Americanization of Canada Author:Moffett Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER VII Trade Relations BEFORE the adoption of free trade by Great Britain in 1846 the commercial relations of Canada had been governed by the princ... more »iples of the old Colonial system. Canadian products had a preference in the British markets, and British goods enjoyed similar favors in the markets of Canada. The year 1846 was memorable for the abolition of the Corn Laws in England, and for the enactment of the Walker Tariff in the United States—a measure which for the next fourteen years was generally regarded as the beginning of a rapid approach toward American free trade. Thus the dykes that / had tended to confine Canadian commerce in British channels ,V V ' were thrown down, and at the same time the obstacles that had obstructed its approach to the American markets were removed. In preparation for this change the Imperial Government in 1845 authorized the Canadian Legislature to regulate its own tariff. As soon as its special privileges in the British market were gone, Canada promptly turned to the United States. In 1846 the Canadian Legislature urged the government of Great Britain to negotiate for the admission of Canadian goods to the American markets on equal terms. The proposed reciprocity was confined to natural products, but this limitation, the Canadians explained, was inspired solely by a desire to meet American wishes. Canada herself would be glad to have the mutual concessions made complete.1 1" It has been suggested that the same principle should be extended to the manufactures of the United States and Canada. To this Canada could have no objection; on the contrary, we feel persuaded it would be to our advantage, but it was considered unwise even to propose it, because American manufacturers would feel apprehensive that British fabrics might be int...« less