The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-10-18
LONDON LETTER.
From our regular correspondent.


The report of the Select Standing Commit
tee of the Dominion House of Commons on
agriculture and kindred matters for the ses-
sion OF 1879 has Just been issued. The inQui-
RES of this committee were largely directed to
the question of the cattle trade of Great Brit
am. 1t appears that while navigation re
manned open last year 1869 head Of cattle
and $50 sheep were sent to this country.
Some 5000 of the cattle came from Chicago
and the northwest, and the rest, together with
all but some 1000 of the sheep, were raised in
| Canada The export value Of the whole was
50, 117,52j, the cost of the feed to put them in
condition for the voyage $130,602; and the
freight paid to the various shippers for their
carriage exceeded 100000 1t also appears
that three-fourths of the shipments made from
New York and Boston were on account of Ca
nadians, who have the export cattle trade en-
| tirely in their own hands. In reply TO the
question whether the trade was likely to in
crease in the future, one of the witnesses cx
ahmed made reference to the fact that where
as only IS 600 head of cattle had been export
ed from Canada last year. the receipts in the
market of Chicago alone were last year !, 03S,-
COS head. In other words the entire shipment
OF cattle by the st. Lawrence route to this
country throughout the year only cqualled
some two days receipts in the Chicago mar
ket, the years value of the one being just over
81, 900 and the years value of the other be
ing between $65, 100000 and $10,000,000. 1t
may be mentioned that ten years ago the re-
ceipts of cattle in Chicago numbered only 1923,
600 1t is estimated that the cattle available
for export purposes in Ontario and Quebec
the two exporting provinces) number some
thing like 10000 or 10000 head sol is evident
that any extensive development of the export
from Canadian ports can only occur in the
event of the embargo upon western American
cattle being removed. One of the principal
witnesses examined (Ir. Thomas Cramp, of
the Dominion Steamship company gave
lengthy evidence as to the bearing and effect
of the existing prohibition to. export western
cattle by the way of Canada The following
are some of the chief points he stated:
THE order Of the privy council which has
scheduled the United States necessitates the
Strengthening of the ANIMALS within ten days OF
the arrival on the other side of the Atlantic
at first this was great blow to the trade, and
the regulation which came into force in Cana
da appeared to secure for Canadians the adj
vantage But Canadians have so small a num-
Der of cattle to export that they are able to
make use of that advantage only to small
extent At the same time cattle cannot he ex.
ported from the western states through Cana.
da, so that this enormous trade from the United
States is lost to Canadians and is done by
Americans, although Canadian capital is SC
largely invested in it. The trade is adapting
itself to the ten days rule, and the time will
no doubt come when Liverpool and Blrken-
head will be the great cattle markets, instead
of Smithtield. Our geographical position has
enabled us hitherto to tap the trade of the
western states, but it will now pass over Amer
can railways ana American ground, and we
will lose the advantage If it,"