El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-02-16

III a IT EE41N years ago, IN july 1870,
to be exact. sir Wilfrid Laurier
became prime minister and head
of the government of the dominion OF
Canada He is now, at the age Of 70,
an active and hard working man, in
tent upon redeeming the promises and
obligations he made when he first as
sumed office. The negotiation of the
pending tariff agreement with the
United States is the browning achieve
ment of his long career.
When the dominion was formed in
1867 the Conservative party came into
power, and until 1896 the government
of Canada was practically always in the
hands of the Tories. Fifteen years ago
the Liberals placed Laurier at the head
of their forces, they sud Ienly gained
control of the great French speaking
province Of Quebec, and thereby carried
the general elections of 1896. Since
that time the Conservatives have been
unable to dislodge their rivals.
Makes Rapid Progress.
Under the Laurier administration
Canada has progressed more rapidly
than ever before, it's people are more
prosperous than they ever were, and
Canada itself claims and receives great
er recognition both from the mother
country and FROM foreign nations.
The chief issue of the campaign OF
1cJV, WHICH, DIOUSHI the LlD6Td1S 1ulO
power, was the tariff The Conserva-
tive government had been devoted to
what was known as the National Pol
icy" which was another name for pro-
lection. 1t was asserted by the Liber-
ais that this policy had failed. that
Canada's industry and agriculture had
languished under 1t, and that what
was needed was a general, systematic
and radical reduction of the tariff
he
complished in three ways: Imperial
preference for Great Britain; recipro-
city with the United States, and actual
reduction of the general scale of duties
oy the parliament.
Unfortunately for the reciprocity
portion of the program, politics in the
United States veered toward higher
protection, and Mckinley was elected
president the very year Laurier came
into power. The DingIey bill of 1897
placed the American union on the high
| est protective basis Al then had known,
but it also made provision for recipro-
| city treaties. A treaty with Canada
was negotiated but it went into the
senate committee on foreign affairs
and never since has seen the light Of
day. Finally, the Washington govern
ment refusing to take any action what
ever the indignant Laurier proclaimed
No more pilgrimages to Washington"
He Kept his word. The present negotia
| tionS resulted from an American pill
grimage to Ottawa
Reduces Tariffs % Percent
Laurier then turned his attention
to the reduction of the general tariff
by granting a preference to Great
! Britain. and by treaties with other
| countries which, taken together, have
4 4ha Of he
ifs about % percent since 1896. 1t is
| true. however, that for the greater part
! of Laurier's administration he has de-
voted more attention to Industrial and
agricultural development. and the gen.
! eral Strengthening of the Canadian po-
| sition. than to the tariff question upon
which he was elected However, he
did accomplish the imperial preference
and the general reduction OF duties
at once. and he took up the matter OF
reciprocity with the United States as
| soon as there was any possibility OF
| getting results.
The tariff measure now pending in
| the Canadian parliament and the
| American congress IS different from
] other reciprocity measures in that II
is a simple agreement and not a treaty
The effect will be exactly the same.
/ but there are important differences,
| the main one being that an agreement
| is much easier. to make effective than
| a treaty On the Canadian side there
! is an increasing objection to treaties,
because Canada is not a sovereign pow
! er and cannot make treaties directly,
but only through the imperial foreign
| office at London
Objections on American Side.
The objections to a treaty on the
American side are even stronger me
agreement" requires only a majority
of each house of congress. and Is con-
sidered in open session A treaty