El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-02-24
n EGARDLEss of whether or not
* the American congress and the
- - Canadian parliament finally rati-

n EGARDLEsS of whether or not
TX the American congress and the
Canadian parliament finally rat1-
fy the reciprocity agreement made by
president Taft and premier Laurier, the
discussion aroused by it will bring the
two countries into much closer ac-
simultaneously than they ever before
have enjoyed.
Reciprocity with Canada is not
new subject for political thought in
the United States, but ii never has oc-
cupied the important position in
American politics that reciprocity with
the United States always has had IN
Canadian public affairs. Canada is so
much smaller in population, and SO
much more of its inhabited territory is
adjacent to the international boundary.
that the Canadians nearly always have
had reciprocal trade relations in mind
The Treaty of 1854.
In 1854, when American fiscal
thought was more nearly dominated by
the free trade theory than at any time
before or since, reciprocity treaty
was negotiated with the several prov
inces of Canada That treaty was sub
stantially the same in principle as the
agreement now pending-in that IL
provided for the free interchange OF
farm and forest products from CANADA
and of manufactured wares from the
United States When the treaty was
negotiated the five provinces had to-
| tai population of barely 100000 peo-
pie.
From the time of the war of 1919
until 1854 the Canadian provinces and
/ the United States were constantly
! ouarreling about boundary lines. fish
) cry rights. the use OF canals. naviga-
| ton of the Great Lakes and the ST
| Lawrence river, and many other
! things. Rebellions against England
/ were fomented on the American SIDE OF
the border, and refugees from justice
in either country had but to make
| their way over the line TO find ma
| ven of comparative. safety
! Promoted Friendship.
/ The nos+ remarkable effect of the
reciprocity treaty of 1854 was that II
| mt an immediate stop TO all this bick-
/ ering. The two people began to be as
! friendly as II they were all under one
| f1ae-much more friendly at that time
| than were the people Of the north ana
the south under the Stars and Stripes
| The treaty was extremely advantage
| Gus to Canada in commercial way
| and the northern country began 70
! grow rapidly When the treaty We
| ahrogated by the United States IN 1855
! Canada had increased until it had con-
| siderablv more than 100000 people
The cessation Of reciprocal trade re
| lations between the two countries was
not so much the outgrowth OF economic
| or commercial dissatisfaction on the
| American side as 1t was the result OF
purely political considerations Inc
canadians very much desired to keep
the treaty il force. The Americans mao
| lust emerged from the trying ordeal o.
the civil war. The victorious north was
still furious with Great, Britain Tor lt'
s,,sracted sympathy with the confeder-
ate states, and the same Ieeiihs q
tended to the Canadians
ON the C,nadian side the interest II
the civil war had been mixed MOS
i Canadians were opposed to slavery, a.
they had proved by their maintenance
of terminals for the underground ran
wav." But at the same time the Z
Iovalist element never had forgottei
their Tory ancestors and never ha'
forgiven the United States for the re-
bellion against England ThereIor'
many Canadians were more OF les
onenlv in sympathy with the south, pc
| cause they wished to see the Amer
| can republic disrupted
some Foolish Boasts.
The action of lord Palmerston
sanding troops to Canada at the TINS
| of the seizure of the British steamshll
trent and the capture of the confeder'
ate commissioners. Mason and SLID Fl
hv, the Union navy. had caused tn
Canadian newspapers, especially thos
of Tory proclivities, to make scme Yer
foolish boasts OF restoring the Norti
American colonies 10 the British crown
by force of arms
In 1866 the one determining Iaetor Il