IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // Ja C/u m 1.0 I.I 11.25 1— 1^ IIM 2.2 20 1.8 14 IIIIII.6 '/W & m ■c). '^i^^>;' j-7^ o /,. 7 /A Photographic Sciences Corporation ;3 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY MS80 (716) 873-4503 €3 (meaning "CON- TINUED "), or the symbol V (meaning "END "), whichever applies. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE ", le symbols V signifie "FIN". IVIaps. plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many fran'.es ns required. The following diagrams iilustiate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent fitre film6s A des taux de rMuction diffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est film* A partir de I'angle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche A droite. et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n6cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. irrata to pelure, n d □ 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 *jri; Thi Bute Islet asd Esquimalt Raute Ko. 6, AND THP. Fraser Valley and Biirrard li^fet Boute M 2^ COMFAREJ) AS TO THE Al)VANTA(iES AFFORDED BY EACH TO THE DOMINION AND TO THE EMPIRE. liy WAJ: FRASEU T(;LMII0, M. P. I^, VICTORIA DIHTRICT, V. I., IJ.JITlSH rOLUMlJIA. VICTORIA : COLONIST 8TEAM PRE88E8 1877. ^^ Jl ♦■ I »^-^!P5^' iwT^lJg n as?^piii®:D^(S'^[m3iT, mr^. -•-•-•- Leu a two voarg ftbacnoo, the writer of what follows hM, Hinoe 1833, roHidcd in thcae parts, having the previous year entered the, service uf the Hndson's Bay Company as surgeon and clerk. He has since boen stationed at various points at or near the Tacitlc coast from Oregon to Alaska. At the H. B. post, FortMaoLoughlin. Milbank Houud, having fur two years Incited tiio natives to search for that mineral, he had the good for- tune in 1H35 to ascertain the existence on the N . E shore of Vancouver Island, of good bituniin- ouN coal, wiiich was tested less tiian a year afteron board the Company's new steamer llia- ver Just out from London. He has by land and water travelled ov( r the great Northwest from Jasper's llouxe to Winni- peg; has been more than once through the Walaniet Valley, Oregon, and has Meen a great Iiart of the beautiful bunch gruHs country of iritish Columbia south of N. lat. &1® . Later in life, when resident at Victoria and concerned in the niauagemcnt of tlic Company's business in British Columbia, the writer hud much occasion and opportuni^^ of acquiring in- formation regarding the coasts and harbors of our inland s( as, as well as of the farniiug and grazing capabilities of tlie tranM-Cancude main- land nortli and south. Uince a few years ago — retiring from the rr.ui- pany's service— he has, from every avui..iblo sourct!, collected facts l)earing on tlie subject in question, and for such information has l>ren in- debted to many. He has now specially to thank Captain Dovereaux for essential aid often and freely rendered. To Captains Pamphlet, Itud- lin and others too numerous to name, his thsnlis re also respectfully ottered. Tlie statements of 'stand opinion in this pamphlet have been in as moderate a fashion us seemed eom- with a fair presentment of the euxo advo- Many of the same facts and conclusions en clearly set forth in the substantially " speech of the Hon. A. deCosmos, dur- st day (April 20) of the long debate on Itailway" in the House of Com- |a, session of 1877; but this was nn- ^writer, until the conclusion of his ji type; then, obtaining perusal i^as rejoiced to And that during ]iad been unanimity regarding |<>f the PaclAc Railway, as the Panada's further development luaded, as the writer is, that |6 will lie largely conducive to %e the more earnestly desires ction of our Province siiould |y of well-doing, by such aid nd Provincial Governments the historian Froude urged I avail of the calm, sure to ' the Franco-Prussian war, to Beflnite and aatisfaotory con- dition her then and still anomalous relations with the Colonies. A year ago a Canadian writer of al.Ility, "A. M. B., Ottawa," in the Canadian Monthly of Nov. '76, referred to Hcottish expc^ri- enoe since 1707, and to Canarn question treated as its importance warrants, ('anadiuns must cheerfully assume a fair share of the financial resiwnsibility involved in closer connection with the Parent Htate, in view of the multiform b< ueftt^ tuence to accrue to all con- cirned. Premier Muekenzie must have uttered the srutinieats of his adopted countrymen, when at Dundee, Scotland, in July, 1875, he said in pub- lic. "I believe that the Colonies are essential to British supremacy in the world. I don't say so because we are desirous of the slightest fovor fi- nancially from (treat Britain. We are able and willing. God knows, to Ixar our full share of all Im\N>riaI responsibility wlu never required for the eoninion interest, and wc are doing so at tlui present monunt." Further on in Mr. Mackenzie's reported speech explanation is given of what he meant by Biitlsh Hiipremaey. It cannot prove offensive to any, bring "univrrsiil freedom, emuucipation from everything degrading." Hoon may such be the ease' wherever the Hag Hies— at home and abroad. "A. B. M." and others, though ardent for Imperial federation, admit that Canada's ma- terial interests would benetit by annexation to the United Hlates. That may be a general opinion, but ni vc rthrless closer connection with the Parent State is prcft rred. Be. itiment, as the venerable Carlyle has truly said, always rules great movements, religious and political, and not "the checks and balances of profit and loss." It may be well for civili«;d communities gen- erally, and in particular for the timid in £u- nqx', that in the New World, two distinct ex- periments in Dem(K'racy should amicably advance side by side; while amongst older na- tions, Brifain and France progress carefully and deliberately, but unfailingly in the same direc- tion. England must reconsider her free trade theories and practices to which other peoples have not given the expected adhesion. America, which appears to have taken a "new departure" for good objects, should, with her accustomed forecast, weigh well the possible future effects of the "Chinese wall of protection" now surrounding her. A kind and frank interchange of ideas on commercial and tariff matters between Britain, America and Canada seems now a great desider- atum. Why not a conference of delegates to meet either at London or Washington. ^3#«;;;9i^ ] — OF THB — ^i\ii4XUP3i^Sf 2p4XCBa:i':3i? SMa^t^^yii"^ A VOICE FROM THE OCCIDENT. Canadian Pacific Railway Rentes. Ttaw Uute Inlft and Kiqaimalt Route (No.O) Mud the i^muMtr Vitllcjr wnd Barrard In- let Koaor8 fioui Colombia, having previouHly taken part in the debate, were precluded from reply. Alluding to a recent contention in the House between himself and the member for Victoria, Mr. DeCosmos, im to whether the population along the Eraser route exceeded or not that on the Bute line, and in which the Victoria member read from the voters' list in proof that the larger population was on the latter route, Mr. Dewdney did not attempt contradiction; but, in military parlance, inancBUvred into a new )>osition — to a curtain extent, "changed the subjeet" — and adi-oitly avoided the real issue by an elaborate show- ing in figures that in 1875 the number of records under the Land Act of 1870 was on the Bute line, inclnding Vancouver Island, 89, "while on the Fraser River route, the number was 651, out of which there were in the New Westminster and Yale districts through which the line ren 479." "In 1876 (according to Mr. D.) there were on Vancou- ver Island and Bute Inlet route 42 records; and on the Mhinland 378, of which 312 were in the distiicts 6i Yale and New Westminster. Mr. Dewdney, claimed a triumph from these showings. I^ave not verified, ndther do I call in question htstfi^res as presented, nor yet have I been at the Land Office to find how many of the recordw mentioned are those of absentee land Hpeeulators who amy not yet have paid up. I Hhall prcHeutly Hubuiit to Mr. Diiwdney, and to year other reud'-rs everywhere, fuctH and figuriK "galore" on the niutUr of present relative Mainland and iHland populatioUH, to which, although the Island has the preponderance in imiiilier more importance seenis to be attached at Ottawa than it merits as a factor in the great questions of route and teri;»iuu8. Mr. Dewdney, who, I will say, is an able and untiring advocate of what he considers Mainland interests, at the outset of hiss]>eech claims to be a "British Columbian knowing his province thoroughly, probably as well as any man in it." He nevertheless showed lack of knowh'dge or political sniartneis — it is for himself to say which — in omitting mention of the fact — all important in con- nection with his ttgures — that, since the summer of 1H73 the best and most attractive lands on the Bute Inlet line and those nearest the already existing settlements, have been out of- the market. I do think that in the heat of debate Mr. Dewdney must have over- looked this. As others besides himself may have forgotten, or do not know the fact, I will now mention that when in 1873 the Mac- donald administration, not without knowledge ot in any haphazard fashion, but with the surveys of 1871 and 1872, and correct infor- mation about harbors, before them, decided to locate a railway line from Esqnimalt har- bor to Seymour Narrows," a belt of public land between these points and along the East Coast of Vancouver, twenty miles wide was reserved from "sale or alienation." What sort of land this is, I will let the geologist, Mr. James Richardson, say. Mr. Richarcbon in his able report on the coal measures of the Island examined by him contained in the report of Progress of the Geological Survey of Canada under A. R. Selwyn, Esq., for 1871-72, speaks of the coal depoaits of thii district as extending from the vicinity of Cape Mudge (near Seymour Narrows T.) on the north-west, to within fifteen miles of Vic- toria on the south-east, with a length of aboat & n :• I ■■■I i:iUmileH." Ri'ferriup t(> thm tract, whirh bi* thorouKbly Muuuuvd, Mr. lUchurdHou acldH "it {lOrtiiCHHCH ({eiu-rully a good wiil, and may bireuftttr b<( thickly Hittlcd. It iH inoHtly covurt^d with furtHt, btit iu Home piirtH ]>ru- H«ntM n prniriti or {lurkliko uH^icttt witit gruHit- covered ground, studdod with Hingle trt'iH or chiDipH of thcni, null ott'crs gri-ut encouruyo- ment to ugricnltural iiubiHtry. Likf the FriiHcr valley went of the OaHCude moniituinM, tho vuhiublc (igriculturnl country juHt d( Hcribfd wilt need dciiriug, imd Uh tim- ber will In- Hidoiiblu; bnt imlike ninny of tho beHt pnrtHof the Fruner it will novhero require tho very eoHtly proccHS of dyking, etc., nor like tho arable lundH of the h( ttlrd ui)per country — (New Westminster and Yiilo dis- trictK) — will it want tho not iuexpeuHive work of irrigation. Better than all, our East Goant farmers will iu the coal towuH, and iu the iron-Hmeltiug and mnuufacturing towun, luid villagoH of tUe future, have a home market ft»r all they can produce, not omitting cawlugs and tirewood, and, when their lully dtveloped ability fails to meet the ever-increasing demand, it will, by ra^way, be uupplied from the Columbian and HaHkatchcwau Mainland, ho that even- tually a great interchange ef productH will eOBue; thus affording local buninuHH to the railway in addition to what, iu no inconHider- able degree, would, from the first, arise be- tween Esquimau and the coul mines and agricultural districts north of it. The foregoing is quite relevant to the po])- nlation question; now for the facts and figures thereanent promised in a preceding para- graph: first, however, let it be premised that others besides the Mainland M. P. need to be set right in this matter. How it comtm, per- haps Mr. Dowduey can tell; the strange Vslief has recently found utterance in Ottawa and Toronto, that of the sparse population of this Province as a whole the greater part is to be found in Mr. Dewdney's pet districts already named. A leader in the "Weekly Globe" of 27th April last has the following — "What there is of population in British Co- lumbia is located chiefly along the Fraser and Thompson Valleys," and the usually accurate and cautious Premier Mr. Mackenzie in' the Commons at Ottawa, 20th .ipril last, speak- ing on the Pacific Railway, said — "There is no doubt the bulk of the population of British Columbia is settled iu tho Fraser Valley." The facts are decidedly against this state- ment, as will now be proved in more ways ^an one. The electoral districts of New Westminster and Yale are vast in extent, including the greater part of the as yet settled Fraser Val- ley, and all of the Thompson Valleys north and south fit for arable fanning, besides to the south, the settlements of Okonagan, Nicola Valley and Bimilkameen, and on the coast the Borrard Inlet sawmills and logging camps. These districts in 1858 and succeed- ing years ofTered the greatebt attra^^tion to immigrants of any part of the Province, as on the Fraser bttrrt, and the Tbrimimun nud Siniilkamceu mines, gold in paying quantities was found. These lucalitien have always (un- like the oHst coast of Vaucouver (or thu fimr lest exciting years) bem open for scttloment without btt or hiiubituce; yet, fur nil this, thu B. C. voter's list of 1870 fibows (or thctly points to the comparative number of married couples and families on the Islaud and Main- land, thus to a certain extent indi;-ating how far each populatiou may be counted uu as fixed. On the Island the census gives 1790 as the number of children of school age of whom a few are from tho Mainland attending the higher public and private schools of Victoria. The whole Main- land has 700 as its bchool population. The im])osition and collection of assessed and school taxes for tho year 1876-77 afi'ords yet another way of viewing the matter in dispute. Tho revenue from the Island under this head comes to $31,304 and from the Mainland to 19,209 Showing in favor of the Island an — — excess of $12,095 I have been careful as to the accuracy of the facts and figures herein presented, and upon them rest the case for the Island as against the statistics above quoted from Mr. Dewdney's speech, and the erroneous asser- tion copied from the Toronto"Ulobe, ' ' that the bulk of Columbia's populatiou is along the Fraser and Thompson valleys. In a further communication I will deal with more serious matters, on which I am compelled to differ with Mr. Dewdney and some other Mainlandors. No. a. [July 16th, 1877,] Editob Colonist: — Under the above head- ing in a letter of 30th June last in your paper, facts and figures were adduced by me to prove the preponderance of population in this Province to be on the Southeast and East coast of Tancouver Island and not in the valleys of the Fraser and Thompson, as had mistakenly been affirmed, in the House 'of Commons, Ottawa, and Within the columns of the Toronto GHobe. $12,095 uracy of bed, and land as rom Mr. a asHer- that the ong the ill deal I am key and ye head- paper, prove lin this Id East 1 in the as had |>uBe 'of Dlumns This Bnporiority, it wan Hhown exwted, not- with«t«ndn»K the futt — all iinportimt iu viow <)f the nfureimntioiu d coinpiiriHonH miidt< in Untario — that, rtiiic*- 187;i, tlu- public li«iuln of Vuni-onvcr on the EuHt and Koulh CoaistH hud been retterved from kuIc or alit'iiatioa iu cou- 8ei|uence of the d<>('iHiou, tLut year, of the Muc'douald adminiNtrntion to "locutc n ruil- wny line troni KH'^iuuitdt harbor to Ki^ynujur Narrows." Now inuKt briefly be noticud a tew of thi many ninttfrH — nioHtly iii-( li.'vaui— broujjht uji by tlie Miitdainl h'uurdiiin, in its two onx torialK on tbut letter. UIVAL UOUTKH. Tbe GnardUm \ itiWH th'- Hubject of rival ront<-H "aH worn thrcudbitrc!; uh to the uiiud of any iutelliKent pemou, the queMtiou has bet>n tinully Htttled." Not ho have I read the last re))ort of Eu^ncor-iu-Chi(*f I'louiin^, uu the Canadian Paoilic Railway, 1877. Not ho have I nndorntood thu purpoj-t of the two last pubUxhed dispatcheM toourOovcrnuvent froiu Earl (.'amarvon. ACCUKACy. It matters not whore any particular Island- er, or any one or mom Muiiilundevs, luiiy have their personal intt-rcHts. All aru alike bound to aim at sti'ict accuracy iu Htatemeuts public- ly made on the railway terminus queuUou, and it is the imperative duty of any c>ne, aware that, on sucli a vitally im]>ortaut ques- tion, inaccurate and misleadiu^^ repri^seula- tions have been published, to call • these in question, in order that, by free diseussion, the ti-uth may be elicited and if necessary "proclaimed from the house tops." There is no ejrtbly uei d of. uh thu GuwdUtn liints, stirring up sectional strife. Nothing is mure undesirable or ridiculous. There need be no strife save that of sound argiiment based on the inexoral)le logic of such facts as "wiuna ding and daurna be disputed." HISTAEKS OB INACCUBACIES. An inatx'uracy to be noted occurs in the Toronto Weekly Globe. April 13,1877, p 25(), under the caption "Pacific Railway." The real choice (says the writer) "will to all appearance, lie between Bute Inlet and Bur- rard Inlet, each of which has some advautuges in its favor. If the railway is ever to Ik con- structed to Esquimalt along Vancouver Islaud, it becomes a matter of necessity to adopt Bute Inlet OS the present terminus. As u military rood this lipe would be the most serviceable, since a line along the Eraser vaUey would be for a considerable distance in close proximity to the Canadian frontier. But the latter has the tteen found passinx thrut u pilot, and how many to reptat the venture of sailing in from the Straits, through th* intricate cininui Is of the Haro Archipelago, across the Ouh of Georgia and through the dangerous Narrows at the entrance of the Inlet— but JJuO yards wide at one place V Hiuce J 871 I have sought intormation from every source, relative to the princii)al harbors of this Province, that prima facie, seemed stiitable for the Western termi- nus of the British Transcontinental Railway. As to the sailing of ships from Royal Roads to BniTurd Inlet with or without a pilot, two instances thereof have come to my knowledge, but these vessels, small in size, wore i)iloted if not towed out. There may have been a few- other like cases. I have been told of ship- masters having come to grief in making the attempt. The rule now is for vessels to be t<)wed to and fro. Far indeed is Burrard In- let from being the extensively capacious har- bor ' Oid S- ttler. the Gvardian editor, and others would have the world imagine. Instead of, as they assert, having roxt<>nt, Hiul of whurf fri>iitii({x- Unt. ItH mljitoi'iit (Jiitfr hiirbor, Uoyal ItoikdH, had ',\ H(|iiurit luarinti luiUm of nimd holding Krouiid, whuii* wfll found HliipM, hiicIi iih I'liiiiHoll would upprovd of, lidn out S. K. KiiluH, the only wiud thiH roudtftuHd in tplicable to Barclay Hound and KH(|uiiualt on the West Cdoat of Vancou- ver's, as it Ih to the more inland and nnai>- pvoachttble wattr>4, of which Burrard Ink-t j HecniH, aH fur aH is yet known, to Im' the mont | tligible. How aH to Hca approaches and other esnen- tial ciinditioiiH for u terminal harl>or the three liicalitieH jii a named compare, will be seen aa we jjroeeed. Treating of the inland navigation north of the Fuciin strait, Captain Cooper nays, "VesselH do, however, freiju-utly yi!»kfj the passage to and from the lunilRr and coal deptitrt without th<' assistance of Htcaiu." In this I am al issue with the ('uptiiiu, for as stated in my last letter in the Ooujnist "The rule now is for vessels to Ite towed to and fro." (!uptain r)oper justly eond«'mus Mil- bank Hotnul, the main entrance from the sea, loading to Dean's ('anal. 'lardner'H Inlet, &c., "FOK THK WANT OK KOUXUINOS AND THK UAN- 0K« OF THK SKA APPiioACHKH." Bear this in mind, my readers, "having iu view (the Cap- tain considerati ly uddi) t/tv pnipoHnit for | whih tk'tn Inlet mi_Jil be .seleted. Italici mine. l"OBT KIWINCTON. Captain Cooper next iiresenta much against ] the northern route to ykeena. I'ort Essing- ton he says is a bur ^arbor tuid freeisea hard iu winter. UUURARU INLKT. "It has been demonstrated (he sayH p. 30C) that- Bun iird Inlet is a safe uud commotUouM harbor, for, since the establishment of the two large sawmills in that port, the tirst in lH(i4, at leaHt six hundred ships of lar^e tonuage, to Hay nothing of local and Huialler crafts, have entered to load aud have left the port, not one of wliich received any damage; audi tlie dasuallit K incident to navigation in the inland waters would compare uiout favorably | with any part of the world." WKSTKBN UAKO CHANNKL. At p. 3U7 the ('aptain states as follows: — ' "One common rood for the inland navigation from the Htroits of Juan de Fuca, via the Haro I Straits, which has two separate and distinct ' navigable channels, through both of which any siSied ship could pass. The channel I nearest to Vancouver Island, which could be || used if required, would lead a ship at a mini- ~ mum distance of 4Vt miles from the American possessions) continuing through Active Pass \ direct into Burrard Inlet." MABIMB 1UBBAP8. Investigation of the comparative merits of | rival routes, in which I have been engaged, necessarily involved asoertAinment of the I marine disasters on each proposed liife during { a given period. Between Soyal Roads ancl th' O «u there I has not been disaster to BhipT> m,,:, since, in j 1860, Race Rocks Light first qutdhu ii;.e mari- ner to safe anchorage at the tio;\dH, t ' whence | y in r*f^r«nc« to | ciiti-Koricully in- ity by Mr. Flo'iiinK. i> Hnrc'Iuy Koiiud t ciiiiHt of Viiiicon- inlnnd nnd uiiii|>- i>h liiiminl Iiik-t j vn, to Ih' the luoKt { H anil othor (^shcu- ul hnrlxir the tliroe irfi, will bv Hi'tjii lilt tvigntiun uurth of .iu (hooper Hiiyn, u-utly U!»krj the IniulKr uud cuul cv of Htriilii." In i (Juptiuu, for aH he OoLONHT "The m towed to mid :ly uondcuiUH Mil- liuce from thu muk, irdnt'r'8 Inlet, &c., SdS AND TUK UAN- w." H:vds, I ' tbence to that « idt< and Mife poHsiige to tho Ocean> Do Fiira Htrait. For Hix yearn between IHflS and 1H74, fonr- tev'H (14^ euHualtioH ar.- miid treKi>inh' doeK not ncconl with Captain ('ooper'H herein quoted Ktalement regarding "caHimlties incident > navigation." On the Nanaimo lino four HhipH have been wrectked when unaided by Hteani, and three when thun MKHiHted. Three rttcaiaebipH of war struck and got off. The wanio happened to tlve oceau- goin^ Hteaniers of the mercantile marine. Uno ship bad two anchors down in sevonty- Qvo futhomH of wati r and got off, after tho mastM bad been cut away. One was ashore and got off and another vesHol struck and gut off. coNTB.vDid, has reported to the (lovernor--ait of Oeorgis (trc tlaw ytfrous, tiiitl they t, mild uot he utied uhIuhh in cuHn o/ninfirt/enci/." Italic^ miu •. How completely the opinion of Admiral Richards just (juoted runs counter to that of (3apt4iin CLoifi«T of tbp 20^b )DBt. Therein the Captain, in true "Sir Oracle" faehion, declinea die- cussing in "a newspaper controTerajr" hie $otfli$ant "anassaiblfl" position as to the fitness of the western amo Channel for navigation by night, and in fog or storm by t^e largest sailing ships or bteamers. Kail way routes, and the comparative mer- its of liurbors, as projected termini,, being the chief subjects of bis letter to the Oot- eruor-General; this is what bis assertions therein mnst mean. They can have no other plain meaning. The words in tbn oommnnication to His Excellency, (re the Haro Channels,) "tbrongb both oi which, any sised ship con Id pass" beirg without the slightest qnaliflcation as to times or seasons, it mnst be obvioos to a gentle 3an of Captain Cooper's well koowii acateness that u» cannot get off by the hackneyed expedient, the i-tale strategy, of imputing obtaseness to his controversial ants^onist and im- plying that bis own meaning has hence buen misnndi'retood. In this matter the good ('aptaiu's zeal seems to have ontrnn his discretion. The availability, for shipping, of any inland channel, has to be jadged of, not. as it may be, nnder summer skies with Nroooth seas, but, as it oresents under the wor.st conditions of weather and darkness, known to occur in the locality; just as the strength of a hawser or ohsin cable— can- not saiely be reokooed as greater than ia the resisting; power of its weakest part. That Captain Cooper's assertions as to the channel in question are quite untenable, has in my last, been demonstrated as well by reference, to the highest authorities I'' Jti' i in print, «• by mention offaots, verifiable by every ahipmaster and pilot arqnainted witb oar inland waters from Olovur Point toNanaimo. Ah to tbe good ^ aptain'a pleasantry about my having a "nautical ally," I glad- ly avow having bad not merely one, bo( many Bcoh, — men of varied position, ex- perienoe and nationality, witb whom I have often been conferring since in 1870- 71, the investigation, forming tbe subjeot of these letters, was commenced. Snob of these worth V persons, as are still "to the fore" and happen to bo here, concur in tbe estimate of tbe Western Haro Chan- nel presented in my last. S>A APPBOAOHItS. ▲s the consideration of these is so in- tensely important,and as Oaptain Cooper's position thereon is so thornugbly "unas- svilable ' a reproduction of his words in large type seems warrantabla. "Sea ap- PBOAOHKS ABB (he SajS) IN HT JITDQUBNT THB riBST BSBBMTIAL OOM8IDBBATION IN TINALLT DBOIVINO UPON A TBBIUNUS SITB." From the vuluable appendix V. of Mr. Fleming's oft cited report p. 308 quota- tion is now made out of a document enti- tled "Statement by Captain John Deverr enx respecting harbors in the Straits of Georgia, and on tbe West Coast of Van- couver Island." Oapt. Devereaux, long and favorably known in Victoria, is the only master- mariner resident in the Province, who, in addition to a practical knowledge of this coast aoqnired in command of eoasting steamers, has brought to bear on the queetion of sea routes to the projected western termini of the C. P. B. tl. a most asefnl insight, gained by years of service as an officer in tbe occhu mail steamers of the Old Country. Some of my nautical allies have had experience in Her Majes- ty's nary, in command of ooaating steam- ers and of ooean-going sailing ships as well as of coasters and pilot boats. "Burrard Inlet (Devereaux states) has a safe and commodious anchorage twe miies inside the first narrows at Coal Harbor, also another seven miles inside the second narrows at Port Moody, twelve miles from the entrance; but there is one great ob- jection to either of these places, viz: both the first and the second narrows respect- ively are but about about a cable and a- hfllf wide, through which the tide runs about nine knots an hour, creating whirls find eddies and rendering it unsafe for large steamers to enter or leave port at ni^t, orat certain stages of the tide, leaving out altogether interruption by fogs and thick weather, which occur more frequently inside than out." "Next is the outer harbor of Burrard In- let, known as English Bay; there, at a place marked on the chart as Qovurnment Bexerve, is a good anuborage witb every facility for a breakwater, or evi^n docks, both wet aoddt-j, and by erecting a light- house on P&Ksage Island, eutiunoe to Howe Souoil, oae on East Point, one on Turn Point and another on Discov- ery Island, the largest Bbipa in the world might be conducted tbither in safety; but thereare three months in the year, vis: from part of Aiiftust to tbe same time in November, when thiN coaHt is subject to dense fogs, rendering it unsafe, if not nt terly impossible to navigate Haro strait and tbe Gulf of OeorRia with large steam- ers such as the Royal Mi(i), Cunard. and Pacific Mail Company's Hbips." "This point will, I think, be oonoerled by all who know anything about such ships, and the straits in question where the tide runa from four to six knots an hour, with boiling ripn and overfalls, narrow channels and outlying reefs, deep water, and no anchorage that could be reached in such weather; and to stop a steamer in such a plight would simply mean to tbe mariner to lose his reckoning, as he would be carried off by the tide and not know whitber to go. On tbe other hand if the engines of a large ship were kept going like those of the small steam- ers on this coastahe would neither answer to her helm nor turn astern ^uick enough to avoid running ashore, as it frequently happens the fogs are so dense here that land cannot be seen one hundred yards off." The eastern Haro or boundary chancel is the one referred to in the foregoing quotation from Captain Devereaux. Its depth where Hhips must pass is from sixty to one hundred and eighty fathoms, and its anchorages, difficult of approach in thick weather, do not afford swinging room enough for ships of from three to four thousand tons burthen. Such as these, and larger craft, will in "the good time coming," be retiorting to the terminal harbor, if quite acoesbible at all seasons from the oeean. If otherwise, their des- tination may be to American ports; for oommeroe ever seeks the safest routes, and those where delay need not be in- curred from any bad weather short of hurricanes, or from other causes such as waiting for tides, for daylight or for lift- ing of fog. About eight hundred tons may be con- sidered as tbe average size of lumber ships now going to the Inlet. A few of from twelve to sixteen hundred tons have been there. In the eastern Haro Strait, between Turnpoint, Stuart's Island, U.S.A., and Cooper's Beef, B.N. A., ships would have to Dass within less than two miles of pos- sibly hostile batteries. What has been or ma.v be stated about Bnrrard Inlet and its approaobes from Boyal Roads cauuot <1i»purage the present onaispo'«d ooumen lal importance of thiit place as the xite uf two large saw- mUl«. These stateuaeutt) an- set forth simply in Tiew of the possible purposes for which this inlet might l>e sfleoted. They receive the strongest confirmation from Staff Oammander Pender, R N.. who in one pithy sentence thns sunptmarises his opinion in reply to Mr Flemiug's lat-t and twenty-eighth queHtion : "For reasoni* given (SMVH Commandtr Pender, p. 300, report oitpd) ip No. 27, Biirrard Inlet is in my opinion preferable to either of the places namrtt (the other six mainland in- lets inquired about by Mr. Fleming, T. ;) it is ulso tlie most eany of access from the ocean, but even brrb the bi-ks attbnd- INQ NAVIOATINO WFTH LAROB STBAMflHIPS AGAINST TTMB AMOMQBT THB ISLANDS LYING BBTWEBN FCCA 8TBAIT AND THB 6TMAIT OF OEOBOIA ABB TO MB VBBY GREAT." In his letter to the Governor General Captain Cooper toroibly dilutes on the manifold risks to be incurred "iu a gale of wind and thick weather" off Milbauk Sound, or thence to Eumsquot, head of Dean's Canal, "by a. fiteamer having on board Her Majesty's muilH and probabl; aevetai hnnsenger and eoods traffic . cxpreBS buni- nesH, cnrrtspondence, and everything elne from East and West, to' foreign railway termini on or near the Fuciin Straits ? It is for the Ca|>tti'j to respond, or tj adhere to the Carlylean maxim that "Silence is golden,"&o. avtcmnal fogs. The prevalence of fogs on this coast in autumn is in their answers dwelt upon by Admiral Richardo and Staff-Commander Pender. It is alno noticed, I think, by Captain Cator. In S 'ptember, 1868, coasting steamers were by fog for ten days oonfini d to Victoria harbor. In Novem- ber, 1869, as nearly as I can ascertain, several steamers were fog bound in Nan- aimo harbor, and am< ngst otli« rsthe "old Beaver," in which Commander Pender. R N., was then bringing to a close hir valuable labors on this coast. At thin time the commander of an ocean-going Ameri can steamer, doubtlees m<»re pressed for ^me than the otheis. ventured out first, and wrecked his buat. This shipwieck was omitted in the detail given in a former letter of casualties on the route from Roy- al Roads to Nanaimo. BIVAL FOBBION BAILWAY ROITTBS. , Whether British and Americans are hereafter always to be friends is beyond human ken. Often the unexpected hap- pens in national, as well as in individual affairs. The future being hidden, due precaution in selecting the railway route and terninns on strategical Oonsideration should be exercised by those having tba guidance of Imperial interests in this quarter of the world. Americans and Eng- lish have long been keen commercial riv- als and are likely to continue so. Not- withstanding this, and ths irritations it usually engenders, they have lately, like sensible kinsmen, become better friends. On the Fncan Straits, almost opposite Esquimau, and seventeen miles dihtant,!^ the much prized American harbor, by Vancouver named EUz Hook, now better known as Port Angeles, and jocularly termed "Cherbourg." This port is, at p. 188 of the U. S. Pilot (Washington Territory) termed " an excellent and ex- tensive harbor." At page 190, of the rame authority, is the statement that " coal of fair quality is report«d to bave been found within three miles of the harbor Port Angeles could by a railway of from 160 to 175 miles to Tenino, be joined to the line going south from Taooma to Kal \ (ima, Wasbington Territory, U.S.A. This line, it is said, will altimateiy be joined in Oaliforoia to the Oentral Pficiflo Trans continentttl Hue. Bftveen Ealama nnd Portland thtfoonneotjon is tnidn by ateatn- er on the Colombia and Walamet ^rivers, bat irom the latter town son rb ward a rail- way route is in opt^ration thrunghont the length of the Wuluuiet valley to Rohc bnrg in the Umiiqita valley, >t disranou of about 170 miles. OTHBB AHBKIOAN PoBTS IK WASHINOTOIT TBBRITOBT. Afewyetrs ago American capi'aliflts projeotfld the North Pauitiu Railway to connect with lines in the E ist. TItey ex- plored extensively in Wtishingtoa Terri- tory, finding the most favorable opening through the Cascade Moantains at Sno- qualimi Fmss; and tlieir terminal point at Holmes' harbor, si.xty miles bontheaHterJy of Port Angeles and facing on the east- ern, or more inland shore of Whidby Is- land. Land at and around this locality of coi^ -se rose greatly in value. For the sake of reaching this harbor, it was then proposed to !>ring the railway, by a long circuit, north to opposite Fidalgo Island, thither by bridge, thence south, and by bridge across Deception Pass to Whidby Island, and on to Holmea' harbor, which was, by a short ship canal, to be connect- ed with Admiralty Inlet, the. atraight, and comparatively safe, southern furcation of DeFuoa Strait. A point in some degree suitable might perhaps have been fonn>l at Mnkilteo, ur eltsewhere on Possession Sound, in a west- erly and more direct course from the Cas- cade mountain pass; and, on the mainland shore, are Simiamo, Birch, and Bei ling- bam Bays, all like Burrard Inlet (B. 0.) * peparated from the Fucan Strait by the islands of the Haro Archipelago. From the nearest to the Strait of these, Belling- ham Bay, where, says the W.T. Pilot, the anchorages are "from 4 to 20 fatho...8 in good sticky bottom," coal has in sailing vessels been for years exported. The cap- italipts mentioned nevertheless seem to have been resolved to get to the east shore harbor, most accessible from the Fucan Strait, and the costly operations contemplated, in order to compass this end. clearly indicate the paramount im- portance attached to ic. If it be of extreme consequence to Am- orioans to have railwrtys from the Eas\ terminate on the seaboard at the jpointa • most aooessible from the Paoifio Ocean, must it not, in equal measure, be so, Mr. Bditor, for,tbe widespread British peo- Ele. The whole Empire ii interested io aving the best selection made. E No. n. [October 13th, 1877.] Editob CoitONisT: True it is as stated in my last that the scleciton of the bear route fir the Canadian Faoilio Railway is of vital import not only ta the UnitHd Kingdom and the Dominion but likewise to all British inters sts, present and pros- pective, in Polynesia, Australasia and Eastern Asia. It cannot, be doubted that "the high contracting parties" to the original railway compact fully agreed tht>t tho line should pass where it would afford thtf most widespread advantage to the varied iuteresta of the several divis ions of British North America, settled and et to be sett'ed; and. on the Pacific sea- oard, lead to the harbor in every respect most eligible for commerce — aye and for defence — but not for defiance, save to a foe. The recent new.s paper advocates of Bur- rard Inle,t as the terminus net mnoh store on ita value an a hidii.g place, but even in this respect being by laud so easily as'^ail- iible it could only he made to afford the sort of safety the pur ued ostrich has been Baid to seek by coucealin^r its head a'^iid tho scant herbage of the desert. In the just quarrelu for which alone Bri- tons now feel it a duty to fight, may the day never arrive when they will he'a, and outside of it too, if they can have at him on "the mountain wave the scene of yoie of Britannii's greatest triumphs — tri- umphs, too, let the nations remember, which early in this century so much tend- ed to reliuve a \atge portion of Europe from apprehucHion of an abhorred foreign despotism. New WestmiuKter editors, but without a particle of proof thereof, continue to in- sist that the choice of the powers that be has ^ready, for route and terminus, fallen on routd No. 2. Firmly persuaded that according to Earl Carnarvon's despatches to our Qovernment, the queHtion is still open, I ask our New Westminster friends to calmly consider the following quota- tions from Mr. Fleming's last report pub- lished some four months ngo.and referred tc in my previous letters. At page 65, Mr. F. says: "It is most desirable t>)at the railway should termi- nate on the coast at a harbor which from its general excellence and geographical po- sition would be best calculated to accom- modate the shipping of the Paoifio and at- tract commerce from distant countries. Tnis question has an important bearing on the choice of route." Then at page 66, Mr. Fleming dwells on the importance of selecting such a route and terminus for the railway "as would best attract ocean traflBc and would admit of snooeasfnl oom- petitipn with foreign lines." Again at paoie 71, be sayt: "An nnbroken line of ml way from the eastern Provinces of the Dominion to one of these harbors on the ooter coast of Yanoouver Island woald be exceedingly desirable. Aiii< the duti- OCI/TIBB OF NAVIGATION TO BE BNCOUN- TBBSD IN BEACHINa THE MAIMIiAND FBOM THB OCEAN WOlTIiD THEN BE AVOIDED." (Emphasising mine ) It mnst also in fwnesa be stated that in the same page Mr. Fleming adds "tlie bridging: from the ICainlaitd to Vanconver'n would be nn- preoedeuted in magnitude and its costs vonld indeed be enormous." But as Mr. Fleming, at page 72, sayst "By extending the railway along the wes- tern side of Bute Inlet and thence across toFrederiok Arm— a feasible scheme but one exacting a heavy expenditure, "Mod- ales channel." a completely sheltered and an easily navigated sheet of water is reached . This channel t» reported to be free from strong cvrrentK, aht xls, ot other diffl- eulties, and could be need by a railway /erry at all seasons of the year" (Italics mine. ) As to the proponed bridging being of magnitude unprecedented — what wonders in the way of unprecedented acbievamonts engineering and other, has not the world within the last oenturv witnessed, say since 1777, when tbe sick and grief-worn Earl of Chatham in a last bootless appeal to his infatuated sovereign ere the news of Saratoga had reached home, urged the staying of fratricidal strife by an offer of federal nnion, between England and her American colonies. Bridging can be dispensed with for some years. The excellent f erry-l ine from some point on Frederick Arm to the snug harbor 0»ter Cove,Vancouver'8,will serve every purpose until, owing to the great- ness of "through traffic" and the wants of the millions yet to occupy our country west of Ontario, through railway connec- tion may be deemed essential. The navigation of the Frederick Arm and Nodales channels is by nautical men considered as safe as that on the Thames between Blackwall and Gravesend, or on the Clyde between Broomiolaw and Dun- barton. At a convenient point fronting on the south shore of the ferry channel, Chameleon harbor, easy of access, offers safe and good anchorage which on emer- gency might be of great avail. This good •nd conveniently placed harbor will yet be the site of sawmull and other industries. One more quotation, At page 74, Mr. Fleming's remarkspn the "Boate via Bute Inlet:" "If it be considered of paramount importance to carry an unbroken line of railway to one or more of the harbors on tbe western coast of Vancouver Island, and there is a likelihood that this project will, regar'^less of cost, hereafter be ser- iously entertained, then Route No. 6 be- comes of tbe first importance and risally the only one open for selection." BRIDOINO. When bridging is to b^ aneoessity mnoh depends on how soon tbe mother country atd the Dominion learn to work heartily' and unselfishly together in fairly propor- tioned joint outlay, for, amongst other things the settlement of the vast and fer- tile though yet unpeopled wastes of the ^at North-west, soon sarely to be to the British Isles "the butchers'^ and bakers' department" with "an Imperial coopera- tive store." These words are from the very able pamphlet by Captain Co- lomb, B. M. A., alreadv quoted from in The Colonist and entitled "Iinperial and Co<- lonial Besponsibilitied in War." Of course Colomb thinks the Imperial government should take prominent part in the construction of the Canadian Pa- cific Railway. He speaks well of what Ciiiiodahas already done) in the way of defence, saying at page 16: '* Consider ngf that an Englishman in Canada bears a far greater military burden thai, an English- man in the United King'iom, surely in common justice we woul< . be bound to sacrifice our whole naval pawer rather than permit he; beinor invested by block- ade." At page 19, British Columbia is mentioned as ''the North Pacific gem, set as it is with black diamonds," and of great strategical value to the Empire,whild the neglect of Columbia's defence is con- demned. At page 20, the Canaoian Pa- cific Btilroad is said to be "ihe short out from Britain to the infinite supply deplui- ments of Australia, Tasmania and Ne^ Z.-aland." There is much of deep interest to us all in Colomb's pamphlet. It is circulating in Victoria and should, by such as feel in- terested in federation of the Empire, be carefully read and pondered over. This Fan-Britannic unification, the dyin|( de- sire of the great Chatham, the sentiment for \|fhioh united empire Americans w century ago sacrificed home and kindred, this noble aspiration is now becoming more deeply felt, and its realization more longed for by Englibh-speaking people i^t home and abroad. It is for the United Kingdom and the Dominion to take the initiative. Tbe Australian colonies will soon join in and Colomb's most seDsibl* and pressing suggestions will be carried olit in their entirety while yet there is timd. Enlightened Americans of the 'H'nitdd States, well aware that they alre«id> havt enough of social and political problems to work out. look with favor on this British federation movement,knowing tbatBritoni are their own oo-workers in all that tends to the upraising of hnmanity; and that wm wgp HHH i':'l 10 t'ih each of the great kindred Anglo-Saxon natiodalities learning, one from the other what to imitate and what to avoid, may thuH "strive together in well doing, while having no othei contention. Eli- ha Barritt, the well known learned and philanthropic New Englander, baa in the Canadian Monthly lot Angnst last an arti- cle on the "Integration of the British Em- pire" that does him infinite credit. There 18 more pith in this short essay than in Sir Francis Hinoks' recent Inkewarm dealing with the great subject in the same periodical; or than in tomes of able and well-meaning Gold win Smith's theorising abont dieintegintion in other monthlies. Mr. Editor, I may in part of the fore- going have seemed to digress, bat the di- gression, if a y, has been more seeming than real. The Canadian Pacific Railway by the best possible route from ociaan to ocean, and soon to be completed by "a ■troug pall and a pall altogether," is in- deed the first step and the sine qua non to tiie much needed consolidation of the em- pire. No. e. [November 5th, 1877.] 'EsrroB Colonist: — Inasmnoh as Eng- land, after all the good she has for some three hundred ^ears past been effecting in ^ortb America, is likely through what <«eems the "manifest destinj" of Ii. perial Federation to be an abiding power on this continent, it has happily ensuei^, in the Divine order of events, that on the Pacific she owns the Northern, while her first born and biggest daughter, the Unit- ed States, possesses the southern shore of that great inland sea, the Fncan Strait, vhioh presents more advantages to the mariner than any othur inlet on the An- Slo-Amerioan Pacific Ooast; aye. or from le Magellan to the Bbering Strait. The Fncan Strait, extolled above all others on onr coast by the naval authori- ties consulted by Chief Engineer Flem- ing, is excellently described by Captain Devereax, p. p. 809 10 of Fleming's Be- Sirt, 1S77. Although from August to ovember it is occasionally subject to fog, "sometimes very dense over the en- trance for days together," "these ure not nearly of sucu frequent oocurrenco as on the neighboring coast of C(tlifornia,where they prevail almost nninten aptedly dar- ing the summer, and as late as the middle of October." Both the foregoing extracts are from the Vancouver Island Pilot, p. 6. The United States Pilot for Califor- nia, Oregon, and Washington, at p. 69, mentions the sunset fogs on the Saa Fracoisco bar and outside of it as of fre- auent ecourrenoe in summer. At p. 70 le same authority states that "during heavy Southeasters the sea breaks upon the San Francisco bar, clean across the entrance, presenting a frarful sight." The sound can be beard at the anchorage in front of the city." At p. 188, referring to the Facan Strait.the Coast Pilot mentions that "in winter the 8.E. winds draw di reotly ont, and create a very heavy cross sea off the entrance, the great Southwest swell meeting that rolling out. In such ca<-es trading vessels try to gain Neah Bay or San Juan Harbor and remain at ancbor until the wind changes." Both these har- bors need breakwaters to make fjem thoroughly effective for shelter; bat that for each country is a work of the future. An immediate and pressing want on tiie British side of the Strsit is telegraphic extension to Capo Beale lighthouHo in or- der that sailing vessels, now occasionally delayed outside by calm, fog, or foul wind, may tbenoe indicate their arrival and need of a tug. DBEF8EA SOCNDINOS. Owing to the fortunate irregularity of soundings, and variety of bottom on the ocean bunks reaching for more than forty miles outside Fuoa Struit,powerful steam- ers can enter during dense fog, or during a S. E. gale with its usual attendant, thick weather. This being in either case impossible off San Francisco bar, it is obvious that from the nautical point of view ports on the Fuca Strait are better suited for commerce than any to the Southward. This strait will yet be a great highway for British and American trade, and the Empire must have its chief North American port there- on ,jusi (US necessarily as thataLondon mer- chant prince must be established for busi- ness within hearing of Bowbells, and not at Islington or Croydon. The time occnpied m land trayel by rail, and in ocean tiavel by steamer, can approximately be calculated; but the de- lay and risks caused by the intricacies of inland navigation cannot be reckoned on. FOOB. In this quarter fog may last from half- a-day to more than eight days, that being a much longer period than is occupied in crossing the continrait by railway. In dry seasons, fog is more enduring, being then prolonged and intensified by the smoke of extensive forest fires. The early rains, in Septem' ar, have this autumn prevented such a combination of the "powers of darkness." Fog is not unknown in Brit- ish waterSjand it must have been in avoid- ance of this and other dangers incident, less or more, to all inland navigation that at home the points of arrival and depart- ure for ocean-going mail steamers have, since the Atlantic was first steamed across, been gradually shifting ocean-wards from London, until, at length, the ultimates of Ocrk and Falmouth have been reached. 11 WHAT OOCUBBBD DVRINO OUB BECBMT FOO AKD ITS TEACUIK08. Not long ago tbe largn Amorioan st?Hm- er Alaska, bonnd from Paget Sound to Esquiinalt for the British Columbia oat- going mail nnd pas8on^ers,was fofj^-bonnd thirty hours in one and Bixteen hour* in RDotlier United States port; bepidfS, as the fog continued, having been navigating Blowly and with circumspection iu her conrae towards Esquimalt. Now, let us appose, /^ra<— That transoontinental railways in opeiatiou terminate at Port Angeles.W.T, and English Bay, B.C.. respectively. Sermiil — That each t f equnl speed, and, during fog, proceeding towards the ter- mini just named, an American (A) and a British mail steamer (B) at the same time eater the Fucan Strait and that while A in landing mails, passengers and specie at Port Angeles, B —unable to proceed fur- ther with safety in sncli weather — is seek- ing anchorage in Esquimalt Boadtitead. la such case, and from what has in pre- vious letters been set forth, is it not an obvious conclusion that, should our sup- posed fog — by no means a "vain imagina- tion" — last as long as the real one which lately delayed tbe Alaska, passengers. etc., by the line from Port Antreles, would be considerably more than a thonsand miles advanced on the journey eastward, 'ere those bonnd tor. Eiiiglish Bay, Oulf of Georgia, could set foot in a railway car? It has been well remarked by a late American writer that "Commerce, as every one must realize, who carefully considers modern methods, depends upon ■peed and regularity of cemmnnioation, not merely in the movement of goods, but far more in the carrying of mails. The merchant who can get in his order, bis offer, or his remittance most promptly gets the cream of the market." This is perfectly true, and in view of the varied commercial competition in all likelihood yet to ensue on the Pacific be- *^en Britons and Americans, it ought now to be keenly appreciated by all whose in- terests lie north cf the United States boundary. The Imperial and Dominion authorities cannot, in the general interest, neglect to avail to the utmost of every natural ad- vantage our province possesses, and the harbor and roadstead of EHquimalt on the Fucan Strait are amongst the greatest of tbece. Esq^uimalt roads (or on the chart Boya) Bay) u becoming more and more resorted to by ships seekinfT freight. Here Hief can anchor free of pilotage or other charge, and from Yiotoria, some five miles off, telegraphic communicati&n can be had to tbe more important parts of tbe world, \trbile within less than a lordred miles are tbe lumber ports of Paget Sound and Burrard Inlet, on the continent, and the coal depots of Naoaimo and Departure Bay on Yanoonver. Oreat, indeed, will be tbe attraction to Esquimalt and its roadstead after the graving dock there is ready for the repair of merchantmen, and when the largest sailiug ships afloat can at its ooalbiois be expeditiously laden witi\ the real brought from the north by railroad. (Vheu sbipsoff Cape Bealo lighthouse can telegraph their arrival to Victoria and, if necesssry, be towed in, the inducement for large ships to take a coal cargo from Esquimjl;t 'will be much strengthened. Merchantmen from San Francisco sail to Boyal Bay in from six to ten days. Sailing up the Straits la so for the rule. A wheat cargo can only in feason be ob- tained in Oregon and California ports. It takes considerable time to obtain and ship a lumber cargo, but coal could, from properly constructed bins in Esquimalt, be poured in fore and aft so as to shorten tbe trimming process and let large ships off with a cargo in a very few days. The advantages of this are obvious. Now, with the probability of a wide- spread war, in which England, and of course herdependencie8,cun hardly escape beibg involved, the coaling of Her Ma- jesty's ships at Eiiquimalt in the safest and speediest manner possible must surely be a consideration of pressing im- port. So, likewise, must be the prepara- tion of the graving dock for the prompt- est repairing of these ships during war. In commerce, time judiciously saved is always money gained. In war, time sav- ed is often money saved, and that besides which, to Britons tbe world over, is much more precious. It is indeed fervently to be desired that the solemn and not over- charged monitions of Colomb as to tbe existing lack of land defences in British dependencies are having due attention from our rulers at home. 'i.ime and tide wait neither for man nor nation, and his- tory abounds in proofs of the traism that "opportunities lost can never be recalled." No. 7. [December 14th, 1877.] EorroB Coiionist :— As promised in the sixth paragraph — beaded "Sea Ap- proaches"- -of the third letter of this series, brief comparison must now be made between Esquimalt and Ucbuk- leist, Barclay Sonnd, recommended p.p. 298-9 of Fleming's report by Capt. Cator, B.N., as tiie fi^st point for our railway terminus in tbe west. Tbereanent no better referee can be found than Admiral Bicbards, in the Vancouver Island Pilot. Except its two good, but by no means extensive, anchorages, "Snng Basin" at mmm 13 'ii:n m the bead and "Green Oove" at the en* tnnoe, tbe .'^onndings in XTobuklesit yary from twenty to forty fatjioms. Depth of water in an objeotion to the greater part of Barclajf Sound, Three miles long, Uobnklestt is bat.lialf mile wide, and not one and half miles, as stated by Oapt. Cater, F. B. p. 299. WEHT COAST OF TAROOtrVXK'*, In the y. I. P., p. 181, Richards, treat- inor of the inland octon shore, north of "Faoa Strait to Sydney Inlet," says "the ooast is fringed by nnmerons and hidden dangers, especially near the entrance of the Sonnd. and the eseroise of great oan- tion and vigilance will be necessai^ on the part of the navigator ta avoid them, even with the present admiralty charts." The nature of the bottom where there are deep sea soundings is so uoiform '* as (p. 182) not soffioiently to afford any guide for .ascertaining a vessel's exact position on the coast." As to Barclay Sound specially, Richards (p. 184) says : " Off the entrance, and in the southern part of the Sound, are in- numerable rocks and islands with naviga- ble channels between them." and (same page) "the three navigable channels into Barclay Sound all require great caution in navigating." The Provincial Government steamer Six James Douglas, owing to the uni- formity of soundings ' as to depth and character, has, as lighthouse tender, been in fog compelled to anchor with a kedge within a few hundred yards of Gape Beale lighthouse, her officers being unable to ascertain either the position of the light or of the entrances to Barclay Sonnd. See Devereux, p. 309, F. R. on XJubnklesit and the west ooast of Van- conver's generally north of Faca Strait. Obstruotions in respect of sea ap- proaches added to some sixteen miles of intricate, and, in bad weather, dangerous inland navigation, relegate to their proper level in the scale of fitness, the harbor in question and Barclay Sound, irrespective of their comparative inferiority, as re- garded from the commercial and other points of view. A digression is here necessary, as an editorial in the Mainland Guardian of New Westminster (Deo. 5. 1877) without shadow of proof, stigmatises as "hn- donbtedly false" some unspecified state- ments in a panppblet on the railway qnes- tioo recently published in London, and with which I have hal to do. Most of the statements in the pamphlet have been at greater length reproduced in the fore- going letters, with ample reference to authorities. The Guardian editor has it : "He says the tides i^sh at the rate of ten knots an hour through the first Nar- rows I" Thi3 is a a lotation shamefully farh'ed. At p. 8 of the pamphlet, par. , occurs the following : "For two bonrs spring (ides are said by experienced men to average ten kaots an nour through the Harrows." This has been proved in the following way : A master maria^r, commanding a boat cnpable of run- ning ten knots an hour io st'^.i, . smooth water, has. when ander orderii io proceed with all speed for the Inlet, been for two hours , steaming againnt the tide in the first Narrows without gaining an inch." This happened io January, when and in June the strongest springtides ran. At p. 110, v. I. P., Richards sUtea "the strength of the tide in the narrowest; part of the first Narrows is from 4 to 8 knots. Admiral Richards, let it be noticed, does not here specify spring tides. Unless the tidal currents and eddies of the first and second Narrows, as well as of Burrard's Inlet, mid-ehannel, wer^ the ever-recnrriog obstacles to "navigation against time," the.; are in this quarter of the Dominion well understood to be, why should Captain Cooper, at p. 907 of Fleming's report, at the end of the 21 si paragraph of his already quoted lettei^ to His Excellency the Governor- General, as a "means of reducing the current at the entrance of the Inlet probably one* half or two-thirds of its present velocity," modestly have suggested the Cyclopean and perhaps impossible undertaking of "blocking up" the north arm of said Inlet, and why should another ^gantio work have been spoken of, to wit : The drortging of the first Narrows. A third project that has been mentioned w th^ construction of a breakwater ir English Bay, which, although, likethe Inlet, diffi- cult to approach from Fuca Si' ut during a fog or storm, has been talk d of as a possible site for the terminus. Spanish bank (see chart) a prolongation arpand Point Grey of the Fraser sand heads, would, in the roadstead, be the only site shallow enough for such a ocstly i ree- tion, if it afforded a sufficiently solid foundation ; but on two oooasionf a mer- chant steamer aground on the. bank through the action of her propeller dis- placed so much sand as to nave been afloat before the rise of the tide enabled her to move over the rim of the basin thus scooped out. Spanish bank may be quore solid elsewhere. THB BIVAIi BOTJTBS OOMFABBD OH THB UAIKLASS. In continuance of the investigation, from the first contemplated in these Ut- ters,' Routes 2 and 6 must now be regard- ed otherwise than merely in respeot of the nautical, commercial, strategical, and ki ' 18 Ibed ok thb geogrspbioal (iliflAbilities ot- advantages lobetent in eaisb. Either line proceeding Mstward most reuob Edmonton on tbe North Saakatohewan. From Edmonton westward towards "tbe most eligible bar- bor on kbo Paoifio Ooaat," that line mast, if reason rn'es, be adopted, wbiob, in tbe immediate future, in ooctinnation of existing Betllemeots, will be tbe moat densely peopled, and that wbiob on tbe mainland has, north and sontb of it, tbe largest extent of country suitable for colonization. Qadh a railway line can yet by land and water from varioua points have connections greatly inoreaa- ing its wayside and export traffic. From -Edmonton, Tia lieiiiuer Pass to Fort George, there is not mnob farming land. Neither can much be found from Edmonton by way of tbe North Tbomp- son to Komloops or Bavona, most of the prodnctiTC districts of the mainland up to N. Lat. 61 o lying south, east, or west these localities. Nor yet is there mncb cultivable country from Savona along Route No. 2 to ObiUiwhook on the lower Fraser. At page 68 of the Oeologioal Report of Frogreas, 1875 and '76, oocars the follow- ing from the pen of tbe well-known Mr. Selwyn, F.R.8., Director of tbe Geologi- cal Survey of Canada : — " Taking Edmon- ton, on the Saskatchewan, and Foit George, on tbe Fraser, as tbe initial points, it will, I believe, be found Ibat by Pine River Puss the line could not only be carried almost the whole distance through a magnificent agricultural and pastoral country, but it would actually be Aborter than tbe Leather Pass route, and it would probably not present any great- er engineering difiicultie) 1" Mr. Selwyn fays lauob more on tbiH mo»t important matter ; but tbe permissible limits of this letter forbid further quotation. Let Jolumbians and others feeling more than a passing interest in the subject refer to tbe report itself, and to all that in tbeir Kcvtral reports is stated by Professor Macoun, Mr. G. M. Dawson, and others about tbis vast nortb and west country in respect of fitness for settlement, it^ wealth of timber, its wealth of fisheries, and its promise as to metala and mine- rals. Gommenoing beyond the 51st parnlel of latitude, or say 51 o 30, it coubtitutes with the mainland west of tbe Cascade mountains, Vancouver's and tbe other isiaads, about tbree-fourths of the area of the province. It contains in greatest abundance onr three most important re- sources, namely, those of tbe mines, tbe forests and tbe fisheries, and it will un< questionably always have the preponder- ance of population and wealth. Anonymous writers and other* apbold-* ing route and terminus No. 2 have erred in aasnmiogtbe whole mainland to be as a nnit for the railway lino of their choics. There is manifest improbability in snob a supposition. The farmers and miners nortb of Lat. 51° 30 declare for route No. 6 aa best for their own and tbe gen- eral intareats. Tbe adoption of tbe Edmonton-Fori George line suggested by Mr. Selwyn, besides affording wayside traffic throngh- out would snpply the most direct outlet towards tbe Fuoa Htrait ood Pacific for the great country of Peace River. Even connected with Edmonton by tbe other route. Fort George will be an im- portant centre of farming and pastoral country as well as of water stretches nortb, west and soutb, whan rendered suitabJie for light draught steamers. Improvement of the Eraser for soch navigation, perhaps from Boston Bar to above Fort George, would be a natnral sequence of tbe construction of tbe rail- way via Bute In!et. Tbe canyon at Big Bar, two miles long, would perhaps best be passed at first by a rail or tramway. Mr. G. B. Wright has, after caref al sur- vey, reported elaborately to tbe Dominion Government on the obstacles to naviga- tion and supposed cost of tbeir removal. Three hundred and sevect^ miles of tbe river, if not more, could bo rendered trav- elable for steamers whereby wayside and export tiaffio by the railway would be greatly promoted. Mr. Wright states in some valuable notes furnished me that a great proportion of prod ace from a coun- try bordnriug tbe Fraser could at or near Fort George be taken from tbe deck of tbe steamer to the railway cars He says " extensive farming lands near Lillooet wonld furnish their quota, and even tbe productions of Bounaparto and Cache Creek valleys would seek this cheap and Hpeedy method of transport to tbe sea, while tbe mines of Cariboo and Omineca, rendered profitiible by the influx of low- priced food and labor, would again yield their tribute as in former years." Mr. Wright's own words are given, as he knows the upper country as well as most men. The crushing of quarta in Cariboo, a new industry there, will, if productive, vastly add to the importance of all that northern region. Success at Cariboo may lead to si.nilar and success- fnl ventures at Cmineca and Cassiar, which are also permanently habitable, should mininf; attractions suffice. Sev- eral parts of (Jassiar abound in summer grass, and that means a good deal. A gentleman, acting as surveyor for tbe Western Union Telegraph Company, some ten years ago, and who bad previously w 14 boen ovor mott of the soutbern mainlar'lt «onsid«ri the l«ndi extending north-west of Weitroftd Rivor, embracing en urea of about five million aorea, and inolading most of the "lake oonntry," at least aa !(ood as any in tbe provinoe for stock and arming purposes. See, in their reports, what Messrs. Selwyn, Macoun and 0. M . Dawson have sot forth about this ooontry as to itfl agricultural ralne, &,o. On tbe long Tslley of tbe Wastonqna, a tributary of the Skeena, my informant found goose- berries and strawberries as large as gar- den sorts, and in a few places the red cur- rant similar to tbe cultivated kind. The haugba and braes of tbe Wastonqna, tbe delight of cattle droTels to Oassiar, wave in summer with Inxariant grasses and retohes, The stream flows sluggishly, and oonid, it is said, at small outlay, be rendered navigable for. river steamers. The lakes and streams of tbe north country abound in excellent fish. Its olimate is suited tot the growth of tur- nips, being moister in summer than thai to the southward. The northern limit of fall wheat growing in the Dominion baa jut to be akilfully tested from Norway House, if not farther east, to Fort Stager, N. Lat. 55 e . iM), if not beyond. There, in 1866-67, a buliook wintered out, and was found in spring in fair condition. It is very gratifying to observe that the value of our provinoe as a whole is becoming better and better appreciated throughout the Dominion. Cordiality should prevail between eaat and west,' and, above all, amongst our selves. Vic- torisns desire the real welfare of tbe southern mainlanders. As an evidence of what a careful observer and close reosoner. Principal Dawson, of Montreal, thinks of our province as a whole, I ask you to print as an appendix to these letterd when issued from Tea Ooiiom/st press in pam- fthlet form, the accompanying extract rom Dr. Dawson's address (16t!i May. 1677) to the Natural History Society of Montreal. tJ.' t. I t 1 . it/Si ««). t..' n; Cit ; uui APPENDIX. EXTRACT FKOM ADDKESS OF TJIE PRESIDENT, PBINCIPAL DAWSON. L. L. D., F. B. 8., — AT THE — Annual Meeting of tlic Natural History Society of Montreal, M»y 18. 1877. ^^^^ "I have reserved to the last sotnc remarks connected with the Hubjeet of my own paper on the Geology of the lutercolouial Bailway, and which subject I desire here to refer to iu somewhat broad and discursive manner, de- manded I think by the present condition of science and the iudustrinl arts in this country. I would in this connection desire to direct your attention to the immense importance of that great public work, and to the effects which would flow from a further extension of similar enterprise iu the west. I cai> remem- ber a time when the isolation of the Maritime provinces from Canada proper was almost absolute. There was a nearly impassable wilderness between, and no steamers on the waters, and the few whom business or adven- ture caused to travel from Halifax or St. John to Quebec or Montreal, had to undertake a costly and circuitous journey through the United States, or to submit to (dmost intermin- able staging through a wilderness, or to the delays of some sailing craft on the St.Lawrence. In later times steamboats have supplied a less tedious mode of communication, and now we see placards informing us that the Intercolonial carries passengers from Quebec to Halifax in twenty-six hours. But it has done more than fliis. The traveller may now see the coal of Nova Scotia travelling upward to Quebec, and the fresh fish of the Atlantic coast abundantly supplied in our markets, while the agricultural products of the interior travel seawards in return. This is however but the beginning of a great change. A delegation of coal owners was in Ottawa endeavouring to attract the attention of members of the Legislature to the fact that Ontario might be cheaply sup- plied with coal from Nova Scotia in return for her fann products. The representation led to no immediate practical results, but it foreshadows a great future change. Living as we do on the borders of that great nation without any name, except that of America, which does not belong to it, and which builds an almost impassable wall of commercial restriction along its frontier, we cannot long endure the one-sided exchange of commodities which takes place at present so much to our disadvantage. The Nova Scotian cannot buy ' flour and manufactured goods from a people who refuse to take his coal and iron in ex- change; and the Outarian or Quebecker cannot afford to have the commercial connec- tion with the mother country severed in favour of a nation which will not take the products of our fields, our forests, our mines or onr granaries in exchange. Wo shall have iu self-defence to cultivate our own internal trade, and even if we must bring the products of the Pacific and Atlantic Coasts across a whole conti? nt to meet each other, this will be cheaper iit the end than to sacrifice our own interests and those of the empire to the Chinese policy of our neighbours in the South. The diversities of products in countries depends much on differences in latitude, but there are also diversities depending on longi- tude, and, fortunately our country possesses these in no small degi-ee. On our Atlantic coast we have rich fislieries and minerals not possessed by the interior regions. In these last, through all the great regions extendint; from Quebec to the Koo\y Mountains, we have vast breadths of fertile soil besides many of the elements of mineral wealth, and varied kinds of inanuffictures are growing tip both on the coast and inland. What is to hinder a direct exchange of commodities within our- selves instead of an indirect exchange under the most serious disadvantages 'n'ith the United States. Further, such direct exchange would increase our trade with Great Britain and the West Indies, and bind together the somewhat divergent sections of our own pop- lation. The opening up of railway communi- cation across the great western plain might do for us what a similar process has done for New York. But from a railway terminus on the Pacific shore we could stretch our com- mercial relations over that great ocean, and bring all the treasures of the Orient to enrich our markets. Further in establishing com- munication with British Columbia, we are not merely establishing a landing place on the Pacific,, though this would be an inestimable advantage. British Columbia is the mining' point of view, one of the richest portions of the earth's surface. It is of more value acre w -^'mm 16 for acre thnn my portion of the EsHtern States or of Canada proper. In an appendix attach- ed to a recent reiwrt on the raoific railway, Mr. G. M. DuwBou has collected some details aa to the mineral wealth of this region. He mentions gold-flelds yielding now more than a million and a half dollars annually. In eighteen years British Golumbia wiUi only 10,000 inhabitonts has exported gold to the amount of 40,000,000 of dullam; and it is no exaggeration to say that with a larger popu- lation and better means of conveyance this yield might be increased twentyfold. Goal exists on Yancoaver's Island and the neighboring mainland in inexhaustible abundance, and of excellent quality, and re- presents the sole supplies of that mineral on the Pacific coast of North America. British Golumbia might supply the whole Pacific coast and a vast interior region, and might produce many millions of tons annually. Iron, silver and copper are known to exist in productive quantities, and there is reason to believe that mercury, lead, and platinum might be added. .^n short, British Columbia possesses all iL^t, mineral wealth which has enriched Cali- fornia and the States adjoiniug.it; and the opening up of communication between it and other parts of the Dominion would be the beginning of a series of events, that would build up great and wonderful cities and pop- ulous scats of industry in a region now scarcely inhabited, and out off from direct intercourse with the other provinces political- ly connected with it. What the Intercolonial has begun to do for our relations with the Atlantic provinces, the Canada Pacific must do for our relations with the Pacific province; and if I could present before you in a prophetic picture iu that would follow from the establishment of such a connection, and the trade of the great sea and lands beyond, which might flow through our country, you as citizens of a commercial city, as well as in the capacity of votaries of science and scientific art, would at once say that at almost any aacrifloe thia mat work ■honld be executed. The difBonities in the wa^ are undoubtedly great— so that this gene- ration of Canadians should scarcely bo called upon to overcome them unaided, but they are not insurmountable, and the mode of meeting them is certainly at present the greatest pub- lic problem that our statesmen have to solve. It is further undoubtedly the duty of those whose Boientiflc studies show them tiie gran- deur of this groat question and the nature of the practical results of its solution, to aid in every way that they can the progress towards an unobstructed highway through the territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific. If it is in our power thus to bring together the resources of the whole breadth of the Continent, we may hope to consolidate our connection with the Mother Country by mak- ing ourselves indispensable to her interests, to relieve ourselves from the galling commer- cial yoke laid upon us by our neighbors, to provide homes and work for the surplus population of our older provinces, to build up the wealth oi great trading centres, and to render vast and naturally wealthy regions productive of subsistence for millions of men. When I look forward to the future of this country and base my anticipations, not on the merely human elements of to-day, but on the geological treasures laid up in past ages, I see the Dominion of Canada with a population as great as that of the United States, and with some of the greatest and wealthiest cities of this continent in Nova Scotia and British Columbia. Qeologists are not merely prophets of the past, they know something of the future 08 well. It might perhaps be well if we could inoculate our statesmen with a healthy belief in the geological future of Canada, or even with some faint idea of the billions of dollars of accessible treasures that lie beneath the soil of Nova Scotia and British Columbia. We might then see them put forth some effort to realize thia El Dorado within the time of those now living, rather than contentedly allow it to wait the action tt men wiser and more energetic than ourselves." thiiiarMt work OUmltieB in the a thatthiagene- u-oely bo called id, but they are tode of meeting e greatest pob> have to solve. duty of those them the gran> I the nature of tion, to aid in ogress towards gh the territory i>ring together woadth of the snsolidate oor >antry by mak- her interests, iling commer- uoighbors, to ' the surplus ices, to build lentres, and to ealthy regions illionaof men. future of this tns, not on the ly, but on the ast ages, I see population as es, and with hicBt cities of and British Brely prophets thing of the B be well if we dtha healthy >f Canada, or lie billions of at lie beneath ish Columbia, th some effort the time of contentedly en wiser and /'