100 



CANADA, DOMINION OF. 



tracts which had been costing $381,237 were put 

 up to tender, and new contracts were obtained for 

 the performance of the same service for a period of 

 four years at an annual cost of $277,300. But the 

 most noteworthy achievement was the arrange- 

 ment, after long 'discussions between the British 

 Poetmaster-General, the Duke of Norfolk, and Mr. 

 Mulock, of an imperial penny - postage system, 

 which in time is intended to apply to all the coun- 

 tries of tin' British Kmpire, and will go into opera- 

 tion as between Canada and Great Britain on 

 Christmas Dav, 1898. 



Trade and Commerce. The total trade of 

 Canada for t hi- fiscal year 1897-'98 was $304,091,720, 

 against *2:>7.16S.H62 in the preceding year. The 

 export! were $159,485,770, and the imports $140,- 

 :!0.->.950. The dutiable goods imported were $84,- 

 126,000, and the free goods $56,178,000. The duty 

 collected was $21,956,059, an increase of $2,000,000 

 in the year. From Great Britain $32,827,000 worth 

 was purchased, or $3,500,000 more than in 1897; 

 and to Great Britain products were sent valued at 

 $104.787,000. To the United States $41,122,000 

 worth was exported, and from the republic the 

 imports amounted to $86,587,000. The following 

 table gives the total Canadian exports by countries 

 in 1897-'98 : 



The ensuing table shows the total trade between 

 Canada and the United States in certain recent 

 years, according to the returns of the United States 

 Bureau of Statistics: 



Agriculture. In December, 1896, the Hon. 

 Sydney Fisher, Dominion Minister of Agriculture, 

 visited Washington, and early in 1897 a clear and 

 definite arrangement was made between Canada 

 and the United States regarding mutual quarantine 

 regulations affecting animals and live stock. The 

 following summarizes the arrangement: "Each 

 country to accept the veterinary certificates of the 

 other, but only from inspectors who are regular 

 graduates of recognized veterinary colleges. The 

 chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry and the 

 chief ins|>ector of stock for Canada will inform 

 one another of any outbreak of contagious diseases 

 in either country. They will also inform one an- 

 other of the discovery of any disease in animals 

 Imported from either country. A quarantine of 

 ninety days shall be enforced by both countries 

 upon all cattle imported from Europe or from any 

 country in which contagious pleuro-pneumonia is 

 known to exist ; a quarantine of fifteen days shall 

 he enforced upon all ruminants and swine imported 

 from countries in which foot-and-mouth disease 

 KM existed daring the six months preceding such 

 importation ; and a quarantine of fifteen days shall 

 IM- enforced upon all .swine imported from all coun- 

 tries other than the United States and Canada. 

 Animals shipped to either country for exportation 



or other purposes shall be subject to all the local 

 regulations applying to the animals of that coun- 

 try." 



In 1897 the agricultural products exported by 

 Canada amounted to $17.982,646, and animals and 

 their products to $39,245,252. In the ten months 

 ending April 30, 1898, the exports of agricultural 

 products were $28,774,048, and of animals, etc.. 

 $38,910,596, showing an enormous increase over 

 the preceding year. The crops were good all over 

 Canada in the summer of 1898. 



Prohibition aiid Temperance. In accordance 

 with the promise of the Premier in the elections of 

 1896, a vote was taken throughout the Dominion 

 on the question of the total prohibition of the 

 manufacture and sale of spirits and intoxicants. 

 The vote took place on Sept. 29, 1898, and resulted 

 in a comparatively small total majority for pro- 

 hibition in a small popular vote. Quebec gave a 

 very large majority (90,000) against, while all the 

 other provinces gave small majorities in favor of it. 

 Sir W. Laurier declared soon afterward that the 

 result left the situation much as it was before the 

 vote was taken. The popular opinion seems to be 

 that the total majority was not sufficient to warrant 

 the Government in proposing or enacting spec ial 

 legislation. The vote polled was 542,956 out of 

 1,233,637 available voters. For prohibition tlu>re 

 were 278,434, against 264,522. Some years ago "he 

 Royal Commission on Prohibition calculated the 

 drink bill of Canada, on the average retail prices, at 

 $39,879,854 per annum. This does not allow for the 

 weakening of spirits by water, which, the commis- 

 sioners say, it is well understood is largely done. 

 They reported, therefore, that the actual drink bill 

 would be undoubtedly in excess of the sum named, 

 or, to put it in round figures, something more than 

 $40,000,000 a year. The calculation was made on 

 the basis of the consumption of 1893. The first cost 

 is placed at $15,030,064, including the duty, leaving 

 $25.000,000 to pay for its distribution and yield a 

 profit to all who handle it. The commission found 

 that more than 21,600,000 gallons of stimulants were 

 consumed by Canadians, costing as follows : Spirits, 

 3.809,596 gallons, $8.728,563 ; malt liquors, 17.355,- 

 487 gallons. $8.368,145; wine, 511.626 gallons, 

 $933,356 ; total, $18.030,064. It was estimated that 

 of this $11,158.683 represented domestic liquors, 

 and $3,871,381 imported. A more recent calcula- 

 tion, which, however, agrees in the main with the 

 foregoing, has been made by George Johnson, the 

 Government statistician. His calculation, which is 

 based on the consumption of 1896, places the drink 

 bill for that year at $35,393,064. or $6.90 per hoad 

 for every man, woman, and child in Canada. lie 

 places the drink bill for 1896 at the following 

 figures: Spirits, $15.716,374; wine. $1,370,886: 

 beer, $18,305,064. By applying Mr. Johnson's 

 method to the official returns for 1897. the last year 

 reported upon, it is seen that the drink bill wcni up 

 considerably and kept pace with the estimated 

 growth of population. 



The liquor taken out of bond for consumption in 

 1897 represented, when retailed, $7.73 a head for 

 every man, woman, and child in Canada. But an 

 unusually large quantity of spirits was ex-ware- 

 housed on account of the prospect of increased 

 duties. The figures computed by the Inland 

 Revenue Department show that since Con federa- 

 tion (1867) the consumption of spirits and wine has 

 steadily declined in Canada, whereas the pe< pie 

 have taken more freely to beer drinking. 



Relations with the United States. The yar 

 with Spain brought about a very general express- ion 

 from the press and public men in Canada of s in- 

 pathy with the American position and policy. This 

 was proved practically by the issue in the Carranza 



