OUR CANADIAN LETTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15433, 20 April 1912, Page 5

OUR CANADIAN LETTER.

(Kroji Oph Own Cor.nKsroNiiENT.) OTTAWA, March 1. At the Colonial Conference of 1894 .Mr la-o Smith was a>ied wJ«t New Zealand oould feud to Canada in tho way of tnido. He said: "Wo can wind you'the, finest mutton in the world, and w<- can solid .von gums for tho making of rarcibili, as well as wool." Sir Mackenzie JJowell, who hud undertaken tho uiiajon to Australia, in the year previous, knew something of .W.v Zealand mutton, and just why ho knew that something is a. story which I must tell, even at the risk of .-.noiliug this introduction. Sir MiictaniA and the writer were Captain Stuart's only guests at table durinir Ihe voyage oirthu Arawa from Sydney to Vancouver. Tho first day out. at luncheon, she captain asked what wo would like for dinner, and this question led to the mentioning of New Zealand mutton. Sir Mackenzie said lie would like to try it. That night wo had a leg of mutton for dinnor. Next day, and every day succeeding, the <|iifstioti of dinner c-anio out. and Sir M.u'kciuio would say, " Well, if you don't mind, I would like some more of that New Zealand mutton, with the result tlm! for 2\ •lays of the 23 we were at sea we dined •■•{ mutton. Arid i can sty in all sincerity that the taste of that mutton will lingers in my mouth. Hut to rotern to tho trade question. " .Mutton," said .Sir Mackenzie Howell to Mr Leo Smith, "why, we have plenty of that Ln Canada. It is not as good as yours; hut our fanners would not stand for tho importation of New Zealand mutton.'' Neither thev would, as Sir Muckcuzio learned at the next election, when a few tins of million, brought in as ail experiment, were hawked about the country and show.il to rural audiences as a sannJe "f what tho Government was permitting to enter tho Dominion in competition with the domestic product. Those tins of mutton eomtituted one of the factors which defeated the Government. & mutton was discounted by tho eonfe.rwion; but I fancy a considerable quantity of New Zealand mutton came into Canada last year, ami, if the cost < f staple food products continues to rise as it has been <loiriir for the past 15 years vo shall lx> compelled to buy a groat deal more. This by the way, and a. little furtJior on f shall return to tho subject.

Mr Loo Smith did not, however, mention butter. That would have been al»ut tho last thing to occur to his mind. In 1694 New Zealand had very littlo butter for export, and it was several years later that otw antipodean brothers borrowed Mr .T. A. Ituddick from Ontuida to teach them the uri- of making Iho highest quality of ohceso and butter. My friend Mr Ituddick seems to have done his work very well, for whilo Canada in the very year Mr Leo Smith was hero exported 600,0001b of butler, and went on incroasini; the amount year by year until 1905. Now Zealand now has a largo volume available for export, and Canada is cue of her customers. Just fancy the Rrcat agricultural country Canada importing butter from New Zealand I Mr Loo Smith was regarded as somewhat of a dreamer when he was in Ottawa in 1891; but that was not one of his dreams, Yot tho other morning, as I walked up to ray office, 1 saw two large cards in as many shop windows announcing: "New Zealand nutter, W ranta per lb.' That mado mo nib my eyes.

The Citizen, Ottawa's morning paper, had the following to say on tho subject:—"Now Zealand butter has arrived in Ottawa, l'robobly for the first time in history tho capital is now using butter from another colony, and one of Canada's keenest rivals for the Hritish market in dairy produce. The Antipodean butter, u.fter its long voyago over laud and ocean, arrived in the city yesterday. Tho New Zealand article is full-grass butter, and is equal to the very best Canadian Juno butter. Already written orders for a second and much larger consignment have liecn sont in. The butter is pasteurised, and is in every way of tl» very first uuality.

" The importation of dairy produce into a country that is ono of (he greatest dairy producers of the world and from a country thousands of miles away is a nolablo event in Iho' history of Cmifda. Tlm causo is a scarcity of the Canadian article, due to a great scarcity of grass last season in ■ the pastures throughout this country. Canadian butter is now retailing at 40 cents a noiind in Ottawa and other eastern cities, and runs as high as 65 and 75 cents in Cobalt and other iroinU north. It is higher than it lias ever boon l>eforc, and tho same high prices prevail in the caso of cheese.

"Tho Now Zealand buttor can bo brought to Canada and sold at 40 corns also. Tlio cflVct of ilfl importation, according to dciders here, will be to keep tho Canadian prion from going any higher. Tho NW Zealand buttor can be sociirod at almost any of the large retailors of groceries, ami the Murphy Gamble Company are to-day placing on salo some of fho first, which i's selling at 40 cents." What tratispirotl in Ottawa with respect to New Zealand buttor occurred in other largo centres in Canada. OtUiwa is nearly 3000 milos from tho Pacific, coast, and all tho way inland the keen demand for butter must have led to many tons being put on Milo. Of course, 40 colits per lb is about l3io highest price Ottawa has ever paid for butter, and it may bo that only such an exceptional figure would lead to imporUitions from Now Zealand; but wo aro fast dunging our notions a-s to what is exceptional ami what is normal in relation to tlio cost of iifcossnriefl. The fact remains tint Canada, which has spent large sums to develop her dairy interests, is now an imiiortcr of butter, and New Zealand is tho seller. What has Jiapponod in this year of graoo may go on happening, and the thins which seems to 113 so extraordinary to-day may to-morrow cease to excito surprise. It would rather look as if we would coiitinuo to import increasing quantities if Now Zealand products, and, as things aro goine, bo glad to get thorn. Touching the matter of mutton, it dors not seem at all improliablo that Canada will, from absolute necessity, become a considerable importer of (his staple. Tlio annual mooting of tiic National Live Stock Association took placo in Ottawa during the past month, and it wcr there solemnly declared, and cry.stnlli7.orl into a resolution, (.lint tho hoof cattlo industry was very much on the down grade. This conclusion coincided villi the published declaration of tho Live Slock Commissioner of tho Dominion fJovernmcnl, Dr Rutherford, to which reference wins made in my Inst letter. This nitwit ion is .reflected in tho iinprr.ee. dented price of kef in the open market, and tho people are crying out for relief. If the b:isio industry has been nogloctcd, it is obvious (hut it cannot bo revived in a day. Meanwhile, the number of domestic consumors is being rapidly increased by immigration, thus intensifying the trouble; «<> that tho outlook is discouraging. Mutton could not he modo to take the nlace of beef at a jump, but necessity is a *torti educator, uid our own pooplo would soon lonrn to make tho substitution, at least in part-.

1 uhlio sentiment is aJwavs a powerful factor in kiicli matters. Whenever in tho past it Ims liocn proposed to lower the. duties 011 meats, n.ll tukx> has been raised on lvhalf of the. homo producer. Hut two things have occurred to stillo that crv. In tho lirst place, it is pretty well recognised that tho former is tho chief beneficiary from the existing scalo of prices; and in the next, place it is clear that wo shall soon bo pushed l<» funime n(rurM f or necessaries if «;■? arp twinimllwl to rolv u-hollv on our Unadi.in farmers. They arc ge'tling un . 'heard of priivs for alfthev can produce. and cannot meet the demand. This means Mut tlio time has «>mo when the interests of consumers must lo regarded us supreme. Uemv it svwns probable that the bars will soon ho let down, and this would bo done with all the bettor grace when it became assured that our new suppliers would lie follow colonist*. In other words, our need must create New Zealand's op]»rttmitv. The ice lias boon broken, as wo say hero with climatic pointodties. and business onerjiv will do the rest.

Our people are really verv much alarmed iiier the rising cost of living. |„ addition to the buying of Now Zealand buttor. immense (jtiiuitities of potatoes 'have lieon bjiight in from Ireland, and have retailed as high as lis a bag. Forlun-atolv. the capacity to buy lias gone ahead of the need; but that ik>e« not apply to all classes with equal force. Wage-earners and the Filarifd class are pinched very severely, the latter more severely, by rhe" existing" iscalo of prices. They constitute a large and important section of tho great bedy of consumer*. Salaried nion cannot make tfc«r--folvcs felt as n political force, because they have neither cohesion nor organisation; and this i|tiestion to sotno extent is political. How long matters will remain in this \ca\tion. no one may say. We bear a preat deal about tho mannia/.'turers and farmers at election times; but tlio iiiivrcsis of consumers are mrerly without a champion. As a more problem in probabilities it scorns unlikely this v. ill continue, and when that day comes in whioh the consumer* enter the arena in organise! form they will be. must be-«i forve to reckon with.

In order th-ii the facts with rosard to l'i.' cost of livim; mav lv» More our liroilii'f at the Awirxv.Vs, the followins •■e-ii-oflU- 1 *! Mat.'mi'lit is iriven: -"-Thai. l'-.!-;i.la '.'ill this year establish for herself a hii:h water nvoid for |«,< sronoraiion in tJ-> cost of livMijr i* the opinion rntert.-iinrd alli-r enrefiil iiire*|ii;.itinii and compilation of statistics by the labour Department. In

1690 Iho oV|iartmcnt selected 261 articles of representative character throughout tin? entiro field of production ami consumption, and divided them into 13 groups. From the I average cost of tlioso a standard of 100 was wt as the index ligurc. That index figure t«-<la.y stands ut 131, which is the highest J record sinco t'lw standard was formed, and I for many years previous lo that time. As a j simple- indication of the rapid rise it is J noted that tlio retail prices for tho last I year havo averagivl o per oont. higher than j for t.ho previous year. Though this rise in | prices may be taken to indicate increased I commercial prosperity to a certain degree, still it is particularly serious from the st.iml|*)int. of the higher post of living, and as affecting tho consumer deluding upon salary-" ... . , What lias saved tho situation in part has bocn tho enormous outlay of capital throughout the Dominion for railway constiwtion and public works. Tlic prevailing prosperity has brought about great commcrcial activity; the building trades have had their hamfe full; employment at fair wages has lieen abundant; there ha* not been idleness on the part of any claw, and this has made for toleration of conditions which would under other cirvuimtnnccs have created general and grave agitations In view of tho concerted opinion of economists that the top level has not yet own reached, it will In; intcrestin,; to watch tho trend of events

Hofen'iiee has just been made to the lar;,'c smiui of money which have been expended during he (iast 10 or 15 yewbv lioveinment. and by private enterprise. The subject of tho new Transcontinental railway came up in Parliament tlio other day. This is the section of the Grand Trunk I'iicilir, 1805 miles in length, between Maletolt and Wimii|>cg, which the Federal Government undertook to construct. It will bo completed in 1914. Tlio cost is now estimated bv the engineers in charge at £52,000,050, or £29,000 per mile. No such outlay was contemplated at tho outset, and this lesult is duo to unforeseen diffi'-'ultics which havo arisrn in building through a wilderness, far from bases of supply and availability of labour Tho Grand Trunk l'actlio Uailway Company has meanwhile been cor.strucling tlic western section, from Winnipeg to the coast, a distance of over 1500 miles. The capital expenditure at that end has exceeded £25,000.000. Our ing tho decade over 3000 miles of additional railway havo been built, nt a cost of many millions, so that from tho railway stand|K)i:it. alone some notion will bo had of the volume- of capital which has lioen in circulation as an antidote to tho high prices for necessaries.

The bitter and dangerous agitation which has arisen over thn im tcmeio decree !-y his Holiness tlie Pope, nfTectinK llio law with regard to marriage, bids fair to im allayed. Thai drcrrc declared invalid tho marriage of two Catholics by any other minister than n priest of tho Roman Catholic Church, and it was interpreted bv a jtldi»o in tho province of Queheo to nullify such a marriage. The. question tlwrnforo becomo sharply an issue Imlwcpji ecclesiastical nud oivil law in Canada. Catliolios maintained that the decree was wholly domestic in its application, and ouncernod only |)ersons of that faith; but the action of "a Montreal judgv in declaring civilly invalid tho marriage of two Catholics by a Methodist minister was scarcely consistent with that view. As everyone- knows, it does not take milch to fan smouldering .prejudices into flame, and that is precisely what happened in this instance

Parliament has referred the whole matter to the courts, and will ultimately obtain tho judgment of tho Imperial Privy Council. Mr Ixuicastor'introducwl a bill declaring the. civil law supremo throughout Canada, and the question of jurisdiction was at oneo raised. Tho Minister of Justice proposes to have an adjudication upon that point, and also upon tho issues involved in tho following questions:—

''(2) Does the law of the Province of Quclicc render null and void, unless contracted beforo a Roman Catholic priest, a marriage that would otherwise bo legally binding which takes place in such province? " (n) Rct.ween poisons who are both Roman Catholics, or (h) between persons one of whom only is a Roman Catholic? " [i\ If either (a) or |b) of ir.o ln«t, preceding question is answered in the iillinnnlive, or if both of them, are answered in the affirmative, has tho Parliament of Cauida authority to enact that all such marriages, whether (a) heretofore solcmnis-.J or (b) hereafter to lx> solemnised, shall be legal anil binding?"

Pending appeal to tho Judicial Committee of tho Privy Council, and after action in that regard had been taken by Parliament, the Qiiehc.; case to which reference hns been made camo up ai'ain on an appeal. Tiio Judge, who was a French-Canadian and a Roman Catholic, pavo a sweeping and unqualified decision in support of tho civil law. The essential aspects of his decision appeal in tho following quotations therefrom :—

" Tho No toiTiore decree of tho Roman Catholio Cliurch docs not. nnd cannot, have precedence over tho civil law of tho Province of Quebec."

"This law docs no* require that the minister performing tho ceremony should bo of the same faith as tho contracting parties in order to make tho nmrriago legal. A Protestant minister is qualified to marry two Catholics."

'" Marriage owes its institution to nature, its perfection to iaw, its holiness to religion."

"What essentially constitutes marriage is the consent of man and woman to unito together [or common life; that is not only the ba-sis of the contract, but it is tho contract, itself. The saoramoat gives, it solemnity, tho, civil function gives it publicity, authenticity., and civil effect."

"The good faith of the partners, the pub. lie possession of the office (held by the. clergymen who marry them), and the sanction rf the Crown (given in the license to marry) prevent such a contract from Ileitis tod with invalidity." It is devoutly to bo hoped that this decision and the ponding appeal to tho Privy Council will quiet tho ferment which lias got well under way; for there is nothing which can so disastrously disturb the peace of a people, and errata serious and farreaching trouble, as a religious conflict. This is particularly true in a country the principal province of which is ovotwhouT.ingly Protestant, and the next most populous province is almost solidly Roman Catholic. Wo can very well do without a revival of the ancient war between the jieoplo and tho Papacy. February was an unusually cold month. The temperature was frequently below zero, nnd at limes thcro wore high winds. Toward thu i-loso of tho month tho heaviest snowfalls of tho winter occurred, and these led to considerable interference with railway traffic and the lomporury closing of rural highways. Wo are accustomed to such things, however, and tho increasing volumn of daylight tells us that, long as tho winter lias been, spring is certainly near at hand.

Parliament has listened to two or three debate! during the»current session on the question of tho State ownership of telegraphs and telopliones. A mixed situation exisk with regard lo these •itilitirs. The Dominion Government has not touched telephones; but in Ihrro of the Western Provinces Iho local government has practically taken over all the linoe. It cose millions to do this In the east, however, lolophono interest? aro wholly controlled by private corporations. 'Hie' Dominion Government operates a telegraph system in the Yukon County, and alcng part of the Atletitb const, hut al! the commercial linn aro in the hands of nine operating companies. The mailer has been held in s:ispeiue pending further information, which will lie available when Parliament mcoU again.

A return brought down to Parliament recently shows that the Dominion Governr.ioin is spending about a million dollars 11 year -on immigration. Tho money has been «x|>ei)ilod chiefly in literature and tho mn.inton.ira> of npencil's. Assistance is not siren in anv form lo settlers. \ n immerse inlltix is anticipated for Iho cm-, rent year

Kovifcil fieurcs of tho ccnsiK! show t.}ie population of tho Dominion to lie 7.204.527. l!y provinces the figures are a« follows:—

l-IH. ]So|. Inc. aUktm :i;<.ct;.l 73.02-j .wi.iui British Cnlumlih ... TC.t.»fl 17?.n.i7 ;|.l.S':3 Manitoba t.Vl.sit 5.v',.211 miuo.l Xfw Bruwwirk ... 3SI.M Xil.l'M 3i).7ftl Xovs ?.»lia 4M.3.1S 1.W.57J .-K.rfil Orit.irHi !,555.3iW ;,ls;.<i)7 3in.:'Sl T. E. Island M,72s 10.1.0T <>.M| Onohec 2.0VJ.71J I.Ms.IW! 3M.SH Saskatchewan ... 4!>;.4.i3 m.ot wi.tsa rutin s.m.' -::.-:i!> ir.td; X.W. Territory ... lii.nsi *UM 3.17S ",Wl,sj: 5,371,315 ],533,:i2