That throws a flood of light upon the competition that our farmers are being subjected to under existing conditions. I ask, in the name of common sense, what severe competition will they be subjected to if the duty is entirely removed? Now I have in my bands some figures with regard to the butter and egg industry, very important industries, although the Agricultural Department has not encouraged them to any extent. It has neglected that important industry that pays off so many mortgages on farms, and buys so many farms in the province of Ontario. The extract is from the Buffalo and New York 'Commercial,' February 14, 1909. Speaking of the butter and egg industry, it says:
The total exports of butter from Canada to Great Britain in 1909 were 5,353,770 pounds, and to the United States 92,468 pounds. The latest available figures for the United States are contained in the census reports for 1900, when New York state alone produced upwards of 70,000,000 pounds, and the aggregate production of the entire United States was more than a billion pounds. In the year 1909 we imported from Canada less than 100,000 pounds of butter, Canada imported from this country 473,805 pounds. Now when Canada removes her 4 cents a pound duty upon this product who can measure the amount of butter that this wider market will create for our own farmers? It will be our butter that will be flooding the Canadian market instead of this country being overwhelmed with the Canadian articles. . .
The egg statistics are equally illuminating. In 1909 Canada's total exports of eggs amounted to about 52,201 dozen. In the same year her imports of eggs aggregated 1,136,120 dozen, so that it appears the country bought twice as much as she exported. The Canadian duty on eggs amounts to 3 cents a dozen, and with this duty removed the burden is on the political farmer to show why be would not be benefited by this greater market instead of being injured by competition. All the eggs that Canada exports in a year would, if sent in'to Erie county, give every inhabitant just about 12 eggs a year or one a month, lhe rest of the United States would depend as usual upon the domestic supply.
COMMON^
Now in regard to the egg industry I want to point out that the imports of eggs in the fiscal year 1911 for home consumption were as follows: From the United States, 2,201,727 dozen; from Great Britain, 12,040 dozen; Hong Kong, 62,012 dozen; other countries, 91,861 dozen. The total quantity of eggs imported was 2,378,640 dozen, with a value of $439,066. What would be the importations into this country if we had
no duty at all on these articles? In connection with these various commodities I desire to place upon ' Hansard ' a table that has been prepared by experts of the United States in regard to horses, dairy cows, other cattle, sheep and swine. I presume, as the hour is late, there will be no objection to the table going on 'Hansard' without being read. The table is as follows1:
- Horses. Dairy cows Other cattle. Sheep. Swine.Number of live stock on farms (in 1909)- United States
. Canada
, ., Average value per head (in 1910) United States- Maine
New Hampshire
Vermont
New York
Indiana
Illinois
Michigan
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Iowa
North Dakota
South Dakota
Texas
Montana
Idaho
Washington
Oregon
Average
Canada- Prince Edward Island
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick
,. Quebec
Ontario
Manitoba . . Saskatchewan
Alberta
British Columbia 21,010,000 2,132,489 21,801,0h0 2,849,306 47,279,000 4,384,779 57,216,000 2,705,390 47,782,000 2,912,509$ cts. 125 00 106 00 106 00 125 00 122 00 124 00 126 00 121 00 111 00 120 00 114 00 105 00 73 00 80 00 102 00 108 00 103 00 $ cts. 33 00 36 20 34 20 39 50 41 00 42 80 39 50 36 60 33 00 36 00 33 90 33 00 29 £0 46 50 41 40 41 80 39 60 9 cts. 1C 90 20 30 14 40 18 20 24 50 - 26 40 18 50 16 40 14 30 22 20 20 50 21 50 15 30 27 40 21 40 19 90 18 50 $ cts. 3 70 3 70 4 00 5 00 5 20 5 30 4 70 4 50 4 00 5 30 4 00 4 00 2 90 4 20 4 70 3 90 3 70 $ cts. 11 50 11 50 10 00 11 50 10 00 10 90 10 50 11 80 11 50 11 30 11 00 11 10 6 00 10 10 8 70 9 40 8 20108 19 35 79 19 41 4 08 9 14107 00 113 00 131 00 139 00 133 00 107 00 156 00 126 00 32 00 37 00 34 00 31 00 48 00 40 00 41 00 39 00 23 00 29 00 28 00 31 00 34 00 23 00 31 00 30 00 6 00 4 00 5 00 6 00 7 00 7 00 7 00 6 on 10 00 11 00 12 00 13 00 10 00 13 00 13 00 12 00Average 133 00 43 00 31 00 6 00 11 00