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THE GROWTH OF CANADIAN COMMERCE, by James Young, Esq., M.P., Galt

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THE WISDOM OF THE EAST, a Poem, by George Murray, Esq., B.A., Montreal........ 392 DINAH BLAKE'S REVENGE, by Mrs. J. V. Noel, London, Ont., (Chapters X., XI.,

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OUR PIONEER BISHOP: THE HON. AND RIGHT REVEREND JOHN STRACHAN, D.D., LL. D.

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Books, by Alexander McLachlan, Esq., Erin.....

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THE NINE HOURS' MOVEMENT, by C. Henry Stephens, Esq., Montreal......................................
LET US LAUNCH OUR BOAT, a Poem, by Miss Mary B. Smith, St. John, N. B....... 431
MARGUERITE KNELLER, Artist and Woman, by Miss Murray, Wolfe Island, (Chap-

ters XV., XVI., XVII., XVIII)......................

THE BARD, a Poem, by Charles Sangster, Esq,. Ottawa......

YACHTING, by an Amateur....

ELOÏSE, a Poem, by Mrs. J. C. Yule, Toronto.....

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OLD AGE, by C. J. Campbell, Esq., M.D., Woodstock.
GREAT BRITAIN, CANADA AND THE UNITED States....
TRANSLATIONS AND SELECTIONS:--

The Sword-Point, from the German of Liebetreu...
How I was Rusticated from Cambridge...

BOOK REVIEWS....

LITERARY NOTES.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

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Intending Contributors are respectfully reminded that the space we can devote to original matter is by no means large. It will be necessary, therefore, to exercise a careful discretion in the selection of papers for publication. No article can be accepted unless it be of reasonable length, and possessed of some distinctive claim upon public attention.

All communications in reference to the "CANADIAN MONTHLY" should be addressed to the publishers Messrs. ADAM, STEVENSON & Co., 10 King Street East, Toronto.

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THE

CANADIAN MONTHLY,

AND NATIONAL REVIEW.

VOL. I.]

MAY, 1872.

[No. 5.

N

THE GROWTH OF CANADIAN COMMERCE.

BY JAMES YOUNG, M. P.

expansion.

OTHING more truly indicates the | by a steady, and, since the Union, a rapid condition of a nation than the rise or fall of its commerce with other countries. As its commercial tides ebb and flow, so may the nation be said to prosper or decline-advance or retrograde. A contracting annual commerce indicates "something rotten in the state of Denmark "; an expanding commerce tells not only of important resources, of [national industry and enterprise, but of growing wealth, power and influence.

Looked at from this point of view, the condition of Canada, especially since the Confederation of the Provinces, may justly be described as satisfactory and hopeful. Our progress may not have been so rapid as that of particular States of the neighbouring Republic, or of one or two of the Australian Colonies, whilst under the first stimulus of the gold excitement. But it has been less fitful than the latter, and the volume of our annual commerce has been marked

The "blue books" issued by Parliament each year have very few students. They are, it must be confessed, not very attractive to the general reader; but the facts which they contain are highly important, and deserve more consideration than they generally receive. Let us see if they cannot tell us something interesting about the extent and character of our commerce, the different nations with which we deal, and the exchanges which annually pass between us.

The Union of the Provinces, on the 1st of July, 1867, naturally divides our commercial, as it does our political, history. Prior to that time, our public records contain only the Trade Returns of Ontario and Quebec ; since then, we have those of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick included. Taking these divisions in their order, we find that the annual commerce of the late Province of Canada rose from a mere trifle in 1841,

Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada in the year 1972, by Adam, Stevenson & Co., in the Office of the Minister of Agriculture.

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1854.

63,548,515 1863..

1855.

1856..

1857.

1858..

political fruits of that measure, more time may be necessary to enable an intelligent judgment to be formed; but the experience we have had, comparatively short as it has been, goes far to establish its success from a commercial point of view. This will appear by an examination of the imports and exports of the Dominion since the union, beginning with the year ending the 30th TOTAL TRADE. June, 1868, and ending with that of the 30th 58,299,242 June, 187168,955,093 IMPORTS.

76,119,843

79,398,067

81,458,335

64,274,630 1864 (1⁄2 year) 34,586,054 75,631,404 1864-5... 80,644,951 66,437,222 1865-6....... 96,479,738 52,550,461 1866-7........ 94,791,860 From these statistics, it will be observed that, with the exception of a few years succeeding the great commercial crisis of 1857, which swept over this continent like a flood, the growth of the trade of the late Province of Canada was generally steady, and at times, even rapid. Between 1850 and 1856, our annual transactions rose from the value of $29,703,497 to the handsome sum of $75,631,404-an increase of over 250 per cent! This result was largely due to the unusual stimulus of that wise and liberal measure negotiated by the late Lord Elgin, the Reciprocity Treaty of 1854, and it could not, therefore, be expected that such a large percentage of increase would long be kept up. Taking the whole period quoted above, however, the result will be found satisfactory. The highest amount reached during any twelve months was $96,479,738 in 1865-6—the year the Reciprocity Treaty terminated—and by comparing these figures with those for 1850, it will be seen that our commerce increased within a fraction of 325 per cent. in fifteen years, or, in other words, doubled the original amount every five years.

We are now in the fifth year of Confederation, and the "blue books" give us the result of four years' experience. Of the

EXPORTS.

TOTAL.

$71,985,306......$57,567,888..... $129,553,194 67,402, 170....... 60,474,781..... 127,876,951 74,814,339. 73,573,490..... 148,387,829 86,661,145. 74,173,613..... 160,834,758 $300,862,960 $265,789,772 $566,652,732

The returns of the first two years after Confederation, it will be noticed, were nearly equal, but since then the Dominion has bounded quickly forward in the race of commercial progress. During 1869-70 the value of our trade increased $20,510,878 over the previous year, during 1870-1 there was a further expansion of $12,446,929, and the current year promises to equal, if it does not surpass, them both. Our total transactions last year reached the handsome sum of $160,834,758, and it will be seen that the Dominion's first four years' business amounts to no less than $566,652,732. These facts we need not enlarge upon. They go far, as we remarked before, to establish the commercial success of Confederation, and point hopefully to the future.

Next in interest to its extent, we may set down the character of a nation's commerce, and the countries with which it deals. The nature of our exports are familiar to all The great bulk of them are comprised under three heads: produce of the forest, animals and their products, and agricultural productions. Through the courtesy of John Langton, Esq., Auditor General, we are enabled to give in advance a complete return of the exports of the various Provinces comprising the Dominion, for the year ending 30th June, 1871 :—

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The value of articles exported last year, which were the actual growth or produce of the Dominion, was $55,151,047, as will be seen by the above table. Of this amount, the productions of our farms and forests make up no less than $44,788,282, or considerably more than three-fourths of the whole. Less than one-fourth is contributed by our fisheries, mines, manufactures and shipyards, but it is gratifying to know that these branches of trade are fairly prosperous, and that the returns manifest a moderate annual increase.

The imports into Canada from Great Britain and foreign countries, during 1870-1, amounted to $86,661,145, and embraced so many different articles that the publication of a complete list of them would take up too much space. They are chiefly composed of manufactures and tropical productions, of which the principal articles are Cottons, Woollens, Teas, Sugars, Hardware, Iron, Coal and Fancy Goods. The Trade and Navigation returns for the last year are not yet published, but we have gone over those for 1869-70, and we find our principal imports and their values in that year, to have been as follows:

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6,893,424 1,426,460

549,029 2,335,391 1,786,647 917,283 I, 134,001 3,646,977 3,618,304

1,429,275

549,898

1,455,936

1,557,339

Carpets and rugs..
Cotton wool
Wool .....

436,408

427,479

799,944

Machinery..

317,436

Watches and jewelry

368,602

China, Crockery, &c..

431,525

Stationery, &c..

537,868

Prepared oils...

346,455

Small wares

1,475,921

Salt......

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Tobacco (un-manufactured)..
Leather and leather goods..
Un-enumerated articles....

we annually import is highly suggestive, and This list of the principal classes of goods in view of the fact that our imports increased $19,259,275 during the last two years, and exceeded our exports during the same asked: are we not importing articles which period by $13,728,103, it may be properly could and ought to be produced profitably among ourselves? The answer to this query must be in the affirmative, but we

have every confidence that the enterprise and skill of our artisans will speedily apply a remedy wherever practicable, and that, too, without the Government resorting to high protective duties, or any other mode of forcing capital and labour into unproductive channels.

The great bulk of our commerce is carried on with two countries-Great Britain and the United States. The West Indies Spanish and British, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island and France, take rank next, and in the order of their mention. The trade returns for 1869-70 contain the names of about thirty different nations with which we dealt more or less. With several of these our transactions were merely trifling. We shall, therefore, confine our list to those nations whose trade with us exceeded $50,000, which we find after careful research to be as follows:

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less a share than $121,259,176 was carried on with Great Britain and the United States.

As our two largest customers, the fluctuations of our trade with Great Britain and the United States, are worthy of attentive consideration. By tracing these changes, the immense influence of the Reciprocity Treaty becomes strikingly apparent. From 1850 to 1855-the five years preceding Reciprocity-our imports from Great Britain were (in round numbers) $73,000,000 as against $50,000,000 from our neighbours ; during the following five years the United States sold us to the value of $96,000,000, but the mother country only $76,000,000. Since the repeal of the treaty, however, Great Britain has again obtained the lion's share. During the four years for which we have returns, the excess was $48,490,007 in her favour, the difference for 1869-70, as may be seen above, being $13,867,267. This difference is very considerable, but it falls short of the real amount, for in the statement of our imports from the United States are several millions per annum, for grain and flour, which, although entered at our shipping ports, for the most part simply pass through this country on their way to market.

Another striking change, in the current of our commerce with the United States, has taken place of late years. We are not of those political economists who attach much importance to the "balance of trade," for Canada has only thrice had a balance in its favour during at least fifteen years, and yet who can doubt that it has steadily grown in wealth and prosperity? But if there be any virtue in it, it is gratifying to know that whilst, as between the Dominion and Great Britain, the balance continues to be against us, in the case of the United States it has turned steadily in our favour. In 1869-70, for instance, whilst we had to pay Great Britain $13,644, 508 to square up the transactions of the year, our American neighbours

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