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(716) 2U- 5989 -ra« '» Imperial Preferential Trade FROM Ui C^Si^T>Mas(^ TOIU^T OF V/E^V By ADAM SHORTT, M.A. | Professor of Political ociencs Queen's University Kingston TCyiiO(?(TO ^OTiolU^G &- CO., LI(MITET> 1904 „-l~J^$.~ '_^_r^^^f^:^iiSt Imperial Preferential Trade FROM *A CtAUi^T>l^^ TOIir^T OF VIEkV By ADAM SHORTT, M.A. Professor of Political Science Queen's University Kington TOTiO(^70 (MOTi^OiG 6- CO,, LlOAnETi 1904 HFl76ir IMPERIAL PREFERENTIAL TRADE FTiOM tA CjINjIDMN TOIO^T OF VIEIV OM«d«, It Is forfonate that, on the «,rf«oe •! le«i one doe. not require to emph«tae the neoiri^forV^ andermoding between Britain «d hTSLZ. ?^ difference, which art*, «id which, It n.u.t be eSJfc^' cZit *«?«!!I *^ "^ "**^ '<>'• Pwmoting the i»rw 01 ine jcmpire. At an earlier dar thii te»m t-. P«^^ might perhap. hare been aZ>tS ^n^" •xpre«lye of a generou. poUc, of m^Znp^t^r'Ji c^pei^tlon In the promotion of noble i^T^^ ttroughont the Empl«. But, un/ortu^,y ^^ non. which haye MentUled It with .nch a iSrr«w • Imptrial Prtftrmtial Tradt We may, and w« do, introduce the buolutering iplrit of ■eotional interests into national politics, and in the crudest manner pervert patriotism to the service of private in- terests and corporate schemes. But, though this inerit. ably results in the degradation of politics, yet the evils chiefly work themselves out in party strife and party corruption, while the structural national unity is pre* served. But the introduction of this spirit into imperial relations must prove absolutely fatal, for no corrosion of the ties of Empire is so vitriolic as the suspicion that the material interests of one part are being sacrificed to those of another. Sectionalism, not partyism, is the re- ceptacle of all bitterness in imperial relations. As I shall attempt to show, very briefly, it was the removal, first of despotic, then of mercenary interests from the imperial relationship, and the transfer of the latter to private tntorprise, that at once saved the Empire from dissolution and improved its economic condition. The imperial interest was turned into new and loftier channels where it has peaoeftiUy and beneflcenUy flowed tiU quite lecentty. How fatal may be the attempt to exploit the imperial tiea once more, in the interest of nuterial gains of wholly speculative promise, those who have followed the history of colonial relations can best appreciate. One of the most interesting phenomena of the present day is the remarkable wave of declining self-reliance, amounting in some cases almost to despair, which, with- out any reasonable outward cause, Is at present sweeping over the Mother Country, and even spreading to the other parts of the Empire. But, whatever be the ultimate ex- planation of this popular panic, it U at least highly neces- sary that we should seek to guard ourselves, in advance, aga'nst any possible follies which we may be tempted to conunit; for nothing is so contagions as blind fear, or so ancontrollable when thoroughly roused. Prom a Canadian Point of Vitw | Mr. ObAmberUIn, with hit imlqne upft'jity for baryinc WiMdf in one idea at • time, ha* been chiefly ioitrument. «1 In preMhinff the deoUne of British power and capacity. Nothing more strilElngly demonstrates his well-known demagogic inflaence than his remarkable feat In bring, ing so many Brltiih people tnm a condition of prosperous contentment to the very brink of ruin, within a twelve- month. The very Empire itself Is for him but as oUy in the hands of the potter ; for has he not assured us time and again, that by means of the Boer War he brought it to a condition of unparalleled unity and solidarity; and has he not, within a very short period, reduced It to such a parlous condition that nothing can save us from destruc tion but committing our destinies to his charge, by giving him a blank mandate to work out our salvation ? Now we in Canada cannot dictate to the British people what com. mercial policy they must adopt, for we in the past chose for ourselves, and Insisted upon following the example of the United States, not that of Britain. We can have noth. ing to say, therefore, even should the British people under the influence of Mr. Balfour, Mr. Chamberlain, and their assistants, become convinced that their day of greatness and Independence has suddenly passed, and that hence, forth instead of foUowing a policy of their own and lead, ing the commercial world, as they have done so long, they must go back several centuries and learn once more to imitate the example and copy the policy of other Europ- ean nations. But, in the face of such possible changes, it behooves us In Canada to know where we stand, so that we shall not be blindly committed to a line of policy which may be inconsistent with our national mteresta and dignity, or threaten the maintenance of those higher relationships within the Empire, which must be inde. pendent of fiscal changes in any part of It • It is my chief porpose, in the foUowIng pages, to throw P/vUtm 4 Imperial Preferential Trade some light on the central israes which must come to the front In any endeavour to make the colonies and the Mother Country mutually dependent upon each other, and thus to approximate to a self-dependent Empire. It Is necessary, therefore, first, to Indicate broadly the nature of the problems with which we are confronted ; secondly to trace briefly the historic development of the colonial relationship, with special reference to the rise and faUof the preferential system ; thirdly, in the light of past &cts and present conditions, to consider what is likely to be the significance for Canada of any preference on grain or other food products, which Is likely to be offered, and also of the special sacrifices, or other return, which she Is ex- pected to make for the preferences promised ; and lastly, to give expression to a few general principles which seem to be Involved In our present condition, and the develop, ment of which must determine the trend of our Immediate future. First, then, as to the nature of the problem which at present confronts Canada. This Is connected with the Impeilal aspect of the fiscal proposals at present before the British people, and must be carefully distinguished firom the purely British problem as to whether that country Is or is not to change Its fiscal system, and adopt a protectionist policy in place of a free trade one. But, even in the stating of the problem, we are met with a difficulty, for the supporters of Mr. Chamberlain In Canada, and Mr. Chamberlain and his followers In Britain, •o far as they take the world into their confidence, present the proposed preferential relations and their consequences In widely diiferent forms. A highly coloured prospectua is issued, In the usual sonorous and sweUing terms, for the establishment of a limited partnership, through the medium of which the partners shall exploit one another's property, and it Is made plain to each In turn that he will From a Canadian Point of View ■ undoubtedly woalTe the Uon'. Aare. In other wonb. in the prewntatlon of the preferential echeme, we hare a •triking example of what is, unfortunately, already too famUlar to Canadians under the derignation of the t^ faced campaign, the same party preaching one policy in the evU of these unscrupulous and disintegrating tactics in Canada is olftet, to a certain extent, by the existence of two parties which manage, in a measure, to expose each other's misrepresentations. Between the diflferent parts of the Empire there are as yet no such checks, hence it is possible for the double-faced campaign to enjoy an unusually fh»e course, leaving it to the hard, practical consequences to reveal the deception which has been pnictised. How the subsequent gnashing of teeth must affect the imperial relations, is a matter upon which one does not care to dwea Is it not, then, a matter of the utmost importance, at once for the honour of our own country and as affecting the integrity of our relations to the Empire, that we should be perfecUy honest, both with ourselves and with the people of Britain, alike as to what is offered to us. what is expected from us in return, and what we ar^ prepared t» grant? But. when proposals of preferential torade are held out to us, whether in broad outline, or in detail^it will not do for those who aspire to inform and toad Canadian opinion to present in an exaggerated form the advantages which are to come to us, and to greatly mfailmize or ignore what the people of Britain are being led to expect fi-om us in return. Nor should we attempt to ^e ^e people of Britain the impression, that we are hewiily in sympathy with the promises which are beine made to them on our behalf, when we know, or ought to taow that we have no intention of conceding so much. Yet that this process of mutual deception is being regular- * Imperial Preferential Trade ly prwtfaed, any one who is at aU familiar with what fa befaig promfaed In Canada, on the one hand, and In Britain, on the other, cannot but recognlae. By the itudled ragueness of hfa utterances, Ifr Chamberhdn, consciously or unconwslously, fiicilltates thfa mutual deception. Though professing to base the whole ? i Z!?^'"'"**** ■°*'*"® "P**" **»« *"»•»«» advantage, to be derived by the Mother Country and the colonies t^m their mutual concessions to each other, he gives us a very unsatlsfiujtory account of how that system fa expect ed to be worked out. Those in Britain who are anxious to give his proposafa a feir and full consideration, have found it Impossible to get him to commit himself on the most necessary detaifa. Such details as he does permit to "Z^i^' X^'^^'^l *' **"'"' are apt to be shortly repudiated, when he discovers the consequences to which they Inevitably lead. Mr. Chamberlain talks vaguely about the stagnation or decay of Britfah trade, of how Britain fa be^crowd^ out of the markets of the world, and how she must consequently, seek safe and permanent outlets for the' products of her future Industry, In a verv greatly « panded ^ade with the colonies. In good rouni tem^ Z people of Britain are constanUy being promfaed that the colonies are to provide them, almost immedfately with a very gwatly expanded trade, and thus to become i»e chief Lr« H«fl u r "^ '^^^' ^^'"*'*«^ ^^«« "ked for some definite plan as to how thfa salvation of Britfah to^SS.*°'',*^'^'*°'*^°^^*'«^*» «»« «>lor to am breaking Into fragments, and that his opponents have no alternative scheme for averting this catastrophe. This is a very safe boast and defiance, as aimed at those who do not recognize the impending calamity. The fact is that Mr. Chamberlain treats the whole subject, not as an honest and straightforward statesman, but merely as a skilful politician, who is bent on allowing to his critics as little foothold as possible, whUe, by adroit- ly playing on the susceptibilities of the masses with vague alarms and reassuring promises, he hopes to be returned to power with a popular mandate on imperial preferential trade. To those who are curious about the details of his scheme, he intimates that the sooner he receives the imperial mandate the sooner their curiosity will be satisfied. Although, then, we have no trank and statesmanlike proposals to discuss, yet, by putting various statements together, we are able to know fairly well what Mr. Chamberlain is aiming at, and what is necessary to make his scheme work. In his speech at Glasgow he descended to particulars more fully than before or since. Those particulars indicated quite clearly that he had rather an extravagant expectation as to the degree to which the colonies would sacrifice their manufacturing industries in return for a preference on grain. Some of the natural consequences involved having been immediately pointed out, Mr. Chamberlain sought the easiest avenue of escape by simply repudiating the reports of his speech, notwith- standing that The Times, in particular, had taken pains to congratulate its readers on the exceptional completeness ■• . •. - iw i w « I j ^ i a w; y. I ;r- • From a Canadian Point of View 9 and accuracy of its report. But, though Mr. Chamberlain now denies that he expects the colonies to give up any specific industries in favour of Britain, yet along with this denial he indicates that the general outcome of the preferential trade development between Britain and the colonies will be a condition in which they will cease to compete with each other, but will, for the future, simply supplement each other's Industries, thus vastly increasing each other's markets. Now this can only mean, as already stated, that the chief lines of British goods will have a free field in the colonies, and the colonies will supply the food and raw materials for Britain. When we put together Mr. Chamberlain's severe criticism of the present poUcy of Britain with reference to her foreign trade, and his criticism of the lack of organization and mutual industrial dependence in inter- imperial trade, when we observe his regretful references to the changes effected in the commercial relations with the Mother Country, during the free trade era, and when we notice how strongly he emphasizes the necessity for restoring the systematic commercial unity of the Empire, as its only salvation for the future, what we recognize is, toat Mr. Chamberlain has before his mind a scheme for the future of the Empire which is tantamount to a restor- ation of the old Colonial System, on its commercial nnd industrial side at least, with its machinery of mutual preferences, and the ideal of a self-contained Empire with restrictions on foreign trade. With such an ideal in view, we can understand his policy of first alarming the British public with pictures of their impending ruin through foreign competition, and then of appeasing them with a vision of trade redemption through possession of the colonial markets, whose great present, and still greater future value to them, would be weU worth paying for, even at the price of a tax on food. lO Imperial Preferential Trad* Hitiorie denti Tin old CohHial This fits In, also, with his demonstration to the working men that, even should their food cost a trifle more, which is by no means certain, tiie very great increase in employ, ment, owing to the opening of the colonial markets, wiU much more than compensate them in good wages and steady employment. As we have indicated, Mr. Chamberlain is too much of a politician to give us the details of his scheme, even should he have them, if he can get his mandate witiiout doing so, and by simply promising everything that heart can wish, alike to the people of Britain and those of the colonies. In default of details, we are induced to ask what light we may derive from the experience of the past, with its numerous attempts to realize just such an outline of imperial prosperity as Mr. Chamberlain has sketched. We shall therefore turn for a time to a brief account of the actual attempts made by Britain, in the past, to realize a unified and self-dependent Empire by mutual prefer- ential treatment and the avoidance of any competition in industales between tiie Mother Country and tiie colonies. In 80 doing we shali not only obtain considerable light upon Mr. Chamberhiin's plan, so far as revealed, but we shaU have put ourselves in a position to more intelligentiy discuss any sub equent phases of tiie preferential idea which may be brought forward. The old Colonial System of Britain was not indigen- ous to that country, but was borrowed from tiie policy first put into practice by Spain and Portugal, tiwisferred by Spain to the Netiierlands, developed by France, and finally adopted by England. But, from tiie very beginning of Britain's foreign and colonial enterprise, a different spirit was shown by her naval and colonial pioneers from that which actuated most of tiie otiier commercial nations of Europe. From a Canadian Point of View n «.^^!i***^" "*' ^' '^****"' »» •^b<*«te» though UB. Session' "^'*'!"''^ "' preferences, biuntieefrd g^hlbWons was In operation, for the fostering of tte ST^i !,??'^?*"' ««"P«o°«' and enforced poUtlcl »„.^ i ,1, *T'* *^"" "°<» " not furnishing^ much viribleprofltor Immediate return. Yet the offlcfallv ^tl^:*:Lr?" 'f *° •" ""--' ^^ frauds a^dl podtlve weakening of the navy. On the other hand the vigorous and permanent development of British naval and flew ?ro„^?.' "^' *°'',^*^ °" "''^^^^ *^« -orld^^ field. Though these real foundere of Britain's naval I^?!^ , "^ 'tv?,'^ ^'y ^'^^ °^ *^«^ most enterprisl^ ^wrstdrr^^"^^'^^*"--^^^^^^^ If^L^tJ^^ Kestoratlon, the Navigation Acts of S^i» Jhi K ^' "^" foundations of the new ColoniS System which, In Its well-rounded completeness like I^ce. In this we have, for the fl«t time ^Britain a Lfl '- ''*^' S '^^* *^*^'*" «»« Mother Country «" ^Ih I ^ T ***** °^ * selfK^ntalned B^^, ^ S^ J:!""'^ po^esslons should tur^ the'i^tter Country with supplies of raw material and various Bhe might either use herself or «,U at a profit to other S^e°"l"vrH'"Sr*"*'°'~^°'^'^on!^ Atttesle SL'for ^^'/'i!!^ monopolized the colonial Tr ket. for manufactured or other good, supplied from the It Imptrial Preftrtntial Tradt home country, and alao found In outward and inwanl colonial trade an ezdoaiTe field for the doTelopnient of her shipping. Such a lystem has always had a special attraction for that class of rulers and politicians who devote themselves to planning narrow and weU^IisclplIned theories of Empire, but have Uttle patience for the study of Intricate details and awkward practical problems, which, however, refuse to be Ignored In the real world of varied and complex interests. This system had naturaUy commend- ed itself to the spiritual temperament and national characteristics of the ruling classes In France, Spain, and Portugal. These nations, therefore, naturally made a consistent effort to carry out the attractive scheme of colonial Empire which they had devised. But all the world knows, in outline at least, what became of the large and promising Empires which these nations carved out of the newly explored regions of the earth, upwarda of three centuries ago. The Dutoh and English governments, though accepting the system from its original Inventon, did not find It iJtogether In harmony with the sturdy. Independent tendencies of their peoples, and were thus less successful In enforcing It In their colonial possessions. The colonial administration of the British in particular, as her theoretic Imperialists have been sorrowfully pointing out for the last two centuries and a half, has been but a wayward and ill-groomed thing as compared with the artistic finish and mUitary precision of that of the other nations, so long, at least, as they had anything to administer. So far as the British Gtovemment was successful from time to time, in bringing Its Colonial System Into harmony with that of the rest of Europe, It must be admitted that It produced like results, much to the consternation of its advocates. But the prevailing fact has been that, what From a Canadian Point of View 13 •▼«• her avowed colonial poUcy, at least the practice of Britain has been for the moet part quite different from that of the rest of the world. Tho result has been that she stands to^y at the centre of a colonial Empire whose success, in spite of Imperialistic blunden, is altogether unique in the world's history. In order to illustrate the spirit of the old Oolonial System at its best, it will be sufficient to take a couple of typical presentations of its central idea, before the attempt to rigidly enforce it had proved its unworkable character, in bringing about the American Revolution. We shall take one example at the beginning, and another at the end of this period. In the reign of Charles H., when the Navigation Acts were passed and the new Colonial System introduced. Sir Joshua Child, the virtual ruler, in his day, of the East India Company, was one of the most intelligent advocates of the new policy. About 1680 he wrote an interesting treatise, under the title of «A New Discourse of Trade," In which he dealt with British trade in general and its relation to the new Colonial System. The pioneers of British colonial expansion, having pursued, for the most part, a policy of free and independent trade, as was more or less inevitable owing to the troubles In Britain itself, did not relish the application of the new Colonial System. They were disposed to argue their cause at home while, as far as possible, evading the law In the colonies. Sir Joshua summarized the objections of the colonial traders and planters to the new imperial policy as follows: "The Inhabitants and planters of our plantations in America say this Act will in time ruin their plantations if they be not permitted at least to carry their sugars to the best markets, and not be compelled to send aU to, and receive all commodities from, England." His reply to the colonial remonstrance Is at once significant of the Euro- 7W# GolMiul M Imptrtal Prtftrtmtial Tradt ^gla^d, and in . .trfklng nMinner yoIom th« object though not the method, of Mr. Chamberlain at the prelTnt ttme. "I answer it they were not kept to rulee of the Act of Navigation, the oonMquence would be that In a 1*T, ^*".? ?? *^"*''* °' "*•" ^''^^ be whoUy lost to the nation, It being agreeable to the policy of the Dutch. Etones, lYench Spaniards, Portuguese, and all nations In the world, to keep their external provinces and colonle. ta a subjection unto and dependency upon their Hothsr Kingdom; and tt they should not do so, the Dutch, who w I have said, -re masters of the field In trade, would carry away the ^ atest of advantage by the phmtatlon* «^i^*K * K?* *! Christendom, leaving us and others only the trouble 0/ breeding men. and sending them abrosd to cultivate the ground, and have bread for their Industry. In other words, it would never do for Britain to pursue an independent course of her own; she must of necessity follow the example of the other nations of JBttTope, or disaster would surely foUow. In passlnir It la worth remarking that the Dutch, of whom Sir JoSua is -kT? "/J^^^f^^^P*** In those days, as is evident from What he himself points out in another part of his work tte position which is now held by Britain. Holland wa^ the country with the freest trade, the most extensive ■hipping, the cheapest goods, the largest amount of capital, the lowest rate of interest, the most honest tradesmen, and the highest standard of Uvlnir for the people at large. Notwithstanding the arguments of Sir Joshua Child, the most enterprising English traders and planters did not noognlze the special virtues of a rigidly disciplined and ■Blf^ntelned Empire. They were certainly not Uttle Bnglanders, but neither were they little imperialists. Even in those eariy days their spirits were strong enough. Prom a Canadian Potnt of Vltm ,| «d thdr TWon otour #0001 h to «• that the iro,i4 at had alRHuly cau-ad Britain to •oqolre the found«ti32 • gmt colonliU Empire, •ImoeTTJirof ^^f^? whatever orthodox notion. „ to • cSo^Ll ^^^ Goyemment might adopt from Euroj^an coiTttTr ^ any rate, were determined to foUoTXt^ S^di!! oover^ by .olid experience to be th^^rco^^ T^7^"V7.TT'''^' «nf"hlo«aCl 0^ to hi. ol J" ^"'^ ^^"^ ■*'»"^*» »« <»0"« with T^ Srtil .f^K 7**"^'~ "^**' P~P»« o' New England. S «m«l ob««nratIon of the law. of thi. Kingdom do rr^NatTJIS* *"; "**^ °' ''^^^ contrartotte Am J ^•^*«*«°°' by reawn of which many of our ir^J^,'°"~""'^*^^y»°bacco,and.L^ Z atdT^'r"" f ew-Engllah ri^lppi^g, directly inTs^ SLn^ "?° °°""*^"' ^**°«t being landed to o^a Ctrth^ir '"?*^ °^ MiOeetyTwhlchi: nS of Old Z ? K °*^' *"^ * P^J"'*'^'' *° *be navigation of Old England, but also a total exclusion of the old e« who ^T?K^ ' ^"^"larlties of the New EngUmd- er., who, betog the met enterpriBtog, wew al«, the chief •• Imptrtal Prtftrtntial Tnd§ o«tend«n, he o1om« thus:-"To ooooladt thia ohmtor. aad to do right to that most Indr itrioos EngUdi colony, I mi»t confoM, th«t though we Iom by their unlimited trade with our foreign pUnteUone, yet we are rery gmt gainen, by their direct trade to and from Old England, oar yearly wportationa of Englidi mannfaotuna, malt, and other fooda fhMn hence thither, amounting in my opinion to ten timee the value of what ia imported (hun thence, which calculation I do not make at random, but upon mature oonaideration, and peradrenture upon aa much experience ? ^u ^**^ ***^* •■ *"y ****•' J***® ^^ pretend to. And therefore, whenever a reformation of our correapond- •ncy in trade with that people ahall be thought on, it wUl in my poorjudgment require great Tendemeae, and very aericua Circunupection." Now the perplexity of Sir Joahoa aa to how to deal with auch highly profitable, but anti-lmperial Empire builders, continued to be the perplexity of the Home Gkivemment throughout the whole century from 1666 to 1766, during which period Britain had both atripped and outstripped practloaUy aU her colonial rivala. The Colonial System remained unaltered but the practice was very looae, and the trade aa profitable aa it waa irregular. During thia period the colonies found it natural and profitable to take the greater part of their manu&ctured gooda, both for their own use and for trade, from the Mother Country, and to supply her in turn with most of the foreign produce and raw materials which she needed. But in the caae of certain manuCactures, and in their secondary trade, they did not respect the Colonial System. In return for part of their Imports from Britain, they sent to her a const*nt stream of Spanish and Portuguese bullion, the profits, largely, of forbidden trade. This influx of treasure was as much a cause for rejoicing, on the part of the colonial ^^om a Camuttan Point of Vltm »7 • Morotor frtef to tlMir imptrUl aonla. R«^' »• more extreme adrocatee of the OolonUl P~yrf*y with . Jealou. eye, conoelrtog thatiore S « oouM be breoght to the Mother OountrJ If the Z^^ Thor w.^ 2S ?^ ^ proportion to their development They were ■atlsfying an increMing number of want, hi^ S m'L" l"^**"* •^°*» "»•*' »~»o wito oLere Then tt js^r tT r;- ss^h::^:::;^!?^ S»oh were tl» KIm, wWch b^„ to rnrM mw Ih. <«<»«• nt aMondad tho throng ud Uwir Mi^ ». «e penod. At that time another great etruffffle with notwithstunding their very objectionable view. «« «SJ' ^venunent a«d their irZl^'^.ZJ^^'J^ :^- to the aasiatance of the Mother Country with m«.^^d means, to an astonishing extent. InZ7t^v •,!!». tanguaj^ of to4ay. They declared it to be both poedWe •nd desirable to take advantage of the outbST i »• Imperial Preferential Trade Imperial sentiment to re-organIze the Empire, and to bind It more closely together, by making It economlcaUy more self-dependent, by requiring colonial contributions to the Imperial navy, and the abandonment by the colonies of their growing tendency to establish manufacturing Indut- tries. In all this they were encouraged by a few local enthusiasts In the colonies, themselves mainly people In oflQcial positions, or having special Interests and connec tlons in Britain, and moving in special social coteries In the colonial capitals. But though they professed to speak for the colonies, they did not understand the tempers and interests of the common people, who were quite well disposed towards the Mother Country tlU their liberties were threatened. The theorists were suflBcIently warned of the folly of their course by the most far-seeing men of their time, by Chatham, Fox, Burke, Shelbume, Caven- dish,— men who had broad and enlightened views on colonial questions, as weU as on many others. However, their warning was entirely disregarded, in substance they were caUed little Englanders, and accused of being traitors to the cause of Empire. One of the calmest and most rational of the numerous statements of the period as to the necessity for re-Inforcing the Colonial System and establishing an Imperial com- merclal federation, was presented in a treatise entitled, "Propositions for Improving the Manufactures, Agri- culture, and Commerce of Great Britain." This was published In 1763, when the air was full of the imperial enthusiasm which had resulted from the overthrow of the French power in America. This overthrow Itself was the inevitable outcome of a long competition between the British colonial practice, and the French colonial theory. Yet, oddly enough, it was immediately followed by the reylval of the French colonial theory in Britain. The sixth of the "propositions" referred to in the trea- From a Canadian Point of View 19 the before us, was the foUowing: "To give large bounties for the encouragement of a trade with our North Ameri- can colonies; especially in such articles as shall make for the mutual advantage of both the Mother Country and her colonies." Here is how the argument proceeds: "Since we have made such immense conquests on the North American continent, which are to be guaranteed to us by the present treaty of peace, that mighty Empire, fi-om its situation, is capable of producing the greatest part of the raw materials which are used in all our manu. factured goods, which we are, at present, obliged to purchase of foreigners, many of whom, by that means, have a very great balance of trade against us; and therefore the reasons for this proposal are very obvious and convincing. Besides, the natural interest of Great Britain and North America is so closely connected, that their loss must inevitably be our loss; for if we do not assist them in taking off their raw materials, they cannot purchase our manufactured goods, but will purchase what they are in want of from foreigners, who will take those raw materials, and in Ih » end, not only manufacture for themselves, but also oppose us in foreign markets." . . . "They have a very flourishing linen manufactory at this time in BostoM, supported by aU the merchants of that place, and another within twenty miles of Philadelphia, which is equally encouraged by the Quakers. Besides, there are several woollen manufactures on this coast, which ' work up the greatest part of the wool of New England. But further, the North Americans, not content with set- ting up manufactures among themselves, which greatly interfere with the trade and prosperity of their Mother Country, by the Cvmnivance of the custom-house officers which we nominate to them, (many of whom employ American deputies, and have their residence in London) smuggle into that continent a large quantity of Dutch, ao Imperial Preferential Trade German and French manufactured goods. In hct above toe onethlrd of the manufactured goL that are consumU f,^!f . T'*'* *" ^^ P^«*"<^ °' '^«c« «nd Holland, notwithstanding our laws expressly forbid the Importation of any manufactured goods into those colonies, but such M are exported from Great Britain or Ireland. Hence, therefore, unless we extend our commerce with thes^ people and take off the produce of their plantations, necessity will reduce them to permit such nations to come and trade with them, who wiU take off the produce of their plantations, and, in barter for i mxe, supply them With such manufactured goods as ,a.y are in want of. He proceeds to set forth a list of colonial food pro- ducts and raw materiab on which a special bounty or preference should be given, and continues: "These aw the raw materials which should be particularly en- couraged in our inland settlements to barter in return for our manufactured goods; especially as we are obliged to import a great quantity of those commodities, from foreign nations, for the use of our manufactures, and thereby give those nations a great balance of trade against us. But further, whUe we are protecting and encouragmg our back setUements we must not forget to divert the thoughts of the inhabitants, in the more w,pu. ^places on the seaK.«sts, from entering into manufac tures by giving great encouragement for bringing their raw material to a British market, especially such as are of general use In our manufactures." He then goes on to t°^ *»°7 » j^di^io*" preference in favour of the colonies, with a tariff upon similar articles brought from foreign countries, would enable Great Britain to obtain her food and raw materials entirely from her own colonies, and thus render the Empire self-sustaining and independent of toe other nations who are the natural rivals of Britain. How strikingly most of tols parallels Mr. Chamberlain's From a Canadian Point of View *i policy of tcMlay, scarcely needs to be pointed out Though thfa policy was less objectionable in itself a century and a half ago than it is to^ay, yet the attempt to enforce it In the early part of the reign of George HI. cost Britain the best part of her Colonial Empire. The American Revolution, however, did not greatly alter the previous line of trade development. It chx.flv prevented a radical interference with the freer trade practice which had grown up. Yet the advocates of the old colonial policy, in its strict interpretation, professed t rejoice at having severed the connection with the un- dutiful colonies. As they put it. unless the colonies were either brought into closer dependence upon Britain or separated altogether, the unrestricted development of colonia trade and industry, with the growing tendency to indulge in manufacturing for themselves, thus develop, tog their natural resources at home tostead of adjustmg them to the requirements of British tadustry, must have resulted in the centre of the Empire being transferred from London to Philadelphia. Thus the colonies, not Britain, would have ruled the Empire. Shelburne and Pitt the younger, Chatham's distinguished son, who became Prime Mtoister immediately after the American Revolution, understandtog fully the nature of toe commercial relations which had existed between l\ !°u*? ***® ^^<^^^^, and the great mutual advantage which had resulted, strongly urged that the old commer. cla relations with the colonies, which had just become the United States, should be continued as though no political separation had taken place. But the ordinary British member of Pariiament was still far from being educated up to that standard of political and economic wisdom Hence, notwitiistandtog tiie efforts of a group of the most enlightened statesmen of tiie time, the United States was thereafter to be treated as a rival foreign power. This ColoHiul Tn4» oHtf iln ManHoan R»wolu- sa Imperial Preferential Trade tovolved the rmther pecnllar attitude that much of what luid previously been regarded as a very natural and profit- •We trade must henceforth be treated as an equaUy unnatural and unprofitable one. Indirectly, Pitt managed to preserve a pretty free inland trade between Canada and the a(«oining American States. The Navigation Laws, however, prevented the same fk>eedom of trade by sea, much to the injury of the West Indies, which had form- erly depended on the revolted colonies for their supplies It was sought to bodily transfer this trade in West IndiaiJ •upplies to the remaining British North American colonies to the immense disadvantage of the West Indies and wiZ out any commensurate benefit to the northern colonies. *tom that time on, notwithstanding that the Colonial System was occasionaUy relaxed, only to be enforced again, the West' Indian tR»de declined. From being the source and centre of an immensely profitable British trade, it sank gradually into decay, so that when the Col. onial System was finally abolished it had become so hopelessly broken and scattered that it could not be recovered. Thus, too, the British North American colonies, in whose interests the West Indies were sacrificed, found no permanent advantage in the sacrifice. In fact, so far as they benefited from the loss to the West Indie* L m/ ^^i^ * "^ °^ ^'"^« » ^-t «*««' fo' the sake of tte hide and the horns. Yet the persistence with which they clamoured at the gates of the Home Government for W H^"*t^' ^^ *^ '^answerable argument which ^1™T T '^; ^'^^^^"""Laws and the Coloni^ S^rirTisLT. """"^ ^ ""^^'** ^-^^ ^*-^^ The movement towards the reform of the British Com- rr ^r"* ^^?'*^ ^^'*'""' ^^'^^^^ P*" h«d inaugurated and with which Fox, his political opponent was in complete sympathy, was arrested at the ^tbreik orthe From a Canadian Point of View aj French Revolution. No further reforms of a systematic nature could be attempted untU the close of the great sta-uggie with France in 1816. Ktt, however, made a treaty with the United States in 1794, which was the first serious legal encroachment upon the Navigation Acts and the aionial System, and which was of great advantage to Britain during the war. Nevertheless, it was bitterly opposed by the supporters of the old imperial system, and by those whose special interests were furthered by It. So long as Pitt and Fox lived, the profitable alliance between the American traders, with their advantages as belonging to a neutral power, and the English manufacturers, who supplied the goods with which to trade, was maintained. Jf «»« Profits on her rapidly developing Industrie. Which enabled Britain, almost single-handed, to defy the combinations and coalitions effected by Napoleon. Ho:v. ever, no sooner were those great statesmen removed by death in 1806, than the clamours of the ultra-loyal devotees of the Colonial System and the Navigation Acts,* were renewed with great vigour. The weak hands Into which the Government of the country had passed, were forced, and the celebrated Orders In Council began their unreason- able course, bringing out the equaUy absurd Decrees on the part of Napoleon, between them, destroying the neutral trade' and ultimately precipitating war between Britain and the United States. During the suspension of Intercourse by sea between the United States and Britain preceding the war of 1812, Canada enjoyed the first of those unnatural bursts of commercial prosperity, due to the forcing of trade between the United States and some other part of tbo Empire out of its normal channels and into Canadian routes, first by way of Lake Champlain and Montreal, and, later on, by way of the western lakes and the St. Lawrence as well. After the American Revolution, the British Government Imperial Preferential Trade ^ formaUy renounced the rteht to f, ♦k » oolonle., except for the r.gnl.Lnltt^.'^jtl^^ of these regulative dutf«i »««. ♦ # ^* PW)ceedi of the coZy on wh^ trlTth ^ "' "** "^^^-^ «i»/i»«/./ maintained In their th^rmH.? ^ ' ^* *^^« ■••n» W of special signlitTey'::"torS."'' T'*' ^ forced among the remainf?. T, , "* thoroughly en- To conciliate the cZ?i if '^'" *^*" *»^«' ^^'o"- ment entered ZnT^^'Jr'T' ^^ ^°°»« Go^e™- them, and soug^aiso 1^*'^ °V"^^ expendltu« in build up a sysfem of pXe"^ ^ L*"' "^"^ "^ produce In the Brim^ZkeTlnd L fh'"* J" **^°»*'^ other colonies. ""'"w* and In the markets of the ;^«'iiiVXij? ssr-^r ^^ «^« Canada In particular. Thev oh^^fi "'''^°*' *"*' 'o bounties not granted to an V 1**^^ P^^^'^onces and Instance, the «^t DrEf«~n« ? *' "^^""^^ Thus, for nectlon 'with Zlr'^S^^ '^T' '""* "^ ^ ^- the more distant colonfes of 1' . ! ''®''®'' «*"'»^«1 ^ Cape Colony. YeT S I^'hvJ,"' "^^ S^'^^^^ «»<» America In the securirorBHH I, V^ ^"^^ ^"^ •o much more dSTfiJm tS^h ^"•^«^"'»' *»« were arguments '^y^^lT2l^?T^'''T' ""*' '" "»« still more strongly fa S f ^**"^°'^^bavetold remarkable fact remafa^t, fl^' fT^^^^^ «>« though Infant Industrfe^ to th« f Australasian colonies, red, unprotected, ^drrllj;.'^^^^^ '•"^^' "-P^'^er- with the long e^tablSXhroreri^ ^^"^""^'^ protected, and much neirer cof JT "^' ^^^orately British North America^^w oiT ^''^^llshments of Immigrants, and, durW^KMl ^^^^^^ numbers of System, were moTi!^^^^^^'^!''^^^^ emigrants than the Af:„"r/Ci'es."°" •"'^^^^ ^ From a Canadian Point of View as Now when we look for the ultimate cause of these remarkable preferential differences, we find that they were due, not to any special desire to favour Canada above all other colonies, but to the connection of Canada with certain strong commercial and shipping interests in Britain Itself, who industriously exploited the OolonUl System for Its own benefit, and enlisted Its clients In British North America in the same cause. In tracing the growth of the preferential system in British North America, we observe thai theae colonies p u inherited from those which had revolted, certain moderate fZ bounties upon timber, hemp, and other naval stores. But, Oyf/^, „„ In the matter of ifmber in particular, these advantages were rimb9r greatly Increased by the preferential system Introduced, during the Napoleonic wars, to favour the British shipping and colonial timber Interests. As this policy built up a considerable timber and shipping trade with British North America, Important vested Interests were established in Britain and the colonies, which steadily resisted all attempts to reduce the favours granted. These prefer- ences were modified from time to time, but even as late as 1840 they ranged from five hundred to one thousand per cent, over the rival supplies from the Baltic. The good and evil effects of the timber preferences, upon Canada and New Brunswick, were hoUy debated in those colonies. The capitalists engaged In the timber trade were mainly British residents, who, as one of them confessed before the Colonial Conunlttee, In 1828, and aa was frequently pointed out by others, when they made their money remitted it to Britain and ultimately retired there to live. The advantages of the preferences to the British capitalists and ship owners were admitted by alL But, as to the colonies themselves, the results were of a very mixed character. The timber trade did not, as a rule, contribute to stable and permanent settlement, whUe it 26 Imperial Preferential Trade tt^tionlfTT r*^ «"°y-t«e" from the «g«lar cul- i^manv^lT'^ *° "^" •ettlement. from ri..nty 1^^ lw» many of the lumbermen spent their money In riotoui Hvlng much to the detriment of the morals of the connS The chief contribution which the Industry mad^to i21* country was In enlarging the home marteTfor^ll!^ and lolurTr a„Ti !,*"? ^°' "»'"«'°'" •^'•1 '^^ economic ihjuries, and the destruction of vast areas of *h« « I umber hjnds in the world. Thls^trrurlrCTy due to the most wasteful treatment of the for«L ThJ cutting of only the choicest timber, over \^earLs furnished sufficient dry brush to ftli T a ' destroyed the re-nainder ofTt a. '/"^ "^^""^ ■ever/] of ♦h^ . . "* ^ '^"^ Pointed out by S the ft.T* ^"^"° "P^**^ ^»*"« 0^ tha^ penod, the fact that most of the Ganitoi /i<>^.^ / tt. am^r ,„,„„, ,„ -.0, [eS.taTl'^tol'^r counted in oonrid.i,bl. m«»ure for the LTdZl^ I«oWng at the timber trade from beirinnliMr to .„d rf to preferential tr«„n«,nt. it meet beSted t^at tt w« while, with reference to the Aiture of the connti^ ItTr? ply encom,^ the m«,l wanton w„te ,^d Z£to^ one of the meet valuable resource, which Can^ p^ZLf p^rrzt-xrde-^iirthrrf J^..r^"ucsr.rit^„rdrz From a Canadian Point of View vf QontiBent of Europe, In its proceM of recovery from its exhausted condition, naturally devoted Ito first energies to agriculture, and sent the produce of its fields to Britain '**'• in exchange for manufactured goods. But though the *'*''Mt e* British manufacturers were quite willing to fiimish the ^•'•'"■«' goods, the British landlords and farmers were not willing *'*•■' that European grain should be received in exchange, •Ince It tended to lower the high price of food, upon which they had prospered. The agricultural interests, being at that time dominant In Parliament, secured the passage of a Corn Law extravagantly sevare as compared with anything of the kind which had ever been attempted in Britain. This was the celebrated Com Law of 1816, under which foreign com, or meal ground from It, was not permitted to be taken out of bond for home con- mmptlon untU the average price, per quarter, rose to the following heights: for wheat, 80s. (equivalent to f2.60 par bushel); rye, pease and beans, 638. ; barley, 408. ; oats, Ms. Above these famine prices, foreign grain might be admitted free. But It is in this act also that we have the foundation of the subsequent British preferences on colonial food products, though, as far as grain was concemed, they applied only to the colonies of British North America, now included In the Dominion of Canada. The act provided that grain or meal, the growth, produce or manufacture of any British colony or plantation In North America, might be imported for home consumption when the average prices were at or above the following rates per quarter : wheat, 67s. (almost »2.10 per bushel) ; rye, etc., 44s. ; barley, 33s. ; oats, 228. On wheat this allowed a margin of preference of 138. per quarter, or nearly 40c. per bush. As grain and provisions were admitted free Into Canada ft^m the Interior parts of the United States, those portions of the bordering States having an easy communication •* imperial Prtfirential Tradg having th«lr gndn Mnt to BriUIn, bat^h^ ^012 « • .ab.maf for the Ouudl^i ^ IZ^J^Tu rte to the point of admlttinff Oanadian gnOn, tte piX! of Its aflbcttng beneflcUOly the Immigration to OamMuT Immigration at that period was promoted by toedL«t S?dT.:iS! °'.''' '*'**^ Oore^Lent^'L^^nJ^r Unded «,ldlers In various district, of the colony, muchte the misery of many of the veterans, who, after yem rf mmtary life under the control of their om^^I^tt^ ^^IT^.^ 'j^t* *»'«^»<*"*<»- ofseif-i^Hk;^';^:^; tag In the wilds of Canada. Other Immigrants came ^t under the direction of special societies ta'SllT*^ SnS? '^^?™~' ««l«tanceand to othew w^thoutTJ the latter usuaUy succeeding best The dlstosss to Britain, which foUowed the Imposition thewemandnumerouseffortstoclrcumventlt. Seve^S proposition, were put forward with a view to rellevtoe ^^7^' "^ ^"^""* "»"•*"* ^ -troni^^ISS ^7.^^**r^ *"*•""*■• I» « -bort treatfae on «^e Import of Colonial Com," written by H. T. cZ ST MrT^?f ""^ **? proposition afterwards carrii out minf^ ^/^^««* •* •"y «»e, either at a moderate minimum duty, or on a reasonable sUdIng scale of duties. In support of this policy he urges that It ta well to enw^j! Z^^r^T.!^^^ "^^"^^ '^^ *° P^^ote i" them the productl^ of food and raw materials for the use of the Mother Country, and by this means to encourage an From a Canadian Point of Vim ag tocwjriiifBurketforBritWiiiwnuf«5tur«itoo(b. Iti. prefewntUl trade m Mr. Oolebrooka^ wen eettto. iTSa it ta now being propoeed m « fanportant step towanta « cate. me^t at the aame cro^roada, but travellln* in oppoalte direction.. It i. worth^g thar^74? policy of prot«5tion, wherea. t^e preference, on grain w^ •U conccMlon. to the coming Britirii policy of STt^ «i?rriL!.'"'"*-"PP^'^" ofext^me p^teX ^d fh *^,; 5j?^~'o«»«>«t of the Navigation La^ •^ the old Odonlal Sy.tem wew .till alto^r In tS wa« perm tted, even In favour of the colonies On the contrary, there aroM trouble with the United State, once more over a more rigid enforcement of the Navigation lAw^ to the matter of carrying produce from the United State, to the We.t Indies. Though, under certain oo^ d^tioM, provision, might pam from the United State, to the West Indie., American vessels were not permitted to Z^. *!"« ?^ ^^P"** ^^' ^ l"8,to the suspen- sion of traffic between the United State, and the West Indies, much to the Injury of the latter, but with a wick .nd Nova Scotia, and, to a certain extent, of Canada as wea This abnormal rituatlon was relieved in 1828 when trade between the United States and the British American colonies was permitted In ship, of either country, though the trade must be a direct one and con- fined to certain .pecifled articles. In the meantime the Canada Trade Act of 1822 had been paoed, which for the first time imposed duties on *• tmptrtal PrtfermUal Tradt produce pMting into Canad* rh>iii the UniM Statan The f«t«. impoeed we«: on wheat flour, 6.. per bW., « n^ P«^ or been oeiU, 2.. 6d. pe. bW. WheTwM iS frw. but rye, poMe .ad beau, were taxed 7d. per bualieL ^?"'.**!i'' "'* "^» •'^ ««>era«y, were toxedton percent There were •!«> varlou. dnt^e. topoeedu^ umber and .Uy. The mult of the* iSJSltio^ together with the reeumptlon of dl««t trade betS^n S toport torlff, w.. to greatly reduce the St. Lawm.ce rZl ^"!*^*^ P"<»"ce- This led to much Tlgorou. protest on the part of the Canadian grain and produce merchant, and .hlpper.. On the othVLnd, STSS upon American products coming Into Canada did not In any way benefit the Canadian former. There was there- fore a general discontent over this preferential measure. Il„,ki,. ^^ Th 8 enwuraged Mr. Husklsson In his new move In the so*'. #•• direction of greater freedom of trade and the modification CohniMi of the Navigation Uws. Mr. Husklsson, In fact, had begun by Chatham and carried forward by his son the great^Mtt, but Interrupted by the prolonged struggle in Husklsson's comprehensive policy of 1826 comprised three Important features. First, a change In the Colonial System ; second, the adoption of a system of freer trade in materials employed In British Industry; third, a revision and reUxation of the Navigation Laws. In the case of the old Colonial System, as pointed out by Huricljson, the Ideal aimed at was Imperial unity and the wnflntag of the trade of the colonies to the Mother Country But he maintains that this means the sacrifice X. tyT^^ **^ ^^ "»* ^^^o^^w "d the Mother Country. The former English colonies in America, now the United States, have Immensely prospered und^',^^ ^•Ihf P^om a Canadian Point of Vitw J« i mcrdal f^vedom, aad Brlttoh tradt with them has grMtly laoraMMl alM. Of Uto th« Spulah and PortoguaM oolontoa In Soath America bare achiered their ftvedom. It woold therefore be fanpoaaible to keep the Eng liah odoniea as olooely tied up as before. If they are given greater freedom of trade they will prosper in proportion, and that will be to the benefit of Great Britain also. By the act of 1828, in addiUon to a greater freedom of trade with the United States by sea, the colonies were permitted * to send certain of their products directly to the other countries of Europe, and to receive directly from these European countries certain specified goods of their own production. Hovrever, In the case of all countries except the United States, the shipping In which this trade Is con. ducted must be British. This restriction he would now abolish and leave only the trade between Britain and her colonies, and between one colony and another, to be wholly conducted In British ships. He also proposes to extend to certain ports In the colonies the bonding and warehousing system, in order that the coloules may trade with the other Islands and countries In America as advantageously as the United States now does. He will seek to give the West Indies also a wider scope. With reference to Canada he had a special proposition to make, namely, to admit the grain of that country at all ^•^•m# times to the British market on payment of a fixed duty of ^"'Z •» 6s. per quarter. This proposal was carried out In the *•»«''■» special act of 1825. The result of thU measure was to *'**" Introduce a very decided preference on Canadian grain In Britain. Much rejoicing was Indulged In throughout Canada and great expectations wore entertained as to the immediate expansion of the country, through the influx of Immigrants, the extensive settlements of new lauds, and so forth. Now what would have been the effect of this preference 3* Imperial Preferential Trade *Ione it is impossible at thfa ««,- ♦ Indeed, a Uy, ^ ^1 T" ^^^'^ *° «y- We have, most interestiT TlfXT'V^'^ ^^"^^^^ pricings, and tC. 1 to the^TeS'tUT"" °' **• been a faUore. But th» Lf f !?! * ^* ^*'' *"<* l»ad advantage, to <^^l^l\^!:^T ?" '^^"^ the introduction of this nS '^^""^ coincided with very ^t fi^om o^ ^ r^radJ" ^ k"*^^*"'' *^« by Huslcisson's general ^w ""^^^^ ^*« «««"^ trade and ^iB^^Zi^^^ZT^""^ '''^"^"'' **» ^°«>^ Again. theCanatt^^TyTaXr^^^^ over great tracts of new L j^ •' * ***° ^°"°«* ^ ^ke they setthemsell aXel^atdT^T"'™ ''''°^^*' '^^ promote immigraL Tr fh f ^*«"^««^«y *<> work to TbeimmigranfCV^^ifc^r JoTT ^r*^' ^pa^rrtrhest"^^^^^^^^^^ tbose^Vl^TrirsSrw^^^^^^^ "^ such a large number of thn T ^''''® introduced North-West^ C^er at tL 7 "tl* ~*"^" ^°*° ^^ ment undertook Zl ^ "'"^ ^^ ^^"^^ Govern. Canada, chlJ'ofXhwi'thrSf^ T"^ '^^^^^ ^ the expenditure of lanJ?™ * ®''" ^°'*^' »°volving the country, thereby XtrZu,°«^'"^' ^^^^^ ^ labour and encourii'TafS^^^J^^^^P^^ from 1826 to 1831 Saro-T / *''*'^®- T^«°' *«>. England and ieUnftTste^ another difficulty between With the West M^TesuSir. r'*^'* '"^ ^ *^« ^^^^^ suspension of diw«?t^« .^1! ""^ """"^ ^" *« °°»°Plete Indian ports. ^lT.i^T\'''^'''''^ ''"^ ^est were forced toeettTeir^^' ^''^°'^' *^« ^««t Indies AmericaTndT^y toL^"^ ''°"' ^•"^"^^ North From a Canadian Point of View 33 canstog the British Government to abolid, the duties on the toport of American produce to Canada which ZZ out through M.e St. Lawrence route. This, then,S as wen. ' °' ''•^'*" ^^*^* Maritime SoviLce. Under this remarlable combination ox favourable clr- ie ui^iS .; /"*'" '®'' °°"»"^ trade Illation, between Ztnf 1 'k^"^"" ""^ ^""^"^ '^'^y- By tWs time also most of the public works undertaken by the British Go^ c^t flow 'T'*^ ""' '^^^^^^ '°"^*«^ '' ^^-''^ ^^nf ?», T\ ^J^'^^^'-' *^« r^Pid development of the !l?flf l^^^ ^^'"'^' ^*^^°^ ^'''* ^° »"°»"»-ted by the navigate the St. Lawrence, drew off the greater part of W^tTn'^^ur''**™ ^"^^ ^'^"^ Canadian channels. IncidenteUy this shows how other adjustments quite obhterated the influence of even so enormous a nominal preference as was granted to Canadian grain in Britain, suttil.'"" "" °' ^""^"^ ^'"^ ^-^ ^-''^^ - ^ Another Important consideration is to be sought a little furtherUck. The British Com Law had immenLyst^^t .,, nnIL «! development of manufacturing industry in the I.L Umted States, and was the chief factor in converting that StZ toherited fi.om ite colonial days, to an equaUy strong pro. had steadUy developed vigorous manufactories, and must ^Ih.r« , *°^°«oi° '»«r»^terdegree whatever might be thefr fiscal policy. However, the Corn Law imposed by tte country from which the United States boughTthe greater part of its manufactured goods, virtually forced mith 34 Imperial Preferential Trade to^ aTn^H li'^^T *^' P°"°y of establishing the fac tory alongside the farm, much more rapidly and exteT sively than would otherwise have been the cie ^J s^tuatjon of course furnished an IrresIstiWe pTa for p^c tection to native Industry quite beyond Its real neSr Had Britain granted freedom of trade with the S lurea goods for food and raw materials, though she could not have checked the steady and normal develonlnt of Amencan manufacturing industry, yet she woulSouVt- edly have prevented its abnormal expansion. ThisexTn rj'bTowin V^H ^^' "^" the people of the S:; fnhS;^ ^ 5 *° *^® ^'^** ^^^ of nat"«> Which they ^hent^, no nation was ever betcerable to bear suchi tax, and as already stated, when they entered upon that policy they had no alternative onM^^ ^K **^ '"''^ *^^ ^""^^ development out of another If she could not export so many goods she prosperity made a large market for many British irooSf in spite of protectionist tariffs. In the LtWn\C whence Britain freely took cotton In return for g^evS in the face of the tariff, we see the opposite of S Z t^ZTi^^T""^ ''« '^ trrteJenc^rofTe Southern States have been fully recoenized Tn ti.- ^T probably both Britain and the'S^^les'w /i^ S^rof'AmZ"'"^ ''r' "^°^' '^ ^^' of theac't^ ^ L 'tr,r^/'^"^°P'""°*' '^ ^°"1*» 1^-ve been the case in virtue of any other. Certainly no country's development has been less disturbed by tariffs ^37*! of the United States. There a high protecUve tariff ^ chieflyamatterofdomesticconcern l^Z^l^ le^Tts aUtl"* ^'^'^^^ °^ ''^ People^Turdrnol lessen Its aggregate amount, and even those most unfairly From a Canadian Point of View 35 treated have stUl plenty to Uve on. In this unequal divl- sion, too, British capital invested in the United States is usuaUy on the side which obtains the lion's share. For many years past Britain has been bringing home from the United States a large national income, for which, of course, she does not require to. make any corresponding return in exports, and which has also furnished her with the means for making many new investments in other parts of the world. However, at the time with which we are dealing, great as was the stimulus given to Canadian development, most of which unfortunately was temporary and external, the expansion of agriculture, trade, industry, and immigration In the States of the middle west was much more remark- able. It continued also throughout most of the thirties, with such vigour, that it attracted much the greater part of the new British immigration to America, which often merely used the Canadian route as a highway to the west. As the political troubles of Canada, aggravated by the reaction from the late prosperity, continued to increase during this period, an extensive exodus of Canadian set- tiers took pUce, these carrying with them, as was com- plained at the time, much of the wealth of the country, and greatly crippling the banks. Under the various in- fluences combined, the United States expansion became a veritable boom, which inevitably ended in the financial crisis of 1837. But once that was over progress was resumed once more. Now during all this period it was tnelj admitted that the high nominal preference on Canadian grain in the British markets had little to do with the prosperity of the period from 1827 to 1832, and certainly did not mitigate the distress which marked the period from 1832 to 1841. The general disappointment over the results of the prefer^ ence found several expressions in oflBcial form. Thus in Kff/vs of tin Pff. •nneo e/i Whtai 36 Imperial Preferential Trade 1840, when the imperial trade situation was once mora under review, the House of Assembly of Upper Canada sent a petition to the Queen reviewing the agricultural situation. It pointed out that the United States markets for grain were often better than those of Canada. But as they were protected by a tariflr the Canadians could not take full advantage of them, (as a matter of fact much Canadton grain was sent to the United States). Again, when there is a demand for Canadian wheat In Britain American wheat comes in to supply the locU market, and thus prevents the Canadian agriculturist from having an additional advantage from his own market With i^ ference to the value of the existing preference to Canada they state: "Your Majesty's faithful Commons are aware that the products of these colonies are admitted into the ports of the Mother Country at a duty of 5s. per quarter, when wheat is below an average of 67s. per quarter but from the expenses of transportation from the interior to the sea, and thence to the United Kingdom, experi- ence proves they derive very little advantage from Vhi. protection." They also maintained that they did not derive much advantage from the prefarence established for them in the West Indies, because the distances were too great. Thev therefore look to the Mother Country to grant them stiU further favours, to offset the disadvantages in agriculture under which they labour, and which, they claim, are sending immigrants to the States instead of to Caiada. J^ret, they want home protection for their agricultural produce to the same extent as in the United States, no duties, however, to be levied on such American grain as comes to Canada to be re-exported to foreign countries. Secondly, they ask that a stiU greater preference on Can- adian grain be given in the British market, by taking off the duty of 58. per quarter at present retained. They From a Canadian Point of View 37 make the usual plea of all good colonials that they con- same considerable quantities of British manufactured goods and are anxious to consume still more, also that they are subject to the remaining restrictions of the Navigation Laws. An act was passed in the legislature of Upper Canada in 1840, to impose a duty on American grain coming into Canada, but it was reserved by the governor. Lord Sydenham, in a despatch to Lord John RusseU in 1841, deals with the growing agitation among the agri- e -a cultural class in Upper Canada for the protection of their pZ local markets and the abolition of the remaining British ,,.,e. duty on Canadian grain and flour. He refers to the con- Ouii^ flict of interests in Canada between the millers and the farmers, and points out that the eflfect of a duty on Ameri- can grain would be to prevent the Canadian millers from grinding it into flour for local consumption, which permits the Canadian grain to be sent to Britain. However, aU parties would be much gratified if the remaining duty on Canadian grain in Britain could be removed. A new and very extensive form of preference on Cana- dian milling and shipping interests was urged upon the Home Government in a petition sent, in 1841, from one hundred and seventy-six merchants of Montreal. In this they evidently hoped to take advantage of the free trade movement which was steadily gaining ground in Britain. We hear of these merchants and millers again, for they afterwards made a terrible uproar in Montreal, protesting by aU the gods that they were not aware what direction the free trade van was taking when they boarded it However, they are simply hailing the van at present They first propose that the present duties on Canadian produce enter- Ing the British market shaU be repealed, then duties might be levied upon similar produce coming into Canada from the United States. When thus imported and the duties 3* Imperial Preferential Trade paid, the produce should be accepted as Canadian when fe^Cr^^T""'^**- ThrarticlesT^ci'^^ desired this new form of preference were wheat, rye. W^.r If u^"^^""* *^" «««»*«* *o thelong^ufferlng West Indies by permitting them to obtain their proviZJ li\T'^'^^' ^"' " '^^ ^^^^ «»e preferen" wh ch Canada and the Maritime Provinces 4|oy J^ tteir expense, it was met by a storm of opposition from these quarters, and especially from the ship^ng p^rto T the Lower Provinces. It was also claimed by ^th^Mon^ real merchants as a special i^^ury to them, which might be atoned for, however, by the adoption of thepropoSl acheme of new preferences. v^wpwwa Lord Stanley, the new colonial secretary in Peel'a administration, in a despatch to Sir CharleZfiagot, the new Canadian governor, in March, 1842, states Zt iere Il^i « T^ '^^'^'^ ^ ^^ ^'^^^ preference by appomting a lower average price, (58s. instead of 67* noJT^'l "" 'i'!;''"^ ''' '^'^''^^ "^^"^^ wheat at nom nal rates of duty. Canadian wheat was also to be S^rMontr^f'"rL°'*^««"**^- '".e;^tio^n^f ^ZT^i merc^nts and othera is shmited with tiie w1^ to w ! 1'"*" Government did not consider it SL 7 \ ^l^ ""^ American wheat coming into Canada, and yet they could not admit all wheat from Canada free because that would include American wheat also. The Canadian politicians, seizing upon this ^^t determined to leave the Home Govemmenrno exc^ i^ the matter. A bill was therefore passed by tiie Canadian ^iS sZ' '"i"""' T'"" ^" '"^ ^-^ Primblegivtt Lord Stanley's despatch the interpretation, that it "affords the strongest ground for the confident belief and expecta- tion that, upon the impo ition of a duty upon fo^Sgn From a Canadian Point of View 39 wheat imported Into this Province, Her liajesty wiU be gracioualy pleased to recommend to Parliament the removal or redaction of the duties on wheat and flour imported into the said United Kingdom from Canada" The duty appointed in the Canadian bill was three shU- lings per quarter on wheat from the United States. This bill the governor naturally reserved till the poUcy of the Home Government should be made known. How- ever, the Quebec Board of Trade, growing nervous as to the possiblUty of Canadian millers and shippers even temporarily fiilling between the stools, sent a petition to the Home Government, praying that the royal assent might not be given to the Canadian act, until the free Importation of wheat fh)m Canada was authorized. In a speech on colonial relations, Sir Robert Peel had stated that henceforth the colonies were to be treated as an integral part of the British Empire. A committee of the Canadian legislature seizing upon this, made it the foundation of a series of resolutions to be embodied in an address to the Crown. The resolutions show that at that time the Canadian ideal was free trade within the Empire and taxation against the world, except where the world consented to come through Canada. In substance, these arc ho resolutions : 1. They are glad to know that Canada is to be treated as an integral part of the EmpLe. 2. This object can be attained by removing all duties on the products of Canada going into the Mother Country, and the legislature of Canada wiU take the eariiest oppor- tunity, when the state of the Provincial finances will permit, to remove all duties on the manufactures of tiie Mother Country. 3. They are confident that the revenue fi-om the tolls on the canals when con^pleted, and on foreign commerce, will enable tiiem to do tills In a few years 4» ffnptrial Pref§rential Tradt 4. That to Mcure the transportation of WMtani a^^ can produce through the canaS^ u 1. neLTTto atlX^' drawback, (of the 8.. duty to be ImpoJ^ L^^«n. flour jjipped to Britain by the St. Llwr;;ce n^uTwhen' •ver^the price of flour at Mont«al or Quebec exS^dl aS. But, alM, neither the canal tolls, nor the duties on for e^n goods, both expected to come out of the Ameri J^I" showed any tendency to rise to the happy frewheji a ^^!lf °° *^^ f "^'^ ""^ resoMlonn and the effort for tSof P'^^*';°^' «»«" ^ « very Interesting memorial ^^!i, TJT*,'*'**^ ^"^ **» ^'^ Stanley, andTSe S^^o^mif ""'r . '' *""'**^ '^"^ «>« North Ameri! can Committee of the aionlal Society. This ColonUi Society was the Unit^ Empire League of th^ da^ °^d ^Z T"^ °^'' *^^ ^«»P«°<^^-« dlssolutlo7olf "e Ei^re two pneratlon. ago, as Its modem representatlye ^^o»l "• ^r^T"' '^^ ^^"^^'^"^^ before that m^f ^nil T"^?' '"^ ***** P*^ *«>' ^Wch has the m!^ 1;, Jw^^"***' **»«"fore, that the British Govern- emL^tat P"fe«»nces, and thereby Induce more LI Zv ^*^° 'f** "**"' ^ ^*- T^*'^' taking anothlJ ^L^lATr^"" ""r" "•* ^""'^ Government tha^ unless the American colonies get these preferences on their agricultural produce, and are thereby induced^ con&ie cnnsn goods. This will be as disastrous to British interesti From a Canadian Point of View 4t M the ilmUar practices In the Eastern States. P«Mibly. to his browsings in the colonial office archive/ Mr wh^K^^^l^"* ^^""^ tatroduced the Canada Com Bill which, 8 > far as wheat was concerned, was substantially ^'"^ the measure so strongly urged upon the Home Govern ''*^" of the British members of parliament were rapidly gravT- ^ teting towards free trade. Undoubtedly without [he free trade movement, Canada could never have obtained such a heavy preference on her own grato and that of a neigh, bouring country. It was toevltable, therefore, that L forces which brought this advantage must, In their logical development, soon take It away again Though Lord Stanley's hand had been forced by the ^nadian legislature, yet in his speech on the measure he found It convenient to represent the bill as the fulfilment ot a pledge, contingent upon Canada's complying with . certain conditions. Lord Stanley's speech did not cor- rectly represent the previous preferential system on sev- eral minor points, but the main fact was made clear, that by vin^.e of this new act, Canadian wheat and flour wer^ to be admitted Into Britain on payment of a nominal duty of one shilling a quarter. Flour ground from American wheat was to be admitted at the same rate, being counted produce of Canada, while the wheat from which It was ground, when imported to Canada from the United States would pay a duty of three shUlIngs a quarter. Consider' tag that American grain or flour, sent directly to Britain would be subject to the Corn Laws, the preference on American wheat ground Into flour In passing through Canada was estimated at six shUlings per quarter, or nearly twenty cents a bushel. Though this furnished the 4« tmptrial Preftrtntial Tradt Emigration. It did, however, give . very XldS •titnulu. to the Canadian flour anJ grata IJ^ Sr« mill, were erected ta the nelghbourh^of i^nir^aW^ tte purpo« of mining American grata ta tranrit Owlni to favourable harvest condition, they did aTrtlculTrlf J^rge business during the year. 1846 and 1847 TW J theabo itlon of the Corn Law., ta 1846, WMno^ to tike fS cSrJon«?r'* ?*" ''''' y«' ^« genera, fl?lw of the Montreal millers and shipper.. Theabolltlon of^ ftrme« !! 1"^ '". "*"* °' "° °^"°«« '«' *he Canadian aoiy, Bowever, in havtag iuany of their other agricultural p-oduct. admitted to the British market, ta virtue of tl^ S^nti^^alirr °'r" ^ ''''- T^eSst^'^^nl t Government, wa. natural enough. Mo;rve; it had Cn customary for twenty years at least, for eve^' fadnln Canada when It faUed to get what It wanS from tie Home Government, and more particularly w^nltfaiL to retain what it had previously^ecured if tie exl^^^^ «>me o«.er Interest, to threaten the Govemm nt ^Z^ tewefate of the North American colonies was to break off from Britain, and, possibly, jota the Uni^ Stl!^ S^vilV^JtJL" ^**°-— Thepeopleof the MarCe Provtace. talked ruta and annexation, when they wwe />•• MOM From a Canadian Point of Vi§w 43 not allowed to retain, as permanent, their temporary hold upon the trade of the Weet Indies. The Reformen of Upper Canada talked both Independence and annexation, when denied ftree institutions and responsible government. The Family Compact talked annexation, when they were threatened with the loss of their power through the intro- duction of responsible goremment. And the millers and shippers of Montreal talked annexation, when they were deprived of a temporary preference of abnormal proper, tlons, which was made possible by the uneven working out of the tnt trade movement in Britain. Yet the sequel proved that, when the abnormal attempts to maintain the unity and self-dependence of the Empire, by mutual pre- ferential treatment and other forma of coddling, were abandoned, the true tie which held Britain and her colonies together was revealed, and, being no longer subject to unnatural straining, was greatly strengthened. We may now sum up a few of the outstanding truths of British colonial development, so far as they affect the subject In hand. The most successful of all the British colonies, alike In their own interest and in that of the Mother Country, and both in their planting and in their development, were those which exhibited the spirit of enterprising Independence and self-realization in the greatest degree. Yet, In doing so, they naturally seemed, to the honest but narrow visioned advocates of a closely bound and self-dependent Empire, as violating the funda- mental principles of Imperial unity. Also, that the elaborate and well meant system of subsidies and prefer- ences, though much desired, received with gladness, and cherished with great expectations, invariably resulted In disappointment, followed by clamours for still greater favours. Thus, as Sir William Molesworth pointed out In his great speech on the colonies. In 1848, Britain had gradually worked into a system of subsidizing colonies all RtuHt of Colonial Syttom ♦• impgrtal PrtfgrmUal Tradt Which Britt" «'ZdiwtS r„tr'7 '^' *• f^^ r« th. polio, oMhTMi.h!;^""'""^ ""Pi'Wy fall«l. tioo of anything elw Tbn. .h- ,™"~ •» *• Produo- By coiutantly todiKli.» .!,/„ i . '' ''"'■""•l Sy.tem. .IbUlty, not to ttrp^„T.^"r «^ «"*■«?<».• .«5r««,oH«„ ., .^.'rZ^un:^'' ""' - **• '" hro of fk . *"®y ^*d made and live « full— Prom a Canaftiun Point of View 41 labouring In the fleld*, tol ajg in tb« woods, or discbarKinr the moro varied ftmcticn. of the towne, looked upon the colony a« of neceulty their home. But even they too had acquired the outward glance. They looked eagerly acroM the AtUnUo for aU economic direction, encouragement, and bounty. Even after they had been stirred up to achieve political self-management they still looked to Britain for economic support and guidance. To the south of them they saw others of their own race and birth exhibiting no end of enterprise, turning every. thing to account, overcoming obstacles with ingenuity and perseverance, using crude devices at first and more refined and Ingenious Inventions as experience, means, and oppor- tunlty provided. The contrast has been noted by every traveller who has left his impressions, and by many Can. adians also to whom It was a standing puzzle. But It was simply the difference between a people whose " America is here or nowhere," and a people who looked beyond the seas for those preferences and bounties, so easily to be supplied by the rich motheriand. Now the Canadians were by no means Incapable of activity, enterprise, and Invention. All that they required was that the spell of imperial economic dependence should be broken, and Jiat emancipation was secured for them by the fhje traders. Canada had achieved political self, government, the Mother Country gave her economic self, government. In this latter emancipation, It was not merely that the colonies were deprived of their prefer, ences and bounties. They were released fh)m the corres. ponding trammels imposed upon their fiwdom of trade In the interest of the Mother Country. They were relieved of the restrictions of tb«* Colonial System and the Navlga- tlonActs. They were free to trade where they liked with whom they liked, and In whatever ships they liked. Even when, later, Canada and some of the other co. nies con. HtuHt •fCohit 4* Imperial Preferential Trade trary to the free trade principles of the Mother Oountpy, imposed Increasing tarlift on her goods, though she remon- strated yet she consented to permit the colonies to work out their own fiscal salvation. Only the treaty making power remained unquestioned in Britain's hands untU quite recently. When the colonies which now compose Canada had /•/ f ... "covered from their astonishment, and even dismay, they •US!I ^^■""^""y »«' to ^ork, and with such growing zest as to surprise even themselves. The situation was admirably summed upby the Honourable (later Sir) A. T. Gait. Writing In 1869, when he was Minister of Finance, and ten years after the consternation of 1849, he said : « Under such dis- tressing circumstances, the only hope lay In the fact that the people had at last the management of their own affairs ; and with a country abounding in natural resources, a vigorous and self-reliant effort would yet overcome all obstacles, and restore, upon a more healthy basis, that prosperity which had hitherto been sought through favours granted by Great Britain to her colonies, at the expense of her own people. Canada accepted the policy of England as necessary for the welfare of the Empire ; she ceased aU applications for aid to be granted to the detriment of others ; and she has applied herself to the task of develop, ing her Institutions and her resources with a vigour, determination and success, that have rarely, if ever, been witnessed in any other country." The change was, indeed, most remarkable, and can be fully appreciated only by those who have dipped into the details of the period. As put by another wide awake Canadian of that time, Mr. Thomas C. Keefer, the people aroused themselves fh)m their "ancient lethargy" and began to discover themselves and their country. Here it is impossible to even enumerate the great schemes for the development and expansion of the country which, within Prom a Canadian Point of View 47 a tew yean, were afloat all over western Canada. Bail- roada were planned in every direction, and begun in many, notably in the case of the Grand Trunk and Great West- em systems. The large canal system, the outcome of the onion of the provinces, was Just completed, and further extensions were planned. British capital was being introduced in lai^ amounts. Industries were to be established in every town. Immigrants arrived in great numbers, and land values rose to unheard of heights. Every farmer bought more land, and in a few yearj the ideas of the people had quite outgrown the limits of the old province of Canada. Relieve from their fixed gaze across the Atlantic, they turned their eyes westward for the first time, and beheld the great plains of the Hudson Bay territories. Scouts were sent in hot haste to spy out the land, and such glowing reports were received that a cry went up fh>m the whole people, demanding that the great west be added to Canada. Before the sleepy old Hudson's Bay Company could quite realize what was afoot, the Canadian legislature was discussing bills for chartering railroad companies, lavishly endowed with lands over which the Canadian Government had as yet no Jurisdiction, to connect Lake Superior with the Pacific Ocean. Steamboat companies were to be chartered to navigate the Manitoba lakes and the Saskatchewan. A telegraph company was heading for Alaska to connect with Europe by way of Russia, Japan, China, and India. Of course the east was not neglected either, for the Inter- colonial Railway was one of the earliest projects, and the long dreamed of confederation of the British North Amer- icaa colonies was now regarded as simply a matter of details. Such are merely sample phases of the remarkable transformation wrought in the Canadian people, hypno* tiaed for over half a century by the practical operation of cH/ with IfHiM SM»a 4* Imperial Preferential Trade JLl'^nlti ^I'^T^ ^"^ ^y*""' undertaken in the bMt of faith and with the meet benevolent intentions, but working, as it has in every colonial Empire in the past or ^^t the subUe and unconscious destruction of Inde- pendent and self-reliant enterprise. The exuberant outburst of energy, which foUowed the political and economic emancipation of the colonies, led imr^lwT'*"*' r** ^"^'^ ^**y impossible attempti to hnmediately realize all the potentialities which had sud- denly opened up before them. The Canadians fully S.??***!?' ^''*^°'°' *" **»« ^°^^<» °ri«i8 0^1867, after wMWK . .^^^^^^ persevering, they held their ireath while the American Civil War raged. They began also to realize some of the difficulties of carrying on respon. Bible government witl^ a democracy made up of two very evenly bahinced races of diflferent temperaments and f^iJ r'j'? °' "'^ P'^*'^^"'^ '' confederation ^I^,!!^t °^ ""^ ^**""'^ «"«^«y' '^^ ^ ^^ mean- time limited fte possibUities of many economic enterprises. Only after the firm establishment of a single Canadian JofnT^i*^'^^ "^"'^ ** * '^ »^^ uninterrupted cou^ for detaUed commercial and industrial development. n.!r/ !."'**°**"'® ^^ *^°*«'' ^°^^' after it gave Canada Its economic freedom, managed to secure for her ^cess to the United States markets on reciprocal terms. Ctonsidertog the economic stage at which Canada had arrived, this proved a very favourable arrangement. It escaped the distinctively paralyzing effects of the imperial e«)nomic dependence, inasmuch as no vague, unbusiness- ^e economic benefits wei^ expected, on purely senti- mental grounds. It was fhinkly understood as simply a bai^ain between friendly, though independent neighbour, deaUng on business terms. Still it developed quite a jpecial economic dependence of Canada upon the United States. The American market was for Canada so large aa Prom a Canadian Point of View 49 to take off «U her surplus produce in several lines, and the most of it in others. Thus for the time the American mar. ketlai^ly moulded Canadian expansion. There was, how. ever, no corresponding dependence of the United States upon Canada, because the Canadian was for them a smaU market Although, therefore, the reciprocity system might have been fiiir enough for both countries, yet the American interest in it could not withstand the combined financial and protectionist movement towards a high tariff which followed the close of the CivU War. WhUe, then, Canada suffered severely from the abrogation of the Reciprocity Treaty, the United States suffered only slightly and locally. But even i;. this free and business- like arrangement, it was found, when all was over, that Canada had lost some of her newly acquired independence and self-reliance. Had the Reciprocity Treaty been main- taint i down to the present, it is very probable that Canada whUe expanding in agricultural and extractive industries^ would not have shown much tendency to rise to a higher level, and would certainly have sent over to the large commercial centres of the United States a larger stream of her best youth than has actually gone. It is quite evident, as a general fact, that Qmada through her experience of reciprocal trade with the United States had once more centred her affections too completely on mere external aids to prosperity. Her very eagerness to restore reciprocal trade, caused the Ameri- cans to suspect that the greater advantage of any such arrangement must be on the side of Canada, hence the impossible concessions asked as the price of it. This unfortunate tendency to look beyond ourselves and our country for the basis of our prosperity, never showed r*. itself more distinctly, in later times, than in our great ir.*«M/ protectionist experiment known as the National Policy. Poliew As already stated, protection has never seriously impeded so Imperial Preferential Trade aevetopment of Its own natural capacities. lon» befer*. f* •ttempted protection, and It has StotoS^ ^^^^ ^Iii S~ '^^H:; r '•"^ *^"^^ to^tagnaSfbe^J «ae tariff waU, yet they could not survive lone amid tte sharp competition maintained in mech«i^Vv^^ and more efTectlve location. Again, we find, in the newS tod^Wef'wS^^'r,"^^ riseofunp^tectedSS^ maustries, which not only successfuUy make a phice for ^emselyes but even force their oWer clX« to En?^! Tk *^r'°"''"^"'*^«»" ^"'^•"'t^^e^ have not only kept in the closest touch with the natural rewuro^ if their own country, but have led the worW in^^e^ Wition and industrial organization in theU-XS^^ So^ •««'•'«"«* enterprise did not precede the gpedflc SrwW^*r*?«"''"'^''*^"»- As a result, the^ we« Itol*/ f "?•* ^**"°y »'''°'«J»* into existent r^^n^H "'?L*'"P°^**°"« mechanically repro- duced In the minority of cases the motive powertt« Sn -r^ - -^^^^^ Yet, during this period, we talked" incessanUy of our f^iZT """^ ^^«^' ^« may^dto ha^ a OBrtaln deflnlteness of ritual. Of this cult Sir Charles Tapper was undoubtedly the great high pries? «d Prom a Canadian Point of View SI fmtherad about bim quite a number of very proficient disciples after the letter. From many altars, In clouds of words, Incense rose continually before our great natural resources. Few Canadians, however, thought of layln* ■acrlleglous hands on these objects of veneration. StllL we were quite willing that others should do so. Indeed we industriously proclaimed the unparalleled opportunl. ties for acquiring riches which these resources presented. But the world remained most provokingly calm and in- credulous. We stretched our hands alternately to the Mother Country and to the United States. We ha*' fits of Imperial federation with Britain, and of commercial union with the United States, ghinced timorously at Inde- pendent realization, but had not the courage to try it We discussed our destiny at great length, and looked to others to achieve it, raising the Macedonian cry for immi- grants and capital. We even bought job lots of imml- grants at from tr o twenty dollars a head, but they did not realize us tr /great extent. Indeed, they often deemed to renu.. with us, which was, perhaps, among the least of our misfortunes. If only Mr. Chamberlain could have come to us in those ^ys, with his gospel of rural contentment for the colonies, e might have become another New Zealand, chuckling in country newspaper, of how our exiled Canadian Intelligence was coming to the front in the neighbouring Republic. But no ChamberhUn arose, and, in the quiet neglect of the outside world, attention was drawn to the few Can- "" adlans who wore slowly making a success of native Indus- ''''••^■' tries. Others took heart and joined them, taking hold of ^*.'*''" raw materials tumbling out at their very feet, and dis- "*"• covering that, for the man of Insight, they contained mints of money. A new and better spirit spread over the country, untUwe have at last evolved a considerable body of reaUy live and enterprising Canadian manufacturers 5* Imperial Preferential Trade waU cambii JiT . ™ "■• •''•'"" »' » tariff » ^ttelT'o™^ '""",!::'" <» Ctaad. Which .„ .bl. But ODO. oar om p«,pi, 1,«I b.p„ h. Aow c.n«d«,c From a Canadian Point of View 53 to ttdr own «)untry, the world also began to get inter, eeted in us. Settlers of a mach better class than the Qoyemment agents could procure, began to come in of their own accord, and their reports brought others. American capitalists invested in our lands to very larm amounts, going about the settlement and cultivation of them in a business-like way. Native and foreign capital alike, is rapidly picking up our most available raw materials and water powers, and beginning to make eflrecti ve use of them. In view of these developments the anxiety about reciprocity is rapidly growing on the American side of the line. But we can aflford to be quite cahn on the subject We have got beyond the stage at Which we must have reciprocity at any price. Moreover we can no longer afford to consider that form of reci- proc ty which will simply relieve us of raw nateriah, and furnish us with manufactured goods. If we are foolidi enough to go in for that, we might as well fall into the hands of Mr. Chamberlain. The trouble with both the American and the imperialist v^ew of thet^nadian future is, that it is to be of the saw CanaH. log, pulp wood, and wheat growing type, witha great mar- andM^m Ket for manufactured goods; and the only question is, who is ImptHt to capture that market? That a manufacturing future is Prtf$r. plainly not suited to our condition, is what Mr. Chamber- •»«• lain insinuates in the most flattering terms. On grounds of sentiment, of imperial unity, and, finally, of self, interest, we should be willing to leave the manufacturing to the Mother Country. But, in the first place, sentiment or loyalty affords a very precarious basis on which to do busmess, or, as in this case, to refhiln from doing business. In fact, no more effective method of corrupting, and ultimately discrediting all imperial sentiment could be devised, than to begin trafficking on it. What the imperial preferential advocates, on the two sides of the 54 imperial Prtfermtial Trade •bout thi^fourth, oTh «i.T **** P"^ ^»»1 receive concede .omelw ex w^^tr^l^ "^^ theother muet •ample of the w^y towhlch ^l*^' "' """«>«>*► A thebeetoftheba^UCbe^ennrr **^*«* encouraged to inU^rprTLT^ ° ^*** '^^ »" buriiel on wheat «me«?to/?Hr?«» «^ "^^ <«»*• • wheat weaeU toB^taS^^i' .?** '°' '^•'^ »»"-»»«l »' formerly, or than'';e*^o:j t^e^^l^r^r™ **••- ence. It Ig entirelv nn T. -Z7 *^' '^"'out the prefer- told our vZT^Z ^nt!°^ "' "»*• that we a« Britain, wU, ^Taa^'ir^*' ^^ P~Ple of withstanding the ^r^i^^TT^ •^•"^^ "»•*. not- price of whLt ^nZ^l^rJL^H ^^^ **°*y' ^« -n; Clearly thaTL^l^i^^^f ^ " ^ »? -^^ words, while the price of wh« » f^ J?! "*^- ^ <***»«• practically what it wm i^fcl !!' ? ^'****» ^1" "«>«ta foreigner will take T^^n,' '*°f^ ^^ ^P^ «»• workman is furtoer Si It^H^Sf^^' ^"* *»»• B'*«^»» for not being ^Z ^i^'^*^' ^ ^•"t"'** on account of his imperial JS T"^ P«^cularly his markets to bS i^^"^""' *"**"* ^ open up growing wheat, «d^lr^:^r""* ^'^"^ <**«fly ^ for the British L^rdful^'L^*'^ ^°^ ''^'^ the foreigner wuT^y ,^ t^f!!''**^!^*** '»»«»• Thus him with wasea JnH m ' *"** ^^ '^^'^'^^ famlah *•" v^'Bgee, and his master iH*Ii .^.^.a^. * from the Canadian point TSI J^? ^^*^ "^ •»*« return which w.^ ^ LlelrV"''!!!'' **^* ^'"'^ bushel on our wheati- ««w "** ***^ "^ oonts a to Britain, L to L '^r r^^^ °"' ^'^-^^ »"ket divide bet;een Brit!?n^^* °" **^ *^«« ^e shall trade wh^^Ll^^To r^TT '^^^^^^ <>' °- foreigner is, of Zn^i^l^jTl'^^^* *"** «»« ^^^ From a Canadian Point of View 5S and balllon ete .te T ^"P*'"'*'"*"' ^^^la rubber, cota fine, and th; ta'plSa'l Jn2r^°' S* """*«'»» '» ^"^T that a little more 5^'^! IZT!' ''' "^^ '^^"^ '°*o I** '''*• ter, or six centTa b^J o^r ^°^ ''"^ '*""°«' * q««-- '^'^'"^ the British m«ket. fa «^^^ ^^o ".''*"* Northwest ial"l^ke(^:::3f;,^t""^^^ "^ "^ ^-^ "' pire, and in a few r»*^ Jr^5 ^'•''^'•y <>' the Em- ««t of thiworW forwT^''^*'*" Independent of the Place, this ^pUefLarJS^ourl^^ "^7' ^" ''' «"* immigration, C«J^^„ZZ ^SZ^^"^'"^ °» or, competing on even ter^^JthlX^^^ it must remain uninhabited Now ♦! u ^' ^°''^' landThavi ^n T! ° '^°'" *''* '*°*» ^°^ that our such as may come t« .r^ '»*™t8 may be encountered. Imptrial Prtfgrmtial Tradt Wart kn»« ♦h-lTi ■ettlen now flocking into our their produce than cln l^hU T ^ * '*'*^** '•" 'o' -good. Similar factTMw^ha?. •"^"^ •*•** J"* then, we mav *rfn5* 7 "* *"** countries. While, *7 '*^*'*«n tne Britiah consumer ■ufTera win tw> ♦k- Pnm a Canadtan Point of Viem sr «• roroie pMt three^nurten of « century Again, the ideal of beoominir the mn.r^ «# ♦k »_ . h oonetantlj held np to o2 ^♦fl ^ *•' **•• "^P*" »*y luve the p.tIenoe to My ttaTa^v ^^ 'w ""' °" •'"'•'' flnda himielf able to ^J^* ^ v "^ <2anadian who •/**• ^vir., or wrtT^r/s^'r^^erri?^^:?''^ '•*• in U. Doubtleu. for all tim. 1 ■•"^■"*P<««°« "hare «re«tae« had thoM bucolic barbLilM ftii^/ ^v °^ ■upplied the city wlth^fnT T! ?" "*® "^"^ ''^^ which the bMt m.*i7.# mtlmate contact with "««ry in its cosmopolitan intercourse with the ImptrUa PrtftrtnHal Trad» Jr«J»t~««» of tht world. BatauuMlt.Mth.«««. to tt. ^«rS ^ " •" ~""*^ «•' " "-^IttlT B u* oovm of tiao, moat of tht «itMi»iiiii« mm*. I!^^ tato the coantry wUl latrt It SSZtS!?^**™ bucolic riui^rT ^^*"' P"P°^"«» ft*" «to jn^of the Emplw? To thi. the u.,ili^Jt«S?; ^t^K™*^ be fa.ar«| • complete ^^r,^ ^ within her own Empire, and thai eyold^i ITn ^ y* «»^y '» complete free tr»d* w^toln the Empire, but, In and thwuirh It ^ ftT ^ /»#«*/ with the world. Stm In « v«^!fli , ^* ****** inn. least of *ii7i..* "® °»*°*»*»«ry ©f the New Imperial- ^c^ of Z^^l "'"?'^ '"™ *>' " whlch,^de^