"'In accordance with the resolutions of Congress and the notification of the Executive, the commercial arrangement known as the "Reciprocity Treaty," under which the trade and commerce between the United States and the British Provinces of North America have been carried on since 1854, expires on the 17th day of March, 1866. 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] "'It may also, they think, be fairly assumed that taking into consideration the growth of the two countries in population and wealth, (that of Canada for the last ten years having preserved a nearly equal ratio in this respect with that of the United States,) the trade as at present existing is really but in its infancy, and that the future may be expected to develop an increase equally as great as that of the past.