214 



DOMINION OF CANADA. 



imports from Great Britain amounted in the 

 fiscal year 1882 to about $43,500,000. The 

 shipments of cattle and sheep showed a falling 

 off. The numbers were 45,435 cattle and 62,- 

 401 sheep, exclusive of 7,955 of the former and 

 9,465 of the latter shipped from American ports. 



A direct line of steamers was started in 

 1881, which make monthly trips to Brazil, the 

 West Indies, and Spanish South American 

 ports by the aid of a Government subsidy. 

 This enterprise is connected with the " national 

 policy " of the Government, which aims to 

 supply the needs of the Dominion for tropical 

 products by means of direct trade with the 

 producing countries as well as to exclude 

 American manufactures in favor of British, 

 and British manufactures as far as protective 

 duties will stimulate the development of Cana- 

 dian industries. Attempts are being made to 

 establish commercial relations with Australia, 

 where there is already some trade, and with 

 Cape Colony, India, China, etc. 



Among the principal commercial events of 

 the year was the fusion of the two great rail- 

 road corporations of the eastern provinces 

 the Grand Trunk and the Great Western. The 

 products of the fisheries in 1881 amounted to 

 $15,817,162. The value of the canned salmon 

 from British Columbia was alone over $1,000,- 

 000. The copper and the iron ore, which is 

 sent in large quantities to the United States, 

 the phosphates, the asbestos, and the graphites 

 of Canada are exported in increasing quanti- 

 ties. The lumbering industry labored under 

 a depression in 1882 from a lessened demand. 

 The protective duty of 50 cents a ton on an- 

 thracite and 60 cents on bituminous coal, 

 which was imposed in 1879, has stimulated 

 the coal-mining industry of Nova Scotia to 

 some extent; but the failure of wood-fuel, 

 which has risen in price as much as 50 per 

 cent in two years in some localities, has much 

 to do with the increased production, since the 

 imports have increased at the same time. The 

 output of the Nova Scotia mines since the im- 

 position of the duty was as follows: 688,629 

 tons in 1879; 954,659 in 1880; 1,034,014 in 

 1881. In the first nine months of 1882 an 

 increase of 18*3 per cent was shown over the 

 corresponding period in 1881. The increasing 

 exports from British Columbia, the greater 

 part of which are shipped to the Pacific States, 

 but small quantities also to the Sandwich Isl- 

 ands and Mexico, lower the adverse balance. 

 The total exports from the Dominion in 1877- 

 '78 were 340,127 tons ; the imports, 406,090 

 tons of anthracite and 456,971 tons of bitu- 

 minous, together 863,961 tons. The total ex- 

 ports of 1880-'81 were 420,955 tons; the im- 

 ports, 572,092 tons of anthracite and 587,023 

 of bituminous, together 1,159,115 tons. In 

 1878 Nova Scotia exported more than British 

 Columbia, but in 1880-'81 the exports from 

 the Pacific colony were 214,243 tons, of which 

 207,806 went to the United States, against 

 190,551 tons from Nova Scotia. 



FINANCES. The public debt of the Domin- 

 ion was incurred chiefly on account of public 

 works canals, railways, etc. About $25,- 

 000,000 have been added to the debt since 

 1878. The debt stood in 1881 at $199,861,- 

 537; of which total $98,729,249 bore interest 

 at 4 per cent, $52,110,026 at 5 per cent, and 

 $17,839,064 at 6 per cent. The average inter- 

 est on the debt payable in London was 4*40 

 per cent, against 5-55 per cent in 1867, when 

 the total liabilities amounted to $93,046,051. 

 The interest charge constitutes nearly one- 

 quarter of the whole expenses of the Dominion 

 Government, amounting in 1879 to some 7 

 millions. The assets of the Government were 

 counted at $44,465,757, an increase of $10,- 

 000,000 since 1878. 



The receipts on account of the consolidated 

 fund, or regular revenues, were larger in 1880- 

 '81 than in any previous year, being $29,635,- 

 297, the next largest having been $24,648,715 

 in 1875. There was an increase of $6,000,000 

 over the revenue of 1879-'80, the first mani- 

 festation of the working of the new tariff since 

 the revival of business. The revenue for 1881- 

 '82 gave still stronger evidence of the pros- 

 perity of the country and the demand for im- 

 ported goods notwithstanding the high duties. 

 The revenue for 1880-'81 yielded a surplus of 

 $4,132,743 over all expenditures; in 1881-'82 

 there was a further increase of $3,000,000, the 

 income exceeding $32,000,000. 



The expenditures on account of the consoli- 

 dated fund, or ordinary expenditures of the 

 Dominion Government in 1880-'81, amounted 

 to $25,502,554. Among the principal items 

 were: Civil government, $915,958; adminis- 

 tration of justice, $583,957 ; militia and de- 

 fense, $667,000; Public Works Department, 

 $1,138,765; Indian grants, $805,097; immi- 

 gration and quarantine, $250,812 ; census, 

 $127,033 ; geological survey and observations, 

 $111,352; expenses of collecting customs, 

 $717,704; of excise, $247,577; of public 

 works, $2,703,665 ; of the post-office, $1,876,- 

 657. 



The expenditures on account of the consoli- 

 dated fund for the year ending June 30, 1882, 

 amounted to $26,419,670. 



The expenditure on capital account, during 

 1880-'81, amounted to $8,176,316, of which 

 $4,968,503 represents outlay on the Pacific 

 Railway, $608,732 on the Intercolonial Ptail- 

 way, $1,242,943 on the Welland Canal, $411,- 

 608 on the Ottawa canals, $334,681 on Domin- 

 ion lands, and the rest on the other canals, etc. 

 The Government railways, embracing the In- 

 tercolonial and Prince Edward Island lines, 

 have not yet been made to yield an income 

 above the working expenses. Since 1868, 

 when the Dominion Government assumed the 

 administration of the Northwest Territories, 

 there was expended upon them, down to 1880- 

 '81, altogether, $30,406,481. Of this, $20,778,- 

 781, including $17,524,100 expended upon the 

 Canada Pacific Railway, were charged to capi- 



