OUR CANADIAN LETTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15824, 24 July 1913, Page 4

OUR CANADIAN LETTER.

(Fboii Oop. Own Cohbesfondent.) OTTAWA, June 4. When my last letter was written we were enjoying exceptionally warm and fine -May weather; but it aid not persist. During the second week of the month the temperature began to fall, and soon reached the point of causing discomfort. Frequent rains did not help matters. Finally, frost came one night—not a serious irost, but enough to cause slight damage to growing crops here and there. These conditions meant that fires had to be lit; and we certainly do not expect to have cither our grates or other heating appliances going in May. It shortens the summer to have such a thing. The thermometer had been up to 88, and to have it fall to 50 was not agreeable. A succession of upe and downs has prevailed for the past fortnight or more—one day warm and the next chilly. Canadians do not mind the winter —on tho contrary, they enjoy it,—but when it is oveT they want summer. Parliament will prorogue the day after to-morrow, after having been iri more or less constant session since last •November. Toward the close a rather heavy list of railway subsidies was brought down by the Minister of Eailways, running into many millions of dollars—probably fifty all told. The matter, however, does not provoke controversy. It is the fixed policy of both political parties to encourage the building of railways by means of direct

subventions, loans, or guarantees. The rapid settlement of the country, the widening out of population, and the increasing volume of production demand the extension of old lines and the construction of new ones. <As has often been said in this column, the transportation needs of the dominion are urgent. Hence new projects are being put forward in considerable numbers, and they rely, very largely upon Government subsidies in some lorm for financing purposes in England. The time does not seem to be near at hand when new. railway undertakings will bo self-sustaining. The aid account runs into huge figures; but whatever the resulting popular burden may be it is borne with cheerfulness.

There were ofher measures of importance brought before Parliament. For example, material amendments were made to the Bank Act. Canada boasts of the best banking system in the world, and it was deemed expedient to preserve her good reputation in that regard by certain changes in the law which have been suggested by experience, chiefly in relation to Government supervision. A Bill was also passed by the House of Commons which provided for generous aid by the Federal Government for the improvement of public highways; but the Senate, fearing that the Act might be made a partisan instrument, made changes which the Commons declined to accept. The Bill will therefore come up again next session. It must be explained that while the majority in the House of Commons is Conservative, the Senate is Liberal. It will remain so until tile filling of vacancies as they arise creates a change, This situation is not new, and each time it becomes acute a great deal of talk is heard about the reform or abolition of the Upper House; but nothing ever comes of it. Senate appointments are for life, and they invariably so to partisans. Of course, the time of Parliament was chiefly taken up with the discussion of the Naval Bill, the nature of which has been fully, explained in preceding letters. Early in the month this measure was passed by the House of Commons, after the. closure had been applied. The closing stages were marked by .fierce debating and a great deal of feeling. Then the Bill went to the Senate,, where, after a relatively short discussion, it was thrown out. Canada will not, therefore, for the present make any contribution toward Im-

perial defence. It may seem strange to outsiders that this matter should .have been dealt with in a partisan spirit; but so it came about. As to the attitude of public sentiment, no one may say. The question had not been before the people, and that was one of the reasons for the action of the Senate. It may be safely asserted that an overwhelming majority of Canadians are in favour of aiding the Mother Country;., but there is a sharp division of judgment as to the form which the contribution should take. Probably the matter will-not be satisfactorily settled until it is made an issue ill a general election. The Prime Minister announced, however, that the Bill would be brought up again nest session, which would 6eem to indicate that an appeal to the country is not imminent,

Toward the end of the session the Post-master-general brought down a Bill for the amendment of the Annuities Act. The original measure was introduced some five or six years ago, and has been fairly popular. It provided for the payment of annuities by Government in proportion to the sum deposited by applicants. There was nothing of an eleemosynary character in it. But the maximum annuity was fixed at £120, and it has been found , that this amount was not sufficiently large to satisfy everybody. Tho new Bilf, therefore, provides for an annuity up to £200, and the Postmaster-general informed Parliament that he believed this change would lead to a considerable increase in business. While the volume of life insurance carried in Canada is perhaps the highest in the world, measured bv population, the annuity plan has not made much headway. Sincc the Government took up. the matter, however, a great deal of educational work has been done, and popular interest has been aroused. Postmasters throughout the country act as annuity agents.

The Militia Estimates came in for a good deal of criticism during the closing days' of Parliament. The amount asked for was £600,000 larger than the demand of last year, and brought the total up to £2,000,000. The Minister explained that Canada was now training 58,000 men, and 70,000 more were clamouring to be trained. He emphasised the imperative need of having a thoroughly efficient force for purposes of defence, and to better the nation's equipment in that regard, ;is well as to provide for improved methods, a larger outlay was necessary. On the whole, popular, judgment will approve of this, course, regardless of the higher cost. It cannot be said that there is a conspicuously strong military spirit in the country; but there appears to be a general conviction that we should have a sufficient force, and that this force should be well trained and have adequate equipment. The present Minister, Colonel Hughes, has abolished the cantecn; and while it was predicted that there would be a falling off ill the attendance at training camps, such a result hasnot yet occurred. In fact, in every direction there is a steadily growing sentiment in support of t-emperanec measures generally.

In this connection it might be observed tabt our people were deeply interested in what the Hon. James Allen had to say respecting the system of military training in New Zealand, He said that 30,000 men would be trained this year, and the difficulty was not in finding that number, but in keeping within the limit. "If I am long cnongh Minister of Defence," he said, "I hop to introduce some ltind of physical training for those who are not fit" for military training, which will develop them into useful citizens. ,1 am going back to New Zealand after consulting with the Imperial authorities as to the best method of raising and maintain ing an expeditionary force, which will lie ready to be .sent anywhere at a moment's notice. There will be one condition, and that will be that no man ic to be sent out of his country who does not volunteer to go. Accordingly, I expect that in a few years about'Booo men will be ready at a moment's notice to go anywhere the Empire needs them." Canada, now stands ninth anions; the nations in shipping. _ The total number of vessels on the register was 8380 at the close nf 1812, measuring 836,278 tons. This represented an increase of 292 in numbers over the preceding year, and of 65,832 in the tonnage. The steamers accounted for 3667, with an aggregate of 611.226 ions. Assuming the average value to lio £6 per ton, which takes account of a considerable depreciation, a respectable total of over £6,000,000 is had. There were actually 120 new vessels built during 1912, and the cost came close to £10 per ton. It might be observed that there has been a persistent advance, in the cost of steel vessels during recent years, duo in part to the heavy demand, both on the Atlantic and Pacific coast, as well as ©a

tho inland waters of the Dominion. It was estimated that 42,490 men and boys found employment on Canadian ships last year.

During 1912 an inquiry was undertaken by the Department of Eailways and Canals into the cost of transportation by water per ton per mile. The rate of freight on 93 per cent, of all Canadian waterb'orne business which passed through the canals was definitely ascertained for the firet time. It was found that.the actual cost to shippers was on the whole considerably lower than carriage by irail; but a number of qualifications had to be taken into account. In the first place, for certain commodities which could not be moved in bulk the water rates between some points were quite up to rail rates. In the next place, when, the Government contribution was added to the average charges by water the rate was brought up to the rail level. For example, the cost of moving wheat by water from Fort William to Montreal, 'a distance of 1228 miles, was 7c per bushel, as 'against a lailway charge between the same points of 12c. The Government, however, nfot only constructed the canals, but maintains them, and when the annual volume of interest on capital and cost of maintenance was distributed over the traffic of 1912 it was found that the difference between water and Tail rates to shippers was made up by this public contribution. The canals of Canada are not only free, but the terminals and aids to navigation are also supplied by the Government, It may I>q that the construction and maintenance of caJiak is economically unsound; but there is a profound conviction ill the minds of the people that these waterways serve as an effective check on railway | rates. Probably they do. It would really I seem, however, that, there is little of real competition between the railways and carriers by water, What'happens is that certain bulky commodities, such, as grain, take naturally to the waterways, while other commodities gravitate to the railways. If competition were keen and persistent, it is clear that the moment water rates fell below "rail rates traffic would flow to the steamers, and vice versa; yet. nothing of the kind occurs. Tho railways pay little attention to carriers by water, ana the shipowners appear to disregard the railwa3"s. Each has a separate business. For two or three years past a swelJing volume of trade has' led to steady advances in rates by water, and last year the profits to steamship owners were the best in the history of our inland waters. Ocean rates, it might be added, have also made marked advances, and relief does not appear to be in sight. _ It is said that the low price of wheat in Western Canada is not due so much to market conditions in importing couutriesas.to llie cost of ocean transportation. There would appear to be ample foundation for this contention. Certain it is that it costs two or three times as much to transport

a quarter of wehat to England ow to Germany as it did five or, 10 years ago. Marine insurance charges are also a factor ; but it is the ocean freight Tate -which controls. Farmers in the west are ill

despair over the low price of wheat. While all other products of the farm liave been going up and up, wheat has actually gone down. No other reason can lie found than the steadily rising cost of ocean transportation. Ships cannot be had fast enough to meet the rising demand. The owners of steamers are making unprecedented profits, and, as has been said, relief is not in sight. Yet, curiously, the price of bread is lower :n London than it is in Montreal. If ocean rates are going up—and they are quite outside of Government control under existing conditions —express rates will hereafter be lower. An order to that effect has just been made by the Board of Bail way Commissioners. The express businefs in Canada is almost wholly in the hands of railway companies, and Government statistics show that it is exceedingly profitable. It has made marvellous growth during the past 10 years. In the absence of a parcel post, the carrying of small packages and traffic requiring quick delivery lias passed into the hands of the express companies. The Government has. however, instituted a limited parcel-post system, and this may bring a measure of relief. Time will tell. Meanwhile, the ex-press companies have more or less of a niont)]K)ly, and, while their rates are subject to control, they have been permitted to do business on a basis which, to say the least, is generous. This may have been due in part t« the fact that, prior to 1911, they were not Tcqurred to make a statistical report to the Government, and little really was known about their operations The annual report of the Dairy Commissioner calls attention to the fact that while Canada is producing more butter she is becoming yearlv a heavier importer of that staple. In 1912 she sent abroad, purely incidentally, 42561b, while she imported 7,000,0001b. Nearly all of these imports come from New Zealand. There is no immediate, likelihood of a reduction in the volume of such imports. It is estimated that Canadians are using £8,000.000 worth more of dairy products than they did 10 yc-ars ago. In 1903 the western prairie provinces produced about 300,0001b of creamery butter. Last year the production exceeded 4,000,0001b. Yet. while domestic requirements were 500,0001b in ISO 3, they were 20,000,0001b in 1912. The increased needs are primarily due to a growing po.pnlation, but in almost equal measure to the use of sweet cream and ice creani. It is believed that the consumption of cream in these two forms last year was equal to 8,000,0001b of but/ier. The Dairy Commissioner gives strong emphasis in his report to tho need for a market extension of the dairy if Canada is to realise upwi her opportunities

in that regard. , New Zealand has come to be Canada s keenest competitor in the cheese market of Great Britain. There is this difference, however: While New Zealand is steadily increasing tlie volume of her sales in the British market, Canada is decreasing her exports. In 1911 Canada sent 170,684,9761b of cheese'to the United Kingdom, and New Zealand 46,307,2961b. In 1912 Canada's share fell to 151,238,4161b, while New Zealand's rose to 65,009,7281b. It is well to know that the business is kept in

the family, and what Canada has lost a sister colony has gained. Of course, Canada has "not produced less milk. She has simply consumed more at home in the form o£ cream. The demand for cream has not only affected the production of butter, but ft lias also cut down the output of cheese. The foundation of the decline in exports of both butter and cheese is a fewer number of dairy cows. The dairy industry is but one aspect of a situation' winch must soon bccome exceedingly serious; for, despite higher prices, and a rising demand, the number of beef and dairy cattle in the country is falling with alarming rapidity. Is there not in this important fact something in the nature of a large trade opportunity for New Zealand ?

If, however, our sales of dairy products abroad arc falling off, the general trade of the Dominion is growing at a most encouraging rate. In April, the first month of our fiscal year, there was'an increase of 18 per cent, over the corresponding month of 1912. Using our own money

figures, it may bo pointed out that domestic exports increased from 13,676,989d0l in April, 1912, to 22,016,880d0l in .April, 1913. Imports grew from' 45,607,491d0l to 48,488,280d01. Among the exports, agricultural products nearly doubled, and manufactures went ahead by over 30 per ccnt,

In the West; despite the low price of wheat, a largely increased _ acreage has been seeded. Slord attention is being .riven, however, to other crops and to live stock. This is well The larger acreage under cultivation is duo almost wholly to the continued influx of settlers. During five months of the current calendar year 11,086 homestead entries were made, and 75 per cent, of these went to Englishspeaking people. The foreigners come in flocks to construction work, at which they cam enough to start farming. Sunday, May 11, was Mothers' Day, and it was' generally observed throughout Canada. Tho sale of flowers for the day-

was orronoous. The demand, in fact, was far beyond the supply. Appropriate sermons * were preached in most of the churches. Tho observance of Mothers' Day is a relatively new thing in this country, but it bids fair to become an established institution.

General Mackenzie, Chief of the Headquarters Staff, lias resigned owing to a oonflict of judgment with tho Minister

of Militia. The details of the matter have not been made public. Canada has had a, moat unfortunate experience with British military officers. Since Confederation not more than half a dozen have completed their terms of service. The bask of the trouble has invariably been a misunderstanding of our self-contained disposition in domestic matters. There has been during the past mouth a marked depression in the 6tock market. Even the strongest shares, like Canadian Pacific, have suffered. The real cause is tightness of money. The banks are having heavy demands for other purposes, ana this may in the last analysis be a sign of health. Under such conditions there is a disposition to shut down on speculation, whether in stocks or real estate.

The cool weather of the past three weeks lias retarded activity at the summer resorts, but it has not had any effect on the movement of tourists abroad. Outgoing steamers have been filled to capacity. Tli-; baseball season is in full 6wing, and there has been a marvellous development of interest in Soccer football. Lacrosse, once the great national game, is on the decline. Professionalism and rough play are killing it.