CONTENTdm
British Columbia Historical Books Collection
Flumerfelt, A. C. (Alfred Cornelius), 1856-1930
Gosnell, R. E. (R. Edward), 1860-1931
Robertson, W. J.
Joseph, A. Pinto
Maclellan, W. E.
Deacon, C. F.
Robertson, J. R.
"Includes R.E. Gosnell's prize-winning essay on immigration to British Columbia, with mention of the Oriental question."-- Edwards, M. H., Lort, J. C. R., & Carmichael, W. J. (1975). A bibliography of British Columbia: Years of growth, 1900-1950. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, p. 111.
79 pages : tables ; 22 cm
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Immigration as Affecting Canada and her Constituent Provinces WITH THE COMPLIMENTS OF A. C. FLUMERFELT The writer of the letter appended below has pleasure in presenting to the public the prize essays in competition instituted. The various papers received were submitted to the following gentlemen, who consented to act as a committee, and the winning papers are subjoined in extenso: Professor Alexander, of Toronto University. Dr. Porter, Dr. C. E. Moyse and Mr. Fryer of McGill University. Dr. H. S. Brydges of St. John, N. B. Dr. H. M. Tory, President of the University of Alberta. Capt. Clive Phillipps-Wolley, Col. F. B. Gregory and Mr. David Wilson— Superintendent for Schools for British Columbia. Victoria, B. C, 5th February, 1908. Sir,—For some years an almost consuming desire has possessed me to make known to the world the practically unlimited natural wealth of the Province of British Columbia, to aid in its development by the up-building of its industries and the increase of its population. This desire was demonstrated—during the last eighteen months—by the offer of a series of prizes for the best papers submitted on specified subjects directly relating to this province, and all more or less bearing upon and interlaced with labor conditions. Numbers of these essays and papers appeared in the daily press and several were published in pamphlet form. As great interest was evinced in the statistical matter contained in such publications, I thought it worth the trouble and expense of issuing 10,000 copies of a small booklet, containing the prize- winning essays. These were and are being distributed throughout the English- speaking world by post, to every member of the Dominion Senate, House of Commons, and the Provincial legislatures; also to some 1,200 newspapers and 2,000 banks, Australia and England—as well as the United States—receiving their quota through a very extensive, carefully prepared mailing list. Owing to many recent deplorable disturbances my plan has become enlarged, and for the purpose of attracting thoughtful minds and eliciting the best ideas, I propound questions as below, offering several prizes for the best answers on what appears to me to be the most important subject of the age, one which tremendously affects this province, is of vital and paramount importance to the Dominion and—if indications are to be relied upon—must soon become the most momentous problem to be dealt with by the Imperial Government, viz.: IMMIGRATION. The insistent demands and the gravity of the situation render it imperative that party politics should be forgotten; that differences of opinion be laid aside and the best brain of ail classes in our great Empire turned toward the solution. We should think strongly and with deliberation, not only provincially but nationally, indeed internationally, and in doing so, should take proper thought for the future as well as of the present. Then, with thought controlled, we should attempt fearlessly, resting in absolute confidence that our destiny is assured. It is fair to assume no thinking Canadian between the Atlantic and the Pacific would for one moment entertain an idea—or permit any public feeling to be created—which would tend to weaken the bond of sympathy existing 1 between Canada and the Mother Country. Then, it may be asked, what shall Canada do? What position shall we take? In considering this question, due regard must be had of the presently existing markets to which Canada has access, and the significant fact that our per capita exportation is greater than any nation in the world and that we now stand third among the peoples of the earth, in the total of our per capita trade; also that Great Britain is our largest customer. Attentive respect should also be given to the fact that a very large percentage of our exports are in a raw state, and as our manufactures increase wider markets must be found if our industries are to be prosperous. Where are such trade outlets to be had, and can we depend upon holding those markets which are now absorbing a great proportion of our exports? One would be safe in the assertion that if Canada is to become a great nation, addition to her population is the first requisite, in order that the arable lands now lying idle may be successfully and profitably tilled; that our virgin forests, the largest in the world, may be put to commercial uses; that our manufacturing plants may be increased; that the wealth of our mines—both metalliferous and coal—may be successfully exploited; and further, that we may have regular and continuous development and expansion now possible, hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of men will be necessary. The usual ordinary demands of such added population would certainly necessitate increases in all branches of industry. These are a few—only—of the thoughts that come to one's mind in considering this great issue. Incoming numbers of people from foreign shores change the* national and racial ideals and—in the process of amalgamation—notions, character and habits gradually alter. It may be accepted as a fact that the natural resources of any country are the foundation of industrial development and national commerce; and it must follow as a logical sequence that the people engaged • in the. development of such resources are of material importance, and it may be stated as a truth that the character of any people clearly represents or reflects the greatness of any country; it is therefore fundamental that only such augmentation of our population be secured or permitted as will tend, to build up this imost valuable asset of the country, viz.: CHARACTER. Doubtless Governments and political men will be made or defeated by reason of the attitude assumed in respect of immigration; efforts hitherto put forth from time to time, and more or less successful, have been criticised and perhaps publicly condemned because of the class of persons brought into this country under one or another policy. In approaching, this greatest of national questions, the first thought that presents itself is the diversity of our requirements. For example, it is obvious that the labor necessary to properly develop the province of British Columbia would be more or less unsuitable for the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Going further east, not only do agriculture and fruit-growing employ a great deal of labor and contribute largely to the national wealth, but in the centres of population in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec are to be found many of our larger manufacturing industries, and artisans and labor of other classes are therefore demanded; in the Maritime provinces still other conditions obtain; consequently governments, statesmen and political economists throughout Canada may and should address themselves with profit to this all-important subject. Where are we to secure the expected' and necessary population? Can such • additions be taken—or brought—from the English-speaking peoples? If so, what proportion can these people contribute? I will offer prizes to the value of $350 (Three hundred and fifty dollars), divided as follows: m For the best essay on the questions propounded below, viz.: A B and C, relating to: The province of British Columbia $50.00 The provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba 50.00 The provinces of Ontario and Quebec 50.00 and The provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island 50.00 A. Enumerate the nationalities and also give number of languages spoken in the provinces written upon: B. Outline the requirements of such provinces to ensure continuous, reasonably rapid development and with harmony: C. State the countries from which immigration should be drawn and the best method of attracting and successfully inducing such immigration to the provinces in question, having due regard to existing trade conditions. For the most. exhaustive, lucid essay on the questions as below, viz., D, E and F, respecting Canada as a whole, I will offer a First prize of $100.00 Second prize of * 50.00 D. Enumerate the nationalities now resident in Canada; also give number of languages spoken: E. Outline the requirements necessary to insure continuous, reasonably rapid development and with industrial harmony: F. State from what countries immigration should be drawn and the best method of attracting and successfully inducing such immigration to Canada, having due regard to existing trade conditions. The prizes, at the option of each winner, may be taken in money, a piece of silver suitably engraved, or presented to any of the public charities. The competition is to close on the 1st of May next, and letters should be addressed to IMMIGRATION, P. O. Drawer 690, Victoria, B. C, the same not to be opened except by committee, are unlimited as to length, but must be signed or accompanied by the card of the writer, with memo, on the face of the envelope, indicating Jthe contents of the enclosure. "Well-known political economists and educationalists of Canada will be requested to judge and award, the prizes for these essays, my intention being to publish them in pamphlet form and distribute broadcast, in the hope that such distribution will afford to the several provinces information respecting each other. Would that I had the power to compel all interested in mining or timber, professional men and manufacturers, agriculturists and cattle men, financial and business men, labor men and capitalists, young and old, men and women, to consecrate themselves to the cause of Canada in the truest and highest sense, which—in my humble opinon—lies in creating and fostering a development by wisely using our natural resources and judiciously seeking additions to our population, thereby ensuring a further advancement toward freedom, justice, popular education, a strong, well-defined British-Canadian sentiment; thus shall we become a more united, happier, contented people, with a general regard for life, health, peace, individual well-being and national prosperity. ' A. C. FL.UMERFELT. British Columbia R. E. GOSNELL, Victoria, B. C. What Immigration Means. The immigration problem, under modern conditions, really involves several questions usually regarded as distinct. Formerly it meant simply getting population from outside sources. To get population and successfully settle up British Columbia now means a number of things that have not heretofore popularly come under the head of immigration at all. With an immense area of compact, arable land in the Middle West of Canada, all ready for the plough, the immigration policy of the Dominion Government for some years past has. been to "advertise, advertise, advertise" with free land to the settler as an inducement. The people of the country do the rest. It is a comparatively simple proposition, and at the most is a matter of methods of advertising in which the Department of Immigration has been singularly successful. The C. P. R., the other great factor in filling up the prairie country, with two objects in view, the creation of traffic and the selling of the Company's lands, has also pursued a vigorous policy of advertising with extraordinary results. Special Conditions in B. C. Too many people are inclined to apply the moral to British Columbia, without . taking into consideration the marked difference in conditions which exist in that Province. To such an extent is this true that wholesale and ' indiscriminate advertising without reference to the fate of the immigrant after his arrival would be disastrous alike to the immigrant and the Province. Population is wanted and is highly desirable, but in an entirely different way and of a different character as compared with the Middle West. These are general propositions which it is hoped will be clearly demonstrated in what follows. Assuming, as Hon. Clifford Sifton does in a recent speech in the House of Commons, that the immigration policy pursued by the Dominion Government is the best for the portion of Canada which it is principally intended to benefit, we must consider carefully the respects in which it is not applicable to British Columbia, and the reasons therefor. Dealing solely with conditions in British Columbia, as already stated an immigration policy involves four or five closely related and interdependent subjects. They are: Related Subjects. Land, Labour, Transportation and communication, Mode of settlement, And, last of all, advertising, or to use the better and more modern ex- . pression, publicity. Land. Land being the basis of production, the question of available supply and facilities of acquirement are of the first consideration. Labour. Next comes the supply of labour, whether of the owner's own family or purchased, the rate of wage, and the conditions of employment. Land without an ample and profitable supply of labour is, I was going to say, useless. Transportation. Bound up with the utilization of. land to the best advantage is the question of transportation and communication. Both of these mean the same thing in practice, but by transportation I refer particularly to railway and steamship facilities; and by communication to the ordinary highways or country roads and bridges. It is axiomatic that success in farming nowadays depends upon easy and quick communication for various purposes; but particularly if we raise farm products we must be able to market them within a time and at a rate which will permit of profit. , Conditions of Settlement. Dealing with considerable tracts of arable land, whether in public or private hands, the conditions of settlement are of prime importance. These involve many considerations with which it is the intention to deal in detail. Publicity. The last of our subjects under the head of an immigration policy is that of advertising, or publicity,—that Is, bringing to the notice of people of other countries and other parts of the Dominion, to whom we wish to appeal, what we have to offer for their consideration as settlers and investors. The extent and character of our advertising bear an intimate relation to all that has gone before, and should be in exact and definite conformity with the same. The Field Covered. The conditions of this competition seem to cover, in addition to immigration pure and simple, the entire industrial and commercial field, or, in other words, the development of the Province as a whole; but industry and commerce grow naturally out of population and are more or less directly proportioned thereto, and, therefore, I have chosen to deal with them as a secondary and sequential phase of my subject. The settlement of the land, while not so absolutely, in British Columbia, the basis of development as in some of the other provinces, may nevertheless be regarded as a fundamental idea, the substratum of permanent progress. Foundation Mistakes. Before considering the heads I have outlined in their order, I may say that British Columbia, perhaps like the older -provinces, made mis-, takes of public policy, but even more egregious mistakes than they. This we all realize now. It was the -result in a great measure of financial necessities, the continual want of money for public purposes and, in part, the result of inexperience, or, perhaps, the lack of foresight. Much of the public domain, including valuable natural assets, were parted with without restriction or reserve and for paltry returns. There was no guiding, comprehensive policy established and pursued, and development followed in the wake of the speculative tendencies of the population. This was not wholly evil, because unexpected results followed from the enterprise of the host of "trail blazers,"—prospectors and adventurers,—and opened up much country and many new possibilities. We have often reaped what' was not-intended to be sown and we sometimes builded better than we knew; but it was enterprise on the whole, unguided and haphazard, that left many failures. Where it succeeded it was largely gamblers' luck. Out of such conditions, of course, the British Empire has beeto evolved. Still, a better way in British Columbia might have been found if pioneer governments had sat down, and thought seriously of the future. What might have begun to be done, for instance, at the outset, and followed up, will perhaps serve to illustrate the policy 1 would now emphasize for present consideration. 'Pioneer Problems. Sir James Douglas when he assumed the government of the mainland of British Columbia realized the gigantic task that was laid upon hjs shoulders. As an old Hudson's Bay Co. official he knew the country and its requirements, and he constantly pressed upon the Home authorities the necessity for money being advanced to open it up in various ways, to build roads, to assist navigation, and so on; but the invariable reply was that a country of so much reputed wealth must act upon its own resources, which it has had to do in the face of manifestly great physical obstacles. In many ways the policy of the Imperial Government at the time was a wise one, as liberal advances of money, even though apparently so much required, would have led to lavish and much useless expenditure, as the sequel of events tops to show, and would not have fostered a spirit of self-reliance so essential to the ultimate success of any young country. The instructions sent out to the Governor in respect to the administration of public lands and public administration were models of constructive policy, reflecting wisdom and statesmanship on the part of men like Labouchere and Lytton, amounting almost to genius; but, on the other hand, the withholding of the support asked for left the colony in A Starved Colony. financial straits, and for years it was a hand-to-mouth policy of raising money to meet the ever-pressing needs of the treasury. Owing, as I have already intimated, to the physical conformation—rugged and mountainous—- and the isolated position, of British Columbia, the problem of development and the creation of public works of all kinds was a peculiarly difficult and costly one. In only one year until 1904 was there a surplus in the treasury, and that quite insignificant. As a consequence, lands in large or small quantities, timber and mines went as speculative demand arose, to feed a starving exchequer, practically without conditions, restrictions, or plan. Water rights were parted with as applied for. The province had to sell its capital at any terms and grew steadily in debt. Roads and trails were built to suit the real or fancied inconvenience of settler or mine owners or townsites scattered here and there over a wide area, without reference to a system or to future requirements of the whole country to be served. Some Results. Every man who did not have a road to his establishment had a grievance and votes were scarce and valuable. Settlers and speculators took up land and timber without their being surveyed and cruised, where and how practically as they pleased. Settlements as a consequence became irregular, scattered and widespread, creating a great public burden of roading, schooling, policing and administering generally, conformable with the area ' and nature of the country to be governed. What might have been done had not necessity been in the seat and driven so hard is interesting to dwell upon. A Policy de novo In the light which time has shed on the situation,—and we are all wise after the event,—had I been dictating the policy of the country and had to begin de novo, I should have attempted by a comprehensive and systematic series of regulations to have concentrated settlement to a few main bases and compelled it to radiate from these centres as development in a natural way warranted. The principal nuclei of farming population were, as to-day, the Southern End of Vancouver Island, Westminster District in the Lower Mainland, along the line of the Cariboo road and in the Okanagan Valleys. There were other valleys, in the Thompson River, Nicola, Similkameen, Kettle River and in East Kootenay, which would have had consideration as the circumstances warranted. Blocking Out Lands. The results desired would have been accomplished by reserving all lands from settlement until surveyed and fully reported upon; then dividing up in a way to utilize the whole to the best advantage, and opening to settle ment on conditions of use and occupation at prices varying from $1 to $5 per acre. In a country with very limited agricultural land, holdings are a valuable asset, and the free grant policy would have been a mistake. The selling of land indiscriminately at $1 per acre was a still greater mistake, and one from which the province has suffered greatly and is still suffering. No further land under this policy would have been opened up until the available surveyed districts were filed upon. Concentrating Settlement. The roading, schooling' and administration of these districts would have been a definite and comparatively inexpensive process and would have supplied more efficiently the requirements of the population. The sequestration of settlers, one of the evils of pioneer life in British Columbia, would have been avoided. Man is essentially a gregarious animal and is much more happy and contented in communities than in a condition of isolation. The love of companionship is one of the main reasons for city life being preferred to country life. Mark the contentment of the French-Canadians in Quebec in their long close line of residences, humble though they be, along the course of a river, or the cohesion of the Mormons in their clustered communities in Utah. Cost of Unduly "Spreading Out." The financial results to the government would also have been many times greater in proportion to the expenditure involved. The desire to "spread out" unduly is one of the tendencies of the West, increasing the cost of administration in inverse ratio, a fact which has led to the piling up, in towns and cities, for instance, of municipal debts quite out of keeping with the population. The quesiton in a nutshejl is that the expense of gov- i ernment is not nearly so great for a large population in a limited area as for a small population spread over a large area; and administrative results are more satisfactory in a far higher degree. Connecting Settlements. The connecting of these various districts widely detached as they are, would then have been brought about by lines of communication, main truck roads at first, and where feasible, railways afterwards. A similar policy would have been followed with respect to timber. All timber would have been reserved, and no timber berths in any way disposed of until properly surveyed and cruised, and .then only with a view to commercial requirements. The govern- " ment itself should be in a position to know the extent and value of the timber in every section open to the public, and then to secure the current market value of it by public competition. Needless to say one of the first A Timber Policy. requisites of - a sound timber policy would have been to promulgate and enforce forestry regulations for the protection of standing timber against fires, of preventing, by scientific methods of logging, reckless waste of timber by lumber men, and making provision for the reforestation of lands not useful for agricultural purposes when logged off. With the restriction of the licensed limits to an area representing actual commercial requirements of bona fide mill owners and operators, the carrying out of a policy of conservation and reforestation would have been a much simpler matter than it is at present. Substantial inducements in the way of rebates or bonuses to lumbermen to co-operate with the government with these ends in view would have been offered, and, of course, logging operations would have come under direct government supervision and control. Reversion of Timber Lands.' Land logged off, suitable for cultivation, would have reverted year by year to the government for pre-emp- iton, and with this in view lumbermen would have been required to clear off such land en bloc as they went along. A good deal of the heavier timber lands are the most productive, and methods of governmental assistance in clearing such lands, to be fully considered later, never have been adopted. Water Rights. Water rights, which are of the utmost importance in the dry belts of the interior, would have been restricted to actual requirements of the settler and during use only. Mining Regulations. When we come to mining, it is more difficult to apply the principles of regulation in the same way, as the prospector is headlong in this pursuit and cannot be controlled. In fact, it is not desirable that he should be; but in some measure mining development can be made subject to them. Mining excitements are often, most often, ephemeral in their nature. Under stress of these temporary excitements the government has frequently been led to the expenditure of large sums of money for roads and trails and schools and public buildings, only to find the expenditure useless owing to the total or partial abandonment of the camp for other and greener fields afar. Sue- • cess of a lode mining camp, especially, depends upon means of transportation cheap enough to make mining pay, and when there are no immediate prospects of this by rail or water, the government should pursue a conservative policy. The prospector should be encouraged, but not to go so far afield as to incur a heavy liability on the government to keep up with him under all circumstances. Staking and Crown-Granting. Two things especially would have been avoided in the system proposed: one is the staking of claims upon which there is little or no mineral indications and another is the Crown-Granting of Claims upon the formal compliance with provision as to development work amounting to $100 per year for five years, or paying the equivalent in cash. As a result thousands upon thousands of claims have been alienated from the Crown, depending upon chance circumstances as to their future. Of course, through taxation, many, probably the majority, will ultimately revert to the Crown, but the principle is wrong. No man should be allowed to stake a claim without satisfying a duly appointed officer of the government that it contains well-defined mineral indications, and, if indeed the license system should not be substituted for absolute ownership, Crown grants at least should not issue except on a much more substantial basis of actual development and upon development only. A special report upon each newly Governmental Reports. discovered mining' camp should be made by an expert by the government, who should report upon not only the formation and mineral indications, but the conditions which affect the economic working and the commercial prospects. It is through the lack of detailed and expert information that the most of the. mistakes are made by government. In the majority of instances, public enterprises have been undertaken as the result of local agitation or representation by political representatives for political effect rather than the public weal. Minute and Accurate Information. The crucial thing, however, is that in regard to lands and timber the government should have the most minute and accurate information of every section for which application is made, not only as to location and boundaries, but in respect to the nature of the soil, the amount and character of the timber, the facilities for acquiring water, liability to overflow, general adaptability, etc., etc. In every case the land should be surveyed, and for settlement purposes, in addition to being surveyed, so subdivided as to utilize the whole area, good, bad and indifferent, to best advantage. In British Columbia the arable land is so irregular in its conformation, so affected by mountains, streams, rivers, lakes and rock, that its division into mathematical sections so as to give each settler fairly similar treatment is quite out of the question. Heretofore very little of the public lands has been surveyed before being taken up, and applicants have picked out their own holdings, fixing its boundaries so as to include the best land available. Land, where it is so limited and where conditions are so favourable to the success of farming on the small holding principle, should be subdivided with a view to Subdivision With Small Holdings. •utilizing it all, and also with a view to adaptability, whether as to dairy- i n g, fruit-growing, sheep-raising, poultry-breeding, cereal or vegetable crops, and a practical agricultural expert is a much better judge of that than the ordinary settler. It should not be for the settler, but the government, either de- partmentally or through a board of land commissioners, to plot the available land according to the plan outlined, and laying the map before the settler say, "This is what we have. Take anything that suits you." The man looking for a poultry ranch, or a fruit farm, or a dairy farm, or what not, would choose according to his tastes or requirements. Prices would vary according to conditions and productive value of the land. Purchasers of real estate, for example, acquire not always what they want, but what comes nearest to their ideas and what i% available, and are satisfied. Colonization by Companies. I have been dealing with government lands under direct governmental direction. It often happens, however, that subsidiary companies of a private nature are more successful in handling public or other lands in large areas than a department of the government, for the reason that they put more enterprise and push into their work, and are less hampered by rules and regulations in dealing with settlers.. In British Columbia the opportunities in this direction are greater than in some of the other provinces, more especially as so much of the public domain fit for settlement is already in the hands of private holders. Later on, I propose to show in a concrete way how railway companies may combine transportation with settlement duties, with obvious public benefit. It is always a question of conditions and terms upon which land and railway concessions are parted with as to whether they are good policy or not. Most colonization companies of whatever nature have been failures, and largely because it is found difficult to enforce the terms; but it is a mistake to suppose that such things must necessarily be bad in principle and, therefore, in all circumstances, to be avoid - Terms—Not Price—Material. ed. I have endeavoured to show elsewhere that the price of land is after all not so material as the terms upon which it is obtained by the settler, and its adaptability for the purpose for which it is required. We find persons coming from the Northwest to British Columbia and paying as high as $200 and $250 an acre for land for certain purposes because it suits them, and they can make a good dividend on the investment, whereas $10 or $15 per "acre might be a very high pri^e for good land in the vicinity from which they came. For the ordinary settler, the terms and conditions are far more important than the price. If he has to pay nearly all his available capital for the land, with interest on deferred payments, has to make all his improvements, and wait for three or four years for returns, he is badly handicapped and may prefer, or be forced, to give up before his land becomes reproductive. Or he might even get his land for next to nothing in a poor locality, and spend all his energies and time in bringing it into cultivation. In such circumstances and in other circumstances that might be alluded to, it would pay much better to pay three or four or five times the amount on easy terms for land that at once can be made available for cropping and in a favourable location for Company Intervention Desirable marketing produce. The intervention of a company with capital for the betterment of the land, having in view the selling of holdings to settlers at a profit, in very many cases would be an absolute public benefit. Unless the government wer* to enter upon a policy of expropriation and improvement on its own account, such as was contemplated under the Small Holdings Bill, a copy of which is appended, it cannot do for the settler what the private company can do for him. Of course, where companies are dealing with private lands, in this way, as they are doing in Okanagan, and elsewhere in the province, they exact the highest price which the settler will pay, but in the case of lands which might be secured from the government for purposes of colonization there should naturally be a stipulation as to price, though that would vary according to the extent of improvements necessary to be undertaken before placing the land on the market. LABOUR. One of the most serious industrial problems of the present day in British Columbia arises out of the demand for and conditions of labour. There was a time when labour was satisfied with the day's wage offered, whereby a living of some kind was assured. Capital as represented by the employer was Genesis of Labour Unions. then supreme in authority, and labour troubles, except in cases of actual distress, during periods of severe depression, were the exception. It took the form, as it almost invariably did, of riotous protest of the animal against lack of food, or of the animal goaded to desperation by unjust and harsh treatment. Education of the masses, however, led to two things, organization for protective purposes, and the realization of inequalities existing as between the man who laboured and the man who bought his labour, and the creation of desires and ambitions of betterment natural to awakened intelligence. Later on, this developed into types and degrees of socialism which is now spreading rapidly among all labouring classes. Even the labour unions which do not formally espouse the cause, hold theories not far removed, except in name, from socialism itself. The propaganda is a most active and aggressive one and has taken a hold that threatens our present system, and whether we like it or not, we have to face it. Everything we have in view with reference to the development of the country on established lines depends upon a check being given to this tendency and it cannot be done by ignoring it but by countering it. An available supply of labour is the very essence, of success of all Why Socialism Is a Danger. industrial plans. The danger of socialism is not that the promoters are not sincere and honest in their views, but that they are. It is a danger arising out of a plausible and specious theory of social organization appealing to a vast number of persons who are carried away by what it promises but who do not realize what it means in practice. Like almost every other doctrine, political, religious, social or moral, it contains a large element of truth. Many of the axioms upon which it is founded are sound and incontrovertible; but j carried into effect without reference to the practical conditions which do and must obtain in a world of good, bad and indifferent people would land society in a state I>f hopeless confusion. Even, however, if society could be organized so as to work in conformity with the system of socialism without breaking down, existence would become stale and unprofitable, the stimulus to exertion would be gone' and the world would revert to a minimum of production and effort. Private Ownership the Basis of Society. It is not the intention to write an essay on the subject of socialism but to draw attention to the basic fact that the sense of ownership and proprietary interests which is innate in every humane being from cradle to old age must be the key-note of all true progress. It is the primal instinct of the infant whose first act of conscious effort is to claim something as its own. It is the proper direction of that instinct which will lead to the highest human results, not its repression through a system of nationalized utilities whereby the energies of the individual are absorbed in an atmosphere of public ownership and personality is eliminated as a living entity - and a distinct force. It means logically carried out, the reduction of humanity to a uniform, inert mass by a system more tyrannical and inelastic than anything the world has ever seen —universal slavery under a soulless, heartless, national code against which individual resistance would be futile. The labour problem depends, therefore, upon another and a rational solution whereby capital must co-operate with the labourer so as to satisfy the natural and universal desire for some proprietary interest in the product of Applying Co-operation. his labour and the easing of conditions against which labour unionism was primarily a protest. I do not intend to put forward universal co-operation ' in which I believe, as a practical solution of all labour troubles, in its ideal form, because the world and especially new countries are not ready for it. We have not yet reached the stage at which the capitalist is willing to part with any vestige of interest or right of control in his property, or the labourer to risk his labour against returns instead of the full wage at current rates and hours of labour. Tendencies of late have rather been in an opposite direction. At present labour and capital are arrayed in hostile camps, neither willing to make the slightest concession except under pressure of necessity. Both are equally selfish and tyrannical where opportunity offers. Such an attitude is productive in a greater degree, than any other cause, of the socialistic sentiment that promises to wreck our industrial system in its progress. On account of this condition of affairs the United States is dangerously near a crisis, which requires only another era of depression and an army of unemployed to precipitate. Making Labour a Partner of Capital and Not Its Slave It is not the theory as a whole that I would urge, but its recognition as far as possible in new enterprises. I believe in the possibility of labour, in a limited sense, becoming a partner or shareholder in all enterprises of whatever nature whose maximum returns or dividends would depend upon its industry, its intelligence, its skill and its loyalty to the business interests with which it was associated. Under such a system of mutual ownership and effort strikes would be eliminated and walking bosses turned adrift. Arbitrary short-hour days would no longer prove a stumbling-block. Business would be regulated by the circumstances and conditions peculiar tb each, self-interest impelling the best/efforts of all. Drones in the labour camp instead of being protected would be drummed out as incubi on the productive capacity of the community. Managers would not exact the last drop of sweat from their employees, and employees would not withhold the full extent of their usefulness. Eliminating the Man of Small Means. Under modern conditions the small man is being forced out of business and all but the small capitalistic communities are being gradually reduced to the capacity of wage earners. On the basis of promotion they still remain wage earners except in a comparatively few instances in which their salary will permit of investments in the shares of their company. Out of ten thousand Carnegies starting in life as Carnegie did, ten might some day become iron masters as he did. This condition of affairs has led the average man to conclude that the entire system is wrong, though the necessity of living compells him to submit, and he slips by a quite natural process into the socialistic trend of thought, which under organization becomes aggressive and powerful. With modern facilities for production, including machinery, Outcome of Modern Development. railways, steamship lines, telegraphs and large aggregations of working capital it is quite impossible for the small man to compete. It is not a fundamental evil of our industrial system which produces this result, but the natural outcome of progress and' the utilization of new or latent forces. The remedy lies in the recognition of the individual proprietary interests of every man, the permission to become a shareholder and owner, however small, in the business created by the labour of individuals as well as by the enterprise, business acumen and energy of the management. Such a system recognizes the undoubtedly sound and just principle that the labourer is—not so much worthy of his hire—as entitled to a full share of what his labour produces, and the manager and foreman and all down to the junior workmen are placed on a plane of equal opportunity—two of the cardinal principles of labour doctrine. I have The "Thin Edge of the Wedge" elaborated this argument not to advocate the system for present adoption, on account of reasons already stated, but to illustrate why I would insert the thin edge of the wedge in some of the ways I shall illustrate. I realize that we should not attempt the impracticable. I have been discussing a theoretical idea which to some extent may be attained in the future. I append an article from the "Mining Record" as a further illustration of its practical application to at least one industry. We must now consider for ordinary purposes of farming and settlement and large new industries the source of labour supply, now very serious, and the conditions under which, in J my opinion, it may be best obtained. A Practical Application of the Principle. Take, for instance, the case of a company having a tract of land which it wishes to subdivide and settle. One inducement it could offer would be the opportunity of a settler securing a small piece of land to be paid for out of a portion of his earnings as a labourer. On such estates there is a large amount of improvement required preliminary to subdivision—in clearing, draining, irrigation, fencing and the like according to requirements. After subdivision and sale there is still much labour required at certain seasons of the year, so that while not engaged on his holdings the labourer has the opportunity to earn money. He has his wife and family to assist, whereby the nucleus of a permanent labour supply is established, each colony being more or less self-supporting in this way. Some of the labour in the first instance would be local but only in a limited sense, as experience proves it would have to be imported-under some system. While in England, I prepared a memorandum based on a suggestion of the formation of Emigration Clubs which will illustrate one possible method. I append the same in outline. But dealing with the general question of the supply of farm labour, a very difficult ''one indeed, the supply The Sources of Supply. should come as far as possible from the north countries from people allied to our own race, broadly of Scandinavian stocks. There are practical ob- staMes, as is well known, against expfoiting in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Norway, Sweden or Denmark, and those who have come from those countries must be attracted by the success of their fellows already in the field, and under favorable conditions of settlement and industry the number of these would substantially increase. But the widest and best field, in some respects at least, is Great Britain itself. Here, however, it is necessary to qualify conclusions arrived at offhand by a knowledge of existing conditions there. Farm labourers are very scarce in the Old Country and are becoming scarcer, so that we must despair of getting experienced farm hands to any appreciable extent. Further, taking into consideration that these men would have to travel from three to four thousand miles through Canada before reaching British Columbia, and at many points are apt to be inveigled, I was going to say, into employment en route, only a small percentage is likely to arrive at their intended destination. We must after all come to a class in the cities with which the Salvation Army, in a very practical way, is dealing. Here various considerations arise and these have been much discussed. We are naturally afraid of "undesirables" in the army^of the unemployed, and the question is not without its difficulties; but it must be a selective process, and the consensus of opinion is that the Salvation Army is best qualified to select. In this connection, however, it must not be forgotten that in London, for instance, Work of the Salvation Army. there are a large number of stablemen, drivers of all kinds, hotel porters, etc., an intelligent class of men as a rule, who are used to manual labour and could easily adapt themselves to Canadian life. Many of these • have a few pounds saved up and would not be entirely dependent upon organized assistance. In addition to that, many of the employed and unemployed have drifted to the cities from the country and it would only be a matter of a short time in which they would re-adjust themselves to former conditions. But the Salvation Army to be entirely successful must supplement their present efforts in another direction; How It Should Be Supplemented. Many of their immigrants are inexperienced in farm life and however willing to work will be unsatisfactory to their employers and themselves become dissatisfied. The City of London has many attractions even for the very poor, and they will miss it as a child misses home. There is nothing which the average Canadian farmer dislikes so much as to bother with recruits. If he requires help he looks for persons whom he does not have to train. For experienced hands he is willing to pay the current wages rather than take others even for their board or with a bonus added. It is in the busy seasons he requires the help most and he naturally looks for results from those, whom he employs. To obviate this difficulty, which will always exist, the Salvation Army should secure farms of their own on Vancouver Island, on the lower Mainland and in the Interior, upon which to give preliminary training for six months or a year under the guidance of a practical foreman. The Army would then be in a position to recommend a certain number of persons each year to take their places on the farm. These training farms with a supply of unpaid apprentices could be made not only self-sustaining but profitable. Alien Labour. Now we may fairly consider the question of the immigration and employment of alien labour. By this term I do not intend to include people from the United States, or the northern countries of Europe, more or less allied to our own race by common descent and by characteristics similar to our own; but to the large class of immigrants included among Chinese, Japanese, Hindus, the people of the southern races of Europe, and those which are openly classified as "undesirables," of whatever nationality -other than our own and those of Teutonic stock. The greater number of these as settlers in any considerable numbers, even though they may satisfactorily satisfy the requirements of the labour market for the time being, are decidedly opposed to the best interests of the country. I mean by settlers, those who come, in whatever capacity, with a view of remaining permanently and becoming subjects and intermingling socially with our own people. The Oriental question is now very acute in the Province, and. the Federal and Imperial Governments are not likely to encourage immigration of Oriental origin, and, indeed, may be trusted to place what obstacles are fairly possible in its way, consistent with the wider international considerations which are involved. The Chinese are already debarred by a $500 capitation tax, and the immigration of Japanese for the nonce may be regarded as effectually stayed. So far as Hindus are concerned, inasmuch as they are British subjects, the problem is a delicate one, considering more particularly the state of unrest The Hindus. which exists in India, where measures of restriction among the educated classes cannot but be viewed in a light unfavourable to British domination. It is a country in which the British population as an insignificant minority, represents the governing class, while the millions of natives are the masses governed. Diplomacy, however, is likely fo be successful in averting what threatened to be an invasion. In a word, the country is not suited to the Hindus and the Hindus, in many important respects, are un- suited to the country. In a period of great industrial activity such as has existed for the past few years, they might find temporary employment at remunerative wages, as a few in the country actually did. The inducement of high wages actually brought about the large influx of this last year, but the temporary depression following on the financial crisis, the overproduction in lumber, and the fall in tl.e price of copper almost suddenly reversed the conditions and hundreds of white labourers were thrown out of employment. Proper representations in the right quarter will no doubt succeed in convincing' the Hindus themselves that British Columbia is an unsuitable country for them, though on general principles, it is difficult to base A Delicate Situation. any restrictive measures against people who are subjects of the British Empire. If the rights of Britishers is not a matter of reciprocity in the various parts of the Empire cohesion will hardly be possible in the future, and this view of the case was recently strongly supported at a meeting of the Royal Colonial Institute in London, England. The Japanese Menace. When we come to the Japanese we are confronted with an entirely different problem. ''The little brown man, considered in almost any light, is a serious menace. This is a view which is not favoured in England, and to some extent in Eastern Canada, by the people of which he is regarded as a faithful and valuable ally, and his country as one with which the widest possibilities of trade exist. Any close student of the Japanese character, their methods and their aims, will conclude that in both respects they are entirely mistaken, which requires only opportunity to prove. The Japanese is an ally of no European country at heart and only so far as self-interest dictates. In regard to trade, that nation is the greatest obstacle to European commerce in Asia that exists today, and the policy of exclusion will be developed more and more as time A Delusion and Snare. goes on. Trade with Japan is a delusion and a snare, and so far as she can exercise an influence with China, the doors of the latter nation will be also closed. The ambition of the Japanese is to be a self-contained people and to control as far as possible the Orient in their own interests. Their eyes are already cast upon India, and in the long run their designs will be more deadly than those of Russia. But leaving aside altogether the wider international considerations, with an overflowing population in a comparatively small domain, already exploited to its fullest extent, the Japanese as immigrants to this country are a real danger. They work as cheaply as the Chinese, are less honest and reliable, but arejnuch more aggressive and will dominate where and as soon as they can. Granted unrestricted entry to British Columbia and full privileges of citizenship, in ten years they would "boss" the situation. Therefore, even at the expense of hostilities, we must guard our shores against the Japanese. A solution for the present, in harmony with principles of international accord, has been arrived at, and we may hope for due protection against further inroads in the near future. Chinese on Different Plane. With respect to the Chinese, however, I entirely differ from the attitude taken by the labour unions and the politicians who reflect their views. Heretofore their presence in the Province has been more largely a political than an economic problem. The Chinaman, unlike the Japanese, is not aggressive. He has no ambitions except to make enough money by his labour to go back to China and live there in the comparative affluence which a few hundreds of dollars will ensure. Should he die in this country his bones are exhumed and taken back to the Flowery Kingdom—the love of country strong even in death. He is quiet, industrious, and as a rule, honest Owing;- to the recent demand for, and the high price of labour, especially for domestic and farm service, a feeling was growing in the Province by those who felt the pinch that the raising of ■ the tax to $500 a head had been a mistake. If white labour had been • available it would have been quite different, but it was not, and the consequence was the Chinamen in the Country were enabled to double and treble their wages without corresponding advantage. The Chinese already Cause of Oriental Invasion. • in the country were quite as anxious as the white labourers to have the tax kept up and increased, and their combination to take advantage of the labour market was quite as complete. It is safe to say, therefore, that had it not been for the practical exclusion of Chinamen by law there would have been no Japanese or Hindu invasion, because these latter were attracted by the high rate of wages. This is important to bear in mind. Protection of White Labour. Here it is well to premise that unrestricted competition of cheap Chinese' labour with white labour would not be to the best interests of the people of British Columbia, because the real prosperity of any country depends not upon the few rich but upon the well- to-do-ness of the average man, and white men cannot live and thrive on the same plane of sustenance as the Oriental. That is axiomatic. The solution, therefore, offered by some was that instead of excluding the Chinaman his occupation should be restricted by law to one or two callings, such as farm labour and domestic service, under penalty to the employer and to. the employed. This is quite feasible by a simple amendment to the criminal code which would make the employment of Chinamen, except in. certain occupations, unlawful. The* Chinamen live apart and in no way enter into the social life of the country. They may be and are quite willing to be regarded as machines, who give value to the money paid to them in the same way that a mowing machine pays for the investment involved, and' it A Labour Machine. matters not whether they send their money back to China or throw it into the sea. It is nobody's business. In domestic service and for farm work especially there is little or no white labour available, and not likely to be for some time to come. In this Province where land-clearing, the milking of cows, the picking of fruit and small farm culture generally are such items of importance and depend so much upon an ample and cheap supply of labour for profit, it can be easily seen how development is retarded and production minimized by a shortage in the labour market. The drudgery of farm life is something experience has shown white labour will not undertake, at least for long. It is well enough to say that farm work would attract labour at the current rate of wages in Price of Farm Labour. other lines, but farms cannot be made to pay on that basis. Farming is the only class of industry that has to sell at the prices fixed by the purchaser and buy at the prices fixed by the dealer, and is handicapped by many conditions that dov not affect manufacturing and trading. The labour unions are inconsistent in that, while they agitate against the Chinamen, they also object to the immigration of labour through such agencies as the Salvation Army to take their place. The possibility of farming in British Columbia, with an adequate supply of labour, are very great, and development would be fourfold compared with what it is at present. As it is, the farmer must, in .the main, content himself with what he can do with the members of his own family or resort to the branches of 'agriculture that require the least amount of hired help. It is little use to talk of what we can do in fruit-growing if we cannot harvest the crop, or in dairying if we cannot get labour to milk the cows. Under such restrictions as I have alluded to the Chinamen would cease to come into competition altogether with white skilled labour or ordinary manual work at all, and the result would be to really create an aristocracy of labour, in which condition the menial work would be done by those who do not object to engage in it and *are quite willing to act the part of ma- Resultant Development. chines, with the result that the more Chinamen there are employed in such work a greater demand for skilled . workmen would be created. As land was cleared and made productive the population would increase in inverse ratio, factories would multiply and |j towns and cities be built up. Many men think in the same way, who, for political or other reasons, are afraid to express their views. The one stock objection to the Chinamen is that they do not assimilate with our population and are, so to speak, segregated from the rest of the community. In my opinion, that is the one blessing connected with their residence in the country, as compared with' that of white aliens, whom we regard as inferior races. We do not desire the Chinamen to assimilate with our people, and they are, therefore, far more to be welcomed than the alien of the foreign white, whom we cannot debar, and who ultimately will commingle with and deteriorate the general average of the Teutonic stock to which we are No Race or Social Danger. proud to belong. As disintegrates, without any of the political privileges conferred on our own subjects, the Chinese cannot taint either our blood or our social institutions. He is a working machine, whose abode and operations we can regulate as we regulate any other machine. As to the sociological considerations involved, we need not be* horrified at this view of the case. We cannot hope to reform and uplift the millions upon millions of Chinese in China. That must be an internal process. Therefore, there is no occasion to worry about the few who come to work for us under the conditions we choose to impose, who are really much better off even then than they would be at home. Domestic Service. Then as to domestic service, the demand is unlimited and we cannot but remark upon the determination of the man to work eight hours, whose wife of necessity must toil from early morning to late at night to make his breakfast, cook his meals, feed and clothe his children and perform the manifold and tiresome home duties. The domestic problem is a serious one and those who insist on the absolute exclusion of Chinamen for all purposes, forget their wives whose work is never done. Moreover, the lack of domestic help is driving the family from the home more and more to the boarding and apartment houses and hotels and is destroying the home life in this country as it has already largely destroyed it in the United States. When the time comes that conditions alter and we are assured of an adequate supply of white labour, then we can apply exclusion to its furthest limits. Labour in Large Industrial Enterprises. Adverting to other fields of labour in the industrial world, apart from farming and housekeeping, I now come to what is equally as important in a sense, because the principal labour troubles originate in the industrial pursuits under aggregations of capital, with labour massed against it in large bodies. I have already alluded to the principles of co-operation, and will proceed to apply the general to the particular. I have spoken of the de- . sirability of recognising the co-opera- ' tive principle, and whether by rvrofit sharing or bonusing or partnership of the joint stock principle i« a matter best determined by the conditions of the particular industry. I shall not refer to existing industries or corporate concerns of whatever nature, but if we are to achieve what we regard as our greatest possibilities, in view of our geographical position and -the richness and accessibility of our natural resources, "tiikre are two or three large enterprises which must engage our attention. . Irshall refer to three in prospect on a', scale of magnitude. These are shipbuilding, iron and steel manufacture, and the pulp and paper industry. For all three it is admitted that labour is the most important factor after capital itself, all three requiring large initial expenditure. To establish 'jfcn^dequate and permanent supply of labour is the first consideration. The latter two at least will not be inaugurated where cities now are. They will go where the raw material and water powers are situated. Here is a chance to begin de novo without the hampering of urban conditions. I would acquire Land and Co-Partnership of Labour. a considerable tract of land in connection and would sell in plots of from an acre to five acres to actual employees, with families, at cost plus a small profit and the cost of necessary improvements applied pro rata. This would fix the employee to the land. I would make the terms easy without interest charges. -"!Next I would set apart a portion of the stock of the company, which could be acquired by employees out of their wages, not at inflated market prices, but at the price below par, which the public was paying for, i|, or at, but not above par. This would give them a proprietary interest in the business and stimulate their activities. I would entourage them to improve their holdings by prizes, not for the best, but ror reaching a general standard. I would encourage the formation of improvement circles, set apart public recreation grounds and establish a preliminary technical school for the education of the boys and girls in practical work. I would discourage and prevent, if possible, affiliations with general or international unions, but would encourage the organization of local labour boards among the employees for the adoption of certain working rules and for the discussion of all matters affecting the relations of management and staff. Whatever- other forms of co-operative benefits might be adopted would be a matter for determination. Here would be no strikes, as the interests of the employees would be identical with the employers, and here would be bred Its General Effect, a colony of workers for future use. The rate of wages would not be so material as the conditions of living and stability and permanancy, factors of immense importance in'an industrial community. The success of such an experiment would speedily inoculate the whole industrial fabric of the Province. It would combat socialism most effectually, prevent the unwarranted (interference of outside labour organizations, and demonstrate the possibility of labour and capital cementing their interests so as to render discord practically impossible. Industry, frugality, harmony and intelligence would be the key-note of the activities. I have dwelt at such length upon the labour problem for the ..reason that Why Labour So Important. upon its proper ! appreciation depends the ultimate success of the entire Province. You cannot educate a free people in public schools to a high standard, as compared to former years, without at the same time providing those facilities for the fulfilling of desires and ambitions which such intelligence creates, both as to personal responsibility and material betterment. You must either be prepared to drive your labour to an unwilling task, or lead ,it_jn a business way into harmonious co-operation. One course turns the working world into a hot-bed of socialism prepared some day to turn and rend you; the other makes it the willing partner of your enterprise. These are not Utopian suggestions. They have been demonstrated in whole or in part in practice most successfully in isolated instances in many parts of the world. While dealing with all phases of the Province's development we must keep mainly in view the object of the competition as I understand it, the settlement and population of the country as a whole, which largely implies land and cultivation, and this brings me to the next heading, that of transportation and communication. By the first What Transportation Cost. term I mean, as I have explained, some form of railway or mechanical traction, and by the second the establishment of highways for ordinary travel. In regard to railways a-sound policy has always been for governments difficult to discover and many experiments have been tried. It has cost the Dominion of Canada over $500,000,000 for railways and canals, or about one-third of the entire cost of these systems in Canada, which to the 30th of June, 1906, was over $1,500,- 000,000. With the exception of about $260,000,000, the cost of the Intercolonial and the canal system, the country has no proprietary interests to represent this vast expenditure. Of course, it has reaped the incidental benefits of development which have been very great, but in many instances localities have suffered rather than benefited, and the prospects of numerous towns and villages have been blighted by the process of draining away traffic, which has gone to build up centres like Toronto and Montreal, so that railways have not been an unmixed good. But I am dealing with a single province, and what applies to British Columbia applies to almost all the Provinces individually. I have always considered that the main lines of railways and their branches belong exclusively to the Dominion to aid and encourage according to some comprehensive policy, more especially as the Dominion has superior jurisdiction, and may declare any railway for the general benefit of Canada, thus removing it entirely from the control of the Province in which it may happen to be located. I have always contended, too, that the Provinces should confine their attention and aid, if any, to Systems of Light Railways. lines having in view local development, and in this connection have devoted a good deal of thought to the question of light railways, a solution of which I believe is at hand. I have dealt with this in a memorandum prepared some time ago, and the principles involved have, I believe, been so concisely stated that I cannot here hope to improve on the exposition and so append it for consideration. A number of systems, of what is known as mono-rail have been devised, which apply to a variety of conditions, most of Which are present in British Columbia. Drawings of some of these are submitted. The latest is the gyroscopic 'monorail invented by Mr. Brennan of torpedo fame, the pleasure of seeing a demonstration of which I had while in England. This appears to be feasible, but it is still in the experimental stage and will not be commercially proved for at least a year yet. Traction engines on a scale much reduced in weight and ease of handling have recently been brought into use, and the Rene road trains, a French system of motors with trailers, are worthy of consideration. Importance of Good Roads. As to highways—public roads—I have dealt with that feature of communication in a memorandum herewith appended, being a conv of what I submitted to the Agricultural Committee of the Legislative Assembly in 1900. No country in the world possesses the elements of good roads in a greater degree than British Columbia—solid foundation and abundance everywhere of roading material. As a matter of fact, the system or lack of system, that has been in vogue, has been very effective, but of late has been greatly improved, with room for still further improvements. What is principally wanted is a scientific system and a permanent plan of operations, which can be expanded and developed to meet new requirements. A good road to a railway station or a steamboat landing, or the nearest market town, is among the essential elements in the requirements of settlers. Coming now to the mode of settlement, a caption which includes a good many things, some of which have al ready been dealt with incidentally, it may apply to settlement either by the Modes of Settlement. government or by land companies. It applies to all kinds of conditions which tend to suitable locations for various branches of farming, terms of payment, improvements under any system of betterment, method of clearing, etc., etc. In the memorandum marked A, to which I have already referred, I have discussed many of these in a way which will indicate what generally I mean to convey. As a concrete instance of how lands might be dealt with I append a letter written to the B. C. D. A., London, England, in connection -with the proposal to clear and colonize 150,000 acres on Vancouver Island within the E. & N. Railway belt, the land to have been obtained from the C. P. R. for the purpose, under certain conditions. As being largely instrumental in bringing about the provisional agreement, which, however, -was not subsequently confirmed, owing to disagreement over details, I am the more impressed with the importance of the plan of action proposed to have been carried out in case agree- Concrete Propositions. ment had been reached, and which may form the basis for subsequent negotiations and' operations. At all events, the scheme outlined illustrates theories in' regard to the practical work of development possible of application to a much wider area. There are also some extracts from a circular issued by the above association referring to the same matter. I may add that Appendix D was prepared for the same association as a suggestion in connection with lands in the dry belt which it has purchased for subdivision and sale for fruit purposes. Irrigation. Irrigation is a subject at present occupying the attention of the Provincial Government, whose intention it is to introduce a comprehensive scheme at the next session of the legislature on the lines laid down in a special report by Prof. Carpenter, presented at the late sitting of the House. Details are not announced, but it is understood that it will.place the water supply of the Province under the direct control of the Government, and that legislation will be submitted regulating conservation and distribution according to the requirements of individual users and districts, fairly apportioned. It is, therefore, • unnecessary to discuss the question further, as its importance has been recognized and is to be dealt with as its importance warrants. Dyking. The Fraser Valley has been protected against overflow by a system of dykes costing the Province in all oVer $1,000,000. Now it is announced that the Dominion Government will undertake the protection of the banks and the straightening and deepening of the channel at a very large price. Had the Province and the Dominion long ago co-operated in a general scheme better results would have been achieved at a greatly decreased outlay. Clearing Land. The methods of clearing land by use of machinery, and dynamite, as compared with the old-fashioned hand methods, marks one of the most noted steps in advance in Provincial development of recent years. I advocated the use of logging machines, in combination with dynamite, and portable saw-mills to utilize the available timber that would otherwise be destroyed, as far back as 1897, again in 1900, as per memorandum to the Agricultural Committee, again in 1903 before the members of the Central Farmers' Institute, again to representatives of the C. P. R. upon acquiring the E. & N. Railway belt, and again in connection with the colonization of the 150,000 acres referred to. It was not until the experiments in the vicinity of Belling- ham were proved to be practicable that it was taken up in British Columbia, and so far only experimentally, but with sufficient success to warrant the E. & N. Railway Co. to employ it in their clearing operations on the Island of Vancouver, now being entered upon. Experience so far, however, has suggested some modifications that are really interesting in this connection, and promise to have important bearings upon future developments. These modifications are based, as I have stated, upon experience up to date,. New and Old Methods. As explained in one of the appendices, there is a difference between clearing land which has been logged off and burned over (as invariably occurs subsequent to logging operations), and stumps have become old, both as to methods to be employed and the cost, and where virgin forest in various degrees of density has to be dealt with. It was on lands on the former territory where the experiment was tried and proved so successful. Efforts based on this experience in con nection with lands of the latter character on Vancouver Island turned out to be somewhat disappointing and an incipient enthusiasm as to results was dampened as a consequence. I have advocated a method of underbrushing thoroughly as preliminary to trie use of logging engines, and then the pulling down of the trees by the use of cables and a system block and tackle, the very large trees which .range in diameter from 3 feet upwards to be cut down and the stumps shattered by dynamite. Two rather serious objec- . tions become apparent—first the quantity of expensive steel cables wrecked in the process, the amount of tightly clinging earth taken up by the roots and the largeness of the excavation Difficulties. left in the ground to be filled up. As a consequence the plan most in favour is to cut the trees down and pull out the larger stumps after the use of dynamite. In the more heavily timbered land the cost of this will average $100 per acre. Other methods involving the use of dynamite without engines, are recommended and various types of stumping machines have been used. The expense under any of these methods is considerable. The True Solution. After careful study of the subject it is obvious that success of method depends upon the nature of the clearing to be done and this varies greatly. I am convinced that a combination of logging engines, stumping machines, and powder used together or apart according- to conditions is the true solution. Thick but not heavy timber on bottom land, including alder, maple, willow, crabapple, etc., can be handled by a logging engine of ordinary horse power, by tearing it out by the roots. All logs, uprooted stumps and the heavier debris can be disposed of in immense heaps in the same way. A new stumping machine of great power and effectiveness has been invented in Victoria by a man of experience, and is in use in the vicinity of that city. One or even more fairly large stuntfps can be taken out at one haul, and by a. series of pulleys as .many as twenty stumps of smaller size can be extracted at once without the use of powder. Seventy-five average stumps have been pulled by this method in three hours, a good record not equalled by any other method. The earth difficulty is overcome by staging the larger stumps when partly out and digging off the earth into the hole left and the rest is knocked off in transport to the pile. Average trees can be pulled Stump-Puller and Logging Engine. down more easily in this way than their stumps could be dealt with on account of the greater leverage obtained by the tree top. This will be easily understood by any person with a knowledge of "woodcraft. The steady pull of the stumping engine does not rack the cable in the same way as the tugging and jerking of the logging engine, and though the process is slower, is more economical in every respect. After the stumping machine should follow the logging machine to do the logging up. For obvious considerations the very large trees should be cut down and the stumps shattered by powder before pulling. The entire rigging of the stumping machine in question costs $250, and it is operated by one horse, which also draws it from place to place. It clears everything within a radius of 330 feet. Here, to my mind, is the real solution of the clearing question, which is fraught with great importance, as a large percentage of timbered land throughout the Province can be rendered arable if cleared. The inventor of this machine has cleared 400 acres in three years with one and the same horse." I have estimated the entire expense per acre (of the 400 acres) at from $15 to $25. Of course, it would much exceed that in certain instances, and must vary greatly. The one de- Experienced Men Required. sideratum in clearing is the employment of experienced, practical men. Novices in such work are very expensive .no matter how cheap their services may be obtained. I may add that a full complement to each machine is three men, although two men can operate it. I have referred elsewhere to a light traction engine of high horse power operated by paraffine, in use in England. It will plough, harrow, mow, reap, haul or do anything on the farm or road that horses can do, only in manifold proportion. It would also be most useful in British Columbia "-in hauling logs to a portable mill or in the conveyance of shingle bolts and cordwood. Working Co-operatively by Machinery. Main and underdrainihg, where land is thoroughly cleared, can be done by machinery most effectually and economically. Any of these machines would be too expensive for the ordinary individual farmer, but owned and operated co-ftperatively, as I have recommended, they would perform useful communal service. It is by the use of such inventions that I see in the future the great possibilities of development which owing to exceptional and difficult conditions of pioneering would otherwise be impossible or financially impracticable and a partial solution at least of the labour question in the more arduous tasks of clearing and improvement and in much of the subsequent cultivation. I have dealt in the foregoing and the several appendices with many of the problems, both in a general and in a concrete way, which are intimately associated with the task of government and development of this Province, affected as it is by special conditions, and taken together the suggestions made and the views expressed constitute a policy of immigration, settlement and industrial methods, which, in my humble estimation, is worthy of the most serious consideration on the part of those in whose power it is to give it effect. Publicity. I now come to the last head, that of publicity, which, if the conditions precedent to it are observed, becomes simple indeed. Nothing succeeds like success and in a large measure the success of our industrial operations will be our best advertisement. Our accomplishments speak for themselves: But dealing with the merits of. publicity, under such favourable auspices, they would be best exemplified by the definiteness, truthfulness and thoroughness of the information disseminated through various^ agencies and. by various legitimate means. For printed literature, concise, neatly printed and well illustrated and attractive bulletins such as have been issued by the Bureau of Provincial Information, are, to my mind, the most useful and effective means of publicity, using in conjunction, of course, the columns of the press so far as its co-operation can be secured. Then comes the commercial exhibits of fruit, such as the government, with marked success in practical results, has sent to the Middle West and to Great Britain, and other of our products as opportunity offers. These furnish the proofs and incontrovertible evidence of the statements contained in official literature. The ordinary write-ups, boom literature and other flashy expedients have long ago served their usefulness and are unworthy of governmental consideration Good Goods in Good Packages. or patronage. The Province, like the sound, successful business man, will only advertise the goods it can deliver, in the quantity, of the quality and at the price advertised. The class of people we wish to attract to British Columbia or any part of Canada, as a matter of fact, are those who are interested by and appreciate the facts we present in reference to any of our industrial resources, in a clear, practical, straightforward manner—the men and women who seriously want what they have to offer. Such persons, whether prospective investors, settlers or leisured residents or tourists, will be most impressed by the- truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, it being always borne in mind that goods should be displayed in attractive packages and that choice literature deserves appropriate bindings. I now proceed to make some general observations upon the trade, industry, geographical position, potentialities and outlook of the Province as a conclusion to remarks which have dealt, I trust, not too elaborately or too minutely with a number of details which appear to me to enter into a necessary ground-work for a 'great Provincial superstructure which we hope to erect on the Pacific Slope of Canada's domain. B. C. in Physical Outline British Columbia is a huge oblong, lying obliquely northwest along Canada's western frontier in the general direction of the great line of upheaval extending from Cape Horn to the Arctic Ocean, within the sweep of the Andes, the Rockies, and their contributory and auxiliary ranges. Its external aspect is extremely rugged and it has not been inappropriately described as a "sea of mountains." Through ages of erosion its valleys, following the trend of waterways and ancient river beds, have become fertile through the deposits of ages. Its atmosphere, humidly impregnated by evaporation from the Pacific Ocean, has clothed its western slopes with forests growing denser as they reach the coast line. Geologically its eruptive formation has been favourable to the deposition of much mineral wealth, exuded, we must assume, by various metallurgical processes from the bowels of the earth. Its coast line is extensive and deeply indented, and the waters which surround it and penetrate it and lie embosomed in its lakes, are inhabited with many varieties of commercial fish. It lies athwart the new line of Imperial travel, the route of which, contrary to theories of geographical affinities, is. east and west, cross-cutting zones of diverse production, and not north and south on lines of least resistance. It was evolved apparently for big things, great enterprises, a potential future, and a destiny closely allied with the fortunes of the Empire. W*&0 I shall only briefly indicate. Coal. Coai is a factor of wealth which is possessed in enormous deposits and in various localities of the Province. Our production up to date has been over twenty-six million tons and one million five hundred thousand tons of coke. * Iron. Iron exists on both the east and west sides of Vancouver Island, and on the coast of the adjacent mainland, so far as indication can reveal its presence, in extensive bodies. In the main it is magnetite, but hematite and bog ore have been discovered at several accessible points, but to what extent there has not been sufficient development to be made known. Timber. Timber of the finest quality is one of the important assets of the Province with its main body along the coast near salt water. Water- Power. ■ There are numerous water powers varying in magnitude from hundreds of thousands of horse power, also at or near to the coast line. Lime, slate and building-stone are plentiful and accessible. Mineral Production. The Province is highly mineralized.! Brbadly speaking,* throughout its 381,- 000 square miles of surface the principal mineral constituents outside of coal and iron already referred to, are gold (lode and placer), copper, silver and lead. Production in the past shows the proportions: Gold, placer $ 68,721,103 Gold, lode 41,015,697 Silver 25,586,697 Lead 17,625,739 Copper 35,546,578 Coal and Coke 79,334,798 Building-stone, bricks, etc. 5,543,700 Other metals 270,099 Total $273,643,722 The proportions for 1906 were: Gold, placer $ 948,400 Gold, lode 4,630,639 Silver 1,897,320 Lead 2,667,578 Copper 8,288,565 Coal and coke 4,551,909 Building-stone, bricks, etc. 996,135 Other metals 1,000,000 Total $24,980,546 The reduction of iron ores to steel and iron will be performed in future by electricity, and the happy contiguity |of iron deposits, water-power and ocean suggests a specially bright future for this industry, when the proper time arrives. Pulp and Paper-Making There are extensive limits of pulp wood along the almost entire coast . line, with a similar contiguity to the necessary water powers and facilities for sea transport, and a market for paper in Australia and pulp in Japan and pulp and paper in Great Britain via the Horn and the Panama Canal. Though our record of progress has been slow compared with the country Past Progress. south of us, it has nevertheless been remarkable, remembering always that it really only dates back to twenty-- five years ago, when the C. P. R. was completing its line to the Coast. In an article published in Westward Ho! in January entitled "The Greater Britain on the Pacific," I say: | "There is no record of what was produced in British Columbia in 1871 —the total was small—but from census returns of the output of manufactures, of the forest, of the mines, of furs, of agriculture, and of the fisheries, we are enabled to follow up the progress since that time. By decades we have the following: 1881 $ 8,116,355 1891 22,213,575 1901 83,804^862 "The returns for 1901 will undoubtedly show a still greater percentage of increase. The mines, which in 1901, produced values to the extent, of $3,500,000, in 1906 produced in values $25,000,000. We have had even more remarkable progress in agriculture, whose products increased elevenfold between 1891 and 1901, and without doubt the most promising of all our great industries, notwithstanding the relatively limited areas of agricultural lands. Coming to exports and imports, we find totals as follows: 1872 $ 3,648,402 1881 4,721,197 1891 11,736,041 1901 32,187,545 1906 38,401,998 Ship-Building. fjffihju* Shipbuilding is an industry that must attain to proportions of magnitude on the British Columbia coast, and the progress in this direction is already gratifying. A large number of small vessels are built annually, and within the past few years not a few of considerable tonnage for the coasting trade. The high price of labour and materials has in the past militated against the natural advantages possessed. It is manifestly cheaper even with the duty added to build ships in the shipyards of Great Britain, and take them under their own steam to British Columbia, than to build them at Victoria or Vancouver. Conditions, however, are adjusting themselves somewhat and there is a strong feeling, especially in the maritime portions of Canada, in favour of a policy specially assisting and encouraging the shipbuilding industry. A careful study of the trade and navigation returns of Canada discloses a remarkable growth locally of ship-building and shipping on the Pacific Coast. In the latest returns, it is shown that 50 vessels, mostly of small tonnage but of various dimensions, were built in nine months of 1906-'07. In that period nearly 9,000 coasting vessels arrived and de- Shipping. parted at the various ports. Seaward, over 2,000 vessels arrived and departed, the registered tonnage of which was some 2,000,000 tons, carrying to and fro 750,000 actual tons of freight. In 1897 or 1898 there was one line of steamers crossing the Pacific in connection with the C. P. R. terminal at Vancouver. There are now six lines of steamers making call, one of which plies between British Columbia ports and Australia. The effect of the All Red route will be undoubtedly to greatly increase the number of ships and 'the tonnage. When iron and steel and the pulp industries are in operation, the greater part of the product will be carried to market in ships. Much more lumber in'this way will be transported. When industries multiply— . and in my opinion many of the industrial concerns of Great Britain will be represented by traders or transferred to British Columbia (such as woollen, preserving, pickling, brewing, etc., etc., for export trade)—the demand for ships will proportionately increase and Canadian goods will be carried in Canadian bottoms, which is the true policy to adopt as far as possible. The Railway Situation. The railway situation is perhaps the most interesting. The Provinces, will soon be intersected by four transcontinental railways with termini at Vancouver, Victoria, Alberni or Quat- sino, Bella Coola and Prince Rupert. This, will bring us i into direct com- nication with the Middle West as well as making this coast the emporium for a tremendous amount of east and west bound traffic. Twenty-five years ago the C. P. R. had not been completed and there was not a single mile of railway in operation in.the Province. To-day there are 1,500 miles of main and branch lines. If the Hudson's Bay route should prove to be feasible, it will bring railway systems and chief ports in direct connection with Great Britain, independent of Eastern Canadian communication for four or five months of each year, and greatly shorten the distance to the main mart of the world. On the other hand, the opening of the Panama Canal, while it will divert considerable commerce that would continue to follow the railways across the continent, will enable much to be shipped to the Eastern Coast and to the Continent from British Columbia that has been heretofore debarred. The Middle West. Ten or fifteen millions in the Middle West, with the added market of Great Britain, will tax our energies to supply them with fruit. There will be an exchange of products, fruit, fish and manufactured lumber, etc., to the prairies, and grain, flour and meat to British Columbia, which will be of immense mutual advantage. We shall have great elevators and flour mills at Victoria and Vancouver to supply the Orient. There will be a wonderful network of railways in the Interior by which lines following the great plateaux north and south will intersect the transcontinental lines east and west, and we shall witness the growth of a great city somewhere near the present Fort George. Fisheries. A word may be necessary as to deep sea fishing. The salmon-canning industry has perhaps for some time reached the zenith of its capabilities. Unmistakeable signs of depletion are seen in the Fraser River, and a systematic stocking of streams in which the salmon spawn and effective measures of protection against over-fishing are necessary to restore the former apparently inexhaustible supply and to maintain it undiminished for the generations to come. In deep-sea fishing, which includes mainly halibut, cod, herring, flounder, sole and oolachan, there is a large future in shipping the fresh fish to the Eastern markets and in preserving the fish in various ways. The fresh fish trade, in halibut and salmon, is already important, but the preserving and drying of fish, other than canning, is still in the process of development. Whale fishing, which has several profitable by-products, has proved to be most prosperous, earning a dividend of from 25 to 35 per cent, per annum. Principal Industries. Outside of fishing, timber, mining and agriculture, the principal industries are sugar refining, brick and cement manufacture, breakfast foods, candy, soap and biscuit production, brewing and distilling. By and by, the manufacture of woollen goods (for which the natural and commercial conditions are favourable), pickfthg, preserving, canning and evaporation of fruits and vegetables, linen and tobacco factories will cut a large figure. Owing to the great physical difficulties which the Province has to overcome in the way of development of its resources and possibilities and railways and mines, the task requires extraordinary expenditure of provincial revenues, and for this anc^ other reasons British Columbia has special claims upon the Dominion for assistance in accomplishing the great nation_ Better Terms From the Dominion. building task set before us. The case for the Province, in the preparation of which I was closely associated, is submitted as containing all the facts and arguments bearing on the demands which have been made. It goes without saying that largely increased subsidies would mean greater ability to perform. I have stated in the article just referred to that in the past the country to the south had for certain well understood reasons advanced much more rapidly than British Columbia, but that hereafter the order would be reversed and that Province would, relatively make more rapid progress than any other part of the Pacific Coast, and added: "Let us examine carefully the reasons for making this bold proposition. The states of the Pacific slope, though still developing, are approaching the zenith of their achievements. Progress in Future. British Columbia is still nascent. Throughout its extire extent it has been shown to be metalliferous, and it will not be denied, so far as events have carried us, that neither Washington nor Oregon can compare with British Columbia as mining countries. Whatever may be our future in this respect, up to the present only a fringe of the Province has been touched by transportation, and consequently only a fringe of our mineral resources has been made available. In railway construction the Pacific Coast States have been far in advance of us, having nine or ten times the mileage of British Columbia; but in addition to the Canadian Pacific Railway, already a most important factor, we have the immediate promise of three other transcontinental lines — the Grand Trunk Pacific, the Canadian Northern and the Great Northern Railways, with, of course, the usual ramification of branch and local lines. One can hardly estimate the effect of such a stimulus to all the activities as will here be afforded. Again, British Columbia has admittedly the largest compact timber areas on the continent, and it is, therefore, unnecessary to dwell upon the importance of that fact. By far the most valuable deep- sea fisheries are found north of the 49 th parallel, and from as far north as Alaska the United States fishermen are getting their supplies for the American market. It may be freely admitted that in point of agricultural resources we are outclassed in the comparison, that is, as to the extent of arable land; but even here we have nine or ten millions of acres, capable, by intensive fruit and small-farm culture, of yielding enormously, with a ready and most profitable market locally, in the middle Canadian provinces, and in Great Britain. While our output can never be as large as that of the States south of us within corresponding areas, the industry, for obvious reasons, of vantage in respect to market, is likely always to be more profitable here than there. We possess another great advantage over our neighbours to the south in the nature of our coast line and the excellent facilities afforded for shipping. From San Francisco to Puget Sound there is no harbour of any size. Our coast line is full of harbours, many of them suitable as railway and steamship termini, so that in time if our anticipations are realized as to the developments to take place, we have in this fact the basis of a great mercantile marine and commercial power. There are still the further advantages, in a sense not less important, in the abundance of coal, iron and pulp wood, which they do not possess. Many problems have been and still are connected with the development of the iron industry on this coast, but it seems almost certain that sooner or later these will be solved. There are new processes in the smelting of iron and steel already in operation and likely to be applied to the situation here, which will make the magnetic iron ores, which prevail on this coast, convertible into products comparable with the best qualities of iron and steel turned out in the world. The pulp and paper industry, although never likely to assume the importance it has in the east of Canada, is nevertheless likely to be very successful. Shipbuilding, too, oi|abLt to be from our very situation one of the leading industrial enterprises of the future. I have only touched upon a few of the leading factors in making my comparison and drawing conclusions. Manufacturing on the Coast is still in its infancy, though steadily growing. We have peculiar' natural advantages for manufacturing on an extensive scale. With iron and coal and lime and timber and sea all in close contiguity—things upon which Great Britain founded its supremacy—we have undoubtedly the essential elements of a vast industrial fabric. As soon as the prairies fill up there will be at least ten millions at our back door, and an Orient, and Australia and South America at our front doors, to consume our products. I was going to quote Lord Gray's remarks while in the Province last year, but space forbids to reproduce more than one short sentence, which seems to be particularly opportune: "T shall have failed in my object if I have not communicated to you my own profound belief in the present and potential advantages you can enjoy because of your great natural resources and of your unique geographical position.' "This vast and in some respects still unknown country has possibilities in store for it not yet, perhaps, dreamed of. It has without peradventure, great possibilities as the home for the British emigrant and as a field for the investor; possibilities as the point of convergence of trade and commerce along the All Red Line to the utmost development of which the statesmen of the Empire are pledged; possibilities as an educational centre as famous as any in Europe; possibilities of great industrial wealth; possibilities, in short, as a greater Britain on the Pacific, where British arts and institutions will expand under fresh impetus, 'where the British flag will forever fly, where British laws and justice will be respected and enforced, and where British men and women will be bred equal to the best traditions of the race.'" The North-West Provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta W. J. ROBERTSON, Victoria, B. C. Introduction: The great north-west of Canada is now open to the gaze of the world. With the passing away of the historic name of the North-West Territories there has passed away the vague vision of a great lone land stretching, almost without limit, through a great wild west. With the passing away of the "Lords of the North" there has passed away the rumbling tramp of the mighty buffalo and the quiet haunts of fox and . coyote. With the passing of the noiseless Indian canoe and the screeching Red River Cart there has passed away an old order which for the poet and singer will never grow old, and a new order has come, winning for itself the respect and admiration of the world. No more do we speak of the North- West Territories but rather of the North-West Provinces, of the New Canada, of the three Prairie Provinces. These three Prairie provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are now famous throughout the world because they are now known to contain the greatest compact area of wheat growing country in the world, because the wheat grown in these provinces is the best in the world, and because the present immigration into these provinces is not only proportionately greater than in any other, but because as a centre for migratory movements throughout the world it is one of the most important in the history of nations. Question (A): "Enumerate the nationalities and also give number of languages spoken in these provinces." The population of these provinces according to nationalities and languages is a very interesting study. An exact estimate cannot be given to date, as the last census of these provinces was taken in June, 1906, and the next complete Dominion census will not be taken until 1911. An approximate estimate, however, can be made. The census of June, 1906, gave a total population of 808,863, as follows: Manitoba, 365,688; Saskatchewan, 257,763; and Alberta, 185,412. Considering the great increase after June, 1906, and throughout the year 1907, and estimating the percentage of increase on the basis of the previous five years, we can safely estimate the total present population at 1,000,000 people, divided as follows: Manitoba, 400,000; Saskatchewan, 340,- 000; and Alberta, 260,000. (The rate of increase during the five years 1901— 1906 for Manitoba was 43.28 per cent., for Saskatchewan 182.39 per cent., and for Alberta 153.91 per cent., or 92.81 per cent, increase for the three provinces.) An analysis of this population cannot be exact to date, but taking it on the basis of the census of 1906, we shall not be far off the mark. Take for example the percentage of the native and foreign born of these provinces, we find 444,366 were Canadian born and 362,592 were born in other countries. By the census of 1901 the Canadian born population was about two-thirds of the total population, while in 1906 this proportion had materially decreased, indicating that in a short time the Canadian born population would not predominate. The following table will illustrate the British and foreign born population. Birthplace. 1901. British Empire 328,884 United States 20,799 Total B. E. and U. S 349,683 Foreign 68,829 Total 419,512 23 Percent of Percent of Total. 1906. Total. 78.40 567,928 70.21 4.95 90,738 11.22 83.35 658,666 16.65 150,197 81.43 18.57 The above table will show that in 1901 those born within the British Empire represented 78 per cent, of the total, those born in the United States less than five per cent., while the percentage of other foreign born, mostly European, was nearly 17 per cent. In 1906 while the British born population had decreased to about 70 per cent., the United States population had increased to over 11 per cent., so that the proportion of foreign born population had but slightly changed. Now if we further bear in mind the fact that during the years 1906 and 1907 the British and American immigration has largely increased and the foreign born population has proportionately largely decreased, we can safely estimate the present status of population at about 85 per cent. British and American, and 15 per cent, foreign This is a matter of great satisfaction to all loyal Canadians, and indicates much for the future unity of the Dominion and the citizenship of the Canadian people. The following table will indicate the present population of the Prairie Provinces according to nationalities: Birthplace Austria-Hungary Belgium and Holland British Islands British Possessions . Canada France Germany Russia Scandinavia United States Other countries Total 365, Total mitoba. Saskatchewan. Alberta. in 1906. 25,640 21,865 11,041 58,546 2,031 960 590 3,581 62,736 35,518 23,809 122,063 626 362 511 1,499 228,669 128,879 86,818 444,366 2,370 1,701 854 4,925 5,148 5,827 3,216 14,191 11,730 16,551 5,823 34,104 10,187 7,646 6,296 24,129 12,023 35,464 43,251 90,738 4,528 2,990 3,203 10,821 257,763 185,412 There are some special aspects of this varied population which deserve special mention. There is first the Indian population. They are the "Lords of the North," a small remnant of a mighty race, a pathetic people now, carrying the imagination back to a romantic and historic past whose heroic life is now memorialized in song and story. The Indian tribes are found throughout all parts of Canada and number a total population of* about 112,000. They are wards of the Government and have homes set apart for them in the large reserves, where they are carefully guarded and liberally provided for and protected from the vices and exploitations of conscienceless man. By the census of 1906 Manitoba had 5,768 Indians in her different Reserves, Saskatchewan had 6,380, and Alberta, 6,481, the total for the three provinces being 18,629. There is a slight decrease from the former census of 1901, but as the Indians are migratory and the total population of Indians in Canada is slightly increasing, the Indian population may be regarded as stationary. At present in the three provinces they represent about 2.25 per cent, in relation to the total white population. It is quite evident therefore that the Indian population in these provinces can never give rise to the native problems that affect South Africa and other countries of the British Empire. The Rebellion of 1885 is likely to prove the last serious trouble with the natives in these provinces. Another interesting people in the Prairies is the population of Ru- thenians, better known as Galicians. There are about 100,000 of these people. They come from the Province of Galicia and surrounding districts in the southwest of Russia. They have suffered for generations under the heavy hand of the Russian Government and are consequently ignorant, superstitious, suspicious of governments, and also • of rather uncleanly habits. They are, however, very industrious, religious, and now since their suspicions are largely removed, and they are responding to the efforts for the establishment of schools for their education, the prospects are that these picturesque people, clad in sheepskins, will become prosperous and patriotic citizens of the country. There are about 100,000 Doukhobors also in the Prairie Provinces, who are now world-famous. They also were subject to long oppression at the hands of Russia and suffered successive banishments to Siberia and Caucasia because of their religious beliefs, and especially because of their refusal to render military service. Through the interest of the Dowager Empress, Count Tolstoi and Prince Keopotkin, permission was secured to leave the country. The migration of a whole people to Canada is the' greatest in history since the migration of Israel from Egypt to Caanan. They are mostly settled in communities at Ros- thern, Yorkton and Thunder Hill. They are communistic and live mostly in villages. They are ignorant, superstitious and fanatical, and represent the thirteenth century rather than the twentieth. Their pilgrimages have made them famous, but in fairness it must be said that these pilgrimages are by a fanatical few and do not fairly represent the whole, who disapprove of such. They have their great virtues, however; they are clean in habits, moral in life and religious in heart. They have been well treated by the Canadian Government, their suspicions are vanishing away, and although the ignorance is yet about as dense as ever and they disparage all education, yet their industry, their inclination to move from their communistic settlements, their intensely moral and religious life give promise that they will in time assimilate and become a worthy factor in our common life. At any rate their numbers will in time be absorbed. A much more serious problem in the population of the west lies in the communities of Mormons in the southwestern part of Alberta. There are about 10,000 of these already in this land of promise and their numbers are steadily increasing. If their numbers increase to large proportions, and there is danger of this, there will develop one of the most serious of state problems for the future. They are first class farmers and "are. changing large regions from desert to gardens. Their communistic life so far successfully guards against any plague spots of poverty or immorality, and their agreement with the Government not to practise polygamy has thus far guarded our national life from such a stain. But since polygamy is still a cardinal doctrine of the Mormons and their avowed purpose is to secure representation in Legislative Halls, there is good reason that all sincere statesmen and citizens take this problem seriously to heart. Of the 32,000 Mennonites in Canada about 20,000 are in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Most of them came to this country about 1870 from Russia because of persecution. They are a Russian-German people, industrious, moral and religious. The village communistic life is largely passing away. They have been very prosperous, have now worthy representatives in the Legislative Halls and intermarry with other people and are already patriotic Canadians and worthy citizens. There are from 20,000 to 25,000 Icelanders in the Prairie Provinces. They have already proved themselves among the very best of the immigration people. They are industrious, moral and religious. They are frugal and are becoming very prosperous. They are ajnong the most successful farmers and have entered the Municipal Halls and Legislative Chambers as well as the higher professions. The migration from Iceland began about 1875 and a steady stream has flowed into the Canadian West. Their numbers are not now large, as the Home Island is prosperous and the remaining population there is only about 80,000, so that we cannot expect large numbers of these people to come in the future. They are, however, very welcome people and have already established themselves as first class citizens and Canadians. A complete analysis of the nationalities would be required to give an exact list of the languages and dialects spoken' in these three provinces. As a complete list cannot be arrived at, the following will approximate very fairly and will be sufficient for all practical purposes. The English-speaking people can safely be reckoned at 85 per cent, of the total population and the foreign tongues at 15 per cent. The English-speaking people are likely to increase proportionately as is evidenced by the fact that about 68 per cent, of the immigration of 1906 and 1907 are English-speaking. There were sorile 54 nationalities and languages represented in the immigration of 1906 and 1907 from five continents. Among these may be mentioned: African, Australian, Austrian, Bohemian, Buckowinian, .Croatian, Dalmatian, Galiciah, Hungarian, Magyae, Ruthenian, Slovok, Belgian, Bulgarian, Brazilian, Chinese, Dutch, French* German, Alsace-Lorraine, Bavarian, Prussian, Saxon, West Indian, Ber- mudian, Jamaican, Greek, Hebrew, .Italian, Japanese, New Zealand, Portuguese, Poles, Persian, Roumanian, Russian, Finn, Doukhobor, Spanish, Swiss, Savian, Danish, Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian, Turk, Armenian, Egyptian, Syrian, Arabian, Negro, Indian, etc. Many of these have but very few representatives, nevertheless there were 25 foreign-speaking people who made homestead entries in 1906. There are thirty or more different languages spoken on the streets of Winnipeg, and the Canadian Bible Society in Winnipeg sells the Scriptures written in over thirty different languages. Question (B): "Outline the requirements of these provinces to insure continuous, reasonably rapid development and with harmony." The requirements of this new Can- 25 ada to insure healthy, harmonious development may now be Indicated, and so far as these requirements are not new will they indicate that the country is moving along right lines. 1. A generous land policy. There are 200,000,000 acres of land available for cultivation in these provinces, of which less than four per cent, is yet under cultivation. These lands are desert waste until cultivated and made productive* The people who will come into such a vast, lonely country to make homes for themselves are not moneyed people. They cannot and will not pay a big price for land with the prospect of all the hardships of pioneer life on the prairies. The country must offer cheap lands, such as the homestead regulations provide for and without which the prairies would be waste for generations to come. Thes« homestead regulations are probably the most favorable of any country in the world to-day and are framed for the mutual benefit of the settler and of the nation. They grant the land at a merely nominal figure, but require the cultivation of the land and the residence of the settler. This generous land policy must not, however, include all the land. A Government's land policy should not be to give away all its land, but to establish a few settlers on free lands, reserving for communities the right of normal development. The whole country has a right to share in the increased values of land subsequent to the development of communities. And when we bear in mind the fact that by the present regulations nearly one-half the country is given away in free lands and that at the present rate the homesteading will be exhausted by the year 1920, it is an open question whether or not the Government has been too generous in its policy of giving free lands. At any rate the present policy is suited to secure very rapid development. 2. The next requirement is railway communication and transportation. The distances are so great and markets so far away that there can be little development without railway connection. The opening of the country b*y railways should receive the most careful consideration of the Governments, and as this new Canada is in the heart of the Continent these railways must be continental in order to reach the markets of the world. Just now there are three continental systems operating and expanding throughout these provinces, viz., the Canadian Pacific, Grand Trunk Pacific and the Canadian Northern. 'From the south the country is also being reached by branches from the American Continental system, the Great Northern Railway. An immedi ate requirement is the Hudson's Bay Railway from Winnipeg to Churchill as the shortest and cheapest outlet for the Prairie wheat to the European markets. Two other great roads will soon be required, the one to run from Churchill through the northern parts of these provinces and British Columbia to the Pacific and another from Edmonton to Dawson. From all these main systems a network of branches will be built in all directions in development of the country. 3. A third requirement is a proper conserving of the. natural resources of the Provinces for the permanent benefit of the people. Not that it is necessary to adopt the programme of Socialism in order to secure this, but that whether public or private property prevails the common interests of the people must be conserved. Governments should not make large land grants to corporations, not even to railway corporations. Land companies should not be allowed to secure large tracts of cheap lands for exploitation purposes. The resources of coal especially should either be mined and operated by the Government or so under Government control that the people will have fuel at reasonable prices, and the same is true of the petroleum resources. The great for- i est regions on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains should not be open for reckless exploitation and throughout the whole provinces where possible there should be large forest preserves. And with reference to railways, whether built by. Government or Corporation, they must be under the control Of the Government so that accommodation and rates will not be a burden but a help to harmonious development. 4. Another requirement is that of a certain form of paternal Government with reference to the fundamental elements in the life of these new provinces. The country for all time will be agricultural but with varied aspects, such as wheat growing, mixed farming, ranching or stock raising. There are arid regions which need irrigation, humid regions subject to early frosts, there are hail belts and bad years, wheat pests and grain blights. Experimental farms are therefore greatly needed, and it is a matter for gratitude that there are now four of these, one in Manitoba at Brandon, one in Saskatchewan at Indian Head, and two in Alberta at Lethbridge and La- combe. Further, the Government should make some provision to help farmers secure good seed grain after the occasional poor crops, but should exercise a careful oversight over seed grain at all times in order to maintain Wi the high standard of the North-West wheat throughout the world. There should also be a Grain Insurance Department under'Government oversight This can be easily provided for in the Canadian West where there is no such thing as a total crop failure as in many other countries, and a partial crop failure will average only about one in six years, whereas on the other hand there are individual cases of • crop failure every year through drought or frost or hail. For the help of these individual failures an insurance policy is required. This same paternal policy should apply to education. There are large numbers of foreigners in these provinces who are densely ignorant and know not the value of education. There are many English-speaking people in scattered settlements where the school is far away and where there are many chores for the children to do, and where the children are needed for the work of the farm or house as soon as they are able to work. In the early days people are so busy that they may easily neglect for years the matter of establishing a school in the community if left to themselves. The Country cannot afford to let large numbers of her youth grow up in ignorance. Governments must see to it that schools are built and teachers employed to teach the rising generation. And from .the very fact of many foreigners disregarding the education of their children there is required the compulsory attendance of children at school. The Doukhobors and Galicians will never make good citizens until the rising generation is obliged to accept a wholesome commercial education. The provinces are giving good promise of doing well in their educational matters all the way from the public school to the state university. Each of the provinces has now a state university and provision made for liberal support. The University of Manitoba in Winnipeg is now a generation old and has been a great factor in the higher educational life of the west The new Universities of Saskatchewan at Regina and of Alberta at Edmonton have just been established by Act of Parliament and are thus in their formative period. They will play an important part in the higher life of these provinces. It must be added also that this paternal government must exercise great care in the administration of law and order. With immigration from all ■parts of the world having varied conceptions of law and order, with a mixed population cherishing different ideals of liberty and justice, with a certain lawless class in every young country, and with the great mass of the population who look for protection for their families and property and have a due regard for the moral welfare and high character of their new Home land, a faithful and impartial administration of law is of the first importance. This will be a difficult matter in a country with such great distances and such far-flung settlements, but it can be done successfully' by the evolution of the present police system. The North-West Mounted Police Force, "The Riders of the Plains," is the best police system in the world, and on the basis of this system the new provinces can evolve their systems free from party influence, faithful in their great services. 5. Another great requirement for the healthy development of these provinces is Unity of Life. By this is .meant unity of people, of national sentiment, of national ideals, of educational standards. Racial divisions are to be guarded against. This article does not call for a judgment on the wisdom or folly of having the Galicians, Doukhobors, Mormons, etc., in the country, but rather the present duty since they are here. These may be hard to assimilate, but unity is required both for their good and for the country's welfare. Divisions are weaknesses and are to be deplored. And in this connection, while it may be difficult or impossible to avoid colony settlements of these people, certainly all encouragement should be given to have these racial people move out from their colonies and settle independently where they will. Thus they will sooner be. assimilated and Canadian- ized. The Mormons need to be carefully watched. The mere agreement not to practise polygamy on Canadian soil is not sufficient. As long as plural marriages is an article in their religious teaching will this teaching be pernicious, and their presence a danger. The unity of the home and family is necessary for the country's moral life. So also must there be unity in educational standards. It is to be regretted that Saskatchewan and Alberta are saddled at the beginning with a dual or separate school system, and should it turn out that one standard is inferior to the other it will be a serious matter to be made right in the future. 6. Another important requirement is a wise immigration policy, and this brings us to the consideration of the third main division of this essay. Question (C): "State the countries from which immigration should be drawn and the best method of at-, tracting and successfully inducing such immigration to these provinces, haying due regard to existing trade conditions." The policy of immigration should be determined by national and moral ideals, should have due regard to the permanent life of the country and should have the vision of the great part this new Canada is destined to play in the national life of the Dominion. This policy should not be set aside by any temporary conditions of Capital and Labor, and it should be consistent in maintaining the principle of Canadian unity. There should be no "black" problem such as that of the United States, there should be no "yellow" problem suggested by . the Oriental races, there should be no free immigration of these races which will not assimilate with our own people, nor of the criminal or diseased classes. The Provinces will soon be the homes of millions of people and a great national work is before them. To throw wide the gates for all the peoples of the earth to come in would be suicidal. The cry for a "white man's" country and for a united Canada is not a selfish cry. We owe it to the nation and to the Empire, to future generations and to Christian civilization. The countries from which immigration should be drawn may be briefly classified as follows: First Class: The British Isles and the United States. To these countries we are related by the closest ties of kindred, language and national ideals. Being Anglo-Saxons, we all have with us the same historic traditions, the same Christian civilization and the same social life. And while these furnish the most desirable, immigrants for our Prairie Provinces it is gratifying to know that already most of our immigration is from these countries. Of the total immigration of nearly 300,000 in 1907, there were over 160,000 from the British Isles, and over 50,000 from the United States, considerably over two-thirds of the total number. Moreover, the prospects are good for an almost unlimited immigration from these countries. The British Isles, with a population of about 42,000,000 living densely within an area less than half the size of either Saskatchewan or Alberta, will long send . forth great migrating armies especial- ; ly to her world-wide colonies. Canada as the greatest Colonial nation is now receiving not only more of the British immigrants than any other colony, but more than even the United States. And also the United States, with 80,000,000 at the south, will provide a steady stream of migration to the welcome fields of the north. Second Class: The countries which may be named in this class are Gei many, France and the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and probably also Iceland, Holland, Belgium and Finland. People from these nations, though not so. closely related to us as those in the first class, are still distant connections, have many national, religious and social ideals in common with us, and are not only very worthy countries but easily assimilable and therefore no national menace. As to the streams of immigration from these countries, they are likely to be somewhat perennial though not very large. Germany, with her dense population of over 56,000,000, will endeavor to turn most of her migrating stream to her own Colonial regions. France, with her nearly 40,000,000 people, is not a migrating people though most of her migrating people are a most desirable class. . The three Scandinavian nations of Sweden, Norway and Denmark have a combined population of only about 10,000,000, and "the explanation of the proportionately large migrating stream from these countries is the prolific nature of the Scandinavian people. Third Class: Such countries as Italy, Russia and the several provinces of Central and Southern Europe are foreign to us in almost every sense of the word. Their national ideals are far removed from ours, their civilization is of a lower order and their social life distinctly alien. When they come to our country they give rise to national problems of morality, citizenship and assimilation which are serious just in proportion to their numbers. Fourth Class: Among these are the Orientals and Yellow races, especially the great nations of India, China and Japan. From these nations our immigration streams should not be drawn. They are entirely foreign to us in race, color, language, religion, social and national ideals. They are still heathen and both history and experience show that they will not assimilate. Should they come in considerable numbers they would present a permanent race problem and give rise to a permanent condition of strife and conflict, and should we open the doors to these races they would ultimately swamp us with their millions. Should they segregate in towns and cities they would establish plague spots of vice and flith; should they enter the Labor market their cheap labor and low standard of living would enable them to underbid and drive out the white laborer, and should they become farmers on the Prairies they, as the best farmers in the world, especially the Chinese, would ultimately pro- 1 duce friction and division in the life of the community and nation. There should be no Japanese, Chinese or East Indian Colonies established in the Prairie Provinces. Fifth Class: The diseased and criminal classes should be absolutely excluded. Care has always been exercised in preventing the diseased from entering the country, but more care should be taken to exclude the criminal classes. There should be some method of ascertaining the moral health of immigrants as well as their physical health. It would not be difficult to require from all immigrants a record of their lives, a statement of their past history, or testimonies of their personal characters from responsible parties. This would guard against the shiftless, the tramp, the parasite, the immoral and the criminal classes from invading our Provinces and menacing our family life. In considering methods for attracting and inducing immigration to these Provinces we may mention first the dissemination of knowledge.' This should apply to countries included in the first and second classes above mentioned. The fifth class should be excluded altogether, the fourth class should be either excluded altogether or limited under careful oversight to such as the capitalist, student or tourist classes. If it is necessary, to employ laborers rather than retard the proper development of industries, it should be only by contract for a limited time, such as is done in Australia and New Zealand. And if there seems difficulty in excluding Hindus because they are British subjects, so are the Chinese of Hong Kong British subjects. The difficulty is more apparent than real. Every country has the right to direct its own domestic life, , and while properly regarding all brothers with a fraternal spirit has a right to protest against all brothers coming to live in the same house. This must not be done with the "mob" spirit, but with dignity and self-respect, and while all nations desire favorable treaty relations with each other no nation is willing to sacrifice its own domestic life for trade or commercial relations. There is therefore no need of disseminating knowledge for immigration purposes among these Oriental nations. Nor is there need of this for those of the third class, for while we may not wish to close the door against these nations, nevertheless we do not desire their presence in large numbers, and so for good and sufficient reason let them get their own knowledge of our /provinces. For the first and second classes, however, there should be a comprehensive plan of advertising, the provinces. . This advertising should contain reliable information of the marvellous resources of the country, the millions of acres of free or cheap lands available, the world-famous wheat for making the world's best flour, the large and almost certain crops, the suitable climate for the country's prosperity and the people's health. This information should not be exaggerated in any way. This information should reach the people we desire for immigration by a vigorous educational campaign. The authorities should have printed an almost inexhaustible supply of pamphlets, bulletins, etc., to be continually distributed. The press should be especially used. People read the daily and weekly \ papers more than anything else and immigration authorities should have qualified correspondents writing letters and publishing articles through the press columns. Immigration offices should be established in all countries from whom we desire immigrants. These offices should have charge of not only the distribution of information, but also of the special kind of immigrants wanted by the farming classes and trades and labor classes, and especially the careful selection of people of good character and the exclusion of the undesirable classes. Whatever further assistance is given to bring suitable immigrants should probably be limited to those of the first class, namely from the British Isle and the United States. The future of these provinces is largely in the hands of the English-speaking people. They must mould our national ideals, uphold our standards and lead in the difficult work of assimilating the foreign people of our land. This is so important that it might be wise for the immigration authorities to centre all their energies in selecting our immigrants from these English- speaking countries. And we look for good results here. The stream from the United States for the past two years has passed the 50,000 per annum mark, and since we have the opportunities this stream can become a growing perennial current. The flow from the British Isles has been growing stronger during the years until now - it is almost a flood tide. The growth here can be indicated by the following figures In 1902 immigration from the British Isles was 14,930, in 1903 it was 45,866, in 1904, 51,284; in 1905, 62,503; in 1906, 91,263; and in 1907 it reached about 160,000. This therefore is now our greatest source of immigration and seems des- (- tined not only to remain so but to continue to increase. Our present duty is to prosecute vigorously the work of our immigration offices and, if possible, turn the migrating stream from the Mother Land into the Colonies of the Empire. There is a large migrating stream from the British Isles to the United States. In 1906 this migration was no less than 85,941. As we have a better country and larger opportunities we should see that the advantages of the Canadian North- West are presented to these thousands and they will turn to this new Canada in still larger numbers. This new Canada must set her face rigidly against all that is ignoble and false in national life. She must by her free and Christian institutions hold the moral standard of life above all standards of wealth or pleasure or selfishness. She must demand of all her people the ideal of united and loyal Canadian citizenship, and must have the true vision of the part a worthy people must play in the great drama of national life in the empire and in the world. Ontario and Quebec A. PINTO JOSEPH, Quebec. A.—Enumerating the nationalities eluding halfbreeds), Italian, Jewish, and also giving the number of Ian- Negro, Russian, Scandinavian, guages spoken in the two provinces. The subjoined table has been com- This section contains no original piled by the writer, showing the num- matter of any sort, it is simply a com- ber of each nationality in the pilation of figures. The information province, and the percentage of given is all taken from The Canada the total population for each Year Book, 1906 (Second Series), this race. Figures are also given of the being the latest official document giv- percentage increase of each nation- ing the figures desired. ality in the 20 years from 1881. This In the census of 1901 the population period is necessary, as no count was of the province of Ontario was 2,182,- taken- in 1891 of the race of citizens. 947, and that of Quebec 1,648,898, or This method of giving percentage in- a total of 3,831,845, more than half crease of nationality is given as being the population of the Dominion, for more reliable than many estimates of the two most thickly populated inhab- present population now current, for in ited provinces. the older provinces there has not been In Ontario, under the heading of race the same abnormal increase as in the or origin, are classified ten distinct western provinces, and therefore the nationalities or races, namely, British, increase since 1901 is not largely in Dutch, French,- German, Indian (in- excess of-the percentage given below: ONTARIO.—Population 2,182,947. P. C. P. C. Increase Origin. Numbers. of Total. in 20 Years. British 1,732,144 79.0 12 Dutch 23,280 1.0 4 French 158,671 7.0 50 German 203,319 9.0 10 Indian and Halfbreed 24,665 1.1 60 Italian 5,233 .24 660* Jewish 5,337 .24 2000** Negro 8,935 .41 —25*** Russian 4,584 .20 485 Scandinavian 3,854 .15 150 Other Races 4,654 .21 Not given 8,271 .38 ♦Number in 1881 only 687. **Number in 1881 only 254. ***Decrease. In the province of Quebec the popu- separately, and "Chinese and Japan- lation is also classified under ten ese" are put under one head. A similar headings, the same as for Ontario, ex- table to that given for Ontario follows: cept that negroes are not enumerated QUEBEC—Population 1,648,898. P. C. P. C. Increase Origin. Numbers. of Total. in 20 Years. British 290,169 17.0 11.5 Chinese and' Japanese 1,046 .06 * Dutch 1,554 .09 50 French 1,322,115 80.0 23 German : 6,923 .4 —22** Indian and Halfbreed 10,142 .6 33 Italian 2,805 .17 270 Jewish ;.. i 7,607 .46 2200*** Russian 430 .03 48 Scandinavian 1,350 .08 50 Other Races 2,799 .17 Not given 1,958 .12 *There were only 7 in 1881. **Decrease.- ***There were only 330 in 1881. 31 Several items should be noted. First it will be seen that the Asiatic question does not concern these two provinces very closely. Quebec has 1,046 Chinese and Japanese, of which practically all are Chinese. In the enumeration of countries of birth of the inhabitants, it is noted that 1,043 were born in China, so at most there were only 3 Japanese in the' province in 1901. In Ontario the Asiatics are not numerous enough to be given a separ-' ate classification; but amongst the religious beliefs of the inhabitants, 3,111 are called Pagans. These are doubtless the Chinese and Japanese in Ontario. The next noticeable fact is that in Quebec 80 per cent, of the population is of French origin, while in Ontario almost the same percentage (79 per cent.) is British. The third noticeable, thing is the marvellous increase in the number of Jews, over 2,000 per cent, in 20 years in each province. This rate, however, has not kept up since; it is all due to a few sudden influxes, because of persecutions in Russia. At present on reliable authority it can be stated that the total Jewish population of the two provinces together, is between 50,000 and 60,000. Coming now to the languages spoken in the two provinces, it is reasonable to assume that each nationality speaks its own language, at least toa certain extent, often very, limited. That would give English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Yiddish, Russian, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Chinese (Cantonese) and Japanese as the languages spoken, or 12 in all. There is practically no Indian dialect spoken in these provinces. Even on the reservations they either speak English or French, or a corruption of either or both. In some parts of Ontario, as Glengarry and surrounding counties, considerable Gaelic (Scotch) is spoken; some of the oldest inhabitants use nothing else, but the usage is dying out rapidly. Yiddish is spoken quite largely in the Jewish quarters of Montreal and Toronto and Quebec only. But in general it may be said that English is spoken all over Ontario and the so-called Eastern Townships of Quebec, while French is spoken j|ri the rest of Quebec. Where other languages are used the people also speak the dominant tongue, and in. the French part of Quebec nearly every one at least understands English. B.—Outlining the requirements of Quebec and Ontario to insure continuous, reasonably rapid development, and with harmony, harmony with the rest of the Dominion, with the Empire, and with the world at large, if possible. First, then, it is necessary to consider in what this development is to consist, in order that all measures taken to help it may work in accord with the natural laws producing such development. The trend of events will doubtless be similar to that which has occurred in other countries under analogous circumstances, modified necessarily where conditions are novel. The closest parallel to present conditions in these two provinces can undoubtedly be found in the United States, about 50 years ago, when their great Western expansion was just beginning. And this example should be of great benefit to Canada as a whole, as well as to each province in Canada, for from it it will be possible often to so modify conditions as to avoid many of the pitfalls into which our neighbors have fallen, while copying the many excellent things in which they, have done well. From this analogy it appears evident that the provinces under consideration, with the exception of a few districts considered later on, are likely to become more and more the centre of manufactures for the Dominion, as well as the gateway for the vast commerce which is bound to flow in both directions through that great highway, the St. Lawrence route and the Great Lakes. Of course, manufacturing will also spring up on the Pacific coast of the Dominion, as it has done in the Pacific states, while the centre is more purely agricultural; but that is beyond the scope of this article. Another feature which will help the foundation of factories in the two provinces is the almost unlimited supply of water power all over them both, that which has been so aptly called "white coal." All this does not mean that certain spots especially favored will be soon destroyed by all-devouring, factories. The Niagara peninsula will doubtless be the centre of. an increasing fruit trade for many years to come, while New Ontario, the regions to the north of Montreal and round Lake St. John in Quebec, will very soon be great grain-producing areas, no mean competitors to the prairie provinces of the West. . But the general tendency of the two provinces is more and more towards the establishment .of large manufacturing industries, many of which will utilize the great natural resources of the country, as paper and pulp mills, the using of timber cut close at hand, etc. Then all these factories, producing most things in greater quantities than can be used in Canada, must seek markets at home and abroad; and this, together with the agricultural products of the West, the dairy and natural products of the two provinces themselves, will create a constantly increasing shipping and carrying business with all the mechanism incident thereto. This again causes the growth- of more industries, and so the endless chain goes on. Having due regard, therefore, to all these varied interests, it will be seen that two things are essential for their carrying on, capital and labor, with a third that will enable them to be carried on in the most efficient and capable manner, proper education. All else will fall under one or other of these headings, so that the requirements of Quebec and Ontario for a reasonably rapid development are these: Capital, labor, education, especially technical. Each of these will be considered in turn. The first two of these, capital and labor, are far more inextricably interwoven than most people realize. Labor can no more exist without capital than capital can without labor; though labor, in connection with the working of fields and forests, is often the only capital necessary. Thus when land is to be had for nothing, as in Canada, newcomers take up land, sow with comparatively small capital outlay, and by means of their work raise crops which add to the capital of the country. In most manufacturing individual effort does not count for so much. The first problem then, for the development of the two provinces, is the attraction of the necessary capital. By this it Is not meant that all capital required must come from outside these provinces. That would be poor policy as well as poor business, for the very first requisite towards attracting outside capital is that the people in the provinces must show faith in their own future by investing what money they can^at home. But no part of Canada can yet supply all the capital it needs, and the attraction of outside money is something to be desired, not ' 'to be prevented. This question is not peculiar to Quebec and Ontario, but is the same to a greater or less degree all over the Dominion; and it falls largely to the Federal Government to provide the foundation for the upbuilding of all Canada. This foundation consists of the tariff first. Whether a high or low tariff is necessary is not the question at this point, but no one can deny that the tariff is the most important element in the commercial structure. And as stability is one of the essentials of confidence, a form of tariff once decided on should not be changed hastily or lightly, but only upon mature consideration. Other means by which the Dominion Government aids in securing commercial solidity are, by trade treaties, by enacting a criminal code, and above all, by enforcing it impartially and fearlessly, so that life and property are secure. Many will complain that all this is elementary, so it is; but these elementary truths are often forgotten, and they alone need to be followed in order to attract all the capital that is necessary for these provinces or the rest of the Dominion. The rest can safely be left to the action' of the natural laws of commerce. The provincial legislatures, too, of Quebec and Ontario, as well as of the other provinces, can do a lot to promote that confidence and stability necessary to all commercial success. The Civil Code, as important as the Criminal Code, is largely under their control, including the great mass of commercial laws, insolvency laws, etc. They control the granting of charters to the greater part of the concerns doing business, while under them, too, comes the big subject of education, which is taken up later,*and the control of the learned professions. Many difficulties arise from time to time in all these matters, but no "general rule for their solution can ,be given other than that they should be treated with ordinary common sense.; and it must be said to the credit of the different legislatures that in general they do their work with sound, business-like ability. Many mistakes have, of course, been made, and many more will be made, but the common-sense of the people is bringing all right in the end, and there is no more to be said. It might be noted at this point that racial questions are working themselves out in the same satisfactory way. Quebec, as shown in part A, is overwhelmingly French, but there is no bitter feeling between the races, as many outsiders would have it believed. Both the principal races are working harmoniously together for the common good, and the question as to what race a man belongs to is asked less often than formerly. Summing up, therefore, the attraction of capital depends chiefly on good sound legislation by both the Dominion and the Provincial authorities. This, coupled with the magnificent natural resources of the two provinces, in | power, in forests, in agricultural lines, in their waterways, will bring capital in Just as fast as it can be used. We now come to the second great requirement, namely, l&bor, and this at oitce brings up the whole question of immigration, in which again Pro- vlncial and Dominion interests are closely interwoven. No one to-day can truthfully deny that immigration is a necessity for Canada, for the oldest part as well as for the newest. To take her proper place in the Empire and in the world, for the carrying on of all her works and industries, population is necessary, and the natural increase cannot begin to satisfy the increasing wants. All, too, will admit* that there must be restrictions on immigration; it is only when these restrictions are discussed that differences of opinion arise. The government commenced by admitting everyone, then paupers and diseased were excluded, then the West objected to the entry of Chinese, and the tax on them has been gradually increased to the present figure, then skilled labor objects to the entry of more skilled labor, then the entry of other Asiatics is opposed, as also that of Italians in some quarters, and so on. All the different objectors have good grounds for their opposition, and in general .it would be well to follow out all the above requests. Each of these cases will be taken up separately. All are in favor of 'keeping out the diseased, those mentally incapable, paupers and criminals, and the Dominion Government should enforce the regulations against these more strictly than is done now. The companies bringing them in should be made to deport them at any time within the next two years or more after their entry, -as is done in the United States. The question of the influx of Asiatics does not now interest the Eastern Provinces, except out of sympathy with their far Western sister; and need not be considered, as under present conditions it is not now ever likely to trouble them. The immigration of skilled labor is the most complex problem of all. Some of the labor unions would* keep such labor out altogether, but most take a less selfish and more patriotic view. They realize that a growing country needs an increasing amount of skilled artisans; and many remember that one of the reasons why Australia progressed so much slower than Canada was that she for a long time kept out of the country the yery labor which was necessary for her growth. In Quebec and Ontario, therefore, the best plan would seem to be to let the ordinary laws of supply and demand govern this question, and for the government to do nothing one way or the other. Then when labor is required it will be forthcoming, but not otherwise. The case of unskilled manual labor, for which Italians are now mostly used, is governed by very similar conditions, except that their labor is not thoroughly organized. The great difficulty in this matter is that the class of people who alone will do the work is generally one that is otherwise undesirable in the country. As this work must be done, it will be necessary to trust to the powers of education and assimilation in connection with these people, and all the government can do is to discourage the entry of more of them than is absolutely necessary, to enforce the criminal law among them impartially but strictly, and to help on the work of assimila-* tion in every way possible. Another group of workers which should be considered is that of domestic servants. For this work Ontario and Quebec might ahnost sigh for the despised Oriental of the West. In a few cases in Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa, Chinamen have been employed with much satisfaction, but it is by no means general or in favor. However, many philanthropic institutions, ladies' guilds, etc., are now bringing in domestic servants from Europe, with considerable success, and it is probable that this branch of the question will soon solve itself without government interference. There rests, then, one more class of immigrant to be considered, that of farmers and farm hands. It has been seen above that increase amongst them increases the capital of the provinces more than the labor, the number of them has never yet equalled the demand; therefore this is the class whose immigration the government may properly encourage by every means in its power. The method of doing this will be considered under Section C of this essay. Summing up the immigration problem, then, the conclusion reached is that the two provinces must make haste slowly, and not bring people in faster than they can be assimilated, keep out all diseased, criminals and paupers, but let all others in (except Asiatics), though without especially favoring any but farmers and farm hands. A large part of this work belongs to the Dominion Government, but the Provincial Governments will have to look after the opening up of their own northern districts by themselves, for it is of far more importance to Canada as a whole that the West be settled first; and the Eastern provinces must not feel slighted by this policy. Every additional person in the Centre or West means so much more business for the merchants of the East, as well as for the transportation interests. The third great requirement of these provinces is education. A good primary education is now obtainable by all in both provinces, so that it need not be considered in this paper. But there is an increasing need of proper technical education, by which is meant not only manual training, but also training in husbandry, dairying, horticulture and domestic science. Both provincial legislatures have already made considerable grants for this purpose, but more must be done. The labor unions have taken this subject up in a most praiseworthy manner, and what little has been done is largely due to theft- influence. It should be remembered that this is a matter which is perhaps of more vital interest to those already in the province than to the newcomers, so all classes should work for the securing of better facilities for technical training. While on the subject of labor unions, and industrial conditions, it should be urged on all unions to continue their efforts for the- prohibition of child labor. Now is the time to have the proper laws enacted, before large industries are created using the labor of children as a necessity of their existence. Summing all this section up, the requirements of Ontario and Quebec to insure reasonably rapid development with harmony, are: 1. Introduction of Capital.—To obtain this all that is necessary is sound commercial legislation, regular enforcement of laws, criminal and civil. All else follows from natural causes. 2. Immigration.—This must be properly restricted to keep out undesirables. Skilled and unskilled labor to be admitted, without any artificial aids to immigration except in the case of farm hands, who are to receive all the encouragement possible. 3. Education.—A sound primary educational system is a necessity, with good manual training schools and agricultural colleges. C.—Stating the countries from which immigration should be drawn and the best method of attracting and successfully inducing such immigration to 1 Quebec and Ontario, having due regard to existing trade conditions. Heading the list of countries from which immigration should be drawn is undoubtedly the United Kingdom. As citizens of the greatest empire that has been, all Canadians prefer British immigrants to all others. It is tr"ue that the English are often grumblers and will never give up preconceived opinions, but are not these the qualities which have made Britain what it is? And after all, the British are more quickly assimilated than foreigners, and they make the finest citizens, for they are at home right off, are under their own flag, and are fundamentally the same as the majority of Canadians in manners. Next to the British the best citizens will come from the United States, for there, too, men are used to free institutions and complete liberty and self- reliance. They, too, are all virtually Anglo-Saxons in mode of living, if not actually so by descent. They readily become loyal British citizens, too, contrary to previous expectations. After them immigrants from Scandinavia, Germany, Holland, Belgium and the north of France are always welcome to Ontario and Quebec, and quickly become most desirable residents. These are all hardy, thrifty peoples, not afraid of work, and will surely do credit to themselves and to their new motherland. Would that all immigration could be restricted to the above named; Canada would then indeed be a country to be proud of. However, a few others must necessarily settle in the land. Some Slavonic peoples make good settlers. The Galicians of the second generation have become very good citizens before this, and should be equally so in the East. The Moravians, too, are excellent settlers; in fact, all the .Slavs who are not corrupted by Tartar blood (as the Russians) are good material for citizenship. The Southern Europeans and the Russians should not be encouraged to come to Canada. As noted in Section B, a certain number of them must be used for doing work other races will not touch, but for this purpose it should be possible to bring out some of the Northern Italians, who are peaceable and law-abiding, instead of the quarrelsome and criminal Southerners and Sicilians, who now swarm in all the .cities of the two provinces. As regards Asiatics, it has been shown that they are not likely to come to Eastern Canada in any numbers, nor are they wanted, for the East as well as the West objects strongly to all who will not become citizens. It will probably now be possible to keep them out by agreement with their own governments, thus avoiding all future unpleasantness on that score. With regard to the best means of attracting and inducing immigration, much might be said. The present system of letting steamship agents bring out whom they can get must be abolished, and the best way would be for the legislatures and the Dominion to keep their own officials in Europe, who would examine all would-be emigrants before they sail, and then to reject the undesirables. To attract the desirables, all the present means of advertising Canada, lantern lectures, newspaper and magazine articles, as well as many new methods, should be used, but only amongst the.peoples whom it is desirable to have as settlers, as indicated above. Then as it has been shown that the immigration of farm hands is especially desirable, all who contract to spend a certain fixed time on a farm should be assisted in their passage by means Of loans repayable gradually. They should also receive the free grants of land, as is done under the present system. No other state aid should be allowed. Too much help is injurious, as likely to pauperize individuals, and the provinces only want those who are able and energetic enough to work successfully for their own living. In conclusion, the requirements fOr the development of Canada cannot be summed up better than has been done by Mr. Flumerfelt in his letter of February 5th, when he says they consist in "wisely using our natural resources and judiciously seeking additions to our population, thereby ensuring a further advancement toward freedom, justice, popular education, a strong, well-defined British-Canadian sentiment; thus shall we become a more united, happier, contented people, with a general regard for life, health, peace, individual well-being and national prosperity." The Maritime Provinces W. E. MACLELLAN, Halifax, N.S. The Maritime Provinces are, as it portions of the Dominion; and their were, the right hand of Canada ex- social and economic conditions resem- tended in hospitable invitation and ble most closely those of the Old friendly welcome to the peoples of the World. Old World. Nova Scotia has been The three Provinces, Nova Scotia, properly called the Atlantic wharf of New Brunswick . and Prince Edward America. Halifax and St. John, with Island, had a joint population, ac- harbours as free from ice and other cording to the census of 1901, of 893,- obstructions, the year round, as that 953. In round numbers, it now, ,in ail of New York and more easily acces- probability, closely approximates one sible, are a day's sail nearer Europe, million> Qf this Nova gcotia h for swift, modern steamers, than any .coc,.. -vr i» , „ „«., -^x- other American port. These Prov- i59'57^ *ew„ Brunswick, 331,120; inces,-therefore, are peculiarly adapt- Prince Edward Island, 103,259. The ed and equipped by nature to attract following table shows the composition and receive European emigration. of the populations of the different They were, moreover, the first settled Provinces by nationalities: Nova Scotia. New Brunswick. P. E. Island. English 159,753 104,682 24,043 Irish 54,710 83,384 21,992 Scotch 143,382 48,310 41,753 Others 1,219 ' 1,147 95 French 45,161 79,979 13,866 German 41,020 3,816 709 Dutch 2,941 3,663 242 Scandinavian 696 1,292 14 Russian 74 68 5 Austro-Hungarian 99 27 0 Italian 285 60 12 Jewish 449 395 17 Swiss 1,004 37 0 Belgian 62 26 5 Half-breeds 87 156 4 Indians 1,542 1,309 254 Chinese 107 59 4 Negro 5,984 1,368 141 Various Origins 492 355 47 Unspecified 507 986 56 Totals 459,574 331,120 103,259 From the foregoing it will be seen at a glance that an overwhelming proportion of the population of the Maritime Provinces is of British descent. The figures of birth place are still more suggestive. Of the 459,574 in Nova Scotia, 452,786 are British born; of New Brunswick's 331,120, the British born number 324,084; of Prince Edward Island's 103,269, the British born number 102,351. Most significant of all are the figures of Canadian birth; for Nova Scotia, 435,172; for New Brunswick, 313,178; for Prince Edward Island, 99,006. In other words, of the 459,574 people in Nova Scotia, all but 6,786 are of British birth, and all but 24,407 of Canadian birth; of the 331,120 in New Brunswick, all but 7,036 are of British birth, all but 17,942 of Canadian birth; of the 103,269 in Prince Edward Island, all but 908 are British born, and all but 4,253 are of Canadian birth. Of the total of 893,953 in the Maritime Provinces, all but 14,732 are British born, all but 46,597 are Canadian born, that is to say only 1.6 per cent, of the population of the Maritime Provinces is other than British born, and only a little over 5.2 per cent other than Canadian born. Further, of Nova Scotia's total population, 435,172, or 94.7 per cent, were born in the Province; of New Brunswick's total population, 300,460, or 70.7 per cent were born in New Brunswick; of Prince Edward Island's total population, 96,538, or 93.5 iper cent, were born in that Province. Of 893,953, the total population of the Maritime Provinces, all but 61,783, or 93.1 per cent, were born in those Provinces. It thus appears that the present population of the Maritime Provinces is almost entirely native. That it is practically homogeneous may be inferred from the overwhelming preponderance of those of British origin and the fact that there has been no considerable influx of immigration for at least two generations. There has never, at any time, been any considerable inflow of foreign settlers. Those set down in the census returns as of French origin are the descendants of the Acadians, left after the deportation of their compatriots in 1755, or of those of them who found their way back after their expulsion. The Germans and Dutch are mostly the descendants of a band of settlers who arrived about 1750. The Swiss are of similarly ancient date in origin. The negroes are mainly the descendants of slave forefathers imported by early settlers. The other nationalities represented by a few score or hundreds each, are those or the descendants of those who have drifted, individually across the seas from time to time into a maritime, ship-owning country. Naturally, as suggested by the foregoing facts, the language of the Maritime Provinces is English, which is spoken more or less fluently and correctly by all, and exclusively by most. In the scattered Acadian settlements, a French patois is still more or less in vogue"; but English is spoken concurrently with it. In some of the Highland-Scotch districts Gaelic speech still lingers, but is rapidly dying out. A Dutch patois also survives in a few isolated settlements, but its end is in sight. With these exceptions, the language of the Maritime Provinces is English, which even the Indians, who are all, in reality, more or less of white intermixture, have learned to speak. Territorially the Maritime Provinces cover an area almost identical' with that of the Kingdom of England. In exact figures, England contains 50,903 square miles; the Maritime Provinces 51,163. The following table gives the areas of the different divisions of the United Kingdom and of the Maritime Provinces in acres and in square miles, and their population respectively per square mile Area in Acres. England 32,578,178 Scotland 19,070,081 Ireland 20,327,947 Wales 4,749,301 Nova Scotia 13,483,671 New Brunswick 17,863,266 Prince Edward Island 1,397,991 The United Kingdom The Maritime Provinces Population in Sq. Miles. per Sq. Mile. 50,903 605 29,797 150 31,762 140 7,421 213 21,068 22 27,911 12 2,184 47 346 17 The significance of these figures with reference to the future possibilities of the Maritime Provinces will be readily perceived. England, with an area practically the same as that of the three provinces, has a population between fifteen and sixteen times as great. Scotland, with an area only a little larger than that of New Brunswick, has a population twelve and a half times greater. Ireland, with an area less than fifty per cent, larger than that of Nova Scotia, has a population more than six times greater. Wales, with an area a little more than three times larger than that of Prince Edward Island, by far the most densely populated of all the Provinces of Canada, has a population five times greater. Yet in natural conditions the Maritime Provinces compare favourably in all respects with the United Kingdom, either as a whole or by historical divisions. The south of England lies six degrees north of the south of Nova Scotia and three degrees north of the extreme north* of New Brunswick, the most northerly of the Maritime Provinces. This of course makes a great difference in the distribution of light in favour of the Maritime Provinces. It also tends to occasion a very considerable difference of temperature, which, however, is more or less counteracted by ocean currents and their consequences. The climate o'f England is more equable than that of the Maritime Provinces or any of them, but it compares most unfavourably in the matter of moisture and in the annual proportion of sunshine. The climate of Scotland does not compare favourably -in any respect with that of any of the Maritime Provinces. In natural wealth the Maritime Provinces are the equals in all respects of the divisions of the United Kingdom and the superiors in many. Their soil in many parts is of unsurpassed fertility. Under a similar system of agriculture it would yield as largely as the richest fields even of England. This has been demonstrated practically in many localities. The average hay crop, even with indifferent cultivation, is as large as that of the United Kingdom. Wheat when adequately cultivated has been known to return forty to fifty bushels per acre in Nova Scotia. In some sections of that Province in early times grain crops were grown on the same land, without the use of fertilizers of any kind, for over thirty years consecutively. The fruit-growing capacity of many parts of the Maritime Provinces has been demonstrated conclusively by practical experiment The apples of Nova Scotia have long been an important and increasing factor in the English market In 1907 one-sixth of the apple export of North America to the United Kingdom was sent from Nova Scotia. To the growing of stone and small fruits the Maritime Provinces are equally well adapted. For the production of root crops they are unsurpassed. Their resources in timber have been noted ever since their discovery. Notwithstanding all that has been drawn from them, these resources are still enormous, more particularly in New Brunswick, where they form one of the chief sources of industry and of public revenue. The mineral wealth of the Provinces may be conjectured from the initial development which it has received^ The coal deposits are known to be practically inexhaustible, and new areas are being ^discovered year after year. Iron is only less abundant than coal, and limestone lies everywhere, in close proximity to both. The striking development which has taken place in the steel industry is but an earnest of the future. Gypsum is found in lavish abundance, and its development waits only on the market Gold mining has been a profitable and a stable industry for nearly half a century, affording constant and increasing opportunities for judicious investment. Silver, copper, lead, manganese have all been found; and the indications all are that their discovery in economic quantities is only a question of time. Petroleum has also been found and developed to some extent. The fisheries of the Maritime Provinces have been from the first a great source of industry and wealth. They are susceptible of indefinite expansion. They have grown steadily more, instead of less, profitable. Their richness shows no signs of impairment. The opportunities for their development are constantly increasing. The markets are improving as are also_the means of carrying on the industry. Only men and capital are required for their profitable expansion far beyond any limits yet within sight. Such are the natural and material conditions of the Maritime Provinces of Canada in brief outline. Such are their potentialities for the' reception and accommodation of population; such is their capacity for affording it an attractive home and profitable employment. It is plainly evident that these Provinces have room in abundance for a" population far in excess of that which they contain at present, and gre^t natural wealth only awaiting development for the support of such increased numbers. The all-important question is how to add effectively to the number of inhabitants and, through them, to the general prosperity of the country. One of the first requisites of course is capital, which population always accompanies or follows. To secure it the resources of the Provinces must be made known to capitalists elsewhere. Mere advertising will not serve the purpose. The owners of capital must be induced to come and examine for themselves. At present there is comparatively little outside capital invested in the Maritime Provinces. Could the potential wealth of their fields, their forests, their mines, and their fisheries be brought home to the owners, more particularly of Old, Country capital, it is difficult to believe that they would not promptly avail themselves of the opportunities for profitable investment so freely available. But capital can be created within the country with even more beneficial results than would accrue from its direct importation. All that is necessary is an adequate working population. The facilities for their operation are ready to hand. Any considerable addition to the population of the Maritime Provinces should be of a strictly working character. And it should be of a particular sort of workers. Artisans, except those with sufficient capital for the establishment of new industries, like- ly to give employment to other workers, are not wanted. Of miners there are enough, or nearly enough, for present • requirements. Of skilled workers of other sorts there are sufficient. Even of ordinary day labourers there is an adequate supply. What is needed is wealth-producers—men who will work upon the land, in the forests or at the fisheries. In this work they will of necessity be associated with and have to learn more or less from the workers already on the ground. It is, therefore, of the greatest importance that they should understand the language and be in sympathy with the men of the country. It is doubtful if foreign immigration in considerable numbers is desirable or would be successful. There is no longer room for the establishment of separate communities. Those who come hereafter must somehow fit into the life of old and homogeneous settlements, with fixed social ideas. Few foreigners would know how to adapt themselves to such communities, nor would their lives be likely to be at all enjoyable in the process. Eastern Canada, therefore, is practically shut down to the Old Country as' a recruiting ground for its population. From England and the'southern parts of Scotland might profitably be drawn a considerable number of working farmers, with sufficient capital to . enable them to start operations upon the agricultural system to which they are accustomed, but with sufficient intelligence and adaptability to modify that system in accordance with the requirements of other conditions. Experienced dairymen, stock-raisers and shepherds, especially, would find themselves able, with much smaller capital than at home, to establish themselves successfully. Gardeners and fruitgrowers of experience'and skill would also find ample . opportunities, and might be advised and induced to come. But there should be no exaggeration or misrepresentation of their chances of success, or of the conditions of living and of labour to be encountered. Nothing so surely tends to disappointment and subsequent discontent as unduly raised expectations; and nothing is more injurious to a country's prospects than disappointed and soured settlers. It is not, however, among the more prosperous and contented of the people of the Motherland that immigrants for the Maritime Provinces should be sought. The poorer classes of the Old Country, outside the cities, are poor only in purse. The poorest of them are rich in health, in intelligence and in good, clean blood. These Provinces should seek, among them, those whom they can definitely promise speedy betterment of their material circumstances, with the certainty of fulfilling their promise. They should turn to Scotland, to Ireland and to the agricultural districts of England for immigrants. No settlers have proved more valuable in the past than these; none are more promising for the future. Scottish crofters, Irish peasants and English farm labourers have started by thousands in these Provinces, with no other possessions than their hands, and have ended their days in comfort and comparative affluence. The opportunities are as good now as they have ever been; in many respects they are actually better. Well-to-do farmers, whose fathers reclaimed their lands from the forests and left their sons comfortably established, have been drawn away in large numbers by the imagined attractions of American cities, leaving their farms vacant and waste. The farms abandoned by them are often to be bought to-day for a trifle and upon the easiest possible terms of payment. These are the lands which should attract the industrious poor of the Old Country. Similar lands in the New England States are those which are now making the comfort and often the fortunes of newcomers in succession to the original settlers and their descendants. Men to fill and till these abandoned farms is what the Maritime Provinces first of all require. But they are not by any means the .only lands available. There- is abundancve of as good virgin soil still awaiting settlement as has heretofore been developed. If only immigrants were not brought in with exaggerated anticipations of living in ease and accumulating a speedy fortune, with the possible hope of returning therewith to their native land; if they were carefully instructed in advance that their only immediate expectation is the betterment of their condition by energy, industry and frugality, they might well be placed on these new lands with every prospect of happy results for themselves and the country. Small holdings would be greatly preferable for such immigrants. Large holdings have proved economic evils in the past. They have lead to indifferent farming, exhaustion of the soil and sometimes to ultimate failure. For larger holdings capital is requisite in proportion to acreage. Newcomers of the class now most desirable should not be encouraged to attempt the cultivation of more land than they can work, at first, mainly with their own hands. In other words, they should be-induced, if possible, to fol- 40 low the hand system to which they have been accustomed. The man who has made a living out of a few acres of Irish bog or of Scotch hillside should find himself at home and in comparative ease and comfort on, say, fifteen or twenty acres of good Maritime Province soil, with prices for products such as they have been of late years, and have every prospect of continuing to be. The implements necessary for the farming or gardening of such a piece of land would not be costly, and the holder of it would be more or less tree to seek at the outset, at least, the employment which usually offers in connection with lumbering and similar industries during the winters. Many of the farmers of the Maritime Provinces are kept poor by carrying stocks of implements, horses, etc., which the yield of their impoverished fields does not justify. Concentrated and intensive cultivation is what the conditions require. And it is this to which native farmers, by training and tradition, are averse. New blood is required for its introduction and illustration. The great need of the Maritime Provinces, then, in the matter of population is adequate additions to the ranks of agriculture. It has been clearly indicated that there is ample room with every hope of success, for several times the present population, without the slightest danger of overcrowding. The main question, thereof ore, is how to set about securing such population. Once secured and properly set to work, there would be comparatively little danger of its being subsequently lost; for the tide of emigration to the United States has largely ceased t© flow. The American cities have lost much of their former attractiveness in the way of higher wages. Whatever movement of population there has been of late years has been more in the direction of Western Canada; and, therefore, no loss to the Dominion. It is reasonably certain that the Maritime Provinces, unfortunately divided as they are politically, cannot themselves put forth any adequate effort to promote immigra- - tion. The Governments of these Provinces have little to stimulate them, beyond the disinterested patriotism of their individual members, to make the necessary strenuous efforts to secure new settlers. Such settlers would not add, except very indirectly, to local revenues; and even after being secured they would be likely at first to become the cause of considerable additional expense to the Administrations. It is the Dominion Government alone which claims and exercises the right of taxing the individual by means of the tariff. It is it alone which profits directly by increase of population and of consumers. On it, therefore, should fall ohiefly the financial burden of promoting immigration to these Provinces as to other parts of the Dominion. A new settler in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick or Prince Edward Island is worth quite as much to Canada as one in Manitoba or the Northwest. Consequently the Dominion Government should take the lead and pay the greater part of the bills in this matter. Each Province would unquestionably be willing and glad to lend a helping hand, by the employment of local agents to advise and assist in the work. The cost of immigration literature for use in the Old Country and of agents there for its proper distribution and for the furnishing of personal and special information should, however, be borne, and borne cheerfully by the Dominion. The cost to the Dominion would, indeed, be comparatively light, for it , already has an army of agents at work across the Atlantic, whose services could be utilized without additional expenditure. And the printing of Provincial literature, which would be but a variation or a specialization of general literature, could be done much more cheaply by the Dominion than by the Provinces. The time has surely come for the Federal Government to deal fairly and evenly by all the Provinces in this matter. Its interests are practically as great in one division of Canada as in another. With its leadership and the patriotic co-operation of the Provinces, which would certainly be forthcoming, it ought not to be difficult to secure settlers adapted to the conditions of eaeh. There must be many possible emigrants to Canada in the United King- . dom, whom the agents of the Dominion Government cannot conscientiously direct to the Northwest who would make most desirable settlers for the Maritime Provinces. These should not be lost to Canada, and would not, were the Dominion in co-operation with all the Provinces. In conclusion, it remains to enforce by repetition, in brief, that the Maritime Provinces constitute naturally one of the richest and most promising sections of the Dominion; that in their natural conditions they are peculiarly adapted to the reception of a class of Old Country immigrants not suited immediately to the circumstances of the Northwest or, indeed, to those of any other part of Canada; that these Provinces are the iSf . front entry and an essential part of the Dominion, to whose completeness they contribute in an highly important manner; that their prosperity must add directly to that of the whole as well as of every other part of Canada; that notwithstanding their historic age and the unquestioned greatness of their attractions and resources, they have still a population far below their requirements and their capacity to support in prosperity and comfort. With this knowledge in the public mind only an intelligent and united effort is necessary to supply them with the population which they require and are so well fitted to maintain. Such a population would enable them to attain their proper status and fulfil their due functions to the great and lasting gain of the whole Dominion. Canada's Problems in Immigration and Development C. F. DEACON, Charlottetown, P.E.I. First Prize D.—Enumerate the nationalities now resident in Canada; also give number of languages spoken. English 1,260,899 Irish 988,721 Scotch 800,154 Other British 13,415 3,063,189 . French 1,649,371 German 310,501 Dutch 33,845 Scandinavian 31,042 Russian , 28,612 Austro-Hungarian 18,178 Italian .: 10,834 Jewish 16,131 Swiss 3,865 Belgian . . . 2,994 Half-breeds 34,481 Indian 93,460 Chinese and Japanese 22,050 Negro 17,437 Various origins 3,786 - Unspecified 31,539 5,371,315 389,351 5,760,666 The present population of Canada is problematical, estimates varying from 6,000,000 to 6,600,000. The British and Foreign Bible Society in its Report for 1907, states that the arrival in British North America of 215,912 immigrants during the year 1906, speaking many languages and coming from all parts of the globe, lends commanding importance to the According to the census of 1901, the origins of the people of the Dominion, of Canada were as follows: Includes English, Gaelic, Irish, Welsh and Manx. French. German, Polish and Wend. Dutch. Swedish, Icelandic, Danish. There are 20 languages in European Russian. Probably 12 languages and dialects. Italian. Yiddish. French, Italian, German. French, Flemish. English, French, Indian. See list, page 44. Chinese and Japanese; Probably all English. Armenians, Arabs, Syrians, Turkish, Rumanian, Persians, etc. Increase in Northwest Provinces between 1901 and 1906. Society's agencies for circulating the Scriptures among the heterogeneous community. Of that number 152,130 entered by the ocean ports, and 63,782 crossed the line from the United State's. From the Continent of Europe came 47,166, and from Great Britain 97,757 —making a total of 144,923 from all Europe. It is significant that the less enlightened races of Europe, in its f eastern and southern countries, contributed three and a half times more immigrants than the more progressive nations. Of the latter—German, French, Belgian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, etc.—there were 10,627; whereas 36,539 came from the least educated nations—from the Russian Empire (13,073, including 8,415 Russian Jews), from Italy (9,217) and from the Austrian Empire (10,754), including Galicians (5,868), Buckovinians (1,424), Magyars (446), Bohemians, Croatians, Slovenians, Slovaks, and Austrian Poles. Of Asiatics, 2,930 came from Japan, 2,317 from India, 68 from China, while the Armenians, Arabians, Syrians, Persians and Turks amounted to 787—in all 6,102 from Asia. Others hailed from Brazil, Africa, and the ends of the earth. For all these polyglot immigrants the Bible is used or called for in sixty versions. The Indian languages used in Canada are: Eskimo, 2 dialects, one in Labrador, one in Baffin's Land. Tukudh, *poken by Tukudh or Louchoux Indians, Yukon River. Tinne, spoken by Indians on the Mackenzie River. Stavi, spoken by Indians on the Mackenzie River. '- Chipewyan, spoken by Indians from Churchill to Athabasca. Haida (Hydah), spoken by Indians on Queen Charlotte Islands, B. C. Kwa-gutl, or Qwa-gutl, spoken by Indians on "Vancouver Island. Mohawk, spoken by Indians west of the Falls of Niagara. Mic-Mac, spoken by Indians in Nova Scotia. Maliseet, spoken by Indians in New Brunswick. Iroquois, spoken by Indians in Quebec and Ontario. Cree, Western or Plain dialect, spoken1 by Indians in Manitoba, etc. Cree, Moose dialect, spoken by Indians in Moose Fort District. Cree, Easter dialect, spoken by Indians on the Red River. Beaver, spoken by' Indians on the Peace River. Blackfoot, spoken by Indians east of the Rocky Mountains. Ojibwa, spoken by Chippeway or Saulteaux Indians. The Indian population of Canada as a factor in the future destinies of the people may be considered a negligible quantity. In the three Northwest provinces the numbers, according to the census, were: 1901. 1906- Indian 19,247 18,629 White 400,265 790,234 Percent, of Indians 4.58 2.30 It is evident, therefore, that the Indian population of Canada can never give rise to the native problems that affect South Africa and other countries in the British Empire. As an evidence of the difficulty of estimating the present population of Canada, consider the following statement, which proves beyond controversy that Canada fails to retain many who come to her shores, not to mention the exodus of native-born, which has not yet ceased in the Maritime Provinces: Birthplace of those born outside of the Dominion. 1901. 1891. 1881. England. . . 210,285 219,688 169,504 Scotland . . . 83,631 107,594 115,062 Ireland . . . 101,629 149,184 185,526 NATIONALITIES OF POPULATION. Census of 1901. *Canadians 5,238,701 Americans 40,850 Austro-Hungarians 19,087 Belgians 984 Chinese 16,375 Dutch 187 Danish 2,818 French 2,969 Germans 6,417 Greeks 118 Italians 5,162 Japanese 3,612 Norwegians 1,256 Rumanians 688 Russians 19,837 Spanish 79 Swedish 2,906 Swiss 385 Turks 1,098 Various 131 Unspecified 7,655 5,371,315 ♦Includes all born in Canada, British Isles, and possessions, also naturalised foreigners. In this last the Germans number only 6,417, whilst in the list of the origins of the people they number 310,501, a difference which well Illustrates the assimilative power of a country on immigrants of similar civilisation, and affords a needed warning against the needless difficulty of assimilation caused by the introduction into our midst of elements so antagonistic to our own as the lower elements from Eastern and Southern Europe, not to speak of fanatics like.the Doukhobors. E.—Outline the requirements necessary to incure continuous, reasonably rapid development and with industrial harmony. To ensure Canada's continous, reasonably rapid development, with industrial harmony, would seem to call for the co-operation of man with Nature to a degree not hitherto attained. Nature has supplied the elements of wealth in profusion, but until the era of steam they were not readily accessible. Even after the union of the various Colonies (1867), the purchase of the lands of the Hudson Bay Company, the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and the inauguration of the National Policy (1879), development dragged, and population increased but slowly. This was due in the main to the superior attractiveness of the United States, which being first in the field and having a less rigorous climate, was able without effort to draw to itself the bulk of European emigration, whilst free-land was available. But when that was exhausted, Canada's opportunity for development on a large scale arrived; and since 1897 there has been a growth unparalleled heretofore, both in numbers and wealth. As Sir George Drummond stated to the shareholders of the Bank of Montreal: "We have now a total population estimated at 6,600,000, the circulation of small Dominion notes has increased one hundred per cent, in ten years; the chartered banks' note circulation has increased 135 per cent, in the same period; while the total deposits of the public in the banks have increased from $270,000,000 to $677,400,000, or 150 per cent. In six years there has been an estimated gain of 23 per cent, in population and 143 per cent, in foreign trade." As the recent panic in the United States will probably cause some retardation in Canada's progress for a while, the time is opportune for a public discussion of the problems involved in national progress. The elements essential to our progress may be classed as follows: Character, British Connection, Preservation of the Forests, Higher Status of Agriculture, A Revenue Tariff, Organization of Labor, and High-class Immigration. Character is the mainspring of national life. If character were to remain to it, a nation could never come to an end. It would be endowed with perpetual motion, the impetus would always be there. "We live by an invisible flame," said Sir Thomas Browne, and surely character is that flame. Science in the last hundred years has altered the whole material setting of civilised life. Science has brought a revolution—nothing less—in our conception of the universe, but at its highest science is a criticism or an analysis, not an incentive. Character can alone supply the stimulus and the initiative; and character must be inspired by a religion which does not strangle thought. "Show me," one might-say, "the character of a people, and I will show you the cause of their prosperity or their decline." Rome fell, not because the hordes of barbarians arrived and humiliated her, but because her spirit, her ancient resisting power—in a word, her character—had departed. The Romans had lost their independence in advance through the enervating and pauperising doles of a government which played at being a Universal Providence. The Goths and Huns overcame men who were no longer proud and resourceful soldiers, but spiritless pensioners of the State. Those who would not imitate the decadence of Rome must preserve sturdiness of character —national spirit.—(The Spectator.) The Hon. Jas. Bryce, when in Montreal recently, said: "It was not the nations which had acquired wealth most rapidly that had achieved lasting fame, but rather those which had given the greatest contributions to the intellectual wealth and enjoyment of the world. The greatness of a nation was ultimately measured by what it had done , for the arts, poetry, literature, learning and science." As to Canada's political future, Mr. Bryce said that entirely depended upon what was done in the present, while the country was young—and this applied to all new countries. Success in maintaining a high standard of public life depended upon the traditions of a people, which were to the nation what habits were to the individual, and just as habits were formed in the young person, so traditions were formed in a young nation. If England is and has been successful in her public life, it is due to the maintenance of the noble traditions she has inherited from the preceding centuries. That is what makes the efficiency and dignity of our parliament, because everyone feels that he is bound to live up to the standard that has been set them, and would visit with condemnation anyone who fell below that standard. It ds the English tradition that the best men should wish and strive to enter public life, should give the best of themselves to their country's service, and feel that in that service they must maintain as high, exact and scrupulous a sense of honor as they would exercise in any part of their private life. The maintenance of such a high standard of public life depended upon the example of the few and the vigilance of the many; that those at the top should set a high example for the present and the time to come, while the people, with mind fixed upon what had been attained in the past, should expect of their public (men that their virtue should be at least equal to that of those who had gone before them. * * *" Every Canadian can help Canada. He can help the Canada of the future by setting and maintaining a high standard of citizenship for this country now. And no good work that is ever done in this world can be lost. Dean Walton, of McGill University, on the same occasion, said: "In this country there are many prophets who tell us thajt we have too much regard for books," and warn us against the danger of producing a generation of blear-eyed pedants, unfitted to grapple with the problems of our modern world. These are, in my opinion, short and shallow views. Canada is not yet suffering from the excess of book-learning. On the contrary, the imagination of our people is starved, and their outlook on life narrowed, by the want of knowledge which might be gained from books." CANADA NOW AND ALWAYS A PART OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. On the 27th February, Dr. Thompson, of the Yukon, treated the HOuse of Commons to a talk on the British connection, in which he completely antagonised common Canadian sentiment. Hon. Mr. Fielding regretted Dr. Thompson's speech, as it might be interpreted abroad as meaning that a section of/ the Canadian people were dissatisfied with their part in the British Empire. Mr. Fielding's opinion was that there was no such section. "We are all proud to ;belong to the British Empire, and there are none who expect a change in that respect" Not only is this true, but the only two alternatives to the present system are practically impossible. Annexation to the United States would be resisted to the death by the French-Canadians. They are well assured that their language, religion and customs would have little chance of enduring if Canada became a part of the United States. As for the English-speaking Canadians, the sense of nationality is now so far developed that annexation would be considered as a loss of prestige, not to be entertained for a moment. Independence, on the other hand, is : : out of the question, from want of population to support an army and navy adequate to defend the country's rights in cases of dispute with other powers. As Dr. Parkin said, "When British subjects were the victims of riots in China, the subject was discussed by the Chinese and the British under the guns of a British warship. If Canada had been dependent on herself the Vancouver riots would have been settled for under the guns of a Japanese man-of-war." To expect to cuddle under the wing of the United States, which would suffer no dictation from abroad, would be a pOor outlook; witness the spoliation of Mexico, of Hawaii and Columbia, by their powerful neighbor. Dr. Parkin thinks the time will come when Canadians will freely give their share towards the cost of protecting the Empire, not because of Britain's need, but because the people will be ashamed to enjoy British protection without paying their share of it. Forestry.—From the beginning of white settlement in North America the forest has been regarded as limitless and inexhaustible. Any idea of the need of economy in its use was as foreign to the mind of the pioneer as the thought of economising air or water. Constant destruction was the rule, whether by the axe, or by fire. This process, unchecked by the warning voices raised from time to time, has now gone so far that the end of the timber wealth of the United States is within measurable distance; according to official testimony, they are cutting one hundred billion feet annually and growing thirty-five billion feet to fill the gap. Destructive as the pioneers have been, the railways have been many times worse, witness the millions of desolate, barren acres of land once clothed in the. glory of noble trees. The lumberman also has done his part, but the Hon. W. C. Edwards thinks that at least twenty times as much has been destroyed by fire as has been cut by the lumberman. Another factor' in forest destruction has arisen in the wholesale slashing of wooded areas for the purpose of providing pulp-wood for paper-making. So tremendous has been the destruction wrought by this industry that it has brought some of the States face to face with a wood famine. Being no longer able to obtain cheap sup'plies of wood at home, many of the American paper manufacturers have turned to Canada, with the result that timber x limits have been acquired as a means of supplying themselves with raw material, and the process of forest destruction which is reducing some of the States to sterility has now been 46 transferred to a country whose people have scarcely yet begun to realize the desolating effects of unregulated pulp- wood operations. The gradual annihilation of a timber supply of enormous value is not the most serious part of the problem. In various parts of the Dominion, but in the province of Quebec especially, the curse of barrenness is gradually creeping over large districts as a direct result of the destruction of the forest The lesson of Mesopotamia, of Greece, of Andalusia, and of India is being brought home to Canadians. In the countries named vast regions once the synonym of fertility and abundance, are now the scene of poverty and decay— reduced to the misery of a barren desolation through the unregulated deforestation of the land by a blind and selfish generation, with no regard for posterity and no eyes for anything but their own immediate wants. The greatest value of our forests lies in the preservation of the water- supply of the country. Denude, for instance, the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains of its forest jgrowth, and the great rivers that have their source there will be destroyed. Raging torrents will be created for a few weeks in the Spring, and after that a water famine. The North and South Saskatchewan, the Athabaska and thP Peace Rivers will disappear, and our new Western provinces will become a desert. The irrigation canals in Al- . berta will be raging torrents for a short time, and devoid of water when it is required. The future of the city of Ottawa as an industrial centre depends on the valuable water powers of the Ottawa and Gatineau, but unless precautions are early taken to preserve the forest at the head waters of these streams, there will be floods for a short time in the Spring, followed by great scarcity- of water later on, which will render the power so unstable as to be practically worthless. And what of the noble St. Lawrence itself—the great natural highway for half the continent? A sure result of the destruction of the forests will be that its supply will be diminished, and that its level will drop lower and lower, until it becomes useless for shipping. Again, to say nothing of the evil effects on land how fertile that would follow the destruction of the forests farther north, it must be remembered that these forests at present form a barrier against the northern air currents, and that without these great wooded areas, the severe winter of these high northern latitudes would be made almost intolerable by the arctic winds that would then blow ^uninterruptedly over the denuded land. The subject is of such supreme importance that it hardly needs apology to quote copiously from the speakers at the ninth annual meeting of the Canadian Forestry'Association, held in Montreal on the 12th and 13th March, last Sir Louis Jette thought the policy outlined by Sir Wilfrid Laurier two years ago was the most definite and practical. It was that all the hills, mountains and plateaux which are the sources of flowing streams and rivers, should never be allowed for any consideration whatever, to remain anything else than forest; that these portions of the earth's surface should form part of the national domain, and .belong to the state, which includes federal and provincial governments; that where such portions of these watersheds have been alienated and transferred to private ownership, the policy should be to re-purchase them for the national domain. The Hon. Sydney Fisher said it was high time the man in the street should take up this question and study it, so as to be able to give his support to those who were carrying on the work. To show the interest in forestry taken by the Dominion Government he need only point out that the first great forestry convention was called by Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Canada was a young nation, but he feared the people had been spendthrift of its forest wealth. They had drawn on it so extravagantly and unscientifically that they were face to face with the end of that bank account, unless they took care to replace it. He was glad to say that the Minister, of the Interior had created reserves in the West for forests, and he was in a position to say still further that the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, stretching from the boundary line northwards, almost indefinitely, would be established as an inalienable forest reserve. Mr. William Little, late President of the Association, said: "Indeed, it is now apparent to all intelligent observers that a timber famine is in sight in nearly all the northern and northeastern States, from Maine to the Rocky Mountains, and but for lumber supplies obtained from the southern States (from which section more than one-third of their entire lumber cut is now derived) this vast territory would be forced to look even to Newfoundland and the north of Europe for timber to supplement its scanty stock, since Canada needs all her timber for her own development, and has not a foot to spare except to her future loss, and their only ex- \ tensive home resource is to be found in the states bordering on the Pacific, which now contain two-thirds of their whole remaining stock of coniferous woods, and which is so far removed from the great consuming markets of the East that it would be far cheaper to get such lumber from the Baltic or White Sea than from the Pacific, owing to the high cost of railway transportation to all eastern markets— the freight charges alone to Chicago being $16.50 per thousand feet and $23.10 to New York, with correspondingly high rates, to all other eastern markets, thus making the transport of common lumber almost prohibitive. And this fact of distance between producing and consuming points is a serious matter when considering the question of timber supply. The able editor of "Forestry and Irrigation," Mr. T. E. Will, of Washington, says in the December number: "The position which the United States has held as a lumber-producing nation has perhaps been due more to white pine than to any other wood. The timber of this valuable tree, which has played a most important part Jn the material development of the nation, is fast disappearing, and now it is as costly as the finest American hard woods." And the Rev. Edward Everett Hale, chaplain of the United States Senate and vice-president of the American Forestry Association, "deplores the passing of the white pine as pur .foremost wood; and tells, to illustrate the increasing cost of this wood, that he ordered a set of bookshelves on which the cabinet-maker first made a price, and then asked if they should be made of mahogany or white pine. The pine was as costly as the mahogany!" This being the condition of affairs in the United States, it behooves us all to seriously consider the condition of our own forests, for on their preserva- tin depends largely the prosperity of our country. Indeed, this is a matter of such paramount importance to the welfare of Canada that it cannot be too strongly nor too frequently impressed upon the minds of our people who have given but little serious thought to the disastrous conditions that are certain to confront us in the immediate future unless the most active measures are at once taken for the preservation of our forests. And, as regards the Province of Quebec, the timber question may be said to be the most important public question of the day, compared with which all other economic questions sink into insignificance, for unless we take heed at once and adopt more con servative measures for the preservation of our forests for our own use, we will soon be despoiled of the most valuable natural resource we possess, and become in very truth merely hewers of wood and drawers of water for the benefit of our astute neighbors south of the line, who are quietly acquiring large tracts of our best pine and pulpwood lands, now that they are forced to realize that their own country is on the verge of a timber famine. And it is lamentable to see that while provident Americans are now securing vast, areas of our best timber territory at less than a tithe of its true value, Canadians are supinely looking on without uttering a word of protest against this frightful sacrifice. The question as to whether Canada really possesses vast areas of standing timber formed the main topic of discussion at yesterday afternoon's meeting of the Dominion Forestry Association. It was contended by many of the speakers that the Dominion had not nearly the amount of standing timber or the future prospects in that direction which many people seemed to think. Several practical explorers of the great Canadian northern wilds declared that so little was known of the district that it was useless to make any predictions as to the possible timber value of the country. It was time to stop painting the forest resources of Canada is such glowing generalities as calling the Dominion the pulp and timber source of the world, and to get down to the hard fact that this country, like the United States, might ere long find the end of its timber values. A number of the older forest experts went the length of declaring that already matters had progressed so far that a timber famine was in sight. The following resolutions were eventually adopted : "Resolved, that in view of the large losses of timber from fire along the line of the Transcontinental Railway already reported, this association desires to again impress upon the federal and provincial governments the urgency of fire patrol and other protective measures, as outlined in thb memorial passed at the annual convention of the association in 1907." "That whereas it has become apparent that in parts of Ontario and Quebec the bush has been cleared away to such an extent as to seriously and adversely affect agricultural conditions, and it is becoming more and more evident that the industrial land owner cannot be depended upon to restore the proportion between wooded and cleared land so necessary . for our agricultural interests: Re- solved, that this association urges upon the Legislatures of Ontario and Quebec the advisability of re-acquiring from the private owners, either for the province or for the various municipalities, areas of broken or waste land to form forest reserves, and to provide measures for their ■ management, with the added object of furnishing local supplies for timber and fuel purposes." . Resolutions were also passed expressing appreciation of the action of the Ontario and Quebec Governments in "the announcement of a progressive forest policy, involving an increase of efficiency in the fire ranger service, the extension of forest reservation policy and the marketing of timber under forestry rules and technical supervision." 13th, March, 1908. A special meeting. of the Canadian Club was held at the luncheon hour yesterday at which the delegates • attending the Convention of the Dominion Forestry Convention were invited to be present. A large number of the forestry men attended, as well as members of the club, and after lunch Dr. B. E. Fernow, dean of the Faculty of Forestry at Toronto University, gave an excellent address on forestry .problems. While the nation had many difficult matters to face in the way of policies, Dr. Fernow said many of these could await solution without much inconvenience. But whether fertile lands were turned into deserts, forests into waste places, brooks into torrents, and rivers changed from means of power and intercourse into means of destruction and desolation, was a question which concerned the material existence of society. In the last analysis he argued the prosperity, power, and happiness of a nation depended upon two factors, man and soil. The permanent prosperity of a people depended upon the character of its citizens and the wisdom with which its natural resources, particularly the soil, were used. With these premises in view, Dr. Fernow considered that the most pressing problems facing Canada today for readjustment were the immigration, colonization, and land policies, and the three things were closely interdependent. As to the first two, Dr. Fernow did not deal with them beyond a general warning not to imitate the American mistake of considering quantity rather than quality, and preferring wealth and trade expansion to character and sqlidity of national ideals. He warned against undue haste to the neglect of the factor of safety, and remarked that permanent prosperity could not come from opening all our mines at once and selling all our timber resources as rapidly as possible. Next to the soil as a national resource came water, which was closely related to the condition of the soil, which again was dependent upon its natural forest cover. This latter problem of soil cover raised the point which Dr. Fernow proposed to deal with, the problem of forest preservation. In this connection Dr. Fernow pointed out that the first American Forestry Congress met in Montreal in 1882, and since then every argument for forest preservation had been exhausted. With regard to this, Dr. Fernow said that/, relatively speaking, Canada's area of commercial timber was small, and that the saw mill capacity of the United States would get rid of it all within fifteen years. Another more pressing side to the problem, however, had struck him, and that was the relation of the forest cover to soil and water conditions. Despite the rapid and uneconomical destruction of the Canadian forest, Dr. Fernow thought there was still time to reproduce what we need before the virgin supplies were exhausted, despite the enormous inroads of the pulp industry, and the anxiety of the Americans to secure the Canadian supply of pulp wood. But to do this it was necessary to so husband the resources as to make sure it would by its growth keep up the supply for the present and all future generations. If that were done he considered that unquestionably ere long Canada would control the wood markets of the world, and of the paper trade especially. But even if all the forests were denuded it would not be so terrible a national disaster per se, since people could get on without wood in a way, so long as the soil were preserved. No Forests, No Fertility. But there was the difficulty. Take away the forests and expose the land to the wasting of the waters and it would lose its characteristics and location—actually run away. People in general failed to realize the influence of forest cover on stability of soil and equableness of water flow. A visit to Muskoka would easily convince anyone living in this part of the country as to how denudation of forests would start a rock desert. ( A report by Prof. Roth, of Wisconsin, showed that, within half a. century,, out of eight million acres cut over and denuded by burning, no less than four millions had been converted into a desert—an actual man-made desert It would take over a century to make that district productive again, a tremendous loss to the nation caused by foolish waste of natural resources. This, however, was not all. The deterioration of the soil was always followed by deterioration of the water supply, and the failure of the rivers, both for transportation and power purposes. This had also been experienced in Wisconsin, where, instead of useful rivers, there was an alternation of violent floods and empty river beds, so that the rivers which had once been of the highest use had been converted into a destructive force. Canada should look to this in time, in order to guard against any possible ruination of her magnificent water powers and channels. In fact, said Dr. Fernow, axe and forest fires, especially the latter, were greater enemies to prosperity than any possible monopolies of capital or labor, and "Keep out the fire" was the very secret of forest policy. The four great necessities of forest administration were: reduction of the causes of forest fires and to check them; such division in the use of soils as would open up to settlement only bona fide farm soils, and such administration of the remaining timber wealth as would recognize the interests of the future. This involved a radical change in governmental policy, so as to recognize crown lands as capital of the future rather than the spoils of the present. Proceeding, Dr. Fernow pointed a number of the causes of forest fires and their remedies, and then dealt with the abuses of the lumberman. In this connection he also pointed out the devastation of pseudo settlers, who took up land merely to denude it of timber, and then deserted it As an instance of the carelessness of the settlers in this regard, Dr. Fernow instanced the case of a settler in Pon- tiac county, who in clearing for a five bushel potato patch allowed his fire to run, with the result that $3,000,000 worth of timber was burnt. Dr. Fernow condensed his forest education into seven tenets. First, that forests grow to be used, but used conservatively. Not all forest growth was desirable, and good agricultural lands must be cleared of the forest growth, although care must be exercised against clearing the forest of lands unsuitable for good farming. Then the virgin forest had practically no growth, and was simply dead capital. To make it live, growing capital, the axe was needed to remove overmature stock and give light and room for the vigorous growth of the young trees. Forests were self-perpetuating, and as long as fire was kept out would reproduce themselves without artificial aid. But nature did not do this always in an economic manner, not taking into account the requirements of men. Therefore the forester was needed to direct the work of nature, to see also that the lumbermen did not make the forest deteriorate by simply culling the valuable trees, thus giving the less valuable more opportunity to reproduce themselves. The forest crop was a slow one, it taking at least 60 years to produce a saw log from the seed, while to secure an acre of medium saw logs at least 80 or 100 years must* be allowed, which made it unlikely that the lumberman looking for immediate profits would pursue a conservative policy. From this Dr. Fernow deduced that forestry was the business of the state/ or municipality, since that was the only institution 'with the necessary longevity to undertake this "foregoing of present revenue or making present expenditure or investments for the sake of future revenue." If the foregoing extracts do not convince the reader of the urgent need of Canada's greater attention to forestry affairs, neither will further remarks by any mere essayist. Canada's permanent prosperity is simply impossible unless her past neglect of forestry is remedied. A HIGHER STATUS FOR AGRICULTURE. Agriculture must be the main source of Canada's wealth now and always. Not only is it to the opening up of new territory, that the great progress of the past ten years is largely due, but it is the continuance of this process of expansion which is the basis of our hopes for a splendid national future. So far all are agreed. But one may well dispute the wisdom of trying to make Canadian policy in this century a replica of that of the United 1 States during the past century. And for this reason, that the American policy has been of a kind lacking the element of permanency; even now the end is within view, and ere long all must admit it. The results of the present policy are working out somewhat as follows: Judging from the past, the increase of population will result in there being 200,000,000 people by 1950. Where is this great number to be employed and how supported? The free lands are practically all gone. Immigration lingers in h the great cities and adds to the difficulties attending employment. ' The forest wealth is rapidly nearing exhaustion. 11 The coal fields will not last fifty years at present rate of output. The iron deposits will not last so long. The country will then be reduced to reliance upon the soij, which so far has been treated largely as have the forest and the mineral resources of the nation. This will necessitate, first, a return to conservative and economic methods and a readjustment of national ideas, such as to place agriculture and its claims to the best intelligence and the highest skill that the country affords, in the very forefront. There must be a national revolt against the worship of manufacture and trade as the only forms of progressive activity, and the false notion that wealth built upon these at the sacrifice of the fundamental form of wealth can endure. Such is the lesson to be learnt from our neighbors, which stands out clear and indisputable for those who have eyes to see. It is for Canadians to take warning in time, and so modify their policy as to £j.void the unpleasant necessity of having to recognise later on that they also have trodden the fafal path that leads to bankruptcy of national resources. This line of argument is no novel that it appears advisable to reproduce here the substance of an address by Mr. James J. Hill, entitled "The Nation's Future," wherein he demonstrates with masterly lucidity the paramount claims of agriculture, and the true line of National Policy. Mr. Hill states that the problem of the future material condition of the United States, of an inventory of its assets and liabilities, of the inevitable demands upon its resources, and the careful adjustments by which alone they may be preserved, has thus far been a subject for little more than a passing thought. National security calls for a just accounting of the business affairs of this country. The average increase of population indicates the following figures for the future: Population in 1910 95,248,895 " " 1920 117,036,229 " 1930 142,091,663 " 1940 170,905,412 " 1950 204,041,223 Where are these people to be employed and how supported? Notwithstanding the addition of more than a million people a year from abroad, labor outside of the cities was never so scarce or wages so high as at the present time (1906). Immigration lingers in the great centres and adds to the difficulties attending employment The farms stretch out their hands in vain. Railroads in making extensions have to get help at the highest market price, and a large percentage of those whom they employ are mere hoboes, who desert as soon as they have succeeded in getting transportation from one part, of the country to another. Farmers besiege the employment agencies in vain, and offer the lazy tramp a sum for a day's work in the field unheard of in any other country. Men are scarcer_ as the movement of population to the cities grows more pronounced. The country needs more workers on the soil. Not to turn the stranger away, but to direct him to the farm instead of to the city; to use every means to keep the boys on the farm and to * send youths from the city to swell the depleted ranks of agricultural industry, is the necessary task of a well- advised political economy and an intelligent patriotism. The arable public lands have almost disappeared. Within twenty years there will be some fifty millions of additional population. How are they to be provided with shelter and daily bread? Rational consideration of our potential resources and of available future employment for this great multitude must, of course, proceed together. Labor must have material to work upon; and labor'and material must also be so conjoined that the sum total shall be an increase of product equal to the advancing demands upon •it, while at the same time our national resources shall not be exhausted. Only thus can the future be made safe and the people of the years to come saved from retrogression. "Of all the sinful wasters of man's inheritance in the earth—and all are in this regard sinners—the very worst are the people of America." Such is the verdict of that great scientific authority, the late Prof. Shaler. of Harvard University. This nation of busy and serious men has originated many wasteful and extravagant policies; nay, worse, it prides itself upon some of these very records of consumption which establish the astonishing fact of national destruction and waste that cannot be repaired. The mighty wealth of this continent was adequate, with ordinarily provident handling, for an indefinite increase of the demands upon it. The inheritors of this^wealth have already so far dissipated it that some prudent care of the residue cannot be postponed without certain disaster. What are the resources of national wealth? Passing over the atmospheric elements that minister indirectly to the national economy, there are just four sources from which mankind must draw all natural wealth. Of these the sea does not supply more than two or three per cent, of man's food. The forest, once a rich heritage, is rapidly disappearing. Its fate is interesting here in the role of an example. For we have done with our forests already what we are doing just as successfully with the remain* der of our national capital. Within twenty years, perhaps, we shall have nowhere east of the Rocky Mountains a timber product worth recording; and shall then j be compelled to begin in earnest the slow process of reforesting. We are wasting in the same fashion other resources which no repentance and no ingenuity can restore or replenish. What is taken from the mine can never be replaced. For all time the consumption of mineral wealth stored in the ground must be a finality. The possible gross product is mathematically limited. The adaptation of this to future uses should be a matter of infinitely greater anxiety than the present balance sheet of a business concern. Yet the singular fact is that, among a people convinced that they are grounded in the rudiments of political economy, the progressive exhaustion of this precious resource is everywhere heralded as a triumph of enterprise and a gauge of national prosperity. The nation publishes periodically therecord of a scattering of assets never to be regained, and waits, with a smile of complacence, for general congratulation.' The two great resources of the un- der-earth, economically considered, that are indispensable to human comfort and growth, are coal and iron. Our inheritance of these was princely. The most wonderful achievement of this age is the incredible activity with which we are exhausting them. No dependable authority gives more than a century of life to our main available coal supply. It will not be all gone by that time, but the remainder will have to be- obtained from deposits of low grade or at great depths, or from points remote from where it is most needed. It will be .poor in quality, or high in price, or both, so that its economic employment on existing terms will be very difficult. The estimated life of the Pennsylvania anthracite fields is put at little more than fifty years. The larger supply of soft coal has to answer a demand many times as great. It is a moderate statement to say that by the middle of the present century our best and most convenient coal will have I been so far consumed that the remainder can only be applied to present uses at an enhanced cost, which would probably compel the entire rearrangement of industries and revolutionise the common lot and common life. The prospect of the mighty iron interest is even more threatening and more sure. Our available iron deposits have been carefully catalogued. All the fields of national importance have been known for at least twenty years. The most reasonable computation of scientific authority affirms that existing production cannot be maintained for fifty years, assuming that all the available iron ore known to us is mined. In fast, the limitation is likely to be less than that period. Yet by every possible means we are stimulating consumption; especially by a tariff that places a bounty on the exhaustion of the home supply of both coal and iron, thus prohibiting recourse to outside supplies and compelling the exhaustion of our own reserve. By the year 1950 will approach an ironless age. For a population of 200,000,000 people, our home supply of iron will have .retreated almost to the company of the precious metals. There is no substitute whose production and preparation for practical use is not far more expensive. Not merely our manufacturing industries, but our whole complex industrial life, so intimately built upon cheap iron and coal, will feel the strain and must suffer realignment. The peril is not one of remote geologic time, but of this generation. Arid where is there a sign of preparation for it? Where, amidst our statistical arrays and the flourish of trumpets with which the rise of our manufactured product is always announced, do we hear so much as a whisper of care about the needs of the time marching so swiftly upon us? Instead of apprehension and diligent forethought for the future, the nation is engaged in policies of detail and opportunism. Every people is thus reduced, in the final appraisal of its estate, to reliance upon the soil. This is the sole asset that does not perish, because it contains within itself, if not abused, the possibility of infinite renewal. All the life that exists upon this planet, all the development of man from his lowest to his highest qualities, rest as firmly and as unreservedly upon the capacities of the soil as do his feet upon the ground beneath him. The soil alone is capable of self-renewal, through the wasting of thej,rocks, through the agency of plant life, through its chemical reactions with the liquids and gases within and about it. A self-perpetuating race m must rely upon some self-perpetuating means of support. Our one recourse, therefore, looking at humanity as something more than the creature of a day, is the productivity of the soil. And since that, too, may be raised to a high power or lowered to the point of disappearing value, it is of the first consequence to consider how the people of the United States have dealt with this, their greatest safeguard and their choicest dower. This is pr%-eminently and primarily an agricultural country. Its" soil has been treated largely as have been the forest and the mineral resources of the nation. Only because the earth is more long-suffering, only because the process of exhaustion is more difficult and occupies a longer time, have we escaped the peril that looms so large in other quarters. The reckless distribution of the land; its division among all the greedy who choose to ask for it; the appropriation of large areas for grazing purposes, have absorbed much of the national heritage. Only one-half of the land in private ownership is now tilled. That tillage does not produce one-half of what the land might be made to yield without losing an atom of its fertility. Yet the waste of our treasure has proceeded so far that the actual value of the soil for productive purposes has already deteriorated more than it should have done in five centuries of use. There is, except in isolated and individual cases, little approaching intensive agriculture. There is only the annual skimming of the rich cream; the exhaustion of virgin fertility; the extraction from the earth by the most rapid process of its productive powers; the deterioration of life's sole maintenance. The preservation of the soil has been neglected. The farmers take away all and give nothing back. Thorough fertilisation of the land has no place in the general work on the American farm. Average American agriculture means the extraction from nature of the greatest immediate return at the lowest possible outlay of labor or money, with sublime disregard of consequences. Scientific adaptation of soil to product, intelligent rotation of crops, diversification of industry, intensive farming—constitute the rare exception and not the rule. Only two states in the Union show. an average total value of farm products in excess of $30 per acre of improved land. The figure, for Illinois in 1900 was $12.48; for North Carolina, $10.72; for Minnesota, 8.74. By proper cultivation these returns could easily be doubled and still leave the soil's resources unimpaired. The douhting of all products of the farm wouldCdd to the wealth of this country from $5,000,000,000 to .$6,000,000,000 every year, according to the crop yield of the season and the range of market prices. The foreign trade of the United States has been made an object of . more or less solicitude and self-gratu- lation. What we do is to export in immense volumes two great schedules of commodities. One contains raw materials, the products of the upper and the under-earth. It includes, adding articles like flour, provisions, and refined oil, which are but one degree removed from the raw state, three- fourths of our entire exports of domestic commodities. The treasury of our future is being despoiled to swell the rapidly growing riches of the day. The remaining thirty per cent, or less, which is all that can properly be classed as products of manufacture, is this stored treasure in another form. Exports of domestic manufactures, construing the term with proper strictness, constitute a trifle more than twenty per cent, of the total. This pitiful showing in the markets of the world where our people might find occupation, where a larger proportion of them must find it in the future if all are to survive or remain, is the inevitable consequence of a policy more destructive than that of the spendthrift. Lest the conditions of life should be made too favorable for this people, its home markets are surrendered by the tariff laws to the comparatively small number who con- ' trol domestic supplies of raw material for manufacture. At the same time the cost of production effectually prevents the securing of any considerable or permanent control in the markets of the outer world, where alone our millions of to-morrow could find outlet for this form of their activity. The time has come, then, for making a serious study Of national activity and economy according to a truer insight and a more rational mood. The first step is to realise our dependence upon the cultivation of the soil. The next will be to concentrate popular interest and invention and hope upon that neglected occupation. We are still clinging to the skirts of a civilisation born of great cities. A stupid man is in our slang palled "a farmer." Genius has shunned the farm and ex- 'pended itself upon mechanical, appliances and commerce and the manifold activities whose favorable reactions filter back but slowly to the plot of ground on which stands solidly the real i master of himself and of his destiny. If we comprehend our prob- lerP aright, all this will change; and a larger comprehension of agriculture as our main resource and our most dignified and independent occupation, will for the future direct to their just aim, in the improvement of methods and the increase of yield, the wisdom, the science and the willing labor of the millions who thus may transmit to posterity an unimpaired inheritance. One may affirm with perfect confidence that the possibilities of agriculture make it difficult to set any specific limit to the population that could sustain life on the produce of a given area. This, however, presupposes cultivation as carefully studied and applied as are the detjails •of manufacturing processes or the manipulations of a chemical laboratory. Such must be the ultimate goal of American industry. A symmetrical development of industry is by no means the least important reward of a readjustment of industrial occupations and interests in harmony with their real relation to man and his active life on the earth. Not lessened but enhanced and greatly varied industry in the end will follow the rearrangement and restoration of industrial values. [Note.—A proof of the importace of the views outlined above, is that President Roosevelt has arranged for a conference to be held at the White House during the week of May 14th to discuss the conservation of the natural resources of the country. All governors of states, cabinet officers, members of the Supreme Court and >mem>bers of the Inland Waterways Commission are to attend officially. Special invitations have been sent to Grover Cleveland, Andrew Carnegie, John Mitchell, William J. Bryan and James J. Hill.] A REVENUE TARIFF. Canadians claim to possess the better half of this continent; they are inclined to believe that in all personal gifts, physical, mental and spiritual, they have been provided for in an equally 'liberal manner. Belief in the future greatness of Canada is general; conviction of its present advantages as a country to live in is no less common. Strangers are eagerly invited to make tours through the land to mark its fertility and vastness; statistics are compiled to demonstrate to the world how unusually successful have been the labors of the people. A visitor, noting all these facts, would say that surely here is the land where, above all others, the people would be determined to work out the system of fair-play for all, privileges to none. Such a policy would appear to a newcomer the obvious one to obtain the maximum results in general prosperity and individual happiness. But the ingenuous stranger will be told that such an idea is quite erroneous, that in spite of all the good gifts with which the land and the people have been endowed, they are absolutely insufficient to enable the country to develop on such lines. It is •held that the leading minds do not care for the simple plan of letting everyone work at what he finds most suitable and profitable under a system of free-choice and equality of opportunity, under which industries would come into being so soon and no sooner than it appeared that a profit would accrue from their establishment. Canada's leaders had concluded that such a system was too simple and slow, and that the better way was to encourage the establishment of all possible industries as rapidly as possible,- regardless of cost, at the expense of the profitable industries. The diversity df employment thus secured was held to raise the country to a higher level, to increase the demand for labor, to furnish a home market for the farmers, to attract foreign manufacturers to the country, and to keep the money in the country. All these advantages are constantly advanced by Canadian orators, and devoutly believed in by -. the townsmen, but it appears that thoughtful farmers hold other views, and consider that their prosperity should be the main concern of the Government, as the country's destiny is bound up with the development of its agriculture. The farmers claim that protection is not general in its benefits, but, on the contrary, restricted to a small group, whose demands are constantly increasing. The farmers do not need protection and cannot be benefited thereby, as their surplus products must be exported, and home prices are consequently controlled by the world's markets. It is not true that Canada's civilisation is advanced by artificially creating industries, but harm, rather, results. For example, the need of women to' help on the fanms is a long-felt want, and the scarcity of domestic servants in towns is equally acknowledged. How, then, can it be claimed that the country is benefited by tempting the girls and young women into factories, where they learn nothing as to the arts of domestic life? If they marry, they are ignorant of most of the duties of the household, and ill-qualified for their task as wives and mothers. The great mortality of the children of such women is well-known and inevitable in view of the women's ignorance of home duties. If these factory girls do not marry, what future can be more forlorn than theirs when youth has passed and they have to make way for younger competitors? To claim that factory work for women is helpful and advantageous for Canada is a monstrous untruth. It takes women from their proper sphere of usefulness and training, and converts them into mechanical automata, skilled in some narrow sphere of labor, but without any training for woman's destiny as ,a wife and mother. Yet population of a high class is what the country most needs for its development, and want of servants is the greatest drawback to the comfort of home, whether rural or urban. Again, the surest way to retain , the native population and attract immigration is to imake Canada a cheap country to live in. This it was, formerly, and would be now, were it not for the protective system, which has so greatly increased the cost of living. Is not the $7.00 per ton duty on steel rails felt by everyone, and is not the duty on coal a serious matter, not only to every householder, but to manufacturers also? Even with the duty, Nova Scotia coal cannot be forced west of Montreal. The use of cement, likewise, must be greatly curtailed by the 70 per cent, duty, which Mr. de Sold stated before the Tariff Commission was the actual figure levied. The duties on agricultural implements are a serious matter for farmers, particularly for the settlers in the West, whom we are so anxious to find pleased with conditions there. As proof of the extent to which protection raises the general cost of living, is the fact that you can buy in London things made in America, cheaper than you can buy them in New York, or Montreal. This means that in Spite of the cost of packing, freight, and insurance, the conditions of life in Protectionist America are so onerous, that her citizens have to pay more for the salmon which they can, than a Free-trade Englishman pays for similar salmon in London. A proof that protection hampers industry is to be found in the shipping business. It was shown before the U. S. Commission on Mercantile Marine, that an efficient mercantile marine under a high tariff is im* possible. Mr. Joseph D. Lee, of Portland, Ore., said: "It is not possible to compete with Free-trade in building and operating ships." Mr. Orcutt said: "To build a vessel in America costs 40 per cent, more than in Britain, because everything in the way of ma terial is highly protected here. It is not only the steel that forms the bulk of the vessel, that is affected in price. It is every conceivable item that goes into a ship." In consequence, only the coasting trade is available for. such costly vessels, with the result that it costs as much or more to send cotton from New Orleans to Boston, as from New Orleans to Liverpool. It is the old story of making things dear for the home consumer and cheap for the foreigner. Remember, too, that the United States and Canada in the days of wooden ships did an immense trade in ship-building and shipping, which is lost to them now by their tariffs, whilst England earns £90,000,000 a year in freights, and sustains her in- . dustries by cheap transport of raw material. § The contention that the consumer does not pay the duty is a fiction. The New England people who are clamoring for duty-free Canadian coal know that they pay the duty. So do the boot and shoe manufacturers who want hides duty-free. Similarly, Canadians know they pay the duty on American anthracite. In the same way Col- man's mustard, Epp's cocoa, Keiller's marmalade, and a hundred other such well-known articles, are always at least 30 per cent more in New York or Montreal than in London, after allowing for freight charges. Compare also the prices of the same articles imported from abroad in England and America: London. N.Y. Mont'l. Italian macaroni, per lb 3d (6c.) 10c. 12%c. Sago 2d (4c.) 6c. 8c. Another pleasing custom common to all protectionist countries is to-sell to' foreigners cheaper than at home. For instance, the U. S. Steel Co. can make steel rails at $12 per ton; they sell abroad at $28, but demand $32 in the home-market. The exports thus secured fill the domestic consumer with pride in the expanding trade of his country; but it is not all gain, as the following shows: "German papers report that an English firm has been awarded the contract for a large gasometer by the City of Copenhagen, being the lowest bidder $53,185; the lowest German bid was $54,742. The curious fact is that the English firm intends to use German material, finishing it in England. It will be bought in Germany at expert prices, which are about cost, or even less. The German manufacturers of gas «reservoirs cannot purchase their raw material in Germany as cheaply as foreign firms can, and therefore cannot compete with English manufacturers." (From U. S. Consul's Report, 1903.) Indeed, the claim that .protection increases the demand for labor is a fallacy. If an industry promises profit, capital and labor will soon .be attracted, and Government aid is unnecessary; but if such industry is unprofitable, then the nation«4s mulcted by so much as is taken from it in duty, or is added on to the cost of the home-made goods by means of the duty. Such money is lost to the consumer, and he has so much less to spend in other ways. It is idle to deny that protective duties do not raise prices. What else are they for? Now if prices are increased, it ia clear that the purchasing power of the consumers is diminished, and consequently labor is less in demand. The home market furnished by protected industries is not at all commensurate with the burden placed upon the people. It is a matter of indifference to the farmer whether his grain and cattle are consumed at home or abroad. In either case he gets the same price. The employees of the protected industries pay taxes, it is true, and the manufacturers doubtless render tribute to campaign funds, etc., but it all comes out of the consumers' pocket, with much more that stays with the manufacturer and makes him wealthy, not by having increased the national wealth, but by having diverted some of it to himself by legal means which, economically, cannot be justified. If there were any anagical benefit in a home market, how comes it that there are so many deserted farms in New England? There are plenty of factories there, surely. Yet the rich farming sections in the States are not there, but on the prairies, where prices are fixed by world-markets. Similarly, the cotton-planter must laugh at ho.me-marke,t humbug. He knows well enough the price is fixed in Liverpool. The tariff has brought to Canada various foreign manufacturers, who establish works for supplying the Canadian market. It is true that some Canadian labor is thus employed, but the price for such foreign aid is sufficient tariff protection to pay all costs, including profits, which are sent home to the parent establishments as liberally as I when foreign goods are imported. It is thus, really, a very expensive way of borrowing capital. Mr. Israel Tarte was a great upholder of the belief that a tariff "keeps money in the country." This is a common idea, but it is fallacious,. The Wealth of a country consists in the abundance of useful things in it, and the way to increase the general abund ance is to grant freedom to each person to make such disposition of his energy and capital as he thinks most suitable. To suppose that it is profitable to keep money in the country by making things that can be made cheaper abroad, is to think that all labor, no imatter how employed, is equally profitable, which is absurd. Once admit that some occupations are more profitable to a country than certain other occupations, then it is obviously foolish to advocate the fostering of the less profitable or profitless industries on the plea that money is thereby kept in the country. National prosperity is not reached by accumulating money from exports and discouraging imports; on the contrary, prosperity will be greatest where international exchanges are least restricted. It must be so, as international trade consists in the exchange of surplus products. A nation that will not buy cannot sell, since no nation possesses such reserves of coin as will permit of continuous purchases from abroad, except by exports. If this position be granted, and it has been axiomatic since the time of Adam Smith, it follows that all unnecessary governmental interference with the free exchange of products is as indefensible in the case of foreign trade as in the home trade. Now it should be known that freedom of the home trade is not a matter of course, that has always existed, like free air and sunshine. It does not exist to-day in China. Every mandarin exacts his toll, called "li-kin," on goods passing through his territory. So did the robber-barons of the Rhine and elsewhere in the past In France, up to the Revolution, every province and town exacted tolls—indeed the octroi in Paris still survives, though shortly to be abolished. Smuggling between the provinces was a permanent industry. When the Constitution of the United States was framed, free exchange of products throughout the Union was made a fundamental law, and to that wise provision is attributed much of the country's prosperity, giving as it does the largest unrestricted trade area in the world to American producers. Most Canadians will admit that Free-trade is, in the abstract, more desirable than Protection, but they claim that Free-trade is impossible in Canada owing to the United States manufacturers being at all times ready and eager to undersell the Canadian manufacturers, and would thus hold Canada permanently in industrial subjection. The huge output of the American factories enables them, it is claimed, to do this easily in competi- tion with factories working for a market so limited as the Canadian. The question is, then, whether Canada is wise to maintain a system which by the admission of its own advocates is so artificial that it stands only by the imposition on Canadians of a huge annual fee. Do people realize what this fee amounts to? There is first the customs duties, amounting last year to $57,532,646 (not to mention bounties amounting to $2,305,000). But there is at least $60,000,000 additional that does not reach the Treasury at all. How is this amount estimated? The protected manufacturers base their claim to protection on the fact that their finished products are worth less than the raw materials, labor, and other elements that enter into the cost of production. The loss varies from 15 to 30 per cent. For instance, a manufacturer stated before the Tariff Commission that it cost $14.50 to produce a ton of pig iron in Canada. Recently our manufacturers have sold large quantities of pig iron in the British market at $9.41 per ton, or 35 per cent, less than cost of production. The manufacturers' claim, that their finished products are worth less than the cost of production, is undoubtedly true. That is why they are protected. Taking the lowest estimate of loss, 15 per cent, on $400,000,000, the value of the raw material used up by the manufacturers in the protected industries of Canada in the year 1905,' makes $60,- 000,000. Thus there is, as a result of protection, during one year, a destruction of wealth far greater in amount than was needed to run the Government a few years ago. The mere fact of compelling every consumer in the country to share in this loss does not alter the fact that the destruction of wealth has taken place. It does, however, explain wherein lies the fallacy of imagining that a country can produce prosperity by taxation, and makes one regret that Laurier lacked courage to stand by his promise to give us "Free-trade as it is in England." That happy land, that allows the bonus-fed and protected products of the world to be dumped upon her shores without protest, and refuses to encourage anybody to produce things at a loss, at the expense of the public, that land is continuously increasing in wealth, although so small and with few natural resources. She is creditor to the United States for $7,500,000,000, to Canada for $1,000,- 000,000, and other countries make up another $7,500,000,000. Practically all this wealth has accumulated during sixty years of Free-trade. Between 1891 and 1901 the income of her people assessable to income-tax increased 200 per cent, faster than population, indicating a vast diffusion of wealth among an increasing portion of the people. During the same period wages increased, while cost of living, pauperism and crime decreased. Most wonderful of all, her imports exceeded her exports by $10,000,000,000. Such, then, are the workings of Protection and Free-trade. Now let us examine this bogey of American competition, which has frightened Canada into such ruinous courses. At the close of the Civil War, the Southern States were ruined, without money or credit, the long-established labor-system destroyed; practically there was little left but the soil and the people. Yet, to-day, one hears of the amazing progress and prosperity of the South. Between 1880 and 1905 it is stated that the number of spindles in cotton mills has sprung from 667,000 to 9,205,000; the cotton crop from $313,000,000 to $680,000,000; the coal mined from 6,000,000 to 70,000,000 tons; capital increased in (manufactures from $275,000,000 to $1,500,- 000,000; exports from $261,000,000 to $555,000,000; the property assessed from $3,051,000,000 to $6,500,000,000; petroleum from 179,000 barrels to 42,- 000,000 barrels. In the South is raised three-fourths of the world's cotton crop. Europe pays for cotton a tribute of over one million dollars a day. Rice-growing began only in 1886, and now in Texas alone there are 234,000 acres under cultivation. It is confidently anticipated that the South will, within the next 25 years, rival in agricultural production and in manufactures the rest of the country. Here, then, appears something for Canadian protectionists to explain. If, as they say, it is impossible to build up manufactures in Canada without protection against the United States, how do they explain the success of the Southern States in achieving the feat, and starting, too, in a country desolated by a dreadful war? Perhaps the reason is that the Southerners had to depend on themselves, whereas Canadian protectionists have been able to find their help in tariffs and politicians. And let it not be imagined that Britain alone is holding aloft the banner of Free-trade. There is Denmark, a farming country which has resisted all attempts to impose a protective system, and has found a solution in co-operation, and economy in bringing its produce to the consumer; a policy under which the country appears to be thriving. The industrialism of Danish agriculture is making enormous and rapid progress. The imports of foodstuffs are growing, but the exports of butter, bacon, eggs, horses and live-stock are increasing to a much greater extent. From 1897 to 1905, both years included, the exports rose from about £12,000,000 to nearly £20,000,000. Great Britain is the largest consumer and her requirements continue to grow. Roughly, she takes twice as much as all the other countries together. Denmark has reached a height in her agricultural system which a few years ago was not dreamed of. Of her 2,500,000 people, 1,500,000 live in the country districts and, besides supplying the inhabitants of the towns, export produce of the average value of nearly a million kroner (£55,555) every day all the year round. The foregoing facts appear to prove that Canada's present fiscal system is quite unnecessary for Its alleged purpose, in addition to being "a wasting, impoverishing and demoralising system." In accordance with the demand of the Ontario, farmers, the tariff should be lowered, the British preference increased, and all protection to agriculture removed. Under this plan, there would be a steady rise in land values and "back to the land" would be a popular sentiment This was the chance the Liberals have had, but they instead perpetrated the "Great Betrayal," and broke all their pledges. For this they will ere long be buried. It is surely not beyond the bounds of the possible that Canada may advance in economic thought and see the folly of the present arrangements, viewed either from the side of nationalism or Imperialism. To this good result everyone should lend his aid by public testimony whenever opportunity offers. This is the only way to form a better public opinion, which, after all, consists only of the opinions that the public hears oftenest. Constant repetition will so' convince the public of the truth of an opinion that it will become almost ineradicable. Some day the public may reach the view that indirect taxation is less scientific than direct taxation. A land tax would then be in order. Under the extreme form of land tax the Government would still give the virgin land away as freely as it does now, as far as the right to farm it was concerned, but as soon as, by the growth of population, it became, irrespective of any of the occupant's improvements, worth a rent that others would be willing to pay for similar unimproved land, the Government, retaining the ownership, would charge this rent This process would keep down, the selling value of land and make it Available for people without money whom the present system excludes. But, apart from so dras tic a process as collecting the whole annual value of the land, the same result of bringing the land within the reach of all, whether capitalists or not, would be measurably attained by levying off the land itself any .money that the Government might require. There are thousands of people making fortunes by speculating in the increase in the value of land which accrues from the growth of. the community, quite apart from anything they themselves do to earn the money. They have won from the community what the community as a whole conferred, and what the community as a whole has a right to, and they very frequently refuse to sell their property for such uses as it might be put to, preferring to have it go on adding value that it does not earn. A tax on land would force these people to let their land go forthwith into its best use, and so would tend not to restrain but greatly to accelerate the progress of the community. The whole of the money so assessed would go into the public treasury, which is Very far indeed from what can be said in the cas& of a customs tariff, especially a protective one. The very purpose of a protective tariff is to force people to buy from the home manufacturer. It is always affirmed to be not more than enough to enable him to do business, so that in so far as the tariff succeeds' in its object, the money does not go to the Government at all, but to the subsidising of production on which that much money is being lost. Thus, while in the case of the land tax the Government gets the whole of what the people lose, in the case of protection the Government gets only a half, a fifth, a tenth, or a twentieth, according as the protection protects. The rest is lost. THE ORGANISATION OF LABOUR. [Mr. Thomas Fyshe, who has been brought before the public so prominently by his share in the Report of the Civil Service Commission, has been a life-long student of economics and social problems, and it is he who is the originator of the views expressed in this section, and to whom I beg to express my indebtedness.] The organising power of man—what may be called constructive statesmanship, does not seem to grow and keep pace with the march of invention and discovery, and the great increase of the world's productive power. On the contrary, no fact of modern life seems to be plainer to the thoughtful observer than that we are making no progress in improving our institutions 58 or our government Endless laws are being inscribed on every Statute Book by legislators who-*have no insight into what they are doing or trying to be—everlasting action, but no progress. The world's productive power, per man, is now far greater than in any previous age, but the distribution of the aggregate product is still so imperfect that there is a growing spirit of protest by the masses against what they consider robbery by the capitalist and landlord. There is almost a constant fight going on between capital and labor in all civilised countries; and the spread of socialistic ideas is one of the most conspicuous features of our time. But who shall show what each man's work is worth, and see that he gets payment for neither more nor less than that? And even if that were possible, it would not provide for the incompetent, the weak and the vicious, who are as important a part of the human problem as any other. The workers and the employers confront each other almost like hostile armies, and as yet there has been no appeal to any higher principle for the establishment of harmony between them . than the so-called law of supply and demand. As if human beings could be treated like commodities and civilisation still be maintained. The capitalist seems to regard the labor world as simply a reservoir from which he can draw, as he requires it, one of the necessary factors in his wealth-creating schemes—the other necessary factors being raw materials and a market. He is interested in getting both labor and raw materials as cheap as possible, and in restricting his market to as few competitors as possible. And to gain the latter, he is ready to bring the combined political influence of his class to bear, to exclude from the country the better and cheaper products of other lands. With free-trade in labor and raw materials, and foreign products kept out of his market, his position is simply ideal. But the laborer, who is also the consumer, finds conditions more or less unsatisfactory. Hence the constant friction between Capital and Labor, the undue gain of the one being the undue loss of the other. And that there are undue gains being reaped is only too evident from the rapidly increasing number of millionaires, who are a constant reminder to the laboring classes that they are being robbed. The wealth of the millionaires, however, is not all stolen directly from the laboring classes. A very large proportion of it is extracted from the community as a whole by obtaining possession or control of something in the nature of a monopoly. Whatever value there is in these monopolies, and in the aggregate it is immense, should be secured for the whole community, who have an inalienable right to it; and that practically no systematic effort has been made in that direction is sufficient proof of the extraordinary lack of statesmanship in our time. Instead of securing for the general benefit of the community the enormous wealth involved in the unearned increment of value in these natural monopolies, we have of late years, allowed the scheming capitalist and promoter to devise a new and ingenious method of still further taxing industry—the system of watering the stock of joint stock companies, an abuse which is growing to phenomenal dimensions; while our law-givers and rulers seem to be unconscious of what it means, or that there is anything' wrong about it The direct effect of course is that, in order to be able to pay dividends on the watered stock, the community is put under a potential •mortgage for all time. ■ While our statesmen and law-givers seem to be bankrupt of resources, or adrift on a sea of democracy without a compass, the disaffected masses keep demanding anore and more of them; but it is like calling up spirits from the vasty deep. Those on the top simply lie back and wait developments. The pressure from below, however, is not likely to cease, and the surprising thing is that, considering the magnitude of the issuues at stake, and the immense forces at work, so little real progress of any kind should be accomplished, and that the masses should remain as patient as they are. In truth they have not been able to make out a clear case from their point of view, and they are getting but little assistance from the ruling class to enable them to do so. We are, in fact, cursed with so-called leaders who do not lead—blind leaders of the blind. In the meantime socialism grows stronger every day; capitalism is denounced—more particularly as organised in the modern business company or corporation, and what are called Trusts. Millionaires are regarded as enemies of the people and dangerous to their liberties. To such an extent has this grown that even in the United States, where the masses are probably better off than in any country except our own, the great elections are being fought over the question of the curing by the government of the predominating power of Corporations and Trusts, and the President is advising the limitation of private fortunes by means of a progressive income tax and a heavy progressive inheritance tax. This is all futile. Wealth is good in anybody's possession, if honestly obtained and prudently used, although it would be greatly to the benefit of mankind if it could be more evenly distributed without transgressing any natural law. Neither an income tax nor an inheritance tax is justifiable on economic grounds, or by any law known to economics. They are simply easy methods of raising money in large amounts for public purposes, and are only justifiable on socialistic or communistic principles, which most of us profess to repudiate. One inevitable result of the income tax is to make the majority of the community liars, while the inheritance tax can be, and frequently is, defeated by the testator disposing of his property during his lifetime. No possible permanent advantage can accrue to the community by measures which, even if temporarily successful from a material point of view, are objectionable on .moral grounds, and so directly tend to degrade character. This is eminently the case with the income tax. What a man | earns honestly, or without robbing his fellows, can be no measure of what he owes to the community; and nothing that the community can do will ever convince men to the contrary. To try to force this principle on them, as the income tax endeavors to do, can only have the baleful moral effect which experience shows that it has. But why should such extraordinary measures, which are not justified by common honesty, be adopted as a means of partially mitigating the inequalities of fortune and lightening the burdens of the poorer classes, when the great glaring monopolies, which nature so obviously intended for the benefit of all, are quietly allowed to become the absolute property of in-> dividuals, to the lasting detriment and distress of the great majority? Great as our social difficulties may be—and some of them apparently insurmountable—they are all due to our own lack of management, lack of insight, and the unrestrained greed of what >may be called the predatory element among us—who are usually the most competent and the most energetic, if not the most considerate of others' rights. One has only to look around him to see that there is a vast amount of human energy wasted in every community in unproductive labor, misapplied labor or idleness, which, if saved and productively employed, would go far towards removing many of our troubles; while the stopping of the robbery of land and other .monopolies would be an incalculable gain to the world, both materially and morally. While the socialism so rife among the working classes seems to.be greatly concerned with what .they conceive to be the oppression of corporations controlled by buccaneering capitalists, and to be convinced that the only cure is to nationalise or municipalise not only all monopolies and public utilities, but also the great industries—all the means of production—it is certainly of the utmost importance to consider whether there is anything to be hoped for from systematic action in that direction. It seems hard to understand why so much confidence should apparently be felt by the masses in the powers xof government to remedy the evils they complain of. Our experience justifies no such confidence. As a matter of fact, it may be stated broadly that no first class work, either legislative or administrative, ever comes from our governments. Their only method of arriving at wisdom is by the futile one of interrogating the ballot; and they have long accustomed themselves to move only when they are forced to do so by public clamour, and in the direction indicated by that They do not lead but follow; and in most cases reluctantly. They do not listen to the still small voice—the inspiration of the wise man—but keep their ears steadily to the ground to catch the murmurs of the multitude. Their own safety in office is their chief consideration, and that can only be secured by votes. Votes are the test of everything, equally in matters of principle as in matters of expediency. Two and two will make five if the (multitude say so. They have already said so in establishing the protective tariff. But the multitude in this respect are no worse than the so-called educated class. So much for the work of our governments. But how can it be expected that good work can be sec/ured from any authority possessing power with practically no corresponding responsibility for the proper use of it—who can continually blunder and do wrong, yet incur no adequate punishment? For bad government there is only one means of punishment, namely, to chage one set of blundering ministers for another set of the same kind. The real punishment falls on the masses, who are- always the chief victims of misgovernment, as of all other mishaps. The members of every defeated and blundering government still have loads of friends to keep them in countenance, and they continue to have all the public esteem they ever had. Their blunders, like those of the medical are buried and forgotten by all save the bereaved friends of the dead, and the struggling poor who have to foot the bills. Think of the endless .mismanagement of every government in.wasteful and wicked contracts, ill-considered schemes of improvement—so-called; subsidies to baby industries which never grow up; to railroads, which, far from needing them, threaten to grow powerful enough to practically control the country; to all sorts of local schemes which should be provided for by local capital and are simply bribes to strengthen the party in power. Then consider the army of government officials, consisting for the most part of second and third rate men, with no special training or fitness, appointed largely through political influence, and living in that atmosphere, where one must have no independent opinions, and where all the work is perfunctory or slip-shod to fill in time and draw the salary—with little or no supervision or dicipline worth the name. Look at the rapidly increasing debts of all civilised countries, and consider what small restraining power, if any, is being exercised by the governments concerned to prevent this. No government is under the necessity of showing an annual balance sheet, with a profit to its credit on the year's operations. If it is short, even if caused by bad management or waste, it merely increases the taxes, or the debt. No one is punished, but an additional burden is loaded on the people. Look also at municipal government If an object lesson were wanted in illustration of the art of "how not to do it," we should surely find enough there to satisfy us. The City of Montreal's exhibit in this department is enough to bring the blush of shame to every earnest citizen, and make him tremble for the future of his country. As things are now developing in the world there is undoubtedly much that is bad; and there is no denying the ugly features shown by some of the great corporations like the Standard Oil Co. The railroads, too, by giving rebates to favored clients who have practically bribed their trusted officials, have been perpetrating the grossest injustice on the ordinary trader, and so creating a feeling that fair dealing is not to be looked for from them unless they are put under government control. The disclosures in connection with the great life insurance companies* have been most discreditable. In the United States several of the largest of these companies appear to have been used as adjuncts or donkey engines in connection with great under writing and speculative ventures for the benefit of special cliques—using, in short, the money of the great hardworking and saving classes of the country in scandalous violation of a sacred trust, to play with and gamble with for their own selfish ends. We are also familiar with the operations of some of the public utilities companies, such as street railroads, heat, light, water and power companies, and others, where the only idea in the management of them seems to be to get out of the people just as much as they can be forced to yield, so that dividends may be paid on stock consisting largely of water, where also in such cases there is not infrequently more than a suspicion of collusion between the buccaneers, or some of their myrmidons, and some of the people's representatives in the municipal councils. While such a state of things exists, and even threatens to get worse, it is idle to expect any lasting peace between classes, or any permanent civilisation worthy of the name. The reign of fierce unrepressed selfishness, which itself is a natural evolution of an unorganized society, driven by the fear of want in a struggle for existence, has so dominated all our actions that consideration for others has been lost sight of; and we have reasoned ourselves into the belief that things are pretty much what they were intended to be; and at any rate that we ourselves are not conscious of any injustice and that we have a good legal title to all that we possess. We can even lightly quote Scripture: "The poor always ye have with you," to show that this state of things is practically the fiat of the Almighty— the quotation being generally used to prove that poverty is inevitable. But we are under no such curse. If we have failed hitherto in making a success of social life it can only be due to the fact that we have not yet risen to the full stature of our capacity, to the full conception of wh&t is possible in life, on condition of being true to the best that is in us, and obedient to natural law. There is undoubtedly a right way for doing everything. The universe is so constituted. It means harmony, not chaos; and human life is surely an important part of it. The solution of all our troubles therefore lies with ourselves, and there must be enough intellect and will in the world to succeed in it. What is wanted to begin with, as Carlyle preached incessantly to an unheeding world,* is, "The organisation of labour (not organised by the mad methods tried hitherto) is the universal vital problem of the world." Again, he saids: "This that they call 'organising of labour' is, if well understood, the problem of the whole future, for all who will in future pretend to govern men." Men for the most part, through all the centuries, have been so busy quarrelling with and killing each other, that there has not been much opportunity for peaceful development; and even at the present day one of the greatest burdens the race has to carry is the machinery of war and the debt of past wars, a burden which seems to be endless, and ever increasing. But within the last two hundred years, in English-speaking countries particularly, there has been a chance of better things. Unfortunately, however, any organisation of labour has hardly more than begun. But that it has begun I am prepared to maintain, and to find the germ of it in the joint stock company, which with its kinsman, the so-called Trust, has become the special bete-noir of the socialistic movement, the demagogic politician, and the taxation crank. Not the least remarkable thing about the joint stock company is that it appears to have been a spontaneous growth—invented by nobody in particular—rather looked down upon at "first, and only tolerated as a convenient arrangement for business which could be carried on in a mechanical manner, by fixed rules, but totally un- suited for the general work of the world. Its growth since has been stu- penduous. It has invaded almost every kind of business and manufacture, except, perhaps, farming; and it is quite evident that in a comparatively few years it will absorb the great bulk of the world's work. It is, in short, the greatest machine developed by our modern business life. Its success has | been remarkable, considering that so little has been done by our legislators to control and direct it in the public interest. A proper constitution for the joint stock company has never yet been devised. If it were once done it would go far to solve the whole art of government. Where the successful joint stock company has no hold on any monopoly or special privilege, created by tariffs or otherwise, it is generally a most 'beneficial and creditable institution; and with this great advantage over individual enterprise, that its life can be made perpetual; it is not wholly selfish as individually controlled business always is. Service in a well-managed, long established joint stock conipany tends to develop a better type of character than is developed in the service of individual employers of labor. In serving under the former one has more the feeling of being under the rule of law, and not subject to personal whim, prejudice or caprice. The servants of a well-managed joint stock company can and often do acquire an "esprit de corps" and a devotion to the institution which is closely akin to altruism. It is the beginning of the altruistic spirit—-a feeling of working for the whole. One conspicuous proof of this is that it is only since the advent of the joint stock company that any considerable and persistent attempt has been made to pension old workers, which is now done extensively among banks and some other companies. The practice is now growing rapidly, and it is somewhat surprising that no government has yet taken the hint which it gives as to the readiest, most economical and efficient method of securing what is now so generally advocated, namely, a national pension fund. Mr. Fyshe tells of some of his own work to improve conditions generally, in the interest of the workers, by making use of the principle of mutual co-operation. The officers of the bank had been for years paying a half per cent, per annum on the amount of bond each had to give to the bank. They felt it to be quite an item to pay out of their salaries, for which they got abso-i lutely no return; and not a little grumbling was the consequence. Mr. Fyshe thereupon established a mutual guarantee fund. Each officer was called upon to pay a percentage entrance fee to this fund, and to contribute to it, besides, at the same rate at which he had hitherto paid to the Fidelity Assurance Company. But his contributions were to cease ..when he had paid in all, four per cent, on the amount of his bond. The amount paid in by each officer was put to his individual credit in the fund, and bore interest at five per cent.; and any officer leaving the service was entitled, within a certain date, to draw out the whole amount at his credit, with interest, less his proportion of any defalcations covered by the Fund. The scheme has worked like a charm. During the twenty years the amount paid in was $ 80,973.85 Interest at 5 per cent 34,956.59 $115,930.44 Amounts refunded to retiring officers 35,120.45 $ 80,809.99 The aggregate losses during the twenty years amounted to only $418,16, the cost of management was nothing at all. There was probably less work connected with it than would have been involved in looking after the policies of an outside company. The amount of bonds now in force for the whole staff of the bank is $1,681,000, which at the old rate of a half per cent, per annum represents a saving of $8,405 every year to the officers of the bank. Simultaneously a Pension Fund was established for all the officers of the institution, with provision for widows, and children under eighteen years of age. The officers were to pay four per cent, on their salaries every year, and the bank undertook to give such annual contributions as to enable the Fund to meet all its obligations under its constitution and rules. This Fund also has cost nothing to manage; and in the event of an officer leaving the service, and so giving up his claim on the Fund, he is entitled to withdraw from it all that he has paid in, with accumulated interest. The establishment of these two funds made the greatest possible difference to the bank's service in a few years, in that it attached its officers to it, gave them confidence in their future, and tended to create a loyalty to the institution and an esprit de corps quite noticeable. The effect of such a fund, besides greatly adding to the security of the company, making its officers more devoted and loyal, practically does away with the necessity of life insurance for every employee or his dependents. It is an infinitely better provision than life insurance and costs the beneficiaries infinitely less, while the cost of management is nothing. If the first fund was an illumination as to the waste involved in outside fidelity assurance, the second was more so as to the awful waste of life insurance. And it is needless to say- that the effect of this illumination has not been lessened by the deplorable disclosures as to mismanagement and waste, brought out in the recent insurance investigations both in this country and the United States. One important inference to be drawn from these two experiments is that insurance generally, as now carried on by independent companies, is a most clumsy and expensive device, utterly unfit to be regarded as worthy of a permanent place among the institutions of an advanced community. This refers to fire insurance as well as to life and all other kinds. The waste involved in all forms of assurance by outside companies immensely .transcends any service it renders to the world. Here are a few figures with regard to fire insurance losses, from the New York "Evening Post" of 23rd November, 1906: "By the last New York report it appears that the Stock Companies reporting to Albany, had written during the year 1905, fire risks to the amount of $25,559,701,000. The losses paid were $103,805,000, whereas, if the losses had been at the same rate as those of the Mill Mutuals, they would have been only $10,712,686—a difference of $93,092,314." This without reckoning at all the enormously greater expense of running the Stock Companies. "The difference is not due to the character of the risks, because practically all of the business insured by the latter company is in 'special hazards,' that is, risks where there are great probabilities of fire occurring, and great possibilities of loss when fire has started. Cotton and woollen factories, machine shops, knitting and pulp mills Bre not desirable hazards. Before the Mill Mutual was organized such risks were considered extrahazardous. The premium rates then charged were from 20 to 30 times greater than the mill owners are now paying the Mill Mutual." But, to resume consideration of the pension fund, and to look at it from a national point of view, why cannot it be made compulsory by law, that every joint stock company, as a necessary part of its constitution, and before it can pay dividends of, say, more than four per cent, per annum to its stock holders, shall provide a pension fund for all its employees on a basis and on terms io be fixed by statute? A law of this kind would simply enforce on all joint stock companies a duty already recognised and provided for by the best of them. The growth in this direction, of late years, has been natural and spontaneous. That surely should be a sufficient hint to the law-maker. It would create a national pension fund in so far as that could be done through joint stock companies, at no cost to the* government; and it would undoubtedly tend to hasten the re-organisation of nearly all private business into corporate form—a movement which is already so evident, and which in any case is an inevitable development in evolution. All wealth is the creation of labour—■ of brain and hand—yet the most important element of this producing power, by some accursed hocus-pocus, has its fair share of the product taken from it and handed over to an army of non-producers, from government officials down through all the ranks of unproductive respectabilities. All these generally contrive to live well, although producing little or nothing. What kind of folly is it for society or government to first appropriate a large share of what the workers have produced, and, when they find that these workers are impoverished, talk of devising some clumsy machinery, at enormous expense and waste, to rer turn to them a fraction of what has been unjustly taken from them? Why not let the producers, through their different organisations, administer what they themselves have produced—do so much of the government of the country as appertains to them and their dependents—instead of introducing an endless machinery of middlemen and outsiders to waste their substance? This is clearly the right thing to do. Let the makers of wealth administer it. Let the workers, while doing their own work of production, attend at the same time to everything necessary to their well-being as responsible .members of the community, which can all be done within the limits of their balance- sheets, and cost the rest of the people nothing. We shall never.have first class government except through our great producing companies, properly organised; who will not only organise labour, but the whole community; and instead of putting more and more on the shoulders of government will take more and more on their own shoulders, to the relief of government and the great benefit of all. Success with them is st, necessity, for they have their annual balance-sheet to face and to fail means terrible punishment; but who is punished for government failures and follies? Take such companies, for instance, as our great railroads: why should any workman connected with them, or any one dependent on him, be allowed at any time to become a charge on the community? It is much more in the public interest that these companies should be responsible for all their workers and their dependents, than that they should pay big dividends, or sell new stock to their shareholders at par when it is worth nearly double in the market, which is only another way of watering stock and piling new burdens on the people. Then take our street railroads, our light, heat and power companies, our coal and iron companies, our textile and other companies, telephone and telegraph companies, steamship companies, etc., etc.; think how much more beneficial it would be to the community that these companies should regard it as one of their first duties to take proper care of all their people in the way indicated, rather than spend their energies in efforts to pay big dividends—sometimes largely on bogus capital. If banks can do this, which have no monopoly of any kind, all other companies can, and should be forced by law to do it. The fact is not overlooked that at present most of our joint stock companies are nearly as selfish as individuals, and as indifferent to what becomes of their employees; also that they are often controlled by self-seeking, grasping capitalists, in pursuit of nothing but their own selfish ends. On the other hand, the fact that only since the advent of these companies has there been any effort made to establish pension funds for workers, shows clearly enough that a great step forward has been taken in the direction of doing justice to the workers, who have been so long neglected simply because they were unorganised and helpless; and have been taught to believe that things could not be otherwise. By throwing on those companies the whole responsibility for the material and moral well-being of every man, woman and child directly dependent on what they produce, a new spirit will certainly take possession of them, and they will begin to realise the splendid role they are called upon to fill, as organisers, governors and guardians of their special section of the community —not merely producers of wealth for the few, which they have hitherto always considered their sole business, but responsible at the same time for raising, what is the greatest of all products, the finest possible men and women. By harnessing the great producing agencies to the loads involved in providing schools, colleges, and teachers, doctors and hospitals, and many other necessaries now left to be badly supported by charity, greater efficiency would be secured, and much greater economy. What, for instance, can be more unsatisfactory and discreditable than allowing our hospitals to be supported by the charity of a comparative few, jogged by constant begging? Why should there be any charities at all in any well-regulated community? Every necessary as well as every luxury demanded by civilised life must be paid for from the product of labour. Therefore, let organised labour have the largest possible share in managing as well as supporting what institutions are considered necessary by the community. Once the workers got it clearly into their heads that things were being managed as much in their interest as in that of the capitalistic shareholder, there would soon be an end to the socialistic movement. It is a curious phenomenon of our civilisation that what we are accustomed to call government (legislative and administrative) is almost the only department of human activity which has not become specialised. In all other directions special training is a necessity, but for what should be, perhaps, the highest work of all, our democratic age thinks anybody will do—anybody whom the mob selects— and it is not in their nature to select either the wisest or the best—not that they do not wish to do so, but because they cannot. For there is no fact more certain than that it requires a wise man to recognise another wise man; and the multitude are not often wise. This is a much greater difficulty than some of those we hear much more about—but it is inherent in democracy, and We must make the best of it Surely, if any argument could be conclusive as to the absolute necessity of doing more to raise the condition of the masses of the people than has ever yet been done, it should be the fact that they already have potential political control; and while it may be true that they are using their power neither worse nor better than the well- to-do classes, it is also true that we are not selecting the best kind of men as legislators and governors. It would seem that what is required is some guidance for the mass of voters in their selection of the men who are to govern them and make laws for them. What better guidance could the workers have than to select for their representatives the practical managers and leaders in their different callings -—those, say, who have reached the age of sixty, and have retired on an adequate pension, after a thoroughly well tried and successful life? Men who have been dealing with hard facts all their lives, and have learned the art of seeing into and doing things— the kind of men who would honor the position, and would be ready and able to serve their country for the honor alone. No better representative could be found, in general, than the well- educated and thoughtful hand and brain worker, who has proved his capacity to lead his fellows and gain their respect and esteem by making.a success of their common work. What an improvement he would be on most of our present representatives! whose chief stock-in-trade is the ability to talk and scheme, but with little or no insight into anything—the .machine politician, the hungry lawyer, the grasping monopolist, the greedy speculator—the great army of self-seekers, all bent on securing a front seat in either the government or the opposition wagon; and all ready at any time, in view of their extraordinary merits and the increased cost of living, to vote in a body to raise their own pay -jghieh is to cut another slice out of wfiat is left for the poor workers. It is pretty evident that the present .state.of things cannot continue. The wide and deep discontent among the working classes everywhere, in spite of the great prosperity in all the leading countries, is a very striking fact It would seem that in one direction we are confronted with an enslaving, monopoly-infested capitalism, with a government bankrupt of ideas; and on the other, with a desolating, paralysing, chaotic socialism. If we cannot steer between them there will not be much hope for us. The only hope is in the universal and efficient organisation of the workers by means of the improved producing corporation or company; and through that, the reorganisation and simplification of government and the whole social fabric. Under such a regime, reforms which are now impossible, on account of the fierce opposition of selfish monopolists, or other class interests, would have a totally different aspect. What was obviously for the good of the whole would not have to be agitated for through generations before anything could be done. F.—State from what countries should immigration be drawn and the best method of attracting and successfully inducing such immigration to Canada, having due regard to existing trade conditions. The present immigration policy of the Canadian Government dates from 1897, under Mr. Clifford Sifton. He entered on a policy not merely of encouraging immigration, but of fostering it by all means in his power. It was his plan to divert to Canada a part of the immigration that had flowed mainly to the United States during the previous fifty years. To this end he established agencies in the British Isles and in the chief countries of Europe. He also invaded the United States with a band of immigration agents. His policy has undoubtedly produced results. In -1897 the immigrants from the United States numbered 712; last year they numbered 57,919. In 1897 the arrivals from £he British Isles numbered less than 20,000; last year they numbered 86,796. In the last seven years it is stated that some 900,000 immigrants have come to Canada. So far as this immigration has consisted of people who may soon be as- similated into the general body of the population, nobody can fairly complain, and the country will approve; but when we enquire as to the quality of the foreign element, the verdict must be that Canada is getting a multitude of undesirables. Take, for ejfe- ample, the Doukhobors. The varioSI eccentricities of these people have been recorded by the press, and it cannot • be advantageous to the country for * such material to be published throughout the world. The inquest at Fort William on the death of John Czlin established sufficient facts to prove that at least a portion of the Doukhobors are crazy fanatics, and their presence among us most undesirable. Fort William, Ont, March 9.—The death of John Czlin, one of the Douk- hobor pilgrims, when the crude funeral conducted by his fellow- countrymen was stopped by Chief of Police Dodds, created a sensation here, which is only intensified by the discoveries made at the inquest. This brought out the fact that neglect, starvation, lack of medical attention and pneumonia were the causes. Interesting evidence as to the beliefs and customs of the Doukhobors was given by Alexis, one of the band. "Czlin had been sick for three weeks; all he had for the last couple of weeks was plums and dry bread. "The band intended to place his body in the bush, where it would be devoured by animals. This is their custom, and they believe it is the way God requires burials to be made. Wolves would tear it to pieces and devour it. No medical aid was summoned, as all believed that Jesus would look after him. All the Doukhobors are brothers and sisters. They have one large family and believe in free love." Thirty of the pilgrims were found together in one room, while in a much smaller room upstairs fourteen were huddled together. Several of the band looked as if they were starving to death. Consumption had taken hold of some members. The rooms were all in q, high degree of temperature and all the pilgrims were naked. After a visit to the Doukhobor homes, the jury reported: "The premises are a building 24x30, large enough in all for possibly 18 people at most. In this area we found 76 .men, women and children. In one room, 7x13, there were 14 inmates all together, naked, both sexes, ranging from 13 to 55 years of age. A similar condition was found in other rooms of the house, where men and women, covered and naked, were found together, with no regard for decency or respect for common morality. We, therefore, advise that these children at least be transferred from their present debasing surroundings to some suitable institution, where they can be taught the principles of industry, morality and good citizenship. As for the adults, they do not appear to be amenable to reason, and we can suggest no other solution than the breaking up of the community. As for the Italians, their daily record of murder and crime is something so new to Canada, that we may well hope such a searching system of investigation of the records of immigrants will be made in future as to shut out the bulk of these people. Apparently,, these Italians are not brought out by the Dominion's agents, but come as the result of the reputation which Canada has secured of being one of the great railway-building countries. These people come mainly from Southern Italy and Sicily, and are notoriously inferior to the inhabitants of the northern sections; the further fact is alleged that sixty per cent of them are criminals. Many of them come to Canada after finding the United States too hot, after a few years-of crime. There can be no doubt that Canada is used as a dumping ground for undesirables, to a considerable extent. The Italian custom of carrying weapons, and their historic tendency to take life, make it advisable that no Italian should be permitted to stay in Canada, unless^ he can produce a »passptort proving him a good citizen. Italy has two kinds of passports, one for such as have been in prison, and mentioning the offences and punishment. Canada should enact that unless an Italian can produce a passport testifying to his good standing with his home government, he'shall be deported; as the absence of the passport proves the bad record of the man, at any rate sufficiently to justify his return to his own country, where they can look after him better than we can. An Italian lawyer from Naples told the "Montreal Star" that if the Canadian Government knew its business it would have immigration agents in Italy, whose duty it would be to inquire into the characters of intending emigrants. But I think my plan is better. This Italian lawyer further said that in Italy when a man is found carrying concealed weapons, he does not get the chance of paying a fine. Instead, he gets a long term of imprisonment. They don't believe in fines for that sort of thing. The Italians are particularly fortunate in that their criminals leave them in peace, and emigrate to Canada or some other country. There is more crime in Montreal in a week than there is in a month in an Italian city. Most of the Italians in Canada, are desperate men, and the law should be strengthened in order to deal with them. As regards the polyglot crowd of poor ignorant strangers that the Government's policy has brought in, Chief Justice Howell, addressing the Grand Jury at Winnipeg, I referring to the fact that a large number of the indictments to be laid before it, were against foreigners, said: "You may be led to conclude that we would be much better without these foreigners, that they are a menace to our country. Well, they are here^ gentlemen; shall we drive them out of the country, or hang them, or teach them? They have not had a fair chance, it seems to me, in the race of life. In the country they came from the sidewalks were not made for them, the roads were good enough for them, amongst the horses and swine. . They come to this country and here the sidewalks are for them. They can go as they please and liberty becomes license." Is not the natural response to these remarks, that such people are ill-fitted to make citizens of a democratic country, and the Department that employs agents to send over such people, is not doing the State good service? Surely, at this late day, history can prove that quality counts for more than quantity in the make-up of a nation. To lower the quality, systematically, does not appear the proper function of government. Amongst the immigrants from the United States are a large number of Mormons, and it is said they pay visits to many houses, and insist upon the inmates listening to them reading the literature of that religion. It seems a, pity that polygomy should threaten us in addition to our other dangers. Formerly, the few Jews in Canada were in all essentials a homogeneous part of the nation. But of late years the Russian Jews have come over in great numbers (there are nearly 30,000 in Montreal alone) and they are not easy to assimilate. Their Russian- bred politics, their language, the literature they read, and the agitators constantly coming and going among them, keep them in a stew by themselves. However, being Jews, it is presumable tlfey will in time own ! most of the real estate, and eschew socialism, the Jew being essentially an Individualist. To exclude a few hundred poor Hindoos, doubtless seems a good work to the Pacific Coast labour party. To them, nothing seems to count except their interests, as interpreted by their ignorant selfishness. But to all above that level, it would seem that these Hindoos, as fellow-citizens of the British Empire, had some claim on Canadian kindness, and that harsh treatment here, as in the Transvaal, would, in the words of Mr. John Morley, "have an unfortunate effect upon public opinion in India." If the climate is, as stated, so trying for them, surely a little patience and diplomacy would have succeeded in proving to them that their own advantage would lie in seeking a warmer clime. However, the labour party has expressed its will, the better element has shown indifference, Government has followed the line of least resistance, and British statesmen will have to admit that the hope of making British citizenship as wide and real a privilege as was that of Rome, is not capable of accomplishment. As a matter of sentiment it is .most regrettable; whether it will end there, or work out later in bloodshed in India, Time alone can tell. In any case it is clearly a blow at any real Imperialism. It is not likely that China and Japan will permanently consent to have their people treated as inferiors or excluded from ordinary rights of white men. Japan has earned by war the position of a great power, China is awakening from the sleep of centuries. It may be that Japan counts on securing by her sweet reasonableness both to the United States and Canada that freedom of action in Asia which is of so much importance to her just now. It is hardly possible for Western Powers to press too closely their claims for the open door in Manchuria and Korea so long as they are banging and bolting their own to the Japanese. One may well ask who is getting the best of the bargain. The advantage given to Japan is the more evident, when we see how small an emigration was the cause of all the recent agitation, and remember that Japan is really anxious to direct this emigration to Korea and Manchuria, and by no means desires to lose her citizens. The agencies which worked the recent anti-Asiatic riots in British Columbia and California have succeeded in embarrassing their own governments and playing into the hands of the Japanese. Until 1915 Great Britain and Japan are allies, and there will be peace in the Pacific. Beyond that date it is idle to predict. China is said to be experiencing a growth of anti-foreign sentiment and a "recovery-of-rights" agitation. The losers by this will be the commercial Powers. China's friendship and trust are not to be despised, nor her interests neglected at this moment, when she is still weak. Weak or not, however, China has put in her claim for the Vancouver outrages. Sir William Van Home firmly believes that Canadian public men are .making a great mistake in listening overmuch to the anti-Asiatic cry. What British Columbia needs above everything else is rapid development, just the rapid development which Asiatic labour would bring her, and just the kind of development which, outside of the hoodlum element, the people of British Columbia generally . would welcome. The Asiatic is of the greatest use in household service, in the laundry business, in the small restaurant business, the salmon canneries, and so on. The germ of the anti-Asiatic movement must be sought in the bar saloons of California and Seattle, and is due to the fact that the Asiatic is a poor hand at liquor and the worst of customers in that line. He won't compare with the white as a friend of the publican. The animosity thus set going has spread. It began in California in municipal life; it spread to State politics, and then no one could go to Congress without a pledge against the Chinese. We, in Canada, may have some such experience as that before us. . • . . The Asiatic does not intend to settle in Canada, and does not do so. He comes to make money, and goes away when he has made it, leaving behind him the increased national wealth created by his labour and the earnings he has spent in the country; and a Chinaman will spend more money in a month than an Italian spends in two months. We do not want Asiatic settlement, and we should not get it on a substantial scale if we did, but British Columbia does greatly need the rapid development which Asiatic labour would bring her. And, also, every two Asiatics employed means employment for at least one white man. The experience of California proves that It is the lack of just such labour as the Asiatic would give that prevents a great number of works being carried out, and providing openings for the more highly skilled white labour as foremen, etc. Such are the true conditions in British Columbia, according to Sir William. Van Home, and it is doubtful if a more competent exponent could be found. The Anglo-Saxon race on this continent has ceased to multiply in the old way. The French-Canadians, on the other hand, increase at a rate beyond the average. Their clergy and many of their leaders have undoubtedly hoped that they would thus in time become the controlling element in the Dominion. Under present social conditions, therefore, a strong stream of British settlers is essential, not only from the economic aspect, but for the future certainty of the continuance of an English-speaking majority. Fortunately, the flow of British emigrants is constant, and last year saw 237,000 depart, but the average for ten years previously was about 106,000. There can be no doubt that Great Britain could be counted on to supply 100,000 persons a year for Canada, if the conditions were sufficiently .attractive. Under the conditions suggested in the foregoing pages, there can be no doubt of the large and steady flow of newcomers. To a certain extent this will consist of the farming class, with means adequate to start business comfortably; but a large proportion must consist of people who from various causes have not made a success of life hitherto. It is unreasonable of Canadians to expect they can have the cream of the Old Country. Such as are doing well at home, are not, as a rule, tempted to run the risks of the unknown, and with the exception of the youthful seekers after change and adventure, it may be taken for granted that British immigrants are usually of a grade lower than the best In any case, whether they are superior or inferior to Canadians, they are the stuff that Canada must have, if she is to develop along the lines so far marked out; for the present population is inadequate, and to develop such a Babel as the United States is becoming, were an unpardonable folly. Quality should be the first consideration, and if Canada is to fitly maintain British institutions, she must perforce see to it that the Mother Country leads in supplying the necessary new blood. It is, of course, desirable that the American influx may continue, so far as it consists of bona-fide farmers; and such a stream would surely continue if the conditions of life were made as tempting as they might be. But it cannot be insisted on too often that to bring in immigrants is not enough, it is necessary also that the conditions of life shall be sufficiently attractive to vkeep them here after they arrive. This necessary element has not always been operative in the past, as shown on Page 46. Cheap- . ness of living is in the long run the determining factor, and will do more to fill up the country than nominally high wages attached to artificially high cost of living. By a recent order-in-council the rate of bonus payable by the Canadian Government to booking agents in France, Belgium, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Switzer- land, Austria-Hungary and Finland has been doubled for immigrants whom they send to this country to follow farming, to engage in railway construction work, or, in the case of females, to engage in domestic service. The "old rates were ten shillings per head bonus for adults and five shillings for each person under eighteen years. On the new basis the Continental booking agents accredited by the Dominion Government will receive the same rates of bonus as the booking agents in Great Britain. It is an open question whether Canada should pay bonuses at all. The country is now well known to the world that reads newspapers, and it is quite certain that immigration is not desirable from other quarters. Canada has recently been receiving immigrants at a rate very much larger in proportion to population than the United States has ever known. It is well, therefore, to consider carefully what their experience has taught them. In an article on immigration in Vol. 179 of the North American Review, we are told: "Back of all statistics of the criminality, pauperism, illiteracy, and economic value of immigration lies the great question of the effect of immigration on our native, or older stock. . The immigration of the last fifty years has contributed millions to our population; has undoubtedly added enormously to the wealth of the country, but these things have been accomplished at the expense of the native stock. The decreasing birth-rate of our native population has been very largely due to the effect of foreign immigration. The late General Walker first advanced this view, that, as newer and lower classes of immigrants came to this country, Americans shrank more and more from the industrial competition which was thus forced upon them; they became unwilling to subject their sons and daughters to this competition; and hence these sons and daughters were never born. The stronger the competition, the greater the effort to maintain and raise the standard of living and the social position above that of the majority of recent immigrants; and the greater this effort, the greater the voluntary check to population. . Many of our recent immigrants, not discouraged by the problem of maintaining high standards of living with their many children, are replacing native Americans. It is fundamentally a question as to what kind of babies are to be born; it is a question as to what races shall dominate this country. Mr. R. R. Kuczynski, after a very careful study of the population statistics of Massachusetts, concluded that the native population is 'dying out.' General Walker believed that foreign immigration in this country has, from the time it assumed large proportions, not reinforced our population, but replaced it. The United States Industrial Commission, which made one of the most thorough studies of immigration ever undertaken, says in its final report that 'it is a hasty assumption which holds that immigration during the nineteenth century has increased the total population.' And more recently still, Mr. Henry" Gannett, well known for his statistical work in connection with the census, says: T do not think that our population has been materially, if at all, increased by immigration. On the contrary, I think that our population would be almost, if not quite, as large if the great flood of immigration which began in 1847 had never reached our shores.' " This quotation shows clearly that there are grounds for believing that the tendency of inferior immigration is to lower the birth-rate of the native-born population, which in the struggle to keep up appearances in the face of the increasing competition, fails to propagate itself, commits race suicide, in short. Whereas the inferior immigrant population, having no appearances to keep up, propagates itself like rabbits. The folly of introducing backward races into a democracy can now be more fully realised. In a democracy everything depends on the character of its citizens, on the soundness of the public conscience, on the integrity of the public vote. A large foreign vote unfamiliar with the spirit of British institutions, and ignorant of our political history, is a sure guarantee of corrupt politics. To talk of educating this large mass of adult ignorance is to suggest a work beyond the power of this or indeed any country. The evil of foreign immigration has been increased enormously" by the "block -system." The solid French- Canada, impervious to outside influences, was already existing as a warning. Yet the Government has repeated the same conditions by establishing solid colonies of Mennonites, Mormons. Galicians, Doukhobors, etc., here and there throughout the West. This is a "Britain-beyond-sea." Let us try to make it, as far as possible, a homogeneous people of British blood and traditions, living in unity with our French-Canadian fellow-citizens under the old flag, and resolved that our progress shall be solid rather than spectacular. The Dominion of Canada is to-day the greatest land of promise for the migratory people of the world. Her vast area and boundless resources, free lands and bursting mines, bright prospects and golden opportunities, have made her famous among the nations and honored among the thousands of her adopted children. In approaching the subject of this essay a few general considerations will open the mind to the importance of the subject, and to the necessity of solving the problem of immigration as it affects our national life. Canada is the largest dominion of the British Empire and contains one- third of her total area, viz., about 3,750,000 square miles—exclusive of the northern unexplored vast wilds of Franklin. She extends over 3,000 miles from the Atlantic to the Pacific and 1,400 miles from south to north, stretching over 20 degrees of latitude from the 49th to the 69th. She is ' larger than the United States and Alaska by 178,000 square miles, one- third larger than the continent of Australia, some 18 times the size of Germany or France, 20 times that of Spain, 33 times that of Italy, 30 times as large as the United Kingdom, and 60 times the size of the Mother Country. She has a coast line of 13,000 miles—equal to half the circumference of the globe. Her United States boundary line is 3,000 miles long—1,600 miles by land and 1,400 miles by water. She has a continuous waterway of 2,384 miles from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the head of Lake Superior. The distance from Halifax to Vancouver by rail is greater than from Halifax to Liverpool by water. She has more than half the fresh water area of the globe, and her great inland sea, Hudson Bay, is as large as the Mediterranean. These vast stretches and immense areas indicate that Canada is a country of big things. She has the largest compact wheat area in the world— 900 miles long by 300 miles wide, and this is where the world's best wheat, "No. 1 Hard," is grown. The grain product of Canada is now about 365 million bushels per annum—an average of one million bushels per day, with a produced value of about $500,000,000. The largest grain mill in the Empire is at Montreal, with a capacity of 4,400 barrels of flour per 24 hours, and the largest elevator in the world is at Port Arthur, with a capacity of 7,000,000 bushels, while the Grand Trunk Pacific is about to build a 12,- 000,000-bushel elevator at Fort William. She will have the longest bridge span in the world at Quebec. She has the largest nickel mines in the world at Sudbury and Creighton, and the richest silver-nickel-cobalt deposits in. the world at Cobalt. The largest zinc smelter in the world is at Frank, the thickest known coal >seam—47 feet wide—is at Stellarton, and the largest colliery is at Glace Bay. The C. P. R. yard in Winnipeg, with 120 miles of track, is the largest in the Empire. Canada has the most prolific and extensive sea fisheries in the world on the Atlantic (and Pacific as well as some of the greatest salmon rivers— the Fraser, Skeena, etc. Her fisheries produce $30,000,000 per annum, giving employment to an army of,. 100,000 men, having an equipment worth $13,- 000,000 and some 7,000,000 fathoms of nets. British Columbia now stands first in fisheries, Nova Scotia second, and New Brunswick third. Practically all the valuable minerals are found in Canada with a combined annual production of over $80,000,000— about one-half of which is exported. The annual gold product is about $15,000,000, and some $250,000,000 of gold have been produced in the counj try—nearly one-half of which has come from the Yukon since 1896, viz., $120,000,000. British Columbia alone has produced over $100,000,000 in gold. Canadian mining has a capital investment of $100,000,000. The richest and best asbestos and corundum are found in Canada. She ha's an annual coal production of $10,000,000, with 100,000 square miles of coal-bearing lands containing some of the world's richest beds. The Crow's Nest beds are estimated to hold enough coal to last 5,000 years if mined at the rate of 4,000,000 tons a year. Only one- tenth of her known mineral regions are yet explored. The great forest and timber resources of Canada are among the best in the world. She has the largest white pine areas left on the continent, and the forest resources of British Columbia in quality and quantity stand first. The largest pulp wood areas of the world are found in Canada, and she has an annual forest product of about $100,- 000,000. This Dominion is likely to become one of the great industrial storehouses of the world. Her manufacturing plant has now a capital investment of over $600,000,000 and an annual product value of over one billion dollars. She ' exports annually over $25,000,000 worth of manufactured goods. There are over 130 American manufacturing establishments with Canadian branches employing some 40,000 men, and there is $100,000,000 American capital invested in Canada. , These considerations ' suggest a country of marvelous resources and undreamed of destiny. In 1903 Hon. John Charlton opened the eyes of a great assembly in Vancouver by stating that Canada had resources to support a population of 100,000,000 people. A few days ago people opened their eyes wider when Dr. Johnson, of Montreal, stated that Canada can support a population of 1,000,000,000 people, and this is no mere dream when we remember that if Canada were as densely populated as the British Isles it .would have over a billion people. It will further surprise the people of this country to learn that the vast agricultural resources of Canada utilized along the lines of scientific development as proved by market gardening experiments in Belgium, Paris, United States, and Canada, together with all the other resources of the country, that Canada can both support and contain the entire population of the world, viz., one and a half billion people. This statement is made not to startle people, but rather to indicate that our great Dominion heritage has resources practically unlimited for a population practically unnumbered. Hence the importance of the Problem of Immigration and Assimilation, Population and National Life suggested by the subject of this essay. I. Let us now examine the Nationalities and Languages in Canada. An exact estimate of the population cannot be given, as the last census was taken in 1901, when the_ population stood at 5,371,315, and the next census will not be taken till 1911. An approximate estimate, however, can be made. The Census Bureau officially estimated the population on January 1st, 1907, to be 6,442,581. The immigration during 1907 was about 275,000, and that of 1908 will likely be about the same, so that we can safely place the population to date, December 31st, 1908, at about 7,000,000. J. J. Hill prophesies that in 50 years Canada will have 50,000,000 people, and Lord Strathcona predicts that 80,000,000 people will be in the Dominion by the year 2,000. Analysing this population of 7,000,- 000, we find about 85 per cent are Canadian-born and 10 per cent. British-born. Or 95 per cent, are British- born subjects and 5 per cent, foreign- born subjects. Eastern Canada has a population almost entirely British- born, while Western Canada has 75 per cent. British-born and 25 per cent, foreign-born—indicating that the problem of immigration and assimilation is more serious in the West. In 1905 there were over 40 nationalities and languages represented in Canada's population. In 1906 there were 54 varieties representing th;e chief races from five continents. And now, on the authority of the Canadian Bible Society, we are informed that 70 • languages are spoken in Canada by people from as many nations and provinces throughout the world. Many of these, of course, have very few representatives, while many are here in large numbers, and altogether they indicate a population of great variety and complexity. Let us further examine this complex people. First, there is the great body of English-speaking people—those Canadian-born of English birth, those from the United Kingdom of England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and the many thousands from the United -States. We may safely estimate this English-speaking population at 4,000,- 000. The French-Canadian population is about 1,650,000. Of these 1,360,000 are in the Province of Quebec, 150,000 in Ontario, 15,000 in the Western Provinces, while most of the remaining 125,000 are in the Maritime Provinces. One out of every four in Canada is of French descent and the French-Canadian population has been doubling every 27 years since 1763. There is a native Indian and half- breed population of 128,000, of whom 112,000 are Indian and 16,000 halfbreed. In 1907 the Indian population increased by 1,000, indicating that for the present at least they are not dying out. The Government and several Churches are seeking to preserve these remnants of a noble race. The Reserves provided for them, the protection afforded them from the curse of drink and other vices, the educational and religious privileges granted to them, will it is hoped save the Red man from oblivion. Another native race—the Esquimaux—are found throughout the wild wastes of the far North. They are found on the bleak shores of Labrador, Ungava and Hudson Bay; throughout the far-flung Districts of Keewatin and Mackenzie, as well as the Franklin Territory within the Arctic Circle. No census can be obtained of these children of Nature, but 50,000 may be a good guess. The Negro population is a little over 17,000, most of whom are in the Maritime Provinces, though quite a number are found in all the larger cities. It is interesting to note tjiat according to the census of 1871 and 1881 the Negro population remained almost stationary at about 21,000, whereas by 1901 their total number had declined about 4,000. This indicates that the Negro race is not looking to Canada for the land of promise, but that even many of those in Canada still regard the South as their permanent home; and probably for Canada this is well. Our population having its race or origin in Continental Europe—the German, Scandinavian, Italian, Russian, Dutch, and from Central South Europe, is nearing the 1,000,000 mark. i| From the continent of Asia we have a contingent of nearly 100,000, fully half of whom are from the three Oriental countries of Japan, China and India, and most of these are in the Coast Province of British Columbia. There are also small numbers from the continent of Australia, from many of the countries of Africa, and from many of the parts of South and Central America. Enumerating the nationalities of the people found to-day in Canada's population, we find a long list something like the following: The English, Scotch, Irish and Welsh from Great Britain; from Continental Europe, the Scandinavian people of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, the Dutch and German, the French, Spanish and Portuguese; the Prussian, Bavarian and Saxons of the German Fatherland; the Russ, Poles, Finns, Ruthenians, Doukhobors from the Russian Empire; the Swiss and the Italians; the Aus- trians, Hungarians, Magyars, Bohemians, Croatians, Slavonians, Gali- cian and Buckowinians from Austro- Hungary; the Roumanians, Dalmatians, Bulgarians, Servians, Armenians, Turks, Grecians and Jews from South Central Europe—about 10 European nationalities in Canada. From the continent of Asia we have the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans and East Indians; the Arabians, Persians, Syrians, the Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Mongolian and Siberian; from Australasia we have the Australian, New Zealander, Tasmanian, Philippines, New Guineans, Hawaiian and many Islanders of the Pacific. From the continent of Africa there are but a few representatives of the South Africans, Egyptians and Abyssinians. A few Brazilians from South America and a few Mexicans, etc., from Central America. Including now the Canadians, Americans, New Foundlanders, Bermudians, and the native races of the Indians, half-breeds, Negroes and Esquimaux, we have a complex population for the Dominion in 1908 of 7,000,000 people from the five continents representing no less than 70 nationalities and languages. The problem of assimilation and national unity of this complex population is further seen by noting a few special features. These are e. g., 130,000 Ruthenians—commonly called Galicians—from the Provinces of Ga- licia, Buckowinia and adjoining districts. Their numbers are fast increasing and they are mostly living in •colonies in the Western Provinces. They are very ignorant and rather uncleanly, though they are industrious and religious. Some of them are vicious, but in general their moral life is not low. Because of former oppression and persecution they are suspicious of governments, have no national ideals, do not realize the dutv of citizenship nor the spirit of patriotism. They have been generously treated by the Canadian Government, so that their suspicions are being largely removed. They are slowly responding to the efforts to establish the public school and are learning the value of education, and thus the work of assimilation is already begun. Their large numbers and past history together with their dense ignorance present a serious problem for national life. There are about 10,000 Doukhobors also in the West. They too are a people of oppression and ignorance. They have no national ideals and are suspicious of all governments. 'They are, however, hard-working and industri- ous, clean and religious. A small number are superstitious and fanatical, who have brought their colony into disrepute by the pilgrimages and nude escapades. They do not, however, fairly represent the colony, as the majority .are good people who have no sympathy with their fanatical brethren. Of course since there are few other Doukhobors in the world and their numbers cannot largely increase, this problem will not be very serious. They are also inclined to break up -their community System of life, which will make their assimilation less difficult The most serious aspect of this problem is their contempt for education. The efforts to establish public schools among them are almost total failures, and their ignorance today is just as dense as it was seven years ago when they came to Canada. There is a community of 10,000 Mormons from Utah settled in Southern Alberta. Due credit must be given them for their industry in changing the arid regions into a fruitful garden, and due credit must^ be given the Canadian Government for requiring that their tenet on plural wives be not observed in Canada; yet they are nevertheless a challenge and a menace to the country. Polygamy is still faithfully taught by them, they are filling their schools with Mormon teachers, and their avowed purpose is to elect Mormon representatives to Parliament. This Mormon problem is serious just in proportion to their numbers and influence. ' There are about 35,000 Mennonites in Canada, who, like the Doukhobors, are a religious sect They are a Russo- German people and having suffered persecution for generations have at last found a refuge in Canada. They are an industrious, moral and religious people, and having been generously treated by the Government, have become intelligent and patriotic people. The Icelanders form another community of about 25,000 people, mostly in the West. They are a Scandinavian people, industrious, moral and fast becoming good citizens. Let this suffice to indicate the problem of assimilation. II. Let us now consider some requirements to insure a continuous, harmonious and reasonably rapid development of the Dominion. 1. Her place in the Empire.—Although Canada contains one-third the area of the British Empire and could stand alone as a nation, her present standing in the world is largely bound fcip in her relation to the Empire. While Canada must be left free to de velop her own national life, material resources, and expanding trade, yet she requires the strong arm of the Empire to maintain her dignity in the world. Not only is there moral strength and inspiration in the loyal relation of mother and daughter, but the daughter will have better protection and a freer life, will have more worthy suitors and can make better alliances, will be more honored and sought for because of her place in the Imperial Home. Not wishing and not needing to develop the spirit of militarism, her place is secure by the strength of the Empire's strong arm. As to annexation with the American Republic, it is not to be thought of. Our national ideals and forms of government are different. Except in proximity of territory, we are nearer Great Britain than the United States in all our moral and religious, social and natural life. Neither does Canada wish to be an independent nation. She has all the freedom of independence and all the dignity and strength of a great nation by her present Empire standing. Our destiny therefore should be bound up in the destiny of the Empire. We should share in the work of welding the .many parts of the Empire into an abiding unity. 'Our largest life should be looked for in the life of the Empire's Family. There should be an Imperial Conference or Council and the "All Red Line," giving commercial strength and national unity. And Canada as the fairest daughter in the Royal Family should feel her duty, dignity and destiny in the great ■world Empire. 2. Her Public Life.—Canada has been and still is greatly honored and richly blessed by some of her great Statesmen. At present fully 75 per cent, of her public men are above corruption, but there is the other 25 per cent, of public men who are unworthy of the country's confidence. From this source we have a record of election scandal, public graft and political corruption unheard of in the public life of the mother country or of her Dominion Sisters Australia and New Zealand. Some of our public men have flaunted their nefarious work and stained the fair name of Canadian Public life. We need a stronger statesmanship in dealing with political corruption and we need a stronger public conscience in the citizenship of our country. This public conscience must be stronger than political parties. It must demand that public men be above reproach, it must stand for clean elections and a pure ballot. The sacred rights of citizenship must be main- i tained. Patronage in the civil service should be abolished and the order of merit established. The administration of law which is our national, moral and social protection must be firmly established in equity.. Contempt for law which is manifest in certain sections of Canada must be met by the firm' hand of faithfulness and justice. 3. Conserve Natural Resources.—With a population not yet 7,000,000 and with natural resources capable of sustaining the world's population, there is evidently a great field for exploitation and speculation, and 'Consequently a great field for wasting and debauching the natural resources of the Country. Now in Canada we do not want a "nation of eighty million pygmies and a dozen giants." We do not want a population of one per cent, millionaires and 25 per cent, living, on the verge of starvation. We do not want in our large cities a pedestalled tenth flaunting its insolent wealth and luxury in the face of a submerged tenth grovelling in poverty, vice and crime. This does not mean that we must have economic Socialism, but it does mean that the principles of Government ownership and Government control should develop and protect the public utilities and natural resources of the country. Already these principles have developed far in such matters as Public Education, the Postal service, etc. At present they are being applied with good results to the railway, telegraph and telephone systems, while for the future attention must be given to conserving the great agricultural, mining, fishery and forest resources. Great blocks of public lands should not be given away to Railway corporations nor to Land Companies for exploitation. The Governments should hasten to settle their fishery disputes between themselves and the United States; and such settlement should be on the basis of conserving the fisheries of the Atlantic and Pacific, so as to permanently maintain and develop these great industries. The mining industry, and especially coal mining, should speedily be brought under Government ownership or control. It is deplorable that the consumer has to pay two, »three and four times the cost of coal; that on the Pacific Coast, British Columbia coal is sold cheaper in San Francisco than in Victoria, or that in case of a strike or lockout the supply of this necessary commodity can be cut off altogether. The forest resources of this country are among the very best on the continent, but they are subject to easy destruction and exhaustion by forest fires, by waste in logging, and by reck less exploitation. The Governments should establish large forest preserves in various parts of the country, and should inaugurate a system of reforestation in all parts of the country not' adapted to agricultural development. The laws for protection against forest fires should-be rigidly enforced. The manufacturing industries will require the most careful Government oversight The great production of raw materials calls for the great development of manufacturing establishments. This touches our national life in many relationships. It is clofeely related to the question of Capital and Labor, unites the interests of producer and consumer, gives direction to our trade and treaty relations and thus relates itself to the national 'policy of the Country. 4. National Policy.—Canada needs a harmonious national policy conserving the interests of all the Provinces and sacrificing those of none. This national policy may now be said to be a union of the two principles of Free Trade and Protection, and the requirements of the country will long continue to demand this policy. Both political parties are agreed on this national policy of a maximum Free Trade consistent with a minimum Protection for the industries and (manufactories of the country. This policy will continue to demand strong statesmanship. The rapid development and changing conditions demand a pliable policy consistent with the permanency of trade conditions. The Canadian Customs Act of 1907 is a good example of this, and its threefold tariff, viz., British Preferential, Intermediate, and General Tariff, seems to meet the demands of the country fairly well. Further, this national Policy must more and more be determined by the varied interests of the several Provinces. There must be mutual co-oper-; ation and concession and sometimes even sacrifice for the larger good, but it must never be forgotten that the unity of the nation's life can only be maintained by the proper development of each and all the Provinces. The West must not be kept back for the sake of the East. The interests of the farmer must not be made subservient to those of the manufacturer. Transportation Companies must be under bond to serve the country rather than to amass wealth. Manitoba has a moral right to the extension of her boundaries and the northern country towards Hudson Bay is being retarded by the delay in enlarging the Province. The great Prairie ' Provinces should have an outlet for their- millions of grain export via Fort Churchill and Hudson Bay. British Columbia should have more sympathetic treatment at the hands of Ottawa, should receive a better part than has thus far been accorded to her in the matter of "Better Terms," \and should for many reasons have more weight in dealing with the national problem of Immigration to the Pacific shores. 5. Capital and Labor.—The Problem of Capital and Labor is looming larger year by year. The present growing alienation indicates an abnormal state of industrial conditions. Whatever economic system prevails, whether Socialism or Industrialism reign, Capital and Labor are necessary to each other in the industrial development of the country. It is essential therefore that harmony should exist between them. In solving the problem of Capital and Labor the principle of Unionism should be conceded. Labor, the same as Capital, has the right to unite for its protection and improvement Corporations are tyrannical that determine to break labor unions, just as the unions are tyrannical that shut out the non- unionists and encourage inefficient labor. There should be very judicious laws looking to the protection of Capital, Unionism and non-unionism alike. Then also the principle, of arbitration- should be developed as largely as possible. Arbitration is generally advantageous not only to the Companies. and Unions but also to the general public who are made to suffer in a strife in which they have no part. Our present arbitration law is a step in the right direction. Further the principle of Co-operation should find some basis of mutual agreement. This is acted upon by some large concerns in the industrial world and with good results. If the Capitalist does not wish to make a slave of his laborer and is satisfied with a reasonable profit he should be willing to meet his employees on a common basis of mutual benefit And if Labor is satisfied with a reasonable wage and does not wish to be tyranical towards the Employer there should be easily found a basis of fair play on which to meet and co-operate. This could be done by a system of Conferences between Employers and Employees, say annually, semi-annually, quarterly or on any occasion when necessity arises. At such Conferences full discussion could take place, the interests of both sides could be fully presented, misunderstandings, which are the bugbear of nearly all strife, could be removed, and if both parties are seeking to do the right and fair thing mutual agreements could be made. And if either side were unfair or selfish then it would have %o stand openly in the face of public opinion. And neither selfish Capital nor tyrannical Labor likes to face the glare of public opinion. Again much might be done if Labor Unionism were confined to national limits. The best interests of Labor are not served by the affiliation and dictation of foreign countries. Labor conditions in Canada are far superior to those of the United States. We have not cause for such agitating and disturbing elements as are found there. Why should we be in affiliation with the great Labor organizations of the United States any more than with those of England or Germany? And why should we be content to have the unions of Canada for the help of the American Unions? Labor conditions are suffering by foreign dictation. If Canada continues to improve the laws for the protection of Labor, if the principle of arbitration can be brought to bear upon the strife, if co-operation, co-partnership and conference can be agreed upon and if Canadian Labor men "will turn their attention to national Unionism, say along the lines of the "Trades and Labor Congress of Canada," great good will result to all concerned. 6. Educational Ideals.—Canada regards with complacency the great national work being done by her Public and High Schools, her Colleges and Universities, and has an educational standard of efficiency comparing favorably with other countries. However, the goal has not been reached, and as our educational ideals have much to do with the higher development of national life the • following matters are worthy of serious consideration. First, a National School System should be the ideal of all the Provinces. The saddling of the new Provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta with a dual system is to be deplored. Whether, however, there must for the present be a separate school system in these Provinces as well as in the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec, the obligation to reach the same standard of efficiency ought to be insisted upon. The best interests of the nation demand that the rising generations of her citizens be educated on the basis of a common standard of efficiency. Second, the Principle of Compulsory Education must be insisted upon throughout the whole Dominion. An illiterate citizenship is a great peril to a democratic nation, and any small section of dense ignorance is a menace to the community. The State has the right as well as the duty to see that all her growing boys and girls are pro- perly educated for the work of life and for worthy citizenship. This matter needs special attention just now in view of the fact that many thousands of her immigrants are densely ignorant The Galicians, Doukhobors, etc., will never make good citizens until they are properly educated. And as the most ignorant classes do not realize the value of proper training the State must see to it that Public ■Schools are established in every community, that suitable teachers are employed and that all the children of school age be required to attend. Third, the Exodus of the Male Teacher should be arrested. In many Provinces the male teacher is almost a minus quantity. This is the result of a short sighted parsimony. Salaries are so mean that no ambitious young man regards teaching as a calling. Thus the moulding of the character of most boys and girls is left to the care of inexperienced lady teachers—most of whom do not regard teaching as their calling. If our Public School Education is to have the breadth and strength necessary to the development of character there must be the raising of the teaching profession to its proper dignity, the honoring of the teaching profession in common with the ministerial, legal and -medical professions, and the calling forth of a large army of young men to the vocation of this profession. The ideal should be that lady teachers be employed in all the Kindergarten, junior and lower intermediate grades, and that gentlemen teachers be employed in all the higher intermediate and senior grades as well as in the Principalships and High School .Staff. Fourth, Universities under State Control, but outside the realm of party politics, should be established in all the Provinces—one strong university for each Province. These Universities should not only provide a broad and liberal education in the Arts and Sciences, but should specialize in technical education along the lines of the special conditions of each Province. And further the State should so arrange that the general public should share in the instruction of the University as well as the students who attend the classes. This could be done by travelling lecturers who would give public addresses in City Halls and Country Schools on subjects of first importance to the Province. The Prairie Provinces should, for example, •have travelling lecturers giving addresses on scientific farming, and British Columbia University should have a travelling lectureship on horticulture, mining, etc. Such work should have an ethical value for the life of the Province, teaching not only of the proper development of the great material resources, but also of the greater value of the good citizenship, moral character, and national life of the people. This would help the people of Canada to realize not only her great resources of mountain and mine, of plain and prairie, of lake and river, but of the greater resources of her people in happiness and contentment, peace and prosperity, noble standards and high ideals, moral character and national unity. Canada needs to learn well the lesson that righteousness exalteth a nation and sin is a reproach to any people. 7. The Fine Arts.—The development of the fine arts is an important requirement in national life. Poetry, prose, painting, music, sculpture, etc., should be encouraged. Literature should have special attention. Canada has now quite a nucleus of Canadian literature and a number of names in the Hall of Fame, but'to our loss it must be confessed that most of our literary sons and daughters have 'been compelled to leave their homeland and seek greener pastures. Canadians should learn to read their own writers, to listen to their own singers and muse with their own muses. We have a country rich in the mystic and romantic, full of stupendous glory and lovely beauty, echoing with wild weird wastes and murmuring with soft siren sounds, a country with large lakes and rushing rivers, of mighty mountains and prairie plains—a veritable paradise for the painter and sculptor, for the artist and the muse, for the romantic and tragic the poetic and prosaic literatuer. It is time Canada was coming to her own in this matter. We are making too much of our material resources and too little of the aesthetic and ethical. Let our Universities teach Canadian Literature, let our people be taught to admire the many good things and the greater possibilities of the fine arts in this .country and let our Governments manifest a fraternal interest by encouraging and helping these higher things in life. 8. Immigration Policy.—A sound immigration policy is one of the most pressing requirements of the country at the present time. A few facts will show this. With a country capable of supporting untold millions we have as yet a basis of only four million English speaking people, while between two and three millions are foreign speaking. If the English language and people are to be the dominating factor in moulding the national character of Canada we need to be careful about & our immigration. Today Canada is proportionately the greatest immigration country in the world. Our population is increasing proportionately over 3 per cent per annum which is more than double the increase in the palmiest days of U. S. immigration. In this immigration there are representatives in larger and smaller numbers from all nations of the earth. They come in their intelligence and ignorance, cleanly and uncleanly habits, moral and immoral characters, high and low standards of life, true and false ideals, religious and irreligious, civilized and uncivilized, infidel and agnostic, superstitious and fanatical, Christian, pagan and heathen, white, black and yellow. They are all coming to this promised land of Canada and will all form part of the warp and woof of our national life. Surely there is great need of a sound immigration policy looking to our national welfare! Now there are various immigration policies advocated. One extreme is represented In part by the "Asiatic Exclusion League" of Vancouver, the policy of which is the exclusion of Japanese, Chinese and East Indian. To apply this policy to the whole Dominion means the absolute exclusion or the closed door against all nations and peoples whom we do not desire. The opposite extreme is advocated by some public men in Eastern Canada who say, "Open wide the doors and let the nations of the world flow in." This policy has probably as few advocates as that of the Exclusion League. Now our immigration policy must be moulded according to our conception of the destiny of Canada in the world and work of nations. Is Canada to remain permanently an English speaking country? Is she to maintain her place in the British Empire? Is she to be a white man's country? Is she to maintain her unity of race, religion, civilization, social and national life? Is she destined to march with the ^foremost nations of the world in her progress and civilization? If so then we must rule over our house well and raise up our children in the unity of home and family life. We cannot have a polygamous family of i nations iany more than of the home. Wie dare not have a conglomerate population of non-assimilable peoples. We cannot risk the peril of permanent racial divisions, nor can we endanger the glorious heritage of our children by .a promiscuous invasion of our Homeland by all the migrating children of alien nations. III. We are now ready to state the countries from which immigration should be drawn and the methods of securing desirable immigration, with due regard to existing trade conditions. 1. There should be an absolute exclusion of the vicious and criminal, the pauper and diseased classes of all countries. It is the duty of every nation to watch over such of her own classes, but no nation has a duty in receiving such from other countries, and all such are a distinct menace to our people. 2. There should be a limited exclusion of the races of another color. This not because of any inferiority or race hatred, but because races of different color do not and will not assimilate. Individual cases of the marriage of different colors do not change the universal rule. This is true even of Canada's Indian tribes. Throughout the centuries the white people have not assimilated with the Indian people, and never will. The small population of half breeds would seem to prove the contrary, but the real explanation of the half breed population lies in the scarcity of white. White women did not marry red men, but white men married red women because there were not white women for wives and mothers. And the resultant half-breed population is of such a character that we are not led to admire or wish for such assimilation. The example of the black race in the United States is also ample proof that color races will not mix. The Negro race problem is the most serious race problem in the Republic and while their material condition and peaceful relations may improve, still there is no more hope today than fifty years ago, that the white and black races will assimilate. And surely there should be no large community in Canada with whom we cannot and will not unite in marriage. These considerations should help us to an intelligent solution of the race problem opened up by the Oriental races—the yellow races of China, Japan, India etc. The policy of limited exclusion should be directed by several considerations. Because of interna- . tional and trade relations, our policy should be pliable enough to admit of diplomatic and capitalist persons, of students and literary individuals, who while not presenting any problem of assimilation would be of great reflex value to their home country in advancing modern civilization. This privilege, however, should not be wide . enough to permit of hordes of the agricultural and other laboring^classes. Temporary conditions of Capital and Labor are not sufficient reason to either admit or exclude foreign people. The permanent unity and welfare of the nation must be adhered to. Canada's position in the Empire and especially the location of British Colum- bia in the Dominion, indicate that the open door policy on the British Pacific would easily result in millions of Orientals coming to our salubrious climate, taking possession of our fair valleys, superseding white labor in all the industries of the Province, and then those best agriculturists in the world would soon climb over the mountains and spread over the fairest wheat fields of the world in the Prairie Provinces. When we remember that some 35,000 Orientals are today in British Columbia, that one male adult out of every four is a yellow man, it is no wonder that B. C. is doing some angry yelling. And while all violence of mob and all hysterics of anger are to be deplored, yet the ear of the Dominion and of the Empire should hearken to the cry from the Pacific shores, before we establish a, race and color problem. The policy of the limited immigration is quite consistent with trade relation. No self respecting nation can expect another nation to risk her national unity and endanger the peace of her own domestic life. Japan, China, India, would no more consent to the invasion of vast hordes of laboring classes undermining the native labor than we do. They are slow to ad- imit any higher form of civilization. Let us be slow to admit a lower civilization. This question has been largely solved in Australia. New Zealand and South Africa, and can be settled harmoniously with Canada. And if we want trade with Japan so does Japan want trade with us and trade relations can only be formed on the basis of mutual benefit. At present a ten thousand dollar benefit by trade is not sufficient to change the conception of our national character. The envoy visit of Hon. Mr. Lemieux to Japan shows clearly that Japan is willing to deal with this vexed problem in a diplomatic and statesmanlike way. 3. To the white nations of the world our doors must stand open. But here also we must discriminate All white races are not equally desirable immigrants, and therefore the less desirable should not be induced to come. In general the nations of Central and Southern Europe should not be sought after. There are large numbers of Ruthenians, Galicians, Buckowinians, Servians, Bulgarians, Roumanians, Turks, Greeks, and even the South Italian and lower classes of Russians whom we cannot well exclude, but whom we do not need to invite. They are for the most part of lower morals and are largely without national ideals. They are ignorant and incapable of good citizenship for some time. There are hundreds of thousands of these people in Canada now and more are coming. We shall have to do our duty by them in providing a compulsory education for their children and giving them the privileges and protection of our laws, but we should not encourage the coming of these people. No agents should be allowed to seek immigrants from these countries, no adverstising should be done among them and no bonusing or financial help should be given to aid their coming. 4. Among more desirable white nations however something may be done to induce immigration to our country. Such people as the Germans, Scandinavians of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland, the Dutch, French and Belgians, are much better immigrants for Canada than those from Central Europe. These have a purer home life, an equality of sexual relations, a common Christian civilization, and a national character which they carry with them to the country of their adoption. From these countries we should seek a perennial immigration stream. We should advertise the resources, the climate, and the great opportunities of this free liberty-loving land. We should scatter all kinds of official literature. We should carefully supervise all advertising matter so that the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth should be made known. The public press of these countries should be availed of and abundant correspondence and letters should be published so that the laboring people and especially the agricultural classes may learn of this good land. 5. Most desirable of all, however, are the English speaking races to which we belong by ties of blood, by moral and religious, social and national ideals. Such are those ,of the Mother Country, the English and Welsh, Scotch and Irish, and our Anglo-Saxon brethern of the United States. More than all others do we need these for the basis and development of our national life i It is gratifying to know that these immigrants are coming to Canada in increasing numbers. In 1906 of our total immigration of 216,000 over 90,000 came from the British Isles, and nearly 60,000 from the United States. In 1907 of a total immigration of about 275,000 over 150,000 came from the British Isles and 50,000 came from the United States, while during both years the immigrants from Central Southern Europe were growing proportionately less. In 1908 the flow from the British Isles is likely to show a slight decrease because of the partial crop failure of 1907 and because of more stringent demands in the qualifications of immigrants, but the stream from the United States is flow- ing stronger than ever, so that Canada is likely to receive some 200,000 English speaking people this year from Britain and the States. Our stricter regulations are also lessening the flow from Continental Europe and especially from the less desirable countries. This, while somewhat retarding the numerical increase of population is more than made up by the better class of immigration. Our immediate duty is to centre our immigration policy in the English speaking people. Our imperial relations with the Mother Country give us the right to invite our brothers and sisters to come and live with us if they wish to leave home. And because of the dense population there will continue to be a large perennial stream migrating to other parts of the world, where there is more room and larger opportunities. It will be pur own fault if we do not receive a large portion of this flow. In securing this immigration we should in addition to full advertising also establish Agencies in the Mother Country and in the United States. If book agents are to be employed let them work in these countries alone. Whatever financial aid is given should be applied to this class of immigrants. Public lecturers should go though these countries giving lectures and meeting people personally and endeavoring to select the most desirable people. The work of the Salvation Army in this respect is the sanest method yet adopted, and this kind of immigration is worthy of Government support. Further the* Home Government might be easily induced to encourage her emigrating people to turn their eyes to the colonies rather than to foreign countries. There is still a large migrating army annually leaving the Mother Country and going to make their home beyond the British Flag. In 1905 some 60,000 from the British Isles migrated to the U. S. In 1906 over 85,000 went there and in 1907 may thousands more. Canada should see to it that many of these thousands come here instead. Then by our close proximity to the U. S.'and the great population of the American Republic there is presented a great source for a perennial stream of increasing flow. We should seek the repatriation of the many thousands of our Canadian children, and invite the vast number of others who are looking for opportunities such as are offered by our boundless resources and our liberty-loving people. The future is full of promise. Our trade relations with the Mother Country are on the preferential basis, and our trade relations with the United States are harmonious on the basis of mutual protection. From these countries we look for the increasing population that is to direct and dominate the national life of this great . Dominion. There are signs that our great Statesman will not sacrifice the highest interests of this country to the ignoble, and the mean. And though today Canada has probably the most serious problem of immigration and assimilation in the world, and though at first sight the burden seems oppressive, still with loyal British hearts and strong Canadian hands we hopefully take up the burden and respond to the call to make this country a Home of peace, a Land of Promise, a Nation of Righteousness.
Other copies : http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/17729355
Essays
JV7225 .F5
III-1380
English
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
[Victoria] : [publisher not identified]
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Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. JV7225 .F5
Canada--Emigration and immigration
Labor supply--Canada
Immigration as affecting Canada and her constituent provinces
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