[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. "] SIR,—There is one point
in connection with the Report of the Tariff Commission to which I should like to call the attention of your readers ; so far as I am aware, it has not been noticed in any London newspaper. It is that the Commissioners are evidently ignorant of the Canadian complaint that " dump ing" is possible in the Dominion, in spite of the Protective tariff. For the Commissioners ascribe the ability of Germany and the United States to " dump " here to the fact that we allow free imports. They say distinctly "that the practice of dumping' could not be carried on but for the British system of free imports," and they look upon the imposition of a tariff going up to 10 per cent. as a " remedy." In Canada the duty is very much higher than this, yet " dumping " is so bad there that the Government purpose passing especial legislation which shall empower them to hear and determine charges of " dumping,"—i.e., whether goods are being imported for sale at less than cost price, so that, if they are, a special additional tax may be imposed. The Commission have been very careful in their Report not to give the public any means of testing the one-sided and carefully selected evidence which they publish, or their conclusions. But in this matter of " dumping" they have left a patently weak spot, which reveals their incompetence.—I am, Sir, &c., AUTOLYCUS.
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