72 WHO PAYS THE DUTY? 



CHAPTER XVI. 



WHO PAYS THE DUTY? THE PROPOSED CANADIAN RECIPROCITY 

 TREATY CONSIDERED. 



THE Canadians, it is said, sell us little of their wheat, and buy 

 largely of ours. Then what causes the great anxiety to have our 

 tariff taken off the importation of wheat ? Our wheat and flour 

 are admitted free into Canada. The abolition of our duties on the 

 imports/h?;;/ Canada would not interfere with Canadian importa- 

 tions of grain from the United States. We have no export duty 

 on our cereals, as Canada has on certain kinds of lumber, to 

 be repealed by a reciprocity treaty, thus cheapening the 

 invoice price. Now, if Canadian wheat and flour find small 

 sales here, while ours obtain large sales there, why should 

 such an ardent desire be manifested to have our duties on 

 those articles abolished ? We will answer. It is because the 

 Canadians pay the duties out of their own pockets for the privi- 

 lege of competing with our Western farmers in their markets, and 

 thus are forced unwillingly to contribute to the support of our 

 Government. Nor are we dealing in mere assertions. On this 

 point the Collector of Customs at Plattsburg wrote, under date of 

 June 8, 1868: 



I submit the following statement as an illustration applicable very'generally to 

 all importations made into this district. The past spring large quantities of po- 

 tatoes have been imported into this district, and the ditty of 2$ cents per bushel, 

 gold, paid by the Canadian seller or exporter \ as the sale has generally been per- 

 fected on the United States side of the boundary line, duties paid.^ The Ameri- 

 can speculator buying at such prices as to successfully compete with sellers in 

 the Boston market, does the consumer of the imported potatoes pay the duty to 

 the United States when he purchases the potatoes at the same price that another 

 pays for the American product? If the Canadian can not export his goods at a 

 profit, or the speculator can not buy in the foreign market and pay the duty at a 



