CANADA AND UNITED STATES. TO THE EDITOR.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 40, 17 February 1911, Page 3

CANADA AND UNITED STATES. TO THE EDITOR.

Sir. — Tho proposed reciprocity treaty botwoen Canada and the United States io practically a renewal of tho treaty of 1854. That treaty allowod freo interchange of natural products between tho two countries for ton yoaru. At tho end of that period its abrogation requirod twelve months' notice. Tho treaty might havo continued in forco all theao j'oara had it not been for tho interference of England- The last year of tho war betweon the Northern and Southern States was the tenth year of the treaty. England's cotton mills wero> fed by tho cotton grown in tho rebel Stateu. Their seaports being closed the mills had to ba closed, and thousands of English operatives bscam9 idle. Lord Pulmerflton was Premier. At 'his suggestion Gladstone, an ouo of lm public speeahoH, oxtollcd tho Piesidonfc of tho rebel States and in offect oxpreasod tho wish thafc tha rebellion would succeed. That speocb, together with the fact that Palmorflton had approached Franco and other nations of Europo as to the advisability of recognising tho independonco of tho Confederate States, roused tho iro of the- Fodoral Government. Canada was punished, first of all, by receiving the required notice to abrogate the treaty. Secondly, by tho United States tariff being doubled at tho pnd of twelve montbg. Thin i 3 fcho only instance on record whero- England ha'u plotted for tho dismemberment of v, rrioudly nation for commercial gq,in. Canada at this timo (1864) consisted of \ what are now known 1 as Ontario and I Quqbec. Political parties -wore so evenly divided that neither could carry on tho Government. This difficulty was ovorcomo by Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island joining Canada in forming the Dominion (1667). Ths first eleven years was a critical period. Hnvinjc lout their principal market there was great depression in trade, j

Tho Provincial Governments lacked revenue to meet demands. Tho Canadian tariff being only 17;> per cent., Canada was simply a dumping ground for United States surplus manufactures. The new Government was unpopular. Sir John M [Donald, its first Premier, struggled to bring order Out of chaos. Better terms were granted the Provincial Governments, the whole North-West wan purchased from tho Hudson Bay Company, and authority was obtained from Parliament to build a railway to open up this country. He won the election of 1873, but in a few months was forced to resign owing to a scandal connected with granting the charter to build the railway. The Liberals took office, und did little elso for five yeare but talk. Tho country was in a desperato state. Annexation was freely discussed. The Liberals were put out, and fcsir John M'Donald returned to power in 1878 on two pledges : (1) Revision of the tarill". (2) Building Pacific Railway. Tho tariff wag raised all round in defence of United States rutea. The Pacific Railway, 1900 miles, was built in five years, and open for traffic" in two years more. The stimulus given to_ trade and manufactures by tbo new tariff and the opening up of the lands of the NorthWesfc to settlement were the foundation of_ Canada's wonderful prosperity. In thirty-two years a vast prairie in which a few score of whites lorded over seven hundred Indians, and not a bushel of grain _ was grown, has become the dwelling-place for a million of white peoplts. Last year they grew about 100,000,000 bushels of wheat. To send this crop to Europe costs tho farmer two bushels in every seven. To send it to tho United States under reciprocity- will cost less than one-third that amount. With the majdrity of Canadians reciprocity with United States means prosperity. It is no exaggeration to say that the desire for annexation in the first dozen years . of the Dominion's existence has been killed by the great prosperity "since enjoyed. England has never been very keen to study the interests of Canada in the matter of treaty-making with the United States. On the Atlantic coast nearly half the Stata of Maine was taken from Canada nnd given k> the Americans. Between Lake Superior and the Pacific millions of acres would be Canadian territory to-day if England had done her duty in the boundary disputes. It served the purpose of Englishmen to ignore Canada when she was weak. Now that filiG has become strong from self-help and great struggles, there are some people in the Old Country mean enough to sneer at Canadians, and almost accuse them_ of disloyalty becauso they hold the opinion that reciprocity with the United States will increase the prosperity of Canada. To-day Canada is loyal to Britain. But must ■ a child always hang on to its mother's skirts? If some day Canada decides to make a change in her government, if; will not be annexation she will choose, but independence. — I am, etc., G. W. VAN SLYKE. Wellington, 14th February, 1911.