10 



of the taxation ^Yhich the Canadians will have the 

 power of imposing, and all control over the expen- 

 diture of the money arising from the taxes, — the 

 greater injury to arise from the transmission from 

 this Colony to Canada of the product of those taxes 

 over and above the paltry sum of eighty cents, or 

 four shillings per head of our .population, reserved 

 (and the only reservation) for the use and main- 

 tenance of our then local Government, to aid in 

 the payment of the interest of her many millions 

 of debt, in the payment of her Army and Navy, 

 in the building of her railroads, fortifications, 

 docks, canals and other public works, and in other 

 improvements, — compelling our merchants to pur- 

 chase the dearer goods of Canada instead of the 

 cheaper goods now imported from England and 

 elsewhere — and also the dearer articles of food 

 from Canada, instead of the cheaper food usually 

 and more conveniently imported from the United 

 States. 



Now, Mr. Editor, it is a fact that I believe no- 

 body will deny, that notwithstanding there are 

 many persons in this Colony not engaged in the 

 catching and curing of fish, that the inhabitants of 

 Newfoundland arc essentially from circumstances u 

 fishing population, — that they are poor, and con-^ 

 sequently cannot afford to pay the same extent of 

 taxation as can the Canadians with their rich agri- 

 cultural country, their other resources of wealth, 

 and their known considerable accumulations of it, 

 both personal and national. How, then, I ask, 

 can this poor fishing population afford to pay, ia 

 addition to the increased and heavy taxes to be 

 submitted to by them under the Dominion, — afford 

 to pay the additional taxes that will necessarily 

 have to be raised by our local government to fee4 

 the poor (who will still be left with us), — to make 



