The Portland daily press., 1869-02-08
-THE PR ESS.
Monday Morning, February 8. 1869.
Free Trade with Canada.

cation on reciprocity from the doughty Sir
1T" whose plume is ever to be seen in the
very thickest Of the fight, and who scorns to
Draw his blade in any cause less difficult than
restoration of the criminal jurisprudence of
the Spartans or an adoption of the CONNER
cial institutes of the Chinese in the United
States In order that the difficulties to be
overcome by his prowess may be sufficiently
arduous, he has taken the precaution in this
case, as he tells us, to avoid informing himself
on the matter in dispute. But in making this
boast he may be fairly suspected of justiiylns
his yalor at the expense of his discretion -
many another knight has done, for his uis'us-
son of the subject of reciprocity discusses het
s. much want of information as iaDorlous
and inoanious nerversion of the facts within
his knowledge.
In answering him it is necessary simply to
ELIMINATE from the case certain matters not
pertinent to the present stage of the reciproc.
it question which he has drawn into the dis
cussion and made the basis of his whole argu-
meas 80 that removing them his whole struc.
turs falls. He argues upon the hypothesis
that The old treaty Of 1855, which gave only a
nominal reciprocity, is 10 be restored, while
o. matter of fact Nobody in the United States
would listen to such proposition a moment
Second, he looks at the whole case from the
Canadian standpoint, jealousy estimating
their gains from free trade, instead of getting
better view of the subject by looking at it
from the standpoint OF our own loss without
It, Shall we bring ourselves to poverty, then,
for the sake of reducing the Canadian to beg
gary? Third, it is unworthy of the catholic
spirit of modern craftsmanship to attempt to
prejudice the discussion of an economical
question, vitality affecting millions Of our own
citizens, by appealing to the narrow jealousies
OF neighboriDg peoples and tanning the en-
bers of an expiring quarrel, the occasion for
which has long since passed. What if Hall
fax was nest of block runners during the
war? shall we, on that account, take care that
the coal of Nova Scotia doesn't warm our
poor? Shall the spectacle of the native of
New Brunswick eating beef sat five cents
pound by the side" when he may have been
one of the very fellows that "descended upon"
Calais (Sir T. ehokes with RACES at the thought
OF it, SO disturb our Judgment that we take
steps to prevent our own people from getting
morsel OF that cheap been? Our correspond
ent cannot seriously intend TO make the afro
cious conduct of the Provincials during the Re-
bellion a bar to commercial arrangements,
sought solely with a Uieso to our -o,on benefit
Fourth, our correspondents way to annexa-
ton reminds one of the African way of get
ting wife-stealthily knocking her on the
head with club and carrying her off in an in
sensible condition. 1fla.n
But to answer ST." somewhat in detail His
first specific allegation is that we need no
treaty, because, through the high premium on
gold and the cost OF transportation 10 Europe,
the trade with the Provinces continues active
in spite Of the high du ies Now if this we're
trle, instead of the real fact that the trade
with the Dominion has declined anywhere
from 25 to 90 per cent. since 1866, according to
the best attainable authorities, it would prove
nothing. The old treaty embraced nothing
but the raw material of the products of the
two counties. Our manufactured articles went
t. Canadian customers with substantially the
same duties as now. There is no reason why
We should not "hold our Canadian customers"
who buy our manufactured articles, as we'll
now as under the old treaty. But ST." ac-
knowedges that even the limited market
which we now find in Canada depends for its
Continuance upon the depreciation of our cur
rency and by implication that upon the return
e. specie basis In the United States, which
every patriot hopes to see at a very early day
this avenue of trade will be closed up. And
he does not consider how great stimulus
would be given to our commerce and manu-
hctures upon the establishment of such a
Zollverein as is contemplated, and the number
of ST. John and Halifax steamers that would
be necessary to carry the freights between
o.,I r.fA Fas, A.
new arrangements. If under continued
b III tariff imposed at Canadian ports on
American merchandise the current of trade
continues to strengthen as ST." alleges, what
wop'd result from making the Canadian mar
kets entirely free to o lr merchants? However,
our correspondent reasons from too small an
induction of facts in reaching conclusion as
to the effect of reciprocity on trade. A single
line of steamers does not afford sufficient ba
sis for such a calculation. Statistics show that
ander even the old quasi reciprocity our trade
with Canada increased from seventeen mil
lions to eighty-two millions, or nearly five
hundred per cent, and that since the abroga-
tion of the treaty the decline is variously At-
mated, as we have before stated, at from % to
80 per cent. l,--,.,.. ,
But the real ground OF whatever opposition
to reciprocity exists in Maine is no secret 1t
is lumber frst last and all the time. The op-
POSITION, however, does not embrace by any
means the whole or even half the individuals
who are engaged in numbering busin ess, but
only few monopolists who have possessed
themselves of immense tracts of timber lands
which they are stripping under the stimulus
oil the present high prices. Others in the
same line of business, who seem to us TO take
a more intelligent view of the case, are of the
oniniou that their interests are not iuiuriously
affected by the introduction of the products oil
Canadiau forests. But very little sympathy
could be enlisted in behalf of the monopolists
If they were willing frankly to present
their own case without arbitrarily assocating
with them the farmers of Maine and Vermont.
This association, a strong one if the alliance
can be maintained, is really most unnatural
one, and the advocates of reciprocity will find
it OF primary Importance to break it down in
the interest of all classes. The following are
among the numerous reasons that are conclu-
sive against the assumption that the farmer of
Maine is interested adversely to reciprocity:
First Maine is not naturally among the best
agricultural States. Neither her soil nor her
climate. though by no means absolutely for
bidding recourse to agricultural pursuits, per-
NIT her ever to compete with the great agricul-
tural States of the West. The prosperity Of
the farmer here and the appreciation of his
property ara dependent upon the maintenance
of home market. Farmers need large manu-
tacturing and commercial cities to absorb their
products. Massachusetts, with much inferior
natural facilities for agricultural production,
has the wealthiest class Of farmers in the Eas;-
ern s ates, who, in the interstices between the
large manufacturing towns and commercial |
cities, raise with great profit to themselves |
what is disposed of almost at their own doors.
No one will care to dispute this fact-that
farming can neuer be properly re,nuraerative in
Niae until there is an immense Advance in her
standing Il. other branches Of industry
Second the assumption of our correspond
ent that the free importation of Canadian pro-
duce would drive out of tie State the farmers
OF Kepnebec. Peuobscot, Waldo, Washington
and Aroostook, by diminishing the value Of
their crops fifty per cent, is an idle one. Why
recent statistics show that under the protee.
ton afforded by the present commercial ar
rangem nts, the population Of two of those
Counties is actually diminishing. while Penob-
SCOT gains very slowly. From 1850 to 1S 0, halt |
OF tnat decade being embraced within the term
OF rec procity, the population OF all those coun.
ties creased. los fI