HC Deb 20 March 1879 vol 244 cc1311-3
MR. JOHN BRIGHT

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, If he can lay upon the Table of the House a Copy of the new Tariff now before the Canadian Parliament; if any communication has taken place between Her Majesty's Government and the Governor General, or Government of Canada, on the subject of the proposed increased Customs and Protective Duties in Canada; whether it is intended to represent to the Canadian Government the impolicy of a war of Tariffs between different portions of the Empire; and, whether it is true that the "instructions" to Lord Lorne omitted, for the first time, the Clause requiring that Bills imposing differential Duties should be reserved for Her Majesty's approval?

SIR MICHAEL HICKS-BEACH

Sir, a summary of the proposed Tariff has been received by telegraph, but not such a complete statement of it as I could lay before Parliament as correct. The summary reached me on the 11th of March, this being the first communication T had received of the details of the scheme; and on the following day I was informed by the Governor General that his Government proposed to bring it before the Dominion Parliament on the 14th of March. There was no time evidently then for any detailed examination of the proposals, and I therefore telegraphed that— Her Majesty's Government regretted to observe that the general effect of the Tariff was to increase duties already high, but deemed that the fiscal policy of Canada rested, subject to Treaty obligations, with the Dominion Legislature. The Canadian Government fully understands the fiscal policy of this country; and I may add that I believe, though I could not positively say so at present until I have seen the actual Tariff itself, that there is nothing in the present proposals which has not been previously sanctioned, at least in principle, by Canadian legislation. In 1876–7, as the result of much correspondence between my Predecessor and the Dominion Government, the Instructions to be issued to Lord Dufferin's Successor were thoroughly revised, and in that revision the clause specifying certain classes of Bills—among them being Bills imposing differential duties—as those which should be reserved for Her Majesty's approval were omitted. This was done without any reference to a Protectionist policy, the Dominion Government, as the right hon. Gentleman is aware, then in Office being freetraders. The alteration of the Instructions, however, of course, in no way interferes with the power of reservation and of disallowance, those powers being fully set forth in the British North American Act of 1867.

Afterwards,

MR. JOHN BRIGHT

said, he wished to ask a Question of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, which he ought to have put immediately the right hon. Gentleman sat down—Whether he un- derstood, notwithstanding the omission of the clause to which he referred in the Instructions of the Marquess of Lorne, that, in case of any proposal to enact differential duties on the part of Canada, the Bill would be submitted to the Government before it was adopted? He also wished to know, Whether the right hon. Baronet knew of any case now pending in which the Government of Canada was engaged in negotiation with some foreign Government with the view to the imposing of differential or increased duties? If the right hon. Gentleman had not heard of such a case, he could not, of course, expect an answer.

SIR MICHAEL HICKS-BEACH

I am not aware, Sir, of any such negotiations. With regard to the first part of the Question, perhaps, the best answer I can give to it will be to read the telegram which I sent to Canada, which received the sanction of the Government. It was in these terms— They deemed the fiscal policy of Canada rested, subject to Treaty obligations, with the Dominion Parliament.