The Portland daily press., 1869-02-03

AmtEean Dutfes uud Canadian faas'
The suggestions made by the Hon. MIR
Blake of Bangor at Augusta, on Monday
evening, that broad Reciprocity Treaty, Sc
curing substantial free trade between the
United S tates and the British American
Provinces cannot be obtained by the consen
of the latter, is not borne out by the following
ar tice which we find in the Montreal Herald
1.-THE leading commercial, as it is the ablest pa
per in Lower Canada) copied from the London
Upper Canada) Free Press.
There may be difficulties in establishing Az -,
impartial Zollverein. but where there IS a" '''
there is a way, and the necessity OF Jul maj
ket to Canada Is so great that there Cd" pe no
question as to the twill"
The Ottawa Citizen takes exceptions to the
position assumed in these columns on the
matter of trade relations with the United
States. But it has not addressed itself to a
refutation of it. The question is simple. and
shouId be capable of demonstration either one
way or the other-"Who pays the shot?'
During the action of the partial Zollverein
known as tne reciprocity Treaty, Canada paid
not more than $4,000 year in duties fol
goods going into the States. Since that time
duties have been paid for the admission O.
Canadian produce to the extent of S., 400 900
year, leaving difference of duties paid BY
some one to the extent of five millions three
hundred and thirty thousand dollars annually
Out OF whose pocket does this difference comet
Does 1t represent the tribute paid by Canada
as the price for admission to the American
market, or does it indicate that the United
States people are SO hard up for the necessa-
ries of life that they are willing to pay such an
amount to keep themselves from starving by
buying from us? The Ottawa Citizen seems
to hold to the latter doctrine; we hold to the
former. Talking of the matter few days
since we gave q reason for this opinion:
THE standard OF price is on the other side
and not with us. What we send is consider.
able from our point of view, but insignificant
from theirs. aud does not effect established
rates, to which Canadian producers must con
form. Let US take n simple illustration A
6ushel of barley, we will say, commands on,
dollar in gold at Buffalo 1t matters no
where it comes from whether from Ohio O
Canada, those who buy barley will give on,
collar bushel for it. The groweril in Ohio o.
New York State gets the full dollar for tn,
mil oushel. But not so with Canada; for before
we can reach the Buffalo market and offer oul
barley FOR dollar, We have to pay at the from
tier specific duty of Is cents per bushel. This
has to be deducted then from the price ulti-
mately obtained, and lessons the return to tn
G madam farmer by fifteen per cent.
Then our contemporary objects to the Zoll-
verein principle-which is free trade under an
other name; and others do the same. But
The DIRECTORS ignore this fact, that, during the
period of reciprocity all articles the product.
of the field, the forest and the mines were adj
United duty free into the United States. That
is, nineteen twentieths of what we had to dis
pose OF went in untaxed, and we had the adj
vantage OF the Zollyeren principle to that ex.
tent. lie is no new thing, therefore, that is
now urged. 1t is merely a desire to return To
condition OF things that formerly existed
But the Americans want to go further They
want free trade with us in manufactures a q
well; they want us to deepen our canals so as
70 facilitate western commerce; to abolish
frontier custom houses, and adopt their ex-
ternal commercial policy. And it would be a
very happy thing for Canada if some
such arrangement could be brought about :
instead OF our manufactures being confined to
market OF three and half millions thew
would have access to one of forty millions: in.
STEAD OF our farmers paying toll to get to the
Cnlted States market-the controlling market
vi the contiDent--tbey would send in their
produce tree, as atoretime. Take oil. for ex-
ample There is more crude oil stored in nm
foreground tanks at Petrolea, virtually unsaIa
ole, than exists in the United States. With us
mere are $4,000 barrels; their stocks amount
go on January LIST to but Psi. 8O5! The
price there has been ranging from
Over there it is S3 90 to "a in gold IF free
trade existed this oil now lying stasnapt would
appreciate SO barrel, and be worth a million
or more dollars than it is. Canada is nro-
duclng country, and must always be deeply in
tefested IN securing the nearest and best mar
ket Tho fact that even in the face of the
duty we send more to the States than to all
otner places combined indicates the position of
tnlngs, and it needs but q removal of fiscal
barriers IN order to develop the commercial
intercourse to a still greater extent.