Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-22
CANADA'S ONE HOPE
For the Share of Trade With Other
Countries She Used 10 Have.
IT'S RECIPROCITY THAT'S NEEDED
To Bring About the COnsummatiOn So re-
yOutly to Be Wished.
EMINENT CANADIANS TALK ABOUT 1T
rsFEc1AL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH

ceSsIul Iraue negotiations OF the Unlte'
States Government with the British Yves
Indies, Immediately following the failur
of the Canadian Government to secure al
extension of Canada's trade with those col
onies of Great Britain, and the commercial
depression under which the Dominion i
now suffering through the absence of nat
ural markets for her products, have leC
Canadians to speculate with considerabl,
interest, if not anxiety, on the result of th'
long-promised trade negotiations with tn,
United States regarding reciprocity, which
must be begun soon.
1t is not impossible that the 40 bye-elec
tions to be held in the Dominion during the
next few weeks many have an important
bearing on the future policy of Canada. L
the Liberals can carry as many of these bye
elections as they expect to carry, the pres
ent administration will have hardly work.
ing majority at the next session of the
House of Commons at Ottawa In three OF
the bye-eleetions in Ontario, next week, the
straight issue is to be reciprocity with the
United States. The defeat of the Govern
ment candidate in Richelieu is being pointed
TO as straw that shows which way the po-
1itical wind is now blowing
Leading Canadians on Reciprocity
The opinion of a few leading Canadians
on the subject will help to throw some
light on the manner in which the present
situation is regarded in the Dominion
Goldwin Smith, in speaking of the COM
mercial arrangement between the United
States and the West Indies, said: ''This
special arrangement between British
colony and foreign power seems to me to
be another step, and a significant one, in
that iscal disintegration of the. empire
which commenced when an Australian
colony asserted its right to lay protective
duties on British goods Nothing now re-
mains of the fiscal unity of the empire ex-
cept the understanding that no colony or
dependency is to discriminate against the
mother country, and even this applies only
to specific articles, not to aggregate trade,
in respect of which Canada does already
discriminate against Great Britain.
1.-THE attempt 10 turn the current of trade
backward by establishing an imperial zoll-
verein shows no force and is sure to fail.
The principle will soon be established that
each member of the empire is at liberty to
consult its own interests and TO make such
fiscal arrangements with its neighbors or
the world at large as it's geographical and
economical circumstances may dictate"
0zigant1n tlece OF Business.
Hugh Blain, of Eby, BIain & Co, one of
the most prominent wholesale grocery con-
Germs in the Dominion, viewed the recent
successful efforts of the United States to
extend its trade relations with the British
West Indies and other countries as a bust
ness combination on a gigantic scale.
It was just a question how long those
not in the combination could hold out
against it. and the remedy that presented
itself to his mind, as far as Great Britain
and her colonies were concerned, was an
imperial trade league within the British
empire that would render England and her
colonies more independent of the rest of the
worl l. Free trade had some very strong
advocates in England, and he believed in
free trade if it were universal, but the con-
ditions had changed, and some action to
meet the altered circumstances would be
necessary. With imperial federation Can
ada would be in a much better position to
secure a fair reciprocity treaty for the
United States, as there would then be less
necessity for her people toSeek for markets
outside the British empire.
No Determination Against Canada.
John L Davidson, President of the
Toronto Board of Trade, and a leading
wholesale grocer, did not think the recip-
rocity treaties recently closed by the United
States would have anv effect on the trade
negotiations between Canada and the United
States The British West Indies could not
discriminate against Canada, and the
Dominion would stand with those countries
in the matter of trade, Just as she had be-
fore these treaties were made with the
United States. Canada had ALWAYS been
willing to make fair treaty with the
United States, and was stilIwilling TO do so.
Tro1 :.
considered the people of the United States
very selfish in the matter of trade reci-
procity with Canada. He did not think
anything would come of the coming nego-
tiations of the Abbott administration at OF
tawa and he was of the opinion that Canada
would never get reciprocity from the United
States till it suited the latter to give it.
The only products Canadians have which
The Americans need are fish and lumber and
her nickel The two first the United States
must have and the latter is likely to come
into such extensive use that the Americans
will purchase it. He believed that Canada
would be greatly benefited commercially by
reciprocity with the United States
Little Chance for Canada.
Garrett F. Frankland, who opened the |
trade in live cattle with Great Britain, con-
sidered that Canada had little immediate |
chance of obtaining reciprocity with the |
United States. He attributed the success
tul trade negotiations of the United States |
with the British West Indies |
Immediately after the failure of Minister |
Foster to secure an extension of Carada's |
trade with that part of the empire to the |
fact that the people of the West Indies |
knew there was greater consumptive de- |
mand for their products in the United States, |
and consequently had a greater interest in |
trading with the Americans than with the
Canadians. As far as the cattle trade was
concerned, 1t would be great advantage to |
the trade in Canada if Canadians could |
send their cattle 10 Chicago, which is really |
the market of the world. He thought that |
he present administration at Ottawa was
hoping that after the next Presidential cleo |
tion they would have better chance of Sc
curing reciprocity.
Asthe Liberals View the Matter.
The Globe, the organ OF the Liberal party |
in Canada, thus regards the recent treaty |
between the United States and the West |
Indies:
The Americans have not compelled the |
West Indies to discriminate against Cana |
dian wares, and for this we should be thank |
fui; but in all probability our trade. which |
has been steadily declining since 1872, will |
be diminished by the convention with the |
States. Trade with Newfoundland is suffer- |
ing from the war of tariffs into which Min |
sters have rushed; trade with the United |
states IS severely hurt by the Mckinley bill, |
and our chances of securing a focthold in |
the Spanish West Indies, the Sandwich |
Islands, Brazil, and other countries in South l
and Central America have been obliterated I
by section 3. The Dominion is thus isolated /
IN commercial sense from the continent to /
which she belongs, even more completely 1
han France from the rest of Europe. We |
are in ring fence, cut of from all partici; |
patton in the commercial and industrial life |
Of America, yet ministers pretend to be sur