The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1860-04-20
Important Canadian Mevement--Attempt
to Divert the Trade of Red River.


The Canadian Government has given no.
tice to Parliament, that they intend to intro.
duce bills to establish, for limited term,
two free ports in the province, one for Upper
and one for Lower Canada. The people of
the lower province have been working for
years to secure the freedom of the st. Law>
renee to American fishermen, hoping thereby
to induce them to make that locality their
head quar- tiers. This movement has been
opposed by the upper province, for the reason
that the movement would tend to advance
trade in the lower to the detriment of the
upper. 1t is now proposed by the Canadian
Government to create free port at Sault
St. Marie, and another upon the St. Law
renee. That at St. Marie would divert the
Red River trade from taking ali American
route, by opening free Canadian trade, and
that on the st. Lawrence would secure large
American patronage. Both provinces agree
now upon the measure, and it will undoubt-
eddy become a law. The Quebec cores
pondent of the N. Y. Times, abiding to the
proposed measure, says:
The Red River merchant, who now goes to
st. Paul, Minnesota, for his supplies, taking his
furs with him, will hereafter be induced to 90
to Fort William on our side of Lake Superior,
for there he will get his goods free from the 20
@30 aB cent. duty which he has to pay on all
that he gets which has passed your frontier to
get to st. Paul. The Hudson's Bay Company
too, will probably avail themselves of the facii-
tiles to be offered in future by the route to their
territory through Canada. They now adopt
the northern route, sending their ships from
England to York Factory, Hudson's Bay, chiefly
that they may avoid paying Canadian duty on
their supplies, which would amount to FL 900
or 1000 per annum. They will most probably
seek the st. Lawrence and Lake Superior route,
which is now easily and quickly to be traversed
when they are allowed the facilities we propose
to offer them.
We doubt whether the Red river mer.
chants, even if they can buy their goods at
Fort William, free from the American duty,
will transfer their trade from st. Paul to
Lake Superior. They certainly will not do
so until the Fort William route is made to
rival the Minnesota route, in the speed and
cbeapness with which furs and supplies can
be shipped to and from the Red river colo.
ny. The correspondent is also in error in
stating that the Hudson Bay Company
'now adopt the northern route, sending their
ships from England to York Factory" The
Company last year, after thorough inves-
tigation by Sir GEORGE SIMPSON, its Gov
ernor, and DIR. RAE, adopted the Minnesota
route. They nosc ship their goods, amounting
to not less than five hundred tons annually,
to the Red river colony, via st. Paul, and
have entered into contract to do so for
five years ensuing.
We have no fears that the Red river
trade will be diverted from st. Paul to Fort
William, so long as we possess the most adj
vantageous route to the colony, and our mer-
chants are liberal and enterprising in their
exertions not only to retain the trade, but
to enlarge it.