Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1875-03-12
Hatmtt
Canada and Reciprocity.

vious to the abolition Of the late treaty,
Canada was pre-eminontly a farming coun-
try, more so even than Vermont, aud as
much so, probably, as are our Western prai'
ries to-day.
Cattle, grain, particularly oats and bar
ley) potatoes, butter, cheese, &c, were her
principal and almost sole articles of export,
aside from her ship-building trade, and the
manufacturing cities of New England and
New York furnished her market. In re-
turn her manufactured goods, cloth Except
ing coarse woolens) machinery, tools Of every
kind, we're carried from New England. Can
ada had abundant water power, labor was
much cheaper there than in New England,
everything combined to make it favorable
location for manufacturing establishments,
yet hardly rake, hoe, fork, or other uten-
sis such as is fouHd on every farm, was
there but had been imported from the Uni
ted States. True there were some manu-
factories in the upper province but they did
not half supply the demand in their immedi-
ate vicinity. BY this state Of affairs New
England was the gamer, for while the value
of Canada's farm products was fixed by the
state Of a market open to the whole world,
a market which the United States is fully
able to supply herself from her broad prai-
ries, the price Of manu- featured goods is in
much more considerable degree under the
control of the producer. Thus while the de-
velopment of the great and unsurpassed
farming facilities of Canada was but slowly
adding to her wealth it added two dollars to
that of New England for one to that Of Can
ada. This is ever the case. England owes
her prosperity to her manufactures. A
manufacturing nation will always exceed in
prosperity one which is strictly agricultural.
With the abolition Of the treaty of reel.
procity an embargo was laid upon this ex-
change Of Canadian produce for New Eng.
land manufactures in the shape of duties
which were almost, land sometimes, as in
the case Of potatoes, quite,) prohibitory.
What was Canada to do? 1t really looked
as if in the abolition of the treaty she had
been a loser. Farmers, especially those
near the line between the two countries, felt
the loss; they had virtually to do their
share toward wiping out the heavy war debt
of foreign nation. The farmer who had a
pair of oxen equally as valuable as those of
his neighbor a few miles south of him, who
CHANGED to be on the south side of the line,
could get but 500 for his cattle while his
neighbor got Sl25 for his. His potatoes
might rot in the cellar while his neighbor
was selling his for fair price, for the du-
ties were equal to or in excess of the actual
cost of production. But there is another
side to this question. While Canada for
the first year, or the first five years, may
have been apparently loser by the aboli.
ton OF the treaty, there has sprung up with
IN her borders an amount of manufacturing
the benefit Of which to the country is difficult
to compute. The abundance Of power, and
the cheap labor, she had before; now to
these were added the reduction in cost of
living by the cheapening OF that produce
which was forced to beg for a market and
the protection afforded by the duties on
American manufactures. Manufactures, thus
stimulated, have sprung up and increased un-
til the demands Of those employed are fast
creating a home market which in time will
equal that of manufacturing New England,
and instead of paying Yankee railroad men
for carrying their produce to Massachusetts,
and for bringing back their mowers, reapers,
sewing machines, forks hoes, shoves, and
whatever else they use, also paying New
England manufacturers for making the same
the Canadians feed their own mechanics, at
home, and use tools and machinery manu-.
featured at home.
Some ascribe the great prosperity Of
Canada, and the rapid growth and develop
ment Of her resources, during the last eight
or ten years, to the confederation. The
close student cannot fail to see that it has
been chiefly attributable to what many still
regard as calamity-the abroga ton Of the
reciprocity treaty, and its indirect effect in
stimulating home enterprise Canada has
the material for great nation. Her water
power is unsurpassed, even by New England.
The value and fertility of her soil is equal
to any in the world. her climate is the pur-
est and most healthy, and her people, ex-
cept in certain sections where the original
French settlers still hold the balance of pow
er, are intelligent and well educated. The
day is coming when Canada shall stand
forth free and independent nation, and we
believe people yet living will see the United
States claspiDg hands with her as a sister
republic. A monarchy she will never be /;
if the connection with England be severed at
all her independent and intelligent people
will have free representative government.
Some, on both sides of the line, favor an-
nexation. The United States are large
enough already. The greatest danger to
our free form of government is in attempting
to extend it over too much territory. If
any annexation were to be advocated on tho
ground of uniformity of conditions and senti-
ments, it would most properly be an annex
alton Of New England to Canada.
Let Canada stand forth free, as a sister
republic, with her manufacturing and other
resources equally developed with ours, 50
that the two nations shall stand on par,
and then it will be soon enough for her to
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