CONTENTdm
British Columbia Historical Books Collection
Tanner, Henry, F.C.S.
"Also: London, Kenning, 1887. 45 p. At head of title: A sequel to 'The Canadian North-west.' Also: Montreal, 1890." -- Lowther, B. J., & Laing, M. (1968). A bibliography of British Columbia: Laying the foundations, 1849-1899. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, p. 86.
45 pages : illustrations, advertisements ; 21 cm
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A Sequel to THE CANADIAN NORTH-WEST. BRITISH COLUMBIA, Its Agricultural & Commercial Capabilities AND THE ADVANTAGES IT OFFERS FOE EMIGRATION PURPOSES, BY PROF. HENRY TANNER, M.R.A.O., F.O.S., SENIOR EXAMINES ON THE PEINCIBLES OF AGRICULTURE CNDEE THE GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OB SCIENCE; DIRECTOR OP EDUCATION UNDER THE INSTITUTE OP AGRICULTURE, SOOTH KENSINGTON, LONDON. GEORGE KENNING, FREEMASON PRINTING WORKS, 16 GREAT QUEEN STREET LONDON, W.C. 1887. CONTENTS. PAGE. Canadian Pacific Railway The National Park ' The Rockies and Selkirks Gold Mountain District 1 Vancouver City and Harbours 14 Victoria City 15 Vancouver Island 17 Queen Charlotte Islands 20 Georgian Strait- and Mainland 22 The Praser River 23 New Westminster 26 LlLLOOET AND ChILCOTIN DISTRICT 28 Cariboo and Kamloops District 29 Kootenay District 30 Agricultural Capabilities 30 Land Grants 31 Fisheries 32 Mineral Resources 32 Working Men—Supply and Demand 34 Land Regulations 41 [.Entered at Stationers' Hall.] BRITISH COLUMBIA, ITS AGRICULTURAL & COMMERCIAL CAPABILITIES, AND THE ADVANTAGES IT OFFERS FOR EMIGRATION PURPOSES.- By an Act of Confederation which was entered into on the 20th of July, 1871, British Columbia ceased to be a Crown Colony of Great Britain, and became a portion of the Dominion of Canada. It has until very recently been exceedingly difficult to enter British Columbia from Canada, and consequently very little intercourse has taken place between the Pacific Province and the more eastern portions of the Dominion. The general line of approach has been by railway through the United States to San Francisco, and thence by steamer. One of the conditions under which British Columbia consented to give up her position as a Crown Colony, and become part and parcel of the Dominion of Canada, was an undertaking entered into for the construction of a line of railway which should pass through the mountain barriers which separated her from Canada, That pledge has now been faithfully redeemed, and this noble province of British Columbia is now in immediate contact with the Canadian North-West, and in direct communication with other parts of the Dominion. On the 7th of November, 1885, Sir Donald A. Smith, at Craigellachie, drove the last spike in the Canadian Pacific Railway, and thereby completed the connection between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans on British Territory. That day marks an era in the history of British Columbia. Some few months necessarily elapsed in opening this line of railway for through traffic to British Columbia, but it was available for passenger traffic on the 28th of July, 1886, and thus the entire length of the main line was constructed in 4| years, at an average rate of a little over 2f miles daily. In response to an official request that I would visit British Columbia and report upon its varied capabilities, I sailed from Liverpool for my sixth Canadian tour on the 29th of July, 1886. Again it was my privilege to face the Atlantic waters under conditions of enjoyment and much comfort. The improvements which are from time to time introduced in ocean steamers go very far to deprive our voyages of the disagreeable associations of a by-gone period, and as we were favoured with bright and fair weather during our voyage over the ocean, it contributed greatly to the enjoyment of the passengers. Within six days after leaving Moville and losing sight of Ireland, we had entered Canada and were steaming along in the St. Lawrence waters, proceeding rapidly towards Quebec. The journey to the North-West of Canada is greatly favoured by convenient arrangements at Quebec, and the traveller, having had his baggage duly checked to the destination determined upon, is quite prepared to enjoy the luxurious railway cars provided by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. Their carriages combine all the most modern improvements and are extremely comfortable. I have travelled in them for one or two thousand miles at a run, during the extremes of summer heat and winter cold, and they are really luxurious. The freedom given for exercise, their drawing room arrangements, their smoking rooms, their hot and cold baths, their excellent sleeping berths, and the outside platforms for viewing the scenery, contrast very favourably with the best English railway cars. In winter, with the thermometer lower than is ever known in England, the clothing usual in a drawing room is all that is required within the best cars. These good arrangements are not limited to such carriages, for they are extended to second class cars, but in a modified style. These second class sleepers can be used throughout the day just as an ordinary railway carrriage, but when night comes on, convenient berths can be fitted up. Each pair of seats open out so that the two seats make a bedstead about 6 feet long and 4 feet in width. Above these seats there is an arrangement for forming another sleeping berth about 3 or 4 feet higher up in the car, the supporting frame being turned down from the side of the car.' For a railway journey extending over 2, 3 or 4 days, it is a matter of the greatest importance that there should be good and sufficient opportunities for taking proper rest and sleep at night. The railway company supply new mattresses for these berths at a very small charge, and the expenditure is extremely desirable even for the poorest travellers. At any rate, it should be distinctly understood that both rich and poor can travel with comfort, even for the lonp; distances covered by the railway system, although it is the longest through connection in the world. The arrangements for meals are also good, whether we regard the cheaper supplies at the railroad stations, or those served by the stewards in the second class cars. In the dining cars, which are from time to time attached to the trains, excellent breakfasts, dinners, and suppers are served up in very superior hotel.style. These creature comforts exercise a very practical influence upon the enjoyment of a journey, especially when it extends over 2, 3, or more days. In travelling towards British Columbia we have great distances to deal with, for it is about 3080 miles from Quebec to Vancouver, and about 3600 miles from Halifax to Vancouver. These details may appear, to those who have only travelled for short journeys, to be matters of trifling moment, but experience soon shows that they are absolute essentials when great distances have to be covered, and travellers by the Canadian Pacific Railway have been extremely well cared for in these most important details of management. It is unnecessary here, to give any particulars of the district - through which the railway passes, until we reach the confines of British Columbia. It may, however, be desirable to notice the rapid progress which was evident as we travelled through Manitoba and the North-West Territories. Three years have elapsed since I paid my first visit to this district in the summer of 1883. How short a period in the history of any country ! and yet how vast is the progress which human labour and natural agencies have effected!! Travellers were not unnaturally impressed at that time with the vast open plains of prairie through which the train wended its way. Already the horizon is being very generally broken by woody growth, which decreases the monotony of the most open parts of the district, whilst thriving towns and good farms frequently enliven the scene. But settlement is doing much more than this, for as township roads are marked out, so these do much to check the prairie fires about which such indifference has been shown. As more care is shown in preventing these fires so will much of the prairie become prettily wooded, the rainfall will be increased, and the lands will become more sheltered for stock. The importance of stock raising is steadily becoming more generally recognised, and it is worthy of note that live stock always yield large profits when properly managed. Another truth which the farmers of the North-West have had forced upon them is, that a good tillage of the soil is as necessary here as in other countries, and that careless : and negligent farming brings its own penalties. On the other hand, a rich soil and a glorious climate lead on to profit when the management is good. Hence the rule that | what is worth doing at all, is worth doing well," finds corroboration day by day. Our journey along the Canadian Pacific Railway had been full of interest and satisfaction at the steady progress of the youthful giant Provinces of the Canadian North-West through which we had travelled, but we must leave them with only a passing notice, for we are now about to enter British Columbia. VIEW AT CAN MORE, Bx H.R.H. Princess Louise. After passing Canmore station we soon begin to realize something of the majestic mountain ranges, into which we are about to enter, and to observe the contrast thus offered to the fertile lands through which we have journeyed so long and so pleasantly. It is a happy circumstance that close upon its frontier, and about 15 or 20 miles beyond Canmore, the Dominion Government has set aside 100 square miles for THE NATIONAL PARK. It is as if Canada desired thus courteously to herald the approach to her newly-attached sister province. The railway station at Banff is somewhere about the centre of this grand National Park, which, under the skilful direction of Mr. G. A. Stewert, is being developed into a form worthy of the objects aimed at. Mountain ranges, which often run up to considerable heights, enclose this vast tract of land, and from their sides streams fall in picturesque variety. The river Spree runs throngh the park, forming a series of grand cataracts, pretty lakes, and islands, whilst at the Bow there is a lovely stretch of water charmingly suited for canoes, or even for steam launches. Away towards the northern boundary of the park we have a lovely lake at present known as the Devil's Head Lake, which is about 12 miles long and - about 3 miles in width. Walks, rides, and carriage drives are now being laid out with great taste and skill, so as to give easy approach to these various points of interest, and thereby provide facilities for their inspection by lovers of grand scenery. Within the park there is good fishing, and excellent shooting may also be had, but the latter sport will be prudently controlled within the park; still, the sportsman will find in the district immediately surrounding the park very excellent mountain sport. The district is not only exceedingly lovely, but it has exceptional advantages as a health resort, and the hot springs will be permanently attractive. For the last 25 or 30 years these springs have been used under conditions of great difficulty, even when hunters and traders alone traversed these mountains; for these brought many a disabled relative within the curative influence of these waters, and in this way a iong standing reputation has become attached to these waters, dating long before the railway gave the present ready access. The highest hot water spring I visited is about 800 feet above the level of the valley. Its temperature at the point where it issues from the mountain is 120° Fah., and the yield of water is about half-a-million gallons daily. Immediately around it, a great variety of baths had been constructed, more or less luxurious in their arrangements, according as the invalids can afford to pay for additional comforts. It is easy to understand that those who have plenty of funds at their disposal may be tempted to try the curative properties of these waters, but fully two-thirds I saw there were persons of very limited means, who could only have used these waters at considerable sacrifice. Happily the Dominion Government, as guardian of the public interests, has _ appointed public officers to protect the entire series of these valuable springs, thereby securing to each and every comer a free, independent, and well-regulated supply. There are at present seven of these springs known, all varying slightly in temperature and reputed to possess somewhat different properties. Without expressing any opinion upon the medical properties of these waters, I may say that it was a source of great pleasure to me to see amidst the large group of young men and maidens, old men and children, the progressive advances which they had made towards health and activity, ranging from one man who having beenbrought there on a stretcher was walking quietly with the aid of a stick, to others who were climbing the mountain tops like wild goats. Already excellent accommodation has been provided for visitors, and in Dr. Brett's Hotel I found very enjoyable accommodation. A further point of interest connected with this neighbourhood is the discovery of valuable beds of anthracite coal within easy reach of the railway. I left the National Park with an earnest desire to see it again, and with a confident assurance on my mind that the location for such a park had been well selected, and that it would become a very favourite place of resort. From this point we continue our course westward through THE ROCKIES. The Canadian Pacific Railway Company are now establishing at Field an excellent Hotel, which will be most -welcome to travellers, as giving an additional opportunity for quietly inspecting some of the glorious scenery through which we travel, much of which is lost on the continuous journey by passing it during the hours of quiet sleep. With relentless perseverance the train rushed onward through an ever varying panorama of beauteous scenery. How glorious the scene as we approach Golden City ! Mountain after mountain helps to surround a lovely valley through which the Kicking Horse River flows. Its pretty woods—which run far up, and sometimes crest, the lower mountain ranges— carry very brilliant Autumn tints far up the mountain sides towards some of the snow-capped summits. It is a fitting spot at which to make acquaintance with the Columbia River. On the southern side of the Valley we also get the first sight of the Selkirk mountains, with the Rockies on the North and East, between which and the Columbia River we take a North-Westerly course in the direction of Donald. Rich as was this feast of glorious scenery, it was rendered the more enjoyable because we saw its beauties whilst sitting in the Breakfast Car, which for a time accompanied us on the railway, and in which we enjoyed as nice and substantial a breakfast as a traveller need desire. As we progressed the valley widened, and mauy merry haymaking parties added a new feature to the landscape on the sides of the Columbia River. "Donald (so called after Sir Donald A. Smith) has all the appearance of a rising town, and one likely to attain considerable importance in the future, by reason of its connection with the Cariboo country. It occupies a lovely spot embosomed amongst the mountains, and yet near upon the Columbia River. In leaving Donald we make our first crossing of the Columbia and, now we have to take farewell of the Rockies, but these, as if jealous of the Selkirks we are about to visit, appear to look brighter, bolder, and more rugged than ever, as if they were determined that the Western traveller in seeing their rival beauties, should carry with him the brightest memories of their own exalted grandeur. THE SELKIRK MOUNTAINS. Having crossed the Columbia River, the scenery becomes more varied in its character as we skirt the mountains and look down upon the Beaver River, by the side of which we travel for many miles. The country through which we are now travelling steadily increases in fertility. The noble growth of various timber trees gives evidence of its great productive power. The mountain and valley scenery becomes more perfect than ever. Here then we enter upon true Columbian scenery, and it is a grand and gorgeous welcome she provides for her visitors from the federated provinces. She silently tells them as they enter—that however great may have been the labour by which their union has been completed— she has natural beauties which will make her very precious even to Canada, and undeveloped wealth sufficient to make the cost of the iron band of railway unworthy of anxious consideration. And now that we are passing from the one crossing of the Columbia at Donald, to another crossing of that river at Revelstoke—because of mountainous country making the river take the well-known Big Bend—it may be well to remember that from this district alone British Columbia has yielded 10 millions sterling in gold, and it is quite ready to continue the supply. From the very threshold of British Columbia she offers wealth and beauty ; and her fertile soil, unplanted by man, is yielding some of the finest timber the world produces, whilst her rivers are simply crowded with fish. She is the twin-sister of the Canadian North-West, each is the complement of the other, each possesses her own special attributes of character and 10 sources of wealth, and jointly they constitute a priceless addition to Canadian power. But whilst our thoughts are rivetted on the lovely scenery through which we are travelling it is desirable to take notice of the fact that we are passing over a portion of the railroad which has caused much anxiety and trouble in its construction. Although the Columbia River had been compelled to take a bend of over 200 miles, it was thought that the railway communication .should be made in a much more direct route, and ultimately—after long and persevering efforts—a pass was discovered by Major Rogers through the intervening mountain range. From between the Beaver River and Bear Creek we gradually rise to the crest of Rogers' Pass, and from this point there is a magnificent view, for whilst we look down upon the river, probably 1000 feet below us, yet still the Selkirk Mountains rise many thousand feet above us. These mountain ranges are here very beautifully clothed with pine forests up to their highest points, consequent upon the Chinook winds which pass between these mountain gorges from the Pacific. Close to the line of railway the timber is remarkably well grown, for many of the trees we passed were of great height, and as straight as arrows. Proceeding onwards we attain still greater elevations until the river in the valley beneath looks like a sea-green silvery thread. At length we reach the magnificent bridge over the Stony Creek, which is 296 feet high from its basement. Our train stopped on the middle of the bridge, but it was as steady as an earth embankment. The commanding view obtained from this bridge was very magnificent, and the effect was rendered the more striking from our having lost sight of the line of railway by which we approached this point. Here we get the first view of the Glacier Mountain to which we have now to proceed, and as the sun was shining brightly upon it the effect was grand and beautiful. We are now near to the Loop of this railway, which has already gained a worldwide reputation for the engineering skill shown in its construction. At the first bend of the Loop the Glacier Hotel has been built by the railway company. It is within an easy reach of the Glacier, and the Hotel is sure to become a favourite spot for breaking the journey, whenever time permits. After luncheon we proceeded down the Loop, by means of which the train makes an easy descent of 600 feet within a distance of two miles. Taking advantage of there being two valleys below at right angles to each other, the train descends for a certain distance skirting the mountain side, and then crosses the valley by a bridge, and after descending for a further distance on the other side of the valley, it returns to the original side at a much lower level than it started from. The line is then ex- 11 tended towards the second valley, and here it makes another curve, returning at a still lower level beneath the starting point, and thus by a series of loops it reaches the lower level after a run of about six miles, but in reality only two miles of direct progress has been accomplished. It is not only a piece of splendid engineering, but very delightful railway travelling—a grand finish to a very charming journey through the passes of the Selkirk Mountains. Shortly before we leave the Selkirks we see one of the highest mountain peaks in the entire range rising in all its beauty and grandeur, and holding a very commanding position in relation to the line of railway along which we travel—this is Mount Donald. It is very appropriately so named, for whilst Mount Stephen holds an equally grand and distinguished position as we enter into the Rockies, so also does Mount Donald watch over us as we leave the Selkirks—two noble sentinels guarding the loveliest mountain scenery on the American continent. Having thus reached the level of the valley, we thread our way for many miles amidst mountains of gigantic size, until at length we reach Revelstoke, on the Columbia River. This is already a large and prosperous town, and it is one which is likely to increase rapidly by reason of its being an important centre for the supplies required for the gold miners in the surrounding district, who are steadily increasing in number and wealth. We have now to bid farewell to the Selkirk Mountains, and, passing over the Columbia a second time, we enter the region of THE GOLD MOUNTAIN DISTRICT. In carrying out this great enterprise of constructing the Canadian Pacific Railway, no sooner was one difficulty successfully solved than others had to be overcome. In proceeding westward from this point the pioneers were severely puzzled. Numerous attempts had been made to find a pass through the Gold Mountains, but whilst the last survey party was endeavouring to penetrate the mountains, an eagle was seen to follow a stream, and as they followed the lead thus given, it ultimately proved to be practicable for the railroad, and was consequently named " The Eagle Pass." As soon as we have passed the second crossing of the Columbia we get evidence of the Chinese taking part in various works and industries. The Columbia is the boundary beyond which Chinese labour must not penetrate—and although it be an unwritten law, and one which is not officially recognised, still it is none the less binding upon the Chinese. We passed several Chinese settlements in which men ~—^m 12 engaged on the railway were located, and as the day's work had now ended we found them clustering around their tents. Having taken on the dining car at Revelstoke, we were soon summoned to a very agreeable repast, and this was followed by a variety of amusements in the drawing room car, until the time arrived for seeking complete repose. During the evening we came alongside the Thompson River, which after some miles widens gradually into the Shuswap Lakes. We were much interested as we travelled during the night, in watching persons spearing salmon, which they attracted to their boats by torchlights burning at the bows. At breakfast on the following morning we had some splendid salmon steaks—from fish caught in the night in the Thompson River. These were exceedingly delicious, and we also soon discovered that we had entered the region in which the Bartlett pears grow to perfection. We had passed Kamloops in the night and had for some hours run along-side the Thompson River, and with early morning we had passed Lytton, where the Thompson River runs into the Fraser. On approaching Spuzzum there is a very grand mountain gorge through which the Fraser passes. The town of Yale has hitherto been the head of navigation for steamers on the Fraser River, and it has consequently been an important point for discharging freight and other traffic to and from the Cariboo country. Here also is the well known suspension bridge whereby the Cariboo road passes over the Fraser. The construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway will materially alter the inland traffic, and give a series of shorter distances for the delivery of freight. Hitherto the line of settlement has been materially influenced by the water communications, but the railway has now become a still more powerful agency. For the same reason most of the land which has been brought under cultivation is at present found within easy reach of the water. The railway ceases to follow the Fraser after leaving Hope, and as the mountains through which we pass to the coast became more distant, the railway ranges with greater freedom, opening up new tracts of land for reclamation. As we again touched the older settled neighbourhoods it was delightfully refreshing to see the number of genuine English homes which we passed.—very pretty cottage residences, with trellised verandahs covered with honey suckle, roses, clematis, hops, jessamine, and other familiar plants of a similar character. These cottages had gardens around them with many old-fashioned English flowers, and surrounding all, pretty orchards in which very deb'cious fruit was hanging from the trees. Many of these pretty cottage residences are seen as we pass along the banks of the Fraser River 13 and charmingly beautiful they are. In fact, in such a rural dwelling, with plenty of salmon and salmon-trout in the river beneath, and abundance of game in the country around, the difficulties of life appear to me to be reduced to a minimum, and a man ought to be able to enjoy himself amidst a happy family circle, without very much trouble. Before entering Port Moody we pass through some very extensive plains of rich grazing land, which will soon be profitably utilised. Punctual as the clock the train ran into Port Moody, finishing a journey of over 3000 miles " on time," and the moment had come when we had to change into the steamer which awaited our arrival. But before we leave the well-equipped train which had conveyed us thus far, we may well give some consideration to the great undertaking whereby we have been able to pass from the waters of the Atlantic to the noble harbours, now lying before us, and which give us a clear passage to the Pacific. Brave hearts, great courage, and brilliant powers of mind were needed for the work, and the Board of Directors brought these to bear successfully upon the never ceasing difficulties with which they had to contend. The names of Sir George Stephen, Bart., Sir Donald A. Smith, K.C.M.G., Mr. W. C. Van Home, Mr. R. B. Angus, and the Hon. J. C. Abbott merit the gratitude of the Dominion of Canada, and the noble manner in which Sir John A. Macdonald's government rallied to their side, and bravely aided them at critical periods, redounds greatly to their political credit. If we consider for a moment what has been accomplished, we shall be greatly impressed by its magnitude. They have bound the federated provinces into a compact and complete Dominion, as by a ring of iron—they have given to it a well-blended unity and secured facilities for the development of an unlimited commerce and boundless wealth—they have made the Canadian North-West one of the centres of our Imperial Power, by reason of its importance for the future defence of the Colonies of Great Britain—they have materially reduced the importance of the Suez Canal as a means for protecting our interests in India—they have shortened the distance between Liverpool and China or Japan by more than one thousand miles, and they have done so by means of a railway having summits which are 3,000 feet lower than its great competitor, the Central Pacific Railway. It would be useless to attempt to estimate the advantages which Canada must derive from the Canadian Pacific Railway, for, apart from its wealth-' producing agency, this noble work was the only means for binding Canadians together by one common bond of union. Thanks to the indomitable courage and the trne commercial policy shown by the 14 Directors of this railway, they will hand down to posterity an iron bond more precious than gold. Her Majesty's personal recognition of these services to the Empire significantly testifies to their Imperial importance. Coal Harbour, in which Port Moody is located, is a harbour of charming beauty and vast extent, opening out into the still larger harbour of Burrard Inlet, in which the fleets of the world might float in safety and without crowding each other in the least degree. At Port Moody we passed on board the steamer which awaited our arrival—the Princess Louise—and were soon called from our reflections by being summoned to luncheon just as the vessel commenced her westerly run under full steam. A very agreeable repast awaited our attention in the saloon, which was prettily decorated with Columbian flowers of great beauty and brilliancy. Skirting the south side of Burrard Inlet we saw the railway which is being extended to Vancouver. On the northern shore there are extensive lumber mills at Moodyville which are backed up by an immense forest of timber, whilst still further in the rear, four mountain ranges may be seen clothed with forests to their crests. Alongside of the wharfs, ships were loading sawn timber for Australia, China, and Japan, and as we watched their progress a fine tea ship from China passed us for Port Moody. We soon reached Vancouver, the youngest of the young Canadian cities, for it had been swept with fires twice within the current year, yet it stood before us phoenix-like and brighter than ever, for already over 500 good houses had been built. As a trading port Vancouver City has a great future, and a rapid extension is a moral certainty. This town is the terminal point of the Canadian Pacific Railway, but branch lines radiate from Port Moody to New Westminster and from Vancouver City to English Bay. The town site for Vancouver City has been cleared from forest land carrying Douglas Pines of gigantic growth, amidst cedar and other large timber. One magnificent Douglas Pine stands alone in the fore front of the city towards the water, a tree which was spared by the intervention of H. R. Highness the Princess Louise. It is now called after her name, and at her request it will be hereafter protected. On the western side of the City of Vancouver, a tongue of land strikes boldly from the shore, and running in a northerly direction gives a very sheltered harbour around that city. On the other side of this land we have the more open sea known as English Bay, and the lands on the shore have—with commendable prudence—■ been reserved for some years past for Imperial purposes. The utilisation of this portion of the shore is not likely to be delayed, I 15 and English Bay will soon be better known than it is at present. As we steam onwards into the more open waters of the Straits of Georgia, a scene of great beauty surrounds us. The weather being gloriously fine, we took a southerly course, and entering Plumper's Pass we steamed along the inland waters leading to Victoria. Our oourse lay through a group of small islands possessing great beauty and feathered to the water's edge by a rich and varied foliage. The water was as still and as brilliant as a mirror, and the whole scene reminded me excessively of the waters of the Bosphorus in all their varied glory. In one respect the scenery here has an important advantage over the beauties even of the Bosphorus, for the Olympian range, of mountains, with Mount Baker standing out in full majesty, forms a glorious background to a scene which scarcely admits of a successful rival. Lord Dufferin speaking of these lovely island channels says :—-i They are not to be paralleled by any country in the world," and he adds, "Day after day for a whole week, in a vessel of nearly 2000 tons, we threaded an interminable labyrinth of watery lanes and reaches that wound endlessly in and out of a net work of island promontories and peninsulas for thousands of miles, unruffled by the slightest swell from the adjoining ocean, and presenting at every turn an ever shifting combination of rocks, verdure, forest, glacier, and snow-capped mountains of unrivalled grandeur and beauty." Bright and glorious as was the scene through which we passed, it was rendered even more perfectly beautiful by a brilliant sunset such as the far west so richly enjoys. This lovely display of colour was in due course followed by a beautifully clear moonlight and a phosphorescent sea, amidst which we steamed tranquilly into the very brilliantly lighted harbour of Victoria—The Queen-City of the West—a title which my subsequent observations enable me to say she most thoroughly deserves. The Marquis of Lome speaking of this city says : " There is no fairer land in the world than the country around Victoria, the capital of Vancouver." Another eminent writer (Mr. Macfie) says: "In March the trees were covered with tinted buds and the fields with verdure. Then become visible the star-eyed and delicately blue collinsia, the scarlet-blossomed lilies and the graceful trillium, the spring grass and young fern show promise of returning life, the unfolding oakleaf and the budding wild fruits proclaim the winter is gone. The sensations produced by the aspect of nature in May are indescribably delightful. The freshness of the air, the warble of birds, the clearness of the sky, the profusion and fragrance of wild roses, the wide-spread variegated hues of buttercups and daisies, 16 the islets and inlets, together with distant snow peaks bursting upon the view as one ascends some continuous eminence, combine to fill the mind with enchantment unequalled out of Paradise." It is also worthy of note that those who have^been residents in Victoria and its neighbourhood—it may be in by-gone years—always refer to its charming surroundings in terms which strangers may consider florid—if not even exaggerated. Certain it is, that the City of Victoria has surroundings worthy of its name, and an accurate description compels the use of the perfectly [exceptional terms I have quoted. Another charming speciality is the intensely English type and character of the people. This is the more remarkable considering how thoroughly detached they have been from England, and that their commercial intercourse has unavoidably thrown them largely in contact with the States via San Francisco. In no part of Canada is the English language equally pure, the rural homes of the West of England so strikingly reproduced, or the rule of the road in driving so correctly observed. There is one very striking variation observable, and that is the employment of Chinese servants and workmen, but it will be more convenient to refer to this very important subject subsequently. As a prosperous people the Victorians have got into the habit of taking life at an easy pace, and at this time when business is so generally done at a greased lightning speed, it is positively delightful to meet persons who are not in a desperate hurry. The City of Victoria has made considerable progress during the past four years, and is likely to stretch out her boundaries for many a year to come, for she possesses all the elements for becoming a great residential centre. The beautiful and'very important harbour of Esquimalt, with its naval station, may be said to be a part of Victoria, at any rate, it is quite a suburb of the city. Now that the Canadian Pacific Railway is completed from ocean to ocean, one of the earliest results will probably be the establishment of a strong naval and military depot in the Pacific. On this point it will be well for our highest authority to be heard, and upon this subject I cannot do better than quote the words of His Excellency the Marquis of Lansdowne—" Ton have here a naval station likely, I think, in time to become one of the greatest and most important strongholds of the Empire. Sou have a coal supply sufficient for all the navies of the world. Ton have a line of railway, which is ready to bring that coal up to the harbour of Esquimalt. Ton will shortly have a graving dock capable of accommodating all but one or two of the largest of Her Majesty's ships. Ton have, in short, .all the conditions requisite for the creation of what I believe is spoken of as a place d'armes. But it is unneces- I sary for me to point out to you that if a place d'armes should remain inaccessible except by sea, and cut off from the rest of the Empire, its usefulness as an addition to the Imperial defences might, under conceivable circumstances, be very much restricted and diminished. It is therefore with no little satisfaction that I reflect that we shall henceforth be able to bring supplies, stores, and material of war to this coast by an alternative route—direct, expeditious, and lying for more than half its way over British territory. I think, therefore, that we need be under no doubt as to the interests touched by the establishment of this line, and that we may be assured that if this Province has a special interest in the matter, the whole Dominion, and not only the whole Dominion, but the Empire at large, is likely to gain in strength and solidity by the change which is about to take place." VANCOUVER ISLAND. This island was so named after Sir George Vancouver, who, in 1792, when in command of H.M. Ship " Discovery," planted the British flag upon it. The inland sea he named the Straits of Georgia, after his Sovereign, George III., and the inlet known as Burrard Inlet he so-called after Sir H. Burrard, who was in command of the armed tender, " Chatham," which accompanied him. In his report upon the character of the locality, he says :—" The serenity of the climate, the innumerable pleasing landscapes, and the abundant fertility that unassisted nature puts forth, require only to be enriched by the industry of man, with villages, mansions, cottages, and other buildings, to render it the most lovely country that can be imagined, whilst the labour of the inhabitants would be amply rewarded in the bounties which nature seemed ready to bestow on cultivation." Nature, it must be acknowledged, has done very much, but the hand of the cultivator has done little. It is probable that on this island alone over two or three million acres of good land admit of profitable farm use. A railway has just been completed from Victoria to Nanaimo, a distance of 73 miles, which opens up hundreds of locations, some of which are of extreme beauty, having lakes with hilly surroundings, which embrace moderate-sized tracts of good land. These offer residential facilities of a very desirable character where farms of from 100 to 250 acres are required. In the Cowichan district, extending from the railway up to and beyond Cowichan Lake, there is much good land awaiting settlement; here we find some good lime stone soils, and rich loams. It is true that much of this land has been taken up during the construe- l_ /- 18 tion of the Nanaimo railway, but there is still a very considerable quantity of Government land available, and even some of the lands which have been secured are open to purchasers at a small advance. The Cowichan Valley which is nearly 20 miles wide at its eastern ■end narrows down to about 5 miles. It is shut in between two ranges of mountains which run about S.E. and N.W., and thus gives •excellent shelter from the North. Sir James Douglas, the late Governor, encouraged immigration to this part. The settlers in the -district have secured a very considerable measure of success, and «,re well known through the good work done by their local Agricultural Society. In fact the Cowichan district is large, and is partially occupied by a successful body of farmers. The very valuable coal mines which have been so successfully -developed at Nanaimo, and are now equal to an output of 1000 tons of first-class coal daily, necessarily tend to the distribution of much money and create a large local demand for all kinds of agri- oultural produce. Settlement and cultivation have extended freely in the district around Nanaimo, and as there is a considerable extent of good prairie land at command, the results have been very satisfactory and largely profitable. The opening of the •Nanaimo railway will certainly give an increased stimulus to the present prosperity of the district. It is more than probable that the railway will be extended further north, possibly to Comox, which is 60 miles distant. Even at the present time Comox is quite a prosperous settlement, and the cultivation of the land is well carried out. In the Comox district there is probably a quarter- million acres of land absolutely untouched, and very much of it is of good quality. From Comox northward the country is very rarely taken up, but much of it is well adapted for settlement, large quantities being of good quality, and much of it well watered. It is oalculated that there must be fully a million acres of available land in this neighbourhood. Speaking generally of Vancouver Island, it may be described ■as having a very large proportion of its surface occupied by mountains and rock, and these are very generally distributed throughout the island. Some of these mountains rise to a considerable height, Mount Victoria, which is about 7500 feet, bein°- the highest. Between these mountains and hill ranges there are numberless plains and valleys, generally possessing great fertility, but rarely of very great area. Much of the land is occupied by timber, often very valuable in its character. There is, however, abundance of land under good natural grass ready for being either used for grazing stock, or for breaking up by the plough. There 19 were some excellent specimens of agricultural produce sent froim Vancouver Island to the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London in 1886. The district in and around North and South Saanich,. Victoria, and Cowichan, contributed a great variety of well-developed grain, fruit, and Indian corn. The magnificent display of apples- many of which came from Vancouver Island—constituted quite a distinctive feature in that Great Exhibition, and if the Bartlett pears would have borne carriage, these would have caused stilt greater astonishment. The natural products of Vancouver specially demand attention. Her fisheries are abundantly supplied with salmon, salmon-trout, smelts, and many other varieties of fish. The timber growth is of great value, and notably the Douglas Pine,, which grows here to an enormous size, and is one of the besfe woods known for large masts. It is also very abundant, and is- largely used as lumber and exported to various parts of the Pacific. The cedar and maple also flourish well and in great variety. The climate of Vancouver Island varies considerably in different parts, a necessary result of its very unequal surface and its mountain ranges. It is said that very generally throughout the island the climate compares favourably with that of the British islands- under corresponding conditions of mountain, hill, and dale, so much so indeed that it is often called " The Britain of the Northern Pacific." In the southern portions of Vancouver Island the climate- is extremely agreeable. The Olympian range of mountains in Washington territory on the south—with its snow-capped northern face as seen from Victoria—moderates the warmth of the southerly winds, and the summer temperature is consequently exceptionably brilliant and invigorating. The general testimony of residents justifies the statement that the climate of the south of Vancouver may be said to correspond, both in summer and winter, with that of the south of Devonshire, without its enervating influences. The range of temperature is even more limited, the summers are drier, and it is exempt from extreme cold in the winter. His Excellency the Marquis of Lansdowne very fairly said in an address recently delivered by him in Victoria—" Tou have here a climate resembling that of the Old Country rather than Eastern Canada. I do not, wish to exaggerate the terrors of the Canadian winter. Its, severity is not inconsistent with the growth of an active and vigorous race, and for myself I may say that I have suffered more- from the damp winter climate of the Old World than from the- brighter and drier climate of the New. It is, however, undoubtedly the 'case that many settlers are deterred from coming to Canada, bv a knowledge of the rigour of its winter climate, and when. 20 •once it becomes known that an emigrant can arrive here in less than three weeks from the date of his departure from Liverpool, and find on his arrival such a climate as yours, you will, I think, have plenty of occupants for your vacant lands." The Marquis of Lome also gives an admirable description of the climate of Vancouver Island. He says—" It is fitting that we should keep to the last a notice of Vancouver's Island, if it be fitting to reserve for the last what is most delicious, for much of that beautiful country possesses attractions which will make it the favourite residence of Canadians. With about half the area of Ireland, it has a climate far more favourable, and resembling that of the south coast of England. It is very mountainous, the chief districts where there is much agricultural land lying along the railway route from Nanaimo to Victoria. The vegetation is very luxuriant, owing to the large amount of moisture during the winter months, and the pleasant sunshine of the summer. The thermometer seldom shows xnore than a few degrees of frost, and the heat is so tempered by the sea that the mercury does not rise above 80° Fahrenheit in the hottest summer day. Thick woods cover the hills and lower ground, the Douglas fir being the commonest. Towards the south fine oaks, and a singularly graceful arbutus, known by the Spanish name of Madrona, fringe the shore line. . . . Nothing can be more beautiful than the effect of the evergreen Madronas mixed with the firs, and overhanging the calm waters of the gulfs lying between the great island and the main shore—a sea full of lovely islands of all shapes and sizes. Imagine several of the Outer Hebrides linked together, and covered with fine wood—the inner isles similarly adorned— and the Scots mainland magnified into a Switzerland, and you have the British Columbia coast." QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS. These comprise over 150 islands and constitute the extreme North-West lands of British Columbia. Graham, Moresby, and Prevost islands are the largest members of the group. They are separated from the mainland by Hecate Strait, which varies from 35 to 80 miles in width. These islands possess such limited agricultural capabilities, that for the present their attractions will be eclipsed by the abundance of valuable land which is within more easy reach. Potatoes and vegetables of all kinds thrive well, but the climate is too humid for cereals to ripen well. At present, however, no systematic course of agriculture has been adopted, and consequently amy limitations must be expressed with some reserve. > a 22 The great drawback to the growth of these islands in commerce and agricultural importance is the difficult means for communicating with the mainland. When better transportation for passengers and mails is provided, there is no reason to doubt but that these islands will be visited by persons wbo will make permanent settlement here, and develop the fisheries, the lumbering and the agricultural interests, with material advantage to themselves and others. ISLANDS IN THE GEORGIAN STRAITS. These islands may safely claim a leading position amongst the several remarkable groups of islands of which Canada is justly proud. Great as is the beauty of the thousand islands in Lake Ontario, and much as we may admire the ten thousand islands in the Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, and Lake Superior, those which exist in the Straits of Georgia still remain unequalled for beauty and utility. Lord Dufferin's description already quoted describes this unparalleled scene with striking accuracy. Many of these islands are carrying good flocks of sheep and other kinds of live stock, and on other islands agricultural operations are carried out successfully, but on a small scale. In some cases the land is entirely taken up by forest growth, but amongst the group there are many opportunities for new settlers finding homes and locations which may be rendered charmingly beautiful and largely profitable. WESTERN PORTION OF THE MAINLAND. That portion of the mainland of British Columbia which faces the Pacific Ocean and the Straits of Georgia may be fairly described as possessing a mountainous character. For a depth of from 60 to 100 miles from the seaboard the Cascade range and ptner mountains occupy the greater portion of the country, but be'tween them we find considerable quantities of valuable land available for raising all kinds of food necessary for local supplies. The coast-line is remarkably indented by a series of water-ways, which are capable of being utilised as a cheap means for transport, not only for the lands near the coast, but also into and from the country eastward of the mountain ranges existing there. The graphic description which Lord Dufferin gives of these vast water-ways will never lose its force and accuracy. He says : " When it is remembered that this wonderful system of navigation, equally well adapted to the largest line-of-battle ship and the frailest canoe, fringes the entire seaboard of your province, and communicates at points sometimes more than a hundred miles from the coast, with a number of valleys stretching eastward into the interior, while at the same time it is furnished with innumerable harbours on either hand, one is lost in admiration at the facilities for inter-communication which are thus provided for the future inhabitants of this wonderful region." For a time this district will be valuable for those who are engaged in the development of the mineral wealth of the country, and for the utilisation of the important fisheries of this part; at ths same time supplies of food of all kinds will be raised on the rich alluvial soils existing there. As a means for giving lines of approach and cheap water-carriage to the vast plains which lie to the east of the Cascade range of mountains, this country will be excessively valuable. It will command success for many engaged along the seaboard and for some short distance inland, and it will also exercise a powerful influence upon the millions of acres to which it will give cheap water-carriage. We shall subsequently refer to these vast tracts of country more in detail, but the enormous advantages resulting from these outlets will greatly facilitate their utilisation. We may now return to Victoria, and proceed thence to THE ERASER RIVER. Taking passage on board the Yosemite steamer, a run across the Straits of Georgia brought us opposite Lu lu Island, a large delta, on the North side of the Fraser River. This valuable tract of land awaits improvement and cultivation. As we pass up this fine river the steamer makes occasional calls to take on board packages of canned Salmon, which are being consigned from the Canneries on the bank of the stream. Many Chinese have settled upon the lands through which the Fraser passes, and there is a considerable trade setting in between them and Victoria. The Fraser is certainly a very fine stream, extending to between 2 and 3 miles in width. It is also the principal river in the Province, and the broad expanse of land on its sides promises to create additions to the important traffic already existing upon it. The Chinese are very industrious and successful in the cultivation of their small farms. They send a considerable quantity of market garden produce and fruit to Victoria for sale, and taking them as a class they are making money in a contented manner, by an occupation for which they are well adapted. The scenery as we- steamed up the Fraser River was exceedingly fine and really charming in its character. The river sides were prettily indented by bays and creeks, surrounded by lovely woodland scenery. Here and there broad tracts of unculti- 24 vated land were seen, which in a few years will be converted into prosperous homesteads, and especially on the southern side of the river. I was advised not to go up the Fraser as it was not worth visiting, and scenery was very feeble in its character, but in neither respect do I agree with the opinions so expressed. As we steamed up the river we met many Indian canoes, paddled by groups of women, evidently prepared for lengthened runs. The salmon fishing adds much animation to the scene, and at the time of the strong rushes of the fish in the spring of the year, it involves much active work. The system pursued for taking the fish differs in the several rivers and with the advance of the season. At the time of my visit large nets suspended from floats and stretched downwards by. weights were dropped into the river and extended across a considerable portion of the stream. These are occasionally examined, and the fish carefully removed. I saw a salmon-trout which, had been thus caught weighing 32 pounds, and salmon run to very much heavier weights, 70 pounds being sometimes reached in the Fraser, although the river is not noted for the largest class of salmon. I visited the Canneries of Messrs. Ewen and Co. on the Fraser, and inspected their system of preserving the fish for export. The head and fins of the fish are first cut off and the fish carefully cleaned, it is then thoroughly washed in fresh and pure water, and subsequently it is dipped into brine for a short time. The appearance of the fish at this period is most pleasing, for every portion of the work is carried out with scrupulous regard for cleanliness and proper care. The fish are then sliced transversely by a machine and subsequently cut into smaller pieces suitable for the tins, and after the fish has been again placed in brine, the cans are filled and the covers are soldered down. A small hole is left in the cover whilst the tins are being exposed to steam for the purpose of thoroughly cooking the fish, which being accomplished the hole is closed by a soldering- iron, whilst some steam remains within the tin. The cans are then repacked in another steam closet, and here they are exposed to superheated steam, whereby the bones of the fish become perfectly softened. On the cans being removed and becoming cold a depression is observable in the cover arising from the fact of the steam having been condensed and thereby causing a partial vacuum. It then only remained for the cans to be properly labelled and packed in small cases for export. It was on the 20th September, 1886, that we visited this Cannery, and we were much surprised to see the deep colour of the salmon of this river in the autumn, for they had the appearance in the cans of having been artificially coloured, but the colour of the fish was just the same as when caught. In some 25 VIEW ON THE FRASER RIVER, By H.R.H. Pbincess Louise. of the rivers—the Skeena, for instance—when large runs of salmon take place from the sea, it is not uncommon as the fish rush up the rivers, for a complete blockade to take place at those portions of the streams where they become exceptionally narrow. So remarkable is the pressure of the mass, that the fish crowd each other up to the surface, and photographs have been taken showing the surface of the water actually covered with salmon. At these times it is not uncommon for scoop nets to be used, whereby the salmon are 26 literally scooped out of the water as fast as they can be removed and prepared for canning. Having completed the inspection, Messrs. Ewen and Co. very courteously placed a steam launch at our disposal, and we proceeded on our voyage. The brilliancy of the scenery on the Fraser became even more striking than before, for in running: between the rich foliage on the banks of this noble stream the Selkirk mountains came within sight on the east, and offered a grand contrast to the brilliantly clear blue sky under which we steamed so merrily away. As we approached NEW WESTMINSTER, a very fine view of the city was obtained, for it occupies a bold promontory projecting into the river, "and the pretty houses and brilbant flower gardens surrounding the more business-like portions of the city added fresh beauty to the river scene. On closer inspection of the gardens, there proved to be very generally a thoroughly gay and brilliant display of flowers ; and the berries on the Holly and Mountain Ash, which are very frequently grown here, were exceedingly bright and effective. The fruit trees also seemed determined not to be surpassed in their production of fruit, and many apples and pear trees we saw, were literally crowded. There is a very good description of yellow cedar grown around New Westminster, and in the Royal City Lumber Mills these were beino- worked up into doors and window frames, which are sure to become favourites by reason of the wood being so light in weight, not easily warped, and exceedingly pretty. Here also an active trade is carried on with Australia, China, and Japan. New Westminster is the largest city on the mainland of British Columbia. It was at one time the capital of that colony ; but when the Crown colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia were united in 1868 Victoria was selected as the capital of the united colony, and it has since continued to hold that position. The extension of the Canadian Pacific Railway to New Westminster will have a very important influence upon the future increase of this city, for she possesses great capabilities and she occupies a very commanding position on the Fraser River. The railway connection not being completed, we drove from New Westminster through to Port Moody. Much of our road ran through old forest lands carrying majestic Douglas Pines and Cedars, which imparted an impressive feeling of silent solitude as we penetrated the less frequented portions of the forest. Rapid changes are taking place here, and the penetrating forces of advan- L Road near New Westminster. From a Sketch by the Mahcjitis of Lobnb, K.X 28 cing civilisation Sj,re making themselves manifest. On our arrival in Port Moody we found the Canadian Pacific train ready for starting eastward as soon as the passengers from Victoria had arrived by steamer, and we entered the carriages for our homeward journey. It may be convenient to mention at this point that, although it has been necessary for engineering purposes for the railway to wind its course as much as possible between the several mountain ranges, it is often quite practicable to secure roadways from the railway to the open plains which lie beyond these mountains. Hence it is that railway stations which appear to the traveller as simply useful for local traffic, really have lines of approach to and from very much larger districts than are at first apparent. THE LILLOOET DISTRICT is that through which the railway passes, and bounds upon the south and east for 180 miles between Hammond and Ashcroft. It represents about two million acres of land, a large proportion of which is a well-watered district possessing much land of a fertile character: Lillooet is quite an important-=town and an agreeable place of residence. Much of the traffic for the gold mines passes through this town, and this circumstance has contributed to the prosperity of the town. The fine samples of wheat, oats, and barley contributed to the Colonial and Indian Exhibition testify to the capabilities of the district. There are many successful farmers and stock-keepers within this district, but much land remains open for new comers. THE CHILCOTIN DISTRICT, which lies to the north of Lillooet River and Anderson Lake, may be taken as bounded on the east by the Fraser River, and on the west by the Cascade Mountains, and includes an area of fully 25 million acres of land. There is much valuable grazing land here, which is at present carrying large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. It is a great country for the bunch grass, which is such strong feed for cattle. It is an invariable rule here to keep the grazing lands for sheep and for cattle perfectly restricted to one class of stock only, it being considered that each damages the feed for the other. Sheep have to be carefully guarded in this district from the cayotes, wild dogs (cowardly curs) which will worry a flock of sheep, but do not interfere with cattle. It is scarcely necessary to say that not a thousandth part of this land is made any use of, and yet it is well adapted for raising vast numbers 29 of cattle, horses, and sheep. To the north of this district we have a vast unexplored district with great stock raising-capabilities,, and this connects with the well-known Peace River grazing district in the North-West Territories. THE CARIBOO DISTRICT occupies a triangular area of country also, on the northern side of the Canadian Pacific Railway. It may be said to occupy the district east of the Fraser, where that river takes a southern course of nearly 300 miles from Fort George to Lytton. Its area is 22| million acres, and although it does not possess as large a proportion of open grazing land as the Chilcotin district on the west, yet it is equally well adapted for ranching purposes, and is even more abundantly watered. The cultivation of corn is less successfully carried out here than in drier climates to the west; but there need be no difficulty in producing all the grain and vegetables that are or will be needed for local consumption. This district includes gold regions which—as we shall subsequently see—have yielded vast stores of wealth in the past, and are ready to render up stilt larger supplies in the future. There are consequently many and great advantages which may arise from this ability of the district to yield an abundant supply of food for any inflow of gold miners which may hereafter arise. In any case, however, the food supplies will be within easy command in the future. THE KAMLOOPS DISTRICT lies to the east of Tale and south of Kamloops station, and extends over about fourteen or fifteen million acres. It represents some of the best grazing lands in British Columbia, and many large herds of cattle are being kept here with very profitable results. The Douglas Lake Cattle Company are large breeders of stock, and at the present time have about 25,000 head of cattle. During the summer and autumn these cattle range about in perfect freedom, but in winter and spring they are kept within 50,000 acres of land which the Company has enclosed for the purpose. The enterprise is exceedingly profitable, and the Manager, Mr. Hayes, is reputed to be very competent for holding such a position. At any rate, the success they have secured may be taken as typical of what other breeders are doing, and what many new comers may attain to. The climate here is much more favourable than it is in some of the northern and more exposed districts, and the quality of the natural herbage is excellent. 30 THE KOOTENAT DISTRICT. This district is bounded on the west by the Arrow Lakes and the Columbia River, so far as the latter extends to the north. At the Big Bend of the Columbia the district becomes narrow, and the eastern boundary of the Rockies forms it into a triangular area which extends southward to the International Boundary. Within this district there is some very excellent pasturage, often in the midst of exceedingly beautiful scenery. Here and there we have ■evidences of good cultivation by a rich and fertile soil producing most satisfactory results. We need no better illustration of this fact than near the Spellamcheen River, to which we gain access from Sicamous, on the Canadian Pacific Railway. Here we have about ten townships of the best wheat-growing land in the country, some -of which is already under good care and management. This district is, however, naturally a first class grazing country, and although we shall doubtless find, as settlement advances, that grain, fruit, and root crops will be grown successfully wherever they are wanted as food supplies, this class of work is likely to continue to be supplemental to stock raising, for which it is so admirably adapted. Sir George Simpson, in his "Narrative of a Journey round the World," calls the Lower Kootenay Valley " a little Paradise." " Looking down from a promontory overlooking a part of the valley;" he ■says : "at our feet lay a valley . . . bounded on the western side by lofty mountains, and on the eastern by a lower range of the same kind; while the verdant bottom, unbroken by a single mound or hillock, was threaded by a meandering stream, and studded on either -side with lakes, diminishing in the distance to mere specks or stars .... An amphitheatre of mountains, with a small lake in the centre, was skirted by a rich sward, of about half-a-mile in depth, on which were clumps of as noble elms as any part of the world could produce. Beneath the shade of these magnificent trees the white tents were pitched, while large bands of horses were quietly grazing on the open glade. The spot was so soft and lovely that a traveller, fresh from the rugged sublimities of the mountains, might almost be tempted here to spend the remainder of his ■days amid the surrounding beauties of Nature." AGRICULTURAL CAPABILITIES. Having stated somewhat in detail the general character of Vancouver Island, and the mainland of British Columbia, little need be added to describe in general terms the agricultural capabilities of the Province. The great variations in the climate and 31 the soil give a range of agricultural capabilities which cannot be surpassed in any country. The mild and equable climate of some portions enables rich and luscious fruits, the best quality of cereals^ and every variety of dairy produce to be grown in perfection, and from this we advance step by step to the highest excellences of meat production. Asa district for raising horses, cattle, and sheep,, opportunities are abundantly offered for carrying out this department of work to an almost unlimited extent, and under conditions which enable highly profitable results to be easily secured. The Province rarely offers opportunities for large tillage farms being established, but there are an infinite number of localities on which persons with moderate capital may establish themselves upon farms of medium size, and fertile in character, and thereon combine the rich comforts of charming residences with the profits of highly productive farms. But here, as elsewhere, whilst Nature has done much—yes, very much—Man must exercise good common sense in utilising the boundless opportunities which are placed within his reach. Rarely has any country been surrounded by such favourable conditions of life, or with equal' facilities for securing the additional advantages of lovely scenery and an endless supply of" field and river sports. '- To the West! To the West i There is wealth to be won, The prairie to plough is the work to be done; We'll try it, we'll do it, and never despair, While there's light in the sunshine, or breath in the air. The bold independence that labour shall buy, Shall strengthen our hands, and forbid us t» sigh; Away ! far away! let us hope for the best, And build up a home in The Land of the West." LAND GRANTS. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make special free or- partially free grants of unoccupied lands for the encouragement of immigration or other purposes of public advantage. Military and Naval officers in Her Majesty's service may acquire free grants, of land under the Act of 1863 as follows :— Subalterns of 7 years' service and upwards ... 20 Captains of 15 ., „ „ 20 Field Officers of 15 years' service or less 20 years' service and upwards » Acres. 200 300 300 400 400 500 600- 32 Free grants of land are not made to the general public, bat Crown lands may be pre-empted by any person being the head of a family, a widow, or a single man over 18 years of age, being a British subject, or making a declaration of intention to become a British subject. The price of Crown lands pre-empted is one dollar per acre, which must be paid in four equal instalments as follows—First instalment, two years from date of record, and each other instalment yearly thereafter, until the full amount is paid. This abbreviated statement must not be considered as complete, fuller particulars being appended to this report. THE FISHERIES. No coasts or rivers are better supplied with fish than those of British Columbia. Of these the salmon, trout, smelts, sturgeon, oulachans, and herrings take a prominent position. The supply is excessively large and the quality unsurpassed. Apart, however, from the enormous quantities of fresh, smoked, and dried fish used for local pui'poses, there is a very large export trade in fish carried on. The vessels, nets, &c, employed in this trade represent an investment of about £50,000, and the canneries and fishing stations represent a further expenditure of capital of fully £80,000, in connection with which, employment is given to between 5000 and 6000 persons. There are about twenty canneries now at work, and of these thirteen are situated on the Fraser River, and seven are along the northern coast as far north as the boundary of Alaska. The annual export of salmon in cans ranges from 7000 to 8000 tons, and is worth over £300,000, indicating not only a trade which is largely profitable to those engaged in it, but an important means . for distributing, far and wide, a most desirable description of food. This becomes the more evident when it is remembered that the markets for this food supply are England, Canada, Sydney, Adelaide, and other parts of Australia, South America, Sandwich Islands, &o, &c. MINERAL RESOURCES. British Columbia has already gained a world-wide fame by reason of her gold workings, and that reputation is likely to be materially advanced. The wild gold rush of the past no longer exists, but quiet and very satisfactory work is being done. Indications of gold have been observed in all her rivers. Of these rivers, the Fraser has probably been the most distinguished, and along much of her course gold has been found, and especially between Hope 33 and Alexandria, where there are certain well-known gold-bearing benches. These terraces or benches run along the river-sides often for miles in length. As we advance up the Fraser the gold becomes coarser and more valuable. In fact, the gold becomes more and more broken up into minute portions by reason of its travelling down the river from stage to stage. The search gradually advanced up the Fraser to the mountain ranges from which its waters originally drew their supplies. The same course of procedure has marked the work in other rivers also, for we have just the same conditions existing on the Stiekeen and Peace Rivers in the north. Hitherto the greatest source of gold has been the alluvium of the Fraser and the Columbia Rivers, but the search is being carried forward to the gold-bearing quartz rocks, and in point of value the Cariboo district stands pre-eminent, and from these rocks the great developments of the future will in all probability arise. The machinery required for working the gold-bearing quartz is heavy and carriage expensive, and hence the difficulties which have hitherto attended the working of these gold beds have been exceedingly great. Here, then, the Canadian Pacific Railway will effect a complete revolution in the gold workings of British Columbia. It may be fairly estimated that the alluvial deposits. of the rivers have already yielded ten million pounds sterling in gold, and an eminent authority has expressed his conviction that the gold workings of British Columbia, opened up and rendered practicable by the Canadian Pacific Railroad, will soon yield more than the cost of the construction of the entire railway. We shall probably be reminded by new workings, of the success which a few years since was gained on the Antler Creek, when £2000 worth of gold was for some considerable time the daily yield. This was, however, surpassed on Williams' Creek, for here, upon Steele's claim, the yield reached as high as 409 ounces, and the total obtained from an area of 80 feet by 25 feet was the sum of £21,000. One of the largest yields in any one day was obtained from Cunningham's claim, and amounted to £1810, and the average yield from this claim for one entire season was £500 daily. The Bishop of Columbia witnessed 600 ounces taken out in one claim. Adams' claim yielded to each of its three partners £8000 clear of all expenses. In Barker's claim eight partners realised £1400 each. There is every reason to believe that on this creek the entire yield in one year's working was fully £144,000. Subsequently a lower portion of this creek, which had been previously unsuspected of containing gold, yielded £60,000 on three claims, between October and January. Later on Dillon's claim gave the extraordinary 34 yield of 102 pounds in one day, equal in value to £4000 sterling. Everything indicates that Cariboo is one of the richest gold fields in the world. It would be vain to attempt any estimate as to the extent and duration of the Cariboo mines. Its mountains belong to a gold range, and extend both north and south of Cariboo. That the latter forms part of a great gold region is clear from the fact that several gold-bearing rivers take their rise in that portion of the country, the gold field is not even confined to the eastern section of the country; from Peace River to the Border, and even to the west of the Fraser, gold has been found. British Columbia appears to be on the eve of a great gold development, one probably unequalled in the past; and the facilities which now enable food supplies and other comforts of life being provided and supplied, will rob any " gold fever | of many of its most painful associations. WORKING MEN—SUPPLY AND DEMAND. This is a most important consideration for any capitalist or employer who contemplates becoming a resident in British Columbia. An excessive rate of wages might render an occupation unprofitable, which under fairly remunerative wages would permit of a safe and thoroughly advantageous investment of capital. The capitalist will naturally take his money to districts in which the usual wages are consistent with its safety and successful use. On the other hand, emigrant workmen seeking employment equally desire to be satisfied that the wages are remunerative, and that employment is to be obtained. This question of labour supply and demand has recently attracted much attention in British Columbia, by reason of the Chinese who are engaged in the various industries of the Province. A fctoyal Commission has recently enquired into the facts of the case, and has presented a most important and exceedingly valuable report, from which the following quotations are made :— The Hon. Mr. Justice Gray, one of the Royal Commissioners, says:—" In British Columbia we have a Province where there is an enormous capacity for production, coupled with an utter inadequacy of means. It covers a habitable space .... larger than Great Britain and Ireland, larger than France, and equal in extent to the German Empire. It has an assumed population of 60,000 inhabitants, located in a few towns, and scattered along the margins of the rivers and the forests. It contains in round numbers 219 million acres, which would give a pre-emption lot of 160 acres to 1,368,759 people, or 3650 acres for every man, woman, and child in British Columbia, in town and country, including Indians, Chinese, and all I 35 other nationalities. Its great internal area, capable of unlimited development, is almost unutilised, save for the roaming of cattle, or the natural growth of timber. What is wanted is population—• tillers of the soil, manufacturers, settlers, traders, laborers—mental and manual—merchants, capitalists, who will make its rich resources conducive to the comforts of life. " From the evidence adduced before the Commissioners, the competition of the Chinese with white labor in British Columbia has only been with labor of the lowest kind. It has not interfered with the mechanic, or skilled labor. The carpenter, the foundry- man, the gasfitter, the mason, the cabinetmaker, the wharfinger, the glazier, the painter .... and all industries requiring skill, intelligence, and steady industry, pursue their different vocations, and are carried on without competition from the Chinese. All those pursuits which pertain to the higher order of intellectual and physical labor, which raise the white man in the scale of life, and enable him to bring up his family to take the highest position in the land, are untouched by the Chinese; but to dig a ditch, shovel earth, cut wood, and wash clothes, which white men, who can get anything else to do, will not do—this labour is left to Chinamen, and for such purposes affords to the industrious mechanic an opportunity'for getting it done at a price within his command, work on which his own time is too valuable to be employed. It is fortunate that in a young and sparsely-settled Province this cheap labor can be obtained, for it enables those whose minds are capable of higher development, and whose ambition looks to more ennobling industry, to follow pursuits in which they will rise, rather than toil and slave in grovelling work which wears out the body without elevating the mind. But.it does more. It enables the capitalist to bring money into the country, with the prospect of benefiting himself by its investment, while the expenditure benefits the country by the development of its resources. This is not a question between labor and capital. In British Columbia there is neither the one nor the other at all proportionate to its extent of territory. It is a question of bringing in both. It may be safely affirmed, such are the resources and varied opportunities for industry in British Columbia, that no instance can be named where a laboring man, with health, steady industry, and sobriety, has ever failed to make a comfortable living, unless disabled by. some unforeseen misfortune. Some think they ought to be special favourites of Providence, and wait until something turns up; but, Chinese or no Chinese, in the conntry or out of it, an instance cannot be named where a sober, industrious, frugal, and ordinarily sensible laboring man has ever failed to make a comfortable living in British Columbia. The question has 36 now been brought to a point where it is necessary to lay before the Parliament and country the facts, without reference to persons or parties. It is something strange to hear the strong, broad- shouldered, superior race—superior physically and mentally— sprung from the highest types of the Old and the New World, expressing a fear of competition with a small, inferior, and, comparatively speaking, feminine race The argument that their presence cheapens labour, to the detriment of the white man, is simply the argument that has been used against every labor- saving machine, and every improvement that science has ever made tending to the advancement of the human race. . . . The fallacy which has pervaded the whole discussion in British Columbia is the assumption that manual and bodily labor, digging and delving, is the only labor in the world, and that no persons were to be considered in this matter, save the diggers and the delvers. The man who toils with his brain to unfold the mysteries, of nature, to add to the humanities of life, and ennoble the daily discharge of duty, is as great a benefactor of his race, and as much deserving of consideration, as the man who works with his hands or in the ordinary paths of labor. . . . Service, servitude, or help—by which ever name it may be called—is absolutely necessary for the comfort of domestic life. Can that be obtained in British Columbia without the Chinese in tthe present state of this Province ? It may be safely affirmed it cannot be, nor for very many years to come. . . . The whole feeling of the people is against it, the silent protest of facts is against it, the unspoken language of every father and mother in the country is against it ; their children are not meant to be servants. . . . From the hour that a boy or a girl enters the public school they are taught that the education, so freely given at the public expense, is to raise them to the level of the highest, and that there is no position in the Province to which, under the Constitution, they may not aspire. . . . As, however, domestic service is a necessity, if the people of the country are of too high a grade for it, a substitute must be found where best it can be. Incoming immigration will not supply the want. If an immigrant is a desirable one, the first thing he does is to assimilate himself to the feelings of the country. After living in the province two or three years, he will not admit his children to be inferior to those of other residents. ... It cannot, therefore, be regarded as injurious to British Columbia that, without violating the feelings and principles of a self-educating people, she has hitherto been able to obtain for this purpose a class peculiarly adapted to this end, and to leave her own rising generation the pursuits of a higher and nobler character. i 37 " If personal prejudice and feeling be eliminated from the evidence taken, it is impossible not to admit that, as a laboring class, the preponderance is not against the Chinese. They are stated to be honest in their dealings, industrious, sober, peaceable, and law-abiding, frugal and cleanly, and when doing well to live well, consuming the same articles and goods as do the white laborers, thereby equally contributing with them to the revenue; that as domestic servants they are quite as good, if not preferable; that they do not compete or interfere with lumbering, farming, or any skilled industry, and that even in market gardening they could be beaten by the whites, if the latter were willing to work as hard. That the white laboring classes themselves, the moment they become contractors, are the first to employ the Chinese as laborers, and that the manufacturers prefer them, because they have no ' Blue Mondays;' that in mining countries and great public undertakings they are more to be depended on, as the white labourers rush off to the mining grounds, when they hear of a successful strike, whereas the Chinese do not; and that up to this time their presence in the Province has been most useful, if not indispensable. " The habits and modes of life of the Chinese are in many respects objectionable, their religious practices are idolatrous, their sordid desire for the accumulation of money and hoarding up injurious; but these same faults are to be found among other people, and if all were excluded against whom such charges could be brought, the population of British Columbia would be extremely limited. The soundest legislation in a free country is that which is based on the highest moral principles, at the same time recognises the existence of the frailties and errors of mankind, and so frames its enactments that it will accomplish the greatest good attainable for the greatest number, though it may not be all the good that might be desired. . . . There can be no difficulty in enacting laws based on sound economical and commercial principles, regulating the immigration of Chinese, and, indeed, all other labor coming into the country, without interfering with that inducement to healthy immigration which Canada so essentially wants ; but this Commission has to deal with the Chinese only, and even though the danger arising from their coming be imaginary (if not questionable), it would be satisfactory that there should be a limited restraint; for their still exists, and will always exist, the objection that there is no homogeneity of race between them and ourselves, nor can they comprehend or assimilate themselves to our institutions. , . . The policy of~ restriction and regulation which the Commissioners report is a policy of judicious selection. Take what is good, reject what is 38 , bad, study the interests of the country, consider its circumstances. There is not in the Province of British Columbia the white labor to do the required work. Yet the work must be done, or the country must stand still. When the white labor is so abundant that there is reasonable fear that the country may be injured by competition, Parliament can legislate, by exclusion or otherwise, to meet the occasion. There is no such fear at present, and the evidence shows that the occasion has not arisen." From the evidence given before the Royal Commission some interesting facts may also be quoted : — Sir Matthew Begbie, Chief Justice of British Columbia, states: "I have never heard of any person, white, black, or yellow, who had labour to sell that was worth buying, who could not in this Province find a ready employer. But in order to get remunerative employment here, or anywhere else in the world, a man must be able to do remunerative work. And the misery is that many men who profess to be willing to turn their hands to anything know nothing to which they can usefully turn their hands. Handicrafts require teaching and practice, but they have never learned. The normal rates of wages are five shillings a day for Chinamen, and in Victoria eight shillings a day for white men. Below that rate no white man, if penniless and hungry, is willing to engage upon any service or work whatever. Skilled artizans, carpenters, masons, blacksmiths, ask from twelve to twenty shillings a day. Board is advertised at sixteen shillings a week, so I suppose eight shillings a day is remunerative. I append a published list of labor, railway rates for whites, issued in the summer of 1884 :— Nanaimo Canadian Pacifie Railway. .Railway. Dollars. Shillings. Dollars. Shillings. Sock Foremen 3 to 4 12 to 16 3 to 4 12 to 16 Earth Foremen 2£ to 3 10 to 12 2J to 3 10 to 12 Bridge Foremen 3£ to 4 14 to 16 3£ to 4 14 to 16 Bridge Carpenters ... 3 12 3 to 3£ 12 to 14 Blacksmiths... 3£ 14 3 to Si 12 to 14 Masons 2i to 3£ 10 to 14 Stonecutters... 3 to 3£ 12 to 14 Drillers 2 to 2H 8 to 10 2 to 2i 8 to 9 Laborers 1| to 2 7 to 8 1| to 2 7 to 8 Hewers 3 12 Si 14 Choppers 1| to 2 7 to 8 2 to 2£ 8 to 10 (Signed) Graham and Busk. (Signed) A. Okdeedonk. 39 It will be well to see what was the result arising from such liberal wages being offered. The fact is that on the 31st December, 1884, the following official notice was given in Victoria City:—" Messrs. Graham and Busk, finding it impossible to secure sufficient white labour to complete their contracts in time, have been reluctantly compelled to arrange with Tai Chong Company for a supply of Chinese labour." Mr. Andrew Onderdonk equally failed to obtain the required supply of white labour, and consequently he took 6000 Chinese into his employ. The Hon. Mr. Justice Crease, of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, also contributed a very valuable mass of evidence to the Royal Commission, from which a few quotations will throw additional light upon the labor question in British Columbia. He says : " The white settlers who first came to this country were very few in number, and had their own work to attend to. Those who followed in the search after gold all wanted to be ' bosses,' and either to be their own masters, or superintendents of other men's work. When the railway office was first opened for white labourers in British Columbia, out of every hundred about eighty wanted to be ' bosses.' . . . The English settlers had all the household occupations to discharge themselves ; chop and cut wood, get water, wash, bake, sew, and rear families, and to discharge all the other onerous and multifarious duties of the household. . . . It is not too much to say that without Chinese servants the privations in family life, extreme and of wearying monotony, would have become intolerable, and a general exodus of families would have been the result. The relief given by Chinese to overworked households, when sorely needed, created a good feeling towards them.- . . . The real fact is, and the more completely it is recognised the better, that we cannot do without a certain number of Chinese for manual labour, and for domestic servants, and that throughout all British Columbia. For any great works too, which have to be carried out— such, for instance, as railways—Chinese labour cannot at present be dispensed with. Good white labour is so far superior to Chinese, that it will of itself, when it can be contented with reasonable prices, as in the East, infallibly work Chinese manual labour out of the field. No reasonable man will employ the labour of a person whose language he can never understand, if he can get even as o^ood service from one who cannot mistake his orders, and can enter into his wishes for the work in hand. But what is as necessary for the white man as for the Chinaman is, that he should be sober, honest, and steady at his work, and exhibit a fair share of all those qualities which go to constitute good labour. . . . The 40 moment an immigrant labourer now touches, British Columbia, he becomes, in his own mind, ' a boss,' and will do as little manual labour as he can help. He can get rich land, and a homestead for a mere nothing, and become a farmer, and in a short time an employer of labour himself, looking out very likely for the first Chinaman that comes along whom he may ' boss.' To the question, can white people find in British Columbia remunerative employment and steady work, and a provision for old age, I answer, yes, most certainly, if they do not want it all at once. That is the trouble. The world, the Columbian world, is for him that can work and wait; and I may add that success requires from him the same kind of qualities as ensure it anywhere else—sobriety, industry, and honesty. Here there are no poor. To men with such qualities success is a mere question of time, especially here. British Columbia, with its opportunities, unrivalled climate, regular succession of seasons, and unlimited resources, is a Paradise for the poor man." It is impossible to produce higher authorities respecting the opportunities which skilled working men have at their command than those from whom I have quoted. Their judicial rank and their lengthened experience entitle their opinions to the deepest respect; and I feel that any original statements of my own are advantageously displaced by the quotations which have been made. These facts are abundantly sufficient to show the varied opportunities which British Columbia offers to good, steady, and competent workmen. The demand for such men is great, and, in the face of the offer of such splendid wages as have been quoted, employers are still reluctantly compelled to employ the Chinese, and they have to give to the Chinese the gold they would far rather hand over to good British workmen. It will be well for the over-crowded working classes in Great Britain to bear these facts in mind, for— " In this fair region far away, Will labour find employment; A fair day's work, a fair day's pay, And toil will earn enjoyment. What need then of this daily strife, Each warring with his brother ; Why need we in the crowd of life Keep trampling down each other ? Oh ! fellow-men, remember then, Whatever chance befall, The world is wide; where those abide, There's room enough for all." 41 LAND REGULATIONS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. For the information of intending settlers, a few words concerning the acquirement of lands in the Provinces of British Columbia may be useful. DOMINION GOVEENMENT EEGULATIONS. Along the Canadian Pacific Railway and within twenty miles on each side of the line is a tract of land known as the Railway Belt, the regulations concerning which differ slightly from those governing other portions of the country. This belt is vested in the Government of the Dominion, as distinguished from the Government of the Province of British Columbia, whose regulations are in force for all other parts. The country is laid out in townships of six miles square, and each of the thirty-six enclosed square miles (called sections, and numbered 1 to 36) is divided into four quarter-sections, containing 160 acres each. These quarter-sections may be purchased at a price now fixed at $2.50 (10s.) per acre, subject to change by order-in-council. They may be " home- steaded " by settlers who intend to reside on them. A registration fee of $10 (£2) is charged at the time of application. Six months is allowed in which to take possession, and at the end of three years if the settler can show to the local agent that he has resided on and cultivated the land during that period, he acquires a patent on payment of $1 per acre for the land, and becomes owner of the homestead in fee simple. In case of illness, or of necessarv absence from the homestead during the three years, .idditional time will be granted to the settler to conform to the Government regulations. These conditions apply to agricultural lands. TIMBER LANDS. The timber lands within the Railway Belt may be acquired from the Dominion Government on payment of an annual fee of $50 (£10), and thirty cents (Is. 3d.) for each tree felled. This refers to the large timber-making trees cut for sale, and not to the smaller deciduous trees that may be required for use. These terms apply to licenses granted for | timber limits " east of the 120° parallel of longitude, all timber west of that to the sea being governed by the regulations of the Provincial Government. Mining and mineral lands within the Railway Belt are disposed of by the Dominion Government on special terms governed by the circumstances of the •case. I 42 PEOVINCIAL GOVERNMENT EEGULATIONS. Crown lands in British Columbia are classified as either surveyed or unsurveyed lands, and may be acquired either by record and pre-emption, or purchase. PRE-EMPTIONS. The following persons may record or pre-empt Crown lands, viz:—Any person being the head of a family, a widow, or a single man over 18 years of age, being a British subject, may record surveyed or unsurveyed Crown lands which are unoccupied, or unreserved, and unrecorded. Aliens may also record such surveyed or unsurveyed lands, on making a declaration of intention to become a British subject. The quantity of land which may be recorded or pre-empted is not to exceed 320 acres northward and eastward of the Cascade or Coast Mountains, or 160 acres in the rest of the Province. No person can hold more than one pre-emption claim at a time. Prior record or pre-emption of one claim, and all rights under it, are forfeited by subsequent record or pre-emption of another claim. Land recorded or pre-empted cannot be transferred or conveyed till after a Crown grant has been issued. Such land, until the Crown grant is issued, is held by occupation. Such occupation must be a bona fide personal residence of the settler or homestead settler, or his family or agent. Indians or Chinese cannot be agents. The settler must enter into occupation of the land within thirty days after recording, and must continue to occupy it. Continuous absence for a longer period than two months consecutively, of the settler or homestead settler, "and his agent or family, is deemed cessation of occupation; but leave of absence may be granted not exceeding four months in any one year, inclusive of the two months' absence. Land is considered abandoned if unoccupied for more than four months in the aggregate in one year, or for more than two months consecutively. If so abandoned, the land becomes waste lands of the Crown, without any cancellation of the record. The fee on recording is two dollars, (8s.) The settler may either have the land surveyed at his own instance (subject to rectification of boundaries) or wait till the Chief Commissioner causes it to be surveyed. 43 After survey has been made, upon proof, by declaration in*- writing, of himself and two other persons, of occupation from date of pre-emption, and of having made permanent improvements on- the land to the value of two dollars and. fifty cents per acre, the- settler, on producing the pre-emption certificate, obtains a certificate of improvement. After obtaining the certificate of improvement and paying for the land, the settler is entitled to a Crown grant in fee simple. He pays five dollars therefor. PAYMENT FOR LAND AND CROWN GRANT. The price of Crown lands, pre-empted, is one dollar per acre,, which must be paid in four equal instalments, as follows—First instalment, two years from date of record or pre-emption, and each other instalment yearly until the full amount is paid, but the last- instalment is not payable till after the survey. The Crown grant excludes gold and silver ore, and reserves to- the Crown a royalty of five cents per ton on every ton of merchantable coal raised or gotten from the land, not including dross or fine slack. No Crown grant can be issued to an alien who may have recorded or pre-empted by virtue of his declaring his intention to- become a British subject, unless he has become naturalized. The heirs or devisees of the homestead settler are, if resident in- the Province, entitled to the Crown grant on his decease. PRE-EMPTIONS FOR PARTNERSHIP PURPOSES. Partners, not exceeding four, may pre-empt, as a firm, 160 acresr west of the Cascades, to each partner, and 320 acres east of the* Cascades, to each partner. Each partner must represent his interest in the firm by actual residence on the land, of himself or agent. But each partner, or his agent, need not reside on his particular pre-emption. The partners, or their agents, may reside together on one homestead, if the homestead be situated on any part of the partnership pre-emption. For obtaining a certificate of improvement, it is sufficient to show that improvements have been made on some portion of the claim, amounting, in the aggregate, to two dollars and fifty cents per acre on the whole land. J 44 MILITARY AND NAVAL SETTLERS. Military and Naval officers, of 7 years' service and upwards, may acquire free grants of land, of from 200 to 600 acres, according to rank, under the " Military and Naval Settlers' Act, 1863." Such grants are confined to the mainland of the Province, east of the "Cascade or Coast Range. The regulations governing this concession are briefly as under. The production to the Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works •of British Columbia, of a certificate from the General Commander in Chief, in England, or the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty sanctioning the settlement of the applicant, who must be either on full or staff pay at the time of settling, or have retired from the service for the purpose of settling in a British Colony. In the case -of the latter an official statement of the date of retirement must be obtained and presented to the Lieut. Governor of the province within one year from such date. Title to grant is issued after 2 years actual residence upon the same. FREE GRANTS FOR IMMIGRATION. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, subject to such provisions and restrictions as he may deem advisable, make special free, or partially free, grants of unoccupied or unappropriated lands, for the encouragement of immigration, or other purposes of public advantage. SALE OF SURVEYED LANDS. Vacant surveyed lands, which are not the sites of towns or the suburbs thereof, and not Indian settlements, may be purchased at the rate of two dollars and fifty cents per acre. Surveyed lands purchased under the provisions of this section must be paid for in full at the time of the purchase thereof. SALE OF UNSURVEYED LANDS. The applicant to purchase unsurveyed Crown lands, after staking, posting, &c, must give two months' notice of his intended application in the 1 Government Gazette," and in any newspaper •circulating in the district where the land is situated. He must also have the land surveyed at his own expense, by a surveyor approved of and acting under the instructions of the Chief Commissioner. The price is two dollars and fifty cents per acre, to be paid as B| 45 follows :—10 per cent, at the time of application, and 90 per cent,, on completion and acceptance of survey. The quantity of land must be not less than 160 acres, nor more- than 640 acres. The purchase must be completed within six months from date of application. WATER RIGHTS. Landholders may divert, for agricultural or other purposes, the required quantity of unrecorded and unappropriated water from the natural channel of any stream, lake, &c, adjacent to or passing- through their land, upon obtaining the written authority of the Commissioner. HOMESTEAD ACT. The farm and buildings, when registered, cannot be taken for debt incurred after the registration; it is free from seizure up to a value not greater than $2,500 (£500 English) ; goods and chattels- are also free up to $500 (£100 English) ; cattle | farmed on shares " are also protected by an Exemption Act. CANADIAN GOVUKNMENT AGENCIES. \ ALL PERSON'S desirous of obtaining information relating to Canada, can make application to the following Agents: IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, 'LONDON The High Commissioner for Canada, 9 Victoria Chambers, London, S.W. Mr. J. Colmer, Secretary, High Commissioner's Office (address as above). Mr. C. CampbeIiIi Chipman, Assistant Secretary and Accountant (address ag above). LIVERPOOL...Mr- John Dyke, 15 Water Street. GLASGOW Mr. Thomas Grahame, 40 St. Enoch Square. BELFAST Mr. Charles Foy, 29 Victoria Place. DUBLIN Mr. Thomas Connolly, Northumberland House. BEISTOL Mr. J. W. Down, Bath Bridge. CANADA. IN THE OLD PROVINCES. QUEBEC Mr. L. L. Stafford, Point Levis, Quebec. TORONTO Mr. J. A. Donaldson, Strachan Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, OTTAWA Mr.. W. J. Wills, Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario. MONTREAL Mr. J. J. Daley, Bonaventure Street, Montreal, Quebec. KINGSTON Mr. R. Macpherson, William Street, Kingston, Ontario. HAMILTON Mr, John Smith, Great Western Railway Station, Hamilton, Ontario. LONDON Mr. A. G. Smyth, London, Ontario. HALIFAX Mr. E, Clay, Halifax, Nova Scotia. ST. JOHN Mr. S. Gardner, St. John, New Brunswick. IN MANITOBA AND THE NORTH WEST. WINNIPEG Mr. W. C. B. Grahame, Winnipeg, Manitoba. EMERSON Mr, J. E. Tetd, Railway Station, Emerson, Manitoba. BRANDON Mr. Thomas Bennett, Office at the Railway Station. PORT ARTHUR Mr. J. M. McGovern. MEDICINE HAT Mr. Morrison Sutherland. CALGARY Mr. Miqdelon. QU'APPELLE .....Mr. A. J. Baker. IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. VICTORIA Mr. John Jessop. NEW WESTMINSTER...Mr.. H. B. W. Aikman. Later Catalogued Prices "Provincial Government of British Columbia. AGENCIES IN EUROPE. 'LONDON Mr. H. C. Beeton, Agent-General for the Province, 33 Finsbury Circus. EDINBURGH...Mr. C. S. Jones, 34 Mayfield Road, Newington. PARIS Mr. J. S. K. de Knevett, IV Boulevard de la Madeleine. IN CANADA. TORONTO Mr. George Faulkner. WINNIPEG Mr. S. G. Rowbothom. NEW WESTMINSTER...Mr. John Sprott BY THE SAME AUTHOR. For very Elementary Learners. Reading Book for First Stage. The Alphabet of the Principles of Agriculture. 8vo. 6d. Beading Book for Second Stage. Further Steps in the Principles of Agriculture. 8vo. Is. Reading Book for Third Stage. Elementary Readings on the Principles of Agriculture. 8vo. Is. For use in Science Glasses. First Principles of Agriculture. Fourth Edition. 18mo. Is. Elementary Lessons on the Science of Agricultural Practice- Third Edition. Fcap. 8vo. 3s. 6d. For Prizes and General Readixgs. The Abhott's Farm ; or, Practice with Science. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. MACMILLAN AND CO., LONDON. BY THE SAME AUTHOR. For Prizes and General Readings. Jack's Education; or, How he learnt Farming. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. Holt Castle; or, The Threefold Interest in the Land. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. CHAPMAN AND HALL, LONDON. k
Different edition than that listed in Lowther & Laing (1968). Other Copies: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/15521780
Pamphlets
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Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. F5803.12 .T26
British Columbia--Economic conditions
Economic history
British Columbia, its agricultural and commercial capabilities, and the advantages it offers for emigration purposes
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