The Portland daily press., 1880-04-27
Reciprocity with Canada.

a reciprocity treaty with Canada is again
receiving public attention under circum-
stances that encourage the hope that ulti-
mately new treaty, quite as favorable to
both countries as that of 1854, will be nego-
tiated. Thus far the inquiry has been pre-
liminary in character, but radical, seeking
to discover proper basis on which to estab-
lish commercial relations between the two
countries that shall be permanent, and the
established policy of both Governments in
their relations with each other. For some
time the House Committee on Foreign At
fairs has had the subject under considera-
ton, the result of petitions from the mer-
chants of several of the leading cities of the
United States, and it is understood that the
Committee have agreed upon favorable re-
port and resolution to be submitted to the
House. The resolution requests the
President to appoint Commission of three
to ascertain and report upon what basis
reciprocity treaty for the mutual benefit of
the United States and Canada can be nego-
tiated. 1t is intended that the Commission
shall inquire into the natural and artificial
ODooeeSiSo w iSCipiOClbyt SdtuCI oJdllSllCS
and present the result of their labor to Con-
gress in such manner as will give Congress
and the country the fullest information in
the simplest form. The report of Mr.. Cox,
the chairman of the Committee, which is to
be printed, is said to be very able. In it he
propounds three questions, all of which he
answers in the affirmative; Is the proposed
reciprocity treaty important? Is there
demand for it? Will commission to con-
slider the subject be advisable? The friends
of the measure are sanguine That the reso-
luton will be eventually adopted by the
House, though there will be some opposition
coming chiefly from Pennsylvania.
The treaty of 1854 had for its guiding prin-
ciple that natural products of both countries,
including agricultural products, animals,
lumber, coal, ores, &C., should be admitted
into each country free of duty, and the priv
ilege Of fishing in Canadian waters was CON
ceded to the United States. This treaty ex-
pired by limitation in 1864, and it is admitted
that it worked well ON the whole; and it is
significant that the petitions for re-
vival of the treaty or the establishing of
broader one, represent some of the leading
interests of the United States, and the bust
ness communities of New York, Baltimore,
Boston, Portland, Buffalo and Milwaukee.
The opposition to reciprocity in Canada is
mainly in the present administration, which
is high protective in policy, while that which
it succeeded favored liberal tariff. The
fin %
quite as seriously as it did the United
States, eaaoing falling off in tho importa-
ton of dutiable goods. chiefly from Great
Britain, and creating an annual deficit of
about S2,000,O00; and to make this deficit
good and sustain the credit of the country
the Government decided to establish high
duties for protection. The present tariff is
quite unpopular in England, ard very inju-
rious to many of the material interests of
Canada, particularly in the Lower Prov
inces. 1t is piece of class legislation, and,
so far as it is directed against the United
States oversteps the mark; for while the i'm
ports of dutiable goods from Great Britain
fell off about ST., 100000 in the year 1873,
the corresponding reduction in United
States goods was only about S1,OOO,O ,OOO
The Dominion administration of 1873,
which has since gone out of power, was, as
we have said, liberal one, ''favoring free
trade so far" says. Sir Francis Hincks in a
recently published paper on the subject, "as
was consistent with levying customs duties
on articles produced or manufactured in the
country" 1t was in obedience to this
policy that the Canadian authorities OBJ
tanned the consent of Great Britain to the
opening of fresh commercial negotiation
with this country. The British minister at
Washington, Sir Edward Thornton, and
Hon. George Brown, Dominion Senator,
were accredited as joint plenipotentiaries to
negotiate treaty of fisheries, commerce and
result of their labors, in conjunction with
Secretary Fish, was treaty draft which was
rejected by our Senate after having been
approved by the governments of Great
Britain, of the United States and of Can
ada The negotiators on the part of Can
ada endeavored to make the new treaty
very like that of 1885,, but our gov
ernment demanded that certain goods
supposed to be common to both coun-
tries should be included, and the
British negotiatorss acceded thereto. The
list comprises articles imported from the
United States to the amount of So, ,OOO, 900 in
1878 and paying revenue of $500, 900 to the
Dominion. This provision was Indignantly
commented on by a portion of the Canadian
press. who declared that reciprocal free
trade in natural products had only been OBJ
tanned ''by the sacrifice of the manufactur-
ing interests in addition to the fisheries"
and the United States Senate, in rejecting
the treaty, unwittingly did the Canadian
manufacturers great service. The failure
of the negotiations for this new treaty in
1874, gave renewed courage to the Canadian
protectionists, and, taking up the cry of pro-
lection to home industries, the Opposition
party went before the people in the general
election in 1878 and succeeded in getting
control of the government. Bqt, as we have
indicated, the new tariff is burdensome to a
majority of the producing classes, and une-
quail in its operations upon all. But the tar
iff policy of Canada is in its transition state,
and, according to Mr.. Cox, there are indica-
tions which show that the present tariff of
May, 1879, is but the precursor of system
OF prohbitory tariff legislation which will
be adopted by Canada unless some arrange
ments to secure the commercial interests of
the countries be made. Our trade with Can
ada takes the fifth rank in the order of our
dealings with foreign nations. and is very
profitable because Canada is a large purchas-
er of our goods and wares. If there were
material defects in the treaty of 1854 we are
wiser for the experience; and something
should be done at once to remove the pres
ent uncertainty and suspicious jealousy
which surround tariff questions between the
two countries. At least d good method is
now proposed to ascertain the temper of
Canada upon the subject. The friends of