The Portland daily press., 1871-03-11
The Canadian UtODia.

We find the following paragraph going the
rounds of the papers:
Boston is the most expensive city TO live in
this side of the Alleghanies. Here it costs
fT taxes S36 10 per capita, while in Lowell
they let you stay tor only $40 So. Let us
all move to Lowell and get rich by saving
taxes. New York comes next 20 boston
$2S "a. while in Montreal but 80 70 IS oe
manded. Canadians won't desire annexation
at this rate.
Now If is nonsense to say that national
debt is a national blessing, or that high taxes
ar, ANYTHING but an unmixed evil and
curse. But it is an equally absurd fallacy to
make the rate Of taxation the criterion of
TIE happiness or prosperity of nation. as
the writer of the above paragraph under
takes to do when he draws the infer
ence, from the advantage Canada has
over us in her comparatively tlifing
public exactions, that the Dominion "won't
desire annexation at this rate" A mo-
menl's reflection will show the folly of this
kind of reasoning. 1t reminds one of Pat
rick's celebrated mot on the small cost of
subsistence in the old country, shilling day
being, according to his statement, compe-
tence for a whole family; but when asked
why he did not stay in country offering such
unrivalled advantages to the laboring man, he
answered, BE CORY, the trouble is to get the
shilling" So it is IN Canada. There are no
heavy taxes to take away the shilling when
you nave once earned it; the trouble is to
get the coin. There is no practical confusion
On this point. The Dominion is unable 10
keep the emiorants that land on its shores
any longer than The time necessarily con-
sumed in reaching the United States. Her
own native population run away, too, and
there ale whole colonies of French Canadi-
ans not only in Maine but in many other
parts of the country. British America does
not afford the money or employment neces-
sary to keep the people at home Even those
who do fix their residence in the Provinces
are obliged many of them, to make periodi-
cal miorations into the Estates" for work.
Whoever during The last summer travelled
throuoh any agricultural region in this State
was astonished at the swarms of Canadians
roosting on their queer little, sprin.less two
wheeled carts, that crowded all the roads and
oSoiOSOu all lhS Aoi AOuoO uooio, ocChiuS
wolk in the haying season. On the Kenne
bee, Penobscot, Sandy and Androscoggin riv-
ers hundreds, if not thousands, of them
found employment in July and August. Ev-
cry year their numbers increase, and We ex-
pect to see the Democracy of Maine rise as
one man, now that the "he athen Chinee" has
subslded and no longer threatens to shadow
this land with his inulttudlnous pig g-tails, and
demand the protection of our "yeomanry'
from the ircursions of these outside barbar-
ian "Kanucks."
The taxes are low in Canada, but the lack
OF liberal institutions, of manufacturing and
other forms of industry as we'll as of money
is drawback taat places that country at an
immense disadvantage as compared with our
own. So that if the Dominion looked at the
question OF material advantage alone, When
it considers the subject of annexation, there
would be no hesitation whatever in accepting
that way out OF its difficulties, notwithstand-
ing our high taxes. But it notoriously does
not COX at the subject from this standpoint
at AL. The governing classes in the Dominion
resist alt Sation because of their national
pr de-, their British excuslveness and their
traditional prriudices. Outside of these classes
we believe thai the people are even now
ready ior the inevitable change.