rt^ 6t lifty yeftrs
ago, that at jQiat time there was, iiistead of prosperity as is,domm<^nly
supposed, a con diti<^n of the utmost depression in the at the expense of otheil
interests. (Hour, hear.) Now, Sir, I reinember very well when John
Bright, George Thompson, Richard Cobden, and ouier great men of
that timi^ had the far-seeing eye of statesmen to observe the disastrous
J6
io
thou
'inflnenoeii Vhioii were tnn^ to rettilt within a dompairatively short perioKl
tf tW^laWs werecas3ing attentipu
Uifthe'SubjeoL:' ' .i;;;^!' .,.' ■ , cydsii'^^'ii's
'^ . w !Pro|eetlv« anil Savenno Systems Compaared In Bnglandb
Now, Sir, wages at the time that the Corn- Laws Were in force in
England Were at the Very point of starvation^ I recollect very well
ivhuii tho OireliAMy f arni labourer had tb b^ oontOnted in Great Britain
with i^l^ui a^,s|ViUii)g *4*y.' V'^<^^??*i,*'^*^ when some improve-
uiehityas ji^i)d^.t^^t on^lsiiilling and sixpence a day was Uibitghl^
i<^ ^. a ;ji^oo^ V^fi ij' F^^-^^^^ , ^^^1^ tl^f iiands ' Omployed by the
^noiiUuris^ ttr^rQ^'u^ if ;he we^tlj^kid when th^y Were getting
4(9 \^ ^W^^' 'V^V ^^''i Pw^,'* '^^V^ i recollect tiie time when'
i^ucha^b^j.siicK as nias^ and other arti-
ficers 'lifiiV^ be' content with from threepence to fouTponce per hour.
Nv^ th^y thiiik tlieh(ielves ill paid 'if* they dd hot have from eight
Eii^ahd. This shows l^ow.
nibchahic and to the Ed^<
' 'the 'o^in'4ry fai^ ser-'
easily obtain £24 per
iU|^)(im Wild his up^^^ while formerly, witfiin tho m'emttry of many of
those I aiii now attiiressin^ and Vithin niv' own.
. . T, , «. , ,^ , he onlyobtttinei'
l6,.' AV]|]ia.t wWth^ state'of the workihgihan as to IMging, as tO, the'
iiioiUis' of ittjiiin^^^^ ^,to the ineanii of obtairiitig a
f.i^r Oiliicaiiuri for'^his'cJiild^ren')'. ThO ri^st'rictiye laWs Whibh so long
llel<|l'i;he^,wWjkihginaii in^ oompHrative subjection left him
i^Iku, ^ a i^eheral thiii^ in Snglahd, without the means of education
It js'tn^^^t^^V'^^otl^^ England and Ireland^
tlf]i0re 'W'as', a in<^r0 tibe^ s^stoiii ^f education, but I speak of the
goiitir^'|fi1^at^^tor of the npearis thi^onghoUt Qre|a,t Britain that were
tlie(n at the'disposal 'olT a uiah with a faiifiily ^or bbtainihg a fair ele-
liientary eiliicatioii ior his chilLifui^ All thisj I say, i^as the result of
KM evil system of liegislation, discriminating against, laijour and in
fuvoui' of the landlord and capitalist. At the time whun KichardCobden
^'
■"•■-■^
■
■■;
.-.L.
^„-,^
i-i >
began hit ?TUsade against the Corn Laws it wat. finaly believed by
every landlord that if tho»e laws were repealed, if the people obtained
cheap food, if bread weve admitted free into ICngland, the result
would be the ruin of all wtio fMrnaed and owned the, $qiJ, , ,, .
A Voice- What has that to do with Qana4a|i .. "Ui. ; fir+Y'p t ii.
Hon. Mr. Mack«mzib — I am illpstrating ivom Eng^di iuiitbiy
what would happen under a similar system in Gan^Mia., (Hear;, he^r,
and cheers ) 1 am reJfeijting to a stfitejof thiiiga f^rom ^ wj^ch we ^avf);
happily eacaped. The landlord — ^the gEfmir land. .()wner-Tt^nrietors of lands, and the tenants upotiitlvpse lan(U ; jB!>pd at
this mduient we have the wonderful fact presented to us that as ,the
whole population of England only fifty years [ago ibeliev^lthift the^rji
oKiatence as a nation depehded upon having EoiilslMi for iMi^ J^n^T^i^h^^ ^
m«n, anduotwithstandiiig that we have, tbe.falWyr^f that vieyr proved j
froiu the history of England since, we heat some p«0p^ here. £^ayufg tlu^t
w« must have Canada for'the Oanadians. ! ^ijtV'the v#ry piome^t tlia,t.
the protectionist laws , were repealed the country;. took a,,b^nd,fur'4)
wiard; It} increased in^ wealth at si ratid fiVeor six times ^ArgTiB^^ <^
thatat which it increased previously. The, ixtdttairial: clashes at o^^c^)
received better pay, the farmers became more rpiK>$perQUs,> the l^td-.v
owners have received t^iits not then dreamt.of, tiuie n^aauf^urers per;,
cxme more wealthy, and we^ have the most abun'liant eyidenee Qn
every hand, of the material value ci£< that systeiu of liiSQal legislation
which we advocate in Canadsi iiqder tke^iiaine ot- a r«tenue,ti)riJ^. We
liave in this <»untry at the preseht inomentno idea.of haviiig a sytstein
of free troila ^o one has ever proposed that. W'M^ we M've p^Of
posed is to have a tariff that will raise a revenue suiSicient lor the wnnia
of the country, and not for anything else. liCbSi. nearly all articles
manufactured tuere is now aiv import duty which is soihigh,iis to^jt/e
ali.iout protectioiiiiit and any further impost woidd result.in ^ decreased
revenue. But what the pvotectiohisti in principle waats is, that we
should not only pay a tax to the Idtate for the maintenance and exe*erything that relates to human pro-
gress is moMt n&rked. "thtiy iiua^e themselves indeed to be far ahead
of Britain and British dependencies in that respect.- I do not admit
that any suptololity of th^ kind belongs to them. (Heivr, hear.) But
I do assort it onoe that they are on a footing of ^perfect equality with
us in that 'particular. (Hear, hear.) They have the same bound-
less capacity and at^ on it fofiting of equality, to say the least, as to
the means of making labour productive^ and the production of all great
nattiriBkl resoiirceii legislative power |and upon ^
the Gbvemmeht' of' Uie country^ an^ the * result of that was
the enactment of luWB which letied duties that were prohibitory in
their character^ ais it^i»4Ui ut'teifl|y iin{^OBsible for auy foreign country to •
send articles into 'th»'7nitedf States Which persons in tl^e United States \
wer6 capable of producing. The people of the United States were
not, of Courte, able t(^ exclude siUc goodsy certain qualities of woollen
goods, and some other art cles which, owing to diciate or other rea->
sorls w*erb beyond the power )f even a prohibitory tariff to affect. Kow,
we propose to sh6w yon \ / aotudi facts ihat it was, impossible for '■
them to do two thini^ at once in the manner that they thought they
could'^that is, by means of a prohibitory tariff to supply the entire
home market with ail the manufar-tuved articles requited and at the
same time send "goods to foreign countries to compete in their markets. ,
What is said by some of our manufacturers is this, '* Give us enough
protd«ition to get our manufactores fairly established, and we will then
be able to Compete with 'foreigners and to maintain entire control of
our home markets." Well, Sir, let us look at the result of such a poUcy
in the United States. After ten years of protection they succeeded in
a«quiriUg a firetty large amount, of manufacturing power and produc*
tivteess. By the censui of 1870 walearn that the goods Bi{knufa<^U£ed
.-,>.
13
lU
r
^y
in the United States amounted in value to $4,232,625,000, or about in
round numbers $4,250,000,000. They had at thi« time arrived at the
greatest degree of prosperity which they ever, em joyed, and from
thenceforward there was a steady decline. In 1876 tho amount of
their manufactured goods had fallent— that is, in €ouv years — to the ex-
tent of $732,000,000, the entire production being e^timo^ted at 3,500,-
000,000, while thd entire export of manufactured goods from tho
United States in 1876 was $69,500,000, as nearly as possible only two
per cent, of the entire amount of their total production, showing that
they were utterly unable to compete in foreign . markets with any
considerable staple manufactures of the country. Now let us taJco
one or two instances to illustrate; the relative positiioi^ of trade in the
United States under different tariff systems. Xn.J.876 the entire pro-
duce of her iron manufactures was aa nearly as may bo $100,000,000.
The total exports of that production amf^j^t^d only to $688,012, or
eleven-sixteenths of one per cent, of the entire produce of their
manufactures, and most of this amount even was sent out at a loss in
consequence of the distressed manufactivurer||being con^pelled to realize.
This showed that they were utterly unable to computet in. the nfiarkets of
the world with English and other majuufacturers .who had ho protec-
tion whatever to sustain them. Xet us take next, the isoollen manu-
factures of the United States. They had a protection of something like
60 per cent, through the greater portion of the period from 1860 to
1876. Tho total amount of their produce in 1876 was $184,000,000,
while their exports only reached the figure of $685,828, and at the
same time they were compelled to admit woollen products from foreign
countries that th^ protection did not enable .them to manufacture
themselves to the extent of $47,676,065. In }8'.' o the United States
manufacturers of clothing made altogether goods to the value of $160,:-
000,000, and they exported altogether $579,595 worth, ox almost ex-
actly one-third of one per cent, of their total product. , Tfp: such a state
were the manufacturers of the United States reduced that they were
utterly unable to saud a particle, almost of their whole product to
foreign countries, while England, and oth^P l^ountries which had
dither entire free trade or a revenue tAvifi,, we|:e able tp ^end their
goods to Asia, to the West Indies, to thA;3puth. America liepublics,
to Africa, to the East Indies, and to alv^oat ,etyery,civiliz€(4 i^^tion on
the globe, and cdmpletely to shiit out thjB American n^ai^ufacturer
from the trade of the world. There a»*e, qoim.e before me, whio will also
remember the restrictive laws which 'JMffec;te(;li the ^hips qf Great Britain.
At one time, within the memory of vory many wl>f>are present, Eng-
land prevented any foreign ships fvQiH beiing l^r^ng^it ^to th^ country
and also prevented them from coiiyvuj,' ui^y po^ti-v;,-/' *ho mei^chandizo
of Great Britain coastwise. .. iji 44.,,;, in i,M!>MV>MM ^'i i4(H.r« i*i.^ i,imm
,Iminofliate and tntlmiiie 'S^e'^^uW '^t ^btWuoJiJ ' ivl<'Mh.o]gaia,it''0f RemoTins Bestrtotlona.' '
I vir^s abo\it tq^speakof the ejsport^^d import of certain articles of goods
to puo.Uttle Sitate in '^q^1;|ic America, Yenesuela, as an illustration. In
1870 the eifiire import i^iiu . export trade with the United States
amounted to $8,345,00^. {'.The principal exports from Venezuela
consist of coffep, and raw: , hidei?. The United States had a large
duiiy. ^pon, both of th^se articles, but la 1870 they admitted
ooffefa free of duty into the United States, and they also ad-
mitted hides, the result was an immediate increase in the
tra^Ie in these artiil^lcs. tn 1376 the imports alone from Venezuela
wejTeofthe value c»l" $5,870, 00t>, and the exports ^,424,000, or an in-
crease of 260 per cent, as compared with 1870. Then in 1872 there
was a still further pr.cf of the beneficial effects of a reduction of duties
from the protectioniat standard. In 1870 the entire shipping trade
16
mth Yeu<)zuela. omouu^cd to fifteen vosseU of only 2,570 tons capaoi^y, ,
employing onlyil09 hand^. In 1876, after only four yean of oom-'
parativ 6 free trade, the ships froni the United States engaged in that
V
00
tons as against 2,000 in the same period, and employing 1,255 hand^
as against 100. Another still wore conclusive argument, however, ia , '^*.
to be found in the figures relating to the manufacture and the export J^
of tanned leather. In 1872 hides wero, made free, and in that year the j-^
entire exports of tanned leather from the United States amounted to V
$2,864,000, while in I'St^, af^ier four years of free trade in this one :
art icle they had risen to $7,94.0,000, or very nearly 1^,000,000 as against
§2,750,000 four years before. Nothing could show more clearly than '^
this the beneficial effeetg of removing the restrictions from trade.
Export Trade as a Tb«t of Prosporlty; ' T"^"^^\f^ ^
..V Now, Sir, one of the test$ by which we are boimd alwi^ys to gauge,
the prosperity of a country v^ the amount of goods which it is able to,
sell to other countries, ju well, as the amount of goods its people are
abl,e to consume themselves. It is supposed, for instance, by many
that Great Britain lives entirely by her foreign irade, while the most
recent financial authorities in Britain compute the entire profit of
British producers and capitalists at'£l,400,000,000 per anniun — ^that
is, the profits arising from the interest derived from investments in
railways and from foreign,: bonds, as well as the profits of the manu-
facturers in the country, and goods which are consumed in it — ^in otheiTr ]
words the income of the country. But the entire amount.ojf the |,)
foreign trade — ^that is, the export of goocls to foreign pans — last year .^.^
was o-nly £200,000,000 sterling, or exactly one-seventh part of tlie vj
whole, and th&t figure included goods shipped which had been im* ^^
ported in a raw state. Mj^. Bf^cter ef^ates the raw materifil re-ex- ,v,
ported at about £60,000,000. ilS'ow, Sir, the tJnited States exportation V^j
in 1875-6 altogether of dpmes^c produce was $525,582,247 worth in gold,. ^|
or an average per-capita of ;||13.80 ; Canada ex|)orted during that same ^ ^
year, with less than an eleventh of their population, $72,491,437 worth, ^ t
or an average rate of $18 48 per. head, against $13 80 per head in the J,,
United States, (Choirs.) And to shQw that this was not at tdl an^a
exceptional year, let,us take the next y6ar, viz., 1876-7, whenthe,|«,;
exports from C^inada had somewhat decreased, and the exports from^j
the United States had son^ejwhat increased, in consequence of their :w
indebtedness in foreign bountries. A huge amount of exports is not )j^
always a true measure of the i^ospenty of a country, on the contrary
it may be a true indication of its commercial distress. A farmer who ^
is deeply in debt is often tiholiBr the necessity of providing fdr that'
debt by selling more of his stock than he can well part with, and to^^
that extent he diminishes the productive power of his farm ; fort
instance, if he tries to d6 With five horses what he requires six to dO'*'*
properly, in order that he may sell the sixth to pay intierest oh a debt^ '\'
he indeed shows a^ate^ amount of sales in the year, but it is et ^^"*
expense of his prosperiti^. tVell, Sir, the United States during tiie^^
year ending June 30/ lS77, exported of domestic products, in goW*^^^*
value, $589,620,224 worth, or at an average per head of $12 66; *'
Canada exported during that year — and you all remember that the '^^
f rear 1876-7 was one of nibst unexampled depression, unexampled af^
east since the yfear 1857 — the very worst year we had — to the amount ^^
I.'
r'v
r •■'
Vr
i
B
r
t
r
I-'
>
t:
I
i
^■■;
rli
■I
of $68,030,546 or an average of $17 SO per llead, being in axeesi of
the United Statei exports at the rate of $5 '4^ per head. (Cheen.) M
• 'A Voice— How much did we buy 1 ■ ' ■ >' v
•***' Hon. Mb. MAtixifci^ztis— W^ Ubnj^ht nothihttVe have not been abl«
to pay for. (H^af, hear.) I h^tire 4 tabU mi^ showing the entire
ekports Of mantifkctnlred ^obd(( fifom i!he fehU 1'960 to the year 1876
^from the TJnited' States. They^^:spoiH;6d in tijiat year, when they had
only a revenue tariff such as'^fe nkVe now— 4hat is in 1860— with a
population of little over thirty-one millio/nM, $316,242,423 or as nearly
aJi possible $10 per head. Nowj it^ v^as 'Verted that with protection
to enable manufacturers to^ accompUah a coinplete eBtabluhment of
their business the prbduction of the couiitry would be so increased
that they would be abl^ to fl6od f breign' markets Wit^ their produce.
Well, Sir, what was thjd; result? In 1870, after ten years of a
protection period the '^i^oi^s of xnaiittfacturfed coodS had decreased to
$7 67,pdrhe^,' tothat ajs' |)Tt>tecticlh'^Vkncedthe ei^ports of cools
decreased, and it Was oiiljjr after "1871, Irh^^ii a Seriotis tod cObtinuons
stti^ation of business set in, and theiiianufacturers 61 the United
States were compelled to sell at ariy ptiees which cduld be realized;
when they Were compelled kb Sell in ordeie to ' jJay th^it debts and pre-
vent their manufactories and niipls being 'shut up, that there was^a
slight rally in the raitio df ' the es^jioirt' dr matiufactifred goods. And
aven in 1876, when the^ W6re sehdiri^ goods Intd this tountry and
into other countries' at prices far below theif -valuei it only reached
$11 60 ; while in fti^e Canada in thttt same y^a'r W6 eibeeded them by
$P 88 per head. (GheiETS.') -i-
MM;)
■.u'j'
1*4
ElliBct'ttf Ptotodtion on the : worlclas VOMMeii '
«-'7f
r '>
But 1 do, noi f prget; that ,1 am addres^^g, , workiqgTo^n. I do not
forget that I have ris^ to the po8iti<;>i^J^,x]^Qw: occupy from thfi ri^iks
of the workipgrnjonu. , I ha^e dqx^^i^j.fWiJ?^^^ 9^c th^L^a^d work of
this world. (Cheers). , But I lfo^ld be'^rr^ indeed to see amongst
my fellow-country wen sucli an abseiipe of thought and intelligence as
would induce them to adopt a system whichi coiild only result in beg- '
gary an4, serfdom, (Che,er8^. Wha]^ does^t matter, to you working-
men wjiether you are in sii^jection/to somei tyrj^it who doles put to you
what hei pleases 'i^ Tirs^gi^s,, ',or whether yoi^S'i^f). under th,e ty^nny of
laws which prevent ypu buyihg Where you pt^ase ahd.,,8e|liag where
you like I ' (Cheers). That is tjie poii^t w^ havp tq eo^ne to, What
w{|a the cdndition ^ tli'.^^h. this fact simply
stated .irp^d aeeuf tqfjbeai' 9W'lthe pppp^sitici^jtha^ protejajbion is bene-
ficial tp '|th(^ laj^uri^ , JifiiB(^. ^ But, , -w}^}^ ih^/ rate jot waees the price
of materiaia vpse in f^ p,^ kigl^er ratio. (Hear, hear.) Bents rose in
a )ftill higher r^tio— every wing that it was necessary for the workingman
,to ^ayct-rreyexythii^g that was ponducivsi ta his health and livelihood
—rose in the p^portipn o(,02 peV cent., a», aeajnstthe 60per pent, ihat
wages rose. (Hearj hear.) ' It does not matter to you or me whethex
IB
our wages are a dollar or a ■hilling if the price of oommoditiea oorrea*
ponds. Why, Sir, one hundred and fifty years ago a shilling would go
further in England than two will now. and if it took $1.02 to bnv what
/atdy $14Q was given to purehase, the labouring nan, as vou will see,
w^w in 187^ 32 pe.r cent, worse off than he wan bef pre the protection
era conunenoed. But what is th^ stat^ of matters now 1 From 1870
down to 1877 there has been a steady declinature of wagei^ in the
United States, and at this moment the United Stages labourer and
artisan gets less wagea than the Canadian labourer and artisan — posi-
tir^^ly. les§ in amount, and very far less in the purchasing power of
thait amount. *
ji)t,;. .. ' r( . Cheap Living • KeoeMtty.
'■ If you. desire to protect a particular indlus^ you must either pro-
tect aU other, industries at the same time, or you take a pourse unjust
to the peopjie ; and if yon protect all industries alike^ that means
raising prices .universally hxi^t. not making the people one whit better.
liJrhavei to go to the butcher and pay him 15 cents for What I
bou);;ht Wore for ten, what does it benefit me if my wages are five
cents an hpur m< re 1 Depend upon it the best policy for any country
is one (Under which you raise simply the amount of taxes that is neces-
sary to c^ry on the affairs. of the State ; not oi^e which rer^uires thp
cdmmiihity to pay taxes to any mumlber of it, but one wh^uh makes the
countrv as cheap a country as possible to live in. (Hear, hear.) For
it is where there is a cheap livelihood for the workingmon that the
workingman is the Ujiost prosperous. Sir, these gentlemen speak Ipudly
about protecting our industries. What doQa protecting our industries
mean 1 They talk. Sir, about being the friends of the workingman,
those who are thus clamouring to get you to put your necks in the
noose, and to accept a pplicy whigh would be utterly fatal to your hap-
i^ihess and '|(>rospwity and to the welfare and prosperity of the country
Off ^hicih eVer^r workingman is a unit. (Oheers). , -'^
- 'UtkreaaonabXeneM «r Froteotionist Bevuaidlt' , " ' * "^^
■ '""^'lliet us take a glance at the effect of even the existing tariff upon
tlie productions of thci country. You are aware that boots and
shoes are made extensively in Canada, and you are also aware that the
duty upon that article is 17^ per cent. So far as we are able to tell,
the census of 1871 being taken as the authority, the value of tho boots
and shoes manufactured in Canada, in 1870 was $16,133,638. Kow, Sir,
in'?$76-7. ther6'were imported into Canada altogetiier of boots and
shoes of ticvery kind only $302,671 worth, or less than the fiftieth ^art
ctf the total nkanufaotore of the country. But, then We actually ei-
ptirted'frbm th6 ootintry in that yekr $196^710 worth pf bo6ts and ishoeis
leaving a difference of only $106,96 1 between our imports aiad eJcpbrtlB
of that article. Now, how much is this, do.yoa^nk, ainong ihe en-
tire population of this country) It is the merest i>ossible fractioi^
qr exactly two pents and sixty-five hundredths of a <^nt per head,
^en we will take the article oi househotd fimiiture^ahd I f eel par-
tibitlarly intecrested iuthat item in the city ot Tdr^nto, becausia a well-
known old friend' of itnine, a manufacturer of ft^hiitur^, is ixo'W in the
field as a political cahdidate, land I am sure that Mr. Ht^ will gite me
credit for sincerity when I state that I would be Sorry to sajr oiie word .
which would jar upon his feelings in speaking of anv matter affecting
th6 political position of himself or his friends. But, Sir, we cahnbt
shut oul: eyes t6 the fact^that Mr. Hay, has been a laosi prosp^raus
II.
«' >
19
i«.
i^.
manufacturer and he is not ashamed to ask us to pay him more. We lind
that the entire product of the country in the year 1870— and it has vory
much increased since— is put at something over $3,600,000 in fumituie;
and the entire imports of furniture for last year amounted to $283,1)80
while we exported $143,506 worth, leaving a total diiference between
our exports of furniture and our imports of $140,384 — or as near as
possible 3i -^ents per head. (He^r, hear.) LA yet. Sir, Mr. Hiiy
assumes that we are ruining his business because we don't give him
more than 17^ per cent of protection. For every dollai's worth of
goods that he manufactures the country pays him 17^ cents premium,
and yet he wants more, although tiie entire consumption of the country
is almost wholly manufactured in Canada. !No matter what duty
may be imposed, special articles will always be imported for particular
uses. Let us consider other branches — the stove trade for instance.
Any of you who know who the stove-makers of Canada are, any of you
who choose to viuit the vast establishments q§ Mr. Oumey and other
manufacturers, will be slow to believe that they are pursuing a very
ruinous trade. I recollect that in 1874, when the tariff was revised,. X
had repeated interviews with many of those manufacturers. They
wanted a higher duty to save themselves the trouble of applying
their brains to find out means of improving the machinery for tlie
carrying on of their manufactories, and they wished for protection to
enable them to siend out what would be an inferior article at an in-
creased cost to the people. Now I say that the position of Mr. Hay
and Mr. Gnmey and, generally speaking, of the manufacturers ui the
country is not one of isolation from profit When I tind thuv iuen who
commenced life much less than htuf a century ago, now count their
gains and their properties by hundreds of thousands, I am slow tu
believe that the business that they have been following is a ruinous
one. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) With regard to the manufacture of
boots and shoen, I have the word of some of the manufacturers of
these articles that they do not want any more protection, so that
trading dishonest politicians are only using the names of these manu-
facturers under a false assumption.
A Voice. — Not a bit. fiii,nfiui>>
Hon. Mr. Mackbnkib. — I am perfectly aware that some large
manufacturers of those articles have within the last few years failed in
busineBs, but they did not fail because their proper business was not
paying. If the manufacturer invests in real estate when it is at $1 a
foot, and has tp sell it afterwards at 60 or 60 cents a foot, and fails in
hi!s botit ktid shoe trade in consequence, his failure is not to be attributed
to the difficulties surroimding his manufacturing trade^ hut to neglect-
ing his ima line of business to follow one that he knows nothing about.
I am speaking, Sir, witlv the knowledge of individuals ; 1 1 know the
facts, attd I could put my fingers upon the nameaof. gentlemen whose
experiences I have ju<>t indicated. There is not at this moment a boot
and Bh6e maker who will be able to show to the country— it is impos-
sible to shohlr It^-^that he is not well paid for his capital It cannot be
otherwise^ because out of the entire consumption, of the tountry in^
boots and shoea we don't iittport mora fhaxx one fiftjr-third or one iEtftyt-:
fourth part, and that shows that they are able to'derive. profit from
their business. I do notst idl mean to say that it would not be pos-
sible, to tinact laws to make ua pay more for our boots and ahoes ^an
we ai^e paying now. and to make the manufactuvws of boots and shoes
20
better off; that eould easily be done, but it woold merelr benefit the
manufacturer, being at the same time a heavy tax upon all the rest of
the people, though ultimately sure to result in injury to the manufao*
turers. Take another illuetratioii. Yon have heard of the ruinoua
effects of a protective policy upon the cotton mitta of the United
States. In 1874-5 (the first year of our eoieting tariffX ^* entire im-
portation of bleached and unbleached cottons ii^o Canada was $2,663,-
476 ; during tiie last financial year the entire importation of the same
class of goods was $1,308,361. Now, I happen to know that manufac-
turers of cotton are able to make a fair profit — a better profit than
manufacturers of many other kinds of goods in the country at the pre-
sent moment. Here is a proof of it : — Our wholesale dealers have men
able to purchase in the home maiiket cheaper than they could import
and pay seventeen and a half cents perr dolkr.duty in addition. This
shows that these manufacturers have a fair degree. of prosperity. It
may be quite true that i%!Would be desirable to see them and all other
classes in the country molse a better proUt than the^ have been able to
do, but so lent; as they reap a! reasonable profit m times of general
trade depression no one has fair grounds of .complaint. Now, the en-
tire importation of cotton goods 'a 1874-6 waaa shade v^er $10>000,-
000, whiJ^ the entire impoitatioik in, 1877 was only a ahade over $7,-
760,000, or a decrease of nearly $2,260,000. In> most oases when manu-
facturers of cotton or woollen goj>da havegome und^ it is because they
have not conducted their business ptoper^, because there has. been an
attempt made by some of the manufacturers to run on several lines of
goods at the same time instead of giving uheir attiintion tt^one. We
know that many manufacturers who have failed m the country have
made bhinders both as to their >motivie> poww and the loca tion of their
works, and in many other resx)ects which we have not time to consider,
blunders which successftil maniifaoturers escape ; but WQ capnot see
because people have been unsttcceseful in creating or locating their
manufactories, or in conducting them afterwards, that the country is
bound to pay for their want of skilly or their persistence in pursuing
a course in commoncing their works which every practical man would;
condemn. i.' ^. ../ .o)/ A
■ A VoioB.-^What proportiooof cotton bamefrom the United States ?
' Ho37. MB.'|bfAC!iKBir2iE.~>I cannot tell 'exactly where it was im-
ported from^tmt that is : of nb consequenee. There is one Slass oii
cotton goods imj^orted froia England, another from the United States, i
and another dasd is manufactured chiiafly in Ganada. g You livill find'
that foreign manufacturers of cdtton goods: produce a lund lOf. article
which it will not pay: our own people te makey because they wouldi
have to spend the same amciunt of labour on an inferior cltMsa.of goods
that they niow expend on superibr goods. ,1 merely: £^ve th0 results of
the trade in vindication of the position : I hare taken-^that , the tariff;
we have is a very reasonable tarii£ fori all manufacturers, land a some^,
what onerous one in tiie prices which it involves to all the consumers.^,
li ctinnot beidenied thatt if thb consumco^ of this country pa^ 17^ pe;ita. ^
for ^very dollar's worth they ipurchaBe> th^y pay very mffi ind^d for/
the protection to the manufacturer of evef^ ) tib»gle class t^ gP9d4 VUki
tlus country. (Hear; hiear)^. i. ,v,.ij ,t;..n ^^iod^mij htmjvit dniml
^ ' Koir', iSit*, I may say^ that if the United' States is to be taken as a >
fait bxixttple of a country' haVuig a protective' s^stem-«-andit must be^
't k "
tK
\. ?
31
.-.. i. .
IV
for it Is the only SngUah speaking country in ilis worlil-the only
country, I uiuy say, of any kind which has deliberately adopted as n
matter of principle a protective tariff —the resnlt is the deatmction of
their manufactures, the closing of their mills, indeed the failure of
many of their manufacturers. But it is said, *' Look at the number
of failures in Canada." Canada, mtist, no doubt, suffer in common
with all countries at a time when trside is severely depressed over th* i
whole world ; but during the fiiftt quarter of the present year the
failures in the United States were ;984^00O,00O, as against $60,000,000
in 1870,: while we had of failures during the last three months nine
millions against 7^ millions in 1876 — lowing the proportion of fail-
ures with the United States was at least' as large as the proportion of
failures in Canada. Now it is stated on the other hand that the ;
United States manufacturers are, to a great extent, dependent upon
foreign capital, and that the*r failures are caused by a lack of capital
in the country. This is a great mistake, and it is shown to be a mis-
take by this fact — that you can get money in New York at the preseut
time upon good security at three to five per cent., and we know that
the United States have within the last nine months sold to their own
citizens nearly 100 millions of bonds which only yield an interest of
four per cent. The fact is that the utter allure of the manufactures,
of the country to pay dividends to their stockholders has induced the t
capitalists of that country to \(rithhold the abundant capital which
they possess from investment in that way ; and they are investing it
in any way which will binng to them a reasonable amount Oif intHieat^ j
combined with absolute security against JOBS. 'f
■irv,-
Tbe Coal and Salt Tiix.
i Lot us now
of goods into this
in 1877 a total imp „_ „, ,^„_,„,-^ —^ ,t - l , .
698,963. Of the importatipn of products, of the p^ine the chief item—'
the item which compri/ses almost the wQole amount— wak coal. The'
importation was 972,692 tons, with a valuauoii of $3,660,000. Now, '
I would like to know froi^ my friei^d.^...Hay if he is favourable to a
tax upon coal-r-(hei^ heai?).-T-i| l^ei mieypa,, or if any one believes,^
that a tax upon the coal wh^ch lyeoise to^li^t pur household Grei, tti^|
keep our muiufactoriea goipgj an4 run ,o]iir, ra^ways and it^amers, is^
likely to benefit the industries of, thw coiintry i ("No, no.") In
addition to this it jif ,kfK>wn that ,coal is a pi^uue necessity for our
great railways, thereby faQiUtaiut.gfiudcheapeningl the transport of
the productions of the couni^rylivfu ,the .interior to the seaboard, and
it would, therefore, in this case,,l)ei oneo^ the, most serious mistakes
that could be made to tax thia^ mineji-^Ji plWuct. t^^o, Sir, it is not
contended that it wouJLd benefit th» '^untry, ap,d no Ministry that eyet
lives will dare to impose a tax upon me of ihp first necessarios of life.
(Great cheering.)., Another princiipejl item is that of salt. Of thal^
article we imported last year thr^e millJioiis of l^ushels. Now we have
vast deposits of salt.ii^ Canada, ami ^ would no doubt b6 beneficial to'
the Ontario salt producers to prohibit the importation uf salt, which
comes to the Maritime Provinceift almost i^i^tirely from iEngland. But,
on the other hand,: to do this would l^e to deprive our fishermen of
the means of cheaply preserving the product of their industry : and
when I say that our exports of fisSi last year amounted to $5,874,300
23
yoii will aeo thai to itnpoae such a dwij m would prevent the import
<>{ Hult would oulv be ruining one interest by promoting another in-
terest. Suit, with our finhermen and meat ourert ii a raw material.
TlM Tmm OB InmM&r mad lAw Itoek.
Of products of the forest there were imported into Canndn last year
91 ,326,078 worth, and we exported to the amount of 923,GUu,.'i87. Doos
anyone beliere— unn anyone in his senses believe — that we oould raiiie
t lie nrice of lumber to the lumber dealer by imposing a duty upon an
Mt'ticle that we practically do not import at all i (what is imported is-
iit special qualities such as Walnut and Mahogany to Mr. Robt. Uay —
ami some common lumber for tke convenience of localities n6ar the
2 rentier having none of their own.) The thing would be im-
possible. Then let us take animals and their produce. Of those we
importod last year to the amount altogether of about six million a and
II half in i\)und numbers, while we exported fifteen and a hulf millions,
showing that we were able to export two and a half times the amount
we importe harvest
Wj^ have had for some year8| thoujzh not so prodiiotive a one as we
'■ ^ ■" !?. '-Mv '■• i^, ^■iii' t. iJt*J t«ki iki ki'i-'M . " ■■■■■' 1
f'
1
^
t'
V 1 1
t^;
>
23
MpeoUJ to reap. For tfi« nine monlKt ^mng tho Slit of Mansh, #¥
imported ftU(»^iher tll,074, 46A worth uf the products of the furm — '
tlmi is, of grmn end flour — and we exported during the Mme period
820,807,017 worth, or very nearly $10,000,000 more than we imported.
Now, i:>ir, what waa thia used for 1 We imported it aa a miitterof trade,
iind that trnue givea employment to our vesiela and ateamahipa. We
have tivo diitinot liiiea of ateamihina, sailing from the port of Montreal
to the European porta, vhile the United States, with forty->eight mil-
lions of peonle, are able to maintain only one Unovonaisting of bul
four steamships. (Hear, heir, and loud cheers.)
A VoioE— Would a duty stop that trade 9
Hon. Mr. Maoxxnzib,— I hear a gentleman enquire if h duty
would stop that trade. Undoubtedly it would. The plhcinff of a duty
on grain and flour is much like a man who haa made a roaa td faoilf*
tute tiiivel between the place where he lives and thi town'wheito hi
does his marketing, and then for fear h^ idiOuld get there' ido easily,'
after the road is graded and levelled, he goes to work ahd outa three
or four ditches across it. (Hear, hear.) These pedple ar^ afraid- that
our capitalists who establisn the steamship lines which take! thepro^
ducts of the Western States through Canada tp the ocean should be
able to take these products aa well as our own tbo eastly ; and they
would have iis to place Custom House officers at Windiot and Samia.
an^ on the Welland Canal and at the outlets to the ocean, who should
sao^ to these shippers " You should not use our avenues of trade unlesa
you also use our Custom-'houses, and give bonds to us that the vessels
will be returned. ** They would have, us place obstacles in the way of
a trade that employs thousands of our saiiors'and artisans every year.
No greater act of madness could be perpetrated at a tilne when we ar«
expending $30,000,000 in perfecting and making complete our system
of canal navigation, than to go to work and erect a huge fence along
our, boundary line and thus prevent these foreigners from ffiving ua
i\kiiir trade The Americans ruined their foreign t^ade by a^pt-
iuL' the protective isystem and we ore invited to follow their example !
Heor^huar, aud loud cheers.)
t "> '•OaBAda ler the CanadlMW,'*
If they moan by a protective system that we are to reetrict oiir trade,
that we are to livb by ourselves without oomimercial intercourse* with
the outer world, then. Sir, I can understand what tiiese gentlemen
mean when they speak of " Canada for the Canadians.'' They might
p well say that that well known genUeihlin Bobinson Crusoe kept the
Island of Juau f erUandez forhiinself.' ■ (Ijoud laughter and cheers.) In
';^act, Sir, tile very idea of proteef ore he can buy. Look at th e fully
of the United States in this' respect. There are three articles, and
only three, I think, that their iari^ absolutely prohibits the importa-
tion of, and they are spurious coin, obscenia prints, and ships. (Loud
laughter.) They class them tog^th^r'as th^ three artides which they
will not allow op any account to come pto the couritry. All those-
who have been in the Vnited States know that a great deal of spurious
coin is imported, nevertheless, and :4any indecent prints, but they
don't seem to think very much about it. But froin the time that that
country adopted its present navigation laws there has never been a
ship imported into the United States. The]^ passed these laws nearly
one hundred years qgo, when th^used tp weai* the old slouched hats
and small knee-breeches of the ruritanijll a,nd they seem to have for-
gotten that the world has progressed since that time. And what is the
result of )heir foolish policy 1 At thfi present moment there are leaving
the ports of the United States for Europe nearly ] 50 steamships laden
with the produce of the country, and every one of them but four are
sailing under f orei^ flags., (Hear, hear.) Kow, it is not that the
Americans are deficient in mecnanical effort or skill. As a people they
are able to make as good ships as the British are. The best proof of
that is given in the fact that before England repealed her Navigation
Laws, when they were pursuing the old and restrictive system as well
as the United States, the latter were then on equal terms with Britain,
and were fast gaining on the tJnited Kingdom shipping. I do not
know the precise: difference between them, but my impression — speak-
ing from recollection— is that at the time these Lav73 were repealed the
United States were not more than from half a million to a million tons
behind the entire tonnage of the British merchant navy. To-dav Great
Britain has over eight millions tops of shipping, and the United States
have no more than they had twenty years ago, — (hear^ hear), — and
Canada, with four millions of people, and with a seaboard that may be
said to be confined to Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brimswick, and
Prince Edward Island, is fast overhauling the United states, and il
they persist in maintaining theiip re[strictiye system it will undoubtedly
be the case that Canada— small in papulation and weak in developed
resources as she is — will succeed in doing so. (Cheers.)
•-:'iT
Xflbot of Protection on National Bovenuo.
, I am quite sure of one thin^ an^d I believe you are too ; and that
is that our friends the Conservative leaders do not mean what their
k
V
( i.-0tsXf^i^w\ l%tfm '«Cr4f4v*t>i'/>ry-
pki>l>,
25
■ '•;=:'•
speeches seem to indicate on this question. I know it is not possible
for any Goveminent that cotild 'Come into power in this conntryto
adopt a protectionist policy, for if yon eeaiie to raise a revenue by an
impost on articles imported for use into the country you must raise it
in some other way. Kow, the man that goes before the people and
asserts that it would be for the wblfa):e of the country that such duties
shotdd be impose^ as are of a protective character must admit two
things. He must admit in the fir^t place that the object is to stop the
foreign tr&de from coming into the country, for if he does not he will
not enlarge the market of out manutaotures. If he stops Uiese goods
from coming into the couiitry he must admit that he also stops the
duties whidi are levied on these g^oods. The first time you hear one
of these gentlemen spesking of imposing protective duties, ask him
how he proposes to raise a rcjventie. (Hear, hear.) It must be patent
to the mind of every one of you that the effect of a protective policy
would be iii the first place to destroy our revenue, and in the next
place to raise the price. b£ everything the workingmen consumo ; and
when I say workingmen I dmbr&ee thrOtection. Biitlet the elections
"' orAvO be 6vor-^(hear, hear)-^tben, Sir, you will find that Providence
has come to their aid; and given them a good harvest, and they will
say, or a^omething else will bejikid to happen, " The country is not iu
the tome condition now that it was when these men were in. Protec-
i.on then did seem neCessaryj but we think, Upon the whole, we can
set on Vejiy jcomfortably as wo are without it.^' (Hear, hear, and
laaghter.) A pi^rsonal friend of tniiie in thd dty bf Montreal, who is
> Tory strong protectiokiist, w'as Atguing the question with me one
' day, when 1 said to him, ^'Now, 'Mf. 6., will you tell me where you
aro tojget your revenue after you' g^t protection ? " He could not tell
3. ** Well," I said, " you intst levy direct taxation ; yon must send
me.
>
your collectors arouiid^tb collect frOm etery man his share of the talxa-
tion . No\i^ tell riie, Mr. G. , how long wotild a Ministry liye in Quebec
if they adopted that policy i " " WeUi I supposej" he saidi ** about
:-Y
26
I i
twenty-four hours, if Parliament were sitting" — (laughter and cheers)
— and that is the truth ; their existence would not be much longer.
Now, in discussing public matters,, we must have some respect to
reason. There is no objection to the Tories, if they desire it, having
a cry to go to the elections with, but let them take care that it does
not involve consequences so i^erious as those which I have been dis-
cussing to-night. But, Sir,, it ma^ give them the opportunity to act
the part of demagogues, ajad that is to act politicidly a dishonest and
dif;reputable part. Why> what did one of the gentlemen, Dr. Tupper,
say when we proposed tp add a two and a half per cent, to the tariff
in 1874 for the puroose of obtaining revenue enough to meet the wants
of the country. He denounced it with th^ mo|st intense vigor, declar-
ing that he opposed it because it was entering the thin edge olfthe
wedge of protection (hear, hear, and laughter), which we would un-
doubtedly drive into its head at the first opportunity. That, §ir, was
what ha thought immediately after the election. Iiast year "^^ a year
immediately preceding another election, and therefore he foigot the
horror that he had of the wedge of protectioi^ ib 1874 in his desire to
have some political standard which he could 49at with a degiiee of re-
spectaibility above his head in the coming contest. (Cheers and laugh-
ter.) That is simply what this jprotection cry means. There is nothing
more in.it. It is as hollow as it is possible for it to be, anxl nothing
that can be said will ever induce the thoughtful political man tQ iswerve
from the opinion of every Englisyh si^tejsman at the present day. I do
not know oU English statesman at, this moment who would go back on
the policy which the majority in Great Britain were wedded to fifty
years ago. One of the most remarkable speeches made on the subject
lately was that of Sir Stafford Northcote, the present Chancellor of the
Bxchequer. He pointed out in one of his^untry speeches a year and
ahalf ago that no person made a greater mistake than to imft^gine that
itiwas now possible for any great party, or any party at all, in Great
Britain, to advocate a return to a system which, duritig its existence,
had retarded the progress of the country, and against a system which
now so effectually promotes its industries and general prosperity.
-f,vmlxn,i'r''' {>.<^Li;. •Absitrdllgr of ProteotionI«n;-';^'^'-v.''^i U^.^L. ■.
Now, Sir, their theory reduced to a very few words is this— in a
time of commercial depression, which we all admit to exist in a tin^e
when men are poor, the true way to make them rich is to make them
pay more taxes. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) That is the panacea
that il9 prescribed for : all the ills which the country is suffering. It
oarries absurdity on its f&fe, Nothuig could be more ridiculous to a
thoughtful man than a statement that we can make ourselves irich by
taxing t^e commodities which we make and wear. If you tax the
shoemaker's goods for the benefi,t of thj^ linen draper or the tailor, you
must tax the tailor and th^ linen draper to compensate the shoemaker,
and then you will bo so much th9 poorer by tne, sum that it takes to
put this system into operation. (Cries of "Time, time.") In pursuing
the course we have taken we have had every national and social con-
sideration on our side. We are able to point put, deafly and con-
clusively from: the record of the United $tates for the last seven-
teen years, and £rom the record of England from the time that she
acbpted her revenue tariff policy^ the prosperity of the one and the
imiv^rsftlwre^kittidpJWPiwo V/ n,JH -^,1,,^ ^,m h'li^AjJ.-^M h
I
V
>-..
27
oh this continent upon certainly no better footing as to geographical
■and i^aysical considerations than the United States, yet I say that
every class in our community is immensely m. re prosperous at this
moment than the same class in the United States. (Hear, hear, and
cheers.) You will find on al. oui* public works at the present moment
— on the new works on the Welland Canal — that at least one-half, if
not two -thirds, of all the men employed there are Americans, who
have come over because they were unable to find work on their own
side! of the line. (Hear, hear.) Yqu will find also that throughout
i^^e whole, of the United States there are thousands upon thousands of
idle men who are passing through the country creating a state of
terrorism which has had no .example in that country or in England,
simply because the protectionist has ruined ita trade, and there are
millions of people out of employment — a burden upon the rest of the
country. It has depressed their agricultural industry and limited
their power to buy goods from the manufaoturer. All these goods are
made in such a way and at such a cost that they cannot be exported
to foreign countries. • :
. :*i Ici ammmm^-' CamUla and tHe Blother Country. '"^
As Canadians, should we take any pride in the policy of the Em-
pire to which we belong ? As a loyal Canadian, I think our plan is
politically to keep on all-fours with the rest of the Enijpire, to keep
our policy in harmony with that of the Mother Country in trade and
in everything else where it is possible for us to act in unity with her.
But these men— these Tory leaders Who claim continually to be the
very salt of the earth as to loyalty — ^to be the means of preserving
this country to British connection — who are constantly denouncing
myself or some of my associates in our political ranks with being
tainted with disloyalty to the Empire-— why, Sir, these are the men
who scorn to pay the sUghtest regard to the policy of the British Em-
pire — ^that policy which has carried the English ship and the English
flag to every port of the world — that policy which has carried British
commerce — British manufactures, the British name and British civil-
ization to the remotest parts of the earth. (Loud cheers.) Some
years ago most of the public men of Canada exerted themselves to pro-
cure a close union of the British American Provinces. That Con-
federation we accomplished, and we hope, Sir, to preserve a similar
close alliance — if not with the same system of representation — at all
events, an alliance in our legislative actions if not in our legislative
authority — which will harmonize with the British system ; and we will
see the whole of the Colonies of the Empire which are girdling the
earth, working together as a confederated body, setting at defiance the
tyrants of the earth, and setting also at defiance the evil systems of
conmiercial economy and commercial polity which would, if carried
out, result in bringing us back to the state from which we only emerg-
ed fifty or sixty years ago with considerable difficulty. 11 .1 >',
The Futnre off tbe VUted State*.
Sir, I prophesy further, that the United States of America within the
next five years will go back to the policy in existence before 1800.
(Hear, hear and cheers.) There is now no possibility of escape from
that course for the people of the United States. They have by their
protective policy brought ruin upon themselves. They have by th«ir
ipMMuuBBaiMa
■MS
refusal to admit ships into the country, given British vessels t?ie
greater portion of the c?arrying trade of the country. Ajid even though
they yet build many fine sailing vessels, foreign shiys, last year, car-
ried seventy-two per cent, of the trade of their ^eat seaport, New
York, leaving only 28 per cent, of the trade of their principal port to
. be carried in American bottoms tp foreign coun'iies.
cU' Steel lUUa.
Now, Sir, I have heard occasional remarks In differient parts of the
audience from a f«w gentlemen who have chosen to come here to dis-
turb the meeting, with reference to steel rails, with reference to the
Neebing Hotel, and with relerence to one Or two other small matters.
Let me say this, what I have stated at almost every meeting I have
attended, that the only accusation that they can bring against the pre-
sent Administration is one simply of want of prudence in purchasing
rails in advance of the time when they were required. Now, Sir, I
don't believe that we purchased them too soon ; but 1 say now, as I
have said On other occasions, that all the rails we boiight we bought by
open tender, whereas the rails they bought were purchased through a
relative of one of themjselves, to whom they paid a commission of two
and one-half per cent^ and who cheated tjie Government of Canada by
charging theni $20,000, that we know 'of, hiore than he paid the manu-
facturer ; and this person got his two and a half per ceiit. even upon
that. [Cheers.] IXpon a Sghtship tha^i wfW purchased we found that
the amountpaid this samo^erson was ihore by $3,000 or $4,000 than
was paid by him to tlie builder ; we have, the judgment of the Court
for that. Then at the very time that we were buying rails by pubJic
competition %t $54.60 delivered in Canada, we were receiving deli-
veries at $85, of rai^s that were bought by them. (Cheers.)
f^t^,^f .^Af tyff,f,i..,.ii- ;irfrl'. >>.{■.; Trifling. JSMUJS.'! frtf'{^-4:Mt"-' '■'' r" ^ ]>'\U^ ''y '
Now, with regard to the Neebing Hotel, the price paid for this famous
hostelry was about $5,300, if 1 recollect aright ; and all the charge is,
that the valuators of the Govt ament valued it too high. Well, I
don't know whether they did or not ; but if they did the Government
is not to blame. We appointed a Conservative as one of the valuatorj,
joining with him one of our own friends ; these gentlemen valued the
structure ; and yet this is one of the great issues that the Tory party
have to go to the elections on — that $200 or $300 too -much was paid
for that Neebing Hotel. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) We found on
the other hand that the leader of the Oppdsition gave one of his friends
$2,500 for nothing (hoar, hear) out of the public purse, a^d we have
never got anything for it up to the present time. And yet they have
the effrtintcry to come f Orwsuxi and «ay that we paid toc} much through
our valuators by $200 or $300 for this hotel. We do not hear these
gentlemen say that we had kept the Secret Service Fund in our pos-
session^ (Hear, hear^ and cheers.) W.e never defrauded the Govern-
ment out of money that watf due to the countiy by a railway corpora-
tion which was controlled by a political ring. .(Hear, hear.) And yet
these people attempt to make a cry out of such matters as I have re- '
ferred to I Why, Sir, it is the merest trifling with the worlsin^men. "
(Hear, hear, and interruptions.) . '"'
■■!^v) The Tories and tbe Wbrkitagmaiu
7 These gentlemen know as well as I d6 that the attempt to prevent
iiay having a hearing will assist in securing thetn one of the worst
\
iM;
■r
29
^
m:
\
>*•
>
defe&ts a party ever instained. (Long congbinued And repeated cheers.) .
And as to their wretched ai:teni|>ts>tp oonatitute themselves the friends
of the workingpian (laughter)y thai i:m ; tm^' Social Poaltlon of the Workiagman, in Canada. • t j j xf : •
1?he institutions of this country are eminently favourable to the
production of a class of workingmen without its equal in any other
country of the world. Under the able management of the Local Gov-
ernments our educational system has been perfected to such a degree
that it is now confessedly the foremost system of education in the
world. (Cheers.) Our youth can go from the primary schools to the
graded schools, from them to the Collegiate Institutes or Grammar
Schools, and from those to the Universities at a smaller cost than in
any other country on the face of the earth. (Cheers.) Our land
system is free. We want no protection in it. Ajxy man of ordinary
intelligence can go to the statute book and make out a deed for his
land for himself if he likes — ^though I am bound to say it would be
better for him to employ a lawyer to prevent mistakes. (Laughter.)
So simple is our mode of conveyance of land. One of the excellencies
of this system is that all our workingmen— our farmers, our farm-
labourers, and a very large proportion of our mechanics — ^have a hold
upon the soil ; and there can be no real thorough independence* of a
people in itiy nation unless they are able to eontrol the possession of
-<
/
rf>
/
) and t apbeal ix^ the M^bjwiti^-
men of tnis city, who, after all, will control th^ franchise' in the 'city, *
to vindicate their position by supportiiog those who gave the wbirkihg-
men the practical and social status which at the present time thev' hold
in Canada. (Loud ch^rs.) I beg now to thaqk asaiin tm Viist
majority of this immenne audience for listenihg tqt me so t^tiently
(renewed cheers) and I also thiemk the handful of ji^ons wh6 h»ve
' been indecently trying to disturb the meeting, because I knoir that
their conduct to-night will tell in favour of the liiberal party' its' much
as if the meeting were unanimous. (Etear, hear, and prolong^ dh^iers.)
I shall never cease while I live and hold a position ih'. the tiotitical
world to feel grateful to the wbrkingmen of Toronto fdr tlie;^Mighifi-
6ent welcome which they have given me on this,m;y VMt to' their
city, ismd I trust that the enthusiasm, the good feeUhg, ahd ihe good
taste which they haye shown will be rendered stUl more inakdfest by
their again returning my friend Mr. Macdonald to Parliame(M^ anid'by
th^ir placing at the head of the poll the other Liberal candidatdsim the
city of Toronto. ' ;• •
At the canclvsion of Mr. Mackenzie's speech — ^which lasted tloree
hours— almost the entire audience rose to tiieir feet and continued 'for
some time to wave- their hats and giVe a succession of sucli lojiid' uid
hearty cheers as have seldom been heard in Toronto. '^ ' '
Hon. Mb. Mowat was- received with prolonged cheering. After
the lei^hy speech of Mr. Mackenzie he felt scarcely justified in delay-
ing them any longdr, but he felt sure that they had met together to
get information relative to the great issues before the coimtry, and He
wonght they had received everything they had expected. He was only
iorry that the few Conservatives j^resent had not availed themselves
il'
I I
lu
of the opportunity oi iiearing such fi cliscpiirse as that of Mr. Macken-
u«, Mid tnut become good Kefonner^. . He then complinionted thn
workingmen of Toronto for thus hpnpuring one of themselves who hud
risen to be the first man in the Dominion of Canada. In general terms
he next referred to the very efficient manner in which Mr. Mackenzie
and his colleagiios had a4ministered the a^airs of the Dosunion; for
not only had they imtroduce^ good and. sound laws, l;>ut they Had
abolished corruption. . He rejoiced tpknqw that the vast majbnty of
the people of, Canada sympathized with the' Beform party, the main
principle pf which wa9 the greatest benefit, to tho greatest number. It
was not as Premie^ of Ontai^io, but as a £ef ormer that he was present,
in order that ha might express J^is, admiration for Mr., Mackenzie.
i After further remarks. Mr. Uovfi^i if{\ok. hii^eo^t amf4 applause. , V,',,,
Mr. Qi:oft94 Y£;ki^£l I^oved a vote 9^ thaiiks to t^e J^on^ Alex.
Mackenzie, coupled w.th the naine of Hon. Mr. Hqwat^ for the ad-
drees which he had dc ivercd. He regretted' the aisturbances which
a few individuals had beenmaking^ ha% assured the honourable visitor
. thatitM^ npisea did, not ^ome f rom a,ny repreaentatiyes pf the wojrking
classes, but from thpse whose uii^rests were eiitire^ahiag^ The
1 wprkingmen of Toronto attended ihe meeting to usten in a qtiiet and
. orderly manner "(o the address, and they had done so. They dosilrieid
^. to, be Instructed, and they were instructed. The public press had ex-
..ppsipKl tji^.trick"«i^i|i^,h^ 1;i«eQ, attem{>ted to l)ei played ; but like the
. type 0* 'th(e, bpgw* tf^k?^*. ^!^. j^*^ }^9 0i^' (Qhe^rs. ) As wdrkirig-
• _ iwon,theyjintend/9d.tp,adyan5P.wprit^ihg^ aVigUments in favour of
1 th^ revenue tariflf, aindVoiddiiiyite ly^rkinginen to diibOuss the question
. with them. He concluded by spying that he had no doubt that by
' the tiine the general elections tpokj place tlie majority of thjse who
• wera fo .noisy, thai ..eveniiig woidd have been converted to sound
,;^jbQra^jprincipJ|^Si. (Ohpors.) . ^ , ^
.*j;,[ ,]^r« Oakley in a iew apprppxi^it^repaarks, seconded the resolution.
jir^,j^.,lliere«olutip;u Was put an(fdecl$u:e|ci carried una^^
( Hon. Mk. JjilAOKFNZiE briefly responded, .saying that proud as he
j was of the honpur which had jbeen conferred, upon him, he would feci
v^prou4ei it in a few^reeks time pr a fp,w,^onthp Mr. John Macdonald
^ as.! aU ,i^e liberal candidates ii^ this c^ty were elected. This w^s the
I second time he ha4 hiad the Jl^oi^pur of addressing a Toronto audience ;
V and he assured thp interrupters ijk wbukt npt bp^l^^ last, (Cheers,)
V !f9r he intended to make a Ipuainess of i)t before he was done. (Cheers.)
. i The meeting separated after givii]fg three cheers each for the Qupon}
and the Hon. Messrs. Mackenzie, Mowat, Brown, and the Chairman,
and it was remarkable that, so well trained, were the noisy handful of
'irpri^B to hoot in response to any cheering, that, in cohsistehcy with
their lip-service loyalty^j tlhey hopted when three ciders were given
for the Queen* mi ■
1
- I
•y
•"V
{ms-
■ \