ItH Imperial Importance. 13 



of undoubted advantage to the United States and the provinces. 

 from a purely commercial point of view. Not only did it settle 

 for the moment an ever-present cause of irritation, but it opened 

 a large and increasing market to the export trade of British 

 North America, while the Americans were able to prosecute one 

 of their great industries at a decided advantage, and at the same 

 time obtain additional biiyers for their flour, corn, meal, and 

 manufactured goods. It is necessary, however, to observe that 

 the maritime provinces never considered the commercial conces- 

 sions made to them by the United States as an adequate com- 

 pensation for the very valuable fisheries of British Xortli America. 

 In those days, indeed, the Americans, by their greater enterprise 

 and the superiority of their vessels, practically beat the British 

 American fisherman in their own waters, and derived advantages, 

 it was claimed, beyond any granted by the United States. From 

 an Imperial or national point of view, the Reciprocity Treaty had 

 its dangers as long as the provinces had no bonds of union. It 

 enticed thousands of the most enterprising youih of the country 

 into the lishing fleet o> New England — and many of the schooners 

 of Gloucester and Marblehead are even yet manned by Nova 

 Scotians — and made the commerce of the maritime provinces in 

 the course of years very largely dependent on the United States. 

 In those days the provinces were isolated from each other, and 

 a commercial or political union between them seemed still far 

 off. In the absence of such a union, the people were not ani- 

 mated by a national feeling, but some of them began to consider 

 whether a closer connection with the United States was not 

 among the probabilities of the future. Manufactures were 

 brought in large quantities from the United States in return 

 for the natural products sent them by the provinces, and there 

 was no prospect of the growth of a native manufacturing industry 

 to add to the wealth and give additional employment to the 

 people, large numbers of whom were annually leaving the country 

 for the manufacturinfj: districts of New Ensfland. Whilst the 

 treaty lasted the balance of trade with respect to manufactured 

 goods amounted to £18,0(10,000 sterling in favour of the United 

 States. The treaty came to an end iu 1865 by the action of 

 the Washington Government. Its repeal was notoriously hastened 

 by the desire that generally prevailed among a large number of 

 people in the United States to punish, if possible, the provinces 

 for the sympathy which the majority of them were believed to 

 have extended to the South durin<j^ the War of Seces.^ion. A few 

 public men, especially in New England, seem to have been led 

 away by the belief that the treaty was indispensable to the 

 commercial prosperity of the maritime provinces, and tliut they 

 could be starved int«j annexation, or into eventually giving up 



