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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 885
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ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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bounties given to it, which enables it to roduce its freights, and therefore practically to place foreign goods at an advantage in the Colonial markets. It might be a question, therefore, whether, in such cases, we could best meet that preference by such drawbacks upon our present tariff as have been suggested, or by examining with greater care than we have hitherto done the whole question of transport, and seeing how far the course of trade could be directed by means of subsidised shipping,
It is conceivable that another form of preference would be a bounty on imports. I have not seen that suggested in public, but it is of course one way in which trade could be attracted to this country, or, on the other hand, directed from this country to the Colonies. But I think I have sufficiently answered Sir Wilfrid Laurier's question in saying I regard all these matters as perfectly open for discussion. The difficulties which you have stated to exist, and which would prevent, at all events, at the present time anything like abso- lute Free Trade in the Colonics, exist also here with regard to any proposal to change in any degree our existing fiscal system. You cannot have been here without seeing the course of discussion, and you would know how severe the ordeal any new proposal-any change of the kind-would have to undergo, But I do not, myself, regard this as being an insuperable obstacle, and I think that any proposal, having that as one of its collateral consequences, should be fuily and freely discussed.
Sir WILFRID LAURIER: As my colleagues have just come in, perhaps I may oxplain to them the discussion this morning is upon the subject of Preferential Trade, and I just put the question a moment ago whetlier or not the Mother Country was disposed to give a preference to the Colony. Mr. Chamberlain has just spoken of. that, and indicated his view. 1 do not know if Mr. Paterson is prepared this morning to give us his views upon the effect of the proference which we have given to Great Britain, qud upon the advantage which Great Britain has been able to derive from that.
Mr. PATERSON: Well, not expecting or knowing that I would be present on this occasion, I do not know that I would care to say a great deal now.
I may however, venture to say, with reference to an official document that was prepared, I do not know whether by the Colonial Office or not, but it was handed to Sir Wilfrid Laurier.
The SECRETARY OF STATE: By the Board of Trade.
Mr. PATERSON: I have inado that a matter of study, and have prepared a statement showing what I conceive to be the effect of our preferential tariff. I hastily went over it with one of my colleagues, and not with the others, and I would not care to present it meanwhile. I may say, in general terms, that I think the question bas not been looked at from all sides perhaps in the paper prepared here. I might say the trade of Great Britain with Canada liad been steadily declining-it came from 43,000,000 dollars down to 29,000,000 dollars in a steady decline-when the preference was given that decline was immediately arrested, and there has been an upward movement since till last year it got back to 43,000,000 dollars, where it was five years before the preference took place, and when the decline commenced. I have the unofficial figures-I received them by cable yesterday from Canada-from which it appears that it is 6,000,000 better this year, that is, that the imports from Great Britain have reached 49,000,000 dollara, which from 29,000,000 dollars in five years is an increase in trade of 20,000,000 dollars, or as near as may be 70 per cent. of an advance. That, in Canada, does strike us as rather favourable to the Mother Country. The paper is prepared, and I could submit it, but, as I say, 1 would rather submit it first to my colleagues. I had not anticipated that we would be called in perhaps at this moment, but there is no doubt in my own mind that the preference we give to Great Britain has been a very substantial benefit to the trade of this country, at which we are very pleased,
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The SECRETARY OF STATE: Of course, Mr. Paterson, the object which you had in view and which wo expected when the preference was givon, was that it would have the effect of transforring trado from the foroiguer to the Mother Country.
Mr. FIELDING: Or preventing the further declino, Mr. Chamberlain, which is just as effective.
The SECRETARY OF STATE: Or preventing tho further decline? Well, what wo find in looking into those figures is, that although it is true, as you say, our trade with Canada has very considerably increased, it has not increased at the expense of the foreigner; on the contrary, the foreigner has increased in even greater proportion, and therefore we attribute the increase not to the preferential tariff, but to the general prosperity of Canada
-the increased prosperity of Canada.
Mr. FIELDING: But think, Mr. Chamberlain; ask the question; if the preference had not been there, what would the condition have been?
The SECRETARY OF STATE: I think that our feeling is that the preference did exactly what you say; it arrested a decline, but it has not, unfortunately--as wo hoped it would do-increased the consumption.
Mr. FIELDING: But it has increased the consumption over what it would be to-day if there was no preference, and that is the material question.
The SECRETARY OF STATE: That is so.
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Mr. PATERSON: Pardon me; it goes beyond that. 1 think the point of view from which this document has been prepared is doaling with the total imports dutiable and free. I would respectfully submit that for a proper consideration of the question as to its vital bearings upon English trade with us, that is not the way to look at it-or,shall I say, not the best way-if you will permit me to say so, for this reason; you take in the dutiable and the free goods; you are not interested in the free goods. You would not propose to sell us raw cottons that run into millions. You would not propose to sell us wools that run into millions, and other articles that I might mention, feeding stuffs and breadstuffs, and that kind of thing, Indian corn, of which we bring in millions of bushels. You are not in te slightest degree interested in that, but what you are interested in, in my judgment, is the facility that you have for entoring our market as against all other nations. That doos seem to me inevitably to reduce the consideration of the question to the dutiable list, and to the dutiable list alone, and these figures bear out that the preference has diverted trade, that thero has been a greater proportionate increase of trade from Great Britain under the preference than thero was before.
The SECRETARY OF STATE: I think perhaps it will be wise to wait until Mr. Paterson's paper is before the Conference; no doubt he will put it in print for us.
Sir WILFRID LAURIER: By our next sitting.
The PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE: I doubt whether there is a very great difference between us on this point. I think we ought to admit that the preferential tariff of Canada in favour of this country has done something to improve trade between this country and Canada, but as to how much it is a very difficult question to decide. Obviously the prosperity of Canada generally has been largely increasing, and owing to that prosperity we might have expected an increase of trade between Canada and G 3