366 IMPORT -DUTY ON WHEAT. 



years to come. But Indian corn will never become the 

 staple food of our people ; nor is it desirable that it 

 should. The importation of this grain will not directly 

 interfere, therefore, with the home market for wheat. 



The view I have taken of this question has a material 

 bearing upon other topics which interest us at home, but 

 which are at present peculiarly exciting to the people of 

 Upper Canada. Take the import-duty of 20 per cent 

 upon provincial produce, when brought into the United 

 States, for an example. Wheat, like all other unmanu- 

 factured articles, pays this duty. In present circumstances, 

 the impost on this article does not concern Nova Scotia, 

 New Brunswick, or Lower Canada. They are wheat- 

 importing countries, and are therefore indifferent about 

 it. But Upper Canada produces fine wheat, and has still 

 a large surplus, which, as a nearer and more convenient 

 market, the Upper Canadian merchants are anxious to 

 introduce into Rochester and Oswego free of duty. I 

 have in a previous chapter expressed my opinion that a 

 free commercial intercourse, between the opposite shores 

 of the St Lawrence and of the great lakes, is desirable 

 on general grounds; but, in order to obtain this free 

 intercourse, it does not appear to me that Canada 

 ought to be over-anxiously urgent with the officials at 

 Washington, or rashly to offer concessions which may 

 ultimately prove to be far beyond the value of the reci- 

 procal advantage they now wish to obtain. 



In regard to wheat, there are two or three points 

 which are worthy of careful consideration. First, the 

 power of exporting wheat resides at present only in the 

 newer and richer parts of Canada West. Supposing 

 that the result expected by the wheat-growers and 

 corn-merchants of this part of the colony were to follow 

 from this wished-for free importation of grain into the 

 United States — namely, a considerable elevation in the 

 price of wheat — would it be for the good of Canada, as 



