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" Undur tliu IJuciiinjuity Treaty," said Air. Stewart Cuinpbell, in tlie tnemorandiiiii alitiady quoted 

 Ironi, " the to/nt exemi>tion from dull/ of all Jish exported fnivi the nuiritiiiie proviia'tn to the murhels of 

 the Uiiili'd Sffitcs, mm nlsn a boon of viestiiiidbli: value tu the vcri/ laiye elom of British sulijert.t diredly 

 awl indinrtli/ niiinectid with oar fisheries and its remdtinrj trade. This state (if tilings, wliidi was 

 hciicticiid also in no snuiU duf^niu to the subjects of the United States, undoubtedly created a condition 

 of ^^'inieral jirosiierity and contentment anion^' the classes of Uritish subjects referred to, such as had 

 never pieviously existed." 



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On this subject, Sir John A. Macdonalil, in the Parliament of the Dominion, 

 thus expressed himself: — 



" I may be liable to the charf,'e of injuriu}; our own case in discussinj; the advantajjes of the arrange- 

 ments, b(!cause every word used by me may be ([uoted and u.sed us evidence ajjainst us hereafter. The 

 stiiti^nuMit has been so thrown broadcast that tlie arrangement is a bad one for Canaihi, that, in oitler to 

 show to this llousi' anil the country that it is one that can be arcejited, one is obliged to run the risk 

 of his language being nK(;d before the Commissioners to settle the amount of compensation, as an 

 evidence of the value of tlie Treaty to us. It seiMns to me that, in looking at the Treaty in a connner- 

 cial point of view, and looking at the question whether it is right to accejit the articles, we have to 

 consider inaiidy that intiMcst whicOi is most peculiarly alfected. Now, unless 1 am greatly misinformed, 

 the, fishing interests in Xova Scotia, with one or two e.\ce|)tious for local reasons, are altogethi^ in 

 favour of the Treaty. They are so anxious to get free admission for their (ish into the American 

 lUiirkct, that they wonhl view with great sorrow any action of this House which woidd exclude them 

 from that market ; that they look forward with increasing conlidence to a large development of their 

 trade, and of that great industry; and 1 say that, that being the case, — if it be to the interest of the 

 lishennen, and for the advantage of that branch of national inilustrv, setting aside all other considera- 

 tions — we ought not wilfnlly to injure that interest. Why, Sir, what is the fact of the case as it 

 stands ? The only market for the Canadian No. 1 maelrrel in the world is the United, States. Thai is 

 our oidji market, and we are praellra/li/ exeluded from it hi/ the jiresent dutij. The ronscqiicnee of that 

 iliiljl is, that unrfi.'iherineii are at the nn rri/ of the Amerieanjisliermen. Tlui) are made the hewers of wood 

 o.id thcdraiirrsof irider fir thi: Aiiieriiiiiis. Theij are oJiliijed to mil their fshatthe Amerieuns' ovrnpriee. 

 The A ineriean fishermen pnreliose their fixh at a iioiaiual ralite, ami control the Ameriean narkel. The 

 'jri'tit iirolils of the tmde are liaiided over to llie American lishermen, or the Anu ' ,i merchants 

 eugaijed in the trade, and they profit to the loss of oiu' own industry and our own ]ieo]. Let anyone 

 go down llie St. Lawrence on a summer tri]) — as many of us do — and call from the deck of the steamer 

 lo a fi-<liei'nian in his boat, and sec for what a nominal price you (tan secure the whole of his catch ; and 

 lliat is li'om the ab.seiice of a market, and from the fart of the Canadian fishermen being completely 

 under the control of the foreigner. With the duty ofV Canadian fish, tlie Canadian lishernian may send 

 his lish at the right time, when lu? can olitain the best |irice, to the American market, and tliiis be tjie 

 means of o|ieniiig a ]irotitalile trade with the United Sfatesi in exchange. If, therefore, it is f(n- flie 

 advantages of the maritime ]irovinces, including that jiortion of (Quebec which is also largely intei'est(!d 

 in the fisheries, that till s Tn^aty sjaadd be riitified, and that this great market .slmuld be o])cm!d to 

 them, on what griaiud shiailil we de|a'ive them of this right? Is it not a selfish argument tliat the 

 fisheries can be used as a \ovcr in order to gain recijirocity in flonr, wheat, and other cereals ? Are you 

 to shut oar fishermen out of this great market, in order that ymi may coerce the United Statics into 

 giving you an extension of the reci])rocal laMucijile ? 



" 1 have heard the fear exjaesscd that, with this Treaty, the Americans would come down into our 

 waters and take tlu^ fish away from our jieojile. This was a groundless fear. Why had not this 

 occurreil under the Iteciprocity Tre.ity, under which the Americsans enjoyed fully equal ]irivileges to 

 thosi! they would have under tla; Treaty of Washington ? Did we find them interfering with (jur 

 fishermen? W^edidnot; ami, with t!ie United States' markets ojien to us on tins same teiiiis as to 

 its own fishermen, ('onld any intelligent man su]ipose that they could come down IVuir or five hundred 

 miles in ves.sels costing more to build, cqiiiii, and sail than our vessels, and compete with our ]ieople, 

 who took the fish almost at their own doors f In Mi'. Knight's report on the working of the l;eci|irocity 

 Treaty, dr.awn nji in the year 1H(17, was found the following extract of a letter from a gentleman in 

 Ciuyslinroiigh : ' The fishermen in this locality have, since the commencement of the lt(>eiprocity Treaty, 

 say, for the past ten years, made more money than during any ten years previous, from the fact that 

 they had a fret; market in the United Slates, irhiih i,i the only iiuirket whrre a larye pro/iorlioii of our 

 fish will sell to advantages ; and, altjiough lish have not been so abundant, the extra ]irice has more than 

 com])ensated f(n- the deliciiuicy in the catch. If a heavy duty were put upon our mackerel and herrings 

 in the United Slates, th(! fishery wiuil 1 not be remunerative ; and,' he added, ' the American cod and 

 mackerel fishermen have not interfered with us nor injuriMl our fisheries during the past ten years, and 

 our fishermen caught more mackerel in I>«i4 than in any ]uevious year.' It would be seen that we 

 n(!cd have no fears that the Americans wiailil do us any greater injury un(h'r this Treaty. He also 

 found in Mr. Knight's ivjiort that tlus vahas of fish exporttid from the ]U()vince of Nova Scotia from 

 ISrif) to 181)5, during the existence of the I'eciproi'ity Treaty, had increased from 1,!I40,1 27 dollars to 

 3,47(),llil dollars, and was it not fair to a.ssuine that a proportionate increase would takts ]ilaee under 

 the Wa.sliington Treaty ? 



" Those opposed to the Treaty seemed to set gi'eat value upim what we were asked by it to 

 surr(?nder. ' Oh,' said tlusy, 'why sluaild we give uj) our valuable fi.slieries, such important ])rivileges, 

 and for so small a (Nuisideration ? ' Had those who talked in this way studied the case? I believ(3 

 they had not, (ds(> they would form a dill'erent ojiinion. That our fisheries were valuable, 1 am well 

 aware. Their value under favouralile conditions couhl not be over-estimated; but that value would be 

 great or small just in proportion to the markets we possessed. 15y this Treaty we surrcndei'cd very 

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