HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1914-7-2, Page 6SPEECH OF
Hone. Ie 41, Pa •' . ,CASGRAIN3,
Oa Importation of Thoroughbred Mares and Stallions
OTTAWA, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH 1914.
Ilan. 111r,• CASGRAIN inquired: race track in Canada a foreign animal
That he will call the attention of the racing there in bond.
Government to some iusatisfaotory Yea- 11. The National Record Committee
tures reggreing the regulations for the claim that its silt -din is necessary in
isnportati the duty free, of thorough order to identify the animals and to
bid mar e• and stallions, and will in- build up an ideal system of registra-
quire whether -it is the intention of the tion. The country is not sufficiently
Government to remedy these condi- full of stock to adopt such a system.
tions should they exist? It is questionable whether theirs is
Hon, Mr. CASGRAIN—With the per- such or is in any event desirable. Stud
•.:(eission of the House I should like to books are only records of breeding ex -
bring before it seine objections to periments. In countries where they
present conditions regarding duty-free have been most successful the use of
iTpportetion of thoroughbred mares them has been voluntary, • Their value
ant} ,ztallions. I may say that this is depends entirely on the reputation for
e. question which is altogether free carefulness and integrity of those who
from any political significance, and no use them. The identification require -
Political party could.take exception to merits are clearly futile forthe oaten -
.
Jt.., if there is, any grievance existing, Bible purpose,
or. if there is anything ,amiss, both 12. If the Record Committee's sys-
parties are equally responsible, be. tens is true in theory, those who fol-
causethe conditions complained of low it should in a few years by the
have been in existence for a long time. superiority of the class of animals
The contentions of same who are ag- bred by them, demonstrate the advau-
grieved are; tage of that system. They evidently
1,. That the Government does not do not like to trust to this or they
enforce the customs law as to free
import for breeding purposes.
2. That the .Government delegates
this enforcement to the National B.e-
cord Committee—a body not respon-
sible to the public or selected by it,
and !toying interests not always the
sante as those of other importers.
3. This ebmmittee declines to use
eertepio.,pewers, thereby depriving im-
porters,
3, This committee declines to use
certain powers, thereby depriving im-
porters of part of their rights. It be-
ing a private body under no legal duty
to pertorm 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 Dan -
adieu. Register, or in a foreign record
recognized as reliable by the National country at the inception could not
Record Committee. But here is the have the system applied to them;
kernel of the whole thing. The Na- ('b) The offspring 01 animals
tional .Record Committee will not de- brought in since upon which duty is
clare that the English, the American, paid are registered without identifies:
the. Australjan, or the French Stud tion of their parents;
Book are recognized. as reliable. It (e) Obviously, in no event, are the
will not pronounce as a public body parents of the identified animals also
copld be compelled to, that these identified;
Uog9jts are, or are not, reliable. Ani- (d) A mare brought in in foal. may
Mats entered in those books, are, how- be rejected and the owner forced to
ever, in practice eligible for entry in , pay duty for lack of identification pa -
the Canadian Register kept by the pers, but the foal is registered without
' conimlttee;,in fact they are the foun-i any;
dation books for the committee's (e) The credibility of those who
books. sign the papers can never be tested;
5, The committee thus takes away (f) The series of identification pa -
from the importer of an animal rests- pers do not in themselves prove any-
tered in the English or American Stud thing and would not make a prima
Book, etc., one method of free entry. facie case anywhere—because the ani -
It imposes on him no alternative but mal referred to, if it had not some ex.
tie. submit to entry in the Canadian traordinary narks, could not be shown
Register as a condition precedent to to be the same as that mentioned in
free entry—a condition not authorized the papers.
. by the customs law nor by Order in 15. The material in the country is
Council. Also, it gets into its own poor. The system adopted tends to
heads a power to obstruct the impor- keep it that way. It tends to compel
ter, for it can make entry into the those erovinces not already provided
Canadian Register. easy or hard, slow with breeding stock to buy the culls
or otherwise,• or refuse it altogether, from existing establishments -in the
6. To have one's cape considered by provinces that are so provided, or to
the committee one must be the owner
wnuld:be on the same footing as spy.
other buyer in the world.
Tilt •Canddian Goyerism'tut nei'only
does fiat publiell such nettle hist it
'Itself dons net tse f 1
n decide whether'
any
such foreign stud or Nord 'boat are
reliable, That duty it delegates to the
National Repord Committee, a body of
breeders or dealers no doubt well"ac-
quainted with breeding and dealing in
the classes of annuals in which they
aro interested, but perhaps for that
very reason, not a.body which should
be selected to make deelsions. affect.
lag the rights of others who may welsh
to breed or deal in horses or cattle,
The salient point of difference between
the American and the Canadian appli-
cation of the principle oe duty free
entry for breeding stock therefore is
that the ono 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 non-respon.
Bible body.
Whether it be legal for the Govern-
ment to leave to a committee of deal-
ers in any particular trade the power
to effect their competitors' imports
may be doubted. The point to be
noted at the moment is that by acts
of omission rather than commission,
firstly 01 the Government, and second-
ly of the National Record Committee,
some importers stiffer through the
try to drive those who do illegality, if there be one, and are so
not wouldanot try
them into their sy o exposed without having any legal rem -
tem. IE, on the contrary, they believe) nue short of interference by Parlla•
as their opponents do, that the system nrent.
means that those who follow it must The article of the tariff dealing with
end by having inferior stock, their duty free entry for breeding purposes
anxiety to force it en their competitors leaves it to the Government by Order
is explainable. in Council to give effect to the pro -
13. Paper identification is not poi- vision. The Government purports to
Bible, even of animals bearing extra- do this by saying that fres entry shall
ordinary marks. A chain of identifica- be granted to animals owned by Brit -
tion is always as weak as the weak- ish subjects resident in Canada (a)
est link, The animal's parentage de- if the animal is registered in the Can -
pends (first) on the word of some one adian register for the breed, or (b)
who saw the sire put to the dam, and in any record kept abroad and recog-
(second) on the word of some one who sized as retable by the National Re -
saw her foal. These things in prat- cord Committee.
tice depend on the reliability of the The provislon sounds both fair and
people dealt with. The only result of wise but falls short of what is de -
requiring transfer documents is to sirable, first in that there is no au -
form a basis upon which animals may thoritative publication of a list of
be rejected and importers discouraged, foreign records recognized as reliable
14. The following considerations by the Government, second that
show the worth of the identification the National Record Committee will
system adopted: not recognize any foreign record kept
(a) Those animals already in the 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 competing 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
overnment and by every other govern -
men all over the world.
There 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
positionitor, from the American compet-
Hon. Mr, CLORAN-I would like to
ask the hon. gentleman one question.
He is asking that the 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.
buy abroad animals the breeder has Hon, leIr, CASGRAIN— I think I am
of the animal tendered for free entry not been able either to sell or to train, coming to that in a few minutes. The
That is to say you must have parted They being still in his hands he can American can import duty free an
animal registere1 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,
will allow you to get out of them, What the objectors say they want This is the second salient difference
7. Amongst the terms it imposes at is:— between the method adopted in the
present are the producing of written 16. We want as good a chance to get I two countries. Pedigreed stock, as we
transfers of the animal from the orig- good stuff for the same investment as all know, is imported for two very
' final breeder through every owner our foreign competitors. different purposes and by two classes
down to the importer. Such docu- 17. We want the•Government to take of persons interested in different ways.
nients are not usual in transactions the responsibility of seeing that we
relating to thoroughbred horses, are get it.
in many cases not procurable, and 18. We do not want to have our
sometimes only procurable by paying business in the hands or power of any
for them. The mere demand for them group of dealers or breeders We
in many oases 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 the certainty of delay
white discussing with the .committee;
(h) .There is the possibility of being
unable to procure the documents re-
quired •
(e1 There is the possii. 'i being ties,
unable to satisfy the cc nn :: se; That it should in the process of time
(1) Whilst the duty fr•-.'a entry (uee- remain so in appearance but have be-
tton is thus held up the animal has to come in fact a disguised protective
be bonded or duty paid under protest- system for such stook good or bad
1. The result is that an animal un- as may be ie. the country, will at first
doubtedly registered in the English or be hardly credited, but that it is so
the American Stud Book and perhaps will be seen after light has been
Perfectly well known ea the race track thrown upon the practice as applied
as a performer, rennet always be im- to the theory.
ported duty free into the country, The There are a certain number of stud
trouble and annoyance are so great as books or herd books in foreign coup-
to .discourage individuai importers. To tries in which the breeders record the
with your money and have purchased give the complete transfer documents.
the anima) abroad and have so far Even then his word alone makes the
committed yourself to difficulties be- only evidence of what the sire and the
fore knowing whether the committee dam were.
Those who care to inquire into the
matter can judge for themselves which
purpose the dut;• free entry provision
was most intended to help and what
interest is in fact most advantaged by
.,w
er up to the iulporiing'owner n 0'rt be
furnished, that is that a title from
baud to hand must be obtained in writ-
ing. Tills requirement is alleged by
the committee to be necessary for the
) uz ose of identifying the animal. al.N
ow•
for the primary purpose of crossing on'
half -bred stock, if the animal can be
proved to be entered on a foreign re-
liable record, the chain of title is a
matter of indifference to the farmer 1f
his • legal title be good enough to pre-
vent any one from taking the animal
from him. That legal title is neither
better nor worse because of the chain
of documents. Moreover no such Chain
of documents covers the real points at
which identity is most likely to be lost.
The testimony of those who saw the
dam bred to the sire or the animal
born Is not always available. In many
breeds the young are taken from the
mothers and raised by hand or placed
with foster mothers, The identity can
only be traced by the testimony of
those who wore on the spot and saw
this done. No records or chain of
documents effectively cover the risk
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. Tho latter can safely
buy an animal guaranteed to be re-
corded in one of the 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
he will guarantee to furnish all the
documents required in Canada for
duty free entry in excess of those
required in the United States, or
if he will sell conditionally on my
obtaining free entry.
But these are points which he can.
not effectively raise at an auction. He
must be prepared to buy and take his
chances of delay and of being refused
free entry. This he may do if he has
on hand funds sufcient. But if he
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
the committee, he cannot get them to
pronounce beforehand at to whether
if he purchases such and such an ani-
mal, it would come in duty free. The
seller not being a British subject resi-
dent in Canada, cannot deliver them
duty free. Even if he could, he 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 be 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 he 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
England and hold the animal there as
owner until by correspondence he bas
made his course clear he may escape
some of the risks, but even then if he
cannot secure free entry he has cer-
tain dangers before him, and in any
event is debarred from many of the
Better beef
the system in vogue . chances to make advautageous pur-
want to follow our own course and let, chases which are open to foreign buy -
them follow theirs, cattle, finer dairy cows and more en- era,
More than forty years ago, the im- during horses are wanted, not in the Take it all in all, a foreign buyer 0
portation free of duty of live stock for show rings, but on the farms. The knows exactly where his government a
breeding purposes was a plank in the show ring is the place where what the stands, knows that it means to help
Liberal platform, In his Reminisces- farmer wants 1s advertised. No one him to bring in stock duty free. The
ees, page 44, Sir George Ross gives can conceive of the farmer knowingly Canadian buyer knows that whatever o
an interesting account of its effect on supporting a system by, which .direct the law 'may say, the practice leaves 1
one of his elections. import by him of Stack he needs to him in doubt and he must feel fairly 0
Ostensibly for many years past this cross with and improve his halfbred sure that' the National Record Com- a
question I have been discussing has herd is made hard to him and by nsittee's system leaves him at a dia-
becotio common ground to bods par- which what stock is available through advantage. Months may, and • do,
importation by others is likely to be elapse while he is piecing together
either higher in price or poorer in documents required by the committee.
quality than it need be if full effect .Meantime he cannot sell the animal
were given to the law. and does not know what it to cost
No one would grudge free import him ultimately. The keep makes a
to those who breed pedigreed stock in big hole iu his margin: of profit. The
the country nor object to Government American purchaser of a like animal.
keeping their stud and herd books for at the same sale has his purchase
them, but probably most people would through the customs without delay.
subscribe to the propcsition that hal- His importation is not subject to re-
ing these things they should by their gistration in any books kept by his
produce show that they were breeding trade competitors. They cannot force
as good stock for the price as any one him to record in books kept by them,
those of limited means they are pro- births of their animals. Of course it could import direct and duty free. If and with good.reason for except where
hibiterye The story of those who have does not follow that animals there re- they cannot show this, surely no one an animal is intended for use in a
beats through them tends to deter corded are valuable for breeding pur- would support a protective system for registered herd, recording in such
others from attempting to import, poses nor that many not so recorded their benefit for the effect would be books in his own country is of no use
. 7,hes, no dpuht, is the underlying ob- are not valuable. To avoid entering that those who desired pedigreed stock either to him or to his country, but
feet• on any ground possibly debatable, the to cross with half -bred herds—and the registration being a voluntary mat-
te. The Canadlan buyer with a lim- discussion may be limited by assurethey aro the main support of the whole ter, he can apply for it when and as it
Red. sum 10 spend cannot buy as good ung that an animal is not valuable for , agricultural industry—would get worse seems to be of any use to him.
an''auimai as his foreign competitor, breeding purposes unless so recorded, animals for their purposes and pay a Enough Inas been said to show that
`beeauso the foreign competitor bas no Certain of these hooks are recognized higher' p'r'ice,
doubts or difficulties before him and by the United States Government as Nov, in the moss important breeds, free intended
import beaaffecting fbre breech'
eau pay cut the whole sutra, while the being reliable and a list of those so should an intending importer apply. to intended to bred to half -bred herds
Can:dlen buyer has to 11011 back recognized is published by thatknow whether say the Percheroa Stud is not given due effect to,
enough to pay the duty in case of ernment, goy.Book or the Durham Herd Book 11 re- As to the result of the system hon
e
need. • . Or, to put it another way, to That is exactly what we would like cognized as reliable by the Govern the Pure bred herds already in the
got ,a:,;particelar animal the. Canadian the Government here to do—publish .a mint, he will be told by the committee I country and through them on the tiara
buyer has .to have the same amount list of stud books that they would ad -that it is not, and he will be invited to of animal to be bought out of them
of available cash as the foreign buyer mit. Surely there must be in the register in the Canadian book far these; me the farmer for cross -breeding, it
and in addition enough 10 pay the whole World some stud or herd book breeds, a record inaugurated and dl•; may be pointed out that the only use
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DECLINE THE NUMEROUS INFER/OR
IMITATIONS THAT ARE BEINGGOFFERED \,
AWARDED HIGHEST HONORS AT ALL• EXPOSITIONS
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WiNN3F G TORONTO ONT. 2'1oN'rREAI
tooted, and this in the face of the d
clared policy of Parliament,
Thus, since the days when Sir Ge
Ross stood for the House of Commo
we have swung around to the opposi
point of the compass as to the enco
agement of free imports. Should
not swing back and not only say,
mean free -imports of pedigreed stem
and see that the farmer gets what t
law gives him. No matter is more f
reaching than this upon the maters
prosperity of the country.
A thousand Poled Angus -or Durha
bulls in the West bring down ten tin
their cost to the shipping points lust
of three or four years merely throu
the increased weight and quality
their stock. Like improvements wou
follow free imports of dairy cattle a
of `horses. Those provinces most
need of better saleable stock suff
the most from existing conditions,
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to
ur-
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That the law is not applied is clear.
Why it should not be applied has to be
explained. Why a private body oxer-
cises part of the 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
and 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 than it chooses.
A brief review of the circumstances
suggests certain modifications as be-
ing imperatively necessary,
1. The Government shculd publish a
list of all foreign records which are
generally recbgnized as reliable. Re-
cord in these should entitle an animal
to free entry. There is no difficulty
in making such a list, The National
Record Committee have such a list
which they use as the basis of enter-
ing in their own books although they
will not certify that the books they so
use are reliable within the meaning
of the Order in Council when the in-
dividual importer wants to obtain free
entry. Even if they had not such a
lint, the list published by the United
States Government affords sufficient
information.
2. No private body should have any-
thing to say as to the application of
the customs law to its competitors and
free entry should not de„nend in any
way on recording in any book kept in
Canada.
3. The Canadian stud and herd
books should be open to voluntary en-
try upon such terms as those who keep
them see fit. Their present system is
more exacting than is thought neces-
sary by many foreign systems. Wheth-
er rightly or wrongly so, depends on
whether the book is conceived tb be a
record of breeding experiments or a
history of title.
As a i;oluntary 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 the rights of others and
thereby become of any public import-
ance. a
If as a result of the voluntary appli
ation of their present system of title
nd so called identification they pro-
duce a still better stock for the money
than can be procured emoted, the
ountry will have reason to congratu-
ate itself. That they hope to do so
r believe that they can do so is to
ay the least east in doubt by their
desire 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-bystem on othere would. be
explainable, because by getting every
one into the same position the possi-
bility of comparing the benefits of
their system with what can be done
under the system of free imports,
would be gone. Until they have shown
their value, it would seem that there
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 booiee, and have animals
registered say, in one of those staid
boosts, either in Europe or the United
States admitted duty' free. Theft the
impo'r'ter.would be granted entry free,
als in other countries. To•tlay if a Can-
adian buys an animal ho has no guar-
antee that this animal will fulfil all
the requirements.
duns, le -Sevier). importation into Can, that is reliabla. If the Government of rented by a group of persons already e c iy sun et tis is to sup-
ada,)'or a given capital, therefore must the day would do as the government engaged In breeding or importing that.iin the farmer with as be
an animal
be of an Inferior class, This applies of any other country is doing, and pub- class of stook, a book kept by the Nu I p price and quality as he could ass
whether you buy abroad or on the 11511 the list, the Canadian buyers tional Record Committee under their, ofoa andiimal
localfcbbreeder Such a class
directions upon which body they are r animal he direr only ulua of
' lepi esented, produce under the direct stimulus of
1 competition If that be removed 'and
HAS"r INivesTiro ENT
fermi) 7 j PER ANNUM
yearly since the Soeurities. of dile Corpora ion were
pbt"ed on. �ho market 1C ;P'eer's ego. ituelneee t'ltabllshed
22. years,- iaveetniOnt may' he •ithdro.wrr t teed. er whole
cane •time after one year, Wetetea nrort gb.' rPcif .ser -
Oculars and booklet 'Madly Eu•niulsed on rococo.
NATIONAL SECURITIES CORPORATION LIMITED,
CORPORATION, t
ocommi1n8,8'2'ioN I,IEi1 Srf1Lnnte - toner:11O, OIPT',
Bearing in mind that the irtending , it is in part removed by the difficulties
importers free entry le thus made: to I in importing direct, then they will 0011
depend (a) on his being a British sub- him something not quite so geodes his
foot resident in Canada, (0) on his'American competitor may get abroad
awning the animal and (c) on hie be.' at the same cost,
ing able to get the National ltelordl The trend of the.ayetom, therefore,
Cammittee to record it before he gets on' the whole, is to discourage the in.
free entry, it obviously takes but little' dividual importer and to make a semi -
to delay, defeator.obstruet itim in his'proteetive, system for the benefit 0P
endeavor to obtain dt. I stock already in tate country, 'That
Amonget the first *requirements of is free import of the farmer's raw ma.
the National Record Committee ]s that tonal is diecou•aged acid interior raw
transfers et the aminal from the breed. material already hi the country pro -
A. Pawky Proposal.
"You've' been courting nee now
for a number of years, George," re-
marked a girl to. a young :'man,
r4and I_ want to make a little leap-
year proposal," "I--) em not in
it position to m--2-marry juet yet;".
stammered ill :vont h, "but---"
"Who said anything about mar-
riage 9" interrupted •the girl "I
was going toprepose that you stop
earning here and give somebody elan
a chance."
FROM ENE SC L
OT ASO
NOTES OF I\Tbii1EST hliOJi 1I511
RANKS ANI) BRAES.
Mal is Going on In the Highlands
and Lowlands of Auld
Scotia.
Ib has been decided that no pic-
ture shows shalt be allowed on Sun-
day at Buckhaven and Methil.
A start has been made with the
preservation scheme of the old
Church el Buittie, near Dalbeatbie,
Milngavie Town Council has senb
to the parks committee a proposal
to construct an open-air ewimaning
pond.
Dr. J. I. Craig, Kirkcaldy, has
been appointed certifying surgeon
under the Factory and Workshop
Acts for IKirkcaldy,
Mr, James Christie, chief con-
stable, Greenock, has recommend-
ed an all-round increase for the lo-
cal polies force.
A serious case of sheep -worrying
is reported from the Arrochar• dis-
trict, where 16 lambs wore killed by
a dog that is still at large.
The statute labor committee of
Glasgow Corporation has approved
of an important scheme for the
widening of Stockwell Street,
At a meeting of the Glasgow High
School Club .i,t was decided to pro-
ceed with a scheme for the acquisi-
tion of an athletic ground at An-
niesland.
Builders' laborers at work in
Blaelefriaade Street, Carlisle, un-
earthed two skulls, which are sup-
posed to be those of two "Black
Friars."
The annual report of the Zoologi-
cal Society of Scotland states that
there has been a surplus of $7,000
on•the year's working of the Zoo-
logical Park at Corstophine.
Altogether 1,140 passengers left
the Clyde on a recent Saturday for
Canada and the United States, e
total far below that of the corres-
ponding week of last year,
A. broker's establishment and
villa, owned by G. T. McArthur of
Chryston, near Glasgow, were de-
stroyed by fire, :and eight inmates
had a narrow escape, .
At Dumbarton, Henry Brand, a
farmer, was fined $lb for frighten-
ing a pony by fixing a pail to its
tail and causing it to run a distance
of four miles along the road.
The death has occurred at Arrow
River of Mr, James Mitchell, a na-
tive of "Hawick, at the age of 84
years. He was the inventor of the
well-known Mitchell life boast.
By order of the schools' medical
inspector, Benwhat School, under
the Dalmellington School Board,
has been closed for three . weeks,
owing to the prevalence of scarla-
tina.
h
OLD A'il'TWENTY
Reiurn of Youth with Proper Foal.
Many persons who eat plenty ne-
ver seem to•be properly nourished,
That's because the food is nob'
digested and absorbed. Mittel that
is eaten is never taken np by the
system as real food, and so the tis-
sues simply starve and the indivi-
dual may, as in a recent caselook
and feel old in what should lie the
bloom of life, youth.
"At twenty I was prematurely
old. The health and vigor and
brightness of youth had been, as it
seemed, stolen from me. I went to
worst in .the morning with slow
steps and .a dull head.
"My worse• through the day was
unsatisfactory for my breakfast lay
in my stomach lilts •a hard lump. I
was peevish and the gas in my stoin-
n.ach was. Very annoying, After sup-
per 3, usually went to bee to hose
half the night from sheer nervous.
ness,
"Chis was all from indigestion
caiteed by' wrong eating.
• "Finally I tried Grape -Nuts and
I cannot describe the full benefits
received from the food, It gave me
back my health, It has completely
resbor•ed good digestion and my .ail•
menti have disappeared. I steadily
improved and am new strong and
in perfect health.".
'Name given, by O unadian Pesbtim
Co,, Windsor, Ont. , Read `The
Road to ellville, • its pkgs.
"There's a Reason,"
Evor read the above Ietter? A. stow'
ono appellee 2ronl time to time, They
pgro V111111110,true, 404 11111 pg human
Interest.
STRIKES IN THE BREAKING
A LONDON DOCKER RECOUNTS
A TRUE EXPERIENCE.
Terrible Plan Atloptetl, by a Rana -
ger to Break a Threatened
Strike.
I have had a good -many experi-
ences one way and another of
ssttilscs ,and strike-breakers in my
time, but the strike that will re-
main the longest fat my mind never
came Off, writes a docker in London
Answers. This happened when I
was working. at a tar works in Chi-
cago as a va,b cleaner. A strike was
brewing just at the Aline I entered
the works, but Pete Perrot, the
manager, had the reputation of be-',
ung the finest strike-breaker in the
States, and he often boasted that
he could smash up any strike in
less than twenty-four hours.
There was no doubt that the men
at Jollop's were afraid of hits, Dick
Merryweather, a young Canadian,
and a giant of a. fellow from Geor-
gia, whose name I forget, did +all
they could to put some spirit and
fight into their fellow -workers, and
allies a deal of work managed to
get a lot of them ready to :strike
when they :got the order to do so.
But the order never came.
Pate Perrot had, of course, got
wind of what was going on, though
he prete.ndecl he did not know any-
thing. But, outside the work,
Dick and the Georgian giant were
warned by men who knew something
of Peter that there wasn't much he
would stop short of doing to put an
end to the sort of work Dick and
the Georgian were parrying out.
Inch by Inch.
Well, one morning, Dick, the
Georgian chap, and another man
who was a great pal of Dick's,
named Farmer, and myself were
sent :down to clean out the bottoms
of one of the largest tar vats, that
held about 30,000 gallons of tar.
The vat was twenty fent deep, and
we went down into it by a rope lad-
der slung from the top. The vat
was to bo refilled that day, and we
were ordered to bo out of it by din-
ne r -Mime,
Wo wore working like niggers all
the morning, and Pete himself came
down into the vat, about eleven
o'clock, 'to see how .all was getting
on. He spoke quite pleasantly to
us for a few minutes and then left
us. Au hoar later, the whistle out-
side blew, which was a sign for us
to leave the vat at once -
On hearing the whistle, we all
wont towards the rope ladder. The
big Georgian was the first to reach
it, and directly he punt his foot on
the first rung the whole ladder col-
lapsed and fell into the vat.
"This is Pete's work 1" shouted
Dick. "Ho unfastened the ladder
when he was leaving the vat, and
it is by his orders that they are
filling it I"
The boiling tar was slowly spread-
ing over the floor of the vat, and
ere long the four of us would die a
most horrible death unless we could
make ourselves heard by the men
outside, or get out of the vat.
There was only one chance to save
our 1ivos, and that wits to •climb up
to the top of the vat by the iron
clamps with which the sides were
bound. The boiling stuff had al-
ready spread right over the floor of
the vat when we began this awful
scramble for our lives. Inch by
inch we went up, and inch by incl2
the tar rose in the vat,
How Reparation Came,
Dick, the Georgian, and myself
were more fortunate than 'armor,
Dick's pal, because each of us had
started to climb by one of the iion
supports that ran from the top to
the bottom of the vat, and it gave
us something'to grip, but poor Far-
mer hocl nothing snore than an
eighth of an inch•of item to cling to
with his fingers, and when he was
about a quarter of the wary' up, with
boiling pitch a•]mest lapping at his
heels, he slipped and fell back into
the vat,
Poor fellow 1 He dried without a
sound.
An hour later, when almost -at the
top, I slipped back, but I man-
aged to get my hand on the rim of
the vat ,and escaped with a fearful-
ly scalded foot, which kept nue in
hospital for about a month. I had
to be earried down from the top of
the vat, but Dick and the Geoepian
Were able to. go down by the iron
ladder outside, and the two went
straight off to look for Peter, The
manager, however, had left the
works ,and gone off somewhere no
urgent business, -
Whe•n I wine out 6f the hospital,
a.montli later, 1: went renal(' to the
works again, and learnt that there
was a new manager; the old. one
had been found one morning out-
side his house in the country with •a
shot through his braiin.
Dick and the Georgian, by the
way, have not been heard of since.
A Friend.
A friend, indeed, is one who you
may ask for his ean(licl opinion of
,youreelf with reasonable app \14,111/8
that you o on lb get it.
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