TKANSACTIONS OF SECTION T. 



851 





MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1. , ' 



The following Reports and Papers were read : — ' ,\ ' 



1. Report of the Committee for defraying the expenses of completinrf the 

 final Report of the Anthropometric Committee. — See Reports, p, 279. 



2. Report of the Committee for continuing the inquiries relating to the 

 teaching of Science in Elementary Schools. — See Reports, p. 283. 



3, The Interdependence of the several portions of the British Empire. 

 By S'lEPHEN Bourne, F.S.S. 



The growinof importance of the Colonial dependencies of the British Crown 

 entitle them to tlie foremost consideration of every assembly occupying itself with 

 economic and statistical questions. Especially is this the case on the present occasion 

 with every thing which concerns the welfare of Canada ; and if in this paper these 

 are put prominently forward, it is because the subject is too wide for treating of 

 other colonies with the same fulness. Although not amongst the earliest settlements 

 brought under the Crown, it is the one in closest proximity to the mother country, 

 and, if we except Jndia, that containing the largest pojiulation and covering the 

 greatest area ; the one, too, possessing probably the be.>t capability of ministering to 

 the wants of England, particularly in the way of food. For these reasons it may 

 be deemed more or less representative of others. It is proposed therefore to 

 inquire what the trade is between the two, to conceive what it might become, and 

 to see what proportion that bears to the Dominion traffic with the whole world. 



Successive tables set forth (a) the imports and exports of the United Kingdom since 

 1871, specifying the total from and to the Colonies, and those from and to Canada ; 

 [h] the trade of the United Kingdom for 188^ compared with popidation in groups 

 of countries and colonies ; (c) the trade of the Dommion since 1873 ; (d) the values 

 for 1883 of Canadian produce exported and (e) imported, classified as to origin or 

 uses. 



These several tables show (a) that, adding imports and exports together, 

 England's colonial trade has averaged 100,000,000/. per annum, and is 24 per 

 cent, of the whole 060,000,000/. ; and that of the colonial portion 12^ percent. — 

 20,000,000/.— has been with British North America ; (6) that in 1883, out of 

 427,000,000/. of imports, 328,000,000/. were from foreign countries and 99,000,000/. 

 from colonies, of which 12,000,000/. came from North America ; the export figures 

 being in like manner 240,000,000/., 156,000,000/., 84,000,000/., and 9,000,000/. 

 respectively ; (c) that of all the articles of Canadian produce exported in 1883, 

 nearly one-half— 10,000,000/. — finds its way to the United Kingdom, which in return 

 sends back two-fifths — 11,000,000/.— of all the goods Canada draws from beyond 

 her own shores, those she imports being slightly more than she exports ; (d) 

 that the Canadian produce exported in 1883, and (e) the foreign goods she im- 

 ported, may be thus classified : — 



Produce of the Mine 



„ „ Fisheries . 



„ „ Forest 



Animals and their Products 

 Agricultural Produce 



Manufactures 



Miscellaneous 



£18,930,000 £25,650,000 



Fully one-half of the supplies Canada renders to Great Britain consists of food ; 



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