The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-08-29
BLOW FOR AMERICANS.
Canada Negotiating Reciprocity with
 France.


 New York Special to Chicago Record Sir Wifrid Laurer the Prime Minister | of Canada, accompanied by MT. w. 5; | Fielding the Minister of Finance, ana l MT. William Patterson. the Minister of Customs of the Dominion, are in Paris, | supposed to be negotiating reciprocity | treaty between the Canadians and France: l The cable dispatches say that Sir Wilfrid | has offered a reduction of 15 per cent | from the regular duties upon all FTencn | goods, provided Canadian merchandise is admitted into France at the minimum | rates. which are from 12 to 70 per cen. better than the maximum rates imposed upon the products of the United States. | If France is willing to make greater concessions, Sir Wilfrid Is said to be
 willing to place French imports upon the same basis as those from England
 It is also proposed to have steamship line direct between the French and Ca
 nadian ports, with an annual subsidy or s12O, ,OOO,' one-half to be paid by Canada and the other half by France.
 The attention of United States Senators from Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota. New Jersey and Massachusetts. who have prevented the ratification of reel procity treaties between the United States and both Canada and France, Is respect fully called to this intelligence.
 We might have a much larger market in France for our flour, corn meal, cot ton seed oil, bacon, ham, lard, and other pork products, lumber, agricultural imple- ments and machinery, electrical appli- ances, coal. and various other products | of the farm, forest and factories of the | United States if the manufacturers of gilt jewelry in Rhode Island and Massa- | chusetts and the manufacturers of edg- ings and knitted goods in the latter State | and New Jersey had been willing to have | the duties now imposed upon such un- | important merchandise reduced about 2 | per cent from the present rates. But the | interests of all the rest of the country, | amounting to millions upon millions, were sacrificed because of their selfishness | We might have a monopoly of the trade | of Canada today but for the stubborn ness of the lumbermen of the NorthWest' ern States, who refused to consent to reduction in the duties imposed upon Canadian lumber. It was only differ ence of $1 a thousand feet, or something | like that. but they would not consent tc | 1t, and thus all the rest of the industries l having interests in Canada were cut on | To revenge themselves upon us the Ca nadians lowered the rates Of duty upon | imports from Great Britain and tried tc | induce their merchants to buy goods IT | the mother country Instead of in the l United States. But. notwithstanding that l discrimination, Canadian trade with the | United States continues to increase ano shows how much it might become If opr | Congress would be more nDeral III cus' toms duties.
 l During the last ten months Canada has | imported $95, ,372, 429 in dutiable goods. ol ] which S2S. .33s,S7o, an increase of $l,SOo, ,O2'
 from the corresponding period of the pre- | vious year came from England and S4S,' | 1O4. .7S1 from the United States, an in crease of $5,47,613 from the correspondine period of the previous year. The free goods imported from Great Britain were ne valued at $1099S, 417. gain of $2,OOo,OOy | and those from the United States were valued at $4S,S4S.355. a gain of $S6ol 200. The total foreign commerce of Canada now amounts to about $400 OO0, 900, and we ought to have nearly all Of 1t.