The Portland daily press., 1891-09-05
The creat Rugpear.

The revelations of the Canadian census
are creating genuine hurricane of public
sentiment in the Maritime Provinces. While
those provinces have gained little-in New
Brunswick the gain was less than one hun
dred all told-they have not held their own
so far as native population is concerned.
As foreigners have come In the natives have
gone out. In New Brunswick the addition
of several thousands Of foreigners has not
ayailed to produce an increase of 100 in the
whole population. In Nova Scotia the situa-
tion Is the same. ut is to Massachusetts,
that tens of thousands of Nova Scotians have
gone" says the Halifax Chronicle. And the
Chronicle, in company with !all the other
liberal papers of Canada, proceeds to de-
nounce the Canadian protective tariff as the
cause of the migrations. In these days it IL
customary to attribute all things evil to the
tariff. The Canadians are not more reason.
able about 1t than our own people, But be-
fore accepting the general explanation Of the
situation of the provinces it may be we'll to
consider few facts If, under free trade
with the United States, the Maritime Provin-
ces would have gained in population greatly
instead of in an insignificant degree, it must
be that state similarly situated with r.fel-
ence to everything but the tariff line would
also make great gains. The resources and
interests of Maine and New Brunswick are
almost Identical in all except those things
affected by the tariff on the boundary line.
Maine enjoys that free trade with the whole
of our great country, which the liberals of
Canada so hope to enjoy, and which they
profess to consider guarantee of popula-
tion. II they are right 1t must be that Maine.
similar territory and inhabited by similar
people, has made great gains In population.
But If we lexamine the census returns we
shall find that Maine has not gained lin very
much greater percentage than the Maritime
Provinces. Maine has not so many natives
Of the state residing within Its borders as she
had ten years ago, Her increase of ten
thousand In the last ten years is to be ac-
counted for entirely by the immigration of
foreigners. The same is true with regard to
Vermont. If then, Maine and Vermont
show the same phenomenon as New Bruns-
wick and Nova Scotia, 1t can hardly be cor
rect to infer that the tariff causes the proyin.
ces to lose their people, or that the loss
would be any less with that tariff wall taken
down. Maine, New Brunswick, Vermont
and Nova Scotia have a common complaint.
Their people are hocking to Boston and
Massachusetts. The existence of a tariff
between this country and Canada does not
explain 1t at all. The line between Maine
and New Brunswick neither helps nor him
ders more than the border line between
Maine and New Hampshire. Over both of
them the migrations 90 on In never ending
professions. There is one explanation. The
industrial life Of the age Is drawing the
people from the country to the cities. Bos-
ton is drawing from New England and the
Maritime Provinces. This tendency is OBJ
servable in countries with tariffs and In
countries without tariffs. The big wigs of
england have been noticing the same phe-
homena That we notice here. So have the
saVants OF France and the ponderous social
philosophers of Germany. Were the Mari.
sine PROVINCES SO situated that they could
nave great city like Boston within their
poluers' they would have the magnet that
uIawS population. To change their tariff
VIII not accomplish the purpose. Indeed II
is probable that the national no,icv NJ Co..
ada for the last twenty years has belned 20
counteract the tendency of the people to 90
into the United States, by furnisbino 80 S
employment for them at home,