The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-01-19
DAILY PRESS,
Saturday Morning, January 10, 1867.
The Reciprocity Treaty.
PORTLAND

The Reciprocity Treaty.
Five yelrs ago the Legislature of Maine vot-
ed, with but one dissenting voice, ia favor of
terminating the Reciprocity treaty with Great
Britain. That treaty gave us the privileges
OF fishing on the coasts Of British America, of
navigating the St. Lawrence and the Cana
diah canals, of floating our lumber down the
ot. oohn TO the sea, and Of exchanging freely
with the British colonists various products of
the 1arm, the mine, the forest and the sea.
Notice was duly given and the treaty was ter
minated in 1865. The first result was a re-
newal OF the ancient quarrel about the fisher
les, involving the necessity of sending British
and American men-of-war to the fishing
grounds to keep the peace. Our lumbermen
on the st. John found themselves embarrassed
to such an extent as to be obliged to call for
relief by special legislation. Western and Ca
madam products are seeking new routes of
transportation, though that is partly due to
the mismanagement of the Grand Trunk line.
The lumber used in our ship yards, the wool
wanted in our factories, are taxed so heavily
that ship building and the manufacture of
woolens have ceased to be profitable. Our
daily food, our bread stulls and meats have
become more costly. Our trade with the
Provinces had increased from forty-three mill
ions in 1855 to sixty-nine millions in 1865,
with balance uniformly in favor of the Unit
! ed States except in 1S64-5, when all our ener
| gies and products and all we could draw from
our neighbors were absorbed in great cam
paigns. The free development of that trade
has been checked and thwarted by the restric-
tions which have followed the abrogation of
the treaty.
These results have been in some degree an
inevitable consequence of the financial con-
dition of the country. While the revenue
| system Of the United States is still unsettled,
and the scheme OF confederation seems likely
TO transfer all questions OF commerce. with
the British Provinces to single central auth
ority, the recommendation of Secretary Nc
Culoch that this subject should not be
placed beyond the control Of Congress, but
left to concurrent legislation and such regu-
lations as the Treasury Department may be
authorized to prescribe is likely to prevail,
as it should. Nevertheless there is a growing
conviction that the true interests of Maine
were misconceived by the Legislature of 1862
1t is generally believed, indeed we may as well
say known, that the question was not thor
oughly examined by that Legislature, and
that the action which committed the State ON
the wrong side was rather the result of i'm
pulse than of deliberation. 1t is desirable that
the matter should be reconsdered not now
with view to the immediate renewal of the
treaty, but in order nevertheless that the spirit
of the treaty may control our present and ftl-
ture legislation. The influence OF Maine |
ought to be felt in that direction.
1t was supposed in 1862 that the numbering
and agricultural interests of the State would |
be greatly benefited by the abrogation of the
treaty. To some extent they doubtless have
been, but not sufficiently to counterbalance
the injury inflicted upon other branches of
business
The time is not far distant when the Cana
dian forests will become Indispensable to the |
American people. The Maine and Michigan
pineres are limited in extent and diminishing
yearly. We are already dependent upon New
Brunswick for the higf-pi iced soft pine, used |
for fine work and finishing. There is no SUBJ
stitute. A very large portion of the ship
timber used in Maine and elsewhere is drawn |
from the forests of Canada and New Bruns-
wick If our own forests would supply the |
American market il might answer to exclude |
foreign lumber by taxation. They notorious
iy do not. Our lumbermen are aware and
N fO hot fha fo,.
their product will not be seriously affected by
the&ee admission of foreign giowths. Mean
while the tax now imposed seriously checks
bu lding operations, indirectly raising rents
and the cost of manufactures, and is in effect
transferring our ship-yards to the coast of New
Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Our woolen mills are directly affected by the
abrogation OF the treaty. The wool known in
our markets as Canada wool consists wholly
of feeces from long-wooled Leicester and
Cotswold sheep. The success of our manu-
facturels in fabricating alpacas and the pros
perity OF our worsted manufactures have been
wholly due to the opportunity of obtaining the
free wool Of Canada. Our farmers are begin
ming to grow long wool but cannot as yet even
approximately supply the market. The con-
sumption of long wool in this country was es-
timated in 1866 at 5,50O,0o0 pounds and the
growth at about 100000 pounds. Canada sup
piled then about 100000 pounds, so that
there was and is steady demand for the en-
tire product of both countries. That demand
ought to be fostered and increased but the
tax is destroying it. Is it for the advantage of
our wool growers to destroy market at their
doors? Is it for the advantage of Maine, with
manufacturing career just opening before
her, to build up WOODEN factories in Canada by
taxing them out OF existence at home?
The Provincial tariffs have hitherto been
designed for revenue merely and have made no
discrimination between manufactured goods
coming from the United States and from Eng
land. This policy gave US the advantage of
proximity. Our manufacturers ought to sup
ply the Provincial markets. Under the Reci-
procity treaty they might have done it. They
may do it still If they can obtain their raw ma
terials at rate to render competition withEng-
land possible. If the wooden interest must be
sacrificed to the national necessities, at least
it should be spared as much as possible.
Maine will not object to bearing her full
share of the national burden; but she ought
not to stand any longer in the false position OF
asking as favor, to have her burden increas-
ed. 1t ought to be understood as the settled
opinion of the people of this State, that the
termination Of the treaty, however just and
necessary, has been and is serious disadvan-
taoe tn lis