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SPEECH OF Honorable J. P. B. CASGRAIN, On Importation of Thoroughbred Mares and Stallions OTTAWA, THURSDAY, FEHRUAUY 20TH, 1914. Hon. Mr. CASGRA1N inquired: That he will call the attention of the Government to some unsatisfactory fea- tures regarding the regulations for the Importation, duty free, of thorough- bred mares and stallion*, and will in- quire whether It Is the Intention of the Government to remedy idese condi- tions should they ev'bi' 1 Hon. .Mr. CASCRAIN With the per- mission of the House I should like to bring before it some objections to present conditions regarding duty-free Importation of thoroughbred mares and stallions. I may ;i> that this is a question which is altogether free from any political significance, and no political party could tako exception to It. If then- is any grievance exlMiiiK, or if there Is anything amiss, both parties are equally responsible, be- cause the conditions complained of have been in existence for a long time. The contentions of some who are ag- grieved are: 1. That the Government does not enforce the customs law as to free Import for breeding purposes. 2. That the Cuverninrnt delegates this enforcement to the National Pe- cord Committee a body not respon- sible to the public or selected by it, and .'laving int-rests not always tlio name as those of other importers. 3. This committee d-icliues to us" certain powers, thereby depriving im- porters. 3. This committee declines to use certain powers, thereby depriving im- porters of part of their rights. It ho- ing a private body under no legal duty to p'-rform any function, there are no legal means to compel it to act That is the reason why I am now presenting the subject. 4. Briefly, the customs law gives us entry, duty free, for breeding stock, leaving the Governor In Council to make the necessary regulations. The Governor In Council allows free entry, If the animal is registered in the Can- adian Register, or in a foreign record recognized as reliable by the National Record Committee'. But here Is the kernel of the whole thing. The Na- tional Record Committee will not de- clare that the English, the American, the Australian, or the French Stud Book are recognized as reliable. It will not pronounce as a public body could bo compelled to, that these books are, or are not, reliable. Ani- mals entered In those books, are, how- ever, in practice Mlgible for entry In the Canadian Register kept by the committee; In fact they are the foun- dation books for the committee's books. 6. The committee thus takes away from the importer of an animal regis- tered in the English or American Stud Book, etc., one method of free entry. It Impose., on him no alternative but to submit to entry in the Canadian Register as a condition precedent to free entry- a condition not authorized by the customs law nor by Order In Council. Also, It gets into Its own hands a power to obstruct the Impor- ter, for It can make entry Into the Canadian Register easy or hard, slow or otherwise, or refuse It altogether. 6. To have one's case considered by the committee one must be the owner of the animal tendered for free entry. That Is to say ypji must have parted with your money and have purchased the animal abroad and have so far committed yourself to difficulties be- fore knowing whether the committee will allow you to get out of them. 7. Amongst the terms It imposes at present are tho producing of written transfers of the animal from the orig- inal breeder through every owner down to the importer. Such docu- ments are not usual in transactions relating to thoroughbred horses, are In many rases not procurable, and sometimes only procurable by paying for them. The mere demand for them In many cases would prevent the pur- chase of a desirable animal because foreign buyers do not need such docu- ments and the seller never has them. 8. A Canadian buyer competing with foreign buyers, therefore, labors under Several disadvantages: (a) There Is tho certainty of delay while discussing with tho committee; (b) There Is the possibility of being unable to procure the documents re- quired; (c) There Is the possibility of being unable to satisfy the committee; (d) Whilst the duty fret- entry ques- tion Is thus held up (he animal has to be bonded or duly paid under protest. 9. The result Is that tin animal un- doubtedly registered In the English or 1hf American Slud Hook and perhaps perfectly well known on the race track as a performer, cannot always bo Im- ported duty free into thn country. The trouble and annoyance are so great as to discourage Individual importers. To those of limited means they are pro- hibitory. The story of those who have been through them tends to deter others from attempting to import. This, no doubt, Is the underlying ob- ject. 10. Tho Canadian buyer with a lim- ited sum to spend cannot buy as good an animal :..: his foreign competitor, because the foreign competitor has no doubts or difficulties before him and can pay out the whole sum, while the Canadjan buyer Im to hold back iShough to pay the duty In case of need. Or, to put It another way, to get a particular animal the Canadian buyer has to have the same amount of available cash as tho foreign buyer and In addition enough to pay thn duty, if levied. Importation Into Can.- ada for a given capital, therefore must be of an Inferior class. This applies whether you buy abroad or on the race (rack In Canada a foreign animal racing thero In bond. 11. The National Record Committee claim that Its system Is necessary In order to Identify the nulmals and to build up an Ideal system of registra- tion. The country is not sufficiently full of stock to adopt such a system. It In questionable whether theirs Is iiuch or Is In any event desirable. Html books are only records of breeding ex- periments. In countries where they have been most successful the use of then. Una been voluntary. Their value depends entirely on the reputation for carefulness and integrity of those who use them. The Identification require- ments are clearly futile for the osten- sible purpose. 12. If the Record Committee's sys- tem is true In theory, those who fol- low it should in a few years by the superiority of the class of animals bred by them, demonstrate the advan- tage of that system. They evidently do not like to trust to this or they would not try to ilrjve those who do not agree with the'm Into their sys- tem. If, on the contrary, they believe as their opponents do, that tho system means that those who follow it must end by having Inferior stock, their anxiety to force it in their competitors Is explainable. 13. Paper Identification is not pos- sible, even of animals bearing extra- ordinary marks. A chain of identifica- tion is always as weak as the weak- est link. The animal's parentage de- pends (first) on the word of soma one who saw the sire put to the dam, and (second) on the word of some one who saw her foal. These things In prac- tice depend on the reliability of the people dealt with. The only result of requiring transfer documents is to form a basis upon which animals may be rejected and Importers discouraged. 14. The following considerations show the worth of the Identification system adopted: la) Those animals already in the country at the Inception could not have the system applied to them; (b) The offspring of animals brought in since upon which duty Is paid are registered without identifica- tion of their parents; (c) Obviously, in no event, are the parents of the identified animals also identified; id) A mare brought In In foal may- be rejected and the owner forced to pay duty for lack of identification pa- pers, but the foal is registered without any; (e) The credibility of those who sign the papers can never be tested; (f) The series of identification pa- I pers do not in themselves prove any- I thing and would not make a prlma I facie case anywherebecause the ani- mal referred to, If it had not some ex- traordinary marks, could not be shown to be the same as that mentioned in the papers. 15. The material In the country Is poor. The system adopted tends to keep It that way. It tends to compel those | rovlnces not already provided with breeding stock to buy the culls from existing establishments in the provinces that are so provided, or to buy abroad animals the breeder has not been able either to sell or to train. They being still In his hands ho can give the complete transfer documents. Even then his word alone makes the only evidence of what the sire and the dam were. What the objectors say they want Is: 16. We want as good a chance to get good stuff for the same investment as our foreign competitors. 17. Wo want the Government to take the responsibility of seeing that we get It. 18. We do not want to have our business in tho hands or power of any group of dealers or breeders. We want to follow our own course and let them follow theirs. More than forty years ago, the Im- portation free of duty of live stock for breeding purposes was a plank In the l.lheral platform. In his Reminiscen- ces, page 44, Sir (Joorgo Ross gives an interesting account of its effect on one of his elections. Ostensibly for many years past this question I have been discussing hits become common ground to both par- ties. That it should In the process of time remain HO In appearance but have be- come In fact a disguised protective system for such stock good or bad as may be In the country, will at first lie hardly credited, but that. It Is so will bo seen after light has been thrown upon the practice ns applied to the theory. There are n certain number of Mud books or herd books in foreign coun- tries In which the breeders record (he births of their animals. Of course It does not follow that animals thero re- corded are valuable for breeding pur- poses nor that many not, HO recorded are not valuable. To avoid entering on any ground possibly debatable, the discussion may be limited by assum- ing that an animal Is not vahmhln for breeding purposes unless so recorded. Certain of these books are recognized by the United States Government as being reliable nnd a list of those so recognized Is published by that gov- ernment. That Is exactly what we would like the Government here to do-- publish a list of stud books that they would ad mil. Surely thero must be In the whole world some stud or herd book that is reliable. If the Government of the day would do ns the government of any other country Is doing, and pub- lish tho list, tho Canadian buyers would be on thn same footing ns any other buyer In the world. Tho Canadian Government not only \ does not publish Much a list, but it dons not Itself decide whether any such foreign stud or herd books aro reliable. That, duty It delegates to the National Record Committee, a body of breeders or dealers no doubt well ac- quainted with breeding and dealing In the, classes of animal!; in which they nrn Interested, but pernnpA for that very reason, not n body which should be selected to make decisions affect- ing tho rights of others who may wish to breed or deal In horsoti or cattle. The salient point of difference between thn American and the Canadian appli- cation of tho principle of duty freo entry for breeding stock therefore Is that the one Government publishes a list of the books record In which car- ries with It duty free entry, while our ! own delegates this duty to what Is ' essentially a private and nnn-respon- ulble body. Whether It be legal for the Govern- mi ni to leave to a committee of deal- ers in any particular trade the power to affect their competitors' Imports may be doubted. The point to be noted at tho moment Is that by acts of omission rather than commission, firstly of the Government, and second- ly of tho National Record Committee, some Importers suffer through the Illegality, If thero be one, and are so exposed without having any legal rem- edy short of interference by Parlia- ment. The article of the tariff dealing with duty free entry for breeding purposes leaves It to the Government by Order In Council to give effect to the pro- vision. The Government purports to do this by saying that freo entry shall be granted to animals owned by Brit- ish subjects resident in Canada (a) If the animal is registered In the Can- adian register for the breed, or (b) In any record kept abroad and recog- nized as relable by the National Re- cord Committee. The provision sounds both fair and wise but falls short of what is de- sirable, first in that thero is no au- thoritative publication of a list of foreign records recognized as reliable by the Government, second that the National Record Committee will not recognize any foreign record kept abroad as reliable If there is a Can- adian record for the breed, and lastly in that being a private body there are no legal means of compeling them to pronounce publicly and definitely on the reliability or otherwise of any foreign record even in the case of one recognized by the United States Gov- ernment and by every other govern- men all over the world. Thero are Canadian records for nearly all the more prominent breeds of cattle and horses. The foreign re- cords recognized as reliable by the United States Government are broadly speaking the very books which form the foundation of the Canadian re- cords, but by omitting and refusing to certify publicly that they are recognized as reliable by the National Record Committee, the Canadian Im- porter is placed in a very different position from the American compet- itor. Hon. Mr. CLORAN I would like to ask the lion, gentleman one question. He is asking that tho stud books of the United States be recognized In Can- ada. Will the United States or do the United States recognize Canadian stud books to the same amount and degree. Hon. Mr. CASGRAIN I think 1 am coming to that in a few minutes. The American can import duty free an aninnil registered in such reliable foreign record as of right. The Can- adian can only do so after he has got It recorded In the Canadian register. This is the second salient difference between the method adopted in the two countries. Pedigreed stock, as we all know, Is imported for two very different purposes and by two classes of persons interested In different ways. Those who care to inquire Into the matter can judge for themselves which purpose the duty freo entry provision was most Intended to help and what interest Is In fact most advantaged by tho system In vogue. Hotter beef cattle, finer dairy cows and more en- during horses are wanted, not in the show rings, but on the farms. The show ring Is the place where what the farmer wants Is advertised. No one can conceive of the farmer knowingly supporting a system by which direct Import by him of stock lie needs to cross with and Improve his halfbred herd Is made hard to him and by which what stock is available through Importation by others Is likely to bo either higher In price or poorer In quality than It need bo if full effect were given to tho law. No one would grudge free Import to those who br'.-ed pedigreed stock In the country nor object to Government keeping tliolr stud and herd books for them, but probably most people would subscribe to the proposition that hav- ing these tilings they should by their product! show that they were breeding as good stock for the price as any one ! could Import direct and duty free. If 1 they cannot show this, surely no one I would support a protective system for their benefit for the effect would be i that those who desired pedigreed stock I to cross with half-bred herds and , they are tho main support of tho whole agricultural Industry would get worse animals for their purposes and pay a higher price. Now, In the most Important breeds, should an Intending importer apply to know whether say the I'ercheron Stud Hook or thi! Durham Herd Hook Is re- cognized as reliable by tho Govern- ment, he will be told by the committee that It Is not, and he will be Invited to register in the Canadian book for those 1 broods, a record inaugurated and dl- ' reeled by u group of persons already engaged in breeding or Importing that j class of slock, a book kept by tho Na- ' tlonal Record Committee under llieir ! directions upon which body they aro represented. Hearing In mind that tho intending Importer's freo entry IH thus made to ! depend (a) on his being a Hrltlsh sub- j ject resident. In Canada, (b) on his owning Hi'- animal and (c) on his bo- ing ablo to get thn National Record I Committee to record It before he gets ! free entry, It obviously takes but llttlo to delay, defeat or obstruct him in h's endeavor to obtain It. Amongst tho first requirements of i tho National Rocord Committee Is that . transfers of tho animal from the breed- er up to the Importing owner must bo furnished, that Is that a tltln from hand to hand must be obtained In writ- Ing. This requirement Is alleged by j the committee to be necessary for the \ purpose of Identifying tho animal. Now for tho primary purpose of crossing on half-bred stock. If thn animal can bo j proved to bo entered on a foreign ro- liable record, tho chain of title Is a matter of Indifference to tho farmer if [ his legal title bo good enough to pro- vent any one from taking the animal from him. That legal title Is neither bettor nor worse because of thn chain 'of documents. Moreover no such chain j of documents covers tho real points at which Identity Is most likely to bo lost. Tho testimony of those who saw the, ' dam brod to the slro or the animal | born Is not always available. In many I breeds the young are taken from the ; mothers and raised by hand or placed 1 with foster mothers. Tho Identity can only bo traced by the testimony of thoso who were on the spot and saw this done. No records or chain of documents effectively cover the risk BRITAIN'S WAR MINISTER AT HIS GUNS. FRO M THE SKETCH. ' - * . - - ' i . 2 : .--VV-V'''.' -''*'' '" /.,^. - ,< - - ,- . ^r >*' .; *--i-^ ir.r -**>... ^V/-^ , -- 'J ' P-V - , ; > 7 *^* i7X*<fc5 J *-, J^-~:- **t . * i^&g^Z* * il * ! The whole^Empire has been guessing at Premier Asquith's abilities and intentions as Secretary of State for War. The photograph shows him at the recent army manoeuvres, which he viewed with the King. of loss of Identity at these points. Nor Is it desirable that they should be- cause stud and herd books are not books of title but are essentially re- cords of breeding experiments. They have been of most use in those coun- tries where recording in them has been left as a voluntary matter to the breeders. They are of value only as showing the results obtained through the unions of one family with another and only of value In so far as these have been carefully carried out and recorded by people whose reputation is beyond question. The character of the breeder counts for everything. The failures as well as the successes of the breeder of high character are equally valuable to other breeders. The en- tries recorded by breeders about whose character or diligence there is the slightest suspicion do not add In the slightest degree to the value of their stock. No matter by whom recorded there are probably In any herd book quite as many worthless animals' as there are good ones. The Canadian Importer bidding at a sale say In England stands at a disad- vantage as compared with his Amer- ican competitor. The latter can safely buy an animal guaranteed to be re- corded in one of tho books recognized by his Government. The former can- not. He would like to add some lim- itations, as to say: I will outbid my American com- petitor If the seller will guarantee duty free entry Into Canada or if ho will guarantee to furnish all the documents required In Canada for duty free entry In excess of those required in tho United States, or If ho will sell conditionally on my obtaining free entry. Hut these are points which he can- not effectively raise at an auction. He must be prepared to buy and tako his chances of delay and of being refused free entry. This he may do if he has on hand funds sufficient. But If ho has only the same sum available as his competitor bids, he must content himself with buying an Inferior animal. Suppose he buys, and he must do so before his case will be considered by tho committee, he cannot get them to pronounce beforehand as to whether If he purchases such and such an ani- mal, it would come In duty free. The soller not being a Hrltlsh subject resi- dent in Canada, cannot deliver them duty free. Even if ho could, ho would not do so for the same price as he would take from an American buyer for a straight sale. In a word, the Canadian buyer must bo irrevocably committed as owner before he can as- certain whether he Is to get free entry or pay duty. Meantime his animal lands in Canada and ho has to pay duty under protest, or is forced to be- come a public warehouseman under bond with sureties. If he buy direct from the breeder in lOngland and hold the animal thorn as owner until by correspondence he has made his course clear ho may escape 8omn of the risks, but even then If ho cannot secure free entry ho has cer- tain dangers before him, and in any event Is debarred from many of tho chances to mako advantageous pur- chases which are open to foreign buy- ers. Take It all in all, a foreign buyer knows exactly where his government Htauds, knows that it means to help him to bring In stock duty freo. Tho Canadian buyer knows that whatever the law may say. the practice leaves him in doubt and ho must feel fairly suro that tho National Record Com- mittee's system leaves him at a dis- advantage. Months may, and do, e'apse while ho is piecing together documents required by tho committee. Meantime ho cannot sell the animal nnd does not know what it Is to cost him ultimately. Tho keep makes a big hole In his margin of profit. Tho American purchaser of a like animal nt thn samo salo has his purchase through the customs without delay. Ills Importation Is not subject to re- gistration In any books kept by his trade competitors. They cannot force him to record In books kept by them, and with good reason for except where an animal Is intended for use In a registered herd, recording In such books In his own country Is of no use emier to him or to his country, but the registration being a voluntary mat- ter, he can apply for It When and as It seems to bo of any use to him. Enough has been said to show that free Import as affecting pure breeds Intended to be bred to half-bred herds Is not given due effect to. As to the result of tho system on tho pure bred herds already in the country and through them on tho class of animal to bo bought out of them by the farmer for cross-breeding, It bo pointed out that the oiily use 1 to the country of such herds is to sup- i I ply the farmer with as good an animal i in price and quality as he could im- i ; port direct from abroad. Such a class of animal local breeders only need to I ! produce under the direct stimulus of I competition. If that be removed, and | It is in part removed by tho difficulties | In importing direct, then they will sell i him something not quite so good as his American competitor may get abroad at the same cost. The trend of the system, therefore, on the whole, is to discourage the In- dividual importer and to make a semi- protective system for the benefit of stock already In the country. That is free import of the farmer's raw ma- terial Is discouraged and inferior raw- material already In the country pro- tected, and this In the face of the de- clared policy of Parliament. Thus, since the days when Sir Geo. Ross stood for the House of Commons we have swung around to the opposite point of the compass as to the encour- agement of free Imports. Should we not swing back and not only say, but mean free imports of pedigreed stock, and see that the farmer gets what the law gives him. No matter is more far- reaching than this upon the material prosperity of the country. A thousand Polled Angus or Durham bulls in the West bring down ten times their cost to the shipping points Inside of three or four years merely through the increased ' vight and quality of their stock. I. !',.!> improvements would follow freo imports of dairy cattle and of horses. Those provinces most in need of belter saleable stock suffer the most from existing conditions. That tho law Is not applied Is clear. Why It shout ' not be applied has to be explained. V 'iy a private body exer- cises part of tho functions of Govern- ment cannot be satisfactorily explain- ed. No part of a subject's rights should be taken away from him by a body not answerable to the electors ami which cannot through the courts be compelled to perform the duties assigned to it for the simple reason that it is a private body and cannot be compelled to perform any more of the duties thiui it chooses. A brief review of the circumstances suggests certain modifications as be- ing Imperatively necessary. 1. The Government should publish a i list of all foreign records which are i generally recognized as reliable. Re- j cord In these should entitle an animal to free entry. There Is no difficulty | In making such a list. The National j Record Committee have such a list I which they use as the basis of enter- i ing in their own books although they' j will not certify that the books they so ; use are reliable within the meaning of the Order in Council when the in- < i dividual Importer wants to obtain free! [entry. Even If they had not such a list, the list published by tho United \ States Government affords sufficient information. 2. No private body should have any- thing to say as to the application of i tho customs law to Its competitors and freo entry should not dojieud in any way on recording in any book kept in ; Canada. 3. The Canadian stud and herd j books should be open to voluntary en- j try upon such terms as those who keep ; them see fit. Their present system Is ' ; more exacting than Is thought neces- j , sary by many foreign systems. Wheth- er rightly or wrongly so, depends on ' whether the book is conceived to be a | record of breeding experiments or a j history of title. As a voluntary matter there would be no objection to their following either theory, It Is only when they seek to Impose their system on others who do not need It that their theories Interfere with tho rights of others and thereby become of any public Import- ance. If as a result of the voluntary appli- cation of their present system of title I and so called Identification they pro- j duce a still better stock for tho money than can be procured anroad, the ' country will have reason to congratu- 1 late itself. That they hope to do so I or believe that they can do so Is to I say the least cast in doubt by their ' deslro to force the system on others even to the point of refusing them free entry. If they believed as their opponents do that their system and practice tend to discourage the Indivi- dual importer and to create a disguised protection for the benefit of herds al- ready In the country, their anxiety to force the system on others would bo explainable, because by getting every one Into the same position the poss\- btllty of comparing the benellts of their system with what can bo done under tho system of free Imports, would be gone. Until they have shown . their value, It would seem that there I is no particular reason why their ideas should be enforced at the expense of the country, contrary to law and to the detriment of their trade competi- tors. I have done my best to make this matter as clear as possible. What would be desirable would be for the Government to publish a list of re- liable stud books, and have animals registered say. In one of those stud books, either in Europe or the United States admitted duty free. Then the importer would be granted entry free, as In other countries. To-day If a Can- adian buys an animal he has no guar- antee that this animal will fulfil all th*j requirements. i AM1QIK. BIT EFFECTIVE. Last Fight in Armor Occurred More than a Century Ago. Helm and corselet, much modified from thos worn in the knightly days of old, still survive as part of the military uniform of certain famous European troops, particu- larly among the German cavalry. Most of us would say, however, that not for several hundred years have, mail-clad warriors in armor of tho true romantic type, in all its com-' plicated curnbersomene*s, actually! fought upon a field of battle, (.'apt,' Jean Rameau, writing recently in $( French journal, corrects this idea. The last fight in armor occurred} only a little more than a century^ ago. It was an episode of the Na.-, poleonic wars, and took place in the town of Aquila in 1799. The place had been captured by the French, and a small garrison-^ some four hundred men was left to hold it after the army moved on.' The country was bitterly hostile; leaders appeared unexpectedly' among the peasantry, and an army of insurgents that numbered several thousand succeeded in retaking the, town and driving the Frenchmen into the fortress. The streets sur-j rounding the fortress were barri- caded and tho houses loopholed; the besiegers felt themselves secure agitinst the besieged ; but so, since ( they were we.ll provided with pro- ( visions and ammunition, were tbOj besieged against the besiegers un-, less, indeed, artillery could be/ brought to bear on their strong-, hold. The besiegers had no van-j non ; but twelve dismounted gune, t without carriages, \vhich the French had not had time to take into the ( fort with them, lay on the glacis ( outside the walls, commanded byi tho fire from both sides. One night, j under cover of darkness, a little party of insurgents succeeded in at- taching ropes to these stuns, and at- tempted by means of a capstan, to haul them away. Had they placed rollers under thorn, they would have succeeded ; but they did not," and as soon as they began to haul the first gun, its breech dug a fur-. row in the soil, and stuck. A s?nti-J nel hoard tho noise, and the fort^ opened fire. The project had to bei abandoned for :i time. But the next morning the besieg- ed saw the ropes attached to the, guns, and realised that a second; attempt was sure to be made, andj likely to be succes^ul. Training the guns already in nie fortress on the house from which the ropes, emerged, they battered it to a| smoking ruin, only to learn th;vt the capstan was in the cellar, and un-, harmed. \ Then the comma udnnt remember-J ed seeing some suits of old armou stowed away soiuowhere, and look-| ed them up. There were a dozen; suits. With infinite, difficulty, aid-; ed by the helping hands of their comrades, but hindered by the. out-l bursts of their unseemly niirth,j twelve pick<xl men were got into them, and sent out, across the fire-n swopt space to spike the guns. i ( Covered with stei'l ami carrying] spik-es and hammers, they marched! out, awkwardly but resolutely, and. st?dily approach* d the guns. Bul- li^ts putt red :i rrn-'t their armor harmUs-ly, iu>d th'-ir mail-clad fig- ures ami glittering hHnvMs showed amazing and appallir ,- through the wreaths of whirling, whit* > i