CANADA AND THE STATES

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 234, 11 February 1911, Page 5

CANADA AND THE STATES

SPEECH BY HON. FIELDING. BIG DRUM OF IMPERIALISM." NOTHING NEW IN THE AGREEMENT. By Cable—Press Association—Copyright. Received 11, 12.35 a.m. Ottawa, February 10. During the reciprocity debate in the House of Commons, Mr. Fielding said the opponents were beating the big drum of Imperialism in order to secure their own selfish ends. There was nothing new in the agreement, which was merely built on the lines of the treaty of 1854. SIR JOSEPH WARD RETICENT. London, February 9. Sir Joseph Ward has cabled to the Daily Express that as New Zealand is a sister dominion to Canada and so intimately concerned, he would rather not express an opinion on the reciprocal agreement, except that the proposal is of great moment to the whole Empire.

JOURNALISTIC ENTERPRISE. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Yesterday. The Premier's message was in reply to a cable from the Daily Express, London, as follows: "How, in your view, does the Canadian-American agreement affect preference and federation?" SPEECH BY SIR WILFRID LAURIER. In reply to an important deputation in December on the tariff question, Sir Wilfrid Laurier quoted one of the statements that the farmers of the West had accumulated wealth aggregating 1,500,000,000 dollars. He thought that if they had done this in less than twentv years, existing conditions could not be very adverse. He then proceeded: "I am happy to say that at this moment we are negotiating with the American authorities to do this very thing which you ask for—to improve our commercial relations with our neighbors. But I must say to you that this is not so Casy as you may suppose. There is in this country, in some sections of the community, a very strong opposition to any, change in our.present commercial relations with our neighbors. I think that if we can improve the relations in the direction of having more markets for natural products and farm products the country will be immensely benefited. Let us speak willi perfect frankness here—and I would not speak otherwise—any change in our trade relations with regard to manufactured products is a more difficult matter. There are difficulties in this whicn no Government can ignore; and we are not ignoring them. But, at all events, we see our goal, and in this our goal is very much in your own direction. But tii'crc is one view which you have expressed which it is the object of the Government to carry out, and on which the Government will respond to your view.? in full as you have expressed them. That is, whatever we do with our neighbors, whatever we may be able to accomplish with them, nothing that we do shall in any way impair or affect the British preference. That remain* a cardinal feature of our policy."

CANADA AND THE EMPIRE. WHAT RECIPROCITY WITH AMERICA MEANS. The Canadian correspondent of the "Standard of Empire," writing on December 28, states:— "The Dominion of Canada will enter upon the new year full of hope, and confident of the greatness which destiny holds in store for her. The closing year has been one of record-breaking in practically every branch of industry, and in the general development of the nation. "It is announced, that the Hon. W. S. Fielding, Minister for Finance, and the Hon. W. Paterson, Minister for Customs, will go to Washington during the second week in January to resume the negotiations in connection with the tariff relations, of Canada and the United States. It is expected here t.,at a treaty will be entered into without much delay, which will involve in the first place a considerable measure of reciprocity in the exchange of natural products. Neither Government has shown any anxiety to interfere with the present tariffs on manufactured articles. There is little interest evinced in the negotiations among the public, and feeling is upon the whole against the idea of reciprocity.

"There are not wanting men of a responsible and knowledgeable sort who affirm that genuine fiscal reciprocity between Canada and the States must inevitably lead to other kinds of reciprocity, and to an all-round drawing closer between the two nations of North America, with a corresponding amount of detachment between Canada and the Mother Country and the Empire. These gentlemen assert that, particularly since the inception of the C.P.R. transcontinental and the beginning of Six John A. Macdonald's famous "National Policy," the whole trend of Canada's development has been east and west, or, in other words, British and inter-Imperial; that reciprocity with the States means a reversal of that great general tendency and the substitution of a North and South, or pro-American and antiImperial tendency in our development. INTER-EMPIRE PREFERENCE. "It is, of course, admitted that if in the recent election in England a Tariff Reform majority had been returned to Parliament, there would have been little further talk or thought here of fiscal reciprocity with the States. The introduction of inter-Empire Preference would have obviated all call for that movement, and would unquestionably have been welcomed ifb-om ; cnd to end of Canada. On the other hand, many au-' thorities here say now that the fears of the people previously alluded to are quite unfounded, and that a measure of trade reciprocity with the United States will never be allowed to develop into any other or more general kind of union, or to militate against Canada's attachment to the British Empire. We certainly have Sir Wilfrid's own positive assurance that nothing shall be allowed to interfere with the preference to Britain.

"But there are critics who affirm that reciprocity with the States could not possibly be introduced without permanent and progressive injury alike to the British preference and Canada's connection with the Empire. The political situation at Home has produced a feeling of discouragement and some depression among Imperialists in this country, and at the moment singularly little public interest is being shown in this big question of the fiscal negotiations with our great neighbor to the southward, whose ninety million people are separated from this mo:,t fertile portion of the Continent only by an imaginary line. 300!) miles long; a line which they are crossing now in quest of homes in our fruitful West in their thousands, and with ever-in-creasing energy and success.