The sun., 1897-11-26

but outside competitions also, and should
practically have monopoliged the demand of
the Dominion for manufactured articles.
That was, undoubtedly, plausible pro-
posal so long as attention was concentrated
only on one side of It. When we turned.
however, from the question as to what Cana.
dians would give, to the equally important
inquiry, what would they gain3 IL was
better Of the bargain. For while United
States manufactures would gain access to
the market afforded by 5000. 900 people,
Canadian raw products would gain access
to the market provided by nearly 7O, ,OOO..
600 people.
The more these figures were examined,
the clearer 1t became to American citizens
that, II the Canadian provinces had In view
such disproportion Of benefits, II they
wished. in other words, to acquire all the
commercial privileges pertaining to States
within our Union, they ought themselves
to apply for admission to the Union, and
thus assume the responsibilities inseparable
from such high privileges.
While, however, the American people 70.
PEELED the idea Of unrestricted reciprocity,
on the ground that 1t was q bargain too
one-sided, they have never denied that, In
that proposal, the Canadian Liberals offered
everything in their power short of political
absorption in our confederation. They
offered to discriminate against British
commodities, which would have involved
the commercial divorce Of the Dominion
from the mother country. Nor is it impos.
sible that. as some advocates of unre.
stricted reciprocity asserted, tho effect
of such discrimination would have
been to cause British statesmen to re.
gard Canadian professions Of loyalty with
cynical indifference. and that the Dominion
might have been invited to go in peace,
had 1t eventually shown an inclination to
renounce its connection with the British
Crown. That prospect, at any rate, was
the lure held up to us at the time when
unrestricted reciprocity was mooted. We
declined to be beguiled by 1t, or to concede
in advance to the Canadians solid and dis.
proportionate advantages in return for the
distant chance of annexation.
The kind of reciprocity now offered by
Sir WILFRID LAURIER falls very far short
of that proposed by Sir RICHARD CART.
WRIGHT. Canadian raw products, it should
be remembered, would have no cause to
fear outside competition in our market, be.
cause, with the exception Of WOOL we i'm.
port no similar products from transmarine
countries. When, therefore, Sir WnFRIp
LAURIER requests US to admit Canadian
products at rates so much lower than those
prescribed in the Dingley act that they can
be sold here at profit, he practically asks
us to give Canadians a monopoly of our
market as against outside competitors, be-
sides enabling them to compete with our
own producers of raw products.
What does Sir WLFR1D proffer in return
He proposes that, after certain interval,
American manufactures shall be admitted
into the Dominion ut rates 25 per cent.
lower than those imposed by the existing
Canadian tariff. What good would that
do usi British manufactures would be ad-
mitted on precisely the same grounds, and.
as labor is cheaper in Great Britain. the
British manufacturer would be able to un-
dersel Us as regards the great majority of
articles. 1t is, therefore. o derisory consid-
Grafton which is offered to us by Sir WILL
FR1D LAuR1ER in exchange for most valu-
able concession.
Better suffer the last seal to die at the
hands Of Canadian pelagio hunters than to
permit ourselves to be entrapped into as
sent to any form of reciprocity that Canada
is willing to propose.