s^. n^ ''^'H' ^^, .0^, \^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARCST (MT-3) £>, ;/j 1.0 1.1 1.25 ^Ki I 2,5 2.2 1^ ^ -^ IIIIM 1.4 1.8 1.6 V] / ^^/ ^ ^4"V O^y V f// Photographic Sciences Corporation m iV % V A ^? '-' ^ J f In compliance with the spirit of these resolutions, your Delegates continued, by correspondence and otherwise, to make preparations for their visit to Detroit ; on the arrival of the Delegates from the sister Provinces, the resolutions were again submitted for approval, and were finally confirmed at a meeting of all the Provincial Delegates, held at Detroit, on the morning of the 11 tb of July, just previous to the opening of the Convention. It waa subject of regret that while Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada, were fully represented, Newfoundland alone, owing, no doubt, to distance and want of convenient means of transport, was unable to send Delegates to Detroit. On the forenoon of the 11th inst., the Convention commenced its session. The Provincial Delegates had felt from the outset, that their position was a peculiar one. The chief question of interest to them was that of " Reciprocity," The notice to abrogate the existing Treaty had come from the United States' authorities, and it therefore appeared to the Provincial Delegates that it was proper for the commercial Delegations of the United States to express a separate opinion, unaffected by the votes of the Provincial Delegations, as to whether or not a new Treaty of Reciprocity was desirable. The Provincial Delegates accordingly de- termined to crufine themselves to furnishing information, combatting objcc-Uons, 3 removing prejudices, and endeavoring to shew that the benefits of Reciprocity were mutual, and at the same time strictly to abstain from voting on any question, or taking any partisan action in the proceedings of the Coi vention. This course was adhered to throughout with good effect, and no Provincial vote was cast either in Convention or Committee ; the Provincial Delegates, however, sent some of their number before the Committees on " Reciprocity " and '< Transit," to furnish information, and also to assist the Committees on <' Credentials" and on " Weights and Measures." Their views were also stated at length before the general Convention. The details of the statements thus made, have already appeared in the public journals, and will no doubt be printed with the proceedings of the Convention which are now being prepared for publication under the auspices of the Detroit Board of Trade. It is sufficient to say, that these statements were very court- eously received and appear to have made a favourable impression on the influential and intelligent assemblage of practical commercial men to whom they were ad- dressed, and to have contributed, ib some degree, to the unanimous vote which the Convention finally passed in favour of negotiating a new treaty of Reciprocity. The importance of this vote cannot easily be over-estimated and its in- fluence throughout the United States cannot be unimportant. At the open- ing of the Convention no one anticipated such a result ; and the change of opinion which was thus indicated at the close, is a striking illustration of the good to be effected by bodies of business men coming together to discuss subjects of mutual interest in a liberal and candid spirit — a spirit which, it is but justice to our commercial brethren in the United States to say, largely pervaded their de- liberations at Detroit. True, there was an attempt at political interference ; true, that intrigue and official influences were exerted and statements publicly hazarded, with a view to defeat the purpose for which you sent your Delegates to Detroit ; but the manly spirit and strong sense of the Convention were not to be swayed by such unworthy artifices. The attempt proved a signal failure, and its sole result has bee . to throw discredit upon those connected with it. The questions of Reciprocity and of the transit through British North Ameri- can waters will now necessarily be taken into consideration by the Governments of Great Britain and the United States, and it is not perhaps too much to hope that the opinion of this great Convention at Detroit may exercise a certain influence on the deliberations of the Cabinet at Washington. Be that as it may, the Boards of Trade throughout the Provinces should aid their . respective governments by supplying such information and suggestions as will tend to the satisfactory solution of the questions to come under negotiation. But apart from the influence which such an assemblage may exercise upon politicians, the Convention at Detroit has produced other results both pleasing and important. The business-men of the United States and of British North America there met and discussed, fairly and frankly the many questions of trade in which they have a common interest j and it is not too much to say, that this interchange of opinions and of social amenities has given rise to more extended views, and to sentiments of friendship and respect, which cannot but exercise a beneficial influence in the future. Another pleasing result, which should not be passed over, is the uniting together for their mutual interest of the commercial men of the Maritime Provinces with those of Canada. The presence of their delegates at Putroit aided materially the objects of our common mission, not only by the substantial advantages which the right to trade and tish in their waters holds out to the United States, but by the ability and experience which they personally brought to our assistance. The eloquent closing address of the Hon. Jos. Howe, in which he so ably re- viewed the relations— social, political, and commercial— of British North America with the United States, was an effort of wonderful ability, which claims the admiration and gratitude of the country. A very important subject,— the establishment of a Central Board of Trade, to be composed of delegates from all the Boards of Trade of British North America, was considered by the Provincial Delegates at Detroit, and has been referred to the Montreal Board of Trade to be reported on. It is a project of great interest, and evidences a growing cordiality and tendency to cohesion amongst mercantile com- munities hitherto too much separated and estranged, and may be productive of general benefit to the British Provinces. ^ In concluding : your Delegates beg to express their sincere gratitude to tho chairman and members of the Detroit Convention for the uniform courtesy ex- tended to them during its session. They have also to express their grateful feelings and acknowledgments to ;the President of the Board of Trade of Detroit, and to the citizens at large, for the great kindness and hospitality received during their stay. The liberal arrangements of the Grand Trunk and Great Western K. R. Cos., for the free conveyance of Delegates to and from the Convention, and of several United States' railroads for the free conveyance of Provincial Delegates wishing to go westward from Detroit, also demand acknowledgment. 1 11 which is respectfully submitted. THOMAS RYAN, Delegate from Montreal, and Chairman of the British American Delegations. Montreal, 25 ' Bcll at any port they enter. With our fifty colonicH gprcnd over the face of the irlobe your Hhipowners participate in the same privilcRes aH our own. And when I spealt of the shipping interest, it must be admitted to include many interests— the lumber inter- est (andan important one it is), the industry of the blacksmith, the caulker, the riiruer the ropcmaker and of the man who works in copper. All these branches of industry are '^'c^ented in a ship and fostered by this policy o' Great Britain. (Cheers.) ^ .«„„? }^ ?v.^^^!^?u I'^'.l^d^lpbia-I would ask the gentleman if the rights he speaks of, on the part ol the shipping interest, are dependent on the Reciprocity Treaty ? ■ ,. r • "^W^-Yesterday, our worthy friend, Mr. Hamlin, talked about Reciprocity in "slices and I am now simply showing you how manv slices we gave you before the Srwi'hJ'n^ wan negotiated. (Loud cheers and laughter.) I assert that Great Britain, with a liberality which would do honor to any Government, has thrown open this whole trade without any restriction. She says to us, if not in so Aiany words, " You are all children of mine, and are dear to me. You are all on the other side of the At- lautic, possessing a common heritage ; make the best of it." (Hear, hear ) Your vcs- WruTp^'i"'"'?''' *«/"« to Halifax, from Halifax to St. John, and from St. John to British Columbia, and from British Columbia to England, Scotland, or Ireland. They are allowed to go coasting around the British Empire until they rot. But you do not give U8 the privilege of coasting anywhere from one end of your Atlantic coast to the other. And now I hope that our friend from Maine will acknowledge that in giantina (clLrr7anKlStei?:r "^" return, Great Britain gave you a ^etty larfe slice" ««!« TnH !;^!!fr'.^'*^**''^fu'iu*''^J""^ ^""'^ '"^ *"y °f •*« PO""*"' steamers or sailing ves- sels, and clothe them with the character and invest them with the privilege of British ships, by registering them in any part of the Empire. In peace this is a great privilege- and gives to the slnp-builders of Maine and Massachusetts a very decided advantage over those on the opposite side of the Bay of Fundy. In war, assuming Great Britain L"* Jlffttr". ^^ . '^* protection. I trust I have shewn, Ist, That the British Empire 18 sufliciently extended populous, and powerful to be independent of the hostility or Sin7°'%''rr^ [r'g\»t»te ; 2nd, That her commercial code is characterised^ by piinciples of liberality so broad, as to invite exchanges with all the world ; and that, altogether independent of the Keciprocity Treaty, she has granted privileges to this country for which no equivalents have been asked or given The Reciprocity Treaty was a special arrangement, 'forced upon both countries by a long frontier, by the proximity of rich fishing grounds, and by the difficulty of draw' mg accurate and recognised boundaries upon the sea. I need not enter upon the history of this question, which has been most accurately given by Lorenzo Sabine, Esq., in his very able Reports to the Boston Board of Trade. It is sufficient for us to know that for forty years the use by American citizens of the in-shore fisheries upon the coasts of British America was m controversy between the two Governments. That every vear American fishing vessels were seized or driven oif, it being impossible to define accur- ately a sea line of five thousand miles-that disputes were endless, tending ultimately to the employment of naval forces, with evident danger of hostile collisions and of war Un the other hand, the Canadians, seeing the great staples of the United States freely admitted into every part of the British Empire, naturally claimed that their breadstuffs should pass with equal freedom into the United States, the greater portion being only m transitu to the mother country. The Maritime Provinces,* admitting breadstuffs from the United States duty free, and all their manufactures under low iJ- port duties, not exceeding 10 to Ui percent.,naturally claimed that their own unmanu- factured staples should be admitted free into this country. They as fairly claimed that their tonnage should be entitled to the right of ogistry in the United States, and to participate in its coasting trade. ' The Reciprocity Treaty was a compromise of all these claims and interests. For the Provinces it was an unfair compromise. The right of registry and to trade coast- wise was not conceded The free interchange of the produce of the soil, the forest and both^ountdes '^^''^^'^^^'y- ^^^ "^ht to navigate Lake Michigan was perfectly fair to But the retention of the bounties gave to the fishermen of the United States an un- fair advantage, and for the free navigation of the rivers and canals of British America no equivalents were given. To the maritime provinces the concession of the in-shore fisheries, with the right to dry and cure fish upon their coasts, was particularly dis- tasteful. So long as American fishermen were kept outside of a line drawn three marine miles from the headlands, as fixed by the Convention pf 1818, the mackerel, herring, anaale-wite fisheries were secure from intiusion within those limits, and the codfishery 8 within the prcat hays of Newfoundland was ft closoprosorvc, while the protection of the revenue m all the I'rov.nces gave the Government but little coucern. Hut the moment that American fishermen ohtained the right to tiHh in all the l-avs, harborH, and estua- r OS of UritiHh America, the line of operations was doubled in length, and the privilege it they choose to use it, of carrying on illicit trade with the inhabitants of the sea cast' and of sending goods into the interior free of duty, gave them facilities extremely diffi' cult to control A very large amount of spirits and manufactures have in this wav been introduced into the maritime Provinces, free of duty, within the past ten years, that It would not bo easy to trace in the regular trade returns. So distasteful was this L-reat concession, without equivalent, to the people of the Lower Provinces, that it was de- nounced by some of their ablest public men as an unreciuited sacrifice of their interests In this connection it is but right to show that, whether the treaty was fair or unfair' in the working of it, the citizens of this country have had advantages not contemplat- ed when It was s gned The arrangement was completed on the 5th of June, 1854 but was not to come into full el^ect till ratified by the Colonial Legislatures. Mr. Marc^ re- quested that pending the decisions of the Provinces, the American fishermen should be permitted to enter upon the in-shore fisheries in as full and ample a manner as thev would 1)0 wh,,n the treaty came into force. The concession was yielded and the British and Colonia cruisers withdrawn. When the Colonies claimed the free entry of their products, pending the ratification of the treaty in return for this concession, exist- ingrevenuo laws were pleaded, and this very reasonable claim wasdenied, so that at the outset the citi/ens of the Republic enjoyed the chief advantages of the treaty for nearly a year before the polonies were practically brought within its scope and operations Again, when the civil war broke out, one-half of the seaboard of the United States was blockaded, and all the advantages of the Reciprocity Treaty, so far as the consump- tion of tJie ten millions of people in the Southern States was a benefit to the Provinces were withdrawn. Assuming that the treaty runs over ten years, it will be seen that for the who e of that period the people of this country have enjoyed all the benefits for which they stipulated, while the British Americans, for one year of the ten, have enl joyed no benefit at all, and for four years have lost the consumption of one-tliird of the people with whom by the treaty, they were .ntitled to trade. Recognizing the politi- cal necessities of the period, British subjects have made no complaints of this exclusion but It ought to be borne in mind, now that the whole subject is about to be revised ' Let us now look at the woYking of the treaty and estimate, if we can, in a judicial spirit, Its fair and legitimate fruits. We must confess that, as I measure of peace and National fraternity it has been most successful. It has extended to the Gulf of St Lawrence and to the North Atlantic, the freedom and the security enjoyed by the Great Lakes, under a kindred arrangement. There have been no more intrusions, warn- ings captures— no rival squadrons guarding boundaries not possible to define This nTll if f • "°V?u^^^rT* •? }^l^ l>o"ndary question, about which the Governments of Great Britain and the United States could, by any possibility, dispute. This was a great matter, had no other good been accomplished, and he is no friend to either country who vvoiild desire to throw open this wide field of controversy again. Looking aHriiM"„fff '"'l "'"i^' ""^ *^' ^l"^'^' ^"y ^"'^ ™^"^«^ '^^d dispassionate man must adm t that they have far surpassed, in utility and value, all that could have been hoped by the most sanguine advocates of the measure, in 1854. The trade of the United States and of the Provinces feeble, restricted, slow of growth, and vexatious before, has been annually swelled by mutual exchanges and honorable competition, till it is represented by a grand total of $456,350,391, in about nine years. This amount seems almost incredible ; but who can hazard an estimate of the figures by which this trade will he STsHirl ed ? tT/? ^^T'^'"'",'^^ *.^^' '^'^ adjustment of our mutual interests be not disturbed ? If there be any advantage in a balance of trade, the returns show that the citizens of the United States have had it to the extent of $55,951,145 But in presence of the great benefits conferred upon both countries by the measure, it would be a waste of time to chafter over their distribution. In the interests of peace and honest industry, we should thank Provideace for the blessing, and confidently rely upon the wisdom of our statesmen to see that it is preserved. j j f^ Mr. President, let me now turn your attention to some of the topics touched by other gentlemen in the course of the three day's debate. Some gentlemen seem to be appre- hensive that if this treaty is renewed it will lead to illicit trade along the frontier. Bor a long time your duties were lower than ours. Mr. Sabine said he was once a smuggler. At that time he could not carry on trade or business at Eastport and be anything else. The traders on the whole coast of Maine were engaged in the same business, and so was Massachusetts ; and small blame to them. The smuggler is a 9 chock upon tho extravaganro of government, or the increase of taxation rChoers ) Any country tliat raises itH turifts too higii, or increaHes itH taxation t(.o far, will be kept in chock by Hmugglers. The boot was formerly on your leg ; it is now perhaps on tho other. You have been driven into a war which has created a large expenditure and in- creased your taxat" u. It would perhaps pay at this moment to smuggle some articles trom the provinc i ato this country. You are entitled to defend your revenue But at the same time bear this in mind, that one of tho main objections in tho maritime provinces to this treaty, was that it gave to your people the power of smuggling And that i)ower you possess, anu may use to any extent you please. (Laughter.) Over thousands of miles of coast wo can not afford to keep revenue officers. Down como cutters from Maine, with flour, pork, salt, &c. ; but who can tell what thoy have in the salt. (Great Laughter.) Why, sir, we sometimes laugh at Yankee notions ; one of those 18 what 18 called white-eyo in tho provinces— a life destroying spirit whic'h these coasters bring and with which they deluge our coasts ; and it comes in the salt (Laughter.) bo in like manner tea, tobacco and manufactures. Your fishermen can land on any part of our .%000 miles of coast, and when challenged by our custom-houso othcer, thoy assert their right to como ashore ; the ofttcer with- draws and the white-eyo is landed. And I will tell you what we do to adar.t ourselves to the circumstances. We are free-traders, and wej maintain our government, have an overflowing treasury, and carry on our public works, with a tariff of ten per cent. (Hear, hoar.) The only way to keep out smuggling is to keep our tariff so low- as to make it not worth while for any one to smuggle. Let me now draw your attention to the value of these North American fisheries. You have behind and around you here boundless prairies, which an all bountiful Creator annually covers with rich harvests of wlieat and corn. The ocean is our prairie, and it stretches away before and around us, and Almighty God for the sustenance of man, annually replenishes it with fish in myriads that cannot be counted, iiaving a commercial value that no man cp, i istimate. The fecundity of the ocean may be estimated by the fact that the roes of thirty codfish an- nually replace a 1 the fish that are taken by tho British, French and American fisher- men on the banks of Newfoundland. In like manner the shoals of mackerel, herring and of all other fish that swarm in the Bays and swim around tho shores, are replaced year by year. These great storehouses of food can never be exhausted. But it may be said, does not the free competition, which now exists, lower the prices ? No Codfish liave never been higher in the markets of tiie world than they were last' summer Herrings are now selling in Baltiinoro for §13 a barrel. Thirty years ago I used to buv No 1 mackerel in Halifax for $4 a barrel. They now cost $19, and I have seen them selling since the Ileciprocity Treaty was signed for $23. The reason of this is that relative to other employments, fishing is a perilous and poor business, and that, with the progress of settlement and growth of population in all these great States and Pro- vinces, to say nothing of the increased consumption in Spain, the Mediterranean, the Brazils and the West Indies— all that your fishermen and ours can catch will scarcely supply the demand. I placed before the committee a paper signed by two American merchants, carrying on trade in Prince Edward Island, which proves that under the Ireaty, your mackerel fishery has flourished and expanded to an extent unexampled in Its former history. Taking two years prior to the existence of the treaty and contrast- ing them with the last two years, they show that your mackerel fishery has grown from 250 vessels measuring 18,150 tons, valued at $750,000 and manned by 2,750 men and secunnga catch worth $850,000, to 600 vessels, measuring 54,000 tons, employing 9 000 men and securing 315,000 barrels, worth $4,5G7,500. So with the herring fishery it is equally prosperous. I have seen two American seine boats take 500 barrels of herrines at Baltimore prices, worth $6,500, on the Coast of Labrador, in a summer afternoon I he net fishing is also profitable. The Bank earns and Mill grinds while the banker and miller sleep. The fisherman sets his net at night, and finds in the morning that a kind Providence, without a miracle, except the '• wealth of the seas," that standing miracle, has loaded his nets with a liberal hand. These fisheries, sir, are sufficient for us all. Tbe French who are anxious to build up a powerful navy maintain 10 000 men by their bounties in these North American waters and it is most creditable to our fisher- men, that in the face of these bounties and of yours, they have been able by strict economy and hardy endurance to wrestle for a share of these ocean treasures, to main- tarn their families and increase their numbers. A gentleman asked— But had we not the right to fish on the Banks of Newfound- land before the Treaty ? Mr HOWE— Yes, but not in the great bays of Newfoundland, and along the coast lines where the people of Newfoundland, who frequent the Banks but little, catch all B 10 their codfish. Some of these bays are twenty or thirty miles in width, and deeply indent the island, being broken into numerous fords or smaller bays, where fish are plenty By the treaty American fishermen can now use all the bavs, as well as those upon the coasts of Canada and Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island The command of the inshore fisheries gives to youi people the opportunity to supply" them- selves with bait, whether they resort to banks or fish arouncl the coast. I trust I have shown you, Mr. Chairman, that the fisheries are inexhaustible and of mestimabio value ; that free competition does not lower the prices, and tha^/your hshermen and the Fr.Dich have special aids to stimulate their industry. But my great objection to the abrogation of this treaty is, that it throws open again a wide field of controversy. Who can measure by the eye a milo even upon the land ? And how are your fishermen to measure accurately three marine miles at sea even in fair weather ? In a fog it is impossible to do so. And the naval officers who may be sent down to guard our mutual rights will be as much mystified and puzzled as they were before But it may be said you gave us your inshore fisheries when we gave you ours You did, but they were of comparatively little value. This was the objection that we took to the treaty in Nova Scotia in 1854. Let me illustrate. Suppose a farmer, living on a poor farm, exhausted by excessive cropping, were to say to a neighbour having a rich soil, let us save fencing and throw our farms into one. (Laughter.) That was your proposition, and it was accepted. Now mark the result— that while your vessels have swarmeo in cur waters for the last nine years, carrying oif enormous values every year we have never sent a vessel south during all that time, or cauqht a single cargo of fish on the coasts or in the bays of the United Stc-ies. (Hear, hearO Let rue ask your attention to another matter which requires to be explainet' Mr Seymour, of New York who made an excellent speech in favour of the resolution, took exception to the high taritt' of Canada. Now, in the provinces, our people are naturally anxious to improve their ' .terual communications, and bring thorn up to a level with other portions of the continent. Yielding to this pressure the Government of Canada has expended large sums in the construction of railroads and canals ; and let me say that for every pound expended, this western country has, either directly or indirectly derived some benefit. But the money being spent, of course the interest has to be paid and that this might be done changes have been made in the tarifl" from time to time But you have been compelled lo raise your tariff and although 1 have not the two to compare, I assume that yours is much higher than that of Canada. Of this we do not complain. Why should you ? Both countries must maintain their credit and pay their ol agations. I was very much amused by a speech made by Mr. Morrill in your Con- gress, who assumes that " the magnificent railwav improvements of Canada have been made with the profits derived from the Reciprocity Treaty." But Mr. Morrill ought to know that out of about £13,000,000 oxpenued upon the Grand Trunk Railv/ay and the ^'ictoria Bridge, £10,000,000 were subscribed by a body of British capitalists who have never got a shilling in return for their outlay. I was even more amused at the gentle- man from Maine who took exception to the construction of the Intercolonial Road xle ought to remember that a very large amount, for which Canada pays interest, has gone to improve and restock the road running through Maine to Portland, and to pay interest to th. American proprietors from whom it was leased. As respects the road trom Halifax to Bangor, I am happy to be able to inform him that the Governments of Nova Scotui and New Brunswick have made 160 miles of that road since the Treaty was signed, while the State of Maine has not made a single mile to meet us. It ought to be remembered that Canada is spending, at this moment, a million of dollars on her frontier. For what ? To keep her own people from coming to injure you ? Why there is not a man would ever come. It is to keep the people from your side, who abused the rights of hospitality, from mjuring you or compromising us. The necessities of Canada from these great expenditures compelled her to raise her import duty. And, ai>er all, Canada canuot levy a tax upon your manufactories that she does DOt also lay on those of Britain, so that you may be easy on that point. We are no more fond of taxation than you are, and there is no more popular cry for a man to get up in our Legislatures than that of reducing taxation. Passing from the subject of railroads, let us speak of canals. I candidly confess that v/ben I came to this convention I was ignorant on the subject of western extension, but I listened with great pleasure to the speeches made here, and especially to that of Mr. Little- john, and I began to feel the importance of the question. But this has been felt in Canada for many years. Has not Canada always been in advance of her means in trying to improve the course of navigatiou? I know that a large portion of her debt has been expended in these canal improvements to accommodate the great West, and I know there is no question at this time which 11 engrosses tlio attention of Canadians more than bow they can best extend these highways ot commerce-. (Cheers.) And let me say. that, from what I iiave heard here, when New XOTk, 1 eniisylvauia, and Canada iiavo done their beA, and made llieir canals as efficient as they can, t'lere will be business enough to occupy them all, and the produce of the great West will stdl crowd all those avenues. (Loud cheers.) The complaint that Canada aas given drawbacks, and discriminated, has been fairly met by my friend, Mr. Ryan mere IS no complaint against the Maritime Provinces, as the Boards of Trade of Boston ana \ew York acknowledge with great candour. Newfoundland takes nearly all herbread- stutts and jiork from this country free, and all your manufactures under a very low tariflF As bpain, the Mediterranean, and the West Indies fake all codfish, she has yery little to send in return. I'rince EdwPrd Island sends you barley, oats, and eggs, and takes from you by tar the largest portion of her whole import from other countries. My friend, Mr. Hamlin, seemed reluctant that any expression of opinion should go from tnis body. Wlien any expression goes, it must go from American citizens. All we can do 13 to express an individual opinion. It is for American citizens to judge of what their own riglits are. 1 hat is for you, and not for us, to determine. But I do not believe that any expression of opinion from any body of men in this country will be looked upon as an inter- ference with the authority of this Government, if I know the men at the head of vour aflFairs and unuerstand your system. (Applause.) I may say that I believe this whole matter might be safely left in the hands of the very able man who presides over your State iJepartment. (Cheers.) I have no hesitation in saying, as a British subject, that the manner in whi ;h he has dealt with the variety of vexed questions between the two coun- tries for the last four years gives me a fair assurance that upon this question, as upon all otliers, he will deal with these important interests as an intelligent, able, and experienced statesman. (Loud cheers.) But I quite agree with Mr. Hamlin and other gentlemen that in making this treaty you must have regard to the revenue you have to raise. I know that to be periectly true. \ou have had a large expenditure, and I entirely approve of the spirit m which this assembly recognizes the duty of the Government to sustain the credit of the country and maintain its obligations. We know you must do that. Why, if vou did not, we should share in the disgrace ; we should feel, as a part of the British fam'ily, that when you had is.sued your bonds and sent them largely into foreign countries, we should be disgraced as well as you if you did not sustain them. (Cheers.) But I believe tiiat the resources of tins country are so vast and varied, and thedevelopment of its indus- try 13 so rapid and extensive, that you will be able to master the debt, maintain your credit, and deal with your neighbours in a kindly spirit beside. Why, sir, if it was said by your minister that this treaty could not be renewed in consequence of your financial wants, there is not a man in the colonies who would but take that answer. (Cheers.) But if it were done in any other way, we would say, " It is not done from necessity-it is not done lor revenue— It is done in temper, and it is an indication of the feeling which we must endeavour to eradicate." If Mr. Seward tells us that tliev cannot retain this treaty and have a revenue, we shall be satisfied, and will live beside you and will be good neigh- bours, and wait till your finances are in a better condition. (Loud cheers.) ^Tqw, I quite admit the general pnnciple laid down by Mr. Hamlin, that it is not wise to enter into treaties that shall withdraw large portions of produce from the operation of general revenue a\vs. But there may be circumstances that will render it expedient to make exceptions to that rule. We have a large debt in England. But, nevertheless, one of the most sin- gular Illustrations of this principle was that great achi( vement by that noble man, whose loss 13 deplored by all parties, and who was in all respects a representative Englishman— I mean Binhml Cobdeii. (Great appl.Mise.) The treaty that he concluded with France was justified by the public nece=- ities, and the importance of that trade. And the excep- tion to the rule in the case of the lieciprocity Treaty is justified in the same way. The J^rench Ireaty was essentially a Reciprocity Treaty, and has rapidly developed the com- merce of the two countries, and has bound with ties of amity and peace the people of two groat countries who r,.r centuries thouglit they ought to be natural enemies. Among the interests represented here is the lumber interest. Now, I know something of the lumber trade, although the Province I come from is not very largely interested in It ; but the i rovinces of Canada and New Brunswick are. Tlie srcntloman from Maine seems to be afraid ot the competition of colonial lumber. I wish I had all these gentlemen on the river St. Crol.^c. On the one side of that river is built the town of Calais, and on the other the town of bt. Stephens. They are connected by a bridge, and they have a rail- way for the transportation of lumber. It is about twenty miles long, and it accommodates thL- iuniber of the two countries. The merchant from Calais is loading a vessel at his wharf, and he has not got lumber enough to make up his cargo. Down goes from the other side a few loads of lumber to make American lumber to load a Briiich ship. up the cargo, and the next day down goes 12 These two are t'uis made one by that reciprocity, and I do not.believe, in the case of a war, that there is a single man in St. Stephens who would shoot a man in Calais. (Laughter.) They are kept together by this treaty, and why should it not be so with reference to these Western States ? If there be more lumber in Michigan than in Canada, why should it not go there; and if there is more in Canada than on your prairies, why should not our lumber go out upon the prairies ? Why would any one refuse to the poor settler the privilege of buying the cheapest lumber he can get. (Loud cheers.) But it is said that, there is danger of the price of your lumber being affected by the intro- duction of ours. There is no evidence of this. The price of lumber last year was very high, and I know that since the treaty has been in operation, the people of Bangor have all got rich. But let us reassure them. There are causes at work over the face of the continent that must always keep up the price of lumber. Nobody plants a tree except for shade, and everybody is cutting them down. Many of these States are almost cleared of pine from the seaboard back to the lakes. There are a million of axes cutting down trees, and millions of firesides burning them up, to say nothing of railroads in every section of the country in want of fuel. These are our securities that the price of lumber will nevor get too low. It has passed away, or is passing away before the pioneer. Every poor German or Irishman who goes into the backwoods and destroys the timber tends to keep up the price of lumber, and no man in the State of Maine believes that the price can come largely down. But even if it would, is it not better that it should be so? When a hundred logs are thrown into a river, the Almighty furnishes the trees and the means to bring them down free. Why, then, should we divide the river and the forest by restrictive regulations ? But we do not own all the timber in our possession. In all the Provinces we have abolished our alien laws. The American citizen can come and buy mines and land and timber wherever he likes. And I know of men in Maine and Massachusetts wlio own as much as 20,000 acres in one block in Nova Scotia. A large portion of the lumber of our Province is owned by the citizens of this Republic. Take the case of the river St. John, and you will find that American lumber comes down there payii.^ no taxes, and the whole of that river is alive in the summer with your lumber taken oflF our land, and worked by enterprising Americans. If there is an American vessel there, she carries to your own ports, or to England ; and so the lumber, twisted and intertwined as it is, is a trade owned in fact by the two countries. A word with regard to coal. I was amused at the exception taken to the action of a gentleman from Philadelphia, and at the statement made by some other speaker that ho could see nothing but coal and iron. Well, they are very "good things to see, and I am happy to say that in Nova Scotia we have them both in large quantities ; and we have therri near the sea, therefore, I have great sympathy with a Pennsylvanian who does not undervalue coal and iron. But let me say this, that I have just done what I never had an opportunity of doinof before— I have seen the front and rear and centre of this State of Penn- sylvania. I have seen there what reconciles me to all the misfortunes that may happen to her if this treaty should go into effect. Pennsylvania is so rich in a fertile soil ; so rich in honest industry ; so rich in iron and coal ; so'rich in fruits, and in all that can embellish or give animation to industrial life, that she need care nothing about this treaty. God has been good to her, and her thrifty sons have made the best use of the blessings that have been bestowed upon them. As I passed over that State and saw her fertile fields, I should have fancied I was in one of the richest districts in England, but for the wooden fences. I visited her great workshop, and I saw a city that has no rival on this continent —a city only matched hy three or four in Europe. There Pennsylvania stands in her beauty and power, and she need not fear competition from any of our provinces. But as with timber so with coal. D you think we own all the coal in Nova Scotia? I think not. There is hardly a steamer comes down from New York or Boston that does not bring American capitalist: to invest money in our coal. Now a few words in explanation for the gentleman from Buffalo, who asked me if the provinces had not received some compensation by blockade-running, for the loss of the Southern trade, and I answer, certainly not. We have fifty seaports where we maintain officers, and from whence we carry on foreign trade. But one out of the fifty has had any- thing to do with blockade running. Now, then, if fifty citizens of this country had the option to do a thing, and but one had done it, it would be rather hard to bring a charge against the whole lot for the wrong done by one. But wlio has carried on this blockade running? Not our Nova Scotia merchants. Has anybody put Nova Scotia capital into this business? I do not believe £5. Then where did the capitiil come from ? It came from your own country, cither in the form of trnld brought there, or it came in the shape of bills drawn on the cotton loan in England, by your own people. A gentleman from New York, or Portland or Boston, or anywhere els. , conies down to Halifax, and says to 13 1 I i one of our merchants, I want you to buy 100 brls of pork. He buys it and ships it to whatever place he is directed. Our merchant receives his commission, and that is all he has to do with it. Even in this I know a very few merchants who have touched it at all. There are a fevir, a very few, but whether they have made a profit by it I do not know. It has not amounted to anything as a business, as compared with the general volume of our colonial trade. I have not been home lately, but I should not be very much surprised if, when I get there, I find that the rebellion caved in so rapidly that some of these bills have not been paid in England. MR. ALLEN. — I did not inquire for any captious motives. I have no doubt that Ame- rican traitors are as deeply concerned in it as Canadian speculators. (Great applause.) Mr. HOWE— I believe you did not ; and let me say, also, Mr. President, that no gen- tleman, from the Provinces has taken offence at anything said or done in this assembly. We are accustomed to free debates at home, and let me assure Mr. Hamlin that none of us felt aggrieved at his banter yesterday, which we accepted as a compliment to our shrewdness. Mr. President, I must now touch upon a subject of some delicacy and importance. It has been urged by Mr. Morrill in Congress, and by the people of the United States, that the treaty ought not to be renewed, because it had bred no friendship towards them across the lakes— that in their struggle the sympathies of the Provinces were with the South. Well, if that were true iu its fullest extent, which it was not— if you had not had one sympathiser among the native people and British residents of the Provinces, it could fairly be pled in response that when Great Britain, wis at war with Russia the sympathies of the American people were very generally with the latter country. I was in the United States at the time, and was perfectly astonished at the feeling. Russia was at that time a country full of slaves, ''or the serfs had not been emancipated, and England was at war with her to prevent her aggressions upon weak neighbouring countries. How the Ame- rican people could sympathise with Russia was a perfect puzzle at first sight, and could only be explained in the same manner that much of the sympathy for the South on the part of the British subjects can be explained. And when the Canadians once had a rebellion within their borders, where were the sympathies of the American people then ? Were they with the Canadian Government or with the rebels? Why, you not only sympathised with them, but I am sorry to have to say it, gave them aid along the frontier in many ways, and to a very large extent. I am happy to be able to say, that during the whole four years of the late rebellion in the United States there has not been developed a particle of evidence to show that a single citizen of any British North American Province put a hos- tile foot upon your soil. (Loud applause.) Everything of which complaint can be made has been the act of your own people, in violation of the hospitality and right of asylum everywhere extended to them on the soil of Great Britain and her dependencies. I make these remarks in no spirit of anger or of excitement, but to show how unfair it is to hold any Government or people responsible for the actions in it of a few evil disposed indivi- duals, as well as how natural it was for sympathy to be aroused in the minds of people on one side or another. In our rebellion, when its attention was called to their acts, tne United States Government exerted itself to keep its own citizens within bounds, and all that could have been asked of the Provincial authorities has been freely done to prevent any cause of complaint against them. It is something to be able to say that during the four long disastrous years of war just ended, not a single act of which complaint could be made has been committed by a Canadian. Notwithstand- ing the false reports that were circulated, I do not believe there was a single intelligent citizen of ray Province, at least, who did not believe that the capture of the Chesapeake" off the coastof Maine, by rebellious citizens of the United States, was nothing less or more than an act of piracy. And so of the St. Albans raid. The Government of Canada acted most promptly and nobly in connection with th^tt affair ; and has repaid the money which rebellious citizens of the United States had carried into the!.' territory from the State banks. (Hear, hear.) As to their harbouring the rebels and extending to them the right of asylum, is there a single American here who would have his Government sur- render that right ? There is not an Englishman, an Irishman, a Scotchman, nor an Ame- rican who would not fight three wars rather than give up that sacred right. (Applause.) How many excellent citizens of the United States are there from this country at this mo- ment, and how many were there whc helped them to fight their battles, who dare not go back to their own native lands across the ocean on account of political offences ? The American people would not give these men up to their respective governments, and thus surrender ihcir right of asylum ; they would every man of them fight first. (Applause.) It is very proper that criminals should bo given up, and a treaty for that purpose has been made between England and the United Slates. We may sympathise with political offen- ders, but not with criminals When Abraham Lincoln fell by the hand of the assassin 14 the act was reprobated from end to end of the British Empire. (Hear.) But admitting that a large numbor of people in the Provinces sympathised with the rebels, what of that ? Did not a very large number of the Northern States sympathise with them ? Nobody ever saw two dogs fighting in the street, or two cocks fighting in a backyard, without having his sympathies aroused, he scarcely knew why, in favour of one or the other of the combatants, and generally the weakest. (Laughter. ) Suppose some feeling was excited in the British Provinces, was that any good reason for refusing to al- low us to trade with you across the lakes ? The sympathy expressed for the South may be well balanced by the young men whom you have drawn from the Colonies. (Hear, hear) For one ton of goods sent to the Southerners, and for one young man sent to aid their cause, we have sent fifty tons and fifty able-bodied soldiers to the North. The people of the Provinces might lay the charge against you of having seduced their young men away from their homes, and left their bodies bleaching on Southern plains or rotting in Southern prisons. Only a short time ago I met three British Americans, going home on a single vessel, after having served years in the war, and having left scores of their compa- nions behind to enrich the soil. At Washington I met with a brave nephew of one of my late colleagues in the legislature of Nova Scotia, who held the rank of lieutenant in a Mas- sachusetts regiment, Avith only one leg to take him back to his home instead of two. (Loud cheers.) I met another veteran from my Province who had fought in twenty bat- tles, and was on his way home. In my own family and person I have suffered not a little by this unhappy rebellion. I have five boys, and one of them took itinto his head to enter your army. He has now been for nearly two years in the 23rd Ohio regiment, and has fought in all the battles in which that regiment has been engaged during that period. He was in both the great battles under Sheridan, in which Early's forces were scattered and the Siienandoah valley cleared. (Loud and long continued applause.) All the personal benefit that I have derived from the Reciprocity Treaty or hope to derive from its renewal, will never compensate me or that boy's mother for the anxiety we have had with regard to him ; but when he produced the certificates of his commanding officers showing that he had conducted himself like a gentleman, and had been faithful and brave, it was some consolation for all our anguish to know that he had performed his duty. ( Enthusiastic applause, during which the speaker's feelings nearly overcame him ; as this subsided, a gentleman proposed " three cheers for the boy," which were given with great vivacity.) I know that it has been asserted by some, and I have heard it said since I came to the Convention, that if the Reciprocity Treaty is an- nulled the British Provinces will be so cramped that they will be compelled to seek annex- ation to the United States. I beg to be allowed to say on that point that I know the tieeling in the Lower Provinces pretty thoroughly, and believe I am well enough acquainted with the Canadians to speak for them also, and I speak for them all, with such exceptions as must be made when speaking for any entire population, when I make the assertion, that no considerations of finance, no question of balance for or against them, upon interchange of commodities, can have any influence upon the loyalty of the inhabitants of the British Provinces, or tend in the slightest degree to alienate the affections of the people from their country, their institutions, their Government and their Queen. There is not a loyal man in the British American Provinces, not a man worthy of the name, who, whatever may happen to the Treaty, will become any the less loyal, anj' the less true to his country on that account. There is not a man who dare, on thp abrogation of the Treaty, if such should be its fate, take the hustings and appeal to any constituency- on annexation principles throughout the entire domain. The man who avows such a sentiment will be scouted from society by his best friends. What other treatment would a man deserve who should turn traitor to his Sovereign and his Government, and violate fur pecuniary advan- tage all obligations to the country which gave him birth! You knowwhat you callCopperheads, and a nice life they have of it. (Laughter.) Just such a life will the man have who talks treason on the other side of the lines. (Applause.) The very boy to whom I have alluded, as having fought manfully for the " Stars and Stripes," would rather blow his own father's brains out than haul down the honoured flag under which he has been born, the flag of his nation and of his fatherland. (Cheers.) I do not believe there is a young Canadian in the American army who does not honour his flag as you value yours, and they would be despised if they did not. If any member of the Convention harbours the idea that in refusing Reciprocity to British America, they will undermine the loyal feelings of the people of those Colonies, he is labouring under a delusion, and doing injustice to a people whose senti- ment of loyalty is as indelible as your own. (Loud and continued applause.) Some gentle- men from Maine asked me if we were not building fortifications in the Provinces. Well, .after so many threats from Northern newspapers that so soon as the rebellion was put down and Mexico attended to, the face of the army would ho turned towards Canada, it » X f 15 X was not to be wondered it that the mother country should become a little anxious about her children so far from home, and send out an experienced officer to report upon the bituation. The officer did not report any armed force in si^ht, but reported that if they did come, Canada was in a very poor condition to receive them, and it was resolved to build some further fortifications at Quebec, and there has been some talk about jdaces further westward, but no action has been taken. But what do we see on the other band ? I passed down the Penobscot river a few weeks ago, and what did I see there? — a great frowning fort, of tlie most approved pattern, looking as new and pretty as if it had just come from the mint. (Laughter.) At Portland, also, I observe some extensive fortifications in progress, and have been informed that you are at work in the same line at other points, so that nothing need be said if Canada does invest some money in costly fortifications. But I have no faith in fortifications. I do not rely on military defences. Wo need no bulwarks, No towers along the steep : Our march is o'er the mountain wave,— and our homes are in the mart, on the mountain and the prairie, wherever there is good Avork to be done, and God's gifts to be appropriated. I have faith in our common brother- hood—in such meetings as this — in such social gatherings as that magnificent demon- stration which we all enjoyed so much last night. I sincerely hope thu* all thought of forcing annexation upon the people of Canada will be abandoned, and that if not, you will seek a more pleasant sort of annexation for your children and children's children It was a novel mode of attaching them that the people of Detroit adopted in lashing a fleet of their steamers together and getting up such a grand entertainment, and there was no question that it had a strong tendency to promote one kind of annexation, especially among the young people. (Laughter.) As a measure of self-protection, I put myself under the wing of a pretty little New Brunswick woman, and charged her to take good care of me until we got safe ashore. (Laughter and applause, twice repeated.) I fear I am detaining you too long. (Cries of " go on" from all parts of the house.) In conclu- sion let me say, that in dealing with this great subject, I have spoken in an open, plain manner, and kept back nothing that ought to be said upon it, considering the limited time at my disposal. My friend Mr. Hamlin wished us " to show our hands ;" we have done so, and shown our hearts also in all sincerity. The subject is of vast importance to us all. Though living away down East, I take a deep interest in the great West, and I trust God will spare my life long enough to permit me to explore its vastness more thoroughly than I have yet been able to do, that I may the better discuss the great interests created by its commerce. British America has a great West as yet almost entirely undeveloped, out of which four or five States or Provinces may yet be formed, to pour their wealth down the great Lake Huron into Canada, and through the Straits, past the city of Detroit, to the ocean, while the manufactures of the United States, of England, and of the Provinces, go back to supply the wants. The moment Providence gives me opportunity, I will return to the West and examine its resources, and understand its position, in order that I may lay before my own people, and the people of the Provinces generally, and the capitalists of the mother country, an adequate idea of its importance, with a view of promoting a more active settlement and development of the territory on both sides of the boundary line, for the trade would be as valuable to the world on one side as on the other. Thanking the Convention for the courtesy of so extended a hearing as had been granted him, the honourable gentleman left the platform, amidst deafening and long con- tinued applause. t