New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-03-22
TuF pET0LUTJOY IN CANADA.

THE REFOLUTION IN CANADA.
The revolution which has been wrought IN
the Dominion by the adoption Of protective
tariff is discussed with intelligence and impair
TALLY by our Ottawa correspondent. lie does
not use too strong phrase when he describes
the new economic policy as n declaration OF
commercial independence. But against whom
il that declaration directed? Have the Con-
federated Provinces taken arms against the
mother State, or are they legislating in self
defence against their American neishborsf
Our correspondent does not carry the discus
sion to this point.
The protection movement in the Dominion
is led by Tory of the Tories who has always
been profuSe in his professions OF loyalty to
the Crown. The Government press has taken
its cue from him and his associates, and has
characterized the new tariff as anti-American
rather than anti-Brtish in spirit. The FL
nance Minister, in his budget speech, care
fully nursed this feeling. lie contendcd that
the bulk of the 1000, 900 of additional rev.
enue which the tariff might fairly he expected
to Weld would be squeezed out OF imports
from the United States. He even went so far as
70 assert that the new schedules Disseminated
in favor of British goods. One OF the OppOsi-
ton Journals, The Toronto GlObr, has already
prcked this bubble The trade and nayiga-
ton returns of last year are taken IA basis
of COMPARISON, and tho increase in the duties
ON British goods is shown to be much greater
than that on American goods. In the former
case, moreover the increased taxation falls
upon the main articles of trade between Great
Britain and the Dominion, while i'll the latter
case the heavily taxed goods are those OF
which very small quantities are imported,
such as furniture, clocks and nails. If the
specific duties are correctly converted into
their equivalent ad valOrem duties, these tables
prove that so far as manufactured goods are
concerned the new tariff discriminates in favor
of American imports. Canadian industries
are protected mainly at the expense OF British
manufacturers.
Let us turn now from manufactured to
natural products The third resolution of the
Tariff Act, as our correspondent points out
is direct bid for reciprocity on the Canadian
side with reference to coal, breadstuffs ami
mails of all kinds meats, butter, cheese, SALT
and the like. The penalties which are to be
enforced so long as this bid is declined are
not sufficient TO exclude these natural pro-
dncts. The most important articles in the list
are coal and corn. The tax on coal, both
anthracite and btuminOus, is 90 cents to the
ton. The bulk of the population of the Do
minion is between Montreal and Lake Huron,
and nothing short OF q duty OF 81 to the
ton will enable Nova Scotia mine-Owners to
carry their coal 1000 miles to Ontario and
sell it at a profit. The present tax will add
to the cost of living and manufacturing in
Upper Canada but will not shut ont a single
ton Of Pennsylvania or Ohio coal. In like
manner it can be shown that the duty on
corn will not diminish the imports from the
United States, while it will asSuredly increase
the burdens of Canadian farmers. These
"anti- American provisions" of the new tariff
will cause no dismay on this side of the
border.
One fact must not be lost sight of, when
ever the question of commercial reciprocity is
forced upon our attention. If the Dominion is
excluded by our customs laws from the mar
kets of the continent, it is because the Con-
federated Provinces are dependencies of Great
Britain. If they were an independent nation
across the border the removal of the present
restrictions would be open to fewer objec-
tons. AS matters stand. our natural products
will not be kept out of Canada, and our manu-
featured goods will get in on better terms
than British imports. Americans have sue
ceeded so well in promoting their own in
dustrics by high tariff. that they will be glad
to see the same experiment tried in the Do
minion 1t is not easy to see where the Cana
dian manufacturers are to find consumers, or
how the products of Provinces SO widely sepa-
rated as Ontario and Nova Scotia are to be
exchanged adyantageously. When one of the
advocates OF confederation compared the
Provinces to seven weak sticks which would
DO strong when bound together. delegate
from the seaboard dryly added, "Not so seven
"fishing-rods tied together at the endn