DOMINION OF CANADA. 



27? 



in the iron industry, and to the improved busi- 

 ness of the old iron and steel industries, Sir 

 Charles took up the question of trade with the 

 West Indies. This trade, on the whole, had been 

 good ; the price of Canadian fish in the West 

 Indies had been satisfactory to fishermen and 

 merchant shippers. An important factor in this 

 trade was the return cargoes of sugar and the 

 recent change in the sugar duties. Putting the 

 same duty upon all sugars for refining, accord- 

 ing to their polariscopic test, had had the effect 

 of encouraging the importation of West Indian 

 sugar, especially into Xova Scotia. In 1878" 

 the total value of imports entered for consump- 

 tion from all the West Indies was $1,181,728, 

 and in 1886 this had increased to $3,249,642. 



Passing to the cotton industry, there are 

 now about 60,000 bales of raw cotton, in value 

 about $3,000,000, used annually in the Domin- 

 ion, being an increase in ten years of nearly 

 50,000 bales. In the Dominion there are now 

 about half a million spindles, employing about 

 9.000 hands, with an invested capital of about 

 $8,000,000. To show how steadily interpro- 

 vincial trade has developed in Canada, returns 

 furnished by the Intercolonial Railway show 

 that the following movements took place in 

 1878 and in 1887 in passengers and articles car- 

 ried both ways: 



Federal gross debt, with assets, for years ended 

 30th June was as follows : 



In both years flour, live-stock, and lum- 

 ber were local, as distinguished from through 

 freight for export. As regards grain, there 

 were 440,454 bushels local freight in 1887, 

 against 331,470 in 1878. The total increase of 

 freight in 1887, as compared with 1878, was 

 608,000 tons ; and, speaking of the proportions 

 between local and through freight, the general 

 manager says that the increase is about equally 

 divided. This would give an increase of local 

 traffic equal to over 300,000 tons in 1887, as 

 compared with 1878, or an increase of 57 per 

 cent. The increase in the movement of pas- 

 sengers was indicative also of increased inter- 

 provincial trade. Taking some of the articles 

 carried westward, the growth of this trade he 

 regarded as indicated by the quantity of coal 

 yearly transported by rail from Xova Scotia. 

 Forthe several years" from 1879 to 1886 the fol- 

 lowing quantities were carried west by the In- 

 tercolonial Railway: 1879, 570 tons; 1880, 

 10.246 tons; 1881, 30,629 tons; 1882, 35,089 

 tons; 1883, 54,891 tons; 1884, 112,898 tons; 

 1885, 165,791 tons; 1886, 175,512 tons. 



Sir Charles submitted to Parliament a series 

 of tables showing comparative statistics for 

 eacli year since confederation. The Canada 



Canada taxation, being customs and excise 

 duties collected, during years ended 30th June : 



Canada imports for home consumption, di- 

 vided into free and dutiable, during years ended 

 30th June : 



