258 



DOMINION OP CANADA. 



eration, Mr. Foster congratulated the country 

 upon what it had accomplished in emerging from 

 a chaos of scattered provinces; in solving the 

 problem of immeasurable distances ; in molding 

 the ambitions of its widely differing creeds, races, 

 mid interests into a dominant sentiment of na- 

 tional unity ; and in building magnificent chan- 

 nels of intercommunication. This had been 

 done by pouring out treasure like water, by an 

 expenditure beginning with $13,500,000 in 1867, 

 reaching this year nearly $37,000,000, and aver- 

 aging twenty-five and one third millions a year, 

 or a total of '$558.000,000, besides pledging its re- 

 sources to the extent of $237,000,000. While 

 maintaining that the money had been wisely ex- 

 pended, the Finance Minister repeated the opin- 

 ion expressed in his last budget that after 1889 

 neither the public debt nor the expenditure for 

 ordinary purposes should be increased. 



In introducing numerous tariff changes, it was 

 pointed out that many of them were made simply 

 for the purpose of making the tariff more intel- 

 ligible to business men. Among the articles 

 practically affected by the changes are the fol- 

 lowing : Fancy boxes and cases, and all the cog- 

 nate fancy manufactures, raised from 30 to 35 

 per cent. ; common colorless window glass, re- 

 duced from 30 to 20 per cent. ; ornamental fig- 

 ured and colored window glass, reduced from 30 

 to 25 per cent. ; stained-glass windows and sil- 

 ver plate glass, to remain at 30 per. cent., and 

 beveled glass to pay 35 per cent.; gloves and 

 mitts, raised from 30 to 35 per cent. ; Vail paper 

 and hangings, reduced variously on qualities sub- 

 ject to specific duties, others to pay 35 per cent. 

 ad valorem,', dry plates for photographers, re- 

 duced from 15 cents to 9 cents, estimated to be 

 equal to from 35 to 40 per cent, at present 

 prices ; stereotype? and stereotyped plates, for- 

 merly taxed by weight, to be taxed 2 cents a 

 square inch ; umbrellas, raised from 30 to 35 per 

 cent; copper and brass wire, formerly on the free 

 list. 15 per cent; covered wire, increased from 25 

 to 35 per cent. ; woolens, raised from 74- cents a 

 pound and 20 per cent, ad valorem, to 10 cents a 

 pound and 20 per cent, ad valorem ; on spirits 

 and alcohol the rates remain the same, but are 

 t<> bo arranged upon the proof strength, so that 

 liquors imported much above proof shall have 

 no advantage over the liquors at or about proof ; 

 silks, sweats, and linings, formerly admitted free 

 to bo used in the manufacture of hats, having 

 l>een used for other purposes, are removed from 

 the free list, and as compensation to the hatters 

 the duty on straw and woolen hats is increased 5 

 percent.; ladies' hats remain unaltered : fur-felt 

 nats, to pay $1.50 per dozen additional, but the 

 ad valorem duty to be reduced from 25 to 20 per 

 cent.; flour increased 25 cents a barrel, making 

 75 conK supposed to be about equivalent to the 

 duty on wheat at 15 cents a bushel ; mess pork 

 or heavy pork, raised from 1 cent to 1 cent a 

 pound; salted and fresh meats, formerly paying 

 1 and 2 cents, to pay 3 cents a pound ; prepared 

 meats, raised from 2 cents to 3 cents ; tried lard, 

 raised from 2 cents to 3 cents ; untried lard, from 

 1| cent to 2 cents ; live cattle, hogs, and sheep, 

 raised from 20 to 30 per cent. ; on corn meal, 

 kiln dried, a rebate of 90 per cent, on the original 

 duties paid to be allowed to the persons milling; 

 on molasses, the duty averaging about 15 per 



cent., to be reduced about half. Dealing with 

 the much-vexed question of certain fruits, plants, 

 and shrubs, placed upon the free list in 1888, the 

 minister announced that the duties would now 

 be reim posed, with the exception that on black- 

 berries, gooseberries, raspberries, and strawber- 

 ries, the duty would be 3 cents instead of 4 cents; 

 bananas, plantains, pineapples, pomegranate 

 guavas, mangoes, shaddocks, wild blueberrie 

 and wild strawberries are made free ; and beet 

 carrot, turnip, and mangel seeds for the use 

 farmers are placed on the free list. 



In 1888 the Opposition had brought pressure 

 to bear upon the Government, contending that 

 under the Standing Offer clause of the Tariff act 

 of 1879, whenever the United States admitted 

 any of the fruits, plants, and shrubs enumerated 

 free of duty Canada was bound to do the same. 

 The Government's contention was that the clause 

 was permissive, not mandatory, and moreover 

 that it was never intended that the Dominion 

 Government should take any action unless the 

 United States Government should free the prod- 

 ucts mentioned as a whole. The Government, 

 however, had yielded for the time being, and the 

 result had been that a considerable amount of 

 duty had been lost, and a great deal of damage 

 done to a large and important interest in the 

 country. He argued that the removal of the du- 

 ties did not place the Canadian grower in a posi- 

 tion of fair and equal competition with the 

 Americans, because, for instance, there was State 

 legislation in most of the bordering States, mak- 

 ing it practically impossible for Canadian nur- 

 serymen to do business there ; and also because, 

 while the Canadian season is short, the United 

 States has the advantage of a wide range of cli- 

 mate. The Finance Minister concluded by an- 

 nouncing that mining machinery, steel and iron 

 for use in building, steel and iron ships, and seed 

 for ensilage purposes had been placed on tl 

 free list. 



Sir Richard Cartwright (Liberal) congratulat 

 the Finance Minister upon being happy in his 

 fool's paradise. Not for thirty-five years had 

 there been in the annals of Canada, and notably 

 of Ontario, a year in which there had not been 

 in some portions of the country cases of such 

 extreme distress and such well-founded appre- 

 hensions for the future. He criticised the Gov- 

 ernment .for looking to the West Indies and 

 South America for the development of Canadian 

 commerce, and overlooking 5,000 miles of nearer 

 territory, in order to reach countries south of 

 the equator. Sir Richard instanced the Inter- 

 colonial Railway, with its year's deficit of $416,- 

 000, as one of the " princely equipments and 

 royal endowments " referred to by the Finance 

 Minister, and, in denial of the statement that 

 the people of the United States are a unit in 

 favor of protection, urged that President Cleve- 

 land, the champion of free trade, had a popular 

 majority of over 100,000 in the last presidential 

 election. Pie stigmatized the position of Canada 

 with regard to the United States as most unsatis- 

 factory. The reflection of the policy of the Do- 

 minion Government was to be seen in the Mc- 

 Kinley resolutions, and the reflection of the 

 policy of the Opposition in the resolutions intro- 

 duced by Mr. Hitt. He characterized the policy 

 of the Government on the fishery question as a 



