280 



DOMINION OF CANADA. 



of $200,000,000, but there ia a dead annual loss 

 of $700,000 a year, not to speak of the various 

 important items which under our most vicious 

 system of book-keeping are charged to capital 

 account. 



" What possible available remedies are there 

 for such a state of tilings? So far as I can see, 

 these remedies are four. In the first place, I 

 think that a very great improvement might be 

 made by reforming our present most oppress- 

 ive and unjust system of taxation. I say that 

 an immense improvement might be made by so 

 revising our Constitution in the manner which 

 we have pressed from this side of the House 

 time and again, and in the manner which we 

 have seen our friends not our friends but the 

 friends of the Government in conference as- 

 sembled have lately likewise proposed ; and by 

 so altering the Constitution that this tyrannical 

 conduct on the part of the Federal authorities 

 toward the rights and privileges of the local 

 legislatures should be put an end to forever. 

 On the other hand, that which is equally im- 

 portant is that this system of bribes, and all 

 those frequent and incessant forays, by various 

 provincial governments on the Dominion treas- 

 ury, whenever they have been extravagant and 

 got into a scrape, may likewise be put a stop to ; 

 and for a third remedy, sir, that this most mis- 

 chievous railway monopoly which has barred 

 our progress up to the present time, and which 

 has barred the settlement and prosperity of 

 northwestern Manitoba, should likewise be put 

 an end to. But most of all and most impor- 

 tant of all, do I believe would be the success 

 in the obtaining of the proposition which I 

 ask the Government to try and obtain in the 

 resolution now in your hands, the obtaining 

 of perfect free trade with the people of the 

 United States. I say, sir. that that is worth all 

 the rest. Give us that, and railway monopo- 

 lies will cease to vex and harass you ; give us 

 that, and the Federal relations will speedily ad- 

 just themselves as Federal relations ought to 

 do and as Federal relations were intended to 

 do; give us that, and the sting would be taken 

 out of those tariff combines, more particularly 

 if the United States, as there is now a good 

 hope that it will do, proceeds to emancipate 

 itself from the trade fetters it most foolishly 

 put on. It may be said that this is a heroic 

 remedy. Well, all I can say is that if it be, 

 never in the history of this country, at any 

 rate, was a heroic remedy more needed. 



" I contend that for almost everything our 

 farmers have to sell the United States, if orily 

 we had free and unrestricted trade with them, 

 would afford us absolutely the best market ; 

 and I contend further that, besides being the 

 best market, it is literally the only market for 

 a great many important articles which we pro- 

 duce. See, in spite of all artificial obstacles, bow 

 huge a percentage of the total volume of our 

 trade is the volume of our trade with the United 

 States. Out of a total volume of trade of $202,- 

 000,000, the United States supply the trade of 



$83,000,000. Out of $81,000,000 of exports 

 of our own produce, we sell to the United 

 States, or sold last year over $36,000,000, or 

 very nearly half. Out of a total of goods en- 

 tered for consumption of $105,000,000, we 

 bought $45,000,000 from the United States. 

 We find that, of 18,779 horses which we sold, 

 the United States bought 18,215. We find 

 that, of 443,000 sheep, the United States bought 

 from us 363,000. We find that, of 116,000 cat- 

 tle, in spite of all tariff restrictions, they bought 

 from us 45,000 head. Of $107,000 worth of 

 poultry, the United States bought $99,000 

 worth. Of about $2,000,000 worth of eggs 

 $1,825,000, to be accurate the United States 

 bought all. Of $593,000 worth of hides, the 

 United States bought $413,000 worth. Of 

 527,000 tons of coal, the United States bought 

 404,000. Of 140,000 tons of gypsum, the 

 United States bought all. Of iron-ore, the 

 United States bought all. Of salt, all that we 

 sold the United States bought from us. Of 

 stone and marble, all that we sold the United 

 States bought from us. In spite of fishery dis- 

 putes, and taxes I suppose, of $6,875,000 worth 

 of fish that we sold, tlte United States was our 

 best customer and bought $2,717,000 worth. 

 Of $20,485,000 worth of lumber, the United 

 States bought as nearly as possible half, $9,353,- 

 000 worth. Of 1,416,000 pounds of wool, the 

 United States bought 1,300,000 pounds. Of 

 9,456,000 bushels of barley, the United States 

 again bought all. Of $743,000 worth of hay, 

 the United States bought $670,000. Of $439,- 

 000 worth of potatoes, the United States bought 

 $328,000. Of $83,000 worth of general vege- 

 tables, they bought $75,000 worth. Of $254,- 

 000 worth of miscellaneous agricultural prod- 

 ucts, the United States bought $249,000 worth, 

 without speaking of innumerable smaller arti- 

 cles, such as apples, flax, and a great variety 

 of other things; and, if the duties were once 

 removed, no one who has ever been in Mani- 

 toba and the Northwest but knows that the 

 United States would become by all odds our 

 best customer for a great deal of our high- 

 class wheat. Why, in the mere article of 

 manufactures, the United States, out of a total 

 of $3,079,000, bought $1,289,000 worth, and 

 of miscellaneous articles the United States 

 bought $569,000 worth out of a total of $644,- 

 000. There" are two things to which I want 

 to call the attention of all the members of this 

 House. One is that, for very obvious reasons, 

 our exports to the United States are largely 

 undervalued. They do not at all fairly repre- 

 sent the amount we sell. So long as they main- 

 tain a high tariff, it is the obvious interest of 

 every Canadian seller to underestimate the 

 value of the articles he has to sell, and, as 

 every one knows, the thing is habitually and 

 constantly done. In another respect it is very 

 important that the House should know that in 

 the case of an enormous number of the arti- 

 cles to which I have called specific attention, 

 there is room for well-nigh unlimited expan- 



