658 



NOVA SCOTIA. 



per capita, the amount allowed to New Bruns- 

 wick at confederation ; a larger amount having 

 originally been allowed to New Brunswick on 

 account of its then existing and maturing lia- 

 bilities being greater. The act also granted 

 Nova Scotia an annual allowance of $82,698 

 for ten years, that being the equivalent of $63,- 

 000 a year for ten years, granted to New Bruns- 

 wick, on account of its greater territory and of 

 its having to pay more in proportion to its pop- 

 ulation than the other provinces for roads and 

 bridges. The reply insists that no adverse in- 

 equality now exists with regard to the allow- 

 ances paid to Nova Scotia. It denies the alle- 

 gation of the memorial, that the popular dis- 

 content with the financial arrangements is more 

 general and more deeply fixed than ever, and 

 claims that in proportion to the money paid by 

 it into the Dominion treasury a larger return is 

 made to Nova Scotia in the way of local ex- 

 penditure than in any other province, except 

 possibly Prince Edward Island. 



To the allegation of the memorial that a no- 

 table inequality exists in the customs duty col- 

 lected in Nova Scotia, as compared with the 

 customs duty collected in Ontario and Que- 

 bec, the Dominion Government replies that 

 although the percentage of duty paid on the 

 total imports in 1883, dutiable and free, is ap- 

 parently greater in Nova Scotia than in Onta- 

 rio and Quebec, yet the amount of customs 

 duties per head of the population that year is 

 less in Nova Scotia than in any other province 

 in the Dominion except Prince Edward Island. 

 It is pointed out that Nova Scotia imported a 

 larger proportion of beer and spirits than the 

 other provinces; and that the province that 

 imports the largest proportion of goods sub- 

 ject to the higher rates of duties will show 

 a proportionately higher percentage of duty 

 upon its total imports. The inequality is also 

 partly accounted for by the large amount of 

 duty collected on sugar that is imported by the 

 Halifax refineries and consumed in the other 

 provinces. 



With regard to the amounts of revenue per 

 capita available for local purposes in Ontario, 

 Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, re- 

 spectively, the Dominion Government reminds 

 the Provincial Government that had the latter 

 not withdrawn from the credit of the debt ac- 

 count large amounts expended in railway ex- 

 tension and other public works, the amount of 

 the present Dominion subsidy would, with the 

 local resources, be sufficient for all provincial 

 purposes. 



To the complaint of the memorial that the 

 amount received from the United States un- 

 der the fishery award, for privileges conceded 

 American fishermen within the territorial lim- 

 its of the maritime provinces, was appropri- 

 ated to the general purposes of the Dominion, 

 the Dominion Government replies that a large 

 sum has been returned to the fishermen of 

 Canada in the form of bounties, of which the 

 people of Nova Scotia received by far the 



largest portion. In addition, large suras have 

 been voted for the protection of the shore and 

 river fisheries of the province. 



In declining to grant Nova Scotia any fur- 

 ther allowance, the Dominion Government ex- 

 presses the opinion that " to concede the prin- 

 ciple which the memorial would urge, that 

 when through exceptional expenditures any of 

 the provinces of the Union become financially 

 embarrassed, it is the part of the Dominion 

 Government to go to their relief, would de- 

 stroy the whole financial basis of confedera- 

 tion." 



The Dominion Government's communication 

 also deals with the question of the Halifax 

 railway debt, which subject was brought up by 

 the Nova Scotia delegates, but does not apper- 

 tain to the memorial. At the time of confed- 

 eration, a dispute was pending between the 

 province of Nova Scotia and the city of Hali- 

 fax, which had paid nothing upon the railway 

 stock assigned to it, on the ground that faith 

 bad been broken with the city through the rail- 

 way's stopping short of Halifax harbor at one 

 end and short of the New Brunswick fron- 

 tier at the other end. In the arrangements 

 for confederation nothing was said about this 

 debt. But the Dominion Government took 

 over the railways, and the province now de- 

 mands that the debt shall be considered as one 

 of the assets of Nova Scotia at confederation. 

 The Dominion Government declines to allow 

 the claim, holding that whatever claim exists 

 is one of the province of Nova Scotia against 

 the city of Halifax. 



On April 14, 1886, the Legislature adopted 

 another joint address to the Governor-Gen- 

 eral, setting forth that the reply of his Excel- 

 lency's Government to the memorial of 1884 

 had failed to meet the case presented. The 

 address pointed out that the act 32 and 33, 

 Vic., cap. 2, was based simply upon an agree- 

 ment between the Dominion Government and 

 the late Hon. Joseph Howe and Hon. A. W. 

 McLelan, two public men who had no authori- 

 ty from the Provincial Government ; and that 

 therefore the province could not be bound by 

 their action to accept the act as a final settle- 

 ment. It was also urged that while Nova 

 Scotia was admittedly entitled to the same 

 financial terms as New Brunswick, yet the lat- 

 ter province had received a refund of $250,000 

 granted by the province to subsidize a railway 

 from Painsec to the border of Nova Scotia : 

 had been granted, subsequently to the better- 

 terms arrangement, $150,000 per annum in 

 lieu of the export timber dues, while the lum- 

 bermen of the province were relieved of the 

 tax ; for all of which Nova Scotia had received 

 no equivalent. The Legislature denied that 

 the Dominion Government was as well quali- 

 fied as itself to estimate the feeling of discon- 

 tent prevailing ; maintained that, beyond the 

 grants referred to in the Dominion Govern- 

 ment's reply, Nova Scotia was fairly entitled 

 to more under the British North America act, 



