^|^ using Neither are the proceeds under No. 2 ; it is the only capital possesses, which they providentially appropriated at an ea ' One system makes the public works pay the entire cost for 1 d >rives support for education from the public lands, while tl the expense of both by a tax. A It may be said that the inhabitants of New York pay then ^ , *.oms duties as well as ourselves. - True, they paid during the same year a precisely 7s. Kid. per head-; but for what object was it expended] Not any of those enumerated above, (which appertain wholly to a state or provincr' vernment, under whichever name it maybe called,) but for the support ^ army and navy, building fortifications and ships of war, foreign embassies, such other duties as belong to an independent government. Our independent government in London performs the same duties for us, not q farthing for which is expended by the provincial government of Canada, from* customs or any other source. This fact ought to convince any person that w| can and ought to dispense with customs duties altogether. It is a revenue that afl colonies may dispense with, and is the only equivalent they have for their depeii- dont position. The dlRbrent duties of independent and dependent goveri«nent| only require to be understood to lead to the abolition of the latter. Then, an4 not till then, shall we' realize the advantage of our colonial position. j No sound reason ever had or can be assigned, why the expenditure for the surf- port of one gv'>vernment tince the Union, cannot be reduced to the same amouAt Q superior sunder N Aincd by eir caiialSi.*' countri^ 'ducatic^, ion, and meets ortion of e Enter tl entire pol changed, vernmcnl without t present p On th. resolutioi the gi'ow boundary and point the prod Great Br With 1 posed it ( assented vincial g< of a mili structed lent for uction tual p^ the dc th< not cate^Tihi would n to remo^ the Impe of the c< honor of it will b it into o] SL Q ixuy iuturu (iobl uii woil ay tjoui lUXCt HntpriaiIIlrig"4ncTSTr-Tn:;[vrc»5 -J rrtr-irtwj-j 'fr- ^ £' — 1 I'ftrrtt^^' 161,62ii I J— 150,611 Jp62/i8il; -l,0a,62i5; .£150,611 5) Liperior, der "N ' 3d by ¥ country "ducaticfi. ^ion, and Wn meets : us, not q lada, from n tliat "w^ ue that aj cir 4<^peii- veriMaientf rhen, an4 )r the 8up- le amouiit entire policy for which I had successfully struggled al'lor the union of 1841 wh^y I changed. The work of connecting our great waters discontinued, and the Go- , vernnicnt undertaking the construction of a railroad from Halifax to Quebec, . without the chance of repaying its cost, and with the certainty of doubling our i present public debt. On the subject of Recip?'ocity, during the last session, I submitted a series of resolutions, whereon to found an address, setting forth the inequality of prices on the gi'owth and consumption of the inhabitants residing on the two sides of the boundary line — that its continuance must inevitably produce an early separation, and pointed out the only remedy — for Great Britain to impose the same duty on the productions of other nations, as those nations impose on the productions of Great Britain and this colony. With regard to the act authorizing the employment of Military Pensioners, I op- posed it on two grounds — first, that they were not required, and secondly, that it assented to an entire change in our colonial policy. No dependent state or oro- vincial government on the continent of America is subject lo a tax for the support of a military force. Thousands of rjiiles of canals and railroads have been con- structed in various states, as well as Canada, without any expense to the govern- ent for any description of police, until the Government commenced the con- uction of our public works. The moment we cease to rely on each other, for tual protection, that moment peace and security will be banished from the land, the despatch of Earl Grey to Lord Elgin, of the 14th of March last, he states, ime has now come when the people of Canada must be called upon to hemselves a share of the charges incurred /or the military protection of The measures proposed to carry this })olicy into effect; are—firsty locate in different parts of the province, a certain number of isioners; second, to withdraw all the regular troops to Quebec and third, to dispose of the barracks, unless sustained at our expense; and pon us the charge of the military canals. This act unques- first measure, and leads Lord Grey to suppose that it has of the country; but it most assuredly does not represent deling here. For these reasons, I will omit no opportunity to ^^ ^ of this act. With ffespect to the Public Lands, the quantity, sum received, and estimates of the future value, are all fully referred to in the Finance Report, (psge 7 — 10, 43 nd 60,) I have at all timen^iTIlK) 1832, advocated the distribution of the Clergy eserlj^i Col^e -^hficil, ^ftmmar Schools, .Jesuits' Estates and Crown Lands, itho^pesei^B £y^^BnmoHL:hools, District Libraries and General Education, It^Hfclus^^HPHrnen, yoU' have, in place of promises and pledges, the va- riotBKjasura^Hph^onstitute our Canadian policy before you. I have advo- catecRhis poli^^or many years past, and still adhere to it. I believe its adoption would make Canada the most prosperous part of America. All we require is, to remove the concealment and misrepresentation which is continually made to the Imperial Government, and make her statesmen understand the relative position of the countries on the opposite sides of the boundary; and so long as I have the honor of retaining your confidence, and a reasonable prospect of success remains, it will be my duty to you, and to my country, to continue my exertions to carry it into operation. I have the honor to be, Your ob't servH, St. Catharines, JVbu. 22, 1851. Wm. Hamilton Merritt. and receivi the St procu