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Maps, platea, charts, etc., may be filmed at diffarant reduction ratioa. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure ara filmod beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames aa required. The following diagrama illustrate the method: Les cartes, pla..':has, tableaux, etc., peuvent iitre fiimte d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est crop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche), il est filnfti d partir da Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche d droits, et de haut an bas, an prenant la nombre d'images ntcessaira. Les diagrammas suivants iliustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ■sn :-=r- HAiMILTON FUDLIG LiS^arif THE STRUGGLE IN CANADA. ' ^ iyj5 BY ERASTUS WIMAN. Sir John Macdonald, the prototype in North America of Disraeli, is, next to Mr. Blaine and Mr. Cleveland, the most marked political figure on the continent. He lias more power over a wider area than the President of the United States, and he rules more absolutely than the Chancellor of the German Empire or the Premier of Great Britain. lie is the embodiment of political astuteness ; and this fact, with a knowledge that he represents, in a special and peculiar sense, the wishes and desires of the imperial power of Great Britain over the wide expanse of British posses- sions in North America, makes him to the people of the United States an intensely important personage. Sir John becomes all the more important when it is recalled that his efforts, and those of the great Tory party that he alone controls, have been for years directed towards lessening the inter- course between the people that together hold tliis continent in common. What God has joined together Sir John and his party have been trying to put asunder. That two nations, speaking the same language, occupying a contiguous territory along a border-line unparalleled in length, and deeply imbedded in each other's domain, should desire to trade with each other seems most natural. But it has suited the purpose of Sir John and his party to shape the policy of the greater half of the continent in a direction precisely opposite to a friendly relation with the most active trading nation under the sun, and to separate himself and his people from a close connection with the greatest money-mak - ing, money-spending aggregation of humanity that the world has ever seen. The effort thus put forth has had for its purpose, in an area comprising 40 per cent, of the British Empire, the setting-up of a fiscal system that should make it a country by itself, and create a great nationality, independent, isolated, and self-contained. This 310 THE NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW. attempt has all the more significance when it is made side by side with a nation whose growth of wealth, whose magnitude of inter- nal commerce, whose progress and prosperity, are the wonder of the world. If it is true that ** comparison is at the bottom of all philosophy," the task which Sir John has set for liimself to per- form, and to accomplish anything like success therein before the world, seems almost beyond human achievement. Yet up to this time the effort has been courageously and most astutely made ; and were it not for the fact that it is a war upon geography, a battle against nature, it might in the end succeed. But the forces which are arrayed against dividing this conti- nent commercially in twain have been too numerous and too strong to make the attempt successful. Tl\e desire of the people of Canada, on the one hand, to trade with their brethren across the border, and the equal desire of the people of the United States, on the other, for enlarged markets and future supplies of raw material, have set in motion a commercial movement which all the political forces in the world cannot defeat. This movement has taken on the form known as Unrestricted Eeciprocity, and is a movement which has asHUUied proportions so universal as to de- serve the description of Goldwin Smith, that " its spread among the people has been like the light of the morning pervading the universe." Sir John, in a recent most important and passionate manifesto, has been good enough to attribute the origin of this movement, and its advocacy, to him who pens these lines. He says : •The Liberal party has taken a new departure, and has announced its policy to be Unrestricted Reciprocity. That (as defined by its author, Mr. Wiman, in The North American Review a few days ago) means free trade with the United Ste.tes and a common tariff with the United States against the rest of the world." Sir John has many honors, not only from Her Gracious Ma- jesty, but from the people whom he rules and whom he serves, and he dfjservesthem all. But not one of these rewards for high services can be more prized than that which he thus imparts in designating the undersigned as the originator of a scheme so com- prehensive in its consequences, so beneficial in its operation, and so certain to become effective. The growth of the desire for reciprocal relations between the two countries, originating on'y four years ago in a definite move- ment, has found its outcome iu the terror which has struck the u ' THE STRUGGLE IN CANADA. 3U U Tory party. Tliis terror finds expression in tlie dissolution of tlie Canadian Parliament a year in advance of its legal expiration. The dissolution is decided upon, not from any great public cause, to provide for no impending war, no financial disaster or other tlireatened casualty, but simply and solely to prevent another year of educational ofEort, conscious that, were it permitted, it would dispose of any claim that the Tory party had to any continuance of confidence. This unwarranted dissolution siiows how well grounded is the claim that Sir John has more power over 40 per cent, of the British Empire than has the Premier of Great Britain over the whole of it. It may well be believed that Her Majesty, woman though she is, would never be guilty of using the great pre- rogatives of her crown to dissolve the British Parliament in order to perpetuate the power of a party, thus conspiring to defeat the wishes of her people. The Governor-General of Canada, who represents Her Majesty in her British possessions in North America, is, however, as putty in the hands of the astnte manipu- lator that rules over these broad areas. The dissolution of Parliament at this juncture, too, is in direct violation of the equities of the situation. The census is just due, and a reapportionment is in order. Besides this, the official lists of voters, under the direct pledge that no dissolution Avould occur were not revised last year, the consequence of which is that one hundred thousand young men are disfranchised. These lists having been revised only up to 1889, no young man less than twenty-three years of age can vote, because of the absence of his name from the list of voters. This vast array of thinking young men, independent and self-reliant. Sir John does not wish to exercise their judgment and independence. These, coupled with the enormous number o^' the rising generation Avho have left the Dominion for the United States in the last few years, comprise the most intelligent and the most desirable voters, from whom might be drawn large additions to the Liberal party. The policy which drives the young men from the country, — for the old men are not able to go, — and which with one stroke of the pen disfranchises a large proportion of those who remain, is in keeping with the trick which in midwinter, and on thirty days' notice, precipitates a conflict to decide a question of the most momentous importance as to the future policy of half a continent for half a century to come. m u 342 THE NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW. For tho first time in the history of tho Canadian nation the question is squarely presented as to what are to bo hereafter tho relations between it and the great aggregation of commonwealths that lie at its border. It is difficult to imagine any, subject of more vital importance than the relations to be maintained between two such countries. Stretching side by side for almost four thousand miles ; occupied by people of precisely the same language, having the same wants in natural products, and in every providen- tial provision supplementing one another ; possessing the essen- tials of each other's prosperity and progress, how strange does it seem, that within thirty days, with the most partial preparation, the vast question of their future commercial destiny shall be de- cided I Yet such appears to be the case. The two parties in Canada have at length been so placed in juxtaposition with each other as to make this question of relations between the United States and Canada the single point of issue. The Tories have adopted what is known as the National Policy, the resu!i of which is isolation and commercial belligerency. A high rate of duty against American manuf uctures ; an antiquated and harsh interpretation of the fisheries treaty ; a railway policy menacing American profit ; a discrimination against American bottoms in Canadian waterways ; a denial of b'^uiiing privileges for fish and grain, and a general policy of commercial hostility pervade the politics of the Tories. Loyalty to the British crown, and mock sentimentality as to treason and rebellion, are somehow mixed up with this apparent desire to get the better of the Ameri- can people. The sentiment which animated the United Empire loyalists who left this country in the time of the Revolution, because they thought they could not live anywhere except under the British crown, permeates, to a very large extent, the Tory party. They are suspicious of a design to politically appropriate their country, and by some insidious movement extend the Repub- lic so as to include all the British possessions in America. In these later days he is dubbed a traitor who wants to trade with his cousins across the border. Sir John Macdonald, in his recent manifesto, lashes himself into a passion of patriotic fervor by at- tributing to those who thus seek to trade freely designs upon the independence of Canada, and a desire to rob the British crown of its most precious jewel. The first thought th^t strikes the average observer at this ao- THE STRVOGLE IN CANADA. 343 ^ Uh '•^' cusation is how fragile must be the character of the loyalty that could thus bo seduced by trade and traffic. A people who are so vigorous in their denunciation of traitors, who are so unalterably pledged to British connection, who are so firm in their adherence to existing political conditions, ought to have nothing to fear from the closest contact by trade and commerce with an adjoining nation. It is a poor compliment to the free institutions of Can- ada, and to the strength of the attachment to British institutions which undoubtedly exists throughout the country, to think that the latter can be lessened by the most intimate trade relations with the United States. Th^shrieks of the loyal legions of the Tory party as to the possibility of annexation resulting from trade and commerce are most amusing, when contrasted with the relation which Great Britain herself bears to the United States. One would think that loyalty in Canada is an article so precious that it should be put in a glass case to be gazed at, rather than to be in every-day use; while loyalty in Great Britain consists in advancing the interests of the country by promoting, by every possible plan, the increase of commerce and building up the most intimate rela- tion with the kin across the sea. Hardly an hour goes by but in the great harbor of New York there sails up some stately ship bearing the British flag, manned by British sailors, loaded down with British goods, and which shortly returns again loaded with American products for British consumption. So closely connected and so intimate are America and Great Britain that no two nations under the sun trade so greatly with each other. Every week in the year, two millions of dollars of interest is earned on English money in the United States, to be contributed to the incomes of England. At the present rate of procedure. Great Britain will in the next half- century own half the industrial enterprises of the United States ; and it would not be surprising to see eventually a million dollars a day of interest remitted to Great Britain. Notwithstanding the fact that the United States have constructed 40 per cent, of all the railways in the world, it is safe to say that fully one-third of the money invested in these roads belongs to Great Britain. There is no disloyalty in this kind of trade, and because of it there is no desire apparent on the part of the United States to change the political col ations which pervade England. True, so far as Canada is concerned, there is a general idea mm A \ HU THE NORTH AMEIilCAN JiEVlEn^. in tlio Uiiitetl Htiites that its dostiny might bo that of assimihi- tion into tho Union which now binds together the great constella- tion of commonwealths that make up the United States. IJut this is a vague and inconsequent conception, which will hardly in tho lifetime of this generation assume tho shape of practical politics. There is a complete absence of the slightest desire on tho part of tho American people to capture Canada by any mili- tary prowess, to purchase her by any expenditure of money, or to shape her destiny by any legislation except that which is of a character entirely promotive of commerce. This seems hardly tho case with the McKinley Bill, which appeared aimed at tho Canadian Dominion, because its agricultural schedule, so severely drastic in its effects, applied only to a near-by agricultural coun- try. But the terms of this tariff are not more severe again-^t Canada than against the tin-plate industries of Wales, tho cotton industries of Manchester, the wines of France, or the woollen and fancy-goods interests of Germany. If there Avero any design on the part of the United Sti>tes to change tho political character of the nations with whom they trade by tho enactment of this tariff, it is not visible to the naked eye. As a matter of fact, the p4)litical conditions of Canada were no more in mind in the making of this change in the fiscal system than were t^ie future political conditions of the Fiji Islanders. But, in spite of this indifference. Sir John does not hesitate to say that the tariff was intlnenced by parties in the interest of reciprocal trade. He would have his constituents believe it was enforced in order to put a sort of a thumb-screw upon Canadian loyalty, tc ^liable Americans to see how far it would yield under the adverse conditions resulting from this apparent display of hostility by this country, lie forgets i . mention the fact that, anterior to the McKinley Bill, the tariff of Canada, known as the Foster tariff, was most unjust to the United States, and that articles which had been on the free list, such as fruit, shrubs, seeds, and other natural products, were made to bear a heavy duty, notwithstanding a statutory offer of freedom between the two countries originally made by Canada. Indeed, the whole policy of the Tory party has been one of hostility and reprisal, and Sir John himself is the author of an expression, which has a logical sequence, that *' if it was impossible to obtain a reciprocity in trade, they could secure a reciprocity in tariffs.' A reciprocity of r :i ■H .'« y TJIE STliUaOLE IN CANADA. 845 tariffs has como with a vcn^'oanco, so far as the Canadian jjooplo arc concerned ; first in the Foster tariff against Ainorican manu- factures entering Canada, and then intlie McKinley tariff against Canadian products entering tlie United States. Some idea of the kind of reciprocity in tariffs that Sir Jolin souglit for is found in such charges for entrance into tiie United States as a duty of live cents a dozen on eggs, twenty-five cents a busliel on jjotatoes. twenty-fivo cents a bushel on apples, *4 a ton on hay, and *;30 each on horses, down to the cliarge on any little j)ig that is driven across the border of 11.50 as tlie price of its admission into tliis f"eo land. The conflict that impends in Canada is whether these condi- tions of isolation and of commercial hostility shall continue to prevail. The Liberal party of Canada approach the electors with the single plank in their platform of Unrestricted Reciprocity with the United States. This means, so far as Canada is concerned, an abolishment of the severe and harsh measures of the McKin- ley Bill, of which the items just cited are a sample. It equally means a complete obliteration of the customs line that now shuts out American manufactures from half a continent, a region whoso possibilities are to be measured only by the commerce created in its southern half. The advantages flowing to Canada from such a freedom and participation in such a commerce are simply enor- mous. The consequences that will flow from cheapened supplies of American manufactures and an open market in the United States are almost beyond present conception. This is the pros- pect which the Liberals offer. On the other hand, the Tory party ask for a continuance of power to perpetuate the policy that has be- gotten the strained relations between the two peoples and a number of most serious complications — a policy which has resulted in an enormous exodus from tlio Dominion, greatly reduced values of agricultural lands, and produced a serious condition of finance, extremely burdensome, from which the Canadians will have great difficulty in extricating themselves. It would be singular, indeed, if, with two such proposals before them, there is not a de- cision favorable to the Liberal party and better relations between the two countries. The boon which the United States can grant to Canada is greater than that which any country under the sun can offer to a near-by nation. Every government in Europe, including Great 340 THE KOIiTH AMERICAN REVIEW. i\ i Ilritjiin, would accept the ofTer of Unrestricteil Reciprocity with an alacrity that would almost take one's breath awfly. Yet, so strangely involved is the question in Canada, so brief is the period for decision, so sharp has been the action of the astute politician who at present governs that vast area, that it will not be surprising, the issue being confused by proposals of Partial Reciprocity, if an adverse verdict is returned. Three times have the Liberal party been defeated on questions of far less import than that which now is presented to the Canadian people. If a fourth time they should fail to elect the majority in Parliament, on the square issue of better relations with the United States, there may well be some apprehension as to the future. But it is impossible that two great nations, side by side with each other, having so many interests in common, and whose des- tiny and future are so closely interwoven, can long remain com- mercially hostile to each other. It may be that a continuance and prolonged dose of McKinleyism are necessary for the education of the Canadian people. It is just possible that the high duty which the Foster tariff enforceb in Canada is essential to proper educa- tion. These results will all follow the defeat of the Liberal party. The fact that Sir John urges reciprocity in natural products, and tries to delude the farmers of Canada into the belief that a partial reciprocity is possible, shows how desperate is the need of the Tory party. Every one acqu-iinted with the question knows how utterly impossible is a partial reciprocity, so far as the United States are concerned. An enlarged market for manufactures is the essential basis of the new movement for reciprocity. If manu- factures are omitted, there is no ground to seek an extension into new markets ; and it has been aptly said that " one might just as well attempt to buiM a railway to the moon as to get reciprocity from the United States with the omission of the manufactured interests." It shows how desperate are the straits to which the Tory party have been driven when they undertake to obtain what they know cannot be got, and run the risk of the disaster which will certainly follow their utter failure in the future. Of course the free admission of American manufactures into Canada and the continuance of a duty upon English goods, as proposed by the Liberals, mean a discrimination against Great Britain. The possibility of 40 per cent, of the British Empire taxing the manufactures of the other 60 ner cent., and admitting THE STIiUaOLE IN CANADA. 347 .1 - - those of a Imtcd commerciiil rival free, is a circumstance of groat fiigiiiflcance and of very far-rcacliing importance. It is this which makes the movement in Canada appear disloyal to the mother-country. True, the Tory party has set the example, under the freedom which Great Britain nominally gives to her colonies to regulate their fiscal affairs by the necessities of their own condition. Thus, under Tory rule, Canada discriminates against British goods in favor of her own manufactures. It is pushing this liberty only to its legitimise result in the proposal of the Liberal party to admit American manufactures free of duty, in return for a free admission into the United states of Canadian products in payment for the same. At this writing, of course, no one can tell the result of the contest now impending in Canada. The suddenness of the dis- solution, the unpreparedness of the Liberal party for the contest, the unfavorable season for voters to get to the polls, are all ad- verse circumstances. Against this, however, is the educational process which has been going on for the last four years, and the fact that the personal and individual interests of a greater num- ber of persons are more adversely affected in Canada by present political conditions than is the case in any other country at the present moment. This especially applies to the great class of farmers, lumbermen, fishermen, miners, and shippers, together forming the vast majority of the people of the Dominion. These men, if they vote as their interests point, will decide the question, and the victory will be overwhelmingly in favor of Unrestricted Reciprocity. At the present moment it looks as if this would be the case, and thus duplicate the political upheaval that took place in the United States in N' mbei last. If the Tory party, however, L.mld succeed in the election, whicTi will now be decided within a few days, it can only be for a brief period, for already the seeds of disintegration are sown. Three or four years of such object-lessons as the McKinley Bill enforces on one side of the border, and the Canadian tariff reen- acts on the other side will have their legitimate outcome. The forces thus at work towards a better relation are irresistible ; and if the Liberal party are defeated at this time, the next election, which is likely to be very early in the history of the country, will tell a differ'^nt tale. Gr-^at bodies move slowly ; great movements take a long me to accomplish the results with which they are I f *1 348 THE NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW. pregnant ; und it will not bo surprising if the attempt to heal the great schism of the Anglo-Saxon race, by the assimilative results of intimate trade relations, is for a time postjjoned by Tory tend- encies. These tendencies, but for the independence of this people, would have held this vast continent in leading-strings a hundred years ago, retarding a progress, a development, and a growth in wealth more beneficial to mankind at largo than any other event in the history of the world. That Canada, occupying as she does the greater half of the continent, has a future in store for her cqnally groat is as certain as the sun. The fulflbnent of her destiny may bo for the moment deferred, but cannot be de- feated. EUASTUS WiMAN. i I % L