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REMARKS

ON THE EVIDENCE

TAKEN

(1

BEFORE A COMMITTEE

OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS,

ON THE

TIMBER DUTIES,

\

184 0.

" Truth is brought to light by tini) and reflection, but the Lie of the
day is upheld by noise, clamour and misiepresentation."

QUEBEC:

PRINTED BV WILLIAM NEIL80N, NO. 19, MOUNTAIN STREBT.

1841.

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REMARKS ON THE EVIDENCE

TAKEN BEFORE

A COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS,

ON THE IMPORT DUTIES, 1810.

" Truth is broiiglit to light by time and veflection, but the Lie of the
day is upheld by noise, clamour and misiepresentation."

In looking over this evidence it is impossible not to be struck
with the fact that, with one exception, the members of the
Committee appointed for the investigation of the subject, are
totally unconnected with Canada, and have no interest therein,
and that not one of the witnesses had, or pretended to have, any-
practical knowledge of the Colonial timber trade. The con-
sequence of this injudicious composition of the Committee, and
selection of witnesses, must be fatal to the object had in view
by the House of Commons in appointing it ; that object being
to obtain true and correct information, upon which the House
mii^ht safely bring forward legislative measures beneficial to the
Empire at large. But if the Committee and witnesses be defi-
cient in the necessary knowledge of the subject under inquiry,
the desired information cannot be obtained, the truth must still
remain undeveloped, and the House of Commons proceeding
to legislate on the subject with no other guide than a Report
founded on such partial and incorrect evidence, can hardly fail
to err, and may jeopardize most important interests of the Em-
pire. Had a portion of the Committee been acquainted with
the colonial timber trade, many questions might have been put
to the witnesses that would have brought out important infor-
mation, and have neutralized the effect of previous answers,
which had a tendency to throw discredit on the trade; they

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would liave been enabled to detect the false statements, and
gross misrepresentations of some of the witnesses, which will, in
all probability, be received by the House of Commons as cor-
rect— their knowledge would also have enabled them to suggest
such questions as were calculated to elicit the truth, and the
result of evidence so obtained, would have left an impression
on the minds of the Committee that would have produced a
Report, on which the Legislature might fearlessly have acted,
instead of adopting the dangerous proceeding of founding their
recommendation of a change ii: the duties on timber upon the
evidence of individuals whose interests and prejudices all lean
to one side.

Mr. MCGREGOR'S EVIDENCE, QUESTION No. 922.

Mr. McGregor says that foreign nations would take our
manufactures in about the same proportion that we took their
timber, were it not for the present differential duty on foreign
and colonial timber.

Mr. McGregor is doubtful as to foreign nations taking fully as
large an amount of British manufactures as we might take of
their timber, and he is quite right in doubting it, as he knows
that to a certain extent, they manufacture for themselves ; but
Mr. McGregor abstains from giving the Committee a much
more important piece of information, which he was well able
to do, that the Colonies take in British manufactures not only
fully the amount of the timber exported, but a great deal more ;
the annual import being now £3,000,000, and for the last twenty
years the balance of trade with the colonies has been greatly in
favor of England. Whatever increase there might be in the
export of British manufactures to foreign nations, by a reduction
of the duty on foreign timber, there must of necessity be a re-
duction of the import of British manufactures into the colonies,
by colonial timber being thus excluded from the British market.

923 — Mr. McGregor says, the present differential duties
oblige ship builders and others to pay a higher price for timber
of all kinds.

To give weigh*- to a bold assertion like this, the indivi-
dual making it ought to be a practical man acquainted with

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the various markets in Great Britain, and the descriptions of
timber used in ship and liouse buiUling, m.^nes and manufac-
tories; and it can hardly be supposed that Mr. McGregor
possesses this knowledge, as it can only be acquired by trading
in the article for a number of years. Now, it is a fact, that
when the present duty of ten shillings per load was imposed on
colonial timber the price of Baltic timber at the shipping port,
rose 75 per cent, of that amount, and whenever the subject of
an alteration of the duty has been under consideration, the very
discussion of the subject has caused a rise in the price of Baltic
timber at the shipping port. If Mr. McGregor's scale of duties
be adopted, the import of Colonial timber must cease, and the
price of Baltic timber will rise at the shipping port in the same
ratio as the differential duty may be reduced; and ship builders
and others will be obliged to pay as high, if not a higher price
for timber than they do at present, which extra price will go
into the pockets of a few influential individuals in England,
who are interested in the timber trade of the north of Europe.

927 — Mr. McGregor says he has resided in all the North
American Colonies, and is of opinion that if the restrictions
on our import trade were withdrawn, any protective duty on
Colonial timber would be unnecessary.

Mr. McGregor's residence in Canada must have been very
short, as he is not remembered in Montreal or Quebec; and his
evidence on the timber trade contains the most unfounded and
incorrect statements, calculated to mislead those who are called
on to legislalate upon it, and proves that he is as ignorant of the
subject on which he is speaking, as a person might be supposed to
be who had never set his foot in Canada. With some very trifling
exceptions, Mr. McGregor cannot point out one instance where
the Colonists have solicited the removal of these restrictions, or
where they have complained of their imposition ; indeed, so
light are they, that until Mr. McGregor mentioned them
in his evidence, many of the Colonists were in ignorance of
their existence ; and to say that we would give up our timber
trade in return for the removal of these paltry restrictions, is a
gros;i misrepresentation.

■. '9^r»-

■ip

i^

6

924 — Mr. McGregor's opinion that the revenue would be
increased £1,000,000, by an alteration of the present duty and
adopting the scale he proposes, is merely the opinion of one
individual, and ought only to be taken for what it h worth.
Others equally as competent to form a correct judgment as
Mr. McGregor, are of a contrary opinion.

931— Mr. McGregor asserts that the nursery for British
seamen, furnished by our Colonial timber trade, would not be
injured by putting an end to it, if the restrictions on the Colonial
import trade were removed ; as *,he Colonial mercantile navy
would increase by the removal of these restrictions, and thereby
make a nursery for seamen in itself.

If the present trade in timber were destroyed, 1000 ships,
averaging 400 tons each, would be thrown out of employment.
The Colonial mercantile navy might perhaps be kept up to
300 ships, averaging 100 tons each, and how far they would
form what is mea.it by a nursery for seamen, Mr. McGregor
would find it difficult to explain.

931— Mr. McGregor says that New Brunswick alone would
suflfer loss from a change of the timber duties, in consequence
of her Saw Mill establishments being so much more extensive
than elsewhere.

The Saw Mill establishments in Canada, it would be easy to
prove, are much more extensive than those of New Brunswick;
a fact that Mr. McGregor's residence in all the Colonies, ought
to have informed him of.

039— Mr. McGregor says the timber trade of these Colonies
is of consequence to New Brunswick only, including a few
Houses in Quebec and Montreal; and yet this monstrous as-
sertion remains uncontradicted.

There is no person who has resided a short time in Canada
and has acquired any knowledge of its trade, but must be con-
vinced that so far from this being true, the interest, the welfare
and happiness of the great bulk of the population, amounting to
1,200,000, and its very existence as a British Province, depend
solely and entirely on a continuance of the timber trade, a stop-
page of which would spread ruin and desolation throughout the

would be
t duty and
ion of one
; 13 worth,
gment as

)r British
lid not be
e Colonial
itile navy
d thereby

100 ships,
ployment.
ipt up to
ley would
IcGregor

•ne would
isequencc
extensive

le easy to
runswick;
es, ought

Colonies
ig a few
trous as-

i Canada
t be con-
; welfare
iinting to
(, depend
3, a stop-
•hout the

land. The trade of Canada in timber is of more importance to
the Province and the Empire at large, than the whole trade of
the other North American Colonies, united with Now Brunswick.
991— Mr. McGregor says that in 1834, the people of Canada
expressed to him distinctly that they were willing to give up
the timber trade, if the restrictions on their import trade were

removed.

If any of the people of Canada expressed such an opinion,
they must have belonged to that party whose object it was
to bring about a separation from the Mother Country, and
whose treasonable attempts to do so in 1837 and 1838, were
so signally defeated by the loyalty and patriotism of the men
engaged in the timber trade. To believe that any other class
of the people of Canada could have recommended so suicidal an
act, is impossible. It is supposed that during Mr. McGregor's
short residence in Canada he obtained his information respect-
ing the timber trade, from two obscure individuals, Englishmen
by birth, who being unsuccessful in their endeavours to obtain
a livelihood in mercaiitile pursuits in Quebec, established a
seditious newspaper in Montreal, and advocated the rebel cause,
until they were driven out of the country by the oxecrations of
their indignant fellow countrymen; and these are the men who,
it is supposed, represented, in Mr. McGregor's mind, the people
of Canada.

Mr. J.D. HUME'S EVIDENCE, QUESTION No. 1236.

Mr. Hume says the class of ships benefitted by the timber
trade are old ships, and that it would be better for the govern-
ment to buy and destroy them, rather than not change the
duties; and as for the Colonists, only give them free trade and
they will gladly give it to you in return.

A very large portion of first class ships are engaged in the
timber trf\de ; many indeed that are employed in the West
India trade, make one voyage alternately to Quebec, and num-
bers that are engaged in the cotton trade of the United States
make one voyage in the year to Canada. The remark of Mr.
Hume respecting old ships would have applied with much more

8

correctness 25 years ago, when the ships in the timber trade
were tliose that had been discharged from the Transport Service
in 1814 and 1815, but which are now worn out or lost, and
iheir place supplied by ships built since that period.

Mr. Hume's assertion that the Colonists would gladly give up
the timber trade in return for freedom of trade in other articles,
is as unfounded as some of Mr. McGregor's, and is entirely
destitute of truth. To suppose that we would willingly give
up the timber trade for the removal of the restrii<tions on our
paltry import trade, is to suppose that we would give a pound
sterling for a penny currency.

1396 and 1397— Mr. Hume says : destroy all the old sliips
in the Colonial timber trade, and pay their owners a compen-
sation for them ; do not build so many new ships, but repair
those that are left, and the shipping interest will then prosper,
and we shall be relieved from the necessity of finding employ-
ment for those that hive been so destroyed.

Mr. Hume might as well say to the cotton and woollen manu-
facturers of England, " destroy the oldest articles of your stock,
" and we will pay you for them ; do not manufacture so many
" new goods, and we will more easily be enabled to find a mar-
" ket for what you have left, and the smaller quantity that
" you do manufacture ; and the manufacturing interest will
" then prosper." It is really surprising that a man of Mr.
Hume's experience and understand,' 'ig should attempt to main-
tain such an argument; but absurd as it is, his answers to these
two questions convey this very meaning, and leave the same
impression on the mind as if he haa actually used the above
words.

1398 — Mr. Hume says it is bad policy to make the public
consume bad timber, in order tu employ bad ships.

Among the many erroneous impressions left on the minds of
the people of England, by the gross misrepresentations of the
enemies of Llie Colonial timber trade, there is none more false
than that Colonial timber is bad. Colonial timber is not bad,
in the true meaning of tlie word. A piece of timber is only
bad when disease exists in it. Ojie description of timber may

mbcr trade
)rt Service
r lost, and

ly give up
er articles,
is entirely
ngly give
ns on our
e a pound

old ships
I compen-
jut repair
n prosper,
'T employ-

len manu-
our stock,
so many
nd a mar-
ntity that
erest will
n of Mr.
t to main-
s to these
the same
he above

he public

minds of
•ns of the
nore false
3 not bad,
3r is only
nber may

9

be inferior in its qualities of strength and durability to another,
but t is not for tlit reason bad A piece of Memel wh. e wood
Umber is inferior to a piece of Memel red wood but th.s mfe-
" ty does not prove that the white wood is bad ; on the con-
trary, the white wood is preferable for certain purposes to the
red, and will preserve its soundness and strength longer in cer-

"^'ke "lupine of Canada is inferior in strength a^ d,KabiHty
to th red or white wood of Europe; and English beech plank
U nferior to Canada elm plank, but the white P-e of Canada
not for that reason bad, any more than is the Enghsh beech ;
and any joiner or carpenter in England could tell Mr Hume,
thatfor^ertain purposes of his trade the wh te pme of Canada
so much superior to European timber, that there are some
de cri^tions of work which he would hardly undertake wUhout
?t The same practical man could also tell Mr Hume, that the
p^re yellow pine of Canada is infinitely supenor to the white
wood of Europe, possessing as it does a combination of he
qlities of white and red pine, partaking of the softness of the
white as well as the durability of the red. ^ ^ . ,. , ,

The red pine of Canada is equal to any species of fir timber
produced in Europe. It is not inferior in any one point to the
Memel red wood or Norway fir, and there is no purpose tha
European fir can be applied to that Canada red pine is not
eaually fit for; indeed it is much superior to Norway Umber, from
bein^Lore free from sap, and longer and larger. The average
b !al cltents of Norway timber, are from 25 to 30 feet per
pLce-and the average cubical contents of Canada red pine are
^5 to 40 feet. The opinions of practical men vvould prove the
truth of the above observations, and expose the gross misrepre-
entations and fallacious arguments of theorists and prejudiced
persons. It requires only judgment and honesty to bring the
truth to light respecting the comparative quahues of European

fir and Canada red pine. ,. ., •

The rock elm of Canada, or any thing equal to it, is not
produced in Europe; its virtue is only even now becoming gen-
erally known in England, and the demand for it has increased

B

10

during the last ten years one hundred fold. At the present day,
almost entire cargoes of it are shipped from Quebec. In certain
situations it is imperishable, and in those situations it will bear
a competition even with English oak. These are the descriptions
of Colonial timber that the people of England are induced, by
the misrepresentations of Mr. H.ime and others, to believe to
be bad. There are descriptions of timber in Canada that are
not produced in Europe, and if the Canada trade be put an end
to, (besides other alarming consequences) recourse must be had
to another description of timber, more costly in itself and re-
quiring a greater quantity of labour in its workmanship; all
which will produce the very effect that the public in England
are made to believe exists at present in consequence of the
protective duty in favor of the Colonies, namely, that they are
paying a higher price for timber than they would if the trade
were free.

With respect to the other part of the same answer, Mr.
Hume says, that not only is the Colonial timber bad, but
that the ships which carry it are bad. A bad ship is an unsea-
worthy ship ; and to procure insurance on such a ship is a felony.
If unseaworthy ships are allowed to navigate the seas, that is
not a consequence of the Canada timber trade; it is the duty of
the authorities in England to prevent it. An old ship is not
necessarily a bad ship or an inferior ship ; on the contrary, many
ships, 50 years old, are better than some that afe only 10 years
old. The erroneous impression as to bad ships, as Mr. Hume
very properly observes, arises from the bad system of classifica-
tion at Lloyds, where age, and not quality, stamps the character
of the vessel. To say that the ships in the Colonial timber trade
are bad because they are old, is incorrect. Bad ships are not,
or ought not to be allowed in any trade; and if the ships in
the North American timber trade were as bad as Mr. Hume
and others represent them to be, very few would ever reach
the shores of England ; as it is a fact that, i.. a passage from
Quebec, particularly in the winter season, a ship has to encoun-
ter weather as bad as is experienced in rounding Cape Horn

•esent day,
In certain
t will bear
e-oriptions
iduced, by
believe to
a that are
)ut an end
ust be had
li and re-
mship; all
I England
ice of the
t they are
the trade

swer, Mr.
bad, but
an unsea-
s a felony.
IS, that is
le duty of
ihip is not
ary, many
' 10 years
Ir. Hume
classifica-
character
iber trade
5 are not,
J ships in
[r. Hume
ver reach
age from
3 encoun-
I Horn.

u

G R PORTER'S EVIDENCE, QUESTION No. 2709,

* Mr. Porter says, the duties first imposed on Colonial and
Baltiftimber werJfor the purpose of ~^^^^^
auction of an article of pr^menecess^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^

.as reason to believe the ^P^^"^ '^i^"„;;;'of the Colo
This is the only admission .n the ^ ^^^^ ^ Co'untry. And of
timber being of any value to f^'^^'^^ circumstance of
what vital importance to Great ^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ,ime
,er being able, at all ^2:cZZ^^^ were stepped,

the consequences would be -"-;' ^^J/ ;^^^^^

resumed, after once oeing i ^ ^

.„ ,, H .0 ».,a. U i.^. ^'--^-^^fXZ .upp.yf 4e
brought into such a state as to eu^ ^^ .

„o.t serious injury m.ght k»;"»'™^* j-y^^ „^„, Jf „asts.

the navy, for instance, "':sj"'; ^f^.^,,, .^ecVs ship build-
Mr. Porter says the U gh P c= » ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^

i„g in England and -- f ^^^^ ^, .^^..^ in England
observauon; b^tMr Pore- ^^^^ ^^^^^_^^^ ^^^^^

would find, If the l,an8a probability, be even

instead of be.ng '^-P-'/'taic people, »hen they had
l,igher than >t .s "»»• =" '"^ '', ;„ rt,eir own price;

„„ competitor rn tl, trade . u W P ^^^ ^^__^.^ ^^^__

and this is the great object of those »l'° .^^^,

inaividual intores,, '^1*, ^^^M Por^^ Mr- Hu»e,
and who have succeeded ,n mducu g ^^ ^^^^

Mr. McGregor and other ' f"l' ' '" ^ " ,"„"auties on Baltic
With respect, however, to the effect *= P^^^"' ^ „ ^„„„„

,,„ber will have on ship ;:"<'-|;;f "^t' tt o e tenth, and
to persons conversant .n tins >>"'""»•« . ^„ „„„.

in some instances, not one 7""="' P" ' "^ Ba tic timber;

that constitutes tlie chief cost of ship building. The conse-
quence to a ship builder of a reduction of the duty on Baltic
timber, would be, that he would consume more of it than of
Colonial timber; not that he would build more ships. The
prosperity of ship building in England depends on the general
trade of the Empire, and not on the admission of timber at a
high or low duty.

2713 — Mr. Porter repeats the old argument, that a larger
amount of British manufactures would be exported to the
Baltic, if Baltic timber were admitted at a lower duty; but
Mr. Porter and others, who make use of this false argument,
suppress the fact that, the export of British manufactures to the
Colonies would be decreased by the import of Colonial timber
being decreased; so that as far as the manufactures are con-
cerned, no benefit would result to them, while the effect on the
Colonists would be ruinous.

S715 — Mr. Porter is of the same opinion as Mr. McGregor,
that the protection which enables the Colonies to carry on the
timber trade, is of no advantage to them. It can hardly be
supposed that Mr. Porter or Mr. McGregor, can form a correct
judgment as to what is, or what is not of advantage to the
Colonists, ignorant as they must be of their trade; but if either
of them had resided a few years in the country, they would
have learnt that, without the timber trade, Canada would be
nothing; that the climate, throughout a great part of the Lower
Province, is not adapted to the pursuit of agriculture ; that all
the skill and ingenuity of man are useless in contending with
the rigour of a Canadian winter of seven months, during which
period, a farmer must live in idleness, consuming the scanty
supply which his land has produced during the previous summer;
that we have no manufactures, and no minerals to excavate ; in
fact, no trade ^'it in timber; and without it, Canada would
become what it was in the time of the French, and export only
a few furs.

2716 — Mr. Porter repeats the opinion of Mr. Hume, res-
pecting old ships being employed in the timber trade, and even
goes further, by stating that certain persons in England do

NHP<MMii

13

that which would render them liable to a criminal prosecution :
r :tvigating, and of course J^-^^Z^ZSZ

::^rs^:r= s^Hu^:/- ..^ice a^

g orance, such as this evidence discloses - -ay^^^^^^^^^^^
it and where assertions so grossly unfounded (to gxve them the
mildest name,) are received as truth ; the Colonists, meanwhile,
having no opportunity of contradicting them.

< i

Mb. MITCHELL'S EVIDENCE, QUESTION No. 2982

to 2999.
Tl,is eentleman informs the Committee, that crooked fir

timi, fi''-«p.«-^r„ri.^;n:;o r S:
rat:;2 «rro;t: ;i;u he u .o. mo.

rpeiully told that he has stated »hat is atterly .ncorrect
and that neither he nor any other person ever saw crooked fir
timber, fit for ship building, in Norway.

3015-Mr. Mitchell says the Nor^y timber is not so well
squared as Memcl timber, the people of Norway be.ng unable
t^put so much labour upon it-now, the fact ... U . not the
IhL that they cannot afford to put upon ■'. f- J;^"" ';-
cheap in Norway a. among the serfs m Russ.a; but .t .s the
Umber that they cannot afford to cut away. It .s already so
II n the gir , they are afraid of making it less by squanng
tw 1 1 even hjf squared as it is, it hardly exceeds 8
incTe ; Id yet this small, short, contemptible trash, tha
ardj deserve' the name of timber, is attempted to be put
r competition with the splendid red pine fmber „ Cana a,
that grows to the size of even .6 and 18 mches, and 70 feet

'°m43-Mr. Mitchell think, a profitable trade in Colonial
timber might still be carried on, even if the duties were equa-
led! How far this may be done, is shewn by the foUowmg
Statement:

14

The freiglif from Quebec is, say 38s. wliich is

llie shippinfT price of red pitit,— 38 to 40 feet average,

Making the ».o8t at port of delivery, sterlirKr

The fieifrht of timber from Norway, per Mr. Mitchell.
1 ne cost ot Norway timber, as per do.

9J. per foot.

Making: the cost at port of delivery, sterli,,... 8id.

Vhl ^'"'f '"/m "" ^?""'.' '"' '"y 2°«' "''»<=•' •« " "«le more than 4?i
J he cost of Memei timber, o,' .

' ojd.

Making the costat port of delivery, sterling, I3id. «'

And although the cost of Baltic and Norway timbeT^he port
of delivery is SH. and IG^d. per foot, and Colonial red pine
18id., Mr. Mitchell is of opinion that a profitable trade mi^ht
still be carried on in Colonial timber, if the duties are equalized.
Notwithstanding, however, Mr. Mitchell's opinion, it is a la-
mentable truth, that without protection the Colonial timber
trade must cease.

Mr. Mitchell says, a gentleman in Leith, who was building
a large steamer, was obliged to forego the use of Baltic timber
for her decks, in consequence of its high price (caused, Mr. M
infers, from the high duty on it). If the ship builder himself
had been examined, instead of Mr. Mitchell, he could have told
the Committee that for shin's decks, the much calumniated
white pine of Canada was superior to Memel or Dantzic fir, or
even Canada red pine; this is a fact now so universally admit-
ted as to require no proof at the present day; the opinion of
Mr. Mitchell of Leith, to the contrary, notwithstanding.

3173— Mr. Mitchell says he has seen a letter from Baron Hum ;
boldt to Lord Castlereagh, which states that the red pine tim-
ber exported from Quebec, grows entirely in the United States.
Now, it can hardly be supposed that the learned Baron would
write an untruth, for this most certainly is untrue: it must,
therefore be supposed, that he only repeats the misrepresen-
tation of some other r^erson. Nineteen-twentieths of the red
pine shipped from Quebec, come out of the Ottawa river, and
the remainder from the western shores of Lake Ontario, and
not one stick from the United States. In 1835, the present

V

y I

15

Lord Monteagle, at that time Chancellor of the Exchequer,
stated in his place in the House of Commons, (and was not
contradicted,) that the principal part of the timber exported
from Canada, was no more Canada timber than it wa« China
timber-an assertion as far from the truth as that which Baron
Humboldt's friend made to him respecting red pme. A little
oak and a few staves, are all the lumber articles that come
into Canada from the United States, as gooa timber cannot
now be procured there sufficiently near weter carriage to make

it a profitable operation. , . • . j „«

Such is the evidence upon which it is proposed to introduce
into the Imperial Parliament a measure, having for its object
Tchlnge in' the present duties on timber. The ine.ure :s
brought forward at the instigation of a few individuals inte-
rested in the trade of the north of Europe, who for the last ten
vears have unceasingly endeavoured to accomrhsh the same
obiect but have hitherto been unsuccessful, the question having,
up to'this time, been decided on its own merits-and on its
own merits, (truth and justice), the enemies of the trade
Lve hitherto failed in their object. The same party have
now succeeded in introducing it as part of a system purporting
to effect a general change of the import duties, for the benefit
of the Empire at large; endeavouring thereby to blind the pub-
lic as to their real motives, -.d to the serious consequences of
this particular change ; and they have also succeeded in inducing
Mr Hume, Mr. McGregor and Mr. Porter, all mere theorists,
totally ignorant of the Colonial trade, to join them in endea-
vouring to persuade ths people of England that an equalisation
of the timber duties would make timber cheaper and produce

more revenue. . , , . n i

Bv the operation of the present differential duties on Bal-
tic and Colonial timber, the trade is so nearly balanced that
the quantities of each kind imported into Great Britain,
varvvery little from one year to another; latterly they have
increased in about the same proportion, but if this nice ad-
iustment of the balance is destroyed, by a reduction of the
differential duty (and very little will do it,) Colonial timber
will be excluded from the British market and the trade in ,t

16

must cease ; and no sooner does it cease, than the price of Bal-
tic timber will rise at the shipping port, exactly as much, or
perhaps more than the differential duty has been reduced, and
the consumer in England will have to pay to a foreigner as'high
a price for timber as he pays now to a British subject; which
high price it will then be impossible to check by an import
of Colonial timber, the trade having ceased ; and when once
abandoned, it cannot suddenly be resumed. When the com-
petition between two parties in the same trade is destroyed,
the natural consequence is a rise in the price of the article in
which they trade ; and the result to the people of England of a
change of the tiraber duties will be, disappointment in their
expectations of timber being cheaper.

It may now be desirable to inquire into the probability of
the revenue being increased to the extent of £1,000,000, as
Mr. McGregor expects, by an alteration of the duty. Not
having the returns for J 839 and 1810, the following statement
is taken from the returns for 1838:

The quantity of timber imported into Great Britain in 1838,
was 717,112 loads, viz:

From British America, 552,636, producingr a revenue of £268,889

From other places, 164',476 producing a revenue of 4.3l|541

Making the total revenue produced from timber, £700 430

Mr. McGregor proposes by his new tariff, that the duty on all
Colonial timber, except oak, teak, elm and other wood used for
ship building, should be 7s. 6d. per load, and the duty on Baltic
timber 25s.; but Mr. McGregor, with his mere theoretical
knowledge, is not aware that every description of timber ship-
ped from Canada, except ash, is used for ship building.

It is shewn that the total revenue derived from timber in
1838, was £700,430, from a consumption of 717,112 loads ;
now, as no timber could be imported from the Colonies under
Mr. McGregor's tariff, the whole quantity required for the con-
sumption of Great Britain, must come from the Baltic ; and to
produce a revenue exceeding by one million, the present re-
venue of £700,430, taking the duty at 25s., as proposed by
Mr. McGregor's tariff, there must be imported from the Baltic

f

«»

fm

17

and other places, 1,3(>0.344 loads, which exceeds the present
consumption by 643,232 loads, being an over import beyond
the consumption of 69 per cent. Now, it is rather too much to
suppose that the consumption could suddenly increase 8!) per
cent., and if it did not, but as is more than probable, remained
steadily at about what it is now, and has been for the la^st two
or three years, viz: 720,000 loads, it would at 25s. per load
produce a revenue of £900,000, being an increase of about
£200,000 beyond the present revenue. It is evident, then,
that the change of duty on square timber will not produce a
o;reater increase of revenue than about £200,000, and it will
therefore be necessary to ascertain if the article of deals will
make up the difference between this sum and the one million
that Mr. McGregor expects. The quantity of deals imported
into Great Britain in 1838, was—

From British Ame. 40,273 grreat hundreds, producin«f a revenue of £60,546
From other places, 31.707 do. do. 567,0jI

do. do.

Making a total of 71,980, producing a levenue of

£6-27,097

Mr. McGregor proposes to make the duty on deals the same
as timber, 25s. per load. A great hundred of deals 10 11 3,
contains 0 loads 26 feet— say 9| loads ; the duty on a great
hundred of deals would therefore be £11 17s. 6d. 71,980
great hundreds at £11 17s. Od. would produce a revenue of

£854,762, being an increase of £227,165

And if the increase on timber, as above, be added, 200,000

It would make the total increase of revenue on tim-

ber and deals, £427,165

I !^ which is not half the sum Mr, McGregor expects.

It has been clearly shewn that the change of duty will not
make timber cheaper in England, and it is as clearly shewn
that the increase of revenue will not be more than half a mil-
lion, which will be produced at a cost that will make the gain
a loss, for that cost will be the loss of a colony, worth years of
the extra revenue, to say nothing of the hundred other evils
that will follow.

But even if the revenue of Great Britain is increased by this
contemplated change in the duty, and that increase can only be

18

obtained by the ruin of a particular portion of the subjects of
tlie Empire, it is unjust; but it 's doubly unjust, when it is
tak(>i) into consideration that the sufferers were invited by
Royal promises of protection, t) leave their native country and
establish themselves in the newly conquered Colony of Canada:
that in the hour of Englan^I's need, they were encouraged to
commence a trade in an arcitle of prime necessity to the Empire :
t!iat their trade was fostered and supported by Imperial enact-
ments for the sake of rendering a supply of that article certain
in war or peace; and that they have expended the produce of
their iionest labour for years, in the erection of wharves, mills,
stores, &c., for the convenience of carrying on that trade suc-
cessfully.

There are persons who maintain that a change in the duty
will not have the serious efiect on the Colonies that is appre-
hended—but these persons, like Messrs. Hume and McGregor,
know nothing of the trade of Canada— if they did, they would
be convinced that all the evils anticipated will follow, and that
Canada will be reduced to the same miserable state into which
Mr. McGregor describes the to< n of Augsburg, in Germany,
to have fallen by the removal of the manufacturers, where the
houses were turned into barracks and hospitals, nobody living
in them of the name or family of those who constructed them;
bad laws and bad government having destroyed the trade and
prosperity of the country, and brought desolation and ruin as
their consequences.

'J'he timber trade is the parent of all others in Canada; the
expenditure in the prosecution of it has brought them into life,
and succours and supports them; .tnd without it they must die:
like the branches of a mighty river, it extends its influence into
the most remote districts, and fertilises and nourishes the pro-
fessions and trades of men of every grade, in a population of
upwards of 1,200,00!), from the judge on the bench to the
mechanic in his workshop. It is to Canada what the manufac-
turing, the agricultural, and the shipping interests combined, are
to tireat Britain ,

If tlie result of this cxperimei-t of a change in the timber

%

4

lU

e subjects of
t, when it is
invited by
country and
f of Canada :
ncouragfed to
the Empire :
perial enact-
rticle certain
e produce of
liarves, mills,
at trade sue-
in the duty
lat is appre-
i McGregor,
, they would
ow, and that
e into which
n Germany,
5, where the
jbody living
ucted them ;
he trade and
and ruin as

Canada; the
em into life,
'y must die:
itiuence into
ihes the pro-
)opulation of
>ench to the
he manufac-
)mbii)ed, are

'I

k

duties should be the reverse of what its advocates expect, what
effect would the failure of their measure have on Great Britain
and Canada. Without obtaining cheaper timber, or the in-
creased revenue they calculated on, these wise men would find
that they had ruined one of the finest Colonies of the'Empire :
that they had destroyed the means of manning the navy : that
they had cut down ihe bridge that afforded a cheap conveyance
across the ocean for their own redun'ant population, entailing
thereby misery and distress on the unhappy objects themselves,
and a train of taxes in the shape of po'jr rates, on the whole
community.

Will then the people of England sanction a measure based ou
injustice, ignorance, and misrepresentation, and thereby risk
the ruin of a million of their fellow subjects, and the loss of
Colonies that are an Empire in themselves, while connected
with the Parent State, at the instigation of a few whose only
object is private gain by obtaining an undue preference over an
immense majority of their fellow subjects.

Notwithstanding all the inquiries that have from time to
time, been made — notwithstanding the Reports of Committees
of the House of Commons, and Reports of Royal Commis-
sioners, the people of England are still in a most lamentable
state of ignorance, as to the political as well as commercial
state of Canada; and that ignorance can only be removed and
the truth brought out by allowing individuals who have an
interest in the Province, and who have been resident in it for
a series of years, to form part of the body before whom inquiries
respecting it or its trade, are authorised to take place.

the timber