The Consideration Of The
Effect Which The Termination Of This Important Commercial Arrangement
Is Likely To Have Upon The Revenue,
As well as upon the trade and
commerce of the United States, has legitimately formed a part of the
duties
Devolving upon the Commission; and has also been especially
commended to their attention by the Secretary of the Treasury. The
Commission do not, however, propose to present in this connection any
review of the history of the treaty, or of the circumstances which, in
the opinion of Congress, have rendered its termination expedient. This
work has already been performed, under the auspices of the Treasury
Department, by E. H. Derby, Esq., of Boston, to whose able and
exhaustive report the Commission would refer, without, however,
endorsing its conclusions. There are, however, certain points connected
with this subject to which the Commission would ask special attention.
"'The first of these is, that during the continuance of the Reciprocity
Treaty the trade and commerce between the United States and the British
North American Provinces has increased in ten years more than
threefold, or from seventeen millions in 1862 to sixty-eight
millions in 1864: so that at present, with the exception of Great
Britain, the commercial relations between the United States and the
British North American Provinces outrank in importance and aggregate
annual value those existing between this country and any other foreign
state. [Footnote: The value of the import and export trade of the
United States with the following countries for the year ending June
30th, 1864, was, according to the Treasury Report, as follows (in round
numbers):
Great Britain ...................... $317,000,000
British North America .............. 68,000,000
Spanish West Indies ................ 57,000,000
France ............................. 29,000,000
Hamburg and Bremen ................. 29,000,000
Mexico ............................. 20,000,000
Brazil ............................. 19,000,000
China .............................. 19,000,000
British West Indies ................ 12,000,000]
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