{"AIPUUID":[{"label":"AIPUUID","value":"c11255c2-365b-410e-90db-b81177199c3f","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"https:\/\/open.library.ubc.ca\/terms#identifierAIP","classmap":"oc:DigitalPreservation","property":"oc:identifierAIP"},"iri":"https:\/\/open.library.ubc.ca\/terms#identifierAIP","explain":"UBC Open Collections Metadata Components; Local Field; Refers to the Archival Information Package identifier generated by Archivematica. This serves as a link between CONTENTdm and Archivematica."}],"AggregatedSourceRepository":[{"label":"AggregatedSourceRepository","value":"CONTENTdm","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/www.europeana.eu\/schemas\/edm\/dataProvider","classmap":"ore:Aggregation","property":"edm:dataProvider"},"iri":"http:\/\/www.europeana.eu\/schemas\/edm\/dataProvider","explain":"A Europeana Data Model Property; The name or identifier of the organization who contributes data indirectly to an aggregation service (e.g. Europeana)"}],"CatalogueRecord":[{"label":"CatalogueRecord","value":"http:\/\/resolve.library.ubc.ca\/cgi-bin\/catsearch?bid=1557053","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/isReferencedBy","classmap":"edm:ProvidedCHO","property":"dcterms:isReferencedBy"},"iri":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/isReferencedBy","explain":"A Dublin Core Terms Property; A related resource that references, cites, or otherwise points to the described resource."}],"Collection":[{"label":"Collection","value":"British Columbia Historical Books Collection","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/isPartOf","classmap":"dpla:SourceResource","property":"dcterms:isPartOf"},"iri":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/isPartOf","explain":"A Dublin Core Terms Property; A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included."}],"Creator":[{"label":"Creator","value":"Parkin, George R. (George Robert), 1846-1922","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/creator","classmap":"dpla:SourceResource","property":"dcterms:creator"},"iri":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/creator","explain":"A Dublin Core Terms Property; An entity primarily responsible for making the resource.; Examples of a Contributor include a person, an organization, or a service."}],"DateAvailable":[{"label":"DateAvailable","value":"2015-07-03","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/issued","classmap":"edm:WebResource","property":"dcterms:issued"},"iri":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/issued","explain":"A Dublin Core Terms Property; Date of formal issuance (e.g., publication) of the resource."}],"DateIssued":[{"label":"DateIssued","value":"1895","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/issued","classmap":"oc:SourceResource","property":"dcterms:issued"},"iri":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/issued","explain":"A Dublin Core Terms Property; Date of formal issuance (e.g., publication) of the resource."}],"Description":[{"label":"Description","value":"\"One chapter on British Columbia; another on the Canadian Pacific Railway.\" -- Lowther, B. J., & Laing, M. (1968). A bibliography of British Columbia: Laying the foundations, 1849-1899. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, p. 129.
\"Macmillan's Colonial Library.\" -- Title page.","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/description","classmap":"dpla:SourceResource","property":"dcterms:description"},"iri":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/description","explain":"A Dublin Core Terms Property; An account of the resource.; Description may include but is not limited to: an abstract, a table of contents, a graphical representation, or a free-text account of the resource."}],"DigitalResourceOriginalRecord":[{"label":"DigitalResourceOriginalRecord","value":"https:\/\/open.library.ubc.ca\/collections\/bcbooks\/items\/1.0222499\/source.json","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/www.europeana.eu\/schemas\/edm\/aggregatedCHO","classmap":"ore:Aggregation","property":"edm:aggregatedCHO"},"iri":"http:\/\/www.europeana.eu\/schemas\/edm\/aggregatedCHO","explain":"A Europeana Data Model Property; The identifier of the source object, e.g. the Mona Lisa itself. This could be a full linked open date URI or an internal identifier"}],"Extent":[{"label":"Extent","value":"viii, 251 pages : advertisements, tables, maps (folded) ; 20 cm","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/extent","classmap":"dpla:SourceResource","property":"dcterms:extent"},"iri":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/extent","explain":"A Dublin Core Terms Property; The size or duration of the resource."}],"FileFormat":[{"label":"FileFormat","value":"application\/pdf","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/elements\/1.1\/format","classmap":"edm:WebResource","property":"dc:format"},"iri":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/elements\/1.1\/format","explain":"A Dublin Core Elements Property; The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource.; Examples of dimensions include size and duration. Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary such as the list of Internet Media Types [MIME]."}],"FullText":[{"label":"FullText","value":" Macmillan's Colonial Library \nThe Great Dominion \nStudies of Canada \nBY \nGEORGE R. PARKIN, M.A. \nHON. LL.D. UNIV. NEW BRUNSWICK \nLONDON \nMACMILLAN AND CO. \nAND NEW YORK \n1895 \nThis Edition is intended for circulation only in India and \nthe British Colonies. r\njltarmillatt's C0i0ttial Itbrarg.\nAll the volumes are issued in paper covers, with edges\ncut and uncut, and in cloth.\nS6. AMEEL\u2014The JournalIntime of Henri-Pred&ic Amiel, Translated,\nwith an Introduction and Notes, by Mrs. Humphry Ward, i vol.\n93^ An Author's Love. Being the Unpublished Letters of Prosper MerimeVs\n\"Inconnue.\" i vol.\n4\u00b0\u00ab AfiNOLD.\u2014 Essays in Criticism. By Matthew Arnold, i vol.\n88. Essays in Criticism. Second Series, i vol.\n1VORLD.\u2014\"A delightful writer, and a critic whose place in English literature there\nseems no immediate prospect of filling.\"\nI BAKEEE.\u2014Station Life in New Zealand. By Lady Barker, i vol.\n2. A Tear's House-keeping in South Africa. With Illustrations.\ni vol.\nMORNING POST*\u2014\"Very amusing books, over which we have spent many a delightful hour.\"\nA THENCE UM.\u2014\" We have never read, more truthful or pleasanter little books.\"\n164. BLENNERHASSETT and SLEEMAN.-Adventures in Mashona-\nland. By Two Hospital Nurses, Rose A. Blennerhassett and Lucy Sleeman.\n1 vol.\n94- B0LDREW00D.\u2014Robbery under Arms. By Rolf Boldrewood.\n107. I The Miner's Right. 1 vol. [1 vol.\n114- The Squatter'sTDream. 1 vol.\n116. A Colonial Reformer. 1 vol.\n124. A Sydney-Side Saxon. 1 vol.\n127. Nevermore. 1 vol.\ni7S- A Modern Buccaneer. 1 vol.\n105. CARMARTHEN.\u2014A Lover of the Beautiful. By the Marchioness\nof Carmarthen, i vol.\nSPEAKER.\u2014,(A story written with refined simplicity, and marked to a quite noteworthy degree by imaginative insight.\"\niS7- CLIFFORD\u2014 The Last Touches. By Mrs. W. K. Clifford, i vol.\n4. CONWAY.\u2014A Family Affair. By Hugh Conway, author of \"Called\nBack,\" etc. 1 vol.\n26. Living or Dead. 1 vol.-\nMORNING POST.\u2014\" Life-like and full of individuality.\"\nDAILY NEIVS.\u2014\"Throughout written with spirit, good feeling, and ability, and a\ncertain dash of humour.\"\n163. COOPER\u2014Richard Escott. By E. H. Cooper, i vol.\n73- CORBETT\u2014Por God and Gold. By Julian Corbett, author of\n\" The Fall of Asgard.\" 1 vol.\n85. Kophetua the Thirteenth. 1 vol.\nSCOTSMAN.\u2014\" The story [For God and Gold] is told with excellent force and\nfreshness. The various threads or lines of interest, that of Character, that of adventure,\nthat of religious effort and belief, are all so deftly interwoven that it is hard'to say to\nwhich the story owes its greatest charm.\"\n24- CRATJL\u2014Miss Tommy i a Mediaeval Romance. By Mrs. Craik.\nWith Illustrations by Frederic Noel Paton. i vol.\nH King Arthur: Not a Love Story. 1 vol.\n3S. -\u2014 About Money, and other Things. 1 vol.\n5- CRAWPORD. - Mr. Isaacs: a Tale of Modern India. By F.\nMarion Crawford, i vol.\n6. \u25a0 Dr. Claudius: a True Story. 1 vol.\n7. A Roman Singer. 1 vol.\n8. A Tale of a Lonely Parish. 1 vol.\n46. Saracinesca. 1 vol.\nS9-, Zoroaster. 1 vol.\n64. Marzio's Crucifix. 1 vol. mmmm\n65\n76.\n89.\n99\nin\n122\n129.\n139\n144.\n147\n158\n161\n181\nCRAWFORD.\u2014Paul Patoff. 1 vol.\n With the Immortals. 1 vol.\n Greifenstein. 1 vol.\n Sant' Hario. 1 vol.\n A Cigarette-Maker's Romance.\n Ehaled. 1 vol.\n The Witch of Prague. 1 vol.\n- The Three Fates. 1 vol.\n1 vol.\n\u2014 Children of the King.\n\u2014 Don Orsino. 1 vol.\n\u2014 Pietro Ghisleri. 1 vol.\n\u2014 Marion Darche. 1 vol\nKatharine Lauderdale.\n1 vol.\nvol.\nSPECTATOR.\u2014\"With the solitary exception of Mrs. Oliphant, we have no living\nnovelist more distinguished for variety of theme and range of imaginative outlook than\nMr. Marion Crawford.\"\n180. CROCKETT\u2014The Raiders. By S. R. Crockett, i vol.\nDAILY CHRONICLE.\u2014\"Mr. Crockett writes exceedingly well\u2014crisply, vividly,\nand above all readably. His Scotch is delightful and frequent, though somewhat\ncapriciously distributed parenthetic translations smooth the thistly path for the Southron.\nHe has a keen sense of humorous character.\"\n56. CUNNINGHAM\u2014The Cceruleans: a Vacation Idyll. By Sir H. S.\nCunningham, i vol.\n106. The Eeriots. 1 vol.\nii2\u00ab Wheat and Tares. 1 vol.\nxgy. Sibylla. 1 vol.\nST. JAMES'S GAZETTE.\u2014\"Interesting as specimens of romance, the style of\nwriting is so excellent\u2014scholarly and at the same time easy and natural\u2014that the volumes\nare worth reading on that account alone. But there is also masterly description of\npersons, places, and things J skilful analysis of character; a constant play of wit and\nhumour; and a happy gift of instantaneous portraiture.\"\n178. DEUSSEN.\u2014 Elements of Metaphysics. BxKarlDeussen. Authorised Translation. 1 vol.\nW$ DICKENS.\u2014A Mere Cypher. By Mary A. Dickens, author of\n\"CrossCurrents.\" 1 vol.\ni77- A Valiant Ignorance. 1 vol.\n142. DLLKE and WILKINSON.\u2014Imperial Defence.\nand S. Wilkinson, i vol.\n50. DILLWTN.\u2014Jill. By E. A. Dillwyn. i vol.\n51. Jill and Jack. 1 vol.\nSPECTA TOR.\u2014\" Very lively and spirited stories, written with a good deal of the\nrealism of such authors as Defoe. . . . Extremely entertaining and lifelike.\"\n198. DU MAURIER\u2014PeterIbbetson. By George Du Maurier. i vol.\n141. DURAND.\u2014Helen Treveryan. By Sir Mortimer Durand, K.C.I.E.\ni vol.\nSCOTSMAN.\u2014\"The story is bright and interesting. It has an air of freshness and\nreality. . . . Indian life and scenery and Anglo-Indian types are described with lifelike\nsincerity, and with a convincing air of first-hand knowledge. . . . The whole is interesting and thoroughly readable.''\nBy Sir C. Dilke\n9\nroi,\n131\nBMEEBOT\u2014 The Conduct of Life. By Ralph Waldo Emerson.\n English Traits. 1 vol. [1 vol.\nFALCONEE.\u2014Cecilia de Noel. By Lanoe Falconer, author of\n\" Mademoiselle Ixe.\" 1 vol.\nQUEEN.\u2014\"There is sufficient thought wrapt up in this one little volume to set forth\nand furnish a dozen average volumes, and yet a less tiresome book was never written. It\nhas to be read at a sitting, for there is no place where one can leave off, and almost every\npage bristles with good things\u2014sayings that are too good to be cast away into the limbo\nof last year's novels.\"\n10. PAEEAE.\u2014Seekers after God: the Lives of Seneca, Epictetus, and\nMarcus Aurelius. By the Venerable F. W. Farrar, D.D., r ;\nWestminster. Illustrated. 1 vol.\nF.R.S., Archdeacon of ii. FORBES.\u2014Souvenirs of Some Continents. By Archibald Forbes,\nLL.D. i vol.\n130. Barracks, Bivouacs, and Battles, 1 vol.\nTIMES.\u2014\" Mr. Forbes writes vividly, his experience of war is extensive and varied,\nand he possesses a rare capacity for making military matters attractive, intelligible, and\ninstructive to non-military readers.\"\n160. FORBES-MITCHELL\u2014Reminiscences of the Great Mutiny,\n1857-8-9. Including the Relief, Siege, and Capture of Lucknow, and the Campaigns\nin Rohilcund and Oude. By William Forbes-Mitchell, late Sergeant, 93rd\nSutherland Highlanders. 1 vol.\n75. FOTHERGLLL\u2014The Lasses of Leverhouse : A Story. By Jessib\nFOTHERGILL. I vol.\n183. FRANCIS\u2014The Story of Dan. By M. E. Francis, i vol.\n78. Fraternity: a Romance, i vol.\n33. GRAHAM.\u2014Nesera: a Tale of Ancient Rome. By J.W.Graham. ivoL\n12. HAMERTON\u2014 Human Intercourse., By P. G. Hamerton. i vol.\n92. French and English: a Comparison, i vol.\n96. The Intellectual Life, i vol.\nWESTMINSTER REVIEW.\u2014\" His pages sparkle with many turns of expressions,\nnot a few well-told anecdotes, and many observations which are the fruit of attentive study\nand wise reflection on the complicated phenomena of human life, as well as of unconscious nature.\"\n\u2022 32. HARDY.\u2014The Mayor of Casterbridge. By Thomas Hardy, i vol.\n49. The \"Woodlanders. i vol.\n74. Wessex Tales: Strange, Lively, and Commonplace.\n185. Tess of the D'UrberviUes. j vol.\n186. Desperate Remedies. | vol.\n187. A Pair of Blue Eyes, i vol.\n188. Far from the Madding Crowd, i vol.\nvol.\n189.\n190.\n191.\n192.\n193-\n194.\n196.\nI vol.\n1 vol.\nThe Return of the Native.\n The Trumpet Major, i vol.\n\u2014 A Group of Noble Dames.\n\u2014 Life's Little Ironies, i vol.\n\u2014 The Hand of Ethelberta. i vol.\n\u2014 A Laodicean, i vol.\n Two on a Tower, i vol.\nTIMES.\u2014\"There is hardly a novelist, dead or living, who so skilfully harmonises\nthe poetry of moral life with its penury. Just as Millet could in the figure of a solitary\npeasant toiling, on a plain convey a world of pathetic meaning, so Mr. Hardy with his\nyeomen and villagers. Their occupations in his hands wear a pathetic dignity, which\nnot even the encomiums of a Ruskin could heighten.\"\nBy the Author of \" Estelle Russell.\" 2 vols.\n-A Northern Lily: Five Years of an Uneventful Life.\nBy\n61, 62. Harmorda.\n28. HARRISON.-\nBy Joanna Harrison.\n23. HAEEISON.\u2014-The Choice of Books, and other Literary Pieces.\nFrederic Harrison, i vol.\n45- EAETE.\u2014A Millionaire of Eough-and-Eeady: Devil's Pord.\nBret Harte. i vol.\n55- The Crusade of \"The Excelsior.\" i vol.\n72- The Argonauts of North Liberty. l vol.\n79. Cressy. i vol.\n100. TheHeritage of Dedlow Marsh, and other Stories, i vol.\n136- A First Family of Tasajara. i vol.\nSPEAKER.\u2014\"The best work of Mr. Bret Harte stands entirely alone . . . marked\non every page by distinction and quality. . . . Strength and delicacy, spirit and tenderness, go together in his best work.\n184. HOPE\u2014The Prisoner of Zenda. By Anthony Hope, i\n41. HUGHES.\u2014Tom Brown's Schooldays. By an Old Boy. i\n, DAILY NEWS.\u2014\" The most famous boys* book in the language.\"\nvol.\nvoL\n\"V THE GREAT DOMINION This Edition is intended for circulation only in India and\n the British Colonies. Macmillan's Colonial Library \nThe Great Dominion \nStudies of Canada \nBY \nGEORGE R. PARKIN, M.A. \nHON. LL.D. UNIV. NEW BRUNSWICK \nLONDON \nMACMILLAN AND CO. \nAND NEW YORK \n1895 \nNo. 205. Richard Clay and Sons, Limited,\nlondon and bungay. PREFACE\nThe greater part of the matter contained in the\nfollowing pages appeared during the past year in a\nseries of letters to the Times. Those letters were the\nresult of a somewhat careful study, made in behalf of\nthat journal during the autumn and winter of 1892-3 of\nmany parts of the Dominion which I had not visited\nbefore, as well as of other portions with which I had long\nbeen familiar. A later visit, made during the summer\nof 1894, has enabled me to make many additions on\nquestions of interest, and in a few minor points to correct\nearlier impressions. It also gave me the opportunity of\n.submitting my statements on various questions to the\njudgment of friends whose criticism derived special\nvalue from their full knowledge of particular localities.\nThe form in which the studies originally appeared\nnecessarily involved the choice of a limited number of\nsubjects and condensed treatment. It will therefore be\nunderstood that no attempt is here made to treat exhaustively the manifold conditions of a country which,\nlike Canada, covers half a continent. The object kept\nsteadily in view has been rather that the letters should,\nso far as they go, leave upon the mind of the reader a\ntrue impression. An endeavour has also been made to\nselect those subjects upon which it seems most necessary\nthat accurate information should be easily accessible, vi Preface\nand a measured judgment formed, both within the\nDominion and without.\nThe order of treatment has been determined by considerations other than those of geographical continuity.\nDirectly or indirectly the studies will, I think, be\nfound to touch upon the most significant conditions of\nCanadian life, the most important of the problems\nwhich confront Canadians, and those external relations\nwhich have the greatest general interest.\nIt has been a satisfaction to find that throughout\nCanada they have, in their original form, been very\ngenerally accepted as fair statements of the questions\nwith which they deal. As I have never hesitated to\npoint out the drawbacks and limitations of the country\nas well as its advantages, this approval seems to indicate\nthat Canadians have reached a point where they are\nquite willing that the merits and defects of their country\nshould be freely weighed together. The fact marks an\nimportant stage in the growth of a self-reliant feeling\nin a young community.\nThere are good grounds for believing that the diffusion,\namong British people of trustworthy information about\nthe various parts of the empire, and concerning the place\nwhich each of the greater divisions, at least, is fitted to\nhold in the national system, will do much to keep the\nlines of further national development in true directions.\nI can only hope that what is here written of the greatest of\nthe colonies may in some slight degree serve th is purpose.\nMy best thanks are due to the proprietors of the\nTimes for their readily granted permission to reproduce\nin another form material which first appeared in their\ncolumns.\nG. R P.\nLosdok, January, 1895. 1\nCONTENTS\nPAGE\nINTRODUCTORY 1\nCHAPTER I\nTHE NORTn-WEST 9\nCHAPTER II\nthe north-west\u2014continued 26\nCHAPTER III\nTHE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY- 46\nCHAPTER IV\nCOAL 73\nCHAPTER V\nEASTERN CANADA : ONTARIO AND THE MARITIME PROVINCES 89\nCHAPTER VI\nEASTERN CANADA\u2014continued: QUEBEC . 127\nCHAPTER VII\nBRITISH COLUMBIA 157 :V1U\nContents\nCHAPTER VIII\nNORTHERN CANADA : THE GREAT PUR COUNTRY\nPAGE\n173\nCHAPTER IX\nTRADE RELATIONS AND TRADE POLICY . .\n184\nCHAPTER X\nLABOUR, EDUCATION AND POLITICAL TENDENCIES\n209\nINDEX\n]M5\nMAPS\nA MAP OP THE DOMINION OP CANADA, SHOWING THE CANADIAN\npacific railway To face page 1\nONTARIO AND QUEBEC RAILWAY SYSTEM\nTHE MARITIME PROVINCES RAILWAY SYSTEM\n. To face page 89\nTo face page 156 If X THE GREAT DOMINION\nINTRODUCTORY\nMany of the problems connected with the present\ncondition and future development of the Dominion of\nCanada have a profound interest for the people of the\nUnited Kingdom and of the empire at large. In these\nproblems are involved matters deeply affecting maritime\nposition, imperial defence and communications, food and\ncoal supply, trade relations, emigration, and many other\nquestions which, from a national point of view, are of\nthe first importance.\nThe study of these questions seems more necessary\nnow than ever before. While the growth of population\nin the Dominion has not been so great during the .last\ntwo decades as was expected, events have nevertheless\nmoved fast. Advances in political and physical consolidation have been made which greatly change Canada's\nrelation to the empire and to the world. This movement is one which, in the very nature of things, must\nhave far reaching national consequences.\nIt does not seem an exaggeration to say that the\n\u00a3 B The Great Dominion\nINTRO.\ncourse which affairs take in Canada during the next few\nyears may have a decisive influence upon the direction\nof British History. The primary reason for this impression is obvious. Canada is the first of the great\ncolonies which has formed a political combination which\ngives her a position closely akin to that of a nation.\nHer territory comprises nearly 40 per cent, of the\nwhole empire, and covers half of the North American\ncontinent. It is only within the last few years that\nCanadians themselves have become fully conscious of\nthe vast possibilities of this largely undeveloped area.\nFacing upon the two greatest oceans of the globe, the\ncountry is now brought into easy commercial communication and international relation with the rest of\nthe world. Across the breadth of the continent it\nborders upon, and therefore has more or less intimate\nrelations with, the United States. Thus, though Canada\nhas not a nation's franchise, her people and statesmen\nhave been forced to consider in many ways the interests\nof a nation. By the mere compulsion of circumstances\nher statesmen are fast becoming statesmen of the\nempire. Already more than once their advice has\nbeen essential to the wise conduct of the most difficult\nimperial negotiations. It is facts kke these which give\nsuch extreme national significance to her present position.\nIn what direction will point the interests and aspirations\nof a great colony which has reached this stage of growth ?\nHow far do these interests and aspirations coincide\nwith those of British people generally ? These are\nlarge questions which cannot be answered off-hand. INTRO.\nIntroductory\nThat they must be answered sooner or later invites or\nalmost compels the careful study of Canadian\nconditions.\nFor gaining a due sense of proportion in such study\nsome glance at the main geographical facts is a necessary\nprehminary.\nIf we follow its .changes of direction the southern\nboundary of Canada stretches over\" fully 4,000 miles.\nAlong this line we find that Southern Ontario has the\nlatitude of Central Italy; Nova Scotia that of Northern\nItaly; Vancouver and Manitoba that of Central\nGermany. These latitudes, modified greatly in their\ninfluence by maritime or continental conditions, give, as\nI shall have occasion to show, very wide variations of\nclimate.\nNorthward from this frontier base (a parallel of\nlatitude in the West; in the East extremely irregular),\nthe territory well adapted by climate for comfortable\nsettlement varies much in breadth. Sometimes it is\nnarrow, as to the north of Lake Superior; in other parts\nit extends north and south from three hundred to five\nhundred miles. In the further growth of the country\nthe bulk of population will remain within these limits.\nFurther northward are immense areas, still habitable,\nbut with the range of agriculture limited to hardier\nproducts. These areas again gradually fall away into\nregions only fitted for forest gM&wth, and finally into\nArctic spaces where game, furs and fish, all of which\nabound, and mineral wealth, are the only present or\nb 2 4 The Great Dominion imro.\nprospective incentives to exploration or industrial\noccupation. Russia, extending from Asia Minor to the\nArctic, is the only other country which furnishes a\nparallel range of conditions in passing from south to\nnorth.\nWhen we consider the country from east to west\nsome remarkable features are to be observed. Old or\nEastern Canada extends from, the Atlantic to Lakes\nHuron and Superior. The fact which here most of all\narrests attention is that even to the heart of the continent Eastern Canada has a position essentially\nmaritime. The Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Bay of\nFundy, with innumerable smaller inlets, penetrate the\ncoast, and give the Atlantic frontage a remarkable\nlength of coast line. From the Gulf of St. Lawrence\nthe river of the same name, at first a broad estuary of\nthe sea, and later one of the largest of streams carries\nocean steamships to Montreal, and leads up, by ways\nmade navigable, to the great inland fresh-water seas\nwhich almost encircle Ontario, and afterwards stretch\nwestward to the confines of the prairies. Here, half\nway across the continent, the salt waters of the vast\nHudson's Bay have penetrated till they are parted from\nthe fresh waters of Lake Superior by only four or five\nhundred miles of intervening land, thus completing the\nmaritime environment of the country.\nNew Canada Lies westward of Lake Superior.\n\" Taking a line drawn north and south in the longitude of the Red River Valley, which is, as nearly as\nmay be, the centre of Canada from east to west, it may\ny INTRO.\nIntroductory 5\nconfidently be stated that by far the larger part of the\ncountry in which agricultural settlement is possible lies\nto the west, while the great bulk of the actual population lies to the east of this line.\"} It is thus that one\nof the most competent authorities on the subject states\nthe relation to the rest of Canada of the great North\nWest. He goes on to say: \" This disposition of the\ncultivable land depends partly upon the physical\ncharacteristics of the country, and in part on its\nclimatic conditions. Beyond Winnipeg, and stretching therefrom to the west and north-west, is the great\narea of prairie, plain, and plateau, which, wider near\nthe forty-ninth parallel than elsewhere on the continent,\nruns on in one form or other, though with diminishing\nwidth, to the Arctic Ocean. This is, generally speaking, an alluvial region, and one of fertile soils. Very,\nfortunately, and as though by a beneficent provision of\nnature, the climatic features favour the utilisation of\nthis belt. The summer isothermals, which carry with\nthem the possibility of ripening crops, trend far to the\nnorth.\"\nOne further characteristic of this division of Canada\nis to be noted. Even when the centre of the continent\nhas been reached, and navigation by large vessels is\nended, for steamers of Light draught, and, when these\nfail, for the canoes and oattecuiuz of the voyage%r and\nfreighter, there are still thousands of miles of river and\nlake navigation, along the course of the Saskatchewan\nAthabaska, Peace, Mackenzie, Nelson and other rivers\n1 Dr. G. M. Dawson, of the Canadian Geological Survey. The Great Dominion\nINTRO.\nto the shore of the Arctic Ocean and the Hudson's Bay.\nThe rich furs gathered even at the mouth of the\nMackenzie and around the Arctic Circle have for generations been carried by water, save for a few miles of\nland portage, from the place of collection to Fort York\nor Montreal, and thence to London. Over much of\nthe remoter sections of this route steam is now\nemployed.\nTo the advantages derived from this unparalleled\nsystem of inland communication there is one limitation.\nFor four or five winter months ice closes to navigation\nalike the lakes, the canals, the St. Lawrence, and the\nmore remote streams. Fortunately the Maritime\nProvinces give to the Dominion ports which are open\nthe whole year round.\nThe temporary cessation of free intercourse in winter\nacts as a check to commercial development in some\ndirections, but it is far from being all loss. In the forest-\ncovered parts of the country especially, it is balanced\nby great industrial conveniences.\nAfter the prairies, British Columbia with its mountains and the Pacific coast. The mountains, range\nbehind range, stretch over a breadth of 500 or 600\nmiles. They presented a serious geographical barrier\nto the political unification of Canada. The obstacle\nhas been triumphantly overcome, and in reality proved\na useful test for the strength of the forces which made\nfor unity. This vast mountain district lends itself but\nslightly to agricultural settlement, but it, too, as I shall\nhave to show, will hold an important place in the economic INTRO.\nIntroductory\ndevelopment of the Dominion. The Pacific frontage has\nnot the profound indentations of the Atlantic side Of the\nDominion. Numberless lesser ones, however, together\nwith the many islands, great and small, scattered along\nits whole length, give it, too, a quite remarkable extent\nof coast line, which has been estimated at 7,000 miles,\nThe harbours are numerous and excellent, and the\nwarm currents of the Pacific keep them free from ice\nall the year round. They furnish Canada with an open\ngateway to the commerce of the Pacific,\nSuch, in broadest outline, are the geographical\nfeatures which must dominate the development of\nCanada; which will mainly influence the industries,\nthe character, and the tendencies of its people. They\nopen up a large field for study and speculation,\nIt need scarcely be added that in regions so vast and\nvarious Nature is often seen in her most splendid and\npicturesque aspects. The traveller who has-penetrated\nthe Selkirk and Rocky ranges of British Columbia;\nwho has explored the magnificent surroundings of the\nNational Park at Banff; who has crossed the thousand\nmiles of North-Western prairie; who has traversed\nthe expanse of the great inland lakes; who has stood\nbeside the Horseshoe Fall at Niagara and traced the\ncourse of the mighty gorge below; who has sailed amid\nthe Thousand Isles and through the swirling rapids of\nthe St. Lawrence; who has looked down from the\nheights of the Mountain at Montreal; from the\npromontory on which stand the Parliament Buildings\nat Ottawa; and from the lofty terrace of historic\n1 8 The Great Dominion intro.\nQuebec, has seen some of the most striking and\nimpressive scenery of the world. Doubtless such\nsurroundings may have a profound influence in moulding the character of a people. Canada is a country\nwhich certainly stirs the imagination of her children\u2014\nwhich begets in them an intense love of the soil. If\nthe front which nature sometimes presents to them is\nsevere, it is also noble and impressive. In the breadth\nof its spaces, tho headlong rush of its floods, the\nmajesty of its mountain heights and canon depths, and\nthe striking contrasts of its seasons in their march\nthrough the fervid warmth of summer, the glory of\nautumnal colouring, and the dazzling splendour of a\nsnow-covered land to the sudden burst of new and\nradiant life in spring\u2014in all these, Canada has characteristics unique among the many lands under the\nBritish flag. There are those who believe that it is a\ncountry peculiarly fitted to rear a people whose northern\nvigour will give them weight in the world, and will add\nstrength and character to the nation of which they form\na part. But it is with the practical facts of Canadian\nlife, rather than its ideals, that we have now chiefly to\ndeal. CHAPTER I\nTHE NORTH-WEST\nAmong the Canadian problems which may fairly\nbe regarded as of national interest, I am disposed to\nplace foremost those connected with the growth and\nsettlement of the vast provinces of the North-West.\nThese provinces are sure, sooner or later, to be filled\nwith a population of many millions of people, English-\nspeaking, and for the most part of British blood. To\nemigrants from the United Kingdom they now offer\nthe most readily accessible areas in the Empire where\nhomestead lands can still be easily acquired. They\nequally offer abundant lands to those foreign emigrants\nwho are-willing to add to the strength of the Empire\nby adopting British citizenship. The extent to which\nthis process of assimilating energetic and useful\nmaterial from other races is being carried on in Canada,\nas in the other colonies, may be strikingly shown by a\nsingle illustration. Within the last few years Manitoba\nand the North-West have absorbed nearly 10,000 of\nthe industrious and intelligent inhabitants of Iceland,\nwho have voluntarily become most useful, loyal, and\n\\ io The Great Dominion chap,\nsatisfactory British subjects. This migration is still\ngoing on, and it seems not unlikely that a considerable\nproportion of the population of that interesting island\nwill ultimately be transferred to British soil.\nIncreasing population in these vacant areas means\nincreased powers of production in directions which\nintimately concern British consumers. It is only eight\nor nine years since railway communication was fully\nestablished with the North-West, but already wheat\nfrom Manitoba farms and cattle from Alberta ranches\nare finding their way to the English market in increasing volume. Any one who studies existing conditions, who sees how comparatively small is the area\nas yet occupied, who observes the facility with which\nproduction may be increased, will, I think, be convinced\nthat the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence, and Canadian\nrailway systems \u25a0will soon be the channels for an\nimmense outflow of food products directed towards\nBritain. The inevitable pressure of consumption upon\nproduction in the United States, hitherto the chief\nsource of British importation, gives peculiar interest to\nthis question of Canadian food supply; the filling up,\nmoreover, of these vast territories with an adequate\npopulation is almost essential to the complete consolidation of that remarkable, but as yet not fully\nappreciated, maritime position which is secured to the\nEmpire by the fact that the Dominion rests with commanding outlook upon both the Atlantic and the\nPacific, where these oceans respectively furnish the\nshortest and easiest access from the American continent The North-West n\nto Europe and Asia, Just as the middle and western\nStates bind New England and the east to the Pacific\nStates, so the filling up of the North-West will complete\nthe cohesion between the Atlantic and the Pacific\nprovinces of Canada.\nWishing to form an estimate of the progress and\nprospects of the North-West, of its food-producing\ncapacity, and of the conditions of settlement, I elected\nto visit the country at a season not usually considered\nfavourable. Friends in England and Canada alike\nreproached me for not planning to reach the prairies\nin time to see the wonderful prospect afforded by the\nwide stretches of waving grain. But we know that\nin all countries not only the promise of spring verdure\nand of summer growth, but. also of early autumn\nripening, may be blighted by rain or drought 0r frost,\nand so I preferred to visit the North-West in the late\nautumn and early winter, when the farmer had got\ndown to the bed rock of reality; when his stacks had\nbeen threshed and the grain measured or sold; when\nhe was preparing to face the winter and was carrying\non the operations necessary to make the work of the\nspring most effective. If such a time for studying a\ncountry lacks some elements of the picturesque, it has\ninterest equal to any other, and perhaps more of\ninstruction.\nA new' and strange sense of vastness grows upon the\nmind as one travels day after day over the prairies, with\nthe distant sky-line as the chief object which fixes the\neye. The impression is different from that produced 12 The Great Dominion\nCHAP,\nby wide space at sea, for the imagination at once\nbegins to fill up these enormous areas with homes and\nbusy inhabitants. At first sight it seems only necessary\nto pour out population over these vast spaces in any\ndirection. This is soon found to be a mistake. There\nare lands good, bad, and middling. Some districts are\nmore subject to frost than others. There are areas\nwhere the soil is excellent, but where at some seasons\nwater in sufficient abundance is wanting. There is\nalkali land in the far West, where the great American\ndesert pushes northward a considerable offshoot. One\nlimited district there is where, from some peculiar\nconfiguration of the country, hail is an almost annual\ninfliction, and where, as in Dakota, the hail insurance\ncompanies build up a business. All this is in the\nmidst of an extent of good farming land well nigh\nincalculable. In such circumstances the first, second,\nand third duty of those who would settle the country\nis manifestly to reduce the business of land selection\nas closely as may be to an exact science. To allow any\nsettler in the North-West to go upon land which is\nnot the best available is a gross mistake. The railway\ncompanies and the Government are beginning to\nrealize this too long neglected truth. Lands are now\ncarefully surveyed and their characteristics noted.\nSkilled pioneers are invited to precede parties of\nemigrants and make careful choice. The Canadian\nPacific Railway Company challenges investigations of\nits lands and gives free passes to those who wish to\nexamine them with a view to settlement. It sends out The North-West\nexperienced agents to assist the individual settler in\nmaking a choice. All this is having a good effect, and\nis correcting the mistakes of earlier days. The trouble\ntaken will be well repaid, for of all emigration agents\nthe contented settler is by far the best. It is from\nhim that the North-West is now getting its best\nimpulse. The steamship in which I crossed the\nAtlantic was carrying many emigrants, chiefly Scottish,\nto Manitoba and the Territories. It was satisfactory\nto find that in most cases they were going on the\nrecommendation of friends who had preceded them.\nOften in the Far West I met with men and women\nwho were saving their money to bring out relatives,\nor even, in some cases, going home to induce them\nto come out. Emigration effected in this way is of the\nhealthiest kind, and is the best recommendation that\na country can have.\nWhile the rush of emigration has not been so great\nas the sanguine hopes of the early settlers led them to\nanticipate, the progress made seems to the ordinary\nobserver very great. It is, as I have already said, only\neight or nine years since the main railway line across\nthe continent was completed. A glance at a good\nrailway map shows how rapidly branch lilies have been\npushed for many hundred miles in various directions,\nas settlement justified their construction. What the\ntraveller sees in a journey over some of these branch\nLines furnishes the best proof of the progress of the\ncountry. From Winnipeg I went over the Southern\nManitoba road to Estevan, the point to which it was 14\nThe Great Dominion chap.\nat that time completed, and thence back to rejoin the\nmain line at Brandon, in all a distance of nearly 500\nmiles. At intervals of ten or twelve miles over nearly\nall this distance prosperous little towns are springing\nup, each equipped with two, three, or four elevators to\ndeal with the grain raised in the surrounding districts.\nWheat was being shipped rapidly at the time, and these\nelevators were usually surrounded by teams waiting to\ndeliver their loads. Huge stacks of straw, soon to be\nburned for want of any better use, showed where the\ngrain had been threshed in the fields where it was grown.\nIn the latter part of October the deliveries of wheat at\nFort William alone amounted to a thousand carloads\nper week, and the railroads were finding it difficult to\ndeal with all that was offered. For 1891 the whole\nNorth-Western production was estimated at between\ntwenty-two and twenty-three million bushels. A good\ndeal was then injured or lost through the difficulty of\ndealing with an exceptionally heavy crop in the absence\nof a sufficient supply of labour. For 1892 the output\nwas between fifteen and sixteen million bushels, but the\naverage quality was much higher than in 1891, and the\ncrop was generally saved in good condition. For 1893\nand 1894 the aggregate production showed a large\nincrease over 1892. As the yield per acre has not in\neither year been more than an average one, the advance\nis due to increasing population and a wider acreage.\nIt is from considering these figures and then remembering how short is the time since no wheat for exportation was produced that we get an idea of the rapid change which is passing over the country. The peculiar\nconditions of cultivation on the prairies make it\npossible to effect changes in five years which in most\ncountries would require the work of a whole generation.\nOn the Canada Alliance farm, once a part of the large\ncolonization estate of 42,000 acres in the Qu'Appelle\nValley, in which Lord Brassey is chiefly interested, I\nsaw an illustration of the speedy way in which the\nvirgin prairie can be made ready for a crop. In May,\n1890, not a sod had been broken on the farm. In 1892\n1,500 acres at least were under crop, with 500 acres\nadditional of summer fallowing. Between June, when\nthe farm seeding closed, and September, when harvest\nbegan, a new block of 700 acres was made perfectly ready\nfor the next spring sowing in April. The operations\nconsisted of a first ploughing, in which a very thin sod\nis turned from the virgin prairie, and then, when this is\ncompleted, the backset, or second deeper ploughing.\nCareful harrowing follows, after which the soil is as\ncompletely prepared for the seed drills as in the best\nEnglish farming. At an adjoining farm, lately set off\nfrom the same estate, 800 acres were ready for seeding\nwhere not a sod had been turned the previous spring.\nIt probably costs between five and six dollars (\u00a31 to\n\u00a31 5s.) per acre to prepare land as thoroughly as that\nwhich I examined at Qu'Appelle. I heard of cases where,\nunder a rougher system of farming, land was made, ready\nat much less Cost. A man with two yoke of oxen and a\n.gang plough breaks up a quarter section (160 acres)\nduring five spring and summer months, and the whole 16 The Great Dominion . chap.\nexpense per acre is less than three dollars (12s. 6d).\n\u25a0 The rapidity and cheapness of preparation strike the\nobserver forcibly after he has watched the slow processes\nby which farms are made in the forests of Eastern\nCanada or British Columbia, in New Zealand bush,\namong Tasmanian and Australian gum trees, or by reclaiming waste lands in England or Scotland. Manifestly any considerable application of capital or a large\ninflow of farming population might, under such conditions, increase the wheat output very rapidly.\nFarms carried on by companies on a large scale are\nstill on their trial in the North-West. Some have proved\nunremunerative. One of those to which I have referred\nhas begun to pay very satisfactory dividends, and there\nis no apparent reason why it should be an exceptional\ncase. Everything depends upon honesty and thoroughness of management. The watchful eye of the small\nowner seems on the whole the most reliable means of\nstopping leakages, for which there are many opportunities on a large estate, and which are fatal in a time\nof keen farming competition. On the other hand, great\nsavings are often effected by a sufficient command of\ncapital, in which the company has an advantage over\nthe small farmer.\nAnother point seems worth mentioning. One of the\nkeenest observers of men in Canada told me that in his\nopinion there would always be one barrier to successful\ncompany farming in the West. \" Able management,\"\nhe said, \"is a necessity, and a man competent to\nmanage successfully a great farm will not continue to\nW 11\nThe North-West\n*7\nwork for a salary in a country which offers so many\nopportunities for private enterprise.\" My own observation leads me to think that the men are few and far\nbetween who are at once able enough and reliable\nenough to fill such posts.\nInstances occur here and there through Manitoba\nand the territories of men who have begun in the small\nway on a quarter or half section, and with increasing\nprosperity and enlarged experience have gradually\nwidened their operations till they were farming on a\ngreat scale. But they were working entirely on their\nown behalf. Lord Brassey's experience appears to have\nled him to decide against the large farm as the ideal\nmethod of dealing with prairie lands. After personal\nexamination of the question he has determined to break\nup his large block of country into small farms, giving\nevery facility for purchase on easy terms, advancing to\nselected settlers at a low rate of interest money sufficient for buildings and outfit, and allowing payments to\nextend over several years. Such is his faith in the\ncountry that he believes that this system, which seems\nto offer great advantages to the. poor but enterprising\nsettler, can be carried on without financial loss to himself. Whether by large proprietors or small, however,\nthe north-western prairies have a capacity for rapid\nincrease of production which might speedily become\nvery great under any exigency of demand.\nI pause here to guard against a possible misapprehension. It must not be thought that the rapid increase\nof wheat production in the North-West has hitherto\nc The Great Dominion\nchap.\nmeant a correspondingly large surplus for export from\nCanada as a whole. As the output of the newly opened\nwestern areas has increased, that of the eastern provinces, where cereals are not produced without careful\nculture, has diminished. Quebec and all the maritime\nprovinces make a heavy demand, for their own consumption, upon the surplus product of the West.\nOntario, as the result of the drop in wheat prices, is\ngradually changing from a wheat-producing to a dairying country. Thus, though Manitoba and the territories\nshow a large increase of production, Canada's export as\na whole does not enlarge with corresponding rapidity.\nOnly a large addition to population in the West can\nmake it do this. But given this inflow of population,\nand such a rise in price as makes wheat growing profitable, and there is scarcely any limit to the possibility\nof production in the Dominion. The area of Manitoba\nand the territories of Assiniboia, Alberta and Saskatchewan is 360,000 square miles, or 230,000,000 acres.\nIt has been estimated, and, I think, not unfairly, that\none-half of this is either good or workable wheat land.\nYet of all this vast area little more than a million acres\nare now under actual cultivation for wheat.\nThe extent of land which the small farmer can profitably hold and cultivate is a question of some interest.\nIn travelling through Eastern Canada the impression\nconstantly left upon the mind is that the average\nfarmer clears up more land than is necessary and is\nwrestling with a larger area than he can properly till.\nIf eastern experience be taken as a guide, then for the The North-West\n19\nman of the West an ordinary quarter section, which contains 160 acres, is quite enough for a single holding, and\nthis is the amount usually taken up.\nBut it is maintained, by some that for the most\nsuccessful farming in the North-West it is necessary to\nwork two sets of fields, and for this two quarter\nsections, or 320 acres, are required.\nSenator Perley, who for many years has made a close\npractical study of North-Western farming, stated to\nme the arguments for this course. The first object is\nto get abundant opportunity for summer fallowing,\nwhich, he holds, is better than fall ploughing, inasmuch\nas it not only clears the land of weeds, but rests it;\ncan be done when the farmer has more time, and\nfrom peculiar conditions about the retention of moisture ensures a better crop. Of this ideal farm of 320\nacres, 200 acres should be arable, one-half being kept\nunder crop, and the other half under summer fallow.\nThe remaining 120 acres will suffice for pasturage and\nhay. Senator Perley believes that the 160 acre farm\nnow commonly taken up will, as the country gets more\nsettled, prove insufficient. Free pasturage on unoccupied land makes it appear enough now, but this\ncondition will change rapidly. Even now the ordinary\nfarmer is far from anxious that settlers should take up\nthe blocks adjoining to himself, since, through exclusion\nfrom pasturage, he at once feels the pressure. The\nquestion is one that the intending settler should take\ninto careful consideration, since a false start is not\nalways easily remedied.\nc 2 20\nThe Great Dominion\nchap.\nThe North-Western farmer has his special difficulties\nto contend with, Here, as elsewhere, man learns by\nslow degrees to wrestle successfully with the problems\nof nature, and he does so by studying them and adapting himself to new conditions. The key to successful\nfarming in the North-West consists in knowing how to\nmeet the dangers of frost. To this end the farmer must\nprepare during the autumn for the work of the spring.\nAbundance of fall ploughing is a necessity of the\ncountry. The moment the harvest is off the fields the\nplough is turned on, and it must be kept at work until\nstopped by the freezing of the ground. Then with the\nearliest April warmth seeding may begin at once. Nowhere does the first fortnight of spring count for\nso much. Farmers once thought it necessary, as in\nother climates, to wait till the frost was out of the\nground to begin sowing. Now they sow when barely\nan inch or two of ground is thawed, sufficient to allow\nthe seed to be covered. After that the lack of spring\nshowers, very common in the West, makes no difference,\nfor the frost as it thaws furnishes moisture to the roots,\nwhile the hot inland sun forces on growth with great\nrapidity. Thus the frost which threatens the wheat\nbecomes also its salvation. It is under such conditions\nthat the No. 1 hard Manitoba wheat, pronounced\nby experts to be the best in the world, is grown.\nStill, after all that the farmer can do, allowance must\nalways be made in the North-West for a proportion of\nfrozen wheat, though the quantity will decrease, as\nexperience shows, with the cultivation of the country, the drainage of lands, and the increase of skill in farming. But the term \" frozen wheat,\" which suggests to\nmost minds the entire destruction of the crop as\na mercantile commodity, means nothing like this\nto the North-Western farmer. Slightly frosted wheat\nis reduced for flour-making purposes perhaps 30 per\ncent in value, what'is called frozen wheat 50 per cent.\nBoth are freely used by millers to make a cheaper kind\nof flour.: But many experiments have now proved that\nthey are open to a much more profitable use. It has\nbeen shown that frozen wheat, fed to pigs and cattle, is\nworth much more than when sold for milling purposes.\nThe result of a series of tests made at the experimental\nfarm at Brandon has been published. Fed to pigs the\nfrozen wheat was found to realize 49 cents per bushel;\nfed to fattening steers from 56 to 68 cents in different\ntrials. Other private and public tests give results\nsomewhat similar. These prices are nearly double the\nmarket rate at which the wheat could be sold. In facts\nlike these lies one of the chief arguments for greater\nattention to mixed farming than has yet been given to\nit in the North-West. With. pigs, cattle, and sheep\naround him the farmer could choose between selling his\ninferior wheat at a greatly reduced price, and turning it\ninto pork, beef, butter, and other products, for which\nthere are always good prices and a steady demand. In\nthe production of pork, especially, it is claimed by good\nauthorities that the opportunity is very great. Taking\nthe relative value of pork and wheat during the last two\nor three years there is some reason to think that it would 22\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nhave been more profitable if every bushel even of the\nvery best wheat had been fed to pigs and cattle rather\nthan exported. The wheat-fed pork of the North-West\nmay yet compete with the maize-fed pork of Chicago.\nSo, too, in tha case of poultry. With its abundance of\nrefuse grain and large areas of stubble, no country\nought to produce turkeys and other fowl more abundantly and cheaply.\nAt present there is unquestionably a great deal of\nwaste. At Moosomin I went with a friend to study for\nthe first time the construction and watch the operation\nof a grain elevator. The man in charge, in order to show\nus the working of the machinery, proceeded to get up\nsteam, and to this end began shovelling into the furnace\nthe screenings of the elevator. They consisted of inferior\nwheat mingled with the oily seeds of weeds, and he told\nus that this was almost the only fuel that he had used\nfor two years. It made an excellent fire, but manifestly\nwould also have made excellent food for cattle, pigs,\nor poultry, if properly prepared. At other places I\nfound that the farmers were allowed to take back from\nthe elevators, to feed their poultry, any quantity of\nthe screenings they chose to remove, merely that it\nmight be got rid of. Large manufacturers in Yorkshire\nand Lancashire have told me that in these days of\ncompetition their profits were often made from saving\nmaterial which a generation ago was allowed to go\nto waste. The Manitoba farmer might take a leaf from\ntheir notebooks.\nThe enormous quantities of straw burned in the \t\nThe North-West\nfields ought also to have some economic value, considering the uses to which it is applied in other countries.\nThe abundance of easily obtained prairie hay now takes\naway its use as fodder, and, till mixed farming prevails,\nit cannot even be used to enlarge the manure heap.\nBut the North-Western farmer takes to mixed\nfarming slowly and reluctantly. For this there is at\npresent more than one reason. Labour is often scarce\nand expensive, and the attention to detail required\nin mixed farming is therefore rendered difficult.\nFencing is necessary with a variety of stock, and\nfencing in some parts of the treeless prairie country\nis expensive. On the other hand, there is something\nof the temptation of gambkng in wheat raising. With\na good season, large crops, and a favourable price, the\nprofits from a few hundred acres of wheat land are\nvery large. As far as one could learn from rather\nextensive inquiry, the production varies all the way\nfrom fifteen to forty bushels per acre, according to the\nnature of the soil and season. The price, too, has\nvaried in different years from 55c. to $1 per bushel for\nthe best grade of grain. In such circumstances the\ntemptation to speculate on the chances of the year is\nvery great. As long, however, as the farmers of the\nNorth-West stake so much upon a single product, so\nlong must they be prepared for great fluctuations of\nprosperity. Wheat, in sympathy with prices all over\nthe world, has never been so low as during the last\ntwo years. I found many a farmer in Manitoba who\nwas getting only 55c. a bushel for his wheat, paying M\nThe Great Dominion chap.\nat the same time high prices for pork, beef, butter, and\nother necessary articles of food, brought from Ontario\nand the United States. That this is bad farming, for\n\"which there can be no sufficient excuse, is a lesson\nwhich is being slowly but certainly learned. When\nit has been thoroughly learned\u2014when mixed farming\nis the rule rather than the exception\u2014I believe that\nthe permanent prosperity of the North-Western farming\ninterest is assured. This was the opinion I found held\nby men with long experience of the country, such as\nGovernor Schultz and Mr. Greenway, the Premier of\nManitoba. It is scarcely\" too much to say that if the\ndepression in the price of wheat during the last three\nyears, sore as is the strain which it has put on the\nNorth-Western farmer, drive him into, making the most\nof farming opportunities outside of wheat-raising, a\nhealthier condition of things will have been brought\nabout in the country. The risk from frost, if faced with\nfar-sighted energy, does not seem to me so great as the\nrisk from drought in Australia\u2014scarcely greater than\nthe risk from a prolonged wet season in Great Britain.\nHence I believe that this vast country will gradually be\nfilled up with a prosperous farming population. The\ncold winter is not seriously dreaded by the people, and\nthe other seasons give great climatic compensations.\nDuring the whole month of October, while I was going\nwestward over the prairies, there was not a drop of rain,\nwhile the perfect sunshine which prevailed Week after.\nweek furnished a striking contrast to the reports of\nstorm and wet and cold which came from England. As I journeyed eastward some weeks later winter was\nsettling down on the land, and at Winnipeg the thermometer had already been at 20 degrees below zero;\nBut there were the same bright sky and sunshine, and\nthe clear cold seemed to give an added activity to\npeople's steps and a buoyancy to their spirits. \u2014\nCHAPTER II\nu\n' the north-west\u2014continued\nWhat has been said in the previous chapter about the\nNorth-West had reference chiefly to the comparatively\ntreeless prairie country which has hitherto been the principal area of wheat culture. It would be a great mistake,\nhowever, to suppose that North-Western Canada consists exclusively of level prairie. Westward from\nManitoba along the Qu'Appelle, northward on the\nSaskatchewan, and all along the eastern slope of the\nRocky Mountains are vast regions of a partly wooded,\npartly grass-covered country, park-like in appearance,\nundulating for the most part, and with striking variations of scenery formed by the grouping of mountain,\nhill, lake, and river.\nCountry of this kind will always have for many\nsettlers attractions which they do not find in the abso--\nlutely level prairie\u2014attractions for which no richness\nof soil or ease of culture can compensate. Parts of\nthese regions, while admirably suited for ranching, are,\nwithout irrigation, less fitted for agriculture. This is\ntrue of considerable districts in the vicinity of Calgary, CHAP. II\nThe North-West\nwhere, however, the opportunities for irrigation are excellent, and only await the application of capital and\nskill.\nAltogether the area of the semi-arid country where\nirrigation is occasionally necessary, or would give greater\nsecurity to agriculture year by year, has been estimated\nto extend between 300 and 400 miles .east and west,\nand more than a hundred miles north and south.\nLarge as this area seems it is a mere bagatelle in the\nvast spaces of the North-West, and is, in reality, only a\nsmall spur of the corresponding area in the United\n.States, wholly or partly arid; an area which has been\nestimated to cover more than a million square miles.\nSettlers in this district have been rather slow to admit to\nthemselves that their part of the country labours under\nany farming disability, or is liable to peculiar risks.\nBut it is better to face facts, and there is much reason\nto think that the lands of this region will be among the\nvery best and the most profitable to work when irrigation has been secured. This has been American experience in California, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, and many\nother states where similar conditions prevail. One\nlarge district has already been selected for settlement\nby immigrants from Utah, accustomed in that state to\ndeal with similar difficulties. The land department of\nthe Canadian Pacific Railway is preparing to irrigate\nfrom the Bow River a plateau of about 1,000,000 acres\nnear Medicine Hat, and steps of a like kind are being\ntaken by smaller companies. Between the years 1877\n\u25a0and 1891, according to an official statement, 17,000,000 28\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nacres of land were put under ditch, and nearly 14,000\nartesian wells sunk for irrigation purposes in the arid\nregions of the United States. Such a statement shows\nhow little need there is to regard the partial aridity of\nthe districts I have mentioned as a deterrent to agricultural enterprise, or as a permanent barrier to agricultural success. Still it has hampered early progress.\nOther parts seem suited alike for grazing and agriculture. It is difficult to speak with anything short of\nenthusiasm of the appearance and apparent possibilities\nof one vast region which is now attracting much\nattention and to which a very considerable stream\nof settlers has already set in. The railway lately\nopened for a distance of about 200 miles from Calgary\nto Edmonton gives easy access to one part of this\ncountry; the line between Regina and Prince Albert\nto another. Between these points and both north and\nsouth of the Saskatchewan are areas which nature\nseems to have specially adapted for that mixed farming\nwhich I have mentioned as being the most reliable and\nsatisfactory. There are numerous streams, large and\nsmall, of excellent water. The nutritious native grasses,\nonce the only food of millions of buffalo, turn naturally\ninto good hay as they stand, and, as in the purely\nranching districts, give winter as well as summer food\nto horses, which are accustomed to pawing away the\nsnow, and to cattle as well, when the snow is not deep\non the ground. Abundant shelter for cattle is furnished\nby the valleys and woodland bluffs, and the latter\nsupply also material for fencing and fuel. Of other II\nThe North-West 29\nabundant fuel I shall have occasion to speak when\nconsidering the coal supplies of the Dominion.\nIn a drive over a northern portion of this territory,\nfrom Edmonton to St. Albert, I was struck with the\nsigns of prosperity which followed even the careless\nfarming of the half-breeds who have for some time\noccupied this district. Wide fields of wheat stubble,\nherds of sleek cattle in the fields, droves of fat pigs\naround the stacks of straw in the farmyards, flocks of\npoultry, all told of plenty to support in comfort a people\ncontent to Live chiefly on the produce of their own farms.\nI cannot but think that this whole range of country\noffers great and varied inducements to hardy settlers,\nand would yield a rich reward to those who brought\nindustry and intelligence to the work of farming. It is\nsure to be filled ultimately with a prosperous population, whether the process of settlement goes on slowly\nor rapidly.\nOf the extent of territory capable of successful settlement still further north, in the direction of the Peace\nRiver, no one as yet even attempts to form an estimate.\nThere is already abundant evidence to show that the\ndeep northward bend of the isothermal lines which\noccurs as we approach the Rocky Mountains upsets\nentirely all calculations based on the idea that latitude\nalone determines climate. How far this fact enlarges\nthe supposed scope of agricultural settlement in Canada\nis one of the interesting problems of the future. Our\npresent concern, however, is with lands actually in the\nI process of settlement. 3d The Great Dominion chap.\nTurning from the farming to the grazing districts,\nwe find that the ranching industry, in Alberta especially,\n1 has in a few years grown to large dimensions. It is\ncarried on chiefly by the aid of English capital and\nunder English direction. At Calgary I found an interesting experiment being carried out with a view of\nreaching distant markets rapidly and effectually. Large\nnumbers of cattle from the Cochrane Ranch were being\nkilled in abattoirs at Calgary, and the chilled beef was\nbeing sent to the cities of Eastern Canada in cars\nspecially arranged for the purpose. The meat was\nreceived at Montreal and Ottawa in perfect condition,\ncompeting successfully with the best that local markets\ncould supply. It is claimed that, with improved transport arrangements, this is by far the best way in which\nto carry the products of the ranches to English markets\nas well. Some ardent believers in the system think\nthat the scheduling of Canadian cattle, by compelling\nthe use of new methods, may prove to the Canadian\nfarmer a blessing in disguise. In 1872 Canada had\nexported no meat, live or dead, to Great Britain. The\nnumbers of live cattle sent had already risen in 1891\nbeyond a hundred thousand annually, and yet this does\nnot represent more than a fifth of what the British\nmarket absorbs. A special class of ships has been\ndesigned to meet the wants of this great trade, which\nhas become a considerable factor in the prosperity of\nseveral British ports as well as Canadian, and in the\nsuccess of steamship and railway systems. Horses have\nnot as yet been exported in large numbers to Britain,\n1 The North-West\nbut the stock on the ranches has increased rapidly, and\nthe wants of the British market are now being carefully\nstudied. Lately an experiment has been made in\ntransferring numbers of choice horses from the ranches\nto Ontario farms, whence, after being thoroughly broken,\nthey are brought to England for sale. That it only\npays to bring to the English market horses of the best\nquality is a point now well understood.\nThe ranching of the North-West, like its farming,\nhas had its entire development within the last ten years.\nExperience has been painfully acquired: the ranchman\nhas had many fluctuations of prosperity, and has felt\nhis way slowly towards success. The best accessible\ninformation indicates that the industry is now established on a permanent and fairly satisfactory basis.\nBetween Western ranches and Eastern farms it seems\nclear that Canada will more and more become a chief\nsource of meat supply for the United Kingdom.\nThe clear, cool climate of the Dominion has proved\nexceptionally favourable to the health of cattle, and the\nscheduling which has been enforced for some time rests\nupon evidence so doubtful that the order will probably\nsoon be withdrawn. The Alberta ranches, however, do\nnot depend entirely upon the British market or that of\nEastern Canada. They contribute to the supply of the\nmining regions of the Rocky Mountains, and this\npromises to be an outlet of increasing importance.\nWhat has now been said shows to how great an\nextent the Canadian North-West depends upon its\nagricultural interests. Alike in the areas principally\n\\\\ \u2014\n32 *The Great Dominion chap,\ndevoted to wheat culture, in those where from the first\nmixed farming predominates, and in the ranching\ndistricts, the present and prospective prosperity of the\ncountry will consist in finding an adequate market for\na large surplus of food products. This broad fact should\nbe kept constantly in mind, since it cannot but exercise a decisive influence on the future policy of the\nDominion.\nI have as yet said nothing about the towns of the\nNorth-West. These must always furnish some index\nto the general prosperity of the country around them.\nWinnipeg, as is well known, after springing up with\nwonderful rapidity in the first years of settlement,\nsuffered a violent reaction as the result of over speculation in business, and especially in real estate. The\ntruth is that the inflow of farming population never\nmatched the expectations of those who first went to\nManitoba; the city increased in size beyond the\nnecessities of the province, and so was compelled to\nwait some years for the latter to overtake it. Now\nthe period of stagnation is past, and Winnipeg is\nmaking a steady and healthy growth. The constantly-\nincreasing mileage of railway lines which centre at\nthe city mark out for it an assured and large future.\nNot such a future, however, as Toronto or Montreal,\nfor Winnipeg is without their immediate access to\nnavigation, the key to great development, but still to\nstand at the gateway of the North-West, and to become\nits commercial, social and educational capital is no\nmean outlook. Brandon, too, is becoming a considerable The North-West\nrailway centre; much building is going on, and the\nsmaller town is anxious to secure from the railway\ncompanies the same advantages as a wholesale distributing point which Winnipeg now enjoys. From both\nRegina and Calgary railway systems extend north and\nsouth, and both have a prevailing air of substantial\nprosperity. I have before referred to the numerous\nsmall but flourishing towns which spring up along\nevery new Line of railway. None of these depends\nupon manufactures; all owe their existence to the\nincreasing wealth of the surrounding agricultural\ncountry, and furnish the most conclusive proof of its\nproducing capacity. One remark about all North-\nWestern towns should not be omitted. In them life\nis as safe, property as secure, and the ordinary supremacy of law as complete as in the old towns of\nEastern Canada, or in the country towns and villages\nof England and Scotland. This advantage over the\nwestern towns of the United States the country owes\nin part to the greater slowness of growth which is so\noften complained of, and to the natural selection of\npopulation effected by a northern climate\u2014partly, no\ndoubt, to superiority of judicial and social institutions.\nIt is no small thing that the North-West can offer to\nevery immigrant all the social security to which he\nhas been accustomed in the oldest communities.\nA larger population is unquestionably the greatest\nneed of the country. While, however, there is at\npresent a strong popular demand for a vigorous immigration policy on the part of the Government, I have\nD The Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nfound that this demand is always qualified by the\nopinion that numbers should not be purchased at the\nexpense of quality. Should restraints be placed upon\nundesirable immigration by the United States, Canada\nwill scarcely welcome what her neighbours refuse.\nBut there are strong reasons for thinking that the\nNorth-West has now gained a stage of development\nand established for itself a name which will draw to it\na steady and sufficient inflow of the most desirable\npopulation.\nWhat are the classes of settlers who succeed and\nseem best fitted for the North-West ? On the whole\none is inclined to describe it as essentially a country\nfor the poor man or the man with a moderate amount\nof means. Alberta, with its ranches, and some of the\nprairie districts, such as the Qu'Appelle Valley, with\nopportunities for farms on a large scale, furnish openings\nfor the successful use of larger capital; but men who\nthemselves work the land are what the country chiefly\nrequires, and to them it will prove most satisfactory.\nAmong these the advantage certainly lies with immigrants who have had some previous practical acquaintance with the farming conditions of the Canadian\nclimate, or of a climate similar to it. They begin at\nonce to make crops grow, which the unskilled immigrant rarely does. Settlers from the Eastern Provinces\nor from the more Northern States easily adapt themselves to the conditions of the country; so on the\nwhole does the Scottish labourer. The English and\nIrish farm hand has less flexibility for change, but he, The North-West\ntoo, succeeds by dint of pluck and industry. Among\nforeigners the Icelander easily takes the first place, in\nvirtue of his sobriety, industry, and frugality. The\nScandinavian does well, and the plodding German.\nThe North-West will never be a congenial home for\nthe Italian and other Latin races. These naturally\ngravitate towards the warm southern and middle portions of the United States or towards South America\nI heard very grave doubts expressed about the success\nof one or two colonies of Russian Jews. The difficulty\nin this case was attributed to inherent disinclination\nto agricultural pursuits. It may have been quite as\nmuch due to the fact that as emigrants they had too\nmuch assistance. The experience of the North-West\nshows that extraordinary care is required to make a\nsuccess of assisted emigration. Lord Brassey has discussed in the columns of The Times the comparative\nfailure of his first efforts to make easy the path of the\nemigrant on the colonization estate in which he is concerned. It was interesting to find that most of the\nmen who appear to have been discontented, if not idle,\nwhen receiving aid, have become comparatively successful when thrown entirely upon their own resources\nand compelled to work in their own way. This I\nlearned on very good authority. Lord Brassey's\nenthusiasm for promoting colonization has now wisely\nbeen turned, as I have before mentioned, to giving indirect encouragement rather than direct aid to settlers.\nThe consideration of this point leads up to a larger\nquestion.\nd 2\nill\ny 36 The Great Dominion chap.\nTo speak broadly, it must be said that the young\nEnglishman of the better classes sent out to the North-\nWest to be a farmer is not a success. The consensus of\nopinion which I discovered among practical men upon\nthis point was very striking, and the general statement is\nnot'disproved by many exceptions. The labouring man\ncoming from the Eastern Provinces or from the Old\nCountry to the West, with scarcely a dollar of capital\nwill in a few years be a fairly prosperous and contented\nsettler, with a good farm and an increasing stock. The\nyoung Englishman, coming with the apparent advantage of some capital, and a quarterly or half-yearly\nremittance from home, at the end of the same time\nhas not got nearly so far\u2014he has less land under\ncultivation, often he is in debt and more or less discontented, execrating the country, and preventing a\nmore suitable class of emigrants from coming to it.\nWellington thought that Waterloo was won on the\nplaying fields of Eton. The public-school life of the\nyoung Englishman develops qualities which make him\na good soldier or sailor, but not a good farmer; it gives\nhim the spirit and \"dash of the racer for physical labour,\nnot the patient force of the draught horse. And, after\nall, the farmer must be the steady draught horse of the\nsecial system.\nOften it is not the strongest fibre which is sent out\nfrom the better class of English homes, the market for\nall that is excellent being best at home. No greater\nmistake can be made by English parents than to think\nthat a North-Western life may prove a corrective for The North-West\ntendencies to dissipation. The very opposite result\nflows naturally from the absence of social restraint.\n\" Perfect devils to drink \" was the description given by\nan Edmonton hotel-keeper of two young Englishmen\nwho happened to be with him at the moment, and with\nmoney to spend furnished by a new remittance. \" Rum-\npunch all the morning, then brandy and soda till three\nor four, when they are paralysed and have to sleep some\nhours, then whiskey-toddy till bed-time.\" And he\noffered to show them to us in his bar-room in any of\nthese stages of inebriation. An extreme case, no doubt,\nbut pathetic enough to think of. A good deal of the\nloafing around hotels and bar-rooms in the North-West\nis done by young Englishmen, and the term \" remittance\nman\" tends to become an expression of contempt. If\nthese men must come out, let the extra ladies of the\nfamily come to exercise their better influence over them.\nThey will be as well employed as in slumming or\nparish work at home, and they will be giving what the\nNorth-West wants\u2014something of England's best to\nleaven social life. One never meets in the West an\nEnglishwoman who is not a centre of wholesome and\nrefining influence. It would, indeed, be a boon to the\ncountry if the same were true of every son of an English.\ngentleman who goes to it.\nThere are numbers, of course, who, according to their\nlights, are trying to do their best. But public-school life\nin England creates a very strong desire to mingle sport\nwith work in after Life, and often the prominence, on\nthe whole, is given to sport. Conditions in the North- 38 The Great Dominion chap.\nWest will not at present admit of thus mingling\nemployment. It is the persistent worker who succeeds\nthere. The remittance which is intended to help too\noften tends to weaken. In the North-West Mounted\nPolice young Englishmen have done well. The military\ndiscipline and the life on horseback in the open air draw\nout their better qualities. So with ranching and with\nwork on sheep and cattle stations in other parts of\nthe Empire. What I have said applies chiefly to\nfarming.\nOne has no compunction in pointing out instances of\nfailure. It is well that parents should be warned of\nwhat their children must confront when they go abroad,\nand it is equally right that any unsatisfactory form\nof -emigration to the North-West should be checked.\nPerhaps, too, perfect frankness of discussion about the\nactual position of affairs may do something to prevent\nmisconceptions and to remedy mistakes.\nTo another matter reference should be made in this\nconnexion. The system of paying large premiums for\nthe instruction of youths in farming or ranching is\nutterly discredited among practical men in Canada.\nOccasionally the plan may work well, but it is open to\ngrave abuses. Labour of all kinds has its cash value\non Canadian farms. The best possible means by which\na young man can test his suitability for the life and\nbecome competent is to hire out as a labourer with a\nCanadian farmer for a year or two, depending entirely\nupon his wages for his support. If he passes this test I\n. successfully he is fit for the life of the country. If the II\nThe North-West\n39\nwork proves too severe, the experiment has not at\nleast been an expensive one, and he can select some\nother outlet' for his energies. At the end of his\nperiod of service the money that would have been paid\nin premiums or thrown away in lightly-spent remittances will be sufficient to give him a good start in a\nsphere for which he has been prepared by hard but\nnecessary experience. There is a good deal to be said\nin favour of gaining this elementary experience in the\nolder communities of the Eastern Provinces before he\nfaces the rougher life of the West. This must be\ndetermined by circumstances. The necessity for such a\ncourse diminishes as the country fills up. Arrangements can often be made through friends or emigration\noffices with substantial farmers to give employment to\nyoung men, at first for their board and later for wages,\nwhich increase with their earning capacity. The latter\npoint is easily settled justly by the employ6 holding\nhimself free to find a better market for his labour, if he\ncan. To send out young men with capital, but without\nexperience and settled characters, is practically to invite\nthe attentions of those who are always ready to plunder\nor lead astray the weak and unsophisticated.\nIn addition to the settlers from the older provinces\nof the Dominion, and from England, Ireland, and Scotland, there are being formed at some points in the\nNorth-West a curious variety of small colonies of\ndifferent nationalities, mostly northern\u2014Danes, Swedes,\nNorwegians, Belgians, Bavarians, Alsatians, Icelanders,\nand many others. A small band of settlers comes at 4\u00b0\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nfirst under some special impulse, and gradually attracts\nto itself recruits from the home centre. The numbers\nare sufficient to give a degree of cohesion to these small\ncommunities and some vitality to the languages they\nspeak. A more complete intermixture with the prevailing English-speaking population would facilitate the\nwork of assimilation. On the other hand, the emigrant\nfinds himself at once among friends, and so does not feel\nso keenly the change from the old to the new land. It\nis difficult as yet to judge how far this method of settlement will extend. It can in any case only temporarily\nlengthen out the process of amalgamation.\nA new and highly interesting factor has lately\nappeared in the settlement of the North-West. The\nUnited States have become an important recruiting\nground for immigrants. In the Eastern Provinces I had\nheard of a movement northward from the Western\nStates towards the Alberta and Saskatchewan districts.\nOn inquiry at the land office at Winnipeg I was shown\nlong lists of receipts for first payments on lands in the\nPrince Albert districts made by farmers in Dakota,\nNebraska, Washington, and even as far south as Kansas.\nThese men had already moved into the country, or\nwere preparing to do so in the coming spring. At\nCalgary a more striking proof of the reality of the\nmovement was thrust upon me. In going northward to\nEdmonton I found myself spending a not very comfortable, but highly interesting, day in a train packed with\nemigrants, men, women, and children, most of whom\nwere removing from a single district in the State of II\nThe North-West\nWashington to the banks of the Saskatchewan.\n41\nI\nlearned that the northward trains from Calgary for\nsome time before had been crowded in a like way.\nIn conversation with the immigrants it was easy to\ndiscover the explanation of this new and unexpected\nmovement of population. \" Land is getting to be land\non this continent,\" one of them remarked to me in\nWestern idiom. The rush into a newly-opened district,\nsuch as that which took place at Oklahoma a few years\nago, illustrates the extent to which land hunger is\nalready felt in the United States. Guided by an instinct\nalmost Like that which directed the buffalo to the fertile\nfeeding grounds of the Saskatchewan, the tide of population which filled up the older Western States and\nflowed on to the less fertile regions of Dakota, or to the\nmountain districts with their Limited farming lands,\nseems now to have taken a bend northward. If the\nexpectations of its pioneers are fulfilled, it seems\nprobable that this movement will become very considerable during the next few years. My latest\ninformation shows that it was kept up through the\nspring and summer of the year which has just ended.\nThese immigrants are of a class which the North-West\nmost of all wants. Many are Canadians returning\nafter trying their fortunes in the United States. Most\nseemed to be bringing with them money, horses, cattle,\nand household equipment. Best of all, they bring skill\nin pioneering work and acquaintance with its conditions,\nin these points having an infinite superiority over the\nemigrant direct from Europe. It was striking to observe The Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nthe confidence and reliance upon their own resources\nwith which these men, accompanied by their wives and\nchildren, faced the task of finding homes for themselves\nnorth of the Saskatchewan in the months of October\nand November, when the long, severe winter was all\nbefore them. They were doing it in order to be ready\nfor a good spring's work.\nOnce more, in Southern Alberta I found that a group\nof Mormons\u2014an offshoot from Salt Lake\u2014had purchased to the south and east of Lethbridge more than\n500,000 acres of land from the Alberta Coal and Mining\nCompany. About 500 settlers have already entered\nthis country, and preparations are being made for a\ncontinued influx from Utah, where land has become\nscarce. Other immigrants are freely accepted, as there\nis not, I believe, any wish to form a distinct Mormon\ncolony. The capitalists who have undertaken this\nenterprise expect to repeat here the process of irrigation by which the Salt Lake Valley was changed from a\nsemi-desert to a richly productive country. It is proposed to divert the waters of the St. Mary's river through\na canal which will make a large area as well suited for\nagricultural as it now is for pastoral purposes.\nThe North-West is thus being approached from\nvarious points, and by many classes of immigrants. A\ngreat rush of population, such as marked the settlement of some of the Western States, is neither to be\nexpected nor desired. But everything now points to a\nsteady and healthy growth, such as is required for the\nfuller consolidation of the Dominion. II\nThe North-West 43\nA study of North-Western Canada enables one to\nunderstand the main conditions of the rivalry in production going on between the wheat grower at home\nand the wheat grower abroad. The North-Western\nfarmer has first of all cheap land of his own, worked by\nmachinery with singular ease, and with a store of natural\nfertility which is only exhausted after many years of\ncontinuous cropping. If he takes up a Government\nhomestead his land costs him little more than the\nexpense of survey. Even if he buys it from a railway\nor land company at three or four dollars an acre, it has\nnot cost him in the first year, when ready for seed, more\nper acre than the yearly rent of wheat land in England.\nHis invested capital is therefore very small. This is his\nfirst and great advantage. Against this must be put\nthe fact that he is far from the market which the\nEnglish farmer has almost at his door. It costs from'\n30 cents to 40 cents a bushel to carry wheat from many\npoints in the West to Liverpool or London. While the\nwide, level stretches of prairie offer great facilities for\nthe use of labour-saving agricultural machinery, still\nfor any extra labour required there a high price must be\npaid.\nThe English farmer, on the other hand, has cheap\ncapital and cheap labour, and he lives in a country\nwhere all manufactured goods are cheap. In direct\ntaxes he pays more, in indirect less than the Canadian.\nThe contest is more nicely balanced than is generally\nsupposed. Agricultural depression has been felt for\nsome time in the new land as well as in the old. If\n44 The Great Dominion chap.\nSuperior energy or skill may incline the advantage one\nway or the other, or the chance of the season. A\nlowering of rents may give it to the Englishman; a\nlowering of duties to the Canadian. The cheapening of transportation both by land and sea will\nhave much to do with the question in the future.\nWhen the exhaustion of his lands compels the farmer\nabroad to use fertilizers, the balance of advantage will\nagain be shifted. The area of abundant wheat production has during the last forty years moved steadily\nwestward in America from New York State through\nOhio, Iowa, and Illinois to Kansas; then northward\nthrough Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Dakota to the\nCanadian North-West, and there the European farmer\nwill have his last keen competition with a rich virgin\nsoil.\nAs with wheat, so with cattle and horses. For the\nlease of his broad pastures in the grazing country, the\nranchman pays but a trifling sum. During the whole\nsummer his stock feeds upon grass of the most\nnutritious kind, raised without any expense for fertilizers or culture. During the greater part of the\nwinter it feeds upon hay cured where it stands\nin the fields, without any expense for being cut. But\nthe ranchman, again, is distant from his market, and\nthe fatigues and risks of long transportation for his\ncattle weigh heavily against him. Neither in wheat\nnor in cattle has there been much profit during the past\ntwo seasons for the man of the North-West. I doubt,\nhowever, whether agricultural depression or the failure\nU II\nThe North-West\n45\nof crops ever presses so closely or severely upon the\nCanadian as upon the English farmer. The latter has\nhis rent to pay whatever happens. The former reduces\nhis expenses, and, owning his land and having little\ndemand upon him for ready cash, tides over a crisis\nmore easily.\nI CHAPTER III\nTHE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY\nTo pass from study of the North-West to consideration of the remarkable railway enterprise by which\nit has been thrown open to the world is a natural\ntransition.\nNever were the fortunes of a great country and\na great commercial corporation so closely intertwined\nas in the case of the Canadian Dominion and the\nCanadian Pacific Railway Company. In all the Eastern\nProvinces the Canadian Pacific is either absorbing\nthe smaller lines, or taking its place beside the\ngreater ones as a keen competitor. In the vast undeveloped North-West it has the field as yet practically\nto itself. The 7,200 miles of Line directly owned or\nworked by the company, the 1,800 miles controlled indirectly, already give it a first place among the railway\nsystems of the world. This mileage of both kinds is\nrapidly increasing year by year and must continue to\nincrease, in order to satisfy the wants of a growing\ncountry. The line competes successfully with the greatest\nAmerican systems, and is stretching out its arms to the T\nch. in. The Canadian Pacific Railway 47\nheart of the continent. For many hundred miles south\nof the national boundary its influence as a competitor is\nfelt through the running connexions which it has formed.\nA new route completed during the past year, from\nRegina across the American boundary, gives it a very\nconsiderable advantage over any American Line in distance from the Pacific to Chicago, as it already had\nin the gradients by which the mountains are crossed.\nAlready it has captured a large part of the tea trade\nbetween China, Japan, and the Eastern States, as well\nas Eastern Canada. It is the only system across the\nAmerican continent which is under a single direction,\na circumstance which gives it a great advantage over\nany existing line in the United States in dealing with\nthrough traffic and special rates. The statement made\nby President Harrison in his last Message to Congress,\nthat the Canadian Pacific is free from the restraints of\nthe inter-State commerce law, is true so far as Canadian\ntraffic is concerned, but quite incorrect if applied, as\nhe apparently intended, to traffic carried on for the\nUnited States. The 30,000 tons of trans-Pacific freight,\nthe $100,000,000 worth of goods which President\nHarrison mentioned as carried from point to point in\nthe United States by Canadian Railways across\nCanadian territory, represent work gained in perfectly legitimate competition- and in more than\nordinarily strict compliance with inter-State law.\nThis, at least, is Sir William Van Home's assertion,\nmade before a large gathering of business men of\nBoston, and I see no reason to doubt its accuracy. c\nf\n48 The Great Dominion chap.\nWith the termini of its main line on the Atlantic\nand Pacific, and touching the great lakes in its course\nacross the continent, the company is becoming deeply\nconcerned in transportation by water as well as by land.\nIt already runs one important Line of steamships across\nthe Pacific to Japan and China, and another upon\nLakes Superior and Huron. With the newly-opened\nline across the Pacific to Australasia it works in close cooperation. The same course will no doubt be pursued\nwith the contemplated fast line of steamships across\nthe Atlantic to Britain, and it has even been proposed\nthat this line should be worked under the immediate\ndirection of the company, and as a part of its system.\nThe greatest activity marks the enterprises of the\ncompany across the whole breadth of the continent.\nIn the East connexion has been secured with the ports\nof Boston and New York, to supplement that with\nMontreal, Quebec, St. John, and Halifax. In the\nprairie country new branches are being pushed forward,\nand wherever they go new towns are being built up\nunder the auspices, one may rather say under the immediate direction, of the company. The Rocky\nMountains will probably soon be penetrated by a new I\nline through the Crow's Nest Pass, by which the\ncompany hopes to reach the new mining districts of\nBritish Columbia. Preparations are being made to\ndouble-track the line between Lakes Superior and\nWinnipeg, the most important route of wheat transportation. For the wooden trestle bridges occasionally\nused in the early days of construction bridges of stone' hi The Canadian Pacific Railway 49\nand steel are being rapidly substituted, so that the line\nnow compares favourably, in solidity of construction,\nwith the best on the continent.1 In connexion with the\nsettlement of the large areas of land granted to it by\nthe Government of the Dominion, a vigorous policy is\nbeing carried out. It is preparing to deal with the\nirrigation problem in the Calgary district. Mines of\ncoal and mines of salt are being developed on the\nproperties of the company. Whalebacks, those latest\nmonstrosities of naval architecture, said to represent\na great economy in cost of construction as well as in\nrunning expenses as compared with ordinary vessels,\nare being built on Lake Superior for the transport of\ngrain; steamships and barges on Lake Huron. Vast\n1 The bridging of the St. Lawrence River for railway purposes\nfurnishes one of the most remarkable illustrations with which I am\nacquainted of the progress made during the last thirty years in\ncombining lessened cost in construction with complete solidity of\nwork. The Victoria Bridge, by which the Grand Trunk crosses the\nSt. Lawrence near Montreal, has always been looked upon as one\nof the greatest of those feats of construction upon which the\nengineering fame of Robert Stephenson rests. The cost of the\nVictoria Bridge was $6,300,000, without reckoning interest on the\ncapital during the six years of construction. To serve precisely\nthe same purpose a steel bridge has been built a few miles further\nup the stream for the Canadian Pacific Railway, under the direction of its present chief engineer, P. A. Peterson, C.E. The cost\nof this bridge, begun in 1886 and completed in 1887, was under\n$1,000,000. The Canadian Pacific Line from Smith's Falls to\nSherbrooke, a distance of 225 miles, with the St. Lawrence Bridge\nat Lachine included, cost less than the Victoria Bridge alone. Such\na contrast illustrates the extent to which the managers of the\nGrand Trunk are handicapped by capital expenditure.\nE 5o\nThe Great Dominion\nchap.\nelevators have been constructed at essential points. A\ntelegraph system, which already competes successfully\nwith the long-established Western Union and other\ncompanies, has been constructed across the whole\nbreadth of Canada, and it has established a powerful\nTransatlantic cable connexion. Everywhere along its\nlines a standard of travelling comfort, higher perhaps\nthan can be found elsewhere in America, has been inaugurated by the company. Colonist cars with excellent sleeping arrangements are provided to carry emigrants to the prairies with little of the discomfort once\nthought to be the necessary accompaniment of pioneer\nmovement. Pullman and kitchen cars, equipped with\nevery modern improvement, supply the wants of the\nrich. In the mountain country,\" at Quebec, and on the\nPacific coast hotels have been built and splendidly\nequipped to meet the need of the increasing volume of\ntourist travel which is attracted by the magnificent\nscenery of British Columbia and the Lower St. Lawrence.\nEnterprises of a minor kind are entered upon freely\nwhenever an opportunity presents itself of developing\nbusiness for the road. All this represents an astonishing amount of energy and effort. From Halifax to\nVancouver the \" C.P.R.,\" as it is familiarly called, is a\nfactor, and often a large factor, in the affairs alike of\nthe country village and of the great city\u2014in the\npolitics of the municipality, the province, and the\nDominion.\nWhile ready to sharply criticize and combat details\nof policy and administration Canadians are full of ad- Ill\nThe Canadian Pacific Railway\n5i\nmiration for the company and its work as a whole.\nThey acknowledge that it has taken a leading part in\nmaking Canada better known in the world. They\nfreely admit that the almost phenomenal success achieved\nby the company during the last few years has contributed in no slight degree to raise the credit of the\nwhole Dominion, hitherto not a little injured by unsuccessful railway ventures. They are fond of pointing\nout that at its head is a man who combines an extraordinary knowledge of detail with ability to deal with\nthe transportation problems of a continent, and that in\nan age of great railway men he easily takes his place\nin the front rank. They agree that business merit is\nthe only guarantee of promotion in the company's\nservice, and that as a consequence Canada has never\n\"before had so much business energy concentrated in a\nsingle corporation.\nBut the existence of a corporation exercising such\nwidespread influence and holding franchises so important must always in any country give occasion for\ngrave questionings.\nDoes it enjoy too wide a monopoly of the country's\nindustry? Will it or will it not use aright its vast\npower ? Have the people any sufficient guarantee\nthat its immense influence will not be exercised to the\npublic detriment ? These are questions which are\nclosely debated in Canada. It is safe to say that a\ncorporation which has so wide a range of interest, and\nwhich is strenuously pushing its way further and\nfurther into almost every department of industrial\nE 2 :\n52 The Great Dominion chap.\nactivity in Canada, must always Live on the defensive,,\nand always be prepared to combat hostile criticism\nand justify its existence by its works.\nI found a tendency in some quarters in Canada to\nspeak of the railway as a grasping monopoly, which\nseeks to enrich itself at the pubLic expense. Part of\nthis talk is no doubt due to the play of party spirit;\npart may be credited to that eternal vigilance which is\nthe price paid for liberty. But there is probably no\nquestion which is likely to come up for discussion more\noften in Canada for years to come; few about which\naccurate information and a sober judgment are more\nto be desired.\nOne point is first to be noted. The people of Canada,\nafter years of debate and consideration, deliberately\nelected that the greatest railway system of the country\nshould not be under the control of the Government,\nbut should be carried on as a private enterprise. They\nendowed it magnificently with lands; they added the\ngift of a considerable mileage of line fully constructed ;\nthey backed up for a time its borrowings by public\nguarantee. When all this was done they preferred\nthat it should be handed over entirely to business men\nto be condueted on business principles for the benefit\nof the shareholders. In effect, they invited the company to make, the ' most of its great opportunities.\nNor were these opportunities considered too great by\nimpartial men. The right to build the Line, with all\nthe privileges, land-grants, and franchises connected\nwith it. was for some time in the open market with- Ill\nThe Canadian Pacific Railway\n53\nout finding financiers bold enough to undertake the\ntask. When the task was undertaken the most gloomy\nforebodings were expressed about its success. The\ndirectors had their periods of great anxiety. The\ntwo of them who assumed the greatest risks, and upon\nwhom the burden of upholding the credit of the company at critical moments in the early years of the\nenterprize chiefly fell, instead of gaining by their connection with the undertaking, as is generally believed,\nreally lost heavily. Stock which has been in the 90's,\nand, during the late years of extraordinary railway\ndepression, when numbers of the most important\nsystems of America have passed into the hands of receivers, has continued to hold a relatively good position,\nonce stood as low as 37; so that if the \" C.P.R.\" is\nto-day a success, it has become a success by hard\nconflict; if some of its builders and managers have\nwon wealth which here and there provokes envy, it\nhas been won after great and prolonged risk.\nThe advocates of state railways might argue that\nthis risk could have best been taken by the state, and\nthe increment of value thus secured for the people as\na whole. But it does not follow that because a railway pays as a private enterprise it would succeed\nunder Government management. Canadian experience\nand opinion point in quite an opposite direction. A\ncompany can do many things which a Government\ncannot do. Mr. Sandford Fleming, the distinguished\nCanadian engineer, pointed out to me that when he\nhad the superintendence of the Government railways ir\n54 The Great Dominion chap.\nlarge sums of money were at times lost because work\nthat for the greatest economy required instant execution had to go through the slow process of being put\nup to public tender in order to guard a Minister of\nRailways from suspicion of jobbery. The president\nand directors of a company are bound by no such\nconsiderations. Again, there is no doubt that the\nlarge revenue of the \" C.P.R.,\" already amounting to\nmore than twenty million dollars annually, has been in\nno small degree created by the courageous backing up\nof private industries and outside enterprises which\nultimately bring freight and travel to the road. The\nrailway has had to make business for itself. No\nGovernment under our system of party, politics would\ndare to deal with private industries and men in the\nsame unfettered way that the business company has\ndone. To do so would be to expose itself to endless\nsuspicion.\nThis view, I think, is fully recognized in Canada,\nand I could discover no regret that the original\ndecision of the country, so different from that arrived\nat in Australia, had not been to keep the railway under\npublic control. Still there is a dread, perhaps natural,\nthat the vast growth of the system may make it a\nmenace to public interests. The subject is worthy of\ncareful consideration. In discussing it the varying\nconditions under which the railway does its work in\ndifferent parts of the continent must be carefully noted.\nAs I have said, in the North-West the Canadian\nPacific has the work of transportation chiefly to itself.\n1L Its original legal monopoly, which provided that no\nline should be built across the national boundary to\nbring it into competition with American systems, was\ngiven up in 1888, when it received a considerable\ncompensation from the General Government for the\nsurrender of this privilege of its charter. For the\nwheat transport of Winnipeg and the surrounding\ncountry it has now to compete with the Northern\nPacific. Connexions are made also with American\nlines near Lethbridge and near Vancouver, and others\nwill follow. It has itself \" carried the war into Africa \"\nby building a line from the neighbourhood of Regina\nacross the national boundary in the direction of\nMinneapolis and Chicago. So vigorously, however,\ndoes it follow up the progress of settlement with new\nbranches, and so difficult is it for new lines to penetrate\nits territory successfully, that one is still correct in\nsaying that it has the North-West mainly to itself, and\nthis position is likely to be long maintained over\nw'hole provinces which are as large as European States.\nOne asks if the company, with its wide-reaching\nmonopoly of transportation, is acting fairly by the\nfarmers and traders of the country, and if the vast\nundeveloped West has any adequate protection against\nunjust railway exactions in the future. After making\nthe fullest examination of the case that I could, I am\ndisposed to answer both of these questions in the\naffirmative. In regard to the fairness of present\ntreatment, I was challenged to make the closest inquiry\nby Sir William Van Home himself. Complaints, of 56\nThe Great Dominion\nchap.\ncourse, are numerous, but they require careful sifting.\nThe problems connected with through and local rates,\nor what is called the long and short haul, with rates for\nplaces where there is competition with water carriage\nand where there is not, for places with a return traffic\nand those without any, are very complicated, and often\nlead to accusations of injustice which cannot be\nsustained on close examination. Brandon, for instance,\nfeels aggrieved because it does not get the same\nwestward rates as a wholesale distributing centre\nthat Winnipeg does. But Brandon has, in proportion\nto distance, a distinct compensating advantage over\nWinnipeg in eastward rates for wheat, a far more vital\nquestion for the people of the surrounding country.\nOne heard complaints because much more is charged\nfor carrying a car load of goods from Toronto to\nEdmonton than from Toronto to the Pacific coast, a\ngreater distance. A little inquiry elicited the fact\nthat in the one case there was no return freight,\nin the other there was, to say nothing of the\nfact that on the Pacific coast the railway is compelled\nto compete with ocean carriage. Rates in the mountain division were said to be excessively high in comparison with those on the prairies. But was not the\ncontrast in the cost of transportation far more striking\nbefore the railway existed at all ? A British\nColumbian mill-owner, whom I met in crossing the\nAtlantic, told me that he had always grumbled at the\nrates until he had crossed the mountains, and observed\nfor himself the road over which the freight had to be Ill\nThe Canadian Pacific Railway 57\nbrought. The expense of maintaining the line through\nsuch a country must be relatively enormous.\nPrincipal Grant, with whom I discussed the question\nbefore going West, said to me, \" The best test is to find\nout whether the introduction of the Northern Pacific\ncompetition at Winnipeg which followed the Manitoba\nagitation really resulted in a decisive lowering of rates.\"\nThis seemed reasonable. I found that the rate per\nhundredweight for carrying wheat from Winnipeg to\nFort William had dropped from 24 cents to 21 cents, or\nless than 2 cents per bushel, certainly not a decisive\nreduction, and one which I was told by unprejudiced\nparties would probably have taken place in.any case as\nthe consequence of a greater volume of exportation. A\ngood understanding as to what was a paying rate\nseems to have been established at once and has been\nmaintained between the two companies. In addition\nto this reduction I was told that merchants received\nmuch more attention from railway officials now that\nthey had an alternative route by which to carry on\ntheir traffic. These gains can scarcely be considered\nsufficient returns for the subsidy of about a million\ndollars, by which Manitoba induced the Northern\nPacific to carry a line into the province. But if the\npractical result of the Manitoba agitation was not very\ngreat, the sentimental result is not to be ignored. The\ngalling sense of an ever-present monopoly was removed.\nSo long as it existed there was a tendency to attribute\nto it every ill from which the country might happen\nto suffer. The people and the railway company now 58 The Great Dominion chap.\nappear to work together on the best of terms for the\ndevelopment of the country. Curiously enough it was\nthe Canadian Pacific itself which really gained greatly by\nthe destruction of its monopoly of communication with\nManitoba. Its securities, depressed by the political\nagitation which disturbed the province and the\nDominion, after the settlement of the question steadily\nrose in value. It may be safely said that both\nthe company and the public of Manitoba learned\nlessons from this great controversy which they are not\nlikely to forget.\nIt is easy, however, to understand the chief reason\nwhy railway rates, even when intrinsically reasonable,\nshould appear oppressive to the North-Western farmer\nat the present time. With wheat at 45 or 50 cents a\nbushel he sees half or more of its value absorbed in the\ncost of carriage to market. Under such circumstances\nthe temptation to clamour for a reduction of freight\nrates is very great. Yet he should reflect that it must\ncost as much to carry wheat to market which brings 50\ncents a bushel as that which brings a dollar.\nI return to the important point that west of\nWinnipeg, over a vast extent of territory, the company\nstill has a practical, though no longer a theoretical,\nmonopoly of railway transport. Does any real danger\nlie behind the fact ? I think not. It seems to me\nthat self-interest adequately takes the place of competition. The filling up of the North-West with a\nprosperous, producing population is the one essential\nto the permanent prosperity of the Canadian Pacific. Ill\nThe Canadian Pacific R\nThe contented settler is, as I said before, the best immigration agents. It is he who draws after him from\nthe old land a steadily-increasing stream of neighbours,\nfriends, and relatives. On purely business principles,\ntherefore, the railway company is bound to see that,\nas far as possible, the settler is located on good soil;\nit is bound to be considerate afterwards in giving him\naccess to markets at reasonable rates. It cannot\nafford to be on bad terms with settlers; it cannot\nafford to incur the hostility of the whole country.\nThis seems to me the one effective and sufficient\nguarantee which the North-West has against the evils\nof railway monopoly. On the other hand, the country\nitself is a gainer, and is reLieved of a heavy responsibility\nby the existence of a powerful company deeply\ninterested in the settlement of the vacant lands, and\nputting forth every effort to that end. The Canadian\nPacific is to-day the most efficient immigration agency\nat work in Canada. A large Federal expenditure on\nimmigration is not popular in the Eastern Provinces,\nwhich, after taxing their resources in opening up the\nWest, now see their own population lessened by the\nattractions which the prairies offer to young men.\nIt is therefore fortunate that a powerful and progressive\nrailway company, with immense interests at stake, is at\nhand to take a vigorous lead in promoting the settlement of the country. The Federal Government might,\nin my opinion, advantageously give it more efficient\nand direct assistance than it has done. Every new\nsettler who goes into the West contributes, not merely t\n60 The Great Dominion chap.\nto the revenues of the railway company, but to the\nrevenues of the Dominion as well. As I have said before,\nthe interests of the two are singularly intertwined.\nThroughout the North-West the conviction is forced\nupon one that the country has everything to gain from\nthe enlarging prosperity of the Canadian Pacific; that\nthe Canadian Pacific has everything to gain from\nsecuring and maintaining the confidence of the people.\nWhat the living wage for a railway may be is, of\ncourse, a question which only experts can decide. It\nmust be especially difficult to decide in the case of\na railway like the Canadian Pacific, built in advance\nof settlement, and compelled to work great lengths\nof line where local revenue cannot for years be expected\nto meet expenditure. But two or three points seem to\nme very clear. Should the railway carry at anything\nless than paying rates, the harm done to its resources and\ncredit would soon react on the credit of the Dominion,\nand of industrial enterprises throughout the Dominion.\nDuring the last few years the line has created a new\nstandard of the capacity of the country to give satisfactory employment to English capital. Should the\nprestige it has won in this respect weaken, there is not an\nenterprise in Canada which would not suffer in consequence. Again, since nothing could well do more\nto delay the settlement of the North-West than an\nimpression that it was under the heel of a remorseless\nand selfish railway monopoly, the danger to the\ncountry of having unfounded charges disseminated\nagainst the railway is very great.\n\u00ae Ill\nThe Canadian Pacific Railway 61\nAt the last session of the Dominion Parliament, in\nreply to certain charges of levying excessive rates, the\ndirectors of the Canadian Pacific Railway boldly\nchallenged a Government inquiry, claiming that it\ncould be shown that the farmers of the North-West\nwere in a better position, in regard to the cost of\nreaching the world's markets with their wheat, than\nthe farmers of the Western United States, of Russia,\nIndia, the Argentine Republic, or Australia. The\nGovernment inquiry thus asked for has been promised,\nand it might with advantage lead up to the adoption\nof some general policy for dealing with such questions.\nThe clear and public definition of alleged grievances;\nthe prompt and equally public statement of the company's point of view seems the only course sufficient\nfor the circumstances.\nFrom the point at Fort William where the railway\nreaches the head of Lake Superior a new set of conditions prevails, since there it comes into competition\nwith water carriage, always formidable to a railway.\nAs a rule it is the water route which dictates the rate.\nThis competition is increasing with the improvement\nof the canals. By using the American canal at Sault\nSainte Marie vessels drawing 18 feet or 19 feet can\nnow pass freely from the head of Lake Superior to the\nextremity of Lake Erie. The corresponding Canadian\ncanal at Sault Sainte Marie has been pushed on with\ngreat energy, and is now ready for use. The canals\nfrom Lake Erie to Lake Ontario and from Lake\nOntario to Montreal are being deepened, and before 62 The Great Dominion chap.\nthree years there will be, according to the present\ncalculations of the Canadian Government, an open\n14-feet canal passage from the head of Lake Superior\nto the point of ocean shipment on the St. Lawrence.\nThe anticipated completion of this canal system has\ngiven rise to an agitation in some of the Western\nAmerican towns for the construction of a ship canal\nfrom Buffalo to New York, and the question received\nmarked attention in the last Presidential Message of\nMr. Harrison. But the point on which I want to lay\nstress is that the cheap lake and canal transport will\ntake away from the Canadian Pacific during the period\nof open navigation any monopoly of trade from Fort\nWilliam eastward to the Atlantic. As a matter of\nfact, the company even now uses its boats on Lake\nSuperior and its eastward-bound cars to keep down\nfreight rates from that point. Having to meet the\ncompetition of the Northern Pacific for the wheat\ntraffic of the West, its constant object is to make Fort\nWilliam rather than Chicago or Duluth the most\nadvantageous point of shipment. This can only be\ndone by keeping down eastward rates from Fort\nWilliam as nearly as possible to the cost of carriage.\nWest of Manitoba, again, any considerable increase\nof freight charges would make the shipment of wheat\nimpossible; thus the curious fact arises that this great\ntranscontinental railway makes its profit on wheat\ncarriage almost entirely within the four or five hundred\nmiles between Fort William and Winnipeg, all further\ntransportation being done at about cost price. I believe that this statement, singular as it may seem, will bear\ninvestigation.\nBesides the competition of lake and canal traffic, that\nof the Grand Trunk and other lines begins as soon as\nOntario is reached. Here no one questions the fact\nthat the Canadian Pacific, by superior activity, lias\ngiven a decided stimulus to all railway work. It has\nprobably made it impossible that the Grand Trunk can\nmuch longer be managed from England, so manifest\nare the advantages of having the directorate on\nthe spot, and in a position to deal rapidly and effectively with every difficulty, and to make the most of\nevery opportunity. In this central division of the\ncontinent, too, is brought out most clearly the necessity\nthat any Canadian system should be of great size if it\nis to compete on equal terms with the vast organizations of the United States. On the American continent, with its widespread combinations, weak railways\nare driven to the wall.\nOriginally the Eastern terminus of the railway was\nat Montreal, but connexion has now been established\n'with all the provinces immediately on the Atlantic\ncoast: with the City of Quebec; with New Brunswick,\nby a short line across the State of Maine, and by an\nalternative route entirely on British territory down the\nvalley of the St. John; with Halifax, through the\nrunning powers which it -has acquired over the Intercolonial. Thus it is in touch with all the chief\nAtlantic ports of Canada both for summer and winter. \/!\n64 The Great Dominion chap.\nIt is the one chain which links 'the Dominion together\nfrom ocean to ocean.\nBut while it has connexion with the extreme\nEastern ports it has not in the East the same control of communication which it enjoys-in the West. It\nmay appear strange that a movement to give it in the\nmaritime provinces a command almost as absolute has\nmet with a good deal of support in parts of the country.\nThe question arose in 1892, and became a subject for\nvehement discussion.\nA proposal was made that the Intercolonial Railway\"\nthe Eastern division of the transcontinental system,\nwhich consists of about 1,100 miles of road, and has\nhitherto been worked as a state railway, should be\nhanded over entirely to the control of the Canadian\nPacific. This road was originally built as a part of the\nConfederation compact, with the object of more closely\nuniting the maritime provinces with old Canada. On\nthe advice of the Imperial authorities, and for military\nreasons, it was constructed along a route which was not\nthe most direct, and which therefore involved unusual\nexpense for maintenance. It was never expected to'\nmake a large return for the money spent upon it, and\nrates have been designedly kept low to encourage inter-\nprovincial trade. Two competing lines have since been\nbuilt from the St. Lawrence to the sea coast, breaking\ninto the command of traffic which the Intercolonial at\nfirst enjoyed, but also furnishing a remarkable illustration of the growth of inter-provincial trade. Under\n\\i in The Canadian Pacific Railway 65\n1\nthese circumstances. A deficit has been incurred in\nworking it amounting in some years to more than\n\u00a3100,000. There can be little doubt that the political\nand social cohesion brought about between the provinces\nby the railway was cheaply purchased even at this rate.\nStill the deficit long proved a distinct element of\nfriction in the machinery of government, and it became\nthe ground of much party conflict. It was attributed\nby hostile critics to the inefficiency of Government\nmanagement; by friendly critics to restraints under\nwhich Government control necessarily acts, or to the\ninherent difficulties of operating a road originally constructed for other than strictly business purposes. It\nshould be said that skilled accountants have taken an\nentirely different view of the matter, and have claimed\nthat the deficiency could be traced to the fact that, on\nthe Intercolonial, sums spent in construction were\ncharged to revenue which in other railways were\ncharged to capital. But whatever its cause a resolute\neffort has been made of late to get rid of this deficit.\nThe attempt has so far succeeded that in 1893 it was\nreduced to about \u00a35,000, and revenue and expenditure\nwere nearly balanced in 1894. There seems fair ground\nto hope that the improvement is permanent.\nIt was, however, while the deficit still recurred\nannually that the proposal to which I have referred\nwas made. It was suggested by the necessity that\nexisted for undertaking another great enterprise.\nThroughout Canada there is a strong desire for a\nfast Transatlantic service equal to the best enjoyed by\nF\nJ si'\niB\nThe Great Dominion chap.\nAmerican ports. Several large and prosperous Canadian\nsteamship companies are engaged in the St. Lawrence\ntrade, and there is a large fleet of ships, but none of\nthe existing Canadian lines is fully up to the highest\nstandard of modern requirements; the best of them has\nnot built a new ship for more than ten years. Yet the\nCanadian route is much the shortest across the Atlantic;\nits connexions. with every part of the continent from\nHalifax, Quebec, and Montreal are now complete; an\nadequate service would revolutionize postal communication and promote the carriage of perishable products ;\nit would attract a flood of British and American travel.\nThe St. Lawrence presents by far the most magnificent\napproach to the American continent, and for two or\nthree days of the passage gives the quiet of inland\nnavigation in place of the open sea. It is estimated,\non apparently trustworthy calculations, that by this\nroute a traveller could be landed or a letter delivered as\nfar west as Chicago as soon as they can reach New\nYork by existing lines. At present, in nine cases out\nof ten, time is saved by sending a letter from Britain\nto Canada by way of New York, and the longer route\npresents the same advantage to passengers. Considerations such as these have led the Canadian\nGovernment to offer a large subsidy for the encouragement of such a line. Various offers have been\nreceived, but up to 1892 none had been entirely satisfactory. Meanwhile, the Canadian Pacific, having\ncompleted its connexions with the Pacific coast, Japan,\n. China, and Australasia, finds that the Transatlantic KS-\t\nin The Canadian Pacific Railway 6j\nconnexion is necessary to the perfection of its system.\nAlready it makes a special business at all its offices of\nissuing tickets for the journey round the world\u2014itself\ncarrying passengers in its own cars and boats from\nHalifax to Hong-Kong\u2014no small section of the whole\ncircumference. To secure a full share of the tide of\ntravel to and from the East and Australasia especially it\nmust be able to guarantee close connexion with a first-\nclass steamboat service across the Atlantic. This it is\nnow unable to do. In 1892 the president informally\nproposed to start without subsidy an Atlantic steamship service up to the highest modern standard, on\ncondition that the Intercolonial Railway be handed\nover to his company's control.\nIn the possibilities which the company saw of\ndeveloping industries, tourist travel, and traffic in the\nmaritime provinces, and thus making the Intercolonial\na paying concern, and in the advantage which the\nTransatlantic connexion would be to the system as a\nwhole, it found an offset to the great expenditure of\ncapital and probable initial deficiency of revenue in\nworking a first-class steamship line.\nThis proposition met with a good deal of favour in\nOntario, where it was urged that the Dominion would\nsave at once the amount of the Intercolonial deficit\nand the steamship subsidy, in all nearly a million and\na half dollars. Satisfaction was expressed by many\nalso at the prospect of thus getting rid of the Government railway, which had so often proved a disturbing\nelement in Federal politics. The proposal, on the other\nf 2\n3 68\nThe Great Dominion\nchap.\nhand, provoked much opposition in the maritime provinces, where it was criticized as a violation of the\nConfederation agreement, and as giving the railway\ncompany, already influential enough, a hold on the\nDominion from coast to coast which is not consistent\nwith the security of public interests.\nThis dread of railway monopoly is natural, and yet\nit is just possible that it was exaggerated here, as I\nthink it was in Manitoba. I must confess that after\nobserving how much energetic management on the\npart of the company had done to stimulate industries\nin the- West, one would like to see the same energy\ntrying to arouse the maritime provinces from a certain\napathy and slowness of movement which has marked\nthem during the past few years.\nThe danger of abuse might have been guarded\nagainst, one would think, by provision for resumption\nwith compensation, after a number of years, if the\narrangement did not prove satisfactory.\nOpposition was too strong, however; the scheme has\nbeen for the present abandoned, and efforts are being\nmade to secure the fast steamship Line by means of an\nindependent company. Still it is a noteworthy fact,\nin its bearing on the much disputed question of the\nrespective advantages of state-owned and private\nrailways, that Canadian opinion seemed for a moment\nto waver on the advisability of handing over as a free\ngift to a private company, a railway on which the\ncountry had spent nearly $60,000,000.\nThere is no doubt that the railway company, from \u2014\nIll\nThe Canadian Pacific Railway 69\nits extensive connexions, would have been better able\nto make the new line a great success than any company working independently of these connexions.\nWhile the indications are hopeful, it remains to be\nproved whether any other company can be found to\nundertake the work on the scale which the Canadian\nGovernment requires and the circumstances render\nnecessary.\nThe time is not far distant when the company will\npractically control 10,000 miles of railway on the\nAmerican continent, and be in easy touch with all the\nmain centres of population. The advantage given by\nsuch a connexion for a steamship line offering the\nshortest possible voyage across the Atlantic is incalculable. It would probably pay such a system to run\nthe steamships at a loss.\nMeanwhile the Canadian Pacific has undertaken to\ngive its hearty support to any company which undertakes to establish the fast Atlantic service. It may\nwell do so, for until such a line is in operation, it cannot reap the full benefit of its splendid position on the\nAmerican continent, and its connexion across the Pacific.\nOf the efficiency of the Canadian Pacific as a route\nto be used for naval and military purposes there can\nbe no question. It has taken its place as carrying\non regularly a portion of the trooping service of the\nEmpire, by transferring men-of-war crews to and fro\nbetween the Atlantic and Pacific. The trains which\ncarry them are equipped with \" colonist\" sleeping-cars,\neach accommodating about sixty men in comfort day JO\nThe Great Dominion\nchap.\nand night; a first-class sleeper for officers; a kitchen-\ncar in which cooking can be done for several hundred\nmen, besides transport for baggage, provisions, &c.\nThe immense plant of the company would give a power\nof multiplying such trains indefinitely if the necessity\narose for the transfer of large bodies of men. The use\nof this new route has made it possible to reinforce a\nsquadron at Vancouver from Great Britain in fourteen\nor fifteen days, and the Chinese squadron in about\ntwenty-five days, a great contrast to the long voyage\nround Cape Horn, or by way of the Suez Canal. I\nhad the opportunity of travelling for some time with a\ndetachment of sailors crossing from Vancouver to\nHalifax. The enjoyment of the trip by the sailors was\nmanifest. The meals must have been better than any\nto which they were accustomed on shipboard. The\ntravelling comforts provided for men and officers\napparently left nothing to be desired. Discipline, too,\nwas admirably maintained, and Jack, after his six days'\nrun over the Rockies, across the vast prairies, and\nthrough the settled provinces of Eastern Canada, probably went on shipboard again with a new conception\nof the greatness of the Empire which he defends.\nThere is no reason why the line should not be utilized\nfor soldiers as well as sailors. A regiment stationed\nat Hong-Kong could be relieved by one from Halifax\nwith ease and speed. To effect such a movement of\ntroops would furnish an interesting illustration to the\nworld of the new independence which the Empire has\nacquired of old routes of communication. in The Canadian Pacific Railway 71\nI was told on high military authority that the somewhat greater cost of mixed land and sea transport, and\nthe want of any system of moving regiments framed\nin view of using this route, are at present obstacles\nto such a demonstration. But it is something to\nknow that in time of war the empire has this additional\nresource.\nThe contingency of serious snow-blockade, once\ndwelt upon by hostile critics, may be dismissed to the\nrealms of imagination. A prominent and responsible\nofficial has stated that from the opening of the whole\nline in 1886-7 up to November, 1892, not a single day\nhad been missed in making connexion across the continent from Montreal to Vancouver. During that\nperiod all the American lines have been blocked, in\nsome cases for weeks at a time. It is even claimed\nthat the English Great Western has lost more time by\nsnow-blockade since 1887 than has the Canadian\nPacific. An exceptional season may, of course, create\na difficulty, but what has been said shows that snow-\nblockade need not enter into ordinary practical consideration in speaking of the road. The triumph of\nengineering skill and of watchfulness in effecting such\na result is very striking. On the other hand, the floods\nin the Fraser River during the spring of 1894, great\nbeyond all precedent since that stream was known,\nbroke the communication for several days, put the\ncompany to vast expense, and proved how great are\nthe risks involved in maintaining a railway line through\na wide range of mountainous country. On the 72\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP, in\nsubsidence of the floods repairs were effected and\ncommunication resumed with remarkable rapidity.\nWe see, then, that, both in its influence on the\ndevelopment of the Dominion and in its character as\nan important route of Imperial communication, the\nCanadian Pacific Railway has become a line of great\nnational significance, a significance which is likely to\nincrease as time goes on. It must always hold an\nimportant place in all discussions of Canada's permanent\nrelation to the Empire. Such a consideration justifies\nserious study of the problems connected with its\nposition ; it excludes either laudation or criticism not\nfounded on prolonged examination of very complicated\nconditions. CHAPTER IV\nCOAL\nIt has been pointed out before, but cannot be pointed\nout too often, that the coal deposits of Canada make her\nrelation to the maritime position of the Empire one of\nextraordinary interest. This is true, whether we have\nregard to the needs of commerce or to the maintenance\nof naval power. When a large proportion of the\nworld's trade is carried in steamships, and when every\neffective ship of war that defends trade is propelled by\nsteam, easy access to coal at essential points becomes a\nmatter of the first consequence. This is true in times\nof peace, but infinitely more so in times of war,\nwhen coal for naval purposes can be obtained by\nbelligerents only in ports under their own flag. It is\ngenerally admitted that in any future struggle for\nmaritime supremacy an immense advantage would lie\nwith the Power which can retain the widest control of\nbases of coal supply. It is this idea which prompts\nour large national expenditure on coaling stations; it\nis, perhaps, less thought of in connexion with territories\npossessing coal deposits.\nJ 74\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nCertainly the points at which Canada's great coalfields are found may be spoken of emphatically\nas essential. Eastward and westward, on the Atlantic and on the Pacific, their location is striking\nenough.\nNova Scotia projects far out into the Atlantic, and\nthere, at the most northern port on the continent which\nis open both summer and winter, we have fixed the\ngreat naval station of Halifax, which in time of war\nwould necessarily be our chief base for defending what\nhas become the greatest food route of the United\nKingdom. Immediately behind Halifax and closely\nconnected with it by rail are the Pictou and other\nNova Scotian coal mines, which already turn out about\na million tons of coal per annum. Further north is\nthe island of Cape Breton. A century and a half ago\nlong before steam came into use, the keen eye of French\nsoldiers fixed upon Louisburg in Cape Breton as the\npoint from which the road to the St. Lawrence could\nbest be guarded and French commercial interests\nmaintained upon the mainland. The strong fortress is\ngone, but around the fine harbours of the island are\nnumerous mines far more useful than was the fortress\nfor the prosecution of commerce or, in case of emergency,-\nfor its defence. From these mines, again, are raised\nyearly about a million tons of coal of excellent quality\nfor steaming and other purposes. The mouths of the\npits are in some cases close to the shore, and as the\nmines are carried far out under the ocean a ship may\nbe loading directly over the spot from which the coal is IV\nCoal 75\nobtained. Nature could scarcely have done more to\ngive an advantageous position.\nGreat activity has been given to mining operations\nin Cape Breton by the formation in 1892-3 of a\npowerful syndicate of American and Canadian capitalists\nto work one of the largest and most important groups\nof mines. The predominant influence in the company\nis American, and the action of the Nova Scotian\nprovincial government in granting a ninety years' lease\nof the coaling privileges to a body chiefly composed of\nforeigners was at first subjected to a good deal of criticism\nfrom a national point of view.\nIt now seems to be clear that the transaction had no\npolitical significance, and that the combination was\nmade entirely as a commercial speculation.\nThe application of abundant capital under the\nvigorous direction of the syndicate is an unmixed good,\nwhile the existence of other mines in the Sydney district\nuncontrolled by the new company will probably act as a\npermanent hindrance to the creation of a dangerous\nmonopoly.\nLarge deposits of coal are also known' to exist on the\neastern side of the island, and the development of new\nmines here will in time enlarge the area of independent\nproduction. The lowering of the duty imposed on coal\nby the McKinley tariff will to some extent influence\nthe prospects of coal mining in Nova Scotia and Cape\nBreton; the entire abolition of the duty, which seems\nprobable within the next few years, will affect the\nindustry profoundly. The consumption of coal in the\nii The Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nNew England states alone amounts annually to about\n11,000,000 tons, and free competition for this market\nmust have the effect of greatly stimulating Canadian\nproduction.\nThe coal measures of this eastern portion of Cape\nBreton have been carefully explored, and their extent\ndetermined with considerable accuracy. It is somewhat important to note that they stretch directly along\nthe coast from the north side of Sydney harbour southward in the direction of Louisburg for no less than\ntwenty-five miles. From the shore they do not extend\nmore than about four miles inland. The dip of the\nseams appears to indicate that they go nearly as far out\nunder the sea, and in one case the galleries have already\nbeen carried out between one and two miles, while\nleases are taken to cover a distance of three miles seaward. The coal is shipped at three different harbours\nalong this coast line of twenty-five miles, and preparations are being made for shipping it at a fourth.\nThe peculiar position of the mines thus lying along a\nlengthened coast line would make their protection in\ntime of war by land defences a difficult and very expensive undertaking. It would probably be effected more\neasily by ships of war stationed in the neighbourhood.\nYet their defence would be a necessity if the maritime\nsuperiority which they give is to be maintained.\nAt present the harbours in use are practically closed\nto navigation by ice, from the beginning of the year till\nMay. To secure a port for winter shipment a railroad\nis now (1894) being built to Louisburg, and the com- IV\nCoal jj\nmercial activity of the ancient town will soon be\nrevived.\nWith the exception of two or three weeks, when it\nis liable to some slight obstruction from drift ice, the\nharbour of Louisburg is open all the year round. It is\nso situated as to be easily protected, and could readily\nbe changed into a defended coaling station.\nThe full significance of these coal resources to a great\nmaritime Power can only be fully understood when we\nreflect\u2014first, that the importance of the St. Lawrence\nas a food route is fast increasing; and, secondly, that,\nwith the exception of what might be temporarily, stored\nat Bermuda and the West India stations, these are\nthe only coal supplies to which British ships would\nhave the national right of access in time of war along\nthe whole Atlantic coast of America. As things now\nstand, Britain is the only Power which has adequate\nbases of coal supply on both sides of the Atlantic.\nThese supplies are, of course, as useful for inland\ntraffic as for ocean service. Nova Scotian coal finds its\nway in large quantities several hundred miles westward\nfrom the Atlantic coast, and supplies the provinces of\nNew Brunswick and Quebec with the greater part of\nwhat they consume. During the summer it has a\nwater route up the St. Lawrence, and it is also carried\nby the Intercolonial Railway at exceptionally low\nrates, in accordance with the Government policy of\ngiving all possible encouragement to inter-provincial\ntrade.\nThe consumption of Nova Scotian coal in Quebec The Great Dominion chap.\nwhich in 1877 amounted to 95,000 tons,had risen in 1891\nto 775,000 tons. The whole of the Dominion Government Railways, of which 1,397 miles'are in operation,\nare worked with Nova Scotian coal. Most of the other\nrailways of the lower provinces, including the Atlantic\nconnexion of the Canadian Pacific, as far west as\nMontreal, draw their supplies from the same source.\nNew Brunswick also has bituminous coal, but the only\nseam yet discovered of sufficient thickness to work is\none at Grand Lake, which gives a supply for local consumption, but does not add greatly to the product of\nthe country. An attempt is now being made to enlarge\nthe output, and to use the coal for smelting purposes.\nIn Albert County a large quantity of a peculiar and\nexceedingly valuable coal, known to science as albertite,\nhas been mined in past years. The known deposits\nhave been worked out with great profit to their owners,\nbut there are many indications that other mines remain\nto be discovered. Cannel coal of great richness is\nalso found in abundance in this county, and awaits\ndevelopment.\nWhen we cross the continent to the Pacific coast we\nfind, in connexion with the coal of British Columbia, a\ngroup of facts scarcely less striking than those to which\nreference has already been made. Along the whole Pacific\ncoast of South America no coal is found suited for\nsteaming purposes. There is none along the coast of\nNorth America until we come to Puget Sound. At\ndifferent points on the Sound mines are being worked\non American territory, but the coal is all of a distinctly IV\nCoal 79\ninferior quality. It is only when we cross the boundary\nline into Canadian territory that in Vancouver Island,\nthe site of Britain's only naval station on the western\ncoast of America, we meet with large deposits of good\nsteaming coal. The superiority of this coal is proved\nbeyond question by the published tables of the War\nDepartment of the United States, in which are given\nthe comparative values for steam-raising purposes of the\nvarious fuels found on the Pacific coast. In this statement\u2014certainly not a partial one\u2014the Nanaimo coal\nis rated far above any found in Washington, Oregon, or\nCalifornia. The annual output of the mines at Nanaimo\nand Wellington has now risen beyond a million tons.\nAt Nanaimo the principal mine is directly upon the\nshore, and the galleries are being run out far under the\narm of the sea which divides Vancouver Island from\nthe mainland, so that here, as at Cape Breton, ships of\nheavy tonnage take in coal while moored immediately\nover the place from which it is obtained. In either\ncase the facility for easy and rapid coaling could not\nwell be excelled. The very facility of approach creates a\nresponsibility. When ships can sail in from the open sea\nand come directly to the place where large stores of coal\nare ordinarily accumulated, it is clear that these stores\nmust have some means of defence if they are not to\nfall into the hands of the first comer. The full appreciation of the value of these coaling positions ought to\nsecure for them some adequate defence, and this they\ndo not at present possess. Canada is now co-operating\nwith Britain in providing adequate defence for the 8o\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nnaval station of Esquimalt, the importance of which was\nwell illustrated when I was there by the presence in the\nfine graving dock of a man of war, undergoing repairs\nafter a serious mishap. Doubtless Esquimalt must be\nthe main reliance for the safety of the fleet in the North\nPacific, but some subsidiary protection seems imperative\nfor the security of actual coaling ports like Nanaimo,\nif they are to be safe against sudden attack. Full and\njoint provision for this may only be possible when the\nmotherland and the colonies have arrived at a clear\nunderstanding in regard to the distribution of national\nresponsibility. The defence, however, ought certainly\nto be given, and it would be wiser to plan carefully and\ncompletely in time of peace for what would of necessity\nhave to be supplied hastily under the pressure of any\nthreat of war. Such a question would be fair matter\nfor deliberation and decision at the colonial conferences\nof the future.-\nA fact may here be mentioned which illustrates by\ncontrast the singular advantage which the Empire\npossesses from the command of abundant coal on the\nPacific. The great American city of San Francisco,\nwith its extensive shipping and railway connexions,\ndraws its chief supplies of good coal from three British\nsources\u2014Vancouver, New South Wales, and Great\nBritain itself. Curiously enough the two distant points\ncompete in furnishing this coal on practically equal\nterms with Vancouver, which is close at hand. Ships\nchartered to carry wheat from the Pacific coast to\nEurope from want of a return cargo use coal as ballast IV\nCoal 8i\nin voyaging from England or Australia, and are therefore able to deliver it in San Francisco almost as cheaply\nas it is brought from Vancouver. During the year 1892\nSan Francisco took about 600,000 tons of Vancouver\ncoal. The American steamship Lines to China and\nAustralia use it almost exclusively. It goes to the\nSandwich Islands, to Mexico, and many other points on\nthe Pacific, a circumstance which indicates how much\nCanada's stake on that ocean is increasing.\nAnother suggestive fact should be mentioned. The\nAmerican cruisers employed in guarding the seal\nfisheries in the Behring Sea have taken the larger part\nof their coal supplies from Vancouver. The manager\nof the principal mining company at Nanaimo told me\nthat he had thus, in a single year, sent 5,000 tons to the\nBehring Sea for the use of American ships. The British\ncruisers were at the same time using Welsh coal, to\nwhich the preference was given, not from any superiority\nin steaming qualities, but because it was a smokeless coal\nand cleaner. The Admiral stated that he could see\nAmerican ships several miles further than they could\nsee him. The advantage of such a coal in time of war\nis obvious, but in war time the only coal obtainable\nwould probably be that near at hand. I shall have\noccasion, however, to speak of smokeless coal again.\nThe Vancouver mines furnish the Canadian Pacific\nCompany with fuel for their fast steamship service to\nChina and Japan and for their railway service to the\nsummit of the Rockies. Without these mines the\nTranscontinental Railway and its ocean connections\u2014\nG 82\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nin other words, the new postal, commercial, and military\nroute to the East, would scarcely be an accomplished\nfact. In the West, then, as well as the East, on the\nPacific as on the Atlantic, Canada's coal measures are\nso placed as to give the greatest possible advantage for\nexternal and internal communication; for the prosecution\nof commerce in times of peace, and for its defence\nin time of .war. And surely vast coal measures\nlying behind defended or defensible ports must be\nof more permanent worth than mere coaling stations\nwhich have to draw all their supplies across wide\nseas.\nWe may now consider how the coal supplies of the\ncoast are supplemented by those of the interior.\nAn important coal area has lately been opened up in the\nRocky Mountain district. A few miles from Banff, and\nscarcely a hundred yards from the line of the Canadian\nPacific Railway, a mine of anthracite coal is being worked.\nMany outcrops of the same deposit are found northward and southward along the line of the Rockies in\nBritish Columbia. It represents, I believe, the only\ntrue anthracite coal which has yet been found, or, at any\nrate, -worked, in America westward of Pennsylvania.\nIt contains a larger amount of fixed carbon than the\nPennsylvanian coal, burns rather more rapidly, and gives\nout a greater heat. On account of the peculiar excellence of the coal, the development of this mine has been\nwatched with much interest. The chief difficulty has\narisen from the lack of a sufficient market within a\nreasonable distance. The coal is used exclusively by iv Coal 83\nthe Canadian Pacific Railway in heating its cars as far\neastward as Lake Superior. For domestic purposes it\nis sold as far eastward as Winnipeg, taking the place of\nPennsylvanian coal brought up the Lakes, and westward as far as Vancouver. It would be much more extensively used but for the fact that stoves and furnaces\ngenerally throughout the country are adapted to the\nuse of soft bituminous coal, and the class of people\nwilling to change their appliances and pay a higher\nprice for a superior coal is limited. There has hitherto\nbeen little sale for the refuse coal or slack, which, in the\nneighbourhood of large manufacturing centres in England or Pennsylvania, adds so much to the profits of the\nmine-owner. Use is now being found for it in working\nelectrical machinery, and this field is enlarging in the\nWest.\nAt Canmore, only ten miles distant from the anthracite mine, the Rocky Mountain deposits furnish a coal\nof a different quality. The mines have not long been\nopened, and their extent has not yet been fully determined, but the coal has been found to be almost\nsmokeless, and has the further quality of coking well.\nBoth these facts are of the utmost interest, as the one\nsuggests the possibility of our ships of war in the Pacific\nbeing supplied near at hand with the smokeless coal at\npresent obtained from Wales, while the silver mines now\nopening up in the Kootenay districts, as well as those\non the other side of the national boundary, create a\nlarge demand for coke to be used in smelting. An\nadequate supply of coke, indeed, is almost essential to\nG 2 84\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nthe fullest and most successful operation of the mining\nindustries of British Columbia.1\nFurther south along the range of the Rockies, once\nmore, at the Crow's Nest Pass, other outcrops of a remarkable thickness and good quality have been discovered. As there is at present no railway connection\nto this point, and as the country around is comparatively\nunsettled, there has been no inducement to work these\ndeposits, which await the advance of civilization. But\nit is through the Crow's Nest Pass that an easier access\nto the Kootenay country will ultimately be sought, and\nthe Canadian Pacific. Railway is even now feeling its\nway in this direction, having made surveys with a view\nto the early construction of a line.\nThus the coal mines of the Rocky Mountains promise\nto supply what is lacking in the quality of those of the\nPacific coast and those of the prairies. They give\ncompleteness to the means of transcontinental carriage.\nWith abundant coal on the Pacific coast, on the eastern\n1 Since this paragraph was written I have had the opportunity\nof observing some further facts of importance in connection with\ncoke production in Canada. Two years ago, at Nanaimo, Mr.\nRobins mentioned to me the probability that German methods of\ntreatment would be applied to overcome the lack of good coking\ncoal in the Dominion. During the last year, in confirmation of\nthis opinion, an extensive plant has been erected in connection\nwith the iron works of New Glasgow in Nova Scotia, and the\nproduction of what appears to be excellent coke is being carried on\nwith complete success. The operation consists in crushing the coal\nalmost to powder, and then, before it is put into the retorts,\nwashing out the earthy and other material which, as taken from\nthe mine, dimmish its coking qualities. The results seem to be\nquite satisfactory. IV\nCoal 85\nslope of the Rockies, and in the heart of the prairies,\nrailways have an easy command of fuel as far eastward\nas Lake Superior, where water carriage begins. Of the\ncoal areas of the prairies, however, I have not as yet\nspoken.\nIn a country mainly treeless and with a cold winter\nseason the existence of coal decides the question of\nsettlement, or at least of dense settlement. This consideration for some time seemed to hold the destiny of\nthe Canadian North-West in the balance. Along the\nriver beds and in the rougher undulating country there\nwas wood sufficient for the purposes of the early settlers,\nbut it was evident that any increase of population on\nthe plains would soon exhaust these limited supplies.\nIn many districts it has already done so. Coal, therefore, has always been essential to the permanent success\nof the North-West. Fortunately, vast beds have been\ndiscovered, equal apparently to any necessities of future\npopulation. It is of varying quality. The Gait mines\nat Lethbridge are the most important of those yet\nopened. The product is a good bituminous coal, excellent for railway use, and giving the farmer a not too\nexpensive fuel. The seam now being worked is between\n5 feet and 6 feet thick, and is only 30 feet or 40 feet\nbeneath the surface of the prairie. The coal bed has\nalready been traced to the West and North-West for\nmany miles, and the company knows that it has a\npractically unlimited supply to draw upon. The present\noutput of 800 or 900 tons a day could therefore be\nreadily increased to meet any demand. In spite of the\nJ The Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nduty of 75 cents per ton, a considerable quantity of this\ncoal was sent across the American border, as none equally\ngood is easily obtainable from American sources.\nShould the duty be removed, the Lethbridge coal would\nfind a large American market in the mining country to\nthe south, while supplying all the needs of the surrounding prairie regions. The Lethbridge coal is used\nall along the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway as\nfar as Winnipeg, and even beyond to Port Arthur, where\nit begins to meet the competition of Pennsylvania^ coal\nbrought up the Lakes.\nEastward from Lethbridge, and reaching along the\nAmerican boundary to the borders of Manitoba, are coal\nmeasures which have been estimated by Dr. Dawson to\ncover 15,000 square miles. The coal hitherto obtained\nis not of the best quality, and many of the seams consist mainly of Lignite. They lie quite near the surface\nand are easily worked. In special localities the quality\nmay improve. I visited the newly-opened mines at\nEstevan, about 325 miles from Winnipeg. The early\nproduct of the mines was not very satisfactory, as the\ncoal, which looked well when it came out of the mine,\ncrumbled after exposure to the air. Deeper mining is\nexpected to produce better results. At the worst, however, Southern Manitoba and Assiniboia are assured of\nan abundance of cheap fuel, which will meet the necessities of the farming population. Outcrops are met\nwith in many places, and as railways are pushed forward\nnew mines will be opened.\nWhen we go northward to the Saskatchewan a strik- IV\nCoal 87\ning illustration of the abundance of coal in this district\nis furnished by the thick seams which are visible all\nalong the banks of that river in the vicinity of\nEdmonton. A serviceable domestic coal is delivered in\nEdmonton and at most points in the country around\nfor about 10s. per ton. A combine of the mines about\nthe time I was there to raise the price to 13s. or 14s.\nper ton was met by a threat on the part of the consumers to mine their own coal, as numbers of the farmers\ncould easily do on their own land. At this town, which\nseems- from the distance of England to be on the very\nfrontiers of civilization, it was interesting to observe\nthat not only the streets, but the shops and private\nhouses were brilliantly illuminated by the electric light\ncheaply obtained by the use of coal which can be mined\nalmost at the door of the engine-room. The coal-beds\nof the Saskatchewan extend far down that river, and\nwill in due time be reached by the railway, which is\nalready extended to Prince Albert. We may, therefore,\nsay that the whole great central prairie region of North\nWestern Canada is encompassed by accessible deposits of\nfairly good coal. Still further northwards they have\nbeen explored far into the valley of the Peace river,\nwhere they await and make possible the advance of\nsettlement. It seems scarcely necessary to draw the\nconclusions suggested by this statement of Canada's\nsupplies of coal, and especially of those on the eastern\nand western coasts, directly connected with the maritime\nposition of the Empire. People who talk lightly of the\npossibility of Canada's becoming independent or of her\nJ SB\nThe Great Dominion\nCH. IV\nannexation to the United States, by either of which\nchanges her ports and her supplies of coal would become\nclosed to British ships in times of war, have reflected,\nlittle upon the conditions which determine national\nsafety, under modern naval arrangements, for a great\ncommercial people. When we estimate the commercial*\nstake which British people have upon the North Atlantic\nand upon the Pacific, and when we consider that the\npower of the strongest ship of war to defend commerce\nis strictly limited by its coal endurance, it would seem\nprobable that the Dominion may yet come to be\nregarded as almost the keystone of the nation's naval\nposition. ^\n1\ninces\nonsideration of\n\\ most interest-\nopment of the,\ne remembered\nmarrow of the\n:es; that these\n' the country's\nscisive charac-\n\u2022ong individu-\nchiefly mould\n\/est is but a\nurdy life which\nig time in the\n>ng impression\nre to lay the\nn the West, to\npposite course\n\u25a0 it. Thegreat 88\nannexation to\nchanges her p>\nclosed to Briti\nlittle upon tl\nsafety, under\ncommercial pe\nstake which Bi\nand upon the\npower of the !\nis strictly limi\nprobable tha\nregarded as al\nposition.\n-==>- CHAPTER V\nEASTERN CANADA\nOntario and the Maritime Provinces\nI began these studies of Canada by consideration of\nthe North-West, as presenting one of the most interesting and critical problems in the development of the,\nDominion. But it must constantly be remembered\nthat, after all, the brains and pith and marrow of the\ncountry are still in the Eastern Provinces; that these\nare still the centre of political force, of the country's\nprogress, wealth, and culture, of those decisive characteristics which have given Canada its strong individuality, and will, for many years to come, chiefly mould\nits future; that, in fact, the North-West is but a\nyesterday's offshoot and creation of the sturdy Life which\nhas been steadily growing up for a long time in the\nEast. It would therefore leave quite a wrong impression\non readers in other parts of the Empire to lay the\nemphasis, in discussing Canada's affairs, on the West, to\nthe exclusion of the East. A precisely opposite course\nwould at the present moment be more just. The great The Great Dominion\nCHAP.\npossibilities of the prairie country have impressed the\nimagination of people at a distance, and have made it,\nduring the last few years, rather unduly overshadow the\nolder provinces of which I am now to speak. As far\nas political and social power go these latter still constitute by far the greater part of Canada. Of eighty\nmembers of the Dominion Senate, seventy-two come\nfrom the east and but eight from the west of Lake\nSuperior. In the House of Commons the proportion is\n200 to fifteen, while of the Western representatives\nthemselves, excluding those of British Columbia, a\nlarge majority were born and bred in the East. These\nfigures will enable the reader to form in his own mind\nsome fair balance of the relative present proportions\nand influence of the two sections of the country.\nNor must it be thought that the developments of the\nfuture belong to the West alone. All the Eastern\nProvinces still have large unoccupied areas, while their\nresources are much more varied than those of the\nsomewhat monotonous West. Eastern Canada is a\ncountry of seacoast, islands, peninsulas, great rivers,\nand lakes; of splendid fisheries; of varied scenery and\nclimate ; of coal, timber, iron, and gold; precisely that\ncombination of condition and resources which history\nhas proved most favourable to human progress.\nOf the provinces, Ontario is by far the greatest and\nwealthiest, at present containing well nigh one half the\npopulation of the whole Dominion, and with great possibilities of future growth. Bounded by three great\nlakes, Ontario, Erie, and Huron, and by three great Eastern Canada 91\nrivers, the St. Lawrence, Detroit, and Ottawa, so that\nits position, though in the middle of the continent, is\nalmost insular; equipped with a most complete railway\nsystem ; having a climate which favours the growth in\nabundance of grapes, peaches, melons, maize and similar\nproducts in the south, and is singularly suited for wheat,\nbarley, and all the hardier cereals further north; with\npetroleum and salt areas in the west, timber areas on\nLake Huron, mineral deposits of great variety and\nextent on Lake Superior, the province seems almost\nunique in situation and resources for production and\ncommerce of all kinds. Its future must be very great\nindeed, and whatever may be the growth of the West,\nOntario will assuredly remain for a long time the centre\nof political and commercial energy in the Dominion.\nAt least, if there is any lack of prosperity and influence,\nit will lie in the people themselves, not in their stars.\nBritish capital, which is content with secure investment\nat moderate rates of interest, is finding much employment in Ontario, and, under judicious management,\nmay safely do so in much larger volume than at\npresent.\nIt is not without some feeling of geographical surprise\nthat one finds from a comparison of areas that this\nsingle Canadian province of Ontario is as large as the\nwhole of the six New England States, together with\nNew York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Nor will its\ngrowth be considered slow, if we remember that in\n1776, when these States were populous enough to bear\nthe main brunt of the revolutionary war, Ontario was 92\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\npractically an unexplored wilderness; while as late as\n1835 the population, now nearly two millions and a half,\nnumbered only three hundred thousand.\nWhen it is remembered also that this growth of little\nmore than half a century has not been made on a prairie\nsoil, but that every one of its 25,000,000 cleared acres\nhas involved hewing down a heavily wooded forest, the\nprogress made seems surprising, and explains why the\nprovince has reared a hardy race of men.\nThe truth is that the southern and western districts\nof Ontario\u2014those which lie between the St. Lawrence\nand the Ottawa, and those which are enclosed by the\nlakes Ontario, Erie and Huron\u2014have almost everything that could recommend them as a place in which\nto make a home\u2014a fertile soil, variety Of production, a\nplentiful water supply, and a salubrious climate. I\ndoubt if any mainly agricultural area of equal size in\nthe world gives evidence of more uniform prosperity\namong the mass of the people than do the older portions\nof Ontario. I base the comparison on observation of the\ncountry around Toronto, Hamilton, Niagara, London,\nWoodstock, Ingersoll, St. Thomas, Guelph, Belleville\nand Kingston; and any one who takes the trouble to\nvisit these places and study the surrounding districts\nwillj I think, ratify the judgment.\nSpeaking generally, agricultural employment and\nproducts in Ontario are not unlike those of the\nUnited Kingdom; a warmer summer and drier autumn\ngiving, in comparison, advantages in ripening fruit and\nharvesting grain; a colder winter presenting drawbacks v Eastern Canada 93\nin the feeding of stock and for outdoor farm work.\nBut there are districts with characteristics worthy of\nspecial note.\nA visit to the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario, for instance, upsets many preconceived ideas about the\nCanadian climate and the range of Canadian production. It is the greatest fruit district of the Dominion.\nCould Louis the Fifteenth have seen it as it is to-day\nhe would have understood that instead of the \" few\narpents of snow \" which he thought, or affected to think,\nhe was signing away when he ceded Canada to Britain,\nhe was really handing over to English people one district,\nat least, which compared not unfavourably in soil and\nclimate with the richest and sunniest parts of France.\nGrapes, peaches, melons, and tomatoes, which in England\nare ripened with difficulty when not under glass, are\nhere raised in the greatest profusion in the open air.\nAs a consequence the markets of all the principal\ntowns of Eastern Canada are in the season supplied\nwith fruit in extraordinary abundance, and at a price\nwhich makes it not merely a luxury of the rich, but a\npart of the ordinary diet of the poor. When large\nbaskets of delicious peaches and very good grapes are\nsold, as is constantly the case in the Toronto and\nMontreal markets, for between 40 and 60 cents (Is. 6d.\nand 2s. 6^.), these fruits are evidently within the reach\neven of the ordinary working man.\nThe fruit growing industry of the Niagara district is\nalready important, but a steadily widening market\nseems likely to give it a great expansion. Few parts of\nJ I\n94\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nCanada illustrate more fully the advantage which has\ncome from the extension of the railway system of the\nDominion.\nThe prairies of the North-West produce little or no\nfruit, and are never likely to minister much to their\nown wants in this respect.\nAlready many hundred tons of grapes, pears, tomatoes,\n&c, are shipped yearly from the country between\nHamilton and Niagara to Winnipeg, whence it is distributed as far west as the Rocky Mountains, The\ngrowth of Western population will steadily increase the\nimportance of this market. Eastward a market is\nfound as far as Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia,\nthe latter of which, though an excellent apple region,\ndoes not favour the growth of grapes and peaches.\nSpecial daily fruit trains are run regularly during the\nautumn to Toronto and Montreal, and fruit transport\nforms at this season an important item in the receipts\nof the Grand Trunk and other lines. The business\nmust be a profitable one, since it bears the express rate\nof $200 per car-load which is charged between Hamilton\nand Winnipeg. One would think that with good\nappliances for cold storage, grapes and tomatoes, at\nleast, could be cheaply and profitably placed upon the\nEnglish market.\nI had heard that hopes were entertained of the\nPeninsula becoming a large wine producing area. There\nare, of course, many difficulties involved in producing\nwines of the best quality to compete with those of Europe,\nand, in addition to this, I was told by one of the largest Eastern Canada 95\ngrowers that it only paid to use the grapes for making\nwine when the price had fallen to what seemed a\nridiculously low point; I think below a cent per pound.\nUnder these conditions the growing demand for the\ngrapes as a fruit must, one would think, check for a\nlong time any attempts at wine production on a large\nscale.\nStill a good deal of wine has already been made, and\nthere are growers who take a much more hopeful view\nof the industry than that here stated. Their opinions\nmay be based on a wider study of the facts than I could\ngive to them. It is significant that a vigorous protest\nwas made by the vine-growers of Ontario against the\nlately concluded French Treaty, providing for the freer\nintroduction of light French wines. The protest was\nbased on the rapid growth of vineyard culture, the extreme cheapness of production, and the hopes entertained of making the wine output a valuable adjunct of\nthe general fruit business of the province.\nBesides the expanding home market for more perishable fruits of which I have spoken, the export of apples\nfrom Ontario to Britain is very large. In favourable\nyears it has amounted to four or five hundred thousand\nbarrels and the quantity increases with improve facilities\nfor transportation.\nThe success of the apple trade has in many cases\nbeen much lessened by want of care in selecting and\npacking fruit, but the Fruit Growers' Association, which\npublishes a useful monthly magazine and holds regular\nmeetings for the discussion of all subjects connected lit\nM\n96\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nwith the business, is now making resolute efforts at improvement in these particulars. A law has already\nbeen passed by the Dominion Parliament providing for\nthe inspection of fruit. Unfortunately this inspection\nis voluntary only, and must be paid for by the dealer.\nThe association aims at a general and compulsory inspection and grading carried out at the expense of the\nGovernment.\nIf the external appearance of the farms and farm-\nbuildings furnishes a reliable indication of prosperity,\nthe business of fruit-growing in the Niagara Peninsula\nis a profitable one. The opportunities seem equally\ngood for orchards on a large or small scale. One which\nI visited near Grimsby contained about 100 acres, all\nin a high state of cultivation. Attention was about\nequally divided between peaches, pears, grapes, apples,\nplums, cherries, tomatoes and small fruit, such as\ncurrants, gooseberries and blackberries.\nFor men experienced in fruit culture, and with some\ncapital, this district of Canada offers very distinct\nopportunities. Orchard land already planted is, of\ncourse, expensive, but I was told that plenty of land,\nas good as that which now produces' the best results,\ncould be got at a reasonable price. But every one with\nwhom I discussed the question laid stress upon the\nnecessity for experience. It is not a business at which\nany casual beginner can succeed.\nIn other districts of the province there are the best\nopportunities for mixed farming. Stock raising and\ndairying have of late years steadily taken the place of Eastern Canada 97\nwheat growing, once the farmer's chief reliance. The\npolicy which has dictated the change is a wise one, for\n\u25a0 the relative depreciation of price in the case of cattle\nand cattle products has been slight as compared with\nthat in cereals. It has been stated on good authority\nthat throughout the period of agricultural depression,\nthe exchange value of cheese and butter\u2014that is, the\namount of tea, sugar, manufactured goods, or other\nnecessities which a given quantity of these products\nwould purchase, has been as great as it ever was\nbefore.\nThe farmer of Ontario is beginning to find out that\nin producing wheat. only he commits himself to the\nchances of competition not merely with the easily\ntilled expanses of the fertile prairie, but also with the\npoorly paid and poorly fed peasant of India, Russia, and\nSouth America. The higher form of product demands\ngreater intelligence and expenditure of thought, but\ngives a larger and more reliable return.\nOntario supplies much the larger proportion of the\ncheese and live cattle which the Dominion sends to\nEngland, and now aims at increasing its output of\nbutter, especially during the winter season, in alternation\nwith the cheese making of the summer.\nOntario is the province also which has benefited most\nlargely by the protective policy; manufactures of great\nimportance have sprung up at many points. In agricultural implements, pianos and cabinet organs, sewing\nmachines, carriages, furniture, and railway plant, the\npeople of Ontario could now probably hold their own in\nH iff-\"\n98\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nthe markets of the world without protection. Large\nshipments of farming tools are now being made to\nAustralia, the British manufacturer not yet having\nsufficiently learned the art, common to American and\nCanadian, of making tools which combine a maximum\nof .strength with a minimum of weight, the special\nrequirement of warm countries. The coarser forms\nof cotton manufacture have also advanced rapidly in\nCanada, but this centres chiefly in Montreal and the\nLower Provinces, where the French population furnishes\na cheap and steady supply of factory labour. The same\nis true of the sugar-refining industry, which has made\nimmense strides under the national policy. Raw sugar\nis now admitted free of duty, and in this important\npoor man's luxury the Canadian is almost on a level\nwith the British consumer, as he is on a higher level\nin respect of tea and coffee, which are untaxed. The\n\" free breakfast table \" has had much to do with reconciling the farmer and working man of Canada to a\nrevenue system otherwise pressing heavily upon them.\nAmong the cities of Ontario, Toronto, the capital,\ntends to become the literary and intellectual centre of\nthe Dominion, and almost the rival of Montreal in commercial prestige. Its population is close upon 200,000.\nThe largest and most influential daily newspapers of the\nDominion are published here; those of the larger city\nof Montreal being somewhat handicapped by appearing\nin the midst of a bi-lingual population. The state-\nsupported University and the well-endowed collegiate\ninstitutions of several religious bodies adorn Toronto Eastern Canada 99\nwith groups of fine buildings, and give it a considerable learned society.\nThe situation of the city immediately upon Lake\nOntario mitigates the severity of inland summer heat.\nBoating clubs and yachting clubs around the harbour\nillustrate the tastes and amusements of the people, and\nexplain the aquatic reputation of the place. By means\nof good steamboat connection across the lake, and of\nthe electric railway, Niagara has been brought within\nthe limit of a day's pleasant outing. On summer afternoons and evenings the populace streams across in cheap\nferryboats to the Island which fronts the harbour, to\nenjoy the fresh breezes of the lake. In default of the\nsea shore, fashionable Toronto escapes, for outdoor life\nin holiday time, to the charming Muskoka Lake district,\na hundred miles to the north, the numerous islands of\nwhich are becoming dotted with the huts, cottages or\nvillas of its summer visitors.\nAltogether Toronto has advantages which make it,\namong the cities of the Empire, a distinctly pleasant\nplace in which to live. It has been ambitious, and like\nother ambitious communities has suffered in late years\nfrom over-speculation in real estate, and from building,\nin advance of the actual wants of the population. But\nthe lesson of moderation was quickly learned, and its\nprosperity has had no permanent check.\nIn sentiment Toronto is intensely British. The\nfoundation of the place by United Empire Loyalists\nafter the American Revolution, and the part which it\nhas taken in various crises of Canadian history since\nH 2 IOO\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nthat time, sufficiently account for the peculiar strength\nof this feeling. The remark applies equally to much\nof Southern Ontario, which owes its early settlement\nchiefly to the Loyalist migration. In the war of 1812\nits borders formed the chief line of attack and defence.\nAlong them are found the battle-fields on which aggression was resisted, and security won for Canadian territory. Noble tradition has thus been added to original\nsentiment to form a persistent and aetive force which\nstill profoundly influences the whole community.\nHamilton, beautifully situated on a bay at the head\nof Lake Ontario, with London and Woodstock further\ninland, are other towns of the province which derive a\nvery marked prosperity chiefly from being the centres\nof splendid agricultural districts. Kingston, at the foot\nof Lake Ontario, has a history dating back to the early\ndays of French occupation, and is now the seat of a\nflourishing University, and of the Military College of\nthe Dominion.\nOttawa, the political capital of the Dominion, is also\nin Ontario. When selected in 1858 to be the seat of\ngovernment, it was a remote and unimportant lumbering village, chosen as a compromise between the rival\nclaims of Montreal, Quebec and Toronto. Since that\ntime it has grown rapidly and has now 50,000 inhabitants. Canadians are proud, and with some reason, of\nthe Parliament buildings. Favoured by a splendid site\non a high bluff overlooking the Ottawa River and the\nChaudiere Falls, their architectural effect is distinctly\nimposing. The buildings are a monument to the fore- ^\nEastern Canada i o i\nsight of Sir John Macdonald. It was chiefly under\nhis guidance that, years before confederation was an\naccomplished fact, construction was begun and continued with resolute reference to the future greatness\nof the country. Ottawa continues to be the centre of\nan extensive lumbering industry, and the saw-mills\nalong the river, with the pulp-mills which utilise the\nrefuse wood, are the main dependence of the labouring\npopulation. The outskirts of the city still indicate its\nrecent origin, or perhaps the inability of municipal\ngovernment to keep pace with the wants of a rapidly\ngrowing community. Possibly the perfection of the\ntram system which reaches out in all directions, driven,\nlighted, and in winter warmed with electricity obtained\nby utilising the Chaudiere Falls, makes attention to\nsuburban streets a secondary question. Many think\nthat the American plan of making the seat of the\ngeneral government an area exclusively under federal\ncontrol \"might have been adopted with advantage at\nOttawa.\nPassing by the Province of Quebec for the present, as\nrequiring individual treatment, I go on to the Maritime\nProvinces\u2014New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince\nEdward Island\u2014where the population is practically homogeneous with that of Ontario. One geographical fact\nmakes the relation of these provinces to the Dominion\nand to the Empire of the utmost significance. They\ncontain the only good ports on the eastern coast of\nCanada open to navigation in all seasons of the year.\nAs a harbour Halifax ranks among the best in the The Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nworld, as a naval station among the most important in\nthe Empire, The whole British navy could float, with\nroom to spare, at the splendid anchorage in Bedford\nBasin. The harbour is strongly fortified, the length\nand narrowness of the entrance channel making it singularly adapted to defence. When two or three more\nguns of the heaviest metal and most modem type have\nbeen placed in the casemates prepared for them, when\na complete search-light system has been installed, and\ntelegraphic and telephonic communication completed\nbetween the various forts and batteries, Halifax harbour will be practically unassailable. Those whose\nprofessional opinion is entitled to great weight complain of an incredible hesitation on the part of the\nauthorities in adding these final touches which are\nnecessary to give full effect to a position already so\nnearly impregnable. Halifax has direct cable connection with Bermuda, which stands only second to it in\nimportance as a station for the North Atlantic\nSquadron. This Bermuda cable has been laid almost\nexclusively for strategic purposes, and under imperial subsidy. It should be extended at once to\nthe West Indies, not merely to establish connection\nwith the remaining stations at St. Lucia and Kingston,\nbut for commercial reasons in which Canada, the\nWest Indian Islands, and the mother country are\nalike interested. Telegraphic communication with the\nislands is now carried on entirely through the United\nStates, and at heavy rates.\nSt. John, on the Bay of Fundy, stands next in im- Eastern Canada 103\nportance to Halifax. As a commercial port it has the\nadvantage over the latter of saving two or three hundred\nmiles of land carnage to the Western Provinces. The\nharbour has often been represented as difficult of access\non account of fog, but reliable statistics seem to prove\nthat there is no real ground for this opinion. St. John\nhas an important commerce, and is Likely to have more,\nbut it is practically undefended. I know of no place of\nequal importance in any part of the empire which\nwould in time of war be so entirely at the mercy of\nany one who chose to attack it. Halifax owes its\ndefence to the imperial treasury; that of St. John\u2014\nand the opportunity for either torpedo or battery\ndefence is excellent\u2014might well be undertaken by the\nDominion Government.\nThere are several minor ports. It has already been\npointed out that Louisburg in Cape Breton, long since\nfallen into decay, could easily be transformed, if necessary, into a well-defended coaling station.\nThe industrial position in the Maritime Provinces\nduring the last fifteen or twenty years has been very\npeculiar. For a long time the chief industries, those\nwhich occupied the great mass of the population, were\nlumbering, shipbuilding, and fishing. The finest pine\ntimber has now become partially exhausted. Spruce\ntimber, which at present constitutes the principal export, grows on soil not very well suited for agriculture,\nreproduces itself rapidly if the forests are protected\nfrom fire, and will therefore remain a permanent industry, though not one capable of maintaining a large J!\n104\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\npopulation. Besides, the timber trade is very uncertain, and subject to serious fluctuations from variation\nof snowfall and flood, as well as from ordinary commercial competition.\nThe substitution of iron for wood in shipbuilding has\nhad a disastrous effect upon several formerly prosperous\ncommunities. Places like St. John and Yarmouth,\nwhich twenty-five years ago had more tonnage afloat in\nproportion to population than any places of equal size\nin the world, have seen the carrying trade which brought\nthem wealth gradually slipping away without the chance\nof recovery, and in the effort to maintain an almost\nhopeless contest many large shipping firms have come\nto grief.\nThe fishing and agricultural industries have been\nseriously affected by American legislation; in the case\nof agriculture chiefly from want of organisation among\nthe people to meet new conditions.\nAll these circumstances have weighed heavily against\nthe provinces. The destruction by fire in 1877 of\nnearly the whole city of St. John, and the consequent\nruin, though in many cases delayed a few years, of\nleading commercial firms, made the situation worse.\nThe city has shown remarkable elasticity in retrieving\nits losses, but the effects of such a blow long remain.\nThe falling off of the West Indian trade left Halifax for\na time without one of its chief means of support, but this\nis now again reviving. Once more, the opening of the\nprairies of the North-West has not only had the effect\nof carrying the tide of immigration almost entirely Eastern Canada 105\nwestward past Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, but\nhas also drained away a proportion of the young and\nenterprising population. As a consequence the increase\nof population during the decade between 1881 and 1891\nwas very slight indeed. The facts which I have mentioned are quite sufficient to account for severe depression in any communities not having extraordinary\nenergy. But there has been a lack, among the mass of\nthe people, even of such energy and adaptability to\nchanging conditions as might fairly have been expected.\nThis is perfectly manifest to the observer who has the\nopportunity of making comparison with other communities, but would require too much space to discuss\nfully here. Partly a business fatalism, the offspring, I\nthink, of long subjection to the incalculable chances of\nthe lumber and fishing industries; partly careless habits\nof farm work induced by the same employments; partly\nthe hope constantly indulged of help from some god's\nhand thrust out from the political machine; this,\nperhaps, embodies in the fewest possible words what\none wishes to express. Surely nowhere in our wide\nBritish Empire, or in any other country, have so much\ntalent, effort, and time been spent in trying to squeeze\npublic and private prosperity out of politics as in the\nMaritime Provinces of Canada. The attempt has not\nsucceeded ; the provinces by the sea, though with most\nvaried resources, remain comparatively poor, while\nOntario grows increasingly rich, and Montreal begins to\nadd up its long lists of millionaires. A high average of\ncomfort widely prevails, but there are few examples of io6\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nthe great business success often achieved in other parts\nof the Dominion.\nBut it must not be thought that the poorer\nprovinces are without their compensations for the\npresent or their hopes for the future. I am not sure\nthat both are not such as fairly to balance the\nsituation. If these provinces have not the prestige\nof wealth, they have the severer and, as some may\nthink, the higher glory of moral influence and intellectual power. One of the most remarkable facts\nconnected with the growth of federated Canada has\nbeen the influence\u2014quite disproportionate to population\u2014of the public men of the Maritime Provinces\nin the Councils of the Dominion. Ontario owed to\nScotland Sir John Macdonald, George Brown, Alexander\nMackenzie, and Sir Alexander Gait. Montreal also has\ndrawn its merchant princes and organizers of industry\nchiefly from Scotland and England. The smaller\nprovinces have bred their own men, and they need not\nbe ashamed of the type. No doubt it was Sir John\nMacdonald's mind, with its Imperial turn of thought,\nwhich first fully grasped the idea of a United Canada\nas a part of a United Empire, but no one who knows\nthe prejudices and problems he had to face believes\nthat he could ever have realized his dream without\nhaving had at his back the political fighting energy\nof Sir Charles Tupper and the remarkable financial\nprudence and ability of Sir Leonard Tilley, the one\na son of Nova Scotia, the other of New Brunswick.\nWhen the veteran Premier died, the first and second\nS>U Eastern Canada 107\nchoice for a successor, after the temporary leadership of\nSir John Abbott, was from among Maritime Province\nmen.\nThe late Premier of the Dominion, Sir John\nThompson, the Minister of Marine in his Cabinet, Sir\nHibbert Tupper, and the scientific specialist, Dr.\nDawson, who contributed so much by their services to\nsecure a favourable issue for the Behring Sea award\n\u2014work which was warmly recognized by the Imperial\nGovernment\u2014are all Maritime Province men. Those\nwho know most of the conduct of the Halifax Fisheries\nCommission in 1877, the first great national arbitration\nwon by Great Britain, are aware that success was\nlargely due to the presentation of the British case by\nthe late Mr. S. R. Thompson, the brilliant New Brunswick advocate. The present able Finance Minister,\nHon. George E. Foster, is from the same province, as\nwas the late Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of\nthe Dominion.\nThis range of influence is not confined to politics.and\nlaw. Very singular it is to observe how these comparatively poor provinces, with their simple and some-\n-times rigorous conditions of life, are furnishing brains\nto other parts of the continent. Sir William Dawson\nthe distinguished scientist and head of M'Gill College,\nMontreal; Principal Grant, of Queen's University,\nKingston; Dr. Rand, President of the new M'Master\nUniversity at Toronto; Dr. Bourinot, of Ottawa, the\nkeen analyst and exponent of Federal Government;\nDr. Schurman, President of Cornell University, New io8\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nI\n; 0\nIT?\nYork; Professor Simon Newcomb, of the Washington\nObservatory, admittedly one of the foremost astronomers of the world; Archbishop O'Brien, the most\nconspicuous figure of the Roman Catholic Church in\nEastern Canada, are all from the same provinces. So\nare Charles Roberts and Bliss Carman, whose names as\npoets, well known in Canada and the United States,\nare also beginning to be known in England, and who,\nwhatever estimate critics may ultimately put upon\ntheir work, are certainly genuine outgrowths of their\nnative soil, and catch their inspirations from the conditions amid which they live. Professorships, editorial\nchairs, and the pulpits of all denominations, not only\nacross the breadth of the Dominion from Quebec to\nVancouver, but through the Eastern and Western\nStates, are in a singularly large proportion supplied\n'\u25a0from the same source.\nBritain herself owes no small debt to these Maritime\nProvinces. They gave her General Fenwick Williams,\nthe hero of Kars, whose name will always be associated\nwith one of the most brilliant episodes in our country's\nmilitary history, as well as Sir Provo Wallis, whose\nmemory is still fresh in the minds of English people.\nInglis of Lucknow was the son of a Nova Scotian\nBishop. Stairs, Robinson, and Mackay, the three\nbrilliant Canadian youths who have laid down their\nlives for the Empire in Africa within the last two or\nthree years, were all from the Maritime Provinces.\nSamuel Cunard, whose wise and far-sighted plans laid\nthe foundations of what has long been the most perfect steamship service in the world, and gave Great\nBritain the foremost place, which she has always\nretained, in this great field of national enterprise,\nworked out these plans in his native city of Halifax.\nA whole range of modern humorous literature took\nits rise from the fertile brain of Haliburton, the wise\nand witty Nova Scotian Judge. His friend Joseph\nHowe, with extraordinary prescience, anticipated by\nforty years nearly all that statesmen and thinkers\nare now saying about the unity of the Empire, and\nadvocated it with a warmth of eloquence and power\nof statement as yet absolutely unmatched. The more\nserious work of Haliburton, too, embodies some of\nthe earliest and best discussions of the same question,\nand the writings of these two men make it clear that\nin the remote province of Nova Scotia there existed\nhalf a century ago a foresight in national affairs not\nthen found in the central councils of the Empire.\nThis is a long list, but it is worth going over. It\nis not at all clear that in the longer judgments of\nhistory the people of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick,\nand Prince Edward Island will be thought to have\nsufficient reason for envying the material prosperity\nof Ontario and the milUonaires of Montreal.\nBut to me the business possibilities of these provinces in the future, given well-directed energy,\nenterprise, and thought, seem in the highest degree\npromising. Fisheries, coal mines,-forests, gold-bearing\nquartz reefs, iron, gypsum, arid Lime deposits are all\nlarge and fairly remunerative fields of industry. The Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nA good deal still remains to be done to improve the\nprofits of the fisheries, by studying the requirements\nof the best markets.\nThe methods of curing fish are often inferior\u2014the\nresult, probably, of much trade with the negro population of the West Indies and other tropical countries,\namong whom the standard of quality is low.\nCoal mines already do well, and will do better as\nthe market widens. Iron presents greater difficulties.\nThe iron ores of Nova Scotia are excellent in quality\nand unlimited in quantity. At New Glasgow, the chief\ncentre of manufacture, they are in immediate proximity\nto coal and limestone, so that all the natural conditions seem most favourable. As iron is one of the\nhighly protected industries of the Dominion, one\nstudied the growth of the manufacture here with\nspecial interest. There is a considerable output of\npig iron, and large steel works. The most striking\nenergy and skill have been shown in the organization\nof the industry, but still there is lacking something to\ncomplete success.\nOne finds that the cheap water transport across\nthe Atlantic, which hits the farmer in England so\nhard, equally hits the iron master in Canada, since\niron can be conveyed from Glasgow to Montreal for\na mere fraction of what it costs to carry it by rail from\nNew Glasgow to the Upper Provinces; this cancels\nat once fully half the advantage derived from the protective tariff of ten dollars a ton. Water transport is available at New Glasgow also, but special \u2022\\\nEastern Canada in\ncircumstances make carriage by rail necessary in\nmost cases.\nIron, again, is a material which particularly requires\na wide market for the cheapest production. The\nspecial machinery used is expensive, and almost as\nmuch is required to give a small finished output as\na large one in any given line. Hence small orders are\nnot filled with much profit.\nThe conclusion I formed was that though iron manufacture in Canada is not a failure, it is not yet a\nbrilliant success. An immense production of iron and\nsteel at cheap rates has been the result of protection\nin the United States, but that end has not yet been\nattained in the Dominion.\nThere was a prevalent opinion in the early days of\nConfederation that the Maritime Provinces were to\nbecome in manufacturing to the rest of Canada what\nNew England has been to the West of the United\nStates. That expectation has not been realized, and\nmay be still remote. But there are other opportunities.\nThe farming resources of these provinces have only as\nyet been tapped. Let the earnestness and common effort\nso long turned upon party politics be bent more fully\nupon agricultural improvement; let something better be\nsubstituted for the present careless, rough-and-ready\nmethods of farming and marketing; let cheese and\nbutter factories be established everywhere at intervals\nof a few miles, as in Ontario, over which the provinces\nhave the greatest possible advantage in pasturage; let\na thoroughly organized means of rapid transit with cold 112\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nstorage be provided to England; let rigid inspection\nand grading of all products before shipping\u2014apples,\nhay, butter, cheese, 'fish, poultry, eggs, &c.\u2014be provided, and the people of the Maritime Provinces will\nawake to find out that they hold an almost unequalled\nposition with relation to external markets. Better trade\nconditions are evidently soon coming with the United\nStates. The Provinces will then stand practically midway between, and in easy sea communication with, the\ntwo richest purchasing communities of the world\u2014one\nactually free to their products, and the other on the\nway to become so\u2014communities which will be competing for their products, and are ready to pay\nthe highest price for everything which is of the very\nbest.\nIt has been said that the Maritime Provinces have\nspecial advantages over those of the St. Lawrence in\npasturage. This is in large part due to the greater\ndampness of the climate caused by the vicinity of the\nsea and the mists borne in from the Gulf Stream, but\npartly to other conditions.\nThe rushing tides of the upper part of the Bay of\nFundy carry in their waters a fine detritus with\ncuriously fertilizing properties. For a considerable\ndistance inland along the rivers which flow into the\nBay from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, there have\nbeen formed by the deposit of this material large areas\nof marsh land of well nigh inexhaustible fertility. The\nbroad marshes of Tantramar, Grand Pre, and other\nsimilar districts produce to-day the same luxuriant Eastern Canada\n11\ncrops of hay that they did when they were dyked, and\nso rescued from the sea a century and a half ago by the\nearly Acadian settlers. Meanwhile they have received\nno fertilization save that which has come from an\noccasional overflow of the tide and a new deposit of\nthe marsh mud. Scarcely inferior to these marshes\nare the intervalle lands found along the large rivers of\nNew Brunswick Prince Edward Island, again, has a\nsoil of great natural fertility, while for agricultural\npurposes the island possesses a unique advantage in\nimmense deposits of \" mussel mud\"\u2014the decayed\norganic remains of various kinds of shell fish\u2014which,\nin the course of centuries, has accumulated to a great\ndepth in the bays and river mouths of the coast.\nRaised by dredging through the ice during the winter\nmonths and applied to the soil, this proves a most\nvaluable fertilizer, and adds greatly to the productive\ncapacity of the island.\nAs a fruit-growing country Nova Scotia stands only\nsecond to Ontario. The orchards of the Annapolis\nand Cornwallis valleys are famed far and wide, and\nthe export of apples to both Britain and the United\nStates has already grown to large proportions. \u25a0 In\nthe interests of this industry a school of horticulture\nhas been opened at Wolfville, under the auspices of\nthe Nova Scotia government. For emigrants with a\nmoderate amount of capital, willing to acquire some\nskill in horticulture, and. aiming at a life of modest\nindependence amid pleasant surroundings, I know of\nfew places throughout the empire which would seem\nI U4\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nmore attractive than these picturesque orchard districts of Nova Scotia.\nOf the Maritime Provinces generally it may be said\nthat the climatic conditions are singularly favourable.\nNearness to the sea mitigates alike the heat of summer\nand the cold of winter. The tide of tourist travel is\nnow turning this way, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence\nand Bay of Fundy, with their cool breezes and beautiful scenery, promise to become one of the chief summer\nresorts of dwellers in the heated inland regions of\nAmerica.\nAlthough manufactures have increased much in the\nDominion, agriculture is still, and will be, the main-\nstay of general prosperity in Eastern as well as\nWestern Canada, in Ontario as well as in the Maritime\nProvinces. It still offers a sufficient opening for emigrants, but under very different circumstances from\nthose of the West. The attraction of the prairies, the\nfacility with which farms are created there, have during late years diverted emigration from the wooded\nEastern Provinces. But a wooded farm has its very\ndistinct advantages, although involving more pre-\nLiminary labour. Plenty of timber for building and\nfencing, abundance of fuel close at hand, occupation\nduring the winter season, shelter from the extreme\nseverity of winter\u2014all these are weighty considerations\nin fixing a home. Hardy working men, especially\nthose accustomed to the use of an axe, or wilLing to\nacquire it, not afraid of a fourteen or fifteen hours day\nduring the summer, balanced by the hope of greater Eastern Canada\nii5\nleisure in the winter, still have, in my opinion, an\nexcellent opportunity to make comfortable homes for\nthemselves and provide a healthy life for their families\nby taking up the unsettled woodland districts of\nEastern Canada, where ungranted lands of excellent\nquality can still be obtained on easy terms. Railways\nhave been so extensively built in all the provinces that\nnowhere will the settler be far removed from ready\naccess to markets and civilization, and the severe privations and the isolation of the early pioneers of the\ncountry need not be undergone.\nSuch things are largely a matter of personal inclination, but I must confess, after much observation of\nthe two sides of Canadian life, that the East would\nhave for me the - greater attraction. The nearness of\nthe sea, the varied scenery and range of industry, the\neasier access to the best educational advantages, or to\nEuropean and American markets and social centres,\nweigh heavily against what is the supreme advantage\nof the West\u2014facility in the immediate creation of a\nfarm.\nTo emigrants who may prefer to undertake to make\na farm in the same way that all those of Eastern\nCanada have hitherto been made\u2014that is, from forest\nland\u2014there are still many opportunities. In Nova\nScotia and Prince Edward Island most of the better\nland has already been taken up by settlers. In the\nnorthern part of New Brunswick, however, between\nand along the rivers Restigouche, Tobique and\nMiramichi, there are tracts containing some millions\n1 2 I!\n116\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nof acres almost entirely unsettled and only partially\nexplored, but known to contain large blocks of fertile\nand. As the good soil alternates with much of an\ninferior quality only suited for timber growth, great\ncare should be used by the immigrant in getting competent and reliable advice before selecting a spot for\nhis farm. It is to be feared that carelessness on the\npart of government in allowing people to settle on\ninferior soils has in the past done something to\ndiminish that contentment which induces further\nimmigration.\nIn the northern part of Ontario, again,, there is\nanother large area of still ungranted forest land which\nrecent explorations have shown to be as well adapted\nfor settlement as much of that which now constitutes\nthe best farming lands of the province.\nOne hesitates about advising the old country emigrant\nto face this forest life. It is true that thousands have\nsucceeded under like conditions before. But his ignorance of backwood arts handicaps him heavily, and it\ntakes some time to acquire the easy use of the axe\u2014\nthe one implement upon which he must constantly\ndepend. On the whole it is better that the pioneer\nwork of such districts should be left to native settlers,\nwhile new comers should settle on farms partly\ncleared.\nBesides the labouring man who looks forward to\nmaking a home by dint of sheer work, Eastern Canada\noffers very distinct opportunities to other classes of\nBritish people. First among these may be placed what Eastern Canada\n117\nare known in England as tenant-farmers; men who\nwould bring some capital, together with skill for\nagricultural work, to their new homes. A fair degree\nof flexibility in adapting themselves to new conditions\nof climate and farm management would seem to me all\nthat is necessary to insure for such men reasonable\nand perhaps very considerable success, better on the\nwhole than what is now easily gained in Great Britain.\nFor settlers of this class the condition of things in the\nolder provinces makes the present a favourable time\nfor migration. Land values have decreased of late in\nCanada as in England, and it is easy to buy farms\npartly improved and with buildings on them at a\nreasonable rate.\nI also think that people with a fixed income of from\n\u00a3200 to \u00a3400 a year, with simple habits and a liking\nfor country life, and with families to bring up, would\nmake their money go further and improve the prospects\nof their children by buying small and manageable\nplaces in many districts of the older parts of Canada.\nNear all the smaller provincial towns, Windsor,\nAmherst, Fredericton, Kingston, London, Woodstock,\nand a dozen others which might be mentioned, they\nwould find many of the advantages of pleasant society,\ncheap education, and comfortable living to an extent\nwhich their money will not command in the crowded\nold country, and which they cannot obtain for years to\ncome in the thinly-settled West.\nThe fact that there are partly improved farms to be\nbought cheaply in the East is no indication that these n8\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nfarms are useless or cannot be made profitable. Everybody who knows America knows that the pioneer spirit\nsometimes runs through whole classes of society like a\nfever; it induces people to give up what is good on\nthe mere hope of finding what is better; it leads them\nto despise the solid advantages of settled society for\nthe uncertain chances of new regions. I remember\nin a visit to the American West, twenty-five years ago,\nhearing a Wisconsin farmer saying with all seriousness\nthat he would not exchange a thousand acres of\nWestern farm land for a whole township in the Eastern\nStates, which were his old home. The sentiment was\nnot peculiar; the whole Western atmosphere was full\nof it at the time. Yet the ordinary observer could see\nthat it was clearly a mania; the choice of advantages\nwas in reality very nicely balanced. A wave of Like\nfeeling has been passing over Eastern Canada during\nthe last ten years\u2014in the Maritime Provinces stimulated\nby the circumstances to which I have before referred;\nthe men who go to the West may or may not find the\nsuccess they look for; those who take their places, if\nmen of moderate desires, may congratulate themselves\non reaping solid advantage from the adventurous spirit\nof their predecessors.\nTo men with moderate capital, wishing to avail\nthemselves of such opportunities as I have described, a\nword of counsel may be given. English experience\ndoes not furnish any reliable guide for buying land and\nstock in Canada, and emigrants of the class I speak of\nmust take this into consideration. Two suggestions Eastern Canada\n119\nfor new-comers from Britain occur to me. One is the\nsharpening of their own wits a bit, before making their\npurchases. If a man with some capital who wants to\nsettle in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, or Ontario, is in\na position to engage himself quietly as a labourer for a\nyear or so on a farm, keep his eyes open, and thus,\nwhile gaining experience, get a true idea of land and\nstock values in Canada, he would be in an excellent\nposition to deal on fair terms; at any rate, he should\nspend some time in careful examination of the country\nbefore purchasing. A second method of more general\napplication may be suggested, and I think it deserves\ncareful consideration. The governments of the older\nprovinces profess to be anxious to draw out settlers of\nthe type I have referred to\u2014tenant-farmers and others\nwith a small capital. Let them appoint perfectly competent men in the various districts, to whom newcomers could be officially referred for sound advice on\nfarm values, or even for arbitration if necessary. If\nthe services of thoroughly reliable men could be secured\nthis would give an assurance of fair treatment to the\ninexperienced, which does not now exist, and which is\ngreatly required. As I have said in treating of the\nWest, the contented settler is the best of all emigration\nagents, and I believe that this method of guarding\nagainst discontent is reasonable and practicable.\nSomething must still be said of the remarkable,\nmaritime position of Eastern Canada, and of what has\nbeen done to improve it. I have previously spoken of\nthe great expenditure made by Canadians to get in )\nrailway touch with their vast Western heritage. But\nrailways are far from representing the full measure of\ntheir efforts in this direction. The canal system and\nthe means taken to create it deserve study. No\ncountry in the world has such a marvellous system of\nnatural inland navigation as Canada. After one has\nfairly entered Canadian waters at the Straits of\nBelleisle, there are still 2,259 miles of navigation to\nthe head of Lake Superior, a distance slightly greater\nthan the sea voyage from Liverpool to Belleisle. But\nat several places this line is broken by shallows, falls,\nor rapids, and to overcome these has been a work of no\nslight difficulty. It is not so many years since a large\nseagoing steamship could not ascend the St. Lawrence\nfrom Quebec to Montreal. The dredging of a channel\nthrough Lake St. Peter has changed all this, and so\ngiven Montreal her true position as the Liverpool of\nCanada. This very considerable undertaking has also\nmade it possible for ironclads to ascend the river to the\nsame port\u2014a fact which I have not hitherto seen noted\nas a new element in the defensive conditions of the\nEmpire.\nIn all it has been necessary to construct over\nseventy miles of canal, the rapids of the St. Lawrence,\n1 the peninsula through which the river Niagara flows,\nand the Sault Ste. Marie offering the chief points of\nobstruction. The 600 feet which represent the\ndifference of level between the tidewater on the St.\nLawrence and Lake Superior are overcome by no fewer\nthan fifty-three locks. Canada has.already spent upon\nS : If Eastern Canada 121\nher canals nearly $60,000,000; their completion to an\naverage depth of fourteen feet, so as to accommodate\nseagoing vessels, is now being pushed forward with\nmuch energy. A convention of business men, from\nWestern Canada and the United States, has considered\nat Toronto the question of deepening them to twenty-\none feet, and has passed resolutions urging the advisability of such a course. Montreal is naturally not\nenthusiastic about a project which would make Toronto\nand other points on the great Lakes ports for oceangoing vessels, and a scheme of such magnitude will\ntake a good while to mature. That this canal system\nwill in any case gradually become the outlet for an\nenormous traffic cannot be questioned. It is already\nvery considerable. Nearly 1,000,000 tons of freight\nwere moved in 1893 on the Welland Canal, between\nLakes Erie and Ontario; as much more on the canals of\nthe St. Lawrence ; and 650,000 tons on those of the\nOttawa. Although I had previously studied the\nfigures, I must confess that the proportions which the\ncommerce of the inland lakes of America has already\nassumed came to me, on actual examination, as a\nsurprise. It is at the Sault Ste. Marie canal, the point\nof connection between Lake Huron and Lake Superior,\nthat the volume of this traffic makes the most vivid\nimpression upon the imagination. The single lock in\noperation there on the American side, when I visited\nthe place, holds three or four large vessels or barges at\na tune. The ship in which we were to cross Lake\nSuperior, one of the fine vessels of the Canadian\nJ t.\nI\n122\nZ\/&0 Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nPacific line, came to the foot of the canal, which is\nonly about a mile long, at noon on Sunday. But,\nthough the lock was filled and emptied as rapidly as\npossible all the rest of the afternoon, it was night\nbefore our turn came to enter, so great was the pressure\nof shipping. The work goes on by night as well as by\nday, and throughout the seven days of the week. The\ncanal is open only about 220 days during the year,\nbut during the last two seasons the shipping passing\nthrough it has exceeded by one or two million tons\nthat which goes through the Suez Canal. After\nmaking allowance for the fact that the voyages are\nmuch shorter than those made by vessels using the\nSuez Canal, and the cargoes less valuable, enough\nremains to make this picture of water-borne commerce\nat the heart of the continent a very remarkable one.\nBut its development, hitherto chiefly American, and on\nthe south side of the lake, has only begun. Preparations on a large scale are being made for the vast\nexpansion which is sure to come. On the American\nside a second and larger lock is being constructed,\nwhile on the northern side of the falls, a mile away, the\nCanadian Government has constructed a third, more\ncapacious than either of the American ones, at an\nexpense of between $3,000,000 and $4,000,000. I\nthink that this lock is the largest in the world. It is\n900 feet long, 60 feet wide, and 20 feet 3 inches deep-\nNow that it is completed there is a clear Canadian\nwaterway for ships from Fort William to the Atlantic.\nAmerican shipping already uses Canadian canals to the Eastern Canada\n12;\nextent of about 600,000 tons per annum. This canal\nsystem furnishes a striking proof of the prevailing eastward and westward trend of the trade. It is an equally\nstriking proof of the community of trade interest\nbetween the East and the West. The large expenditure\nalready made by the East to improve these waterways\ncan only be fully compensated for by Eastern ports becoming the outlet towards Europe of Western\nproducts, the distributing points from which the West\nwill receive its imports.\nFurther east, at the southern part of the Gulf of\nSt. Lawrence, a remarkable enterprise, which it seems\nmost natural to mention in connection with the canal\nsystem of Canada, and which is practically a part of\nit, has been brought almost to completion. In order\nto avoid the somewhat dangerous coast of Nova Scotia,\nand to save from 500 to 700 miles of navigation, a\na ship railway is being constructed, instead of the\ncanal long thought of, across the Isthmus of Chig-\nnecto, to connect the navigation of the St. Lawrence\nwith that of the Bay of Fundy. About $4,000,000\nhave now been spent upon this work, and to complete\nit an expenditure of about $1,500,000 more is required.\nWhen the works were nearing completion the operations were suspended as a' result of the financial\ndifficulties arising out of the Baring failure and the\ncondition of affairs in Argentina, where the contractor\nfor the railway was involved in very heavy engagements. But it is impossible to believe that so important an undertaking will be left unfinished after 124\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nso large an expenditure has already been incurred,\nand there is reason to believe that the work will soon\nbe resumed. The inception and execution of the\nproject furnish a remarkable example of courage in\nsupporting a novel enterprise on the part of the\nCanadian Government, and of persevering energy on\nthe part of the Canadian engineer, Mr. H. G. C.\nKetchum, its projector. The idea of transporting\nladen ships over seventeen miles of railway from sea\nto sea was at first met with ridicule and incredulity.\nBut Mr. Ketchum, by dint of hard argument, secured\nfor his plans in succession the support and endorsement of the local communities, of the leading provincial\njournals, of the boards of trade in the neighbouring\ntowns, and finally of the Dominion Parliament, which,\nafter full discussion, voted a subsidy of something over\n$170,000 per .annum for twenty years in support of the\nundertaking. Sir John Fowler and Sir Benj amin Baker,\nthe distinguished English engineers, are now associated\nwith him in responsibility for the satisfactory construction of the work. Finally, financiers and contractors\nwere found to undertake its execution, and, though\nthe latter have been temporarily embarrassed by a\nfinancial crisis almost without precedent, there is little\ndoubt that the work will yet be completed. Without\nbeing able to bring to the subject the knowledge or\njudgment of an expert, I personally believe that the\nundertaking, backed as it is by the Dominion subsidy,\nwill succeed, and will do much to develop the great resources in coal, timber, building stone, fish, and agri-\n11 & Eastern Canada 125\ncultural produce of the Gulf districts especially, for\nwhich better trade relations with the States will open\nup a very large market in New England, while the\nBay of Fundy ports will be put in easy touch with\nthe West. But of this commercial aspect of the\nquestion it is for financiers and traders to judge. They\nhave before them all the data by which the Dominion\nParliament and other representative bodies were originally convinced of the merits of the undertaking.\nIt would seem that the railway might also be of\ngreat service, in case of necessity, for coast defence,\nthrough the facility it would give of transferring gunboats of moderate tonnage or torpedo-boats from one\nside of the isthmus to the other. I had an opportunity\nof looking over a portion of the line. The greater part\nof the roadway, the heavy stone work, and the excavations for the terminal docks are completed\u2014:in all,\nabout three-fourths of the work, the whole presenting\na remarkable example of solid construction, apparently\nquite equal to the heavy work the Line will have to do.\nIt will be a striking fact if the completion and\nsuccessful operation of this Canadian undertaking\nprove definitely the advantage, as its promoters claim\nit will do, of railway transportation for laden ships,\nsince it cannot but profoundly affect opinion in regard\nto other even more important points of commercial\ntransit.\nI have dwelt upon these matters somewhat in detail,\nbecause I wish to show with \u25a0 what quiet but persistent\nenergy and foresight Eastern Canada is supplementing 126\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP, v\nI! i\n\u00a5 l\nits great natural advantages, and laying broadly the\nbasis of commercial expansion. When it is remembered that the Dominion, in addition to her vast\nexpenditure on railways and canals for inland development, is also heavily subsidizing steamship routes to\nJapan and China, to the West Indies and to Australia,\nand that she is entering into engagements to support\nstill more energetically a Transatlantic service of the\nfirst class, and a new Imperial cable system across the\nPacific, I think a sufficient answer is given to Mr.\nGoldwin Smith when he claims that provincial feeling\nstill dominates the public life of the Dominion.\n^-. CHAPTER VI\neastern Canada.\u2014Continued\nQuebec\nThe French Canadian question is the crux of\npolitics in the Dominion. It does not present so many\ndifficulties or arouse such bitter animosities as does the\nIrish question in Britain; it is not so impracticable as\nthe race and colour questions which are clouding the\nnational horizon in the United States; it does not\neven seem to me so perplexing as the questions which\nthe contact of a temperate and tropical cLimate, and\ntherefore of strong and weak races, is beginning to\nproduce in Australia, but still it is difficult, and for a\ngood while to come will test the temper, the tact, and\nthe patriotism of the Canadian people, whether French\nor English.\nIn some of its aspects, however, there has been of\nlate a tendency to exaggerate the magnitude of the\nquestion. People in England were so accustomed less\nthan a generation ago to think of Canada as a country\nchiefly inhabited by Frenchmen, they were so con- 128\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nscious of the fact that the presence of a French element\ndominated all questions of Canadian policy, that the\nimpression has scarcely yet died away. It is well,\ntherefore, to form an accurate idea of the place which\nQuebec and the French Canadian hold and are likely\nto hold in the Dominion.\nAt the time of confederation in 1867, Quebec was\none province among four; it is now, through the introduction of new provinces, but one among seven.\nBut the work of carving out new provinces has only\nbegun. Its representation in the Dominion House of\nCommons was fixed permanently at sixty-five, the\nproportion of this number to the population of the\nprovince being taken as a basis from which all other\nprovincial representation should be calculated at each\ndecennial census. These sixty-five representatives\nsat at first in a House of 181 members; under the\nautomatic rule of expansion they now form part of a\nHouse of 215 members. Of these sixty-five members seventeen are at the present time English-\nspeaking, and may be taken as fairly representative of\nthe English population of the province. The strictly\nFrench vote of Quebec in the Federal Parliament may\ntherefore be placed at about forty-eight.\nOut of the whole population of the Dominion, which\nwas 4,833,237 in 1891,1,404,974 were French-speaking;\nof these 1,186,346 were in the Province of Quebec.\nThese proportions, it will be seen, are weighty, but\nnot dominant.\nSo much for the present. In forecasting the future VI\nEastern Canada\n129\none or two main points must be kept in view.' The\nfirst is that the French population of Canada is not\nreinforced from without. France, with her declining\npopulation, now sends very few emigrants abroad, and\nshe sends them least of all to Quebec. In the whole\nprovince of Quebec there were found in 1891 only\n2,883 persons who were born in France, and this\nnumber must have represented the migration for an\nentire generation.\nOn the other hand, the French Canadian has himself become an emigrant from his native country.\nIn an article in the Forum, Louis Frechette, the\nFrench Canadian writer, estimates the number of his\ncompatriots in the United States at between eleven\nand twelve hundred thousand. This estimate appears\nto be much exaggerated, but the number is certainly\nvery great. An American estimate places the numbers\nin the six New England States alone at something over\n300,000.\nOne qualifying feature of this exodus to New\nEngland is, however, to be noted. Numbers of the\npeople do not go to remain. The Commissioner for\nthe census of 1891 pointed out to me at Ottawa the\nremarkable fact that in the returns Quebec was often\ngiven as the birthplace of the elder children of a\nlarge French family, the United States as the birthplace of a succeeding group, to be followed again by\nothers bom in Quebec. The migration, therefore, is\nin part temporary, and the present inclination of the\nhabitant is to gravitate back to his native soil.\nK n\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nill\nn>y:\nThis \u2022 exodus is almost exclusively confined to the\npoorer and less educated population of the province;\nfor the able, educated, and ambitious French Canadian\nthe best field is still found at home among his own\npeople and under the Canadian system, where he has\na far better opportunity to win political, professional,\nor literary success. In the United States he could\nonly succeed by using the English language and\nbecoming entirely Americanized; in Canada he can\nsucceed even while remaining a Frenchman; a moderate\nadaptation to English ideas opens freely to him all\nthe avenues to power.\nBut, whatever qualification we give to it, a migration which has already advanced so far must profoundly\naffect the future of the French race in Canada, unless\nsome change of industrial circumstances or of race\nfeeling\u2014and neither is impossible\u2014should result in\na refluent wave of movement on a corresponding scale.\nThe tendency of the French Canadian both in Canada\nand the United States to drift into the cities and to\nbecome a factory operative, instead of the hardy and\nadventurous pioneer of Western civilization, such as.\nhe once was, is another element in the question; it is\nalmost as significant as the change which has made\nFrance cease to be a colonizing power in the true sense\nof the expression. Had the whole tide of migration\nfrom Quebec been directed to the newly opened West\ninstead of to New England the results must have been\nvery considerable.\nAgain, it has commonly been supposed that the VI\nEastern Canada\n131\nnatural increase amongst the French Canadians is far-\nbeyond that in the English provinces. Certainly the\ncontrast between the large families commonly found\namong the devout, moral, and conservative French\nof Canada, and the strictly limited families which\nare the rule in France is striking enough, and\nfurnishes a singular problem for the student of social\nor national evolution.\nThere are apparently few things which give to the\nhabitant of Quebec such unalloyed satisfaction as to\nsee HmseLf surrounded by a numerous offspring, whatever the degree of comfort in which he may be able to\nmaintain them. In this feeling he has, curiously\nenough, public support.\nThree or four years ago the government of the\nprovince, reverting to the policy of the French Kings\nin the early days of Canadian colonization, instituted\na system of premiums on large families, by offering to\ngive a grant of a hundred acres of land to all heads of\nfamilies who had twelve or more children. This grant\nhas already been made in nearly 2,000 cases, and applications are said to be still flowing in. Families of\ntwenty children are common; families of twenty-five\nor more are not unknown. But in spite of special\nfacts Like these the last Canadian census proved that\nthe advantage in the natural rate of increase of\nQuebec over the other provinces was comparatively\nslight\u2014in the case of Ontario it amounted to scarcely\nmore than 1 per cent.\nA higher death-rate, possibly arising from lower\nK 2 m:\n132\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nconditions of life, in part neutralizes the higher birthrate.\nThere is a still more important point to keep in\nmind. While Quebec is not reinforced from without,\nall the rest of Canada is being strengthened by a\nsteady stream of people who, even when they come\nfrom the German, Scandinavian, and Latin countries\nof Europe, hasten to learn the English language,\nand within a generation or two become thoroughly\nAnglicised. In a previous chapter I have referred\nto a movement of pioneers from some districts of the\nUnited States towards the North-west of Canada.\nThis migration alone, under the pressure of land\nhunger in the Western States, might easily grow to\nproportions which would add to the English speaking\npopulation of the North-West as much as is subtracted\nfrom that of Quebec by the exodus to New England.\nIt is a significant circumstance that at the last census\nOntario had 405,000 inhabitants returned as born in\nother countries and therefore representing the flow of\nimmigration, while Quebec had only 82,000 or one-\nfifth as many of the same class.\nAll these facts\u2014and they are mentioned only as facts\u2014\ngo to show that the relative weight of French Canada\nin the Dominion must steadily and perhaps rapidly\ndecline. But though Quebec is thus becoming a\nsecondary factor in Canadian development it presents\nproblems which, as I have said, are perplexing.\nTo understand the situation, it must, in the first\nplace, always be remembered that the Frenchman, so\nIt far from being an alien in the country, is a Canadian of\nthe Canadians. The love of the soil is burned into\nhis very soul. He looks back to a long period in the\nearly occupation of the country which the brilliant pen\nof Parkman has shown to present not merely the most\npicturesque page in the history of America, but one of\nthe most picturesque in the history of the world. He\nunderwent the greatest hardships in settling the\ncountry; he suffered and fought and died to keep it\nunder the French flag. Since he was abandoned by\nFrance he has fought with even greater intrepidity and\nhas died as heroically to keep his country under the\nBritish flag.\nThe many thousands of French Canadians who go to\nwork in the mills and factories of New England the\nAmerican looks upon as aliens\u2014just as he looks\nupon the Italian or the Polish Jew\u2014almost as he\nlooks upon the Chinaman. A limited naturalization,\nwhich has made the Frendh Canadian vote count in\nelections, may suggest modification of this statement;\nbut it is still, in the main, true. In Canada, on the\nother hand, and, above all, in Quebec, the French\nCanadian is on his native heath. No sense or right of\ncitizenship is stronger than his. His English fellow-\nsubjects not only freely acknowledge this perfect equality\nof citizenship, but they even look upon him as a fellow-\ncitizen who has special claims upon their consideration,\nin view of the anomalous position which he has so long\nheld\u2014that of a loyal citizen of an Empire to which\nhe is not tied by either race or religion. BH\nj|\n1\nME\n1\n1\nil\n:\njjf M\n\u25a0\nH\n134\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nNor can any-just sense of irritation be connected\nwith his British citizenship. It came as the result of a\nconflict honourable to both the parties engaged in it.\nIt brought him a freedom of self-government he never\nknew before. It gave him a security for his religion\nwhich he could not have expected under the rule of\nFrance subsequent to the Revolution. It gave stability\nto his institutions which would have been out of the\nquestion had he been connected with a country which\nhas passed since 1759 through many revolutions. It\nhas left him free for more than a century to pursue his\navocations in peace, while France has been desolated by\ninternal convulsions and external attacks. From the\nfirst, or at least as soon as the necessity for -military\nrule had disappeared, he has received a consideration\nvery unusual in the case of countries won by arms. He\nnow. enjoys in the fullest sense and without any qualification all the rights of British citizenship, and in\nQuebec additional privileges altogether peculiar, conceded in deference to his sensitiveness in matters of\nlanguage and religion.\nAll these circumstances have made a profound and,\nit may fairly be assumed, a permanent impression upon\nthe mind of the great body of French Canadians.\nWith all their most responsible and reflective men,\nloyalty to the British connection has long been a first\ntenet. Sir George Cartier described himself -as an\nEnglishman speaking French. Sir Etienne Tache\"\nemphasized the loyalty of his people by affirming that\nin any national conflict, it would be a French Canadian \"^\nVI\nEastern Canada 135\nwho would fire the last shot in defence of the British flag\nin America. At Winnipeg, the late Archbishop Tache*\nquoted to me his relative's words with the warmest\napproval and satisfaction. Throughout nearly the\nwhole of the present century, the clergy of Quebec\nhave uniformly looked upon British connection as the\nbest guarantee of the secure position of themselves,\ntheir church, and their people. Their highest representatives have not hesitated to state this in formal\necclesiastical declarations.\nEnglish Canadians have certainly met these indications of a common loyalty with goodwill. If they\nhave had at times some difficulty in working harmoniously with Englishmen speaking French, they are quite\nprepared, under favourable conditions, to go far with\nFrenchmen speaking English, or reasonably in sympathy\nwith English ideas. Mr. Laurier has been for some\nyears the leader of the Liberal Opposition in Parliament. It would to-day be possible for him, in'any\nchange of Government, to become Prime Minister with\nthe loyal following of the Liberal party throughout the\nwhole Dominion. But this is the first time in Canadian\nhistory that such a thing has been possible, and it is\nonly now made possible by the fact that Mr. Laurier is\nEnglish as well as French speaking, Liberal in the\nlarger sense of the word, free from some of the most\ninveterate prejudices of his compatriots, and inspired\nby a patriotism which reaches far beyond Quebec.\nAnd this, perhaps, brings us to the point where the\nline of difficulty and dangerous friction may be most The Great Dominion\nCHAP,\ni .\nI\nI i\" i\n;\nW\n136\nclearly discerned. Unfortunately, not all French\nCanadian leaders are responsible and moderate men.\nThe Frenchman is a Canadian of the Canadians, but\nthe Canada of to-day is not, as he sometimes seems to\nthink, the Canada of Louis XV. Within the past few\nyears, however, a persistent attempt has been made to\nnarrow the French Canadian's patriotism to Quebec; to\nfill him with the idea that it is possible to create on\nthe banks of the St. Lawrence something which, as\npictured to him, is practically a separate French\nnationality in Canada; a nationality, too, which\nbelongs to a past century rather than to the present.\nThe late Mr. Mercier was responsible for much of the\nmarked development of this feeling which took place\nduring the period of his political ascendency in Quebec.\nMr. Mercier's power crumbled to pieces long before his\ndeath, but the ideas .which he planted are not so easily\ngot rid of, and, indeed, already had a favourable soil in\nwhich to grow. There are those who still affirm that\nhe represented French Canadian aspirations more\ncompletely than, any other man whom Quebec has\nproduced. One of the most prominent of their public\nmen once said to me that, as a matter of fact, a\nmajority of French Canadians look forward to an ex-\nclusiveness on the American continent as complete\nboth in race and religion as was ever that of the\nHebrews. No one familiar with Quebec will doubt\nthat the statement has in it much truth. My informant\nwas not himself in sympathy with this feeling, and he\nreferred to it with regret. His own influence has been\ni used to bring his people more freely into the general\ntide of Anglo-Saxon movement on the continent. But\nhe preaches to comparatively deaf ears. Amalgamation was never, perhaps, to be expected. It makes as\nlittle progress among the scattered Acadians of the\nmaritime provinces as in the concentrated population\nof the province of Quebec; as little in the United\nStates as in Canada. Does the obstacle lie in race,\nlanguage, or religion ? The strong objection of the\nRoman Catholic Church to mixed marriages does not\naltogether account for it, since amalgamation with\nIrish Roman Catholics, who are numerous in Montreal,\nis almost as uncommon as with the English or Scottish\nProtestants. It is, therefore, probably in large part a\nmatter of race, and, in a less degree, of language, and.\nmust be accepted as a permanent condition.\nBut there may be a broad national sjmipathy, unity\nof public effort and aim, a reasonable yielding to the\nwill of the majority, and a delicate respect for the constitutional rights of others without amalgamation, as\nwe see from the example, say, of Switzerland, where\ncantons which differ in race, religion, and language act\nwith the most patriotic unanimity. Should Quebec\npush provincial rights to the utmost in her own case,\nand yet use all her political influence to interfere with\nthe right of majorities in the other provinces to deal\nfreely, within the limits of the Constitution, even with\neducational questions, she will awaken a profound distrust in the English provinces. If she pursue a policy\nof studied race isolation she will become more and 1\n138\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nmore fossilized amid all the progress and activities of a\nstrenuous continent, and will destroy her own just\nweight in the councils of the Dominion. If any\nimpression is created that French Canadians sympathize with a policy of national disintegration in any\nform, they will find themselves face to face with a wall\nof adamant in the consolidating national purposes of\nthe rest of the Dominion.\nThese are the warnings which all prudent and\nimpartial thinkers in the Dominion express openly or\nhave in their minds when they consider the position of\nthe French Canadian. They are warnings which are\nneeded, though they are meant more for a few of the\nleaders, political and ecclesiastical, than for the body of\nthe people. The habitans are a simple and docile\npeople, far from aggressive or discontented if left to\nthemselves, but with a Parisian facility for being\nstirred to sudden and what seems to colder-blooded\nmen unreasoning effervescence. They are what their\nteachers and leaders make them to a degree almost\nbeyond parallel. It is upon the moderation and self-\nrestraint of these leaders, lay and clerical, more than\nupon anything else, that freedom from serious friction\nin the government of the Dominion must depend.\nThese leaders must say, too, whether French Canada\nis to be narrow, bigoted, and isolated, or liberal, progressive, and with a legitimate influence constantly increasing. French dominance on the American continent\nreceived its death-blow a century and a half ago from a\npolicy which sought to make Canada and Louisiana a\niU close preserve for a single set of ideas and a single type\nof Frenchman; a like policy pursued now would mean\nin the long-run the certain weakening of French influence in the Dominion.\nOutside the province of Quebec the French question\nhas no very important bearings. Of 1,404,974 French-\nspeaking people in Canada, all but 218,628 are in\nQuebec. Those in Manitoba and the North-West only\nnumber about 13,000, and can now never form more\nthan a very small fraction of the increasing population.\nThe overflow from Quebec into the counties of Ontario\nwhich lie along the Ottawa gave a population in 1891\nof 101,123.\nOne fact about this overflow, however, seems worthy\nof remark. It was well known that during the ten years\npreceding the census of 1891 a good deal of land had\nbeen taken up in the border counties of Ontario by\nFrench Canadians. Yet when the decennial census\nappeared it was found, to the surprise of everybody,\nthat the French-speaking population of Ontario showed\nnumbers actually a little less than those of 1881.\nWhen the Commissioner for the census was reproached\nby French members of Parliament for inaccuracy in\nthis particular, he pointed out that the census only\nasked for a return of language, not of race descent.\nThe conclusion seemed irresistible that a portion of\nthe French settlers in these border districts had preferred to return themselves as English-speaking rather\nthan French-speaking. The fact is suggestive. Doubtless the French language will have to struggle for its ill\n1\nW!\nIf\n140\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nexistence on a continent where all other races tend at once\nto become Anglicized in tongue. That it has withstood\nthe effects of its environment so successfully for a full\ncentury indicates a singular and, in its way, admirable\ntenacity of purpose and habit in the French people.\nPerhaps it is more due to isolation than to any set\npurpose. Now that the habitant goes abroad from the\nprovince more freely, indications are not wanting that\neven in language he cannot altogether resist the\ninfluence of his smToundings. The operative in the\nmills of New England, and the lumberman in the\nwoods of Michigan, when he.returns to Quebec has had\nhis native patois interlarded with numerous expressions\nwhich are certainly not French, though but doubtfully\nEnglish. This would be still more true were it not for\na gregarious habit which, combined with natural race\npreference, makes him, when abroad, associate almost\nentirely with his compatriots. To New England the\nmre\" follows the people and gathers them into congregations. Churches are built for worship, and convents\nfor education; in most of the States French Roman\nCatholic dioceses have been established. The French\nshopkeeper comes to supply the wants of the French\nartisan; local French newspapers give him his news.\nThus the liabitant has almost as Little use for English\nin a New England town as in Quebec itself. Still his\nisolation is not quite complete.\nWhen I landed in Quebec I found that the French\npapers, both of the ancient capital and of Montreal, were\nvigorously discussing how far importations of English words were affecting the purity of the French tongue as\nspoken throughout the province. There seemed a consensus of-opinion that nothing but a vigorous resistance\nwould give security to the French language. The limits\nto which that resistance should be pressed bring up a\nnice question for the French Canadian. No one can\ndoubt for a moment that the man on the American\ncontinent who does not know the English language is\nhandicapped in the race for success of any kind. If\nthe French Canadian chooses to isolate himself in this\nrespect, he does it at his own expense; he loses opportunity and influence. It is a heavy price to pay for the\nmaintenance of a sentiment. He can see for himself\nthat his most successful men are those who have\nmastered the prevailing tongue of the continent.\n\" Why,\" one asks, \" in the face of facts so manifest,\ndoes he not, like the great German communities of the\nWestern States, the Icelanders of the North-West, the\npeople of all races who come to America, hasten to\nlearn the language which they all find is the readiest\nkey to the opportunities of the continent ? Why do\nnot the clergy and public men of Quebec, who would\ngladly see their people prosper and grow in power and\ninfluence, insist that English shall be well and carefully\ntaught in every school ?\"\nThere can be but one answer. Devotion to the\nFrench tongue has become associated in the minds of\nthe clergy with devotion, to religion. The habitant has\nhad this lesson inculcated till it has become well nigh\nan instinct in his nature, and to-day we find him con-\nd 142\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAPr\ntrolled by a feeling precisely opposite to that which??\ninfluences every other race which has settled in\nAmerica. He prefers, on the whole, not to leam\nEnglish.\nTo the Anglo-Saxon the theory that religion needs\nsupport of this kind seems absurd; the French pastor>\nwhose personal hold might be weakened by the change,\ngauges his people by a different standard.\nThough a French speech may still frequently be\nheard in the Dominion Parliament, French members.\nwho aspire to really influence the house and country\nalmost invariably speak in English, and it is a note-,\nworthy fact that the most conspicuous orators of Parliament have been English-speaking Frenchmen. Mr.\nLaurier and Mr. Chapleau are masters of polished:\nEnglish speech, and few men secure a better hearing\nfrom English audiences. In perfect enunciation and\nclearness of English diction Sir Adolphe Caron might-\ngive lessons to the majority of his English fellow^-,\nmembers.\nWhile the industrial position of the habitant would\nbe greatly improved by a knowledge of English, as is,\nthe political position of hisJeaders, no one would wish-\nto see him give up entirely the tongue which has for\nhim such a wealth of association. Rather is. it to be\nregretted that more of the people of the English provinces do not make themselves familiar with French.\nSuch a knowledge, especially among pubLic men, would\ncreate a very real bond of sympathy which does not\nnow exist.\nI VI\nEastern Canada 143\nOccasionally one hears regrets expressed in Canada\nthat the French language was ever given any official\nstatus in the Federal Parliament. The objections to its\nemployment are manifest, but superficial. The argument on which its permissive use rests is fundamental.\nSir Henry de Villiers, when pointing out, during the\nColonial Conference, to a French Canadian audience at\nQuebec, that he could not speak French because the\nlanguage of his French ancestors had been crushed out\nunder the Dutch rule at the Cape, added that a man or\na people \" can be all the more loyal when they are able\nto express their loyalty in their own language.\" Such a\nremark as this embodies the pith of the whole matter.\nIt is the glory of British government in Canada that\nit has cheerfully accepted the inconveniences arising\nfrom the use of mixed languages that it may give unmixed liberty to the French people of Quebec.\nQuebec gives to Canada an industrious, patient, and\nmoral body of peasants, fishermen, and operatives in\nits lower classes; in its upper classes brilliant speakers\nand writers, jurists of distinguished ability, and a clergy\nwhich in its superior ranks has weight and administrative capacity. But the men who have individual weight\nand the qualities which win social distinction are singularly few in number compared with the whole population.\nThis may be traced in part to the fact that after 1759 the\nseigneurs and noblesse, with their traditions of culture and\neducation, forsook Quebec and returned to France; it is\nprobably still more due to the limitations placed on indi- 144\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nvidual development by a rigid ecclesiastical system. One\ncannot but think that with more liberal views of education, a policy which encouraged free intercourse with the\nother provinces, a faith in their religion too robust\nto fear contact with the outside world, the mass of\nthe people would show a more progressive spirit; the\nmovement from the bottom to the top of the social\nscale would be as active as in the English provinces,\nand the whole moral weight of the community would\nbe increased.\nNot that Quebec has too much influence in the\nDominion, but that she has too little of the weight\nwhich comes from culture, widespread intelligence, and\nprogressive energy is,, or ought to be, the anxiety of\nEnglish Canadians. That French taste, courtesy, polish,\nsocial influence, should make the same impression in\nAmerica that it has in Europe might well be a dream\nand inspiration for the French Canadian.\nOne has no hesitation in discussing frankly this\nquestion of race inertia in Quebec. The most clearsighted men of the province admit and deplore it.\nDoubtless it has been due in part to unavoidable\ncircumstances. Cut off from easy contact with the\nhigher standards of France, and not yet in sympathy\nwith those of British people, the difficulty of maintaining social and intellectual activity over a thinly settled\ncountry during a large part of this century can easily\nbe understood. But a supreme effort should be made\nto change these conditions. Something like an attitude\nof helplessness in face of the immobility of the habit- VI\nEastern Canada 145\nant seemed to me to prevail among able and earnest\nFrenchmen who were thinking much on the question.\nA most intelligent priest spoke to me of one form which\nthis immobility took. \" A young man in our French\nvillages,\" he said, \" has little encouragement to work his\nway up to that social distinction of which you speak.\nIf he begins to acquire the culture and adopt the habits\nof refined society, there is a disposition to look upon\nhim askance, as one who is willing to forsake his own\npeople and their ways for alien forms of life and\nthought.\"\nSuch a feeling as this, if correctly stated, must be a\ngreat barrier to progress. It does not represent the\naspiring spirit of the France from which the habitant\nsprang, nor that of the Britain with which he is now\nassociated.\nWhether the future of the French Canadian is to be\na growing or diminishing one seems to me to be hanging just now more than ever before in doubtful balance,\nand he himself holds the scales, or, to be more precise,\na few of his leaders do so. There are many signs of\nencouragement, and others of an opposite kind. \" If\nyou want to find loyalty, come to Quebec,\" I have\nheard said over and over again by French Canadians,\nrepresentative men of different classes and of unquestioned sincerity. I am convinced that the majority\nof the people of Quebec could honestly re-echo the\nsentiment. But another note is sometimes heard in\nthe press and on the platform, and it is not easy to\nmeasure the real force behind it. One thing may be\nL 146\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nW\nsaid definitely. If the ideas and policy which Mr.\nMercier represented have much vogue or prevail, there\nare troublous times ahead. The larger hope of Quebec\nlies in the unconditional acceptance of her Canadian\ndestiny. In any attempt to pursue an individual\ncourse without reference to the sentiment of the whole\nDominion the French Canadian will make shipwreck\nof his fortunes.\nIf a gospel of moderation and liberality must be\npreached to some classes of French Canadians, one\nof patience and generous consideration must equally\nbe preached to certain sections of their English-\nspeaking fellow-citizens. The average Frenchman of\nCanada can no more be calm than the Frenchman\nof France: under excitement he is apt to lose his\nhead, and to say far more than he means. The stolid\nSaxon rarely says as much as he means, and makes\nlittle allowance for a contrary temperament. This\nlatter he must learn to do. There is no sufficient\nreason why the Orangeman of Ontario should treat\nso seriously as he does every sign of temporary\neffervescence in Quebec. Perhaps he too has a strain\nof Celtic blood. If so, then the mass of reasonable\nCanadian opinion must restrain the excesses of both\nalike. The English provinces can afford to be calm\nunder all conditions. They have only to be studiously\njust, to employ all fair means for dirninishing friction,\nand then rest upon their natural weight of influence.\nTheir real political danger lies not in Quebec and\nthe Frenchman, but in the recklessness of party VI\nEastern Canada 147\nconflict, which has more than once tempted their politicians to sacrifice principle in order to win the French\nvote. The French vote, on the other hand, has seemed\nat times open to be won rather by the particular concession it had in view than by a reasoned and honest\npolicy.\nMutual respect between the races cannot spring\nfrom such relations. Yet for mutual respect there is\nabundant ground. The Frenchman may well reflect\nhow just and considerate, on the whole, has been the\ndominant Briton. The Englishman should equally\nthink how loyal, on the whole, has been the French\nCanadian under peculiar circumstances. If there\ncannot be in Canada the same mingling of blood\nwhich followed the Norman Conquest of England, and\nmade the characteristics of both races the common\nheritage of all their descendants in England to-day,\nthere can at least be hearty recognition of the better\nqualities in each, mutual toleration of constitutional\ndifferences, common and sympathetic effort for the\ngeneral good.\nThe Acadians of the Maritime provinces number\nabout 100,000. Many circumstances have conspired\nto make this interesting people far from homogeneous\nwith the habitans of Quebec, and more jn touch with\nthe English among whom they live. Not long since,\nin one of the maritime -provinces, an Acadian French?\nman was for the first time raised to a seat on the\nbench of the Supreme Court. In political life he had\nfilled with great credit important administrative posts,\nL 2 I\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nand had won a high reputation among English as well\nas French constituents for integrity of character,\nhonesty of purpose, and painstaking care in the\nmanagement of public affairs. The Acadians are now\nan extremely contented people\u2014almost too contented,\nsome think, with their comparatively humble lot; and\none of the greatest merits of the new judge is the\nenergy with which he has always pointed out to his compatriots that under the constitution of the country in\nwhich they live all positions are freely open to them,\nprovided they take the trouble to place themselves on\nan intellectual equality with their English fellow-\ncitizens and competitors. His example might with\nadvantage be followed throughout French Canada.\nUnder a reckless and corrupt system of expenditure\nthe local finances of Quebec, during Mr. Mercier's\nregime, became greatly embarrassed, but they are now\ncarefully managed, and are slowly gaining strength,\nwhile, as a member of the confederation, the province\nenjoys its full share in the high financial position\nachieved by the Dominion at large.\nNot much can be said about the opportunities\noffered by Quebec to emigrants from the United\nKingdom. It should be pointed out that in all the\nold provinces of the Dominion the ungranted and\nunsettled crown lands are under the control, not of\nthe Dominion Parliament, as in the North-West, but\nof the Provincial Legislatures, the policy of which is\ndirected by local considerations^ Quebec has still\nlarge unoccupied areas, but the prevailing inclination ^\nVI\nEastern Canada 149\nseems to be to fill them with a native French-speaking\npopulation rather than from outside. Of late years a\nvery vigorous effort has been made by a colonization and\nrepatriation society, working under clerical supervision,\nbut with the aid of the provincial government, to\ncolonize new districts with young men taken from\nthe older settlements, or others drawn back to the\nsoil from the factories of the United States. The\nperiod of depression through which the latter country\nlately passed has greatly favoured this movement,\nand the number of those returning to take up homesteads in new districts has been large.\nSouth of the St. Lawrence, in what are known as the\nEastern townships, a very flourishing English population has long been established in a good agricultural\ncountry. Sherbrooke is the principal town of this\nportion of the province, and is a centre of manufacturing as well as agricultural industry. Mines of asbestos\ngive employment to a large body of workmen. There\nare also marble quarries and deposits of copper. A\ncollege and a public school on the English model near\nby at Lennoxville give exceptional opportunities for\neducation.\nThis is one of the districts to which the attention\nof settlers with some capital, wishing to obtain partly\nimproved farms, within reach of English and American,\nas well as Canadian markets, can be with some confidence directed.\nIn fisheries and timber the resources of the province\nare very great, and the habitant is singularly expert\nI i5<>\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\n:|M\nboth as fisherman and lumberman. He is, however, a\nbad farmer\u2014the worst in Canada\u2014partly, perhaps,\nbecause he tries to combine farming with fishing and\nlumbering, but chiefly from ignorance. In travelling\nthrough the purely French portions of the province,\none is everywhere struck by the manifest exhaustion of\nthe soil from lack of intelligent cultivation, both in the\npast, and at present; by the inferiority of the stock to\nthat in the other provinces; and by the apparent\ncontent of the people with primitive and long obsolete\nmethods and implements of agriculture. Steps are\nnow being taken by the Church as well as by the\ncivil authorities to remedy this state of things. The\nbishops of the Roman Catholic Church have issued a\npastoral letter calling the special attention of their\nflocks to the importance of improved methods of farming. I was told of cure's among the Acadian French\nwho had taken upon themselves the management of\nco-operative dairy works in their parishes, and who\nseized the opportunity offered by the Sunday sermon\nto address a homily on agriculture to their parishioners.\nThe success of their efforts would do more than almost\nanything else to raise the standard of comfort among\nthe people. For a race like the French Canadians,\nwith their willingness to listen to clerical direction,\nit is a matter of the utmost importance that their\nclergy are awake to considerations of this kind. A most\nintelligent priest of a large parish on the Ottawa, with\nwhom I discussed the question in crossing the Atlantic,\nspoke with enthusiasm of the advantage which his VI\nEastern Canada\n151\nparishioners had derived from having settled near them\na colony of careful and successful Scottish farmers,\nwhose methods were a constant object lesson to the\nneighbourhood. A Trappist brotherhood near Oka, on\nthe Ottawa, devotes itself to agriculture, with a view to\nteaching improved systems to the people. It receives\nthe sons of farmers for instruction, and is said, by the\nmere force of example, to have raised the whole standard\nof farming in its vicinity. The Quebec Government\nhas sent agents to study Danish methods of dairying,\nand the province is now making rapid progress in the\nproduction of cheese.\nMontreal is the greatest city of Quebec and of the\nDominion. If the St. Lawrence were not frozen in\nwinter, it would be the commercial rival of New York,\nand probably one of the greatest cities of the world.\nEven as it is Montreal's future must be very great,\nstanding as the city does at the meeting-place of ocean\nnavigation and of an astonishing inland water system,\nat a point where immense combinations of railways\ntend more and more to focus themselves. The Canadian\nPacific, controlling about nine thousand miles of railway in the United States and Canada, the Grand\nTrunk, controlling four- or five thousand more, both\nhave their chief offices and termini here. So have the\ngreat inland and ocean navigation companies. The\ncity is in close railway connexion with St. John and\nHalifax, Portland, Boston, and New York, all of which\nit uses as convenience determines for winter ports.\nEvery considerable expansion of Canada's exporting !''\u25a0\u25a0\n11\n152\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nand importing capacity must mean extending business\nfor Montreal. The completion of the canal system\nseems likely to bring it a share of the export business\nof the Western States as well. It is the chief point for\nCanadian wheat, timber, cattle, pork, cheese, butter,\nand fruit export; it is the greatest wholesale distributing centre for manufactured goods. Not very far from\none half of the whole import and export trade of the\nDominion passes through Montreal. The largest business firms of the Dominion, the most powerful banking\nhouses, the greatest organizers of industry, of the\ncarrying trade, of railway construction, are here. Among\nthe monetary institutions of the world, very few stand\nhigher than the Bank of Montreal. The finer streets\nof the city indicate clearly that it is the home of\nmerchant princes, and the centre of much realized\nwealth. A vast amount of business capacity, chiefly\nimported from Scotland and England, has gone to\nbuild up Montreal, deepen its harbour, open the way\nto the sea, establish steamship lines, create industries,\nand organize railway connexion with all parts of the\ncontinent.\nMontreal is also the meeting-place of the two\nnationalities of Eastern Canada. The two sides of\nthe city are in striking contrast, yet each is the\nindustrial complement of the other; one the home of\ncapital and business energy, the other of a crowded\npopulation distinguished by patient and, on the whole,\ncontented industry.\nEnglish Montreal complains that, as compared with VI\nEastern Canada\n153\nToronto, it is handicapped by French inertia, and that\nit has to pay heavy penalties in the shape of taxation\nfor being connected with a province and a municipality where vast accumulations of Church property\nare free from civic burdens, where the French vote\nprevails, and French politicians are sometimes extravagant at the expense of their richer neighbours. It\nfreely utilizes the French voter, however, as a workman, and grows wealthy in the process. An excellent\nworkman he is too\u2014not over-strenuous, but intelligent.\nIA born carpenter \" was the phrase by which a large\nemployer of labour described him. Industry in Montreal has enjoyed a singular immunity from disastrous\nstrikes, and the fact should be remembered to the\ncredit of the artisan class. An organised effort to\nimprove municipal government gives promise of good\nresults.\nMontreal refines sugar, spins cotton, and manufactures tobacco on a large scale. In these and minor\nindustries, as well as in its great export and import\ntrade, its railway and steamboat lines, its financial\ninstitutions, and, above all, its geographical position,\nthe city has the foundations of a prosperity more solid\nand enduring, in the opinion of good judges, than that\nof any city of its size on the American continent.\nThe prosperity of Montreal has to some extent been\nsecured at the expense of the ancient capital, Quebec,\nwhere shipping has decreased since the deepening of\nthe St. Lawrence, where the timber trade has fallen 154\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\n%\noff, and from which the vigorous English business\nelement seems to have in part withdrawn. Of this\nlast point a proof appears to be given in the fact\nthat English members are now but rarely elected to\nthe municipal council. With an abundance of cheap\nlabour, for its French population numbers nearly 60,000,\nand a situation well adapted for commerce, it is a little\ndifficult to see why the city does not become more of\nan industrial centre than it is. It manufactures boots\nand shoes, but not even these to an extent commensurate with its available working population, which\nought to make it the Lowell or Birmingham of\nCanada.\nThe bridging of the St. Lawrence near the city,\nwhich has been contemplated and is believed to be\nquite practicable to modern engineering, has been\nthought of as a means to renew the commercial importance of the place. It is claimed, too, that as the\nexport of wheat from the St. Lawrence increases,\nthrough the development of the North-West and the\ncompletion of the canal system, the climatic advantages offered by Quebec as a point of storage, and in\nother ways as a point of shipment, may revive its\nfortunes.\nMuch more is to be hoped for, I think, from the introduction of capital to give employment to the cheap\nlabour of the place.\nBut no industrial change can. take away from the\nhistoric interest of a spot which was for so long one VI\nEastern Canada\n155\nof the pivots of the world's history, or from the picturesque grandeur of the massive fortress as it towers\nover the ancient city. More and more the St. Lawrence\nbecomes one of the greatest routes of American and\nCanadian tourist travel, and Quebec is the central\nfeature of enduring interest. A splendid hotel has\nlately been completed on the terrace beneath the\nCitadel, to meet this increasing volume of travel. From\nits windows the traveller looks out upon one of the\nnoblest prospects that his eye is ever likely to meet\u2014\nthe broad St. Lawrence, stretching away in gleaming\nbrightness between the blue hills which rise on either\nside; the Island of Orleans, where Wolfe's army was\nencamped through many weary weeks of waiting; the\ncliffs of Levis opposite, from which his batteries rained\nshot upon the Citadel; the Beauport shore, where the\nbulk of the French army lay watching his movements;\nthe Citadel itself, which was the prize in this great\ngame of war.\nOutside the Avails is the simple and noble monument\nerected by England on the spot where her hero fell.\nInside the walls is another on which French and\nBritish Canadians have united to link together the\nmemory of Montcalm and Wolfe.\nIn its wealth of picturesque association Quebec is\nby far the most interesting city on the American\ncontinent. So long as the memory of great deeds\nmoves the human heart, it will continue to be a\nof pilgrimage. 156\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP. VI\nBut as one studies the French Canadian province he\nbecomes convinced that what it most needs is some\ngreat awakening of the people to the splendid\nopportunities which lie before them if they would\nbut throw themselves more heartily into the tide of\nCanadian progress. -3&&~\n\/%m^SM HI\nScaiia.\nZcmdcm,:Sia7tforc& Geogtrllsbfc #\nn CHAPTER VII\nBRITISH COLUMBIA\nTo learn the price Canada was ready to pay for\nconfederation and for a pathway from ocean to ocean,\nthe traveller must climb by rail up from the prairies at\nCalgary through the gorges of the Rocky Mountains to\nthe summit of the Kicking Horse Pass, and then sweep\ndown through the defiles and valleys of the opposite\nslope, across the Selkirk and Coast ranges, and past\nthe canons of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers, till he\nhas reached the Pacific. He must study the line of\nrailway in winter, when, as he looks up, at a hundred\npoints avalanches of snow are seen ready to descend\nupon it from lofty peaks; he must visit it in spring,\nwhen, looking down, he sees the tremendous torrents\nthat roar beneath swollen from the melting snows ; he\nmust observe with what elaborate care these dangers\nhave been successfully overcome; he must feel the\nsensation of ghding by day and night over bridges\nwhich stretch like immense slender spiders far over the\ntops of lofty pines; he must ride under miles of sheds\nbuilt with strength sufficient to resist the avalanche\nn\\ 158\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nrush of snow; he must look down almost from the\ncarriage windows into the depths of the Albert cation;\nhe must be whirled, ascending and descending, around\nthe curves of the Great Loop; he must look out for\ntwo or three days continuously on the marvellous\nsuccession of mountain peak and range and gorge and\nembattled cliff guarding the long narrow valleys, all of\nwhich go to make up the impressive and magnificent\nscenery of the greater part of British Columbia. When\nhe has wondered at the courage of the engineers who\nfaced such a task of railway construction, and the\nenergy of the contractors who transported the material\nand fed the armies of labourers by whom the work was\ndone, and when he has studied the organized watchfulness which has kept this line day and night for several\nyears practically free from danger or serious obstruction, he has yet other even more striking conditions\nconnected with its construction to consider.\nOntario, the base from which the task was approached\non the side of Eastern Canada, is 1,600 miles away.\nThe first 400 miles of road round the north side of Lake\nSuperior had to be cut through a wilderness of rough\ngranitic country, uninhabited, and well-nigh uninhabitable, save for the mining populations, which\ndraw supplies from outside. Then followed 1,200\nmiles of prairie, all of which was also uninhabited, or\nvery thinly inhabited, until the railway opened the way\nfor settlers. All this had to be traversed before the\nfoot of the mountains was reached, where the really\nserious work began. And for what purpose was this VII\nBritish Columbia\n159\nmighty barrier of the Rockies and Selkirks, 600 miles\nwide, to be crossed ?\nNot to unite two great communities striving for\ncloser intercourse, as was the case when the 40,000,000\npeople of the Eastern and Western States, already\nadvanced far beyond the Mississippi, made the first\nAmerican line across a narrower range of mountains\nto get in touch with San Francisco and the large\npopulation of the Pacific States, which was also pressing\nup to the base of the Rockies. In Eastern Canada\nthere were only 4,000,000 people ; in British Columbia\nthere were less than 50,000 white people\u2014the population of a small English manufacturing town\u2014and few\nof these on the mainland, when the railroad was undertaken. It was to complete and round off a national\nconception; to prepare the way for commercial and\npolitical advantages as yet far remote, and by many\ndeemed imaginary, that the work was faced. British\nColumbia, insignificant in population, was significant\nenough in position and in some of its resources. It\nfronted on the Pacific; it had splendid harbours and\nabundant coal; it supplied a new base of sea power\nand commercial influence; it suggested a new and short\npathway to the Orient and Australasia. The statesmen\nat Ottawa who in 1867 began to look over the Rockies\nto continents beyond the Pacific were not wanting\nin imagination; many claimed that their imagination\noutran their reason; but in the rapid course of events\ntheir dreams have already been more than justified.\nThey were, perhaps, building even better than they i6o\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nknew. When Japanese and Australian mail and trade\nroutes are already accomplished facts, when Pacific cable\nschemes are being discussed, and when the docks and\nfortifications of Esquimalt are being completed jointly\nby Britain and Canada, we can see clearly that they\nwere supplying the missing joints and fastening the\nrivets of empire. While they were doing this they were\nalso giving political consolidation to the older provinces\nof Canada. Common aspirations and a great common\ntask, with the stirring of enthusiasm which followed on\nthe sudden widening of the Canadian horizon, did\nmore than anything else to draw those provinces out\nof their own narrow circles and give them the sense\nof a larger citizenship.\nSo, though British Columbia made no great addition\nto the population of Canada, its absorption into the\nDominion some years after confederation, and the\npledge of a transcontinental railway which Was the\ncondition of that absorption, marked a great turning-\npoint in Canadian history. It also added new and\ninteresting features to the already manifold conditions\nof Canadian life.\nIt gave the Dominion a new climate, or, one might\nrather say, a variety of new climates, for between the\nsummit of the Rockies and the shore of the Pacific\nthere are gradations of temperature and climatic effect\nfor both summer and winter as marked as between\nNorway and northern Italy. It gave a Pacific seaboard many hundreds of miles in length, as rich in\nthe wealth Of the ocean-as that of the Atlantic, and wonderfully picturesque in its mingling of gulf, inlet,\nsound, and fiord. It opened up new and diversified\nfields for enterprise.\nI have shown how much the problems of the North-\nWest differ from those in Eastern Canada; those of\nBritish Columbia have an individuality quite as marked,\nand distinct from both of the others. This might be\ninferred from the nature of the country. British\nColumbians are somewhat inclined to object to the\nphrase \" a sea of mountains \" by which their province\nhas been described, probably thinking it likely to deter\nthose in search of new homes. Yet the phrase expresses accurately the chief impression left upon the\nmind of a visitor, and it furnishes the best starting-\npoint from which to discuss the capabilities and\nlimitations of the province.\nBritish Columbia is not, and can never be in any\nlarge way, an agricultural country. The people will\nhave reason to congratulate themselves when the\nproduction of food fully matches the consumption.\nThis is not the case now, though it ought to become\nso in respect of many products within a few years.\nOn the coast and islands, along the streams and in\nmountain valleys, there are considerable patches of\ngood alluvial soil. A moist and warm climate makes\nit most productive. There are other areas less fertile,\nbut well fitted for pasturage. In many cases they\nrequire irrigation, but for this the numerous unfailing\nmountain streams give abundant opportunity. Northward, as the mountains sink down towards the Peace\nM\n1 l62\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nRiver, there is said to be a wide extent of pastoral\nland, but this is still inaccessible, and ranching is now\nconfined to more southern valleys.\nHere is obviously a new set of conditions. In\nwriting of the North-West I described it as especially\na country for the poor man; one might have added, a\ncountry which gave even the unskilled labourer a\nchance. Something very nearly the opposite of this'\nmust be said of British Columbia. No province of\nCanada so little admits of indiscriminate immigration.\nThe good farming land is limited in quantity, and,\ncompared with that in other provinces, expensive.\nThe vast deep-sea fisheries of the coast, on account of\ntheir distance from markets, can only be developed by\ndegrees, or else by some great organization of collecting\nand distributing agencies involving the use of much\ncapital. The plans for such an organization have been\ndevised and submitted to the Legislature, in connexion\nwith a scheme for settling Scotch fishermen along the\ncoast, but the practicability of the scheme has yet\nto be established. The salmon fisheries and tinning\nestablishments of the rivers require comparatively little\nlabour, and even then employment is intermittent.\nMines can only be worked with capital, and capital\nwhich, does not demand a very quick return. The\nsame is true of timber industries, and in this case, even\nif abundant capital were forthcoming, the difficulty\nof access to adequate markets hinders the full and\nrapid development of enterprise in dealing with a\nbulky material of commerce. In short, the capacity of vii British Columbia 163\nBritish Columbia to receive immigrants is strictly\ndependent upon the previous influx of capital, which,\ncourageously and yet intelligently applied to the development of the resources of the country, will gradually draw in its train the skilled and general labour\nrequired for its operations. Labourers should not go\nto the province on the mere chance of finding employment, as they may without excessive risk go to some\nparts of Canada. If this is clearly understood, much\ndisappointment will be avoided. But for men with\ncapital, energy, and common-sense in business: men\nnot afraid to risk something in the hope of large gains:\nmen who can afford to wait, study the country, and\nwatch for opportunities, ^the openings are varied and\nmost promising.\nIn the depths of these great mountain ranges are\nvast stores of mineral wealth. The gold mines of the\nFraser and Carriboo districts, the silver and copper\nmines of the Kootenay, the coal of Canmore, Anthracite,\nand the Crow's Nest, are only suggestions, but striking\nones, of what lies behind. Fifty million dollars' worth\nof gold was taken in a few years after the first discovery from the rich Fraser and Carriboo alluvial\ndeposits. The almost insuperable- obstacles to the\ntransport of heavy machinery to these districts are\nbeing gradually overcome, so that hydraulic operations\nand quartz-crushing are now being substituted for the\nold placer mining. Geological opinion points to places\nclose at hand as the sources of the alluvial gold, and\nthere are known to be large areas of auriferous, gravels.\nM 2 164\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nThe first returns from two properties near Quesnelle\nForks, in the Carriboo district, where hydraulic\nmachinery has for the first time been applied, are most\nsatisfactory, and probably mark the beginning of a new\nera in British Columbian gold mining.\nThe richness of the silver deposits of the Kootenay\ndistricts has been fully established by the discoveries\nof the last two years. Making due allowance for the\nusual exaggerations of prospectors and company promoters, it seems clear that the district will ultimately\nprove to be one of the most important areas of silver\nproduction on the continent. Still its development\nwill probably be for some time slow. The present\ndifficulty of access, the heavy import duty on lead and\non silver ores entering the United States, which\nfurnish the nearest smelting furnaces, and the depreciation of silver during the past two years have all\ncontributed to delay operations. So has the exaggerated price at which silver claims are held by men or\nsmall companies not able to work them. The Canadian\nPacific Railway appears to be feeling its way past Fort\nM'Leod towards the Crow's Nest Pass as a means of\naccess to the Kootenay countrj7. Great deposits of\ncoal are also found-in this pass, some of which make\ngood coke, so that the means of transportation and\nthe material for smelting may soon be within easy\nreach. The New American Tariff also provides for a\nlowering of the duties on silver ores, so that on the\nwhole the prospects of the district are encouraging,\nAmerican much more than British capital is at 1\\\nVII\nBritish Columbia 165\npresent seizing the opportunities offered by the\nKootenay silver deposits. The truth is that much\nexperience in Nevada and Montana has made the\nAmerican an expert, beyond all others, in silver, and in\nthe methods of dealing with it. Besides, he goes to\nnew fields of enterprise not merely to invest his money,\nbut to look personally after his investments, as the\nBritish capitalist seldom does.\nOne peculiarity of the industry should be mentioned.\nVeins of silver ore are singularly uncertain and variable.\nI found an agreement of opinion that they can be most\nsuccessfully dealt with by large companies taking up\nnumbers of claims, and so able to balance successes\nand disappointments over considerable areas. This\nis the prevailing American system, and it should be\nadopted by British capitalists if they seek a footing\nhere.\nThe resources of the mountainous interior are supplemented by those of the coast. The seal fisheries, in\nspite of restrictions, are still of considerable value.\nMore than 70,000 skins were taken in 1893. The\nabundance of fish in the rivers and in the coast waters\nis probably without parallel in the world. The export\nof tinned salmon alone amounts annually to nearly\nthree million dollars. Of the whole output, the\nmarkets of the United Kingdom absorb about five\nsixths; the rest goes to Eastern Canada and Australia.\nThe Fraser River is the centre of the salmon-packing\nindustry, and this stream also abounds in sturgeon,\nwhich have lately become an article of commerce. 166\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nHalibut and black cod are found in the greatest\nabundance off the Island of Vancouver, but the\ndevelopment of a large fishery is hindered by the\ndifficulty of access to adequate markets. The splendid\npine of the province is in demand all round the Pacific,\nIt goes to San Francisco, to South America, to China,\nto Japan, and to Australia.\nIn the last named country I have seen it used in\nlarge quantities at the silver mines of Broken Hill, 300\nmiles from the coast, in the heart of the desert, the\ncost of long ocean and land carriage being more than\ncounterbalanced by the facility with which, in comparison with the Australian gum-tree, it can be worked\nand handled. It finds a market also in Queensland,\nwhere I was told that it resists better than most\nwoods the attack of the white ant. The gum-tree, on\nthe other hand, is now being sent to Vancouver, to be\nused for block pavement, for which it is peculiarly\nfitted. A striking illustration, certainly, of the possibilities of profitable exchange of products.\nThe Douglas pine is also exported to the Eastern\nStates, where for many purposes it is preferred to\nSouthern pine, to Cape Colony, and to England. A\ncargo has quite recently been sent to Egypt. I believe\nthat it can be obtained of greater lengths, squaring to\na larger size, than any other wood of equal quality.\nCedar also is abundant, and of astonishing size. It is\nused chiefly in the manufacture of shingles, which on\naccount of their excellence find their way far across\nthe continent. \\ Three hundred feet is not an un- VII\nBritish Columbia 167\ncommon height for both pines and cedars. The girth\nof the trunks is proportionate.\nA friend at Vancouver, the manager of a large saw\nmill, mentioned to me the number of kegs of powder\nhe had used within a year in blowing away the sides\nof heavy timber in order to reduce the size sufficiently\nto allow it to pass through his large gangs of saws.\nI hinted at the boldness of Western exaggeration,\nbut a visit to his mill was at once arranged, and I saw\nenough to prove that his statement had a reasonable\nbasis of fact upon which to rest.\nThere is still a great extent of unexhausted timber-\nland. One of the largest operators told me that with\na widened market and more capital his firm could,\nfrom the land it had actually under lease, as easily\nturn out 100,000,000 feet of timber as the 30,000,000\nfeet which represented its present annual output.\nConsidering the rapid exhaustion of forest going on in\nthe United States, the value of the best timber on the\nAmerican Continent must increase rapidly, and the\npresent limitation of output in British Columbia is\nperhaps not entirely a subject for regret.\nNowhere in the world can more impressive forest\nscenery be met with than along this Pacific coast of\nthe Dominion. Even where the heavier timber has\nbeen cut out, the thickly growing pine-trees which\nremain, with their clean trunks, straight and lofty\nas palm-trees, and crowned by dark-green foliage,\nform a striking picture, which remains long in\nthe memory. Often the heaviest growth is found 168\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\non soil of comparatively poor quality, suggesting that\nthe nourishment of these forest giants is derived as\nmuch from the atmosphere as from the earth. The\nfact also suggests the possibility of a continuity of\nforest products in British Columbia, since the soil\nis often unfitted for agriculture or pasturage. La the\nGovernment reservation of Stanley Park, at Vancouver,\nthe traveller can see, with little trouble, an excellent\nexample of British Columbian forests, with specimens\nof the great trees, fifteen or twenty feet in diameter,\nwhich once covered the site of the town. It is much\nto be desired that this fine remnant of the original\nforest may be guarded with jealous care.\nOf the extensive coal-measures of Vancouver Island\nand. of their national importance I have written in a\nprevious chapter. Tasmania has not a better cLimate\nthan parts of British Columbia for the production of\nall the ordinary fruits. Many species of fruit, like the\ntrees of the country, grow to an unusual size. Hops\npromise to be an important product, and are grown in\ngreat perfection.\nIt will be noticed that the prevailing industries are\nsuch as require special skill even among the workmen.\nA green hand does not easily fit into the work of the\nsaw mills and lumber woods. Hop-growing and fruit-\nraising are occupations which require special knowledge.\nSo are cattle-raising and dairying, which, in the dry\ninland valleys, have often to be carried on by the aid\nof irrigation. The coal mirier and fisherman must grow\nup to their business. Gold and silver prospecting and VII\nBritish Columbia 169\nmining in America tend more and more to drift into\nthe hands of specialists, men to whom it becomes well-\nnigh an instinct to detect the \" colour\" of gold and\nestimate the value of ores.\nFor small farmers who have some money to invest\nin good lands within marketing distance of the towns,\nand skill to work them when bought, there is an\nexcellent chance, perhaps the best in Canada. The\nprovince still imports much of its food, and prices are\nhigh. As the population increases, good farming land,\nwhich is scarce, is sure to improve in value. But it is\na country for small, not large farming. Lord Aberdeen\nhas bought and is working a large estate in the\nOkanagan Valley, but he has adopted the sensible plan\nof encouraging the acquisition of small holdings.\nAmong the towns, Victoria, though not on the mainland, still holds the foremost place. Originally a\nHudson Bay trading post, it sprang into importance\nwhen gold was discovered on the Fraser River. The\nwealth then gained has been increased by the mining,\nsealing, and fishing industries, and by its being the\nchief centre of wholesale supply for the province. In\nthis last particular it still holds its own against the\nrivalry of Vancouver. The immediate vicinity of\nEsquimalt, with which it is connected by tramway,\nmakes Victoria practically our naval base for the\nNorth Pacific. As Esquimalt has the only British\ngraving dock on the Pacific coast of America, the\ndefences of the place, which are now being pushed on\nrapidly, have not been begun too soon. The docking\n\\\nl\nI 170\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nfacilities must soon be increased. When the Warspite\nin 1892-3 occupied the single dock for three months,\nits inadequacy to meet the prior rights of the Navy\nand the growing demands of merchant shipping was\nmade clear. Victoria has a distinctly English look.\nWith a climate like that of the warmest parts of\nDevonshire, and picturesque surroundings, it attracts\nnumbers of holiday visitors from San Francisco. Connexion with California has perhaps had something to do\nwith raising the rate of wages and cost of living.\nHere we see the Far West begin to merge into the\nFar East. At Victoria we meet with the advanced\nguard of that Chinese host which many believe only\nsteady resistance can prevent from revolutionizing the\nindustrial condition of America. To the Chinaman,\nhowever, Canada, and particularly British Columbia,\nowe a debt of gratitude. Without the army of 15,000\nor 20,000 Chinese labourers who assaulted the western\nslope of the Rockies, the railway across the mountains\ncould scarcely ha,ve been built, or only at disastrous\ncost. The Chinaman has received his reward in\nkinder treatment than he has met with in the United\nStates or in Australia. The restrictions placed upon\nhis coming are not severe; he is safe under the protection of the laws, though not admitted to all the\nrights of citizenship. He is doing good work for the\ncountry as a domestic servant, gardener, or laundryman\nin the towns; far up in the mountains, as a gold miner,\nwinning the precious metal from old washings where\nothers could not make a living. VII\nBritish Columbia 171\nVancouver, the terminus of the Canadian Pacific\nRailway, and one of the termini of the Northern Pacific,\nfurnishes an illustration of the magical change that\ncan in modern times be quickly wrought by the application of capital in combination with science and\nlabour. Eight years ago its site was entirely occupied\nby a dense forest of the magnificent pines and cedars\nof the Pacific coast; now it has nearly twenty thousand\ninhabitants, enjoying all the comforts and most of the\nluxuries of civilization. The signs of rapid growth are\nalready disappearing; dynamite . has blown out the\nstumps; fire has burnt up the wood; massive blocks\nof buildings are seen on all sides; the telephone is\neverywhere; electricity lights the streets, the hotels,\neven the private houses; it works the excellent tram\nsystem which connects Vancouver with the beautiful\nand flourishing town of New Westminster, ten miles\naway. The people, coming chiefly from Eastern Canada\nand England, have retained their eastern and English\nhabits. On Sunday the place has an aspect of quiet\nrespectability like that of an English cathedral town.\nIn spite of its rapid growth it has never known anything\nof the roughness of new towns across the border. The\nsite of the city is admirable. A moderate elevation\ngives it an air of dignity; the eye looks down upon the\nbroad and placid waters of the harbour, beyond which\nare noble ranges of mist-covered hills. Close at hand\nis Stanley Park, a splendid reservation of primeval\nforest, covering many hundred acres. Already intersected by pleasant walks and surrounded by a carriage 172\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP. VII\ndrive which winds along the cliffs and bays of the\npeninsula, giving, wonderful panoramic glimpses of land\nand sea, the whole forms a recreation ground for this\ncommunity, born but yesterday, that the proudest and\nmost ancient capitals of Europe might envy.\nVancouver is the meeting-place of the Empire's extreme west and east and south, for of the two main\nlines of steamships which frequent the port one has\nits farther terminus at Hong Kong, the other at Sydney\nTheir presence vindicates the policy which led Canada\nto make such sacrifices to secure a base upon the\nPacific. Three million pounds of tea from China, and\nJapan have been landed on the wharves of Vancouver\nin a single week, and the Canadian Pacific Railway has\nmade provision to add special freight steamers to its\npresent fine line of passenger boats. Australian steamships already carry away full cargoes of freight. In\naddition to these two great ocean routes, minor steamship lines give water communication with San Francisco;\nwith Tacoma, Seattle, and other towns on Puget Sound;\nwith Victoria, Nanaimo, and the small ports of the\ncoast farther north. An air of commercial activity\npervades the place, and is an augury of further growth. 1\nCHAPTER VIII\nNORTHERN CANADA\u2014THE GREAT FUR COUNTRY\nI have said before that climatic conditions will\nalways keep the bulk of Canada's population within a\nbelt which has, speaking roughly, a breadth varying\nfrom 300 to 500 miles, and which stretches all the way\nacross the continent. It is of this belt alone that I\nhave hitherto spoken. It includes the old provinces\nand those western regions out of which new provinces\nare being gradually carved, where fifty or a hundred\nmillions of people could manifestly find the same\nopportunities of comfortable existence as does the\npresent population of five millions.\nBut this belt represents barely one-third of the\nwhole land area of the Dominion. North of it is\nanother with features of great interest. In parts the\nlimit of possible wheat culture runs far to the north;\nin other parts the hardier crops, such as barley,\nrye, hemp, and flax, together with rapidly-maturing\nvegetables, can be successfully cultivated. This belt\nis known to contain large sections where the soil has\nall the natural fertility which characterizes the more\nsouthern lands hitherto referred to. 174\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nRegions similarly situated in respect of climate, and\nlands inferior in point of fertility, maintain considerable\npopulations in the north of Europe, and furnish much\nand varied material for commerce. In Canada their\nsettlement for agricultural purposes will no doubt be\nslow, and dependent to some extent upon the occupation of the more favourable lands to the south. But\nsettlers will meanwhile be attracted for other industrial\npurposes, and it is clearly impossible to form a just\nconception of what the Dominion really is, or is likely\nto become, without taking them into consideration.\nIn the past this second belt, itself a fur-producing\ncountry, has been associated almost exclusively in\npeople's minds, even in Canada, with the still more\nnorthern regions, also vast in extent, where agriculture\nis yet more difficult or impossible, where even timber\nis in places wanting, and where furs furnish practically\nthe whole material of commerce and industry. But\nthis association of thought is a very misleading one.\nInformation is still very incomplete, but enough has\nbeen obtained to lead to important conclusions.\nA committee of the Canadian Senate was appointed in 1887-8 to inquire into the resources of\nNorthern Canada, and particularly those of the great\nMackenzie Basin. The field of inquiry covered the\nregions which He between Hudson's Bay and the\nRocky Mountains, and from the watershed of the\nSaskatchewan northward to the Arctic Ocean. After\nhearing and comparing the evidence of fur traders,\nmissionary bishops and clergy, geological experts and viii Northern Canada 175\ntravellers, the Committee reported that of this region\n274,000 square miles could be considered good arable\nland; that the climate permitted wheat to mature over\n316,000 square miles, barley over 407,000, the potato\nover 656,000 square miles, and that the area suitable\nfor pasturage was even greater. It was shown that\nthe deep northern inclination of the summer isotherms\nbrought it about that spring flowers and buds appeared as early north of the Great Slave Lake as at\nWinnipeg, Kingston, or Ottawa, while the length of the\nnorthern summer day was singularly favourable to the\nrapid growth of cereals. Along the Peace, Liard and\nother western affluents of the Mackenzie River spring\ncame still earlier, and here, under the influence of\nwarm south-westerly winds, the summer weather resembled that of Ontario, and the growth of nutritious\nnative grasses was especially luxuriant.\nWhile the heavier timber of Eastern Canada and\nBritish Columbia is wanting, the supply of smaller\ntimber suitable for house and ship building, for railway, mining, and other like purposes was found to be\npractically inexhaustible, and Likely to prove of great\nvalue in supplying the needs of the treeless regions of\nCanada and .the United States further south. The\nlakes and rivers yield fresh-water fish of various kinds\nand of excellent quality in extraordinary abundance.\nThe auriferous region at the head of the Peace, Liard,\nand Peel Rivers- is large, while mineral deposits of\nvarious kinds are found in sufficient number in the\nvast mountain districts especially to justify the ex- 176\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\npectation that the country will not prove inferior on\nthe average in mineral production to other areas of like\nextent.\nAlong the valleys of the Athabasca and Mackenzie\nRivers deposits of coal occur at frequent intervals, and\nthe existence of a very remarkable petroleum field has\nbeen established. For a great distance along these\nrivers the sandy soil is saturated to a depth sometimes\nof a hundred feet with tar or asphalt, and this is\nbelieved by geologists to have its origin in petroleum\noozing from the Devonian rocks beneath. Oil has already-\nbeen observed at several points, but the difficulty of\nintroducing the necessary machinery into the country\nhas hitherto prevented sufficient tests of the value of\nthe field being made by boring. The recommendation\nof the Committee that parliament should reserve from\nsale a tract of about 40,000 square miles in order to\ninclude this petroleum area, furnishes some suggestion\nof its supposed extent.\nWhile these are among the general conclusions\narrived at by the Committee, it must be borne in mind\nthat they were based, not on detailed knowledge of the\nwhole districts under consideration, but on the evidence\nof observers at widely separated points. Fur traders,\nmissionaries and explorers have hitherto followed for\nthe most part the great water-courses of the country,\nand have made observations extending over the whole\nyear only at a comparatively few stations. The spaces\nstill left between for fuller exploration are therefore\nvery large. Dr. G. M. Dawson, in a careful study of the VIII\nNorthern Canada 177\nquestion, enumerates no less than sixteen different\nareas, varying in size from 7,500 to 289,000 square\nmiles, none of which has been subjected to intelligent\nand adequate examination. He sums up by saying\nthat, \" while the entire area of the Donvinion is computed at 3,470,257 square miles, about 954,000 square\nmiles of the continent alone, exclusive of the inhospitable detached Arctic portions, is for all practicable\npurposes entirely unknown.\"\nPart of this almost unexplored country consists of\nthe \" Barren Grounds,\" which are chiefly known as the\nhome of the musk ox, and as being frequented by\nastonishing herds of caribou, which migrate southward\nduring the depth of winter, and return to the shores of\nthe Arctic Ocean during the breeding season. These\n\" Barren Grounds \" have not, probably, much to yield to\ninvestigation. But there are other parts, such as the\ngreat Labrador peninsula, which give distinct promise\nof rewarding the adventurous explorer by mineral and\nother discoveries.\nDreary as much of this vast northern region is, however, severe as are the conditions of life which its more\nremote parts offer, the extent to which its products of\none kind have long ministered to the comfort and luxury\nof mankind is very striking. It supplies furs in larger\nnumbers, of finer quality and of greater value than any\nother part of the world. For more than two centuries\nthe fur trade has been vigorously prosecuted, and still\nthe supply, save in the case of two or three varieties of\nanimals, shows no signs of exhaustion. The furs are, in\nN\n6 H\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nthe first instance, brought almost exclusively to the\nLondon market. The permanence of the supply, as well\nas the number and proportion of the furs obtained, may\nbe illustrated by taking the statistics of the annual sales,\nof which full returns are published, of the Hudson's Bay\nCompany, at intervals of ten years during the last half\ncentury. The ten year period has been selected at\nrandom from the whole series, but except in one or two\ncases it represents a fair average of the annual product.\nBadger .\nBear . .\nBeaver .\nErmine .\nFisher\nFox, Blue\nFox, Cross\nFox, Kitt\nFox, Red\nFox, Silver\nFox, Whit\nLynx . .\nMarten .\nMink . .\nMusquash\nMusk Ox\nOtter, Land\nOtter, Sea\n'orpoise .\nRabbit .\nRaccoon .\nSeal, Fur\nSeal, Hair\nSkunk .\nSwan . .\nWolf . .\nWolverine\n1853\n1863\n1873\n1,754\n1,545\n2,705\n7,484\n7,571\n8,172\n55,456\n114,149\n149,163\n2,002\n1,178\n4,012\n5,861\n6,053\n3,639\n46\n29\n90\n2,307\n1,946\n2,315\n2,563\n5,542\n6,930\n6,869\n6,402\n8,339\n847\n588\n694\n3,966\n3,365\n7,325\n5,361\n4,448\n5,123\n73,055\n79,979\n66,841\n25,152\n43,961\n44,740\n493,952\n357,060\n767,896\n8,991\n13,331\n11,263\n214\n106\n99\n54,858\n6\n39,510\n10,064\n1,695\n3,883\n3,636\n403\n2,073\n1,425\n16,933\n9,862\n1,619\n1,969\n1,759\n1,016\n877\n338\n8,508\n3,932\n6,413\n1,302\n1,426\n2,095\n1\n1883\n1,510\n11,188\n109,462\n5,112\n4,640\n37\n1,762\n491\n5,869\n506\n5,886\n7,599\n62,711\n47,508\n1,069,183\n368\n11,992\n176\n17,830\n841\n652\n3,888\n7,178\n222\n2,121\n1,883\n1893\n2,518\n11,775\n56,508\n9,120\n4,828\n51\n2,673\n299\n11,964\n615\n4,708\n8,659\n100,257\n58,171\n806,103\n888\n8,671\n8\n323\n50,281\n194\n404\n1,366\n9,214\n28\n1,577\n1,017 vni Northern Canada 179\nExperts in the trade will easily recognize from this\nenumeration how much the world depends for its finest\nand most expensive fur products upon Northern\nCanada.\nBut the figures given by no means represent the whole\noutput of the country. The Hudson's Bay Company\nhas now no monopoly of the trade, and Large quantities\nof furs reach the market through other channels.\nThe estimate given by the Senate Committee in their\nreport of 1888 places the whole annual Canadian production at more than four million skins, the proportions\nof the various kinds not differing much from what\nappears in the statistics of the Hudson's Bay Company.\nIt can scarcely be said that the furs of Siberia\ncompete with those of the Dominion. As a matter of\nfact the Russian supply is not equal to the home\ndemand. Quantities of the finest furs obtained in\nCanada and brought to London are sold in Germany,\nand especially at Leipsic, whence they find their way to\nthe Novgorod fair, and other large centres of Russian\ntrade.\nNorthern Canada has therefore been rightly called\nI the last great fur preserve of the world.\" This\ncharacter it is likely to retain. The buffalo, whose hide\nwas once an important article of commerce, has disappeared before the advance of civilization. The limits\nover which the beaver is found have steadily narrowed,\nand this animal, too, can apparently only be saved from\nextinction by the reservation of areas where it can\nmultiply undisturbed for fixed periods, and by limita-\nN 2 i8o\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\ntions put upon the catch. With these exceptions, there\nseems to be no reason why the furs of Northern Canada\nmay not remain a permanent element in the industry\nand commerce of the country.\nVery picturesque and romantic is the aspect which\nthis chief industry of the far north has given to\nCanadian life. The long, lonely winter on the borders\nof the Arctic Circle; the shrewd and fearless Scotch\nfactor, devoted to the interests of his employers, and\ncut off for years from friends and civilized society in his\nre'mote fort or post, with perhaps a mail once or twice\nin the year; the hardy voyageurs, carrying the bales of\nfurs over one or two thousand miles of rapid river and\nrough portage to reach the point of shipment, and then\nretracing their weary course with loads of supplies for\nanother year; the trapper, pursuing his solitary and\ndangerous work by night or day in the depths of the\nforest and along the frozen northern streams; all these\nhave lent themselves naturally to the pages of romance\nand adventure. It may be doubted if any service ever\nproduced a more hardy, courageous1, and resourceful\nclass of men than did that of the Hudson's Bay\nCompany in the wide-spread domains over which it so\nlong held sway. From the days of the Cavaliers and\nPrince Rupert, who was the first Governor of the\ncompany, to the present time seems a long bit of\nhistory; but during all that period the Hudson's Bay\nCompany has been a vigorous and progressive commercial body, and an important agency in maintaining the\ngood will and peaceful attitude of the native Indian VIII\nNorthern Canada 181\ntribes which are scattered over the remote parts of the\nDominion. The present Governor is Sir Donald Smith,\nand it is understood, that among the many honours of a\nsuccessful life he values as much as any the fact that he\nhas worked his way to the head of the historic eompany\nin whose service his career began.\nUntil 1868 the Hudson's Bay Company's Charter\ngave it almost absolute control over not merely the more\nNorthern regions of Canada, but over what we now know\nof the North-West. In that year it handed over its\nterritorial rights and governing powers to the Dominion.\nBut it is still a powerful organization with far-reaching\ninfluence. Besides maintaining its distant posts and\ntransport system for the fur trade, it carries on an\nimmense business throughout the newly settled parts\nof the North-West, having established shops for the\nsale of goods at almost every important centre- of\npopulation from Fort William to Victoria. By the\nterms on which it surrendered its territory to the\nDominion it became entitled to one-twentieth of all the\nland laid off for settlement in the Fertile Belt. Three\nmillion five hundred thousand acres have thus already\nbeen assigned to it, and as much more will probably\nfall to its share, so that the company is now deeply\ninterested in the sale and settlement of land. The\nchanged conditions of the country have also introduced\nnew features into the fur trading operations of the\ncompany. There is still a great extent of territory\nover which the old methods of transport by canoe and\nportage obtain. But much of the goods once sent\nJ I'\nI\nI\n182 The Great Dominion chap.\nto the remote north by way of York Factory and\nMoose Factory on Hudson Bay are now despatched by\nrail from Montreal to Winnipeg, -which is the chief\ndistributing centre for the northern districts. A steamer\nplies on the Saskatchewan in the summer for the\ntransport of goods and furs, and another on Lake\nWinnipeg. On the Athabasca and Mackenzie Rivers\nthree steamers are employed for the delivery of outfits\nand for bringing back the furs which have been collected.\nThere are thus at present fully two thousand miles\nof steam navigation where the paddle and pole of the\nvoyageur were once the only dependence.\nThere is still the regular annual despatch from\nEngland of ships to Fort Churchill and Moose Factory,\nand the return cargo consists not only of furs, but\nalso of the oil and salted salmon which have been\ncollected at the various posts of the company along the\nLabrador coast.\nIt will thus be seen that the Hudson's Bay Company\ncontinues to hold a most important relation to the\nindustry and development of Northern Canada.\nThere remains for mention one problem Connected\nwith Hudson's Bay itself, the solution of which may profoundly affect the future of some parts of the Dominion.\nMany practical men believe firmly in the possibility\nof successfully establishing a route by way of Hudson's\nBay for the transport to Europe of the products of the\nNorth-West. The practicability \"and safety of the\nnavigation for four if not five months of the year for\nvessels partially prepared to deal with ice, seems to be fairly well established. Among others, Admiral\nMarkham confidently holds this opinion. The Hudson's\nBay Company sends ships annually to its ports on the\nBay, and in its long history has only lost two of these\nships. It is known that at various times since the\nBay was discovered between 700 and 800 vessels have\nsuccessfully navigated its waters. These included\nEnglish and French war ships as well as trading and\nexploring vessels. Fort Churchill furnishes an excellent\nharbour, though it is the only one on the western coast\nof the Bay, for the largest sea-going ships. Five or\nsix hundred miles of railway would put Fort Churchill\nin close connection with existing lines of communication\nwhich extend over the great wheat and cattle region\nof the' North-West. Such a line would be expected to\ntap the products of the Western States as well. Transr\nport by a route so much shorter than those now used\nby Montreal and New York would mean a saving in\ntime and expense so considerable as to distinctly modify\nthe conditions of farming in the western regions of\nCanada. This saving has been estimated at \u00a33 per\nhead for cattle and five shillings per quarter for wheat.\nThough the difficulties are considerable, the inducements\nto the establishment of such a line are therefore great.\nThe question of construction will probably be decided\nby the extent to which production in the North-West\npresses upon the means of transportation. That again\nwill depend in part on the completeness of the water-\ncarriage established from the head of Lake Superior to\nthe sea.. CHAPTER IX\nTRADE RELATIONS AND TRADE POLICY\nWhat may be called the national interest of Great\nBritain in Canada as an integral part of the Empire\nis out of all proportion to her immediate trade interest.\nAlthough Canadians take of British goods about three\ntimes as much per head as do their neighbours in the\nUnited States, still Canada at present furnishes only\nabout 3 per cent, of the whole volume of British imports ; the percentage which she takes of British exports is little, if any, greater. Canadian exports to\nBritain are certain to increase greatly, especially in the\nmatter of food supply; imports from Britain will also\nincrease with the growth of population and wealth, or\nstill more from a change of trade policy. But even a\nlarge increase would furnish no measure of Canada's\nsignificance to the Empire. What has been said in\nprevious chapters about her naval stations, her coal\nsupply, her facilities for communication across the\nAmerican continent, her essential relation to the maritime position of the Empire, seems to make the national\nrelationship of the Dominion, entirely apart from trade, ch. ix Trade Relations and Trade Policy 185\na matter of vital concern to British people. It is this\nfact, more than the actual volume of her commerce,\nwhich justifies in England and throughout the Empire\ncareful study of her trade interests and trade incLina-\ntions. Are they such as are likely to modify her\nnational relationship, as is often asserted ? Has the\nidea of annexation to the United States taken any\nstronghold on the Canadian mind, or are there decisive\ntrade reasons why it should do so in the future ? As\nto the prevailing state of feeling at present, taking\nthe country as a whole, there can be no reasonable\ndoubt. It may be questioned whether there is in\nCanada to-day, from Atlantic to Pacific, any political\npassion so strong as opposition to absorption into the\nUnited States. It is practically accurate to say that\nno avowed annexationist could be elected to the\nDominion Parliament. If any believer in annexation\ngets a seat there, it is by concealing his views. Mr.\nGoldwin Smith, who has placed himself openly at the\nhead of a society formed to bring about annexation,\nor, as he terms it, continental union, has quoted in\na letter to the American press the name\u2014apparently\nthe only one he could discover\u2014of Mr. Solomon White,\nthen member of the Ontario Local Legislature for a\nborder constituency, but since defeated, as a Parliamentary advocate of the idea. I had the opportunity\nof discussing the subject rather thoroughly with Mr.\nWhite, and certainly, if annexation has no more ardent\nadvocate than he, the cause is not likely to make,\nprogress. ;\n4\ni86\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nWhile the opinion of the people as a whole is thus\nclearly defined, it may be admitted that along the\nborders, where the frontier, with its Custom houses\ncarrying out the regulations of a high protective tariff,\noffered hindrances to local trade, a certain amount of\nannexation talk was in past years heard. It has also\nbeen heard from time to time among bitter and disappointed political partisans. The question is never\ndiscussed on grounds of political, social, or moral advantage, but entirely from a trade basis. Into this\ndiscussion it was deeply interesting to enter. One\npreliminary condition I found it necessary to fix. It\nis useless to discuss the local or peculiar trade relations\nof a parish, a town, or a county in a country which\ncovers half a continent. Even observatioris which extend only over a single province may be extremely\nmisleading in drawing general conclusions for so vast\nan area. Only those great dominating industries or\ninterests which must finally determine national policy\nare worth taking into account. Narrowing the subject thus, a person finds himself face to face with one\nprimary consideration\u2014What is the natural market\nfor Canadian products ? This is a question much\ndebated in Canadian party politics; it is a question\nwhich should be studied closely in England, where it\nis often carelessly assumed that the contiguity of the\nUnited States creates for Canada an overwhelming\ninterest in the market nearest at hand. Without\ndetailed examination of the facts, this conclusion is a\nnatural one. That 65,000,000 of people on its im-\n1A 1\nix Trade Relations and Trade Policy 187\nmediate borders should make a far greater demand\non the products of the Dominion than 40,000,000 of\npeople 3,000 miles away, seems, on first thought, a\nreasonable inference. It does not seem so reasonable\nwhen we reflect on the one simple fact that the\nstaple products of Canada are, with one or two exceptions, staple products of the United States as well,\nand that, therefore, over a large range of industry, the\ntwo countries are natural rivals in markets where their\nsurplus products are required. There is a physical\nfact, too, which must be once more specially noted\nin considering the question. Almost to the heart of\nthe continent Canada enjoys the advantage of water\ncarriage\u2014a circumstance which beyond everything\nelse minimizes for commercial purposes the effect of\ndistance. When the canal system is complete, as it\nsoon will be, it will be possible to send Canadian products in ships of 2,000 tons burden from the head of\nLake Superior to Montreal, for transference to larger\nvessels, or even direct to Liverpool, Manchester, or\nLondon, without breaking bulk. Keeping these considerations in view, it seems to me capable of demonstration that the great and dominant trading interests\nof Canada Lie with Britain rather than with the United\nStates\u2014with the far market rather than with the\nnear. This is, I think, true at present; it is still more\nstrikingly true if we consider the country's prospective\ndevelopment. The statement will bear investigation\nin detail, and we may begin with a great staple\nroduct. i88\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nIf there is one thing about which Canadians feel\nconfident, it is that the settlement of population in the\nNorth-West will result in the production of a large\nsurplus of wheat. That wheat will necessarily find\nits natural market, as the small surplus now does,\nacross the Atlantic, not in a wheat-exporting country\nlike the United States; its carriage implies the prosperity of the lake shipping, the canals, the railways,\nthe ocean ports, and ocean shipping. A' million or\ntwo more of wheat-producing settlers on the prairies\nwould make this interest one of the greatest importance all the way from Regina to Montreal, St. John,\nand Halifax.\nThe cattle trade of Canada with Britain has grown\nrapidly; more than 100,000 live cattle have been sent\nacross the Atlantic in a single year. In this trade\nthe United States, which sends more than 300,000, is\nher greatest rival. Any increase of the cattle export-\u2014\nand it is likely to increase largely\u2014will manifestly be for\nthe British market. With dead meat and cattle products\nthe same is true. Cheese goes almost exclusively to\nthe United Kingdom: for the best quality of butter\nthe same market is best. I have pointed out in a\nprevious chapter the probability that pork, in the\nproduction of which inferior qualities of wheat can\nbe profitably utilized, may become a large Canadian\nexport. It would not go south to compete with\nAmerican corn-fed pork and the great packing establishments of Chicago. The pork-packing establishment now at Ingersoll sends all its surplus output ix Trade Relations and Trade Policy 189\nto England; a larger one has also been started by\nan English company at Woodstock, with the express\npurpose of inducing farmers in the neighbourhood to\nrear animals best suited for the home market, as the\nsame company and others have already led Irish and\nDanish farmers to do, to their immense advantage.\nThe United States have till lately been the best\nmarket for such horses as Canada had to selL A blow\nwas struck at this trade by the imposition of a high\nduty, but the substitution of electricity for horses on\ntramway systems seems Likely to destroy altogether the\nAmerican market for ordinary horses without reference\nto tariff. For the best quality of horses Britain has\nalways been the better market, and the development of\nthe trade will depend upon the attention paid to\nimproved breeding. More than 5,000 horses were\nsent from Canada to the United Kingdom during\nthe shipping season of 1894.\nIn 1893 Canada sent more than 600,000 barrels of\napples to the United Kingdom. One of the largest\ndealers in Ontario told me that this was the only market\nto be relied on, and that though about 100,000 bushels\nwere sent to the United States in the same year the\nfact was exceptional.\nThe great timber trade of the St. Lawrence and\nmaritime provinces is chiefly with Great Britain; and\nBritish Columbia, which has hitherto chiefly supplied\nPacific ports, is now beginning to ship to England also.\nThe exhaustion of American forests, however, is no\ndoubt stimulating the demand in the United States for I.\n190\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nsome kinds of Canadian timber, and a large trade will\nresult from the abolition of the import duty.\nExperiments made on a large scale of shipping\npoultry from Ontario to England have proved successful, and the trade is capable of indefinite development.\nA single exporter in Western Ontario told me that for\nseven years he had each season sent several carloads of\nturkeys through New York (in order to secure the most\nrapid transit) to Liverpool, and had found the operation\nprofitable and satisfactory. The market thus reached\nthrough the United States at a distance of 3,500 miles\nwas, he added, practically unlimited, and he was amazed\nthat the nearer maritime provinces did not avail themselves of it more fully. For the small and slipshod\ndealer along the border the near market for poultry is\nno doubt the best; for the large exporter, carefully\nstudying methods of treatment and transportation, the\ndistant market makes the best returns.\nCanadian trade with Great Britain is in some particulars much less than it will be when proper organization in the carrying trade has been secured and careful\nstudy given to the needs of the British market. Of\nwhat these can do we have a striking illustration in\nthe case of cheese. Twenty-five years ago Canada sent\nscarcely any cheese to the United Kingdom; the\nmethods of manufacture were poor; the industry was\nwithout efficient organization. A resolute effort was\nmade to improve, the best systems were adopted,\nfactories established, and the greatest care was taken\nto ship only the best qualities, with the result that ix Trade Relations and Trade Policy 191\nan export which in 1868 was valued at |500,000\nhad in 1881 risen to $5,000,000, and in 1891 to\n$10,000,000. In the latter year Canada sent to Great\nBritain 106,000,000 lbs.; the United States, its chief\ncompetitor, only 82,000,000 lbs., or one half of what it\nwas sending in 1881. In 1893 the Canadian export\nhad risen beyond 133,000,000 lbs., which was 53 per\ncent, of the whole British import, while the American\nexport had dropped still further to 81,000,000 lbs. In\nthat year Great Britain took Canadian cheese to the\nvalue of $13,360,237, while all other countries took less\nthan $50,000 worth.\nThe quality of Canadian cheese also has become so\ndistinct that steps are being taken to have all produced\nwithin the country for export officially branded. At\nthe Chicago Exhibition the superiority of Canadian\ncheese was strikingly maintained. In the spring\nexhibit, out of 136 awards no less than 125 fell to\nCanada, and the proportion at the fall exhibit was nearly\nas large. Most of the Canadian output is from Ontario\nand Quebec, where I found that cheese is considered\none of the most profitable farm products. One observes\nthat the farming districts of the Eastern peninsula of\nOntario, apparently the most generally prosperous in\nCanada, are those in which cheese manufacture has\nbeen most carefully developed. In the maritime\nprovinces the opportunities are even better, since a\nmoist climate gives superior pasturage, and there is\nmuch land singularly adapted for raising hay.\nWhat has been done with cheese could unquestion- &\n192\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nably be done with butter. There are no better butter-\nproducing districts in the world than the marsh and\nintervale lands of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, but\nthe introduction of factories capable of turning out a first-\nclass article of even quality, points essential to a command of the best English markets, has only begun, and\nmeans of transportation have not been perfected. It is\na distinct rebuke to Canadian enterprise to find that\nNew Zealand and the Australian colonies, which have to\nsend their products 12,000 miles, and across the tropics,\nare taking the lead in this important particular, simply\nby superior skill and completeness of organization.\nMuch attention is now being given to the matter, the\nGeneral Government has arranged a system of instruction in butter making, and the cheese factories are being\nadapted to the production of butter during the winter. It\nhas been mentioned that the apple trade, too, large as it is,\nhas been much hampered by bad packing and the export\nof inferior fruit. The care and, I may add, honesty in\nthese particulars shown by the Tasmanian grower might\nwell give a lesson to the over-sharp Nova Scotian or\nOntario packer, by which he would secure better returns.\nIf the latter could but watch the keen faces of a group of\nLondon costermongers at Covent Garden when the heads\nof the apple barrels are knocked out, and the contents\nexposed to the centre before sale, he would understand\nthat his clever packing is sheer stupidity. The name\nof any unequal apple-packer in Canada should be posted\nfor pubLic execration, so great is the harm that he does\nto one of the most promising industries of the country. ix Trade Relations and Trade Policy 193\nOf products not now of importance, but Likely to\nbecome so, nickel and silver are worthy of mention. I\nvisited the mines of nickel ore at Sudbury, in Ontario,\nwhich surpass anything yet found in the world. It is\ndifficult to obtain accurate information about these\ndeposits, since, in the uncertainty as to the future of\nthe metal, both the English and Canadian companies\nwhich have works here are exceedingly reticent about\nthe extent and value of their possessions. But the\nreports of Canadian geologists and of experts sent\nby the American Government to institute inquiries\nmake it clear that the supply of nickel in the\" district\nis practically inexhaustible. At present a considerable\nquantity of ore is smelted, and shipped chiefly to South\nWales and the United States. The output could easily\nbe increased, but it is fixed by the comparatively limited\napplication of the metal in the arts. If nickel realizes\nthe expectations conceived about it, and becomes a\nnecessary ingredient in armour-plating, it will no doubt\nseek the English centres where armour-plating is\nchiefly manufactured.\nFrom the Kootenay district in British Columbia a\nlarge production of silver seems assured. Like the\nsilver of Broken Hill in Australia, it will flow to English\nmarkets, rather than go southward to compete with\nNevada and other States which have the largest silver\noutput in the world.\nSumming up, then, it would appear that for wheat,\ncattle, dead meat, cheese, butter, pork, apples, timber,\nnickel, and silver, the distant market is, or can easily be\no 194\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nmade, the better; the one to which these products will\nnaturally go. That they include the dominant industries of Canada, those which must always furnish the\nlargest surplus for export, cannot, I think, be successfully denied.\nAgainst this group of products we must now put\nanother before we can fully weigh existing trade conditions. In this second group the chief place must be\ngiven to coal. The bituminous coal of Vancouver\nIsland, though supplying British Columbia west of the\nRockies, and sent to many points in the Pacific Ocean,\nstill finds its largest market in San Francisco and other\nAmerican towns. Here it has been for some years faced\nby a duty of seventy-five cents per ton, the removal of\nwhich unquestionably ineans an enlarged market and'\nincreased profits. The same is true of the Lethbridge\nmines of Alberta. The Nova Scotia mines, in the last\nfew years, through special favour shown to them by the\nGovernment railways, and under a protection similar to\nthat given to American coal, have found a home market\nbetter than they ever enjoyed in New England, under\nreciprocity, but to them too the freedom of the American\nmarket will give a decided stimulus.\nNext to coal is barley, which has hitherto found its\nway chiefly to the United States. There seems no\nsufficient reason why Canadian barley should not come\nto supply the large demand in England, and, judging\nfrom what has already been accomplished, it will probably do so in time. When the American market was\nclosed by the McKinley tariff, the farmers had to make a \u25a0\\\nix Trade Relations and Trade Policy 195\nchange from the four-rowed barley commonly grown\nand bought for American breweries to the two-rowed\nvariety which brewers prefer in England. The export\nto Britain has increased under this change, but the\nCanadian farmer has not yet learned to exercise the care\nrequired to match the sensitiveness of the English buyer\nto the least variations of colour and grading. Eggs,\nshut out by the McKinley tariff, have been diverted with\nsingular rapidity to Britain\u2014more than 40,000,000\nhaving been sent over in 1892, and nearly 50,000,000 in\n1893. The trade has proved profitable, but still, for so\nperishable a commodity, the advantage of a near market,\nat least as an alternative, is manifest. The United\nStates duty on eggs has now been reduced nearly one\nhalf.\nThe interests of the large fishing industry are divided.\nTinned salmon and lobsters, of which there is a large\nexport, go almost exclusively to Britain, salted fish to\nthe Mediterranean, the West Indies, and South America,\nfresh fish to the States.\nIf now we add spring lambs and chickens, vegetables,\nand other minor farm and mineral products, some too\nbulky for distant exchange, some too perishable for\nlong carriage\u2014chiefly such as the maritime provinces\nfurnish to New England towns\u2014-we have pretty well\nexhausted the lines of production on which Canada\nmust look to the United States for the best market.\nThis group, then, comprises barley (for the immediate present only), coal, fresh fish, and minor farm\nproducts, to which should be added, I think, timber\no 2 196\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nin some forms, and some varieties of iron ore peculiar,\nto Canada. But in regard to most of these products\nCanada holds on the American continent a natural\nsuperiority which is beginning to assert itself. San\nFrancisco, as I have pointed out, depends on British\nsources for all its good coal. New England factories\nwant Nova Scotia coal, and the towns of Northern\nMontana require that of Lethbridge, because it is the\ncheapest and the best accessible. The brewing interest of the States is united in pressing for the\nremoval of the duty on Canadian barley, which has\nlong been considered the best on the continent. The\nextraordinary prices at times paid for Ontario timber\nlimits by American operators prove the comparative exhaustion of American forests. For fresh fish the great\nAmerican cities depend more and more upon the northern\nCanadian waters.\nThe conclusion seems to be irresistible that for the\nmain lines of Canadian export the British market is\ninfinitely the more important. In several of the other\ncases I have enumerated, where the near market is\nadvantageous, the American people have already in\ntheir own interests been induced to open their\ncountry more freely to Canadian products. Only a\nfeeling of trade animosity such as was displayed in\nthe last Message of President Harrison can prevent\nthem from doing this still further.\nTo any policy dictated by this feeling Canadians,\nwill undoubtedly reply in the future as in the past, by\neither finding new markets for what they have to sell, ix Trade Relations and Trade Policy 197\nor by turning their attention to production of other\nkinds. The unlooked-for result upon Canadian commerce of the operation of the McKinley tariff proves\nthat even this prospect need not be discouraging. The\nreturns for 1892 indicate that the trade of Canada for\nthat year was the largest in her history up to that\ntime, and that while there was a decline in the case of\nthe United States, chiefly owing to the exclusion of\nbarley and eggs, there was a large increase with every\nother important country with which the Dominion\ndeals, and especially with Great Britain. Compared\nwith 1891, the exports to Great Britain rose from\n$49,280,328 to $64,900,549; those to the United\nStates dropped from $41,138,625 to $33,830,696.\nThis change is very remarkable and significant. A\nvigorous effort to open up a larger trade with the\nWest Indies has met with fair success, and exchange with\nAustralia has increased rapidly with the introduction of\nbetter steam communication across the Pacific.\nIn what I have said there has been no intention to\nquestion the great value to Canada of the freest trade\nrelations attainable with the United States. My object\nhas been to show that they are not absolutely essential\nto her prosperity; that, in fact, Canada holds upon the\nAmerican continent a fairly independent trade position,\nwhich, if properly made use of, is quite sufficient to give\nsecurity to her political status. Both countries have\nmuch to gain from increased interchange of products,\nbut to suppose that the greater commercially dominates\nthe smaller is an utter mistake. It is a remarkable 198\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP,\nfact that in the midst of almost universal depression\u2014\na depression which has particularly affected the United\nStates\u2014the increase of Canadian trade referred to as\ntaking place in 1892 was maintained in 1893.\nThese truths need to be impressed upon Canadians\nthemselves. In some parts of the country one heard\nstatements made, by otherwise intelligent men, which\nindicated that party politics were too absorbing to\npermit study of the bare arithmetical facts of trade and\ncommerce. The Liberal party has exaggerated the\nimportance of the United States market, and has\nshown a readiness to make excessive sacrifices to obtain\nit. The Conservative party, or rather a section of it,\nhas staked too much upon the hope of preferential\ntrade with Great Britain instead of depending upon the\ninnate advantages and opportunities of Canada itself.\nTo make the most of these last much yet remains to be\ndone. The lack of close study of the British market and\nof a resolution to put upon it only the best products in the\nbest condition has been referred to. An improved freight\nservice across the Atlantic should be provided. Sir\nWilliam Van Home has pointed out to the Toronto Board\nof Trade on a public occasion that the use of modern\nships, with the best coal-saving appliances, would mean,\nby reduction of freight charges alone, an addition of\n10 per cent, to the present value of a large volume of\nCanadian exports. Most important of all, perhaps, is\ntariff revision. These three things\u2014great care in\nstudying and meeting the demands of the British\nmarket, improved means of transportation, ,and such ix Trade Relations and Trade Policy 199\nlowering of duties as will reduce the cost of agricultural\nproduction to the lowest possible point and encourage\nexchange with the mother country\u2014will do more for\nCanada than she can ever hope to gain from preferential\ntreatment by Great Britain. The latter is distant and\ndoubtful, the others practicable and open to immediate\nadoption.\nOn the question of tariffs, something more must be\nsaid, With the export trade of Canada in many lines\nturning so decisively towards the United Kingdom,\nEnglish people will naturally study with interest the\nprospects of an equivalent return trade, and ask\nwhether Canada shows any inclination to relax her protective system either towards Britain or towards the\nworld. The prolonged political conflict over trade\npolicy has not yet ceased, and one hears widely varying\nexpressions of opinion based sometimes on party feeling,\nsometimes on genuine conviction. The Dominion, like\nthe United States, is manifestly in the midst of a\ntransition period. Some conclusions, however, seem to\nme clear.\nIt may be said with confidence that protection has\nnow reached its highest point in Canada. It would\nprobably never have got the hold it has, save for the\nexample and neighbourhood of the United States. The\nexample was to some extent misleading. Protection\nalways had a better chance of success, temporary or\npermanent, in the United States than in Canada,\nbecause the former country had naturally a greater\nvariety of production within itself, and also because it\nJ vv)\nI\n200\nThe Great Dominion\nchap.\nstarted upon its protective career with a population\nlarge enough to give an immense area of internal free\ntrade. Yet I cannot think that the adoption of a pro*\ntective system by Canada was at the time a mistake, or\nhas been without good results. It was entered upon\nunder peculiar circumstances, The North-West had\njust been acquired; its opening up seemed a national\nnecessity; a pledge had been given to connect by rail\nthe Pacific coast with the Atlantic, The older\nprovinces shrank from a task so vast, which involved\nraising revenues beyond precedent. It is safe to say\nthat without the hope held out by the protective policy\nof an increased manufacturing population at home, and\na wider exclusive market in the West, the work would\nnever have been undertaken or carried rapidly on to\nsuccessful completion. Again, the neighbouring republic had just denounced a mutually beneficial reciprocity treaty, and adopted a fiscal system which, in its\noperation, exposed the incipient industries of a weaker\ncountry like Canada to the greatest dangers.\nMonopolist manufacturers at home might be bad, many\na free trader reasoned, but their work was, at least, done\nwithin the country. To be at the mercy of highly protected-manufacturers in another land, where rings and\ntrusts held almost unbounded sway, had about it no\nredeeming feature. Once more, the large revenues\nwhich it was necessary to raise could not be obtained by\ndirect taxation, to which the habits and prejudices of\nthe people had long been utterly opposed.\nWhat the public men of the day had to consider, in :\nix Trade Relations and Trade Policy 201\ncarrying out their daring but, as events have proved,\ntheir well-judged plans, was how to extract from the\ntaxpayers a very large revenue in the form that seemed\nleast objectionable. A tariff at once high and incidentally protective was the method adopted. If we grant all\nthat may be urged as to the fallacies of the protective\nidea, still, politicians no more than doctors can be greatly\nblamed for giving a sugar coating to an unpleasant\nmedicine.\nAs it was, the stimulus of the national policy, as the\nsystem was called, whether artificial or otherwise,\ncarried the country through a period of great strain and\neffort\u2014a period, too, in which it acquired a self-reliance\nnever known before. Conditions have now greatly\nchanged. Several circumstances combine to make a\nmore or less decisive change of policy not only advisable\nbut possible of adoption. The limit of large capital\nexpenditure undertaken for necessary works has now\nbeen almost reached. The essential railway systems\nare practically completed. The same will soon be true\nof the canals. Industries for which temporary protection was deemed necessary have now had a good start,\nand may fairly be asked to begin to stand alone. The\ngeneral expansion of trade gives buoyancy to the\nrevenue, and the Government had in 1890, 1891, and\n1893 a large surplus to deal with, and a small one in\n1892, though sugar had just been made entirely free.\nThere seems to me to be a consensus of opinion\nthroughout the North-West, in the agricultural communities of the East, and among men of independent\nS 202\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nthought everywhere, that the first object of Canadian\nstatesmanship should now be to make the Dominion a\ncheap country to live in. A large inflow of population\nto the unsettled areas, the greatest good of the greatest\nnumber in all parts, seem to depend on this. Even\nmanufactures which have made great strides under the\nimpulse of protection now feel a still greater need of\nthe wide market which only a large and prosperous\nagricultural population can supply, The extreme\ndepression in the price of agricultural produce has led\nfarmers to consider more closely than they ever did\nbefore the price of the manufactured goods they buy\nand in some provinces there has been much organization to give political effect to their views.\nGreater freedom of trade, then, is gradually coming\nin response to a strong popular demand. It might have\nwon in the last general election against all the strength\nof Sir John Macdonald and a powerful Government, had\nnot a small section of the Liberal party allowed its\nadvocacy to be mixed up with suspicions of their fidelity\nto national connexion\u2014suspicions which can in no wise\nattach to the party as a whole. That election, and still\nmore the bye-elections which followed, killed the idea\nof commercial union with the United States as then\nsuggested, which involved discrimination against the\nmotherland. With the idea of commercial union has\nsince completely vanished any inclination which here\nand there may have been harboured towards political\nunion. In 1892 some remnants of this feeling could\nyet be discovered; in 1894 it was gone. The un-\nII I\nix Trade Relations and Trade Policy 203\nparalleled wave of business depression which swept over\nthe United States during the interval; the spectacle\nof Coxeyite armies of the unemployed moving on\nWashington; of Atlantic steamboats and Canadian\nrailway trains crowded with emigrants returning from\nthe United States; of industry paralyzed by strikes\nwhich divided authority made it difficult to repress\u2014\nall made Canadians more conscious than they had ever\nbeen before of the serious social and political problems\nwhich their neighbours have to confront. The fact\nthat Canada's industrial condition was meanwhile\nscarcely affected emphasized the advantages of her\nindependent position on the continent.\nNow that the struggle against commercial union is\nover, a broader and truer conception of improved and\nfreer trade relations is growing up. The Conservative\nleaders are not, I think, unwilling to recognize this new\ntendency of the public mind. Any one who studies\nCanada from coast to coast will be convinced that in\ndoing so they will be serving their own interests. The\nGovernment, however, secure in a large majority, can,\nuntil the approach of a general election, suit its own\nconvenience in dealing with the question. In the\nSession of Parliament for 1893 the growing feeling in\nfavour of a reduction of protective duties was staved off\nby the promise of a searching inquiry into the working\nof the national policy in all parts of the Dominion, an\ninquiry which has since been carried Out by the Finance\nMinister and his assistants. This inquiry led to a\nrevision of the tariff, and very considerable reductions, \u25a0 i\n204\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nthough not so large or so numerous as had been\nexpected. The process of reduction is likely to go\nfurther. The Conservative party seems resolved to\ncling to its traditional policy of protection in the case\nof special industries, while proposing from time to time\na considerable advance in tariff reform as circumstances make this possible. The Liberal party claims\nthat it is the truer representative of unshackled\ntrade. The tendency is the same in both political\nparties.\nThere will be difficulties to overcome. Large\nrevenues must still be raised; vested interests will\nmake themselves considered. The manufacturing\ncentres of the East will make their influence felt\nas well as agricultural interests West and East. Some\nindustries will make a strong plea for continued.support. Still there are numberless directions in which\nfetters can be removed from trade, and the tendencies\nare manifestly in that direction. As changes are made\nthere will be a strong desire to make it favour trade\nwith the motherland. It is claimed that this is done\nby the recent revision. Any allusion to such freer\ntrade made in popular assemblies is sure to draw\nout enthusiastic applause. Mr. d'Alton M'Carthy,\nthe most prominent private member of the Conservative party, has openly declared himself in favour of a\ndirect and unconditional reduction of duties on English\ngoods. This is not sentiment, but business. A return\ncargo makes cheap freights. A country which hopes\nto cover the North Atlantic with ships carrying its ix Trade Relations and Trade Policy 205\nproducts to England cannot, if it is wise, wish to\nsee those ships return in ballast.\nThere are one or two things which it seems well to\npoint out to the British manufacturer who looks on the\nCanadian as his rival. The impression left upon my\nmind by the study of Canadian manufacturing development in relation to British trade is this. In new\ncountries like Canada, under a protective system, and\neven without it, there will be a tendency to develop all\nthe rougher forms of manufacture locally. The cheap-*\nness of the article produced, the small margin of profit,\nthe cost of carrying material, all contribute to make\nthis natural. I believe that coarse cottons or woollens,\nfor instance, can be produced in Eastern Canada to-day\nand placed upon the market as cheaply as those\nfrom Manchester or Yorkshire. The policy of the\nEnglish manufacturer, under such conditions, is manifest. He must make up his mind to turn more and\nmore\u2014and he might as well do it without grumbling\u2014\nfrom the lower to the higher forms of manufacture.\nWith his abundant capital, with greater attention to\ntechnical education among his workpeople, with the\nfuller command that he has of mechanical and artistic\nskill, he can easily do this. In this field he will find\na constantly enlarging market in proportion as both\nmanufactures and agriculture increase the prosperity\nand buying capacity of the new communities. Let me\ngive a practical illustration of what I mean. I have\nobserved a large cotton null started in one of the 206\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nmaritime provinces of the Dominion, giving employment to many hundreds of hands. Cheap land, cheap\nbuilding material, lowtaxes, easy water carriage for the\nraw cotton, adundance of cheap fuel from the waste\nwood of saw mills, and excellent facilities for railway\ndistribution make it possible for this mill, even with a\ngreater outlay for wages, to compete successfully in gray\nand other coarse cottons with those of England. In\nthis particular line of goods, therefore, the Manchester\ntrade is checked. But, if the Manchester manufacturer\ncould observe how each year the shops at which these\nprosperous Canadian artisans deal become more and\nmore packed with the finer goods which they require,\nhe might learn two lessons\u2014first, that it is stupid to\ntry to force his old wares on a market where he\nis handicapped; and, secondly, that with a little\nadaptability the new condition of things might be\nturned to his own great advantage. All observation of\ncolonial markets convinces one that the English manufacturer has as much reason to study the changing\nwants of the colonists in manufactured goods as the\ncolonist has to study the needs of the home consumer\nin the matter of food supply.\nAt Woodstock, Ontario, I glanced hurriedly, under\nthe conduct of the proprietor, through the largest high-\nclass \"dry goods\" (drapery, millinery, &c.) establishment in the town. Seventy or eighty per cent, of all\nthe goods sold were of British production, he told me,\n\" But,\" he added, as we passed through a room devoted ix Trade Relations and Trade Policy 207\nalmost exclusively to ladies' mantles,\" all these are from\nGermany.\" \" Why Germany ?\" I asked. \" More taste,\nbetter material, better work for the same amount of\nmoney than can be got in England.\" He left the\nimpression on my mind that the Canadian mantle\ntrade now centres chiefly in Berlin. That is something\nfor the English manufacturer to consider and remedy if\nhe can. It was but a passing observation, but close\ninquiry might discover many such cases, and close\ninquiry is what the manufacturer is bound to make in\nthese days.\nThere are, of course, difficulties in the way of giving\npreference to British trade. It has hitherto been\nsupposed that under existing treaties Germany and\nBelgium can claim the advantage of any reduction\nmade to Britain. Whether this be true or not, the\nanxiety of Canada that these treaties should not be\nrenewed indicates the tendency of her policy.\nOn all sides the business outlook for Canada seems\nmost encouraging. She has in actual fact a rapidly\nincreasing trade with Britain. She has the hope of\nbetter trade relations with the United States. She\nis carefully cultivating minor but useful lines of exchange with the far East, Australasia, the West Indies,\nand South America. Her credit stands higher than\nthat of any other great colony of the Empire. She\nhas prudently ceased to be a great borrower, but for\nher three per cent, loans thrice the amount for which\nshe asks has been offered. Her equipment for internal 1\n208\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP. IX\nV\ndevelopment is excellent, and she has abundant room\nto receive the population which has been her greatest\nlack. The mass of the people are industrious, and\nher producing power is steadily increasing. Finally\nthere is the fact which I have tried to prove\u2014that\nher industries and the inclinations of her people alike\npoint to close commercial and political consolidation\nwith the nation of which she forms a part.\nI CHAPTER X\nLABOUR, EDUCATION, AND POLITICAL TENDENCIES\nFrom what has already been said it will be easily\ninferred that Canada is not a \" paradise\" for the\nworking man, nor for anybody else who looks for an\neasy time or for great results with little effort. In\nother words, it is not a land of illusions. Any visitor,\nwho is able to make comparisons with other countries\nwill be struck as he travels through the rural districts,\nand especially through those of the older provinces,\nby the large proportion of comfortable-looking homes\nwhich he sees. If he has an opportunity to study\nthem closely he will find that the comfort is very\nreal and substantial, but he will also find that they\nare homes which have in almost all cases been won by\nsteady, unflinching industry.\nFor success, an emigrant to the Dominion must\ntherefore have something in him, whether on the\nprairie or woodland. \" Is Canada a good enough\ncountry for a working man to go to ?\" one is often\nasked in great British centres of population. \" Is the\nworking man good enough to go to such a country as\np\nJ sp\nB\nHi\n2IO\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nCanada ? \" is often a more pertinent inquiry. Has he\nthe necessary backbone, the capacity to adapt himself\nto new circumstances, such an appreciation of the\nbenefits of a healthy life, physical and moral, that he\nis ready to sacrifice other things to obtain it ? Are\ncheap music-halls, and cheap beer at every street\ncorner, and a loaf ready baked for a wife untrained to\ndomestic cares, more to him than fresh air, and plenty\nof space, and conditions of life which, if rough, are at\nany rate wholesome, and have in them the promise of\nhealth, independence, and improved social opportunities\nfor his children ?\nFifty years ago the British emigrant was almost\nalways welcomed abroad, for he was usually a son of\nthe soil, accustomed to a simple life, hard work, and\nlong hours. But the emigrant who is the product of\nhalf a century of the artificial life of great towns,\nfresh from the atmosphere of trade unions, strikes, and\nsocial agitations, is looked at rather askance in Canada.\nThe popular thought crystallizes itself into the advice\nwhich colonial agents give concerning the best classes\nto emigrate\u2014farmers with a little capital, agricultural\nlabourers, country girls to be trained for domestic\nservice. For these there is always plenty of room\nand occupation.\nThe reports which occasionally cross the Atlantic of\nan unemployed class in Canada must never be looked\nat in the same light as the question of the unemployed\nin England, or even in Australia. They only mean\nthat people have drifted thither who are unfitted for Labour and Political Tendencies 211\nCanadian life. If any man is out of work it is because\nhe cannot or will not adapt himself to the abundant\nwork there is to do. Artisans who can or will only do\none kind of work run a good deal of risk in going to a\ncountry where versatility, a willingness and capacity\nto turn the hand to anything, is often the key to\nsuccess. For men with plenty of backbone there are\nthe best of opportunities in Canada; for men without\nit the country is not to be recommended.\n\" There is plenty of work and plenty to eat in this\ncountry,\" were the words in which an Aberdeen woman\nat Dunmore, after speaking of hard times in the old\nhome, and hard work followed by prosperity in the\nnew, summed up to me her view of Canada. The\nremark has a very general application. But it should\nbe said that the hard work is of a kind which does not\ndepress. The climate appears to lend itself singularly\nto the necessity for vigorous effort. Lady Cathcart's\nagent told me that he asked one of the crofter emigrants,\nwhom he had found persistently shiftless and careless\nat home, how he managed without additional help\nto keep everything neat and tidy on his Manitoba\nfarm. \" One never seems to get tired in this air,\" was\nthe reply. No doubt the sense of personal ownership\nand independent effort was a co-operating influence,\nbut the difference between the moist, enervating atmosphere of the Hebrides and the electric air of the\nNorth-West would account for a good deal. The farm\nlabourer of the Southern or Eastern English counties\nseems a heavy, awkward fellow when compared with\nP 2\n1\nJ 212\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nthe wiry, active, and versatile backwoodsman of Eastern\nCanada. Climate doubtless has something to do with\nthis also, for the step of the same labourer seems to\nquicken and his eye to brighten when he has been for\na time on Canadian soil.\nCuriously enough, although strenuous work is thus\nthe distinctive* note of Canadian life, one may yet\ntravel for months through the country without hearing\nthe subject of labour discontent specially referred to..\nLabour problems as they are known in England and\nAustralia, for instance, do not fill any large place in\npeople's thoughts. The reasons for this contrast are\nnot hard to discover.\nIn the first place, the country is not crowded.\nCanada's prime characteristic is the abundance of\nland which is easily accessible and which gives a fair\nand speedy return to individual labour with a comparatively slight expenditure of capital. There is no desert\ninterior, as in Australia, to limit the range of settlement, and the people are free to spread over the whole\ncountry from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The prevailing occupations are agricultural, and as a rule each\nfarmer owns the land he works. A man who is hurrying\nto get through with his fall ploughing before the frost\ncomes on, or to make the most of the first fortnight's\nseeding in spring, or is trying to get the greatest\npossible amount of his own work squeezed into the\nshort summer, or the autumn which presses so closely\nupon it, has not much leisure to think over the eight\nhours' question, or to spend time on labour agitations.\nn t^_ HB?\nLabour and Political Tendencies 213\nNot how many hours he ought to work, but how much\nwork he can put through in a day, is the paramount\nquestion. This applies to the warmer seasons. In the\nlumber woods and on the farms in winter labour has\na natural limitation in the shortness of the northern\nday. There is then much time for recreation or self-\nimprovement. When a man is his own master and\nretains the profits of his industry, the labour problem\ntakes on new aspects for him. Fortunately for Canada\nthe majority of workers are their own masters. The\nnatural conditions of the Dominion thus appear to\nrelegate serious labour problems to a very remote\nfuture.\nIn the next place, the winter climate squeezes out\nfor a part of the year the \"tramp\" and \"swagger\"\nclass\u2014the incorrigible loafer who.takes no pains to\nprovide a roof for himself, and who poses as unemployed\nwhile really unwilling to work. For nine months of\nthe year, in most parts of Australia, a man of this\ntype can sleep without discomfort under the open\nsky; there are nearly nine months in Canada when\nsome provision for shelter is a necessity. The advantages of a mild climate are doubtless many, and one is\nmore conscious of the luxury of easy living in Australia;\na climate like that of Canada, severe for lengthened\nperiods even while it is exhilarating, has merits which,\nthough less obvious, are far-reaching in their influence\non national character. It drives men back on home\nlife and on work; it teaches foresight; it cures or kills\nthe shiftless and improvident; history shows that in 214\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nthe long run it has made strong races. It certainly\nsaves Canada from a class which everywhere does harm\nto genuine industrial improvement. The Canadian\nwinter exercises upon the tramp a silent but well-nigh\nirresistible persuasion to shift to a warmer latitude.\nIt is a permanent barrier to the influx of weaker races.\nIt is a fundamental political and social advantage\nwhich the Dominion enjoys over the United States,\nwhere the gradual and inevitable spread of a black\nzone across the South, and the increasing attraction\nof the warm Middle States for the races of Southern\nEurope, infinitely complicate the processes of national\ndevelopment, and qualify the undoubted industrial\nadvantage of varied production.\nIn what has been said one speaks chiefly of the\ncountry, but even in the towns there has hitherto\nbeen little labour agitation. The inclination to drift\nfrom country to city life is noticeable in Canada as\nelsewhere, but unhealthy pressure towards the centres\nhas not as yet become serious, and there is little\nsympathy with an unemployed class created by such\na tendency. Till a man has tried what he can do on\nthe land, he is not, even in the cities, thought to have\nmuch right to grumble or demand help from private\ncharity or from the State.\nCanada has a still further safeguard against labour\ntroubles in the neighbourhood of the United States.\nIf a man is not suited with the work and wages he\ngets in his own country, he can go to another close\nat hand. The extent to which the French Canadian x Labour and Political Tendencies 215\nof Quebec thus migrates vx order to find a market\nfor his labour as a factory hand has been before\nreferred to.\nWhile the States in this way serve as a safety-valve\nfor labour questions to the Dominion, it must be\nconfessed that they have in past years drawn from\nEastern Canada a great deal of material which it would\ngladly have retained. This so-called \" exodus\" has\nundoubtedly retarded the growth of the Dominion, and\nhas been a fiercely discussed question in Canadian\npolitics. One of the chief grounds on which protection, or, as it was called, the \" national policy,\" won\nfavour in Canada was the belief that the development\nof manufactures, by creating a variety of industry,\nwould retain in the country many who were going\naway. This, to a certain extent, it has done. The\nopening up of the North West has also contributed\nto divert this flow of population westward, and will do\nso more in the future. Still, a limited migration to\nthe States goes on, and is likely to do so. It is the\nnatural penalty which Canada pays for being a\nnorthern country with those rigorous conditions of\nlife which develop a strong type of character and\nphysique. She is, in fact, repeating the experience of\nScotland and New England. A climate which tends\nto produce a hardy race, a Puritan turn of mind which\ngives moral strenuousness, good schools, the leisure of\nwinter for thought and study\u2014all these tend to\nproduce men likly to go abroad to win their way by\ntheir wits. The Anglo-Saxon element of the United\n\\ 216 The Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nI\nStates, deluged as it is by a foreign population chiefly\nof the labouring class, and lacking many of the moral\nqualities which give the native American his superiority, gladly turns to Canada for a higher class of\nworkers. Young men raised on Canadian farms and\neducated in Canadian schools and colleges are\npaid high wages, and everywhere rise to position of\ntrust as railway and telegraph managers, as clerks,\nforemen, or organizers of industry in a hundred forms;\nthe more highly trained, as teachers, professors, and\njournalists. Women obtain highly remunerative employment as matrons or nurses in hospitals and other\ninstitutions where a good physique and high intelligence\nare essential.\nOnly the opening of large fields of enterprise or the\ngrowth of great and wealthy centres, such as everywhere\nattract special ability, can prevent migration of this kind.\nThis exodus of talent and energy is, therefore, likely\nto be continuous, and to extend to other countries as\nwell as to the United States. It is fostered by the educational advantages everywhere within reach. On education almost every province of the Dominion spends\nsums exceedingly large when compared with the whole\namount of revenue. The free school is everywhere,\nand the system extends in most of the provinces from\nthe elementary grades up through the secondary\nschools to the door of the university. But the free\nschool in Canada is not like the free school of England\u2014practically a gift from the rich who make no\nuse of it to the poor who do. The Canadian free Labour and Political Tendencies 217\n11\nI\ni\nschool is paid for by all classes and is used by all;\nis, in fact, a method of social co-operation for obtaining the best educational results with the least waste\nof force.\nExcellent results are obtained and great public spirit\nis shown in the maintenance of good schools, considering that' in fixing expenditure much is left to be\ndecided by public sentiment in each province and\neach school district. Government does not, as in\nAustralia, maintain schools; it gives assistance on a\nscale graduated to the amount of local effort, and\nexercises a general superintendence. On the whole,\nthe plan is probably the most efficient for a common\nschool system, and in Canada it works well. It must\nbe said that the not uncommon mistake is made of\nspending money more liberally on machinery than upon\nmen. But educational appliances are very good. In\nthe country towns the schoolhouses are almost invariably among the finest public buildings, the class rooms\nare large, the sanitary arrangements of the best. In most\nof the cities the grading and organization of the schools\nare very complete, their danger perhaps lying in that\nexcess of organization which tends to make teaching\nmechanical. In rural districts the village school forms\nno small part of the social system. In the Far West,\nas new areas are surveyed for settlement, provision is\nfrom the first made for education by setting aside\ncertain sections of land in each township for school\npurposes. In newly opened districts, of course, the\ndifficulty for the first generation of settlers lies in the HI 'I\n218\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nsparseness of population, but wherever a few children\ncan be got together the means are provided for\nestablishing a school. All towns of any size have good\nsecondary schools. There is, therefore, no good reason\nwhy every Canadian child should not receive a fair\neducation, or, if he has ability and perseverance\/a really\ngood one. The long winter lends itself to mental\nimprovement. The lull in farm work leaves the children of the family comparatively free, and it is at this\nseason that the country schools are full. The transition from the best country schools to the university is\nnot difficult, and for poor students is often bridged over\nby a period of teaching in the common schools combined with study. The scale of college expense is\nmore on the level of what obtains in Scottish than\nin English universities, though it has risen during\nthe last few years.\n\u2022 University education is making rapid strides, partly\nby means of public funds, but much more by private\nbenefactions. The readiness shown by wealth to\nsupport higher educational work is one of the most\nsatisfactory features of Canadian life at the present\ntime. When Sir William Dawson delivered his farewell address as Principal of M'Gill College not long\nsince, he was able to say that the gifts of the citizens\nof Montreal to that University during the previous four\nyears alone had amounted to no less than a million and\na half dollars. There have been very recent proofs that\nthis stream of munificence has not been exhausted.\nMr. John Henry Molson continues from time to time 1\nLabour and Political Tendencies 219\nto add to the extremely generous support which has\nconnected the name of'his family with McGill from\nthe earliest stages of its growth. The museum\nand library, presented before his death and endowed\nfor permanent maintenance by the late Peter Red-\npath, form a noble monument to a large-hearted\nand patriotic liberality. Altogether Mr. Redpath's\ngifts must have amounted to more than half a million\ndollars. The claim that the engineering and physics\ndepartments of M'Gill are the most perfectly equipped\nin the world seems justified to any one who has inspected the fine buildings in which they are installed.\nBoth are the gift of another generous citizen of\nMontreal\u2014Mr. W. C. Macdonald, who has spent upon\nthem nearly a million dollars. The medical school has\ngrown into importance, and retains numbers of students\nwho once flocked to Edinburgh and to the colleges of the\nUnited States. This school especially has received\nvery large support from Sir Donald Smith. The same\nbenefactor has provided for the higher education of\nwomen in connection with the University by a splendid\nand separate endowment, and he is still carefully\nmaturing plans to make the work' of this department\nas perfect as possible. The standard of teaching and\nexamination is the same as that for men, though the\nprovisions for instruction are distinct. Montreal may\nwell be proud of the public spirit which prevails\namong its merchant princes. Altogether the university\nhas now seventy-four professors and lecturers, with ilN\nII r1'\n220\nThe Great Dominion,\nCHAP.\n; t\\\nwell nigh a thousand students in general or special\nsubjects.\nToronto University presents a different set of conditions. It depends chiefly for support upon the\nprovincial revenues of Ontario, of whose altogether\nadmirable school system it forms the crown. The fact\nthat the college has this State aid seems, however,\nto have operated against large private benefactions.\nIn comparing these two greatest universities in the\nDominion it is interesting to note that the one which\nhas depended chiefly upon private generosity within\na single city has a more liberal endowment even than\nthat which is supported by a wealthy province noted\nfor its interest in education. Although the State has\ndone so much for Toronto University, still some of its\nfriends, and among them, I believe, members of the\nFaculty, hold the opinion that its position would be\nstrengthened if it relied entirely upon voluntary support. It is not easy to decide upon the truth of this\nview, though the facts I have mentioned give it some\njustification. Indications are not wanting in other\nparts of Canada that while the common and intermediate schools can safely depend for adequate support\nupon the tax-paying public, the higher learning in\nnew countries as well as old must look for assistance to the enlightened liberality of the wealthy few.\nOften religious sentiment furnishes the motive now\nas in earlier centuries. The Presbyterian, Church of\nEngland, Baptist, and Methodist bodies all support Labour and Political Tendencies 221\ncolleges\u2014some of them very well endowed\u2014in Ontario,\nand their position is so strong that an attempt to\naffiliate them with the provincial university has only\nbeen partially successful.\nApart from State aid, the gifts made to a few of\nthe leading colleges in the English provinces of the\nDominion during the last ten years alone have\namounted to at least $5,000,000. This estimate I had\nfrom Principal Grant, whose great and successful exertions in building up Queen's University at Kingston\nentitle him to speak with authority upon the subject.\nIt seems to me to represent a very striking degree\nof liberality in a country which has only very lately\nknown large accumulations of private wealth.\nIn French Canada higher education is mainly supported from ecclesiastical funds, is almost exclusively\nunder clerical direction, and is largely employed in\ntraining men for the service of the-Roman Catholic\n.Church. Laval University at Quebec has a long and\nnot undistinguished history. A number of classical\ncolleges scattered throughout the province are, for the\nmost part, affiliated with Laval.\nIn the Maritime provinces smaller colleges, some\ndependent on public and some on private and denominational support, do exceedingly good work, though the\ncourse of study is necessarily more limited.\nThese institutions grew up under the impulse of a\nvery genuine ardour for higher education at a time\nwhen the provinces were isolated, when communication\nwas difficult, and when, therefore, each small community s\ni\n222\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nhad to provide for its own wanta They have proved\nhow much there is to be said for the work of the small\ncollege, with the better opportunity which it gives for\nattention to the development of the individual student,\nsince they have, I think, turned out more men who\nhave achieved distinction in public and intellectual life\nthroughout the Dominion than the larger and more\nrichly endowed universities. But with the increased\nfacility of access to large centres the struggle for\nexistence among these small colleges becomes more\nkeen every day, and the necessity for some general\nreorganization of educational force among them is\nmanifest. As things are, their ablest professors and\nstudents are apt to be drawn away to wider spheres,\nor, if not, they suffer from loyalty to local interests.\nThere is abundance of excellent material and sufficient\nendowment of higher education in the Maritime provinces to maintain an effective university. Oxford and\nCambridge prove that it is possible to combine the\nadvantages of the college which takes charge of a\nlimited number of students with the opportunities of\na great university. The problem before educational\nstatesmanship in the Maritime provinces, of harmonizing\nlocal and denominational interests and prejudices, presents difficulties, but should not be insoluble.\nThroughout Canada there is an increasing tendency\nfor students to take a post-graduate course of study in\nBritish or Continental Universities. It is a tendency\nwhich deserves encouragement, for the greatest obstacle\nto the attainment of the highest educational results in Labour and Political Tendencies 223\nCanada, as in other young countries, is the haste to rush\ninto professional and business' life without allowing time\nfor thorough mental training. Besides, contact with great\nand ancient centres of learning is the best of all correctives for provincialism in thought and literary effort.\nAt Kingston the Dominion Government has established and maintains at considerable expense a college\nwhich gives a sound military training, and it is a noteworthy fact that in the few years since it was established\nnearly a hundred of its graduates have taken active\nservice in the imperial army. It has been stated on\nthe highest authority that in training and attainments\nthey compare favourably with those turned out by the\nmilitary colleges at home.\nThe Imperial Government assigns each year, without\nfurther examination, a small number of commissions\nto students who have distinguished themselves at the\ncollege. The link in military employment thus being\ngradually formed between the Dominion and the Empire\nseems of some significance and of mutual advantage.\nCanada secures the benefit of a large field for the training of its military students; the imperial army has a\nwidened area from which to draw material.\nI have dwelt at length upon the educational question,\npartly to show that intellectual has kept pace with\nmaterial development, and partly to explain why it is\nthat, beyond most of the other colonies of the Empire,\nthe need of Canada is for hand-workers rather than\nhead-workers. Of the latter j the country produces\nwithin itself more than it can employ. The avenues to 224\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\n1 \u25a0\u25a0'\ny\nprofessional success are everywhere crowded by home-\nborn and, except for very special work, home-trained\nmen. As I have shown, they go abroad in considerable\nnumbers, for work they cannot find at home. Canada\nmust, I think, reconcile itself to this exodus, which is\nthe outcome of natural conditions. It is not without\nits compensation in extending influence. Still, there\nare many who maintain that the tendency of things in\nCanada is to give literary education beyond the needs\nof the country; that, while the professions are overcrowded, farms and the more practical avocations of\nlife become neglected.\nIt is therefore interesting to note another exceedingly\npractical direction which educational effort is taking.\nAs I have said, the country is and will continue to be\nmainly agricultural. It is beginning to be recognized\nthat in an age of extreme competition the farmer, like\nothers, can only succeed by adopting the best and most\nscientific methods. A beginning, at least, is now being\nmade in bringing scientific training and the results of\nscientific research within his reach.\nThis work takes two different forms. At Guelph the\nOntario Government has established an Agricultural\nCollege, with an efficient staff of professors. A large\nfarm is attached to the college, so that provision is\nmade' for practical as well as theoretic instruction in\nfarming during the three years' course for which the\nplan of study is arranged. The institution has been\nin operation for more than twenty years, and improvements have steadily been made, so that now the facilities x Labour and Political Tendencies 225\nafforded to the students of becoming familiar with\nall kinds of farm work seem to a visitor very complete.\nIn addition to the ordinary work of field and garden,\nof laboratory and lecture room, a great variety of experiments in culture, the results of which are made public\nfrom time to time, are being carried on under the eyes of\nthe students. Horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, and poultry of\nthe leading breeds and varieties are reared, to illustrate\nthe teaching of the college, and to give practice in\nmethods of treatment. Class-rooms into which animals\nof all kinds can be freely introduced strike the observer\nas a novel part of college equipment, but among the\nmost useful.\nParticular attention is paid to the department of\ndairying, and the lecture-rooms are furnished with all\nthe best appliances for testing milk, for separating\ncream, and for butter and cheese making. A special\nshort winter course, for dairy teaching exclusively, has\nbeen established, and has met with much success. Its\nclasses are open to women as well as to men.\nThe college has steadily grown in public favour, and\nhas now no lack of students. All are expected to take\na part in the farm work, and that this may be done\nthe more cheerfully, and on equitable terms, arrangements are made by which students pay in part by their\nlabour for their education. While the majority are\nCanadians, a good many have come in past years from\nthe United Kingdom, and one asked with a good deal\nof interest how this system of combined field labour\nQ 226\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nand education worked in the case of young Englishmen.\nThe report was not altogether what one would wish.\nThe type of young man from the United Kingdom\nwhom his parents are most anxious to get settled on a\nCanadian farm does not easily take up the role, of a\nfield labourer, but rather expects to find an agricultural college something like an English public school.\nThe alternation of study and physical labour is naturally not so pleasant as that of study and play. To the\nCanadian farmer's son the former is something like the\nnormal experience of life, and so for him the college\nputs no special strain on prejudices and habits. A\ncourse at Guelph should serve admirably as an introduction for a young Englishman to a farrning life in\nCanada, but if he cannot face the labouring conditions\nthere it is a pretty reliable proof that he is not fitted\nfor the life to which he looks forward.\nAs the college can only receive a limited number of\nregular students, various means are taken to widen the\nsphere of its influence throughout the agricultural\ncommunity. Farmers' excursions are arranged, to\nvisit the college and inspect the practical work of the\nfarm. Addresses on agricultural subjects are given,\nand the methods pursued and experiments carried on\nare explained to groups of the visitors by the heads of\nthe various departments. No less than 9000 persons\nare reported as having thus visited the farm during the\nsingle month of June 1893. Again, at certain seasons\nof the year members of the college staff attend the\nmeetings of farmers' institutes, to give lectures and Labour and Political Tendencies 227\ntake part in the discussions. These institutes are\nvoluntarily established by the farmers in most of the\ncounties of Ontario, and have a marked influence in\nstimulating thought on farming questions and introducing improved methods of work. They are encouraged by a small grant from the provincial revenues.\nThe college also sends out competent men with\ntravelling dairies to go into every part of the province,\nand thus brings instruction on an industry which\nhas become of the utmost importance in Ontario\nalmost to the farmer's door. It is found that\nyoung men attend the college in order to qualify\nthemselves for undertaking the management of\ncheese and butter factories, so that the diffusion of\nthe best methods through the instrumentality of the.\ncollege thus becomes very general. The result of such\nwork is best shown in the wonderful strides made in\nthe cheese production of Ontario, and the exceptional\nposition which Canadian cheese has gained in English\nmarkets during the last ten years.\nWhile Ontario has thus taken the lead in founding\na college for farmers, the Dominion Government is\ncarrying out on a larger scale another scheme with\nsomewhat similar objects. For the last six years a\nlarge sum of money has been annually spent in organizing and maintaining a number of experimental farms\nat widely separated points across the continent. The\nCentral Farm, from which the rest are directed, is\nin the vicinity of Ottawa. Of the other four, one is\nat Nappan, in Nova Scotia; another in Brandon, in\nQ 2\nJ '*\n228\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\ni\nnil\nManitoba; the third at Indian Head, in the Qu'Appelle\ndistrict; and the fourth at Agassiz, in British Columbia.\nClimate and conditions extremely different, and representative of the characteristic areas of the country, are\nthus embraced in the operations of the farms.\nThe establishment of these experimental centres by\nGovernment may perhaps best be described as an\nendowment of agricultural research. Where a country\nhas so much staked on the prosperity of its farming\nclasses as has Canada, money could not be better spent,\nand it was satisfactory to be told that no sums were\nmore cheerfully voted by Parliament than the grants\nrequired for this purpose.\nNo visitor to Ottawa should miss the opportunity of\nseeing the work that is going on at the central farm\nnear that city, under the direction of Professor Saunders\nand his able corps of assistants. Experiments and\ninvestigations of the most varied kinds are being, made\nin agriculture, horticulture, and arboriculture, under the\ndirection of a specialist in each. A system of exchange\nhas been established with foreign countries, and the\nadaptability to the Canadian climate of plants and\nseeds thus obtained, especially from northern latitudes, is carefully tested. Farmers are encouraged\nto correspond with the heads of the various departments, and submit to them their special difficulties. Any farmer is free to forward seeds to the\nCentral Farm, where arrangements are made for testing\nand giving private reports upon their vitality. The\nchemical department receives samples of soils, natural Labour and Political Tendencies 229\nmanures, &c, analyzes them, and gives advice about\ntheir treatment or use. In the botanical and entomological department plant diseases, noxious weeds, and\ninjurious insects are carefully studied; communications\nare received concerning them; private advice is given\nor public bulletins are issued about the best methods\nof dealing with them.\nNumerous experiments in cross fertilizing are constantly carried on, and new varieties of promise thus\nprocured are widely distributed among farmers for\nfurther trial. In 1893 more than 20,000 samples of\nchoice varieties of cereals in three-pound packages\nwere distributed gratis to all applicants. Great\nquantities of tree seeds, with seedling forest trees and\ncuttings, have also been distributed, and especially in\nthe North-West, with a view to encourage tree-growing\non the prairies.\nMost of the problems which confront the farmer in\ndealing with cattle, sheep, swine, and poultry are being\nstudied, and the very full and accurate reports of the\nheads of departments on their various experiments in\nrearing and fattening stock, or combating disease, are\nscattered broadcast throughout the farming community. The Agriculturist of the the Central Farm,\nMr. J. W. Robertson, is also Dairy Commissioner for\nthe Dominion, and it is not too much to say that, by\nhis energy and enthusiasm, he has begun to organize\nthe dairying industry in the Maritime provinces on a\nnew basis.\nAt the branch farms special attention is given to\nJ I\nI\ni\n230\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nthose agricultural problems which most particularly\naffect the particular localities. On the two prairie\nstations the testing of varieties of trees suited for the\nprairies, and of cereals adapted to the short northern\nsummer, receives special attention. In British Columbia\nhundreds of varieties of fruit are being tested, and\nthe same department receives special care in Nova\nScotia.\nAt all the experimental centres the country people\nof the neighbourhood are encouraged to visit the\nfarms, and every facility is given them to observe the\nmethods pursued and the progress of experiments.\nAt Ottawa one found that large picnics to the farm,\nvaried during the day by lectures from the specialists\non the staff, had become a favourite farmers' outing.\nEducational effort such as I have described cannot\nbut assist the farmer in economizing force and making\nthe most of his opportunities. Its value, however,\nlies not merely in the. improvement of agriculture, but\nin the interest added to the farmer's life by giving it\na scientific and intellectual side. To make farm life\nattractive should surely be one of the aims of an age\nperplexed by the problems which have arisen out of\nan overgrown city population. The steps being taken\nin Canada to attain this end seem practical and eminently noteworthy.\nWe may now turn to another line of inquiry.\nThe spirit and tendencies of political life in the\ngreatest colony of the Empire must always be interesting to British people. - That interest will necessarily x Labour and Political Tendencies 231\nincrease and become more practical as time goes on.\nUnobtrusively and almost unconsciously, through the\nsheer weight of her concern in national affairs,\nCanada's influence is making itself felt in imperial\ncouncils. Some time since, in private conversation,\nLord Rosebery remarked that no change had more\nstruck him in English political life during the last ten\nyears than the new status which Canadians had\nobtained in this country, and the ready way in which\nCanadian advice was accepted in matters of great\nimperial importance by statesmen of all parties.\nThe change is only natural. The Dominion includes\nnearly forty per cent, of the land area of the Empire. Its\nports, harbour defences, and coal supplies must always\nconstitute considerable elements in determining the\nmaritime strength of British people on the Atlantic\nand Pacific coasts of America. It lies midway between\nEurope and Asia, and is in easy touch with both. It is\nin close international relation with the other half of the\nAmerican continent. Its population of five milions is\ndouble that of the United States when they became\nindependent, and greater than that of the England of\nElizabeth's time. Whether its voice, now that of a\nunited people, not of detached colonies, is heard in\nimperial questions by courtesy as at present, or by\nrepresentation on defined principle as will probably\ncome in time, should the unity of the Empire be maintained, such a State must necessarily have increasing\nweight in national and international discussions. It is\nmanifestly of the utmost importance to the Empire\nJ \u00bb\nI\ni!\n232\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nthat public opinion in the Dominion, situated as it is,\nshould be sober, reasonable, and conscious of its\nresponsibiHties; that political evolution should proceed\non sound and healthy Lines. So far, Canadian statesmanship has justified the greater attention paid to it\non large questions of imperial policy. Results such as\nthose achieved at the Halifax and Behring Sea arbitrations are the best proofs of this. Both were the outcome of a firm stand taken by Canada in regard to\nwhat she thought her rights; both were conducted\nmainly on Canadian advice; and in each case an\nimpartial tribunal maintained the Canadian as against\nthe American contention.\nIn many ways Canada holds a curious middle\nposition in political thought between Great Britain and\nthe United States. At first sight it might appear that\nthe impact of so immense a community as the United\nStates would entirely dominate Canadian lines of growth\nin politics and social life, and determine their tendencies. But this is very far from being the case.\nCanada has retained a very distinct individuality of its\nown. This is true of the greater and English-speaking\npart, as well as of that French Canada which might be\nexpected to retain its peculiarities of thought and\ninstitution. The circumstances under which the leading provinces of Canada were founded, about the time\nof, or shortly after, the American Revolution, created a\nline of demarcation between the two countries which\nnever has been, and probably never will be, entirely\nThe feelings with which the United\nobliterated. Labour and Political Tendencies 233\nEmpire Loyalists came to Canada between 1776 and\n1783 were not such as favoured the adoption\nof the political and social ideals of the States from\nwhich they had been driven out. American action\nin the war of 1812 deepened the Line of separation. While the United States cherish the recollection of Lexington and Bunker's Hill, Yorktown and\nSaratoga, as memorials of a struggle against what they\nthought was oppression, Canada finds the record of\nher heroic period in spots like Queenstown Heights,\nLundy's Lane, Chateauguay, and other places where\nstern and successful resistance was made to high-handed\nAmerican aggression. The circumstances in the one\ncase are as much calculated to inspire patriotic feelings\nas in the other. Temporary difficulties, such as those\nwhich occurred at the time of the Trent affair, in the\nFenian invasion of 1866, in the various boundary\ndisputes, and the policy of commercial isolation which\nhas prevailed of late years, have constantly tended to\nturn Canada in directions of its own, and given it the\nstamp of individuality. That stamp it will certainly\nretain.\nBut, while living its own life, the Dominion grows\nmore cordial with its great neighbour as the latter\nlearns to respect it.\nAt the point which they have now reached, the\nbusiness of Canada and the United States is to live on\nfriendly terms with each other, and there is little to\nprevent them from doing so, given common honesty of\ndealing and respect for each other's rights. The great 234\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nboundary questions have been settled, with the exception of that in Alaska, and here the necessary surveys\nare now being carried harmoniously forward. Other\npoints of dispute have been cleared away. Mr. Goldwin\nSmith always assumes that Canada's presence as a part\nof the British Empire on the American continent is a\nstanding irritation to the United States. Possibly it is\nto a baser element in the United States, but that is not\na thing to which a free people should pander. It is\nmuch more likely that Canada, in the middle ground\nthat it occupies, will prove to be the solvent which\nwill unite in sympathy and on honourable terms the\ntwo great nations with which she is allied in race and\nlanguage. Certainly it is in dealing with Canadian\nquestions that these nations have made the greatest\nadvance in the matter of national arbitration. In\nframing her system Canada took many hints from the\nUnited States. In the practical work of government\nthe United States might well take many lessons from\nCanada. In maintaining a high respect for the law\nand the judicial office, in the management of native\nraces, in organizing a non-political Civil Service, in the\nunification of marriage laws, to mention a few special\npoints, the greater success of the smaller and younger\nfederation has been marked, and is generally admitted.\nDoubtless much has yet to be done for the complete\npurification of public life in Canada, but in this too\nno impartial observer can doubt that the smaller State\nhas the better record. The professional politician has\nno such large and accepted place as in the United x Labour and Political Tendencies 235\nStates, and the severest critic of Canadian politics has\nadmitted that the people as a whole are sound. The\nstrongest Government that the Dominion ever knew\nwas swept from power merely on a suspicion that\npublic trusts were being loosely dealt with. A strong\nbelief in the public mind that the late Sir John\nThompson was a man bent on ruling the country\nhonestly, constituted one of the chief elements in his\npolitical strength. The same is true of Mr. Laurier,\nthe Liberal leader.\nOn the other hand, by applying the federal principle of\ngovernment on a great scale while keeping the system\nin harmony with British institutions, Canada must\nnot be thought of as becoming Americanized, but as\nmaking a most important addition to the political\nexperience of the Empire. There is no sufficient\nground for doubting the success of the experiment.\nFriction there has been, but nothing that for a moment\ncan be compared with what the United States had to\ndeal with in the earlier years of the Union; nothing\nthat has not yielded to judicious treatment. Friction\nthere will doubtless still be, but the principle of\nunion has now passed through the critical stage, and\nno single province would be allowed to violate the\nfederal compact.\nThe success of federalism in the Dominion and the\nincreased weight it has given to Canada cannot but\nhave far-reaching results upon other parts of the\nEmpire. It will forward the idea of unity in Australia\nand South Africa, and point the way to its successful\nJ 236\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nR\nadoption. It may suggest the lines of further political\ndevelopment for the Empire. It is not unlikely to\nhave considerable effect even upon political ideas in\nthe United States. The Dominion is now illustrating\non the American continent the admitted fact that the\npopular will under the British system works much more\nrapidly and effectively in a democracy which is not a\nrepublic than in one that is.\nBut while this first British application of the federal\nidea has been a distinct success, there have been many\nlessons to learn. There is ground for the opinion that\nsince confederation Canada has been over-governed.\nThe weak point of the system in this respect has manifestly been in the provincial Legislatures.\nConfederation transferred to the Federal Parliament\nvery extensive powers previously exercised by the provinces, and particularly powers which influence vital\nconstitutional change. In this the Canadian system\ngoes far beyond the example of the United States.\nWhile the importance of the local Legislatures was thus\nlessened, the machinery of government was left much\nas before, in deference to provincial feeling, which at first\nresisted any loss of prestige, even when it was artificial.\nThis machinery has proved too complicated and expensive, especially in the smaller provinces.\nPractical communities soon adapt themselves to new\nconditions, and all the English-speaking provinces except\nNova Scotia, where some resistance is still offered, have\nabolished their Upper Chambers. When the power to\nmake grave constitutional amendment has been removed x Labour and Political Tendencies 237\nfrom the sphere of legislation, and where the work to\nbe done is mainly administrative, the check furnished\nby an Upper House is no longer needed. This is the\nexplanation of the change which has taken place in the\ndirection of a single Chamber for provincial Legislatures.\nThere would be the strongest objection to doing\naway with the Upper House in the Federal Parliament,\nthough there the nominated Chamber has never been a\nstrong force in politics\u2014perhaps not so strong as the\nframers of the Constitution expected or intended.\nThe tendency will be to strengthen rather than to\nabolish it.\nIt is likely that still further means will be found to\nreduce the complexity of the governing machinery in\nthe smaller provinces. The most practicable reform\nseems to be the legislative union of the maritime provinces\u2014Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince\nEdward Island. A regular system of government by\nMinistries based on party lines tends to become absurd\nwhen applied to such small constituencies, and ends by\npersonal considerations and mere wire-pulling taking\nthe place of anything that can be dignified by the name\nof policy.\nUntil some substitute has been found for government\nby party the best remedy for the pettiness of provincial\npolitics seems to lie in widening the constituency as far\nas possible. There seems to be no good reason why\na single Governor, Legislature and Civil Service should\nnot serve for the Maritime provinces. Their population, when united, would not be equal to that of Ontario. 238\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP*'\n,)\nThe interests which have grown up around the small\ncapitals are now the chief obstacles to this useful\nchange, which will probably come in time.\nOn some general questions of political tendency the\nDominion presents striking contrasts to Australia.\nThe centralization of government which prevails in\nmost of the colonies of Australia, and which apparently\ntends to increase on lines of State interference, would\nnot, in the present state of public opinion, meet with\nmuch sympathy in Canada. I doubt if in any country\nthere is so complete a devolution of the powers and\nresponsibilities of government upon the right shoulders,\nall the way up through the school district, the parish,\nthe county or city municipality, and the province to\nthe Federal Government, as in most of the English-\nspeaking provinces of the Dominion. The rural\nmunicipality, conterminous with the county, has especially been organized with marked success. In this\nOntario led the way; the example has been closely\nfollowed in New Brunswick and other provinces. It is\nalmost universally found that the men selected represent\nthe most solid and reliable portions of the farming and\ntrading community; they need no guidance of an upper\nand specially educated class as in the English county\ncouncil; they form simple but dignified consultative\nbodies; their county administration is usually marked\nby economy and care. The range of political training,\nfrom the district school committee to the Dominion.\nParliament, is thus rendered very complete. If Canadians;\nare ever badly governed it is their own fault, certainly. Labour and Political Tendencies 239\nnot that of the completely free and representative\nsystem under which their local affairs are managed.\nPublic opinion in Canada, again, has gone entirely\nagainst the State control of railways which has found\nfavour in Australia. Railway enterprise has been\nlavishly subsidized, the greater part of the federal and\nprovincial debts having been incurred in this way; but\nthe people have deliberately preferred to hand over the\nassisted railways to private control. There is a deep\nsense of the danger to constitutional government in\nunnecessarily burdening the legislative powers with\ncomplicated administration, with the control of vast\nexpenditure, and with the exercise of extensive patronage. It is also believed that a community derives\ngreat advantages, through the increased self-reliance\nof the individual, from holding out the fullest inducements and giving the widest possible scope to private\nenergy. The Intercolonial system, embracing about\n1,100 miles of railway, is the only line now under public\ncontrol. It was built and is maintained as a part\nof the confederation compact, but its State management\nis very widely regarded as a necessary evil. Whether\nAustralian or Canadian tendencies in the particulars\nI have mentioned represent the more healthy and\nuseful forms of political development would form an\ninteresting study, and about it, no doubt, opinions\nwould greatly differ. They illustrate the wide range\nof political experience furnished by a large Empire.\nStatesmen who wish to strengthen the political tie\nbetween Canada and the motherland need not think\nJ 240\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nJl1\nof doing so by other than very practical methods. When\nLord Carrington returned from Australia, he suggested,\nif I am not mistaken, that such an end might there\nbe attained by the extension to colonists of K.C.B.,\nG.C.B., or some such titular distinctions, in addition to\nthe ordinary K.C.M.G. of colonial knighthood. I doubt\nif he is right about Australia; I am quite sure that\nnew links of connexion must take more practical forms\nso far as Canada is concerned. Some regard the conferring of a peerage and a baronetcy or two upon\nwell-known Canadians as a move in the right direction,\narguing that the highest honours of the Empire should\nbe open to all British subjects. But there is absolutely\nno sympathy with the establishment of an hereditary\nnobility or aristocracy on Canadian soil. I think I am\nright in saying that the objection to it is marked.\nCuriously enough, this is not connected with any theoretical objection to a House of Lords at the centre of the\nEmpire, where a Chamber, in part at least hereditary,\n.is considered more congruous with the existing order\nof things. There is little popular dislike, however,\nto the conferring or acceptance of ordinary imperial\nhonours, provided the subjects be worthy. On the\nwhole the knighthoods given in Canada have, with a few\nexceptions, been' conferred on those whom Canadians\nthemselves would select for honour, and are practically\nratifications of popular opinion. In.many cases the\nhonour has been declined.\nThere is one kind of life peerage, practical and useful,\nand carrying with it profound meaning, which could, Labdur and Political Tendencies 241\nwhen the time is ripe, be bestowed with telling effect\nin Canada. A great Canadian lawyer raised to the\npeerage for life, and sitting on the Judicial Committee\nof the Privy Council, would form a real and practical\nbond, honourable to the colony and useful to the Empire.\nIt need not be doubted that Canada will be prepared\nto furnish men of adequate calibre when they are\nneeded. To say nothing of English Canada, more than\none Chief Justice of Quebec, whose general legal ability\nand special knowledge of French law would be a distinct addition to the judicial resources of the House\nof Lords, would have filled the position with dignity\nand success. Such an appointment would profoundly\naffect French imagination. The name of Sir John\nThompson was, before his lamented death, sometimes\nmentioned in connection with such an appointment,\nand it was one for which he was admirably qualified.\nIt is quite possible that in other directions life peerages\nmight be made representative of great Canadian interests, and so act as genuine bonds of union. Admission to the Privy Council, especially if connected with\nactual consultative functions, would probably prove a\npopular and practical link of closer connexion and a\nuseful direction for poLitical development. That the\nofficial representative from time to time in London of\nfive millions of British people, who control the destinies\nof half a continent, should ex officio be of the Privy\nCouncil of the Empire seems like the dictate of political\ncommon-sense. The establishment of such a precedent\nwould be accepted in the Dominion as a decisive recog-\nR 242\nThe Great Dominion\nCHAP.\nnition of the growing importance attached to Canadian\nopinion.\nOne often hears regrets expressed in England that\nthe growth of the Dominion has not been more rapid.\nIt is true that Canada has grown slowly when compared\nwith the sudden expansion of the Western States, or\nwith Australia during the period of its greatest prosperity. Unthinking people attribute this exclusively\nto the more rigorous climate and the hard conditions of\nlife, but the reasons are really various. The circumstances of Australian growth after the discovery of gold\nin 1851, and also when the colonies were spending\nlarge sums of borrowed money in assisted emigration,\nwere essentially abnormal. During the period, again,\nwhen the American West filled up most rapidly, wheat\nwas bringing an exceptionally high price. It was the\nfarmer's golden age. Now he has fallen on his age of\niron. Never in the memory of man has wheat been so\nlow as since the opening of the wheat areas of the\nNorth-West. In European countries, moreover, the\nclass from which the best emigrants were chiefly drawn\nhas now been much reduced in numbers through the\ndepression of agriculture, the introduction of farming\nmachinery, and the transfer of the people to an artisan\nlife in towns. These and many other like considerations must be kept in mind.\nBut it is a very superficial view to regard the slow\ngrowth of the Dominion as a disadvantage to the\ncountry. There are many compensations, and the gain\nhas probably been greater than the loss. Law and Labour and Political Tendencies 243\nsocial order have always maintained their supremacy.\nThe native Canadian and the British elements have\nnever been swamped by an alien population untrained\nto citizenship. There has been no unnatural inflation,\nto be followed by a corresponding depression, no revolt\nof labour, no excessive concentration of population, with\nthe evils which follow in its train.\nThe best friends of Canada are perhaps those who\nare far-sighted enough to prefer that her growth should\nstill not be too rapid for her powers of healthy assimilation. It is impossible to sympathize with the feverish\nhaste shown in the Western States to reproduce within\na single generation in a new country the social conditions of crowded Europe, to reckon national progress\nby numbers rather than by quality and soundness of\norganization. It may fairly be claimed for Canada that\nin her somewhat slow development political training\nand social organization have kept pace with material\ngrowth.\nAll these are fitting her to take a place of increasing\ninfluence in the Empire to which she belongs. That it\nis her highest interest and the prevailing wish of her\npeople to maintain connexion with that Empire is one\nof the conclusions to which my study of the country\nhas led me. That she cannot be separated from the\nEmpire without results incalculably hazardous to the\nmaintenance of the national position of British people\nis another. INDEX INDEX\nf\nAberdeen, Lord, estate in British\nColumbia, 169\nAcadians, 137, 147, 148\nAgassiz, experimental farm at,\n228\nAgriculture, 19-25, et seq.\nAgricultural College, 224-7\nAlaska, 234\nAlberta, 30, 31, 34\nAlkali land, 12\nAnnexation, objection to, 185;\nsometimes discussed, 186 ; any\nfeeling in favour of, now gone,\n202, 203\nApples, export of, from Ontario,\n95 ; from Nova Scotia, 113 ;\nto Britain and United States,\n189 ; bad packing of, 95, 192\nAthabasca River, 5, 176, 182\nAustralia, British Columbian\ntimber used in, 166 ; trade\nwith, 197, 207 ; Canadian tendencies contrasted with those\nof, 238, 239 ; growth of, 242\nBanff, 7\nBarley, markets for, 194, 195\nBarren grounds, 177\nBeaver, 178, 179\nBedford Basin, 102\nBehring Sea, 81; arbitration, 232\nBermuda, cable connection with\nHalifax, 102\nBoundary, southern of Canada,\n3 ; Alaska, 234\nBourinot, Dr., 107\nBrandon, 14; railway rates at,\n56 ; experimental farm at, 227\nBrassey, Lord, colonisation estate,\n15 ; decides to encourage small\nfarms, 17 ; experience in promoting colonisation, 35\nBritish Columbia, 6, 157-172 ; not\nagricultural, 161, 162 ; mineral\nwealth, 163-5; fisheries of,\n162, 5; timber of, 166-167 ; coal\nof, 78-84 ; fruit and hops, 168\nBrown, George, 106\nBuffalo, 179\nButter, 97, 192\nCalgary, 26, 30, 33, 40\nCanadian Pacific Railway, 46-72 ;\nmileage of, 46 ; advantage over\nother trans-continental lines,\n47 ; steamship connections of,\n48, 66-7 ; bridges of, 49; encourages many enterprises,\n49, 50 ; early difficulties of, 53 ;\nmonopoly of transportation in\nNorth-West, 55-61 ; position\nof in Eastern Canada, 61-4;\nproposal to hand over Intercolonial Railway to, 64-68;\nuse of as naval and military\nroute, 69-71\nCanal system, 120; expenditure\nupon, 121 ; freight carried by,\n121 ; Sault Ste. Marie, 121,122\nCape Breton, 74-6\nCarman, Bliss, 108\nCaron, Sir Adolphe, 142 ' Cartier, Sir George, 134\nCattle trade, 30, 31, 188\nChateauguay, 233\nCheese, largest exports\nOntario and Quebec, 97,\nsent to United Kingdom, If\n190, 191\nChignecto Ship Railway, 123\nChina, 47,48\nChinese in Canada, 170\nClimate, 3; compensations for\n. cold, 24, 25, 211, 212; squeezes\nout inefficient, and keeps out\nweak races, 213, 214\nCoal, relation of to commerce and\nimperial defence, 73-77,87, 88 ;\nin Nova Scotia and Cape Breton,\n. 74-78; in British Columbia,\n78-84 ; on the prairies, 85-87 ;\nin New Brunswick, 78 ; anthracite near Banff, 82-3 ; smokeless, at Canmore, 83 ; market\nfor in United States, 194\nCochrane ranch, 30\nCoke, 83, 84 (note)\nColonist cars, 50\nCrow's Nest Pass, 48\nCunard, Samuel, 108\nDakota, 41\nDawson, Dr. G. M., 5, 86, 107,\n176\nDawson, Sir Wm., 107, 218\nEdmonton, 28, 29, 40, 87\nEducation, 216-226\nEggs, export of, to United States\nand United Kingdom, 195\nElevators, 14 ; waste in, 22\nEmigration, Icelandic, 9 ; Scottish, 13 ; from United States,\n40 ; young Englishmen of better\nclasses not alw.ays suited for,\n36, 226; kind of required in\n\u2022North-West, 34; in Canada\ngenerally, 210\nEsquimalt, 80, 169\nEstevan, 13, 86\nExodus to United States,\n215, 216, 224\nExperimental farms, 227-23\nFall ploughing, necessity for,\n20; compared with summer\nfallowing, 19\nFarms, on a large scale, 16, 17 ;\nsmall preferable, 17 ; best acre-'\nage for, 18, 19 ; from forest\nland, 115, 116; partly improved, 117, 119\nFish, where exported to, 195\nFisheries, of Eastern Canada, 109-\n110 ; of British Columbia, 165\nFleming, Sandford, 53\nFort William, 62\nFoster, Hon. George, E., 107\nFrechette, Louis, Article in\nForum, 129\n. Fredericton, 117\nFrench, in Quebec, 128 ; in Manitoba and North-West, 139; in\nOntario, 139; Acadian, 147;\nlanguage, 139-143\nFrost, 12, 20, 24\nFruitgrowing, 93-96, 113\nFundy, Bay of, 4, 112\nFur, carriage of, 6 ; country,\n173-183; permanence and\nquality of supply, 178\nGalt, Sir Alexander, 106\nGold, 109, 163\nGrand Trunk Railway, 49 (note),\n63\nGrant, Rev. Principal, 57, 107\nGuelph Agricultural College, 224\nHabitant, 129, 131, 138, 140;\nimmobility of, 144, 145 ; good\nfisherman and lumberman, but\nbad farmer, 149-150\nHail and hail insurance, 12\nHaliburton, Judge, 109\nHalifax, 74, 101,102\nHamilton, 92, 100 Index\n249\nHarrison, President, refers to\nCanadian Pacific Railway, 47 ;\nto Ship Canal, 62 ; trade animosity of, 196\nHorses, ranch, 31; exports to\nBritain, 189\nHowe, Joseph, 109\nHudson's Bay, 4, 174; route to\nEurope, 182-183\nHudson's Bay Company, 178, 179,\n180-183\nIceland, emigrants from, to\nNorth-West, 9\nIcelanders, 35, 39\nImperial titles in Canada, 240\nIndian Head, experimental farm\nat, 228\nInstitutes, farmers', 226, 227\nIntercolonial Railway, 64, 65-67,\n68, 239\nIrrigation, 27, 49\nIsothermal lines, 5, 29\nJewish colonies, 35\nJudicial Committee of Privy\nCouncil, 241\nKetchum, H. G. C, 124\nKingston, 92, 100, 117\nKootenay, 164, 193\nLabour, conditions of, 210 ; does\nnot depress, 211 ; problems not\nprominent, 212\u2014215\nLabrador, 177, 182\nLachine Bridge over St. Lawrence,\n49 (note)\nLatitude, comparative, of points\nin Canada, 3\nLaurier, Hon. Wilfrid, 135, 142,\n235\nLethbridge, coal, 85-86, 194, 196\nLondon, 92, 100\nLouisburg, 74, 76, 103\nLoyalists, United Empire, Toronto\nfounded by, 99, 233\nLundy's Lane, 233\nMacdonald, Sir John, 101, 106\nMacdonald, Mr. W. C, gifts to\nMcGill College, 219\nMackenzie, Alexander, 106\nMackenzie River, 5, 176, 182\nManitoba, comparative latitude\nof, 3, 9, 24\nManufactures, in Ontario, 97, 98 ;\nof iron, 110; of cotton and\nwoollen, 205, 206\nMaritime Provinces, 101 ; industrial position of, 103, 104 ; influence in Dominion affairs of,\n106; agricultural prospects,\n111, 112 ; climate of, 114 ; improved farms in the, 118, 119 ;\nlegislative union of, 237\nMcCarthy, Mr. d'Alton, 204\nMcGill College, 218, 219\nMcKinley tariff, 195-197\nMercier, Mi. 135, 148\nMilitary College, 223\nMixed farming, arguments for,\n21; objection of North-Western\nfarmer to, 23\nMolson, Mr. J. H, gifts to McGill\nCollege, 218\nMontreal, 151-153; public spirit\nof its wealthy men, 219\nMormon enterprise in Southern\nAlberta, 42\nMuskoka, 99\nMusk Ox, 177\nNanaimo, 79, 80, 81\nNappan, experimental farm at,\n227\nNavigation, inland, 4, 5 ; limitation to, 6\nNelson River, 5\nNew Brunswick, marsh and intervale lands of, 112, 113 ; coal in,\n78 ; business conditions of, 105,\n106 ; forest land of, 115, 116\nNewcomb, Professor Simon, 108\nNew Glasgow, 110\nNiagara Peninsula, 93-96\nNickel, 193 250\nIndex\nNortK-West, relation to rest of\nCanada, 5 ; general consideration of, 9-45\nNova Scotia, coal in, 74-78 ; as\npart of Maritime Provinces,\n101-119 ; fruit growing in, 113;\niron ores of, 110; best forest\nlands taken up, 115\nO'Brien, Archbishop, 108\nOntario, 90-101 ; forest land of,\n116; agricultural college of,\n224-226\nOttawa, 100, 101\nPacific Coast, 6\nline, 7\nPacific Ocean,\nship lines on,\nPeace River, 5,\nPerley, Senator,\nlength of coast\nCanadian steam-\n172\n29\nopinion on North-\nWestern farming, 19\nPetersen, P. A., C.E., 49 (note)\nPetroleum, in Ontario, 91 ; in\nNorthern Canada, 176\nPork, wheat fed, 21, 22 ; surplus\nsent to United Kingdom, 188\nPoultry, trade with the United\nKingdom, 190\nPrairies, impression of vastness\nfrom, 11 ; variety of land on,\n12 ; cultivation of, 15 ; undulating and partly wooded, 26\nPremium system, 38, 39\nPrince Albert, 28\nPrince Edward Island, 113\nPrivy Council, 24, 241\nProtection, 199-204\nQu'Appelle, 34\nQuebec, 127-156 ; population and\nrepresentation of, in parliament,\n128 ; small emigration to, from'\nFrance, 129 ; exodus from,\n129; repatriation and settlement, 149\nQuebec, city of, 153-155\nQueenstown Heights, 233\nRanching, 30, 31, 44\nRand, Dr. T. H., 107\nRedpath, Mr. Peter\nMcGill College, 219\nRed River, 4\nRegina, 28, 33\nRoberts, Charle:\nRobertson, Mr\nCommissioner\n229\nRoseberv, Lord,\n108\nJ.\nfor\ngifts to\nW., Dairy\nDominion,\n231\nRupert, Prince, first Governor of\nHudson's Bay Company, 180\nSan Francisco obtains coal from\nBritish sources, 80, 81, 196\nSaunders, Prof., 228\nSaskatchewan, River, farming\nlands along the, 28, 41, 42\nSault Ste. Marie, 61, 121\nScenery.magnificence of Canadian,\n7\nSchultz, Governor, opinion on\nmixed farming, 24\nSchurman, Dr., 107\nSecurity of life and property in\nNorth-West, 33\nSherbrooke, 149\nSilver in British Columbia, 164,\n165, 193\nSmith, Mr. Gold win, 126, 185,\n234\nSmith, Sir Donald, Governor of\nHudson's Bay Company, 181 ;\ngifts to McGill College, 219\nSt. Albert, 29\nSt. John, 102; harbour of, and its\ndefence, 103 ; decay of shipping,\n104 ; great fire at, 104\nStephenson, Robert, 49 (note)\nStraw, burning of, 14, 22\nSudbury, nickel mines at, 193\nSydney, coal mines at, 76\nTache, Archbishop, 135\nTachd, Sir Etienne, 134\nTariff, 199-202 ; effect of McKin- .\nley, 197\nu Index\n251\nThompson, Mr. S. R., 107\nThompson, Sir John, 107, 235,\n241\nTilley, Sir Leonard, 106\nTimber of British Columbia, 166,\n167 ; of Northern Canada, 175 ;\ntrade, 189\nToronto, 98 ; British sentiment\nof, 99 ; journalistic and literary\ncentre of Dominion, 98 ; university of, 220\nTrade, relations and policy, 183-\n208 ; cattle, 188 ; apple, 189 ;\ntimber, 189; poultry, 190;\nwith Great Britain and United\nStates, 197; greater freedom\nof, 202\nTrappists at Oka, 151\nTupper, Sir Charles, 108\nTupper, Sir Hibbert, 107\nUnited Empire Loyalists, 99,\n100\nUnited States, trade relations\nwith, 186 ; safety valve for\nlabour troubles, 214, 215 ; migration to, 129, 130, 215, 216\nUniversities: McGill, 218, 219\nToronto, 220 ; Queen's, 221\ngifts to, 221 ; Laval, 221\nsingle university needed in\nMaritime Provinces, 222\nVancouver, comparative latitude\nof, 3 ; large timber of, 167 ;\ngrowth and position of, 171,\n172\nVancouver Island, coal of, 79\nVan Home, Sir Wm., 47, 51, 55,\n198\nVictoria, 169, 170\nVictoria Bridge, 49 (note)\nVilliers, Sir Henry de, 143\nVoyageurs, 180\nWellington mines, 79\nWest India, telegraphic connection with, 102 ; trade with, 197\nWhalebacks, 49\nWheat, output of, 14 ; increase in\nproduction of, 17,' 18 ; possibility of increase, 18 ; preparation of land for, 15; frosted\nand frozen, 21 ; cost of carrying, 43, 57; rivalry between\nCanadian and British farmer in\nproduction of, 43-44 ; Canadian\nmarket for surplus, 188 ; low\nprice of, 242\nWhite, Mr. Solomon, 185\nWine, production in Niagara\npeninsula, 94, 95\nWinnipeg, 32\nWoodstock (Ontario), 92, 100,\n117, 206\nRICHARD CLAY AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BUNGAY. By the Same Author.\nIMPERIAL FEDERATION. The Problem of\nNational Unity. Crown 8vo, cloth, 4s. 6c?.\nATHENAEUM.\n\"The best thing that has yeb appeared in favour of\nImperial Federation.\"\nTIMES.\n\" A very valuable repertory of topics applicable to the\nargument, and a powerful plea, at once persuasive and\nsuggestive, for the further development of British Unity.\"\nNATIONAL OBSERVER.\n\"This book has the imprint of thoroughness and\nmasterly directness on every page ; its presentations are\nlucid, its generalizations powerful; it justifies the writer\nand his principles.\"\nGLASGOW HERALD.\n\" Mr. Parkin's book is able, thorough, and suggestive.\"\nYORKSHIRE POST.\n\" His pages are so full of interest and information that\na reader must indeed be dull-spirited who, having opened\nthe volume, does not go with its author to the end.\"\nSATURDAY REVIEW.\n\" A welcome contribution to the higher politics.\"\nTHE GUARDIAN.\n\" Admirable for tone, temper, and fulness of matter.\"\nWESTMINSTER REVIEW.\n\"Mr. Parkin has produced a peculiarly thoughtful and\ninteresting work, and the empire generally owes him a\ndebt of gratitude.\"\nMACMILLAN AND CO., LONDON.\n, By the Same Author.\nROUND THE EMPIRE\nFor the Use of Schools.\nWith a Preface by\nThe Right Hon. The EARL of ROSEBERY, K.G.\nFiftieth Thousand. Price 1s. 6d.\nPRE88 OPINIONS.\n\" Never bas a book been placed in the bands of British in en and British boj s and\ngirls which conveyed great facts more plainly and picturesquely. It focuses the\nEmpire for us.\"\u2014Literary Opinion.\n\" We can heartily commend both the purpose and execution of the .work.\"\n\u2014Times.\n\" No school Library ought to be without it.\"\u2014School Guardian.\n\"This excellent little work should be read by every Englishman, from London to\nLevuka.\"\u2014Colonist and India.\n\"A school book with a purpose and character of its own.\"\u2014Scotsman.\n\"As a reading book for young people nothing could be more interesting and\ninstructive.\"\u2014Literary World.\n\" Although written for the use of schools, it should not be restricted to such\nuse atone. It possesses 'marked utility for another and more advanced class of\nreaders.\"\u2014Daily Telegraph.\nBRITISH EMPIRE MAP OF THE\nWORLD; on Mercator's Projection. By GEO. E. PARKIN,\nM. A., and J. G. BARTHOLOMEW, F.R.G.S. 8 ft. in length by\n5 ft. in depth. On Cloth, rollers or folded. Price 25s.\nThis Map has been designed to indicate with as much distinctness\nas possible the Geographical position of the various parts of the\nBritish Empire, and their relation to each other for purposes of\nCommerce and Defence.\nIt was used by the Ottawa Conference of 1894 in its discussions of\nimperial communications, and it has been adopted for use in the schools\nof some of the most important Colonies.\nPRESS OPINIONS.\n\" Should serve an excellent purpose in schools and other places of education by\naffording the young British citizen a comprehensive view of the place and influence\njii the world of the Empire to which he belongs.\"\u2014Times.\n\"The map presents features of great political and educational interest.\"\n\u2014Scotsman.\n\"For magnitude, information, and excellence of finish this is quite a monumental work.\"\u2014Liverpool Mercury.\n\" It is difficult to imagine a better aid for teachers.\"\u2014Leeds Mercury.\n\" It is quite a triumph of map making on a large scale, and even a few minutes'\ninspection of it is an enlightenment in the geography, commerce and civilising\nactivity of the British Empire.\"\u2014School Board Chronicle.\nCASSELL AND COMPANY, Limitjsd.\nLondon, Paris & Melbourne. W'\nIf\nu\nA 57. 58- Ismay's Children. By the Author of \" Hogan, M.P.\" 2 vols,\n14- JAMES.\u2014 Tales of Three Cities. By Henry James, rvol.\n109. The Tragic Muse. 1 vol.\n148- The Lesson of the Master. 1 vol,\ni49- The Eeal Thine, etc. 1 vol.\n' He has the power of seeing with the artistic percep-\nabout what he has seen, so that the many can understand\nThe Eeal Thing, etc.\nj SATURDAY REVIEW.-\ntion of the few, and of writing\nand feel with him.\"\nWORLD.\u2014\" His touch is so light, and his humour, while shrewd and keen, so free\nfroin bitterness.\"\nJENNINGS \u2014 The Philadetohian. By L. I Jennings, i vol.\n123. JJiJNIJNIJMtTB.\u2014The Philadelphian. By L. J. Jennings.\n13- KEAEY.\u2014Oldbury. By Annie Keary. i vSt\nSPECTA TOR.\u2014\" In our opinion there have not been many novels published better\nworth reading. The literary workmanship is excellent.\"\nBy H. G. Keene. i vol.\n-Westward Ho! By Charles Kingsley. With a\nTailor and Poet. An Autobiography. With a\nvol.\n1 vol.\nBy Philip\n125. KEENE.\u2014Sketches in Indian Ink.\n165. KINGSLEY.-\nPortrait. 1 vol.\n166. Alton Locke,\nNew Preface. 1 vol.\n167. Hypatia: or, Hew Poes with an Old Face.\n168. Hereward the Wake, \"Last of the English.'\n169. Two Tears Ago. 1 vol.\n17\u00b0- Teast: a Problem. 1 vol.\n68. LAFAEGUE\u2014The New Judgment of Paris: a Novel.\nLafargue. i vol.\n30- LAWLESS.\u2014Hurrish: a Study. By the Hon. Emily Lawless, author\nof a \"Millionaire's Cousin,\" etc^E'i vol.\n87. LEVY.\u2014Eeuben Sachs. By Amy Levy, author of| The Romance of\na Shop,\" etc. 1 vol.\n153- LYSAGHT.\u2014The Marplot. By S. R. Lysaght. i vol.\n108. LYTTON\u2014TheEingof Amasis. By Lord Lytt^n, ivol.\n34. MADOC.\u2014Margaret Jermine. By Fayr Madoc, author of \"The Story\nofMelicent.\" 1 vol. [Malet. 1 vol.\n25. MALET.\u2014Mrs. .Lorimer: a Sketch in Black and White. By Lucas\nSTANDARD.\u2014\"This is an exceedingly pretty story. ... A book to make one\nhappy and to do one good.\"\n66. MAKTINEAU.\u2014Biographical Sketches. By Harriet Martineau.\n1 vol.\n80. MINTO\u2014The Mediation of Ealph Hardelot. By Wm. Minto, author\nof \"The Crack of Doom.\" 1 vol.\nIS- MITPOPvD.\u2014Tales of Old Japan. By A. B. Mitford. Illustrated\nby Japanese Artists. 1 vol.\nNOTMS AND QUERIES.\u2014\"By far the most striking, instructive, and authentic\nbook upon Japan and the Japanese which has ever been laid before the English reader.\"\nMOELEY.\u2014 Critical Miscellanies. By John Morley. i vol.\n Studies in Literature. 1 vol.\nMUEEAY.\u2014Aunt Eachel. By D. Christie Murray, i vol.\n The Weaker \"Vessel. 1 vol.\n Schwartz. 1 vol.\n John Vale's Guardian. 1 vol. \u2022\nSPECTATOR.\u2014\"Mr. Christie Murray has more power and genius for the delineation of English rustic life than any half-dozen of our surviving novelists put together.\"\nSATURDAY REVIEW.\u2014\u25a0\"Few modern novelists can tell a sjory of English\ncountry life better than Mr. D. Christie Murray.\"\n121. MUEEAY and HEEMAN. \u2014 He Fell among Thieves. By D.\nChristie Murray and Henry Herman, i vol.\nS3. 54- New Antigone: a Eomance. 2 vols.\n60. NOEL.\u2014 Hithersea Mere. By Lady Augusta Noel, i vol.\n44.\n120.\n21.\n81.\n91.\n104.\nn m\n29. NOEEIS\u2014My Friend Jim. By W. E. Norris. i vol.\n70. Chris. 1 vol.\nTIMES.\u2014\" Abounding in quiet strokes of humour and touches of human nature.\nSPECTA TOR.\u2014*?Mr. Norris is an exceedihgljjiplever writer.\"\n16. OLIPHANT\u2014A Country Gentleman. By Mrs. Oliphant. i vol.\n17, 18, 19. The Literary History of England in the end of the\nEighteenth and beginning of the Nineteenth Century. 3 vols.\n27. Erne Ogilvie. i vol.\n37. A House Divided against Itself, i vol.\n43. A Beleaguered City, i vol.\n63. The Second Son. i vol.\n71. 1 Joyce. 1 vol.\n90. \u2014 Neighbours on the Green, i vol.\niiS- Ersteen. i vol.\n133. j The Eailway Man and His Children, i vol.\n138. 1 The Marriage of Elinor, i vol.\n146. The Heir Presumptive and the Heir Apparent, i vol.\n162. Lady William, i vol.\n143. PARKIN.\u2014Imperial Federation. By G. R. Parkin, i vol.\n140. PAEEY.\u2014The Story of Dick. By Major Gambier Parry, i voL\n67. Eealmah. By the Author of \"Friends in Council.\" I vol.\n152. EHOADES\u2014John Trevennick. By W. C. Rhoades. i voL\n154. EITCHIE.\u2014Eecords of Tennyson, Euskin, and Browning. By Mrs.\nRitchie, i vol.\n200. Chapters from some Unwritten Memoirs, i vol.\n98. EUSSELL.\u2014Marooned. By W. Clark Russell, i vol.\n137. A Strange Elopement, i vol.\nTIMES.\u2014\" Mr. Clark Russell is one of those writers who have set themselves to\nrevive the British sea story in all its glorious excitement. Mr. Russell has made a considerable reputation in this line. His plots are well conceived, and that of Marooned is\nno exception to this rule.\"\n118. SEELEY\u2014The Expansion of England. By J. R Seeley. i vol\n36. SH0ETH0USE,-Sir Percival\n\u25a0 Present. By J. H.Shorthouse. i vol.\n A Teacher of the Violin, and other Tales,\n The Conntess Eve. i vol.\n Blanche, Lady Palaise. i vol.\nANTI-JACOBIN.\u2014 Powerful, striking, and fascinating romances.\"\nST. JOHNSTON. \u2014 Camping among Cannibals. By Alfred St.\nJohnston, i vol.\n A South Sea Lover, i vol.\nSTEEL.\u2014Miss Stuart's Legacy. By Mrs. Steel, i vol.\ni7\u00b0- The Flower of Porgiveness, and other Stories, i vol.\nWORLD.\u2014>'* For knowledge of native life and the curious complex relations, influences, and dominating ideas and principles of that life in the vast region, even now so\ndim and morally so distant, which we call our Indian Empire, no writer of the day is to\nbe compared with this lady.\"\n145- THEODOLL\u2014Under Pressure. By Marchesa Theodoli. i vol.\n\u25a0 GLASt&D IV HERALD.\u2014\" It is a singularly fresh and well-written novel. A very\ndistinct air of reality pervades the entire book.\"\n182. This Troublesome World. BytheAuthorsof'TheMedicineLady.\" ivol.\n126. Tim. (By a New Author.) I vol.\ni79- TEEVELYArT\u2014 Cawnpore. By Sir G. O. Trevelyan, Bart, i vol.\n69.\n82.\n132.\nno\ni59\nA Story of the Past and of the\n1 vol. \u00abs\nBnfn\n47- VELEY.\u2014A Garden of Memories: Mrs. Austin: Lizzie's Bargain-\nBy Margaret Veley. i vol.\nA THENA^UM.\u2014\" Her style is excellent, and all her stories are interesting.\" \\\n134- VlCTOE.\u2014Mariam, or Twenty-one Days. By H. Victor, i vol.\nSPECTATOR.\u2014\"The whole is a singularly vivid picture of Oriental life, and the\ncharacters of the story have a rare vivacity and colour about them.\"\n102. WALLACE.\u2014Darwinism. By Alfred Russel Wallace, i vol.\nii7- The Malay Archipelago, i vol.\nSA TURDtA y REVIEW.\u2014\" The least scientific mind could not fail to he fascinated.\"\n77- WAED.\u2014Eobert Elsmere, By Mrs. Humphry Ward, i vol.\n84. Miss Bretherton. 1 vol.\ni3S- The History of David Grieve. 1 vol.\n174- Marcella. 1 vol.\nSATURDAY REVIEW.\u2014\" Readers will find thoughts which stimulate and pas-\nsages which burn . . . they will find a fearless grappling with the things that are, treated\nas only a woman, high-minded and sincere, can treat these things.\"\n150- WEST\u2014A Born Player. By Mary West, i vol.\n52. WESTBUEY.\u2014 Frferiok Hazzleden. By Hu|h Westbury. i vol.\n95- WESTCOTT\u2014 The Gospel of the Eesurrection: Thoughts on its\nRelation to Reason and History. By Dr. Westcott, Bishop of Durham. 1 vol.\n171. WILLIAMS. \u2014Leaves of a fflfe. Being the Reminiscences of\nMontagu Williams, Q.C. With a Portrait. 1 vol.\n172. Later Leaves. Being Further Reminiscences. I vol.\n173. Eound London. Down East and Up West. I vol.\nDAIL Y NEWS.\u2014\" Mr. Williams writes with freedom both of the living and of the\ndead. . . . The style is terse, simple, and eminently suitable to the subject.\"\nYORKSHIRE POST.\u2014\"The anecdotes are good, the sketches of character just,\nand his comments those of a shrewd, candid, but impartial man of the world.\"\n199- WOODS.\u2014The Vagabonds. By Margaret L. Woods, i vol.\n103. WOETHEY\u2014The New Continent. By Mrs. Worthey.\n22. YOxTGE.\u2014Chantry Houge. By Charlotte M. Yonge.\n35- A Modern Telemaohus. 1 vol.\n42. The Dove in the Eagle's Nest. 1 vol.\n83. Beechcrofc at Eockstone. 1 vol.\n97- A Eeputed Changeling. 1 vol.\n113. More Bywords. 1 vol.\n119. Two Penniless Princesses. 1 vol.\n12S. That Stick. 1 vol.\n155. Grisly Grisell. 1 vol.\nGUARDIAN.\u2014\" Readers will find in these stories all the gracefulness, right feeling,\nand delicate perception which they have been long accustomed to look for in Miss\n156. YONGE and COLEEIDGE.-Strolling Players. By C M. Yong*\nand E. R. Coleridge, i vol.\n(OTHER VOLUMES TO FOLLOW.)\nTo be obtained of all Booksellers in India and the British Colonies, and\nat Railway Bookstalls.\nMACMILLAN AND CO., LONDON.\n1 vol.\nI vol.\n*.\u00a3* Complete catatogues of our publications will he sent post free on\napplication. MESSRS..MACMkLLAN & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS.\nBy RUDYAKi KIPLING.\nIn Crown Zvo.MPrice 6s. each.\nTIte Jungle Book. |&J\nWith Illustrations by J. L. Kipling, W. H. Drake, and P. Frenzeny.\nMany Inventions.\nPlain Tales from the fells.\nThe Light that Fatteijyf\nLife's Handicap. Being Stories of Mine Own People.\nWee Willie Winkie, etc.\nSoldiers Three, etc.\nBy* fLORMANNIE STEEL.\nTales of the Punjat&told' by .the People. Withl\nIllustrations by ']. Lockwood Kipling, C.I.E., and Notes by\nR. C. Temple. Extra. Cjfown Svo. _6s. :\nSBy JOHN LOCKWOQlT &IPLING, C.I.E.1\nBeast and Man in India. ,A Popular Sketch of Indian\nAnimals in their Relations with the People. With Illustrations byS\nthe Author. \/ Extra Crown Svo. 7s. 6d.\nTIMES.\u2014\" Mr. Kipling's book is that of a skilled artist as well as a,keen observer.1:-;\nHe goes through the whole of the fauna of India' in its relation to marl, illustrating:-\nit copiously and effectively with his own and other pencils, including those of more*i\nthan one native artist.\" \u2022\nPALL MALL GAZETTE.\u2014\" A volume of animal lore, and a right excellent _i\none it will he pronounced by all those interested in folk and animal lore^&'-V\nBy Sir MORTIMER DURAND, K.cBl I\nHelen Treveryan. By Sir Mortimer Durand, K.C.LElS\nIndian Civil Service. (Macmillan's Colonial Library.)\nGUARDIAN.\u2014\" By no means an ordinary' novel. ... . A clear and well-drawn-v\npicture of Indian life, and of good men and women there ; one that aptly reminds us\nthat the old-fashioned traditions of truth and honour are not by any means extinct xd._\nour distant empire.\" &^$\u00a3i$^\nBy MrifEVERARD COTESjf\n(SARA JEANNETTE #NCAN).\nThe Story of Sonny Sahib. Bj Mrs. Everard Cotkjj|3\n(Sara Jeannette Duncan). Fcap. Svo.J ,2s. (Macmillan's Pocket; J\nNovels.)\nMANCHESTER GUARDIAN. \u2014\"The readers interest is secured and retained by an altogether original character in Indian fiction. . . . The boy is a brave- -\nand manly little fellow, and the narrative power of theyalithor increases the attractiveness of the story.\" ^^9\nMACMILLAN:;.- ANj$T \u20ac0.,\nBEDFORD STREET;\" STRAND,:LONDON. A MAP OF\nTHE DOMINION OF CANADA\nSHOWING THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.\nSCALE OF ENGLISH MILES\n100 50 0 100 200\nLondx^tarJonte iMty'.J-.sit'i* ONTARIO & QUEBEC RAILWAY SYSTEM\nLondon: IVImnnillaii & C?\nLondon,. Sian\/ards Geoq^Estab? THE MARITIME PROVINCES RAILWAY SYSTEM\ns;-X,>\/ga\n*-;\n\u00a3\u2022 c>.-*4V ii,ultl JS eH\u00ab]P\u00abn'1 \u2022\nniiuh\nhit omachoixll\nC.&iygoiy\nBay of blaiuts.y\n' South K?L\nLow P*\nPort, ait fori\n\u2022\u00bb<\u00a3- ^P\u21221 \"Qf\nst \u2022iffai'^l\"\"'\"*'\nM^aii\"''\"\"'\"!\/\/^ \/*\u00a5 t\\cfinish ^\n:::'--: sub\n\u00a3.i\u00bblS'LANl)\nLong: West 70' of Greenwich\nSCALE OF I0O 50\n200 ENGLISH MILES\n_ ^Ksfr,,: \u25a0\u25a0<\u25a0\u00ab\u25a0\u25a0\n'Ha\nCMiu\/mlle\n4nthpv.stl .1.-\". V\u00bb- MmiiP\nhrwA\nm^'s Content. \/ .\nf c.StSfuW\n.p 3oWs\n; >\u00ab\u2022\u00ab!\u25a0 JT\ntgrMxnd\nUpJforfZ\n,pSal)lte_I\n\\to Nova\n\"
Other Copies: http:\/\/www.worldcat.org\/oclc\/5468087","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2009\/08\/skos-reference\/skos.html#note","classmap":"skos:Concept","property":"skos:note"},"iri":"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2009\/08\/skos-reference\/skos.html#note","explain":"Simple Knowledge Organisation System; Notes are used to provide information relating to SKOS concepts. There is no restriction on the nature of this information, e.g., it could be plain text, hypertext, or an image; it could be a definition, information about the scope of a concept, editorial information, or any other type of information."}],"Provider":[{"label":"Provider","value":"Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/www.europeana.eu\/schemas\/edm\/provider","classmap":"ore:Aggregation","property":"edm:provider"},"iri":"http:\/\/www.europeana.eu\/schemas\/edm\/provider","explain":"A Europeana Data Model Property; The name or identifier of the organization who delivers data directly to an aggregation service (e.g. Europeana)"}],"Publisher":[{"label":"Publisher","value":"London : Macmillan and Co.","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/publisher","classmap":"dpla:SourceResource","property":"dcterms:publisher"},"iri":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/publisher","explain":"A Dublin Core Terms Property; An entity responsible for making the resource available.; Examples of a Publisher include a person, an organization, or a service."}],"Rights":[{"label":"Rights","value":"Images provided for research and reference use only. For permission to publish, copy, or otherwise distribute these images please contact digital.initiatives@ubc.ca.","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/rights","classmap":"edm:WebResource","property":"dcterms:rights"},"iri":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/rights","explain":"A Dublin Core Terms Property; Information about rights held in and over the resource.; Typically, rights information includes a statement about various property rights associated with the resource, including intellectual property rights."}],"SortDate":[{"label":"SortDate","value":"1895-12-31 AD","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/elements\/1.1\/date","classmap":"dpla:SourceResource"},"iri":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/elements\/1.1\/date","explain":"A Dublin Core Elements Property; A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource.; Date may be used to express temporal information at any level of granularity. Recommended best practice is to use an encoding scheme, such as the W3CDTF profile of ISO 8601 [W3CDTF]."},{"label":"Sort Date","value":"1895-12-31 AD","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/date","classmap":"oc:InternalResource","property":"dcterms:date"},"iri":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/date","explain":"A Dublin Core Elements Property; A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource.; Date may be used to express temporal information at any level of granularity. Recommended best practice is to use an encoding scheme, such as the W3CDTF profile of ISO 8601 [W3CDTF].; A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource.; Date may be used to express temporal information at any level of granularity. Recommended best practice is to use an encoding scheme, such as the W3CDTF profile of ISO 8601 [W3CDTF]."}],"Source":[{"label":"Source","value":"Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. F5019 .P24","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/source","classmap":"oc:SourceResource","property":"dcterms:source"},"iri":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/source","explain":"A Dublin Core Terms Property; A related resource from which the described resource is derived.; The described resource may be derived from the related resource in whole or in part. Recommended best practice is to identify the related resource by means of a string conforming to a formal identification system."}],"Subject":[{"label":"Subject","value":"Canadian Pacific Railway Company","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/subject","classmap":"dpla:SourceResource","property":"dcterms:subject"},"iri":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/subject","explain":"A Dublin Core Terms Property; The topic of the resource.; Typically, the subject will be represented using keywords, key phrases, or classification codes. Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary."},{"label":"Subject","value":"Canada--Description and travel","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/subject","classmap":"dpla:SourceResource","property":"dcterms:subject"},"iri":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/subject","explain":"A Dublin Core Terms Property; The topic of the resource.; Typically, the subject will be represented using keywords, key phrases, or classification codes. Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary."},{"label":"Subject","value":"Canada--Economic conditions--1867-1918","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/subject","classmap":"dpla:SourceResource","property":"dcterms:subject"},"iri":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/subject","explain":"A Dublin Core Terms Property; The topic of the resource.; Typically, the subject will be represented using keywords, key phrases, or classification codes. Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary."}],"Title":[{"label":"Title","value":"The great dominion. Studies of Canada. With maps","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/title","classmap":"dpla:SourceResource","property":"dcterms:title"},"iri":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/title","explain":"A Dublin Core Terms Property; The name given to the resource."}],"Type":[{"label":"Type","value":"Text","attrs":{"lang":"en","ns":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/type","classmap":"dpla:SourceResource","property":"dcterms:type"},"iri":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/type","explain":"A Dublin Core Terms Property; The nature or genre of the resource.; Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary such as the DCMI Type Vocabulary [DCMITYPE]. To describe the file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource, use the Format element."}],"Translation":[{"property":"Translation","language":"en","label":"Translation","value":""}]}