DOMINION OF CANADA. 



of expenditures for 1881-'82 submitted to Par- 

 liament by the Finance Minister, Sir Leonard 

 Tilley, was $26,465,000. In view of a prob- 

 able large increase in the customs revenue, the 

 Government has acceded to demands for larger 

 local expenditures. The increase over the an- 

 nual budgets presented by the late Government 

 is about $2,000,000. 



The amendments made by Parliament in the 

 tariff law during the session of 1881 were all 

 in the direction of higher and more extended 

 protection. 



The protective tariff has not resulted, as its 

 opponents predicted, in perpetuating the con- 

 dition of depression and commercial inactivity. 

 On the contrary, the material prosperity of Can- 

 ada under the new tariff has been unexampled. 

 Yet the most intelligent of both parties under- 



stand that the development of trade and agri- 

 culture was not caused by the tariff. The tide 

 was just tucning when the new tariff laws went 

 into operation. The opening up of fresh agri- 

 cultural areas, the abundance of the crops, and 

 the active demand in Europe for the produce, 

 operated as in the United States to bring about 

 and to sustain the upward movement. The 

 high tariff went into force in March, 1879. 

 Owing to the general prosperity, the total 

 value of imports, though less, was still so large 

 that the revenue from import duties was con- 

 siderably augmented. The exports in the first 

 year of the tariff exceeded the imports for the 

 first time in the commercial history of the Do- 

 minion. The following table contains the re- 

 turns of the exports and imports, and the duty 

 collected for a series of years : 



The value of imports for the fiscal year 1881 

 attained the sum of $105,330,724; the value of 

 the imports entered for home consumption was 

 $91,619,434. The customs taxes collected 

 amounted to $18,778,146. The total exports, 

 including, as in the above table, specie and for- 

 eign merchandise, were $92,026,527. There 

 was thus an excess of imports over exports of 

 $13,304,197, and an increase over the exports 

 of the preceding year of $4,115,069. 



The tariff completely fulfilled the design of 

 its constructors of discriminating against the 

 products of the United States, and in favor of 

 the manufactures of Great Britain. If intended 

 as a temporary retaliatory measure, its very 

 success must greatly increase the difficulty of 

 returning to reciprocity with the United 

 States. Various industries have been created 

 on the strength of the exclusion of American 

 goods, and are already in extensive operation. 

 The agitation in England in favor of protection 

 and reciprocity, and of a protective league be- 

 tween the mother-country and the colonies, for 

 the exclusion of the products of all other na- 

 tions, lends vigor to the new policy in Canada. 

 The farming class have not accepted the tariff 

 with entire satisfaction. They are pressing in 

 their demands to have the agricultural interests 

 aided and protected wherever it is possible to 

 lay an import duty, and even to have the excise 

 duties remitted in their favor. A duty upon 

 wool and an increase in the grain duties are 

 strongly agitated. For beet-sugar an immunity 



from the excise duty for eight years is de- 

 manded. The tobacco-raisers ask for an im- 

 port duty on tobacco, and a removal of the 

 excise duty on their product. 



Before the change in the tariff the imports 

 from the United States had for several years 

 exceeded those from Great Britain. In the 

 first year the imports from the United King- 

 dom increased in value, while those from the 

 United States fell off so greatly as to be 

 $5,000,000 less than the British imports, where- 

 as the year before they had been $13,000,000 

 greater, and had exceeded them every year 

 since 1874. In 1874- 1 75 the importations into 

 the Dominion were from Great Britain, $60,- 

 000,000; from the United States, $50,000,000; 

 from other countries, $8,000,000. In 1875-'76 

 the figures were: from Great Britain, $40,- 

 000,000; from the United States, $46,000,000; 

 from other countries, $5,000,000. In 1877-'78 : 

 from Great Britain, $37,000,000; the United 

 States, $46,000,000; other countries, $5,000,- 

 000. In 1878-'79 : Great Britain, $30,000,000 ; 

 United States, $43,000,000; other countries, 

 $5,000,000. In 1879-'80: Great Britain, 

 $34,000,000; United States, $29,000,000; other 

 countries, $7,000,000. In 1878 the value of 

 American goods which were entered for con- 

 sumption was $48,631,739, on which duties 

 were paid to the amount of $4,794,599, or 

 about 9f per cent. In 1880 the value of im- 

 ports entered for consumption from the United 

 States was $29,346,948, which realized $4,521,- 



