Companies to carry out some of its clauses, there was a traffic congestion in 1901 and serious difficulty in moving and selling the crops. Though this was afterwards largely overcome, yet the movement took shape in the Grain Growers' Associations and at first without any fiscal object in view. Betterment in marketting, transportation and warehousing facilities were the chief objects.

In 1910 it was claimed that the three Provincial organizations had 30,000 members and it was an undoubted fact that they had great political influence. In 1906, largely as a result of the labours of E. A. Partridge of Sintaluta, Sask., the Grain Growers Grain Company had been launched at Winnipeg as a joint stock concern with farmers in the three Provinces as shareholders. The Home Bank of Canada, in the succeeding year, became the Bankers of the organization while a large number of Western farmers purchased stock in the Bank. At the end of 1909 the Company was reported as having a capital of $300,000, with a dividend of 15 per cent. and 10,000 shareholders; as having handled $20,000,000 worth of business and voted $25,000 toward a fund for educating other Western farmers in the business and objects of the Association and the Company. An organ called The Grain Growers' Guide was also started in Winnipeg.

Meanwhile, events had been leading these agricultural interests to Ottawa. Indirectly, the union in 1909 of the Grain Growers Associations of the West with the Grange and Farmers Association of Ontario as the Canadian Council of Agriculture had helped in promoting a fraternity of feeling between, at least, a portion of the farmers in the East and the West on the question of freer trade and strengthened, perhaps, to some extent, the antiBritish influence of The Toronto Sun, the organ of the late Goldwin Smith and certain Ontario farmers. Directly, the Delegation owed its origin to Sir Wilfrid Laurier's promise, while in the West, to discuss the Elevator question with the Grain Growers and, on Oct 28th, the Premier addressed the Secretaries of these organizations saying that the Government was ready to receive them and discuss the matter. In the official correspondence afterwards published R. McKenzie, Secretary of the Manitoba Association, replied as follows on Nov. 30: "In view of the fact that it was arranged to send a delegation of Grain Growers to Ottawa in December to confer with the Government on certain other matters, previous to receiving your communication of the 28th ultimo, it was deemed advisable to defer any further consideration of this question until the larger delegation should reach Ottawa when we will be present to present our views to the Government on the Terminal Elevator question."

When or where this other arrangement was made was not specified in the letters which finally ended with Dec. 16th being fixed upon. On Dec. 14th the 36th annual meeting of the Farmers Association and Dominion Grange was held in Toronto, as a pre

liminary to the Ottawa gathering, with E. C. Drury of Crownhill, Master of the Grange, in the chair. The Legislative Committee's report, as adopted, indicated the views of the organization. It described Protection as an unjust system of taxation, approved of a Reciprocity arrangement with the States; expressed regret at the creation of a Navy and urged that a Plebiscite be held before binding an unwilling people to a system which they were said to abhor. It also approved of the extension of the parcel post system, expressed the hope that the iron and steel bounties about to expire would not be renewed in any form, and condemned several less important proposals. On the following day the Niagara Peninsula Fruit Growers Association forwarded to the Prime Minister a Resolution stating that the present Tariff was on the whole satisfactory and asking that no reciprocal arrangement with the United States be considered without consultation with the Fruit-growing interests of Canada and that "in the final adjustment of any Tariff with the United States all possible preference be given to the Mother-Country."

The various Delegations from the West and smaller ones from Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime Provinces-totalling from 850 to 1,000-met in the Opera House at Ottawa in a private conference on Dec. 15th. It was estimated that the 500 Western delegates directly represented a capital in land of $300,000,000 or of $1,200,000,000 for the 75 per cent. of Western farmers who were not actually members of the Grain Growers Associations. The Delegation included men of many nationalitiesthough the English-speaking race was in the large majority. Its leaders were D. W. McCuaig, President of the National Council of Agriculture and E. C. Drury Secretary; J. W. Scallion and R. McKenzie of Manitoba; F. W. Green and E. A. Partridge of Saskatchewan; James Bower and E. J. Fream of Alberta and W. J. Tregillus. On the morning of the 16th the Deputation marched through the streets of the capital and were allowed to seat themselves, as far as was possible, in the House of Commons. Sir Wilfrid Laurier was supported by his Cabinet and surrounded by the Opposition leaders while in the gallery were seated many Senators and a representation of the Canadian Manufacturers' Association. Mr. McCuaig briefly introduced the Delegation as coming from every Province in Canada except British Columbia and Prince Edward Island. Resolutions were presented, one after the other, and papers read by representative men dealing with each of the subjects in turn. The following is a summary of the Resolutions, passed by the various Farmers' Associations and endorsed by the National Council of Agriculture, as representing them all:

1. Denouncing the present operation of Terminal Elevators as detrimental to the interests of both producer and consumer and asking that "the Dominion Government acquire and operate as a public utility under an Independent Commission, the Terminal Elevators at Fort William and

Port Arthur and immediately establish similar terminal facilities and conditions at the Pacific Coast and provide same at Hudson's Bay when necessary; also, such transfer and other elevators as are necessary to safeguard the quality of export grain."

2. Declaring that the Live-stock industry of Canada had been neglected, that the market for the meat producing business was upon an unsatisfactory footing, that under the present system of exporting there was danger of the world's markets being closed to Canada, and demanding that the Dominion Government should "erect the necessary works and operate a modern and up-to-date method of exporting our meat animals."

3. Stating that "anything short of absolute public ownership and operation of the Hudson's Bay Railway will defeat the purpose for which the road is advocated and without which it would be in the interests of Western Canada that the building of the road should be deferred," and requesting that the projected Railway with all its terminal facilities should be "constructed, owned and operated, in perpetuity, by the Dominion Government under an independent Commission."

4. Stating that the Railway Act was defective (a) in its provision for fencing a right-of-way while construction is proceeding, (b) in not compelling suitable fences and guards on other occasions, (c) in permitting Railways to evade payment of just claims or making unfair counter claims, (d) in barring under certain circumstances the owner from right of action, (e) in not making Railways liable for losses under specified conditions; and requesting amendments along these and other linesnotably that the present methods of fixing rates be re-modelled, a true physical valuation of all Railways in Canada be taken, and the Railway Commission be given a still more complete jurisdiction.

5. Asking that the new Bank Act be so worded as to permit of amendment at any time and in any particular-without reference to the existing ten-year period.

6. Declaring it desirable that cheap and efficient machinery for the incorporation of Co-operative Societies should be provided by Federal legislation.

7. Requesting United States reciprocity and a reduction of duties on British goods.

Mr. Peter Wright of Roland, Man., presented a statement in connection with Terminal Elevators in which he charged Elevator Companies with false returns and the manipulation of grades and claimed that millers and exporters, as well as farmers, were in favour of Government operation. Mr. F. W. Green followed with the statement that 100,000,000 bushels of grain per annum were delivered at the Terminal Elevators of Port Arthur and Fort William. He summed up their case in these words: "We have the Terminal Elevator system with all its uncertainty of weight and grade, and the various tricks resorted to regarding cardistribution, special binning and shipping. Then we have the Grain Exchanges with the gambling, price-fixing, problem hedging, future selling, puts and calls, shorts and longs, with the bulls and bears. Then the difference of prices between Minneapolis and Winnipeg ranging from 10 to 15 cents per bushel, for an inferior sample of wheat. These, with their system of grading and sampling, all forming part of a complex system more or less mysterious to our farmers, causing a serious state of suspicion and unrest which is an evil in itself; but none of these are respon

sible for more distrust and want of confidence than the inspection system in connection with our Terminal Elevators."

Mr. W. J. Tregillus made a further statement and then Mr. D. B. Wood, President of the Dominion Millers' Association presented the case from another standpoint. He stated that there were over 300 mills in Ontario with a daily capacity of 42,000 barrels of flour, which must have Manitoba wheat, and that their local and export business was suffering from the "flagrant and wilful violation of the law" by Terminal Elevator Companies. He quoted a Resolution of his Association and urged Government ownership as the only means of preventing the destruction of large and important business interests in Ontario and Western Canada. Mr. George E. Goldie, of the same body, endorsed these views though formerly opposed to Government ownership. Mr. Hedley Shaw, for the Toronto Board of Trade, quoted a Resolution of that body supporting this policy and, after stating that he had mills at Brandon, Kenora, St. Catharines, Thorold and Port Colborne, added: "The grain for these latter mills must come through the elevators at Fort William. Now I find that the grain which I take in at the mill at Kenora, that has not passed through the terminal elevators at Fort William and Port Arthur, is worth half-a-cent to a cent and a half more money for milling purposes than the grain of the same grades which is shipped out from Fort William and Port Arthur elevators for use in my mills this side of the Lakes. There is no difference in the value of this wheat as shipped by the farmers and inspected at Winnipeg and there should be absolutely no difference in its value if it were shipped out of the Fort William and Port Arthur elevators as it is received."

Mr. James Bower, President of the United Farmers of Alberta, read an elaborate statement as to the proposed Railway Act amendments and existing conditions. Mr. R. C. Henders of Culross, President of the Manitoba Grain Growers, presented the Hudson's Bay Railway case and Mr. E. J. Fream, Secretary of the United Farmers of Alberta, urged the importance of Cooperative legislation and work. Mr. H. W. Richardson of Kingston claimed to speak for grain dealers and exporters and expressed similar views. The case for the chilled meat proposal was presented by Mr. D. W. Warner of the United Farmers of Alberta. He summarized the situation as follows:

Our Prairie Provinces on account of the facility with which food can be produced and the salubrious character of the climate, is exceedingly well adapted for the production of food-producing animals. Yet, on account of the inadequacy of the system of marketing stock, and notwithstanding the fact that the consumers in the large centres of population have to pay very high prices for meat, the returns to cattle-raisers are so discouraging that increasing numbers of them are going out of this business to an alarming extent. The old cheap method of raising cattle on large ranches is rapidly disappearing; in the near future the

only source of supply will be the farms, and under present conditions the farmer cannot possibly raise the number of cattle needed for the home and export trade with any reasonable profit to himself. Thus, one of the greatest sources of agricultural wealth is being destroyed instead of being developed. We wish to impress on you the necessity of a profitable, economical and permanent market for our meat products. The marketing of our meat has so far been left in the hands of monopolies, of whose methods much complaint has been made and not without cause. We wish also to draw attention to the danger we are in while we leave the opportunity open for the United States meat interest to capture and control the export trade from our country.

The most vital and largely discussed question of the daythat of Tariffs and Reciprocity-was first dealt with by Mr. J. W. Scallion, Hon. President of the Manitoba Grain Growers. He claimed that the Delegation represented the agricultural interests of Canada and the mass of the common people and described the protective tariff as "a great burden upon the agricultural industry and the great body of consumers." The members of the Delegation, he continued, "strongly protest against the further continuance of a Tariff which taxes them for the special benefit of private interests. They say that this is wrong in principle, unjust and oppressive in its operation, and nothing short of a system of legalized robbery. Prices for the produce of the farm are fixed in the markets of the world by supply and demand and free competition, when these products are exported and the export price fixes the price for home consumption; while the supplies for the farm are purchased in a restricted market where prices are fixed by combinations or manufacturers and other business interests operating under the shelter of our protective tariff." He hoped for a wide measure of reciprocal trade with the United States " and declared the prices of grain, live-stock and dairy products to be much higher in the Republic than in Canada. More than Reciprocity was desired, however. "We are in favour of an increase to 50 per cent. in the British preference and favour a further increase from time to time until the duty on British imports is entirely abolished."

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Mr. E. C. Drury followed with the statement that Canadian agriculture was not prospering, that in the last 30 years the farming population east of Manitoba had decreased in every Canadian Province, and that Protection was no longer needed to encourage infant industries. He urged an increased British preference and ultimate Free-trade with England. Mr. Thomas McMillan of the Dominion Grange asked that farmers be given free raw material for their business as well as manufacturers; stated that American live-stock markets showed high-class beef as bringing $1.00 to $1.50 more per thousand-weight than Toronto prices; and declared that other food products ruled the same with the possible exception of hogs. Lieut.-Col. J. Z. Fraser of Brant County, Ont., and W. B. Fawcett of New Brunswick followed; J. E. Johnston of Ontario declared that "reciprocity in apples