Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-06-25
Up IN CANADA.
Reciprocity Negotiations Again
Attracting Attention.
Bundle of Documents Laid
Upon the Senate Table.

| documents, Ileu WlJn red tape, was lalu
on the table of the senate chamber by
the premier just before the senate arose.
1t was a message from the governor
general transmitting further papers re-
lating to the extension an<Adevelopment
oftrade between the United States and
the Dominion of Canada, including New
foundland. The correspondence con
sists of letters and dispatches that passed
between Lord Knutsford, Lord Stanley,
governor general of Canada, Sir Julian
Pauncefote, British minister at Wash
ington, and Secretary Blaine, all of
which merely resulted in fixing date
for a conference in Washington next
October. Although the text of the cor
respondence has not been made public
before, it contains nothing new, the
main points having been published from
time to time.
Blaine's Letter.
The following letter is perhaps the
most notable document in the whole
series. 1t is from Mr.. Blaine, trans
mitted to the governor general by the
British minister at Washington in a
communication dated April 2, 1891:
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
WASHINGTON, April l, 1891.
My DEAR SIR JULIAN--I duly received
the note which you did me the honor to ad-
dress to me on the Goth of March l regret
that for many reasons l have been unable
to make earlier response For convenience
sake here quote the substantial part of
the note "In a note dated 22d of January
last had the pleasure to inform you CON
fidentially that the Canadian government
in Difference to your preference for an un-
official conference on the question of reci-
procity were disposed to meet your wishes
in that respect 1t was understood that
you would be ready after the 4th of March
to discuss this subject officially with me
and two or more agents from Canada. /
have now received dispatch from the gov
ernor general of Canada, in which he re-
quests me to asccl tain whether the present
time is convenient to you for that purpose,
in which case representatives appointed by
the Canadian government will proceed at
once to Washington to confer in the man
ner proposed on all or any of the subjects
indicated in the basis of the negotiations
which | had the honor to place in your
hands on the 22d of December last"
A copy of the "basis of negotiations"
which you placed in my hands Dec. 90 last
Is appended hereto. You told me, if my
memory is not in error, that you were In
structed by Lord Salisbury to propose
topics to the United States for discussion
and, if possible, for agreement. / would
be unwilling to appoint commission to
consider the propositions as they were
stated, and, Furthermore that | would be
unwilling to submit them to the president
After some further conversation, in which
you repeated that the propositions were
merely the basis upon which discussion
might be instituted, | replied that in any
event had not moment to give to the
subject until after the adjournment of
congress in March, but that after that date
! would be willing to respond to your re-
quest and to have a full private conference
with the British minister and one or more
agents from Canada, and go to every point
of difference and consider every subject
upon which n mutual interest could be
founded If an official agreement is |
reached all well; if not, no otfiaial men
tion is to be made of the effort. Above all
things, it is important to avoid public re-
ference to this matter. This the president |
will insist upon. While no notes were ex-
changed between us, | carefully minuted |
my modification Of the paper you eft with |
me containing Lord Salisbury's PROPOSE |
ton, and did soimmediately after you left |
the department
You will observe that the private charac-
ter | wished to impart to the conference is |
recognized by you months later in your
note of Jan 81 when you cabled the CORE |
spondencc confidential" In view of the |
fact that you had come to the state de- |
partment with the proposals and that the |
subject was then for the first time men |
toned between US, and in view of the fact |
that l agreed to a private conference, as |
explained in my minutes, confess that it |
was a surprise to me when, several weeks |
later, during the Canadian canvass, Sir
John Macdonald and Sir Charles Upper
both stated before public assemblages that |
informal discussion of a reciprocity treaty |
would take place at Washington after the |
4th of March by invitation of the secretary
of state | detail these facts because |
deem it important since the matter has |
for some weeks been open to public re-
mark that the conference was not initiated |
by me- but, on the contrary, that the pri-
yate arrangement Of which speak was
modification of your proposal, and in no
sense an original suggestion from the gov
ernment of the United States With this
explanation it only remains for me to say
that the gentlemen representing the
Dominion of Canada, and proposing to dis
cuss the commercial relations of the two
countries, may be assured of a courteous
and cordial reception in Washington by
the government of the United States. /
have, etc, JAMES 6. BLAINE
Canadian Budget.
The budget was brought down in the
house of commons Tuesday. The lead
ing features We're references to reci-
procity issues and the announcement of |
the abolition of duty on raw sugar, by
which act the treasury loses and sugar
consumers aie freed from over 49,
000, COO.
During the past year the exports to
the United States have fallen off over
81 200, 900, but the exports to Great
Britain, Germany, etc, have increased
The government was prepared to
meet the government of the United
States and endeavor TO agree upon
equitable terms to remove the causes
now preventing freedom of trade be- :
tween Canada and the United States.
No self-respecting government could do
more than this, and should not be asked
to do more.
Several important tariff changes would
be made, the abolition of the import
duty on sugar, increased taxation on
II a.Is,.iNc and fpIup,ao