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The annexed report of Mr. McGee's Speech, on Emigration and Colonization, published by desire of several Members of the House of Assembly, is founded upon the report of the Quebec Mornimj Chronicle, — a few omissions being sup- plied by the honorable gentleman himself, from memory. The .T'ublisher.s. f EMKIKATION AND COLONIZATION IN CANADA. "<>./«.^.-v^V*^^ ' I k Hou-SK OF A«sj:Mm-Y, Friday, Apriri^th, KSOii. The House! resumed the adjourned dcbsito ou 31r. McGke'm inotion of tlie 8tli instant, " That a Select Connnittoc be ap- pointed to take into consideration the subject of Immiirra- tiou and Colonization, especially with reference to the Spring Immigration of the present year; with power to send f»r persons and papers, and to report from time to time." [:^Mr. McGee^ rose and said : Mr. Speaker, \ am sorry to be obliged to detain the House at such an hour, but as we have not had late sittings, .so far, and the subject presses so urgently, I hope the House will grant mo its usual indulgence. (Flear, hear.) Before the Easter adjournment, at the request of the honorable gentleman at the head of the Administration, I post- poned the annual motion which I have made, since I have had the honor of a seat in this House, in reference to the Emigrant service, and the settlement of our waste lands. I now rise, sir, to discharge that duty, and in doing so must congratulate the country at large, that this subject, so vital for all its interests, seems at length to have assumed its rela- tive importance, in the estimation of the people's represen- tatives. The labors of the Committees of former years have not be«n without fruit, but more powerful still has been the advocacy devoted to it by the press of the country, which without exception of party — papers which support hon. gen- tlemen as well as the leading presses of the Opposition — papers so dissimilar as the Hamilton ISpectator and the Tor- onto Globe, in Upper Canada, and in Lower Canada as the Quebec Chronicle and the Montreal Herald — have all united on this subject. (Hear, hear.) It is grateful and cheering. 6 Mr. SpoulvLT, to tlio iidvocntcs of now rni Hiod.s ami now (jtlorf* in the way of sctlli im-nt to soe tliiit tlu; inlonho hociiil inter- est of the discussion hiis yiemt rated wlierc nuTo ptditien sliduld never rciidi, even ti» tiu; jmlpits of \]\v liind — an evi- dence of whieli I liave tliis day received, in the excelKsnt dis- course delivered nn St, (ic<»rLa>'.s day, in the city I have the honor to represent in part, by the Very llev. Canon licacli, l)e}bre tlic St. CJeorne's Society — a discourse worthy to bo de- livered on a ureat national festival, and deservinix to be trea- surcd up by all who have read, as well as by all who heard it. Canon Leach, I am happy to know, does not stand alone anion*.;; the clei'^y, in tlu; importance he attaches to this IVo- vineial interest. A leading clergyman of the Scotch Church (1 think 1 may mention his name without impropriety, — the Kcv. Mr Kemp) has given a good deal of attention to the prospects t)f settlement in the Eastern Townships, aiid I be- lieve the rev. gentlemen of the Seminaries, both of (Quebec and Montreal, are encouraging settlement, to a considerable extent, on the lands which formerly comprised their seignior- ies. (Hear, hear.) Witli such a hold on the. head and heart of the land, with the press and the pulpit so strongly in its favor, it is utterly impossible that we .should fail to effect a salutary reform in the euiigrant service and th3 system of settlement; and 1 will do many hon. gentlemen opposite the justice to say, that I. believe that they arc as desirous of mak- ing such reforms as any members of the Opposition can be. As an evidence of their desire, I take the Commission of In- quiry, issued by His Excellency — his first official act, after landing in this country; and I also take as an additional evidence of that desire, the disposition of the hon. the Pre- mier, to make this committee as complete and satisfactory as possible. (Hear, hear.) In moving for this committee, Mr. Speaker, I miglit move on the groutod, that it is not only called for in itself, but that as the Province expends large sums annually to arrive at a knowledge of its own resources, this Committee is the natural corrollary of that expenditure. Turning over the Public Accounts, yesterday placed on the table, 1 find the following principal items of expenditure for what we may call, in general terms, exploring or exliibiting the resources of the Province : — Cost of taking the Decennial Census.- $118,^93 00 Geological Survey (1861) 20,315 00 Bureau of Agriculture, salaries, &c 8,091 00 Do. Contingencies 6,805 00 (I a , Kuads and Hridurcs ( ( '. K. ) 'u,x{r) 00 liMprovoiiicnt J'uikUC W. ) \1,:'A)s ow ('(jloiii/atiui) Koad.s (CW.) ni,«Mi(l (»(> J)o. I'o. (('. I'l.) r)L',!-'MMI Cniwii Lands Survoys (Wost) 7'>, lit "(J Do. Do. (Kast) 41.!Mi!> (M> Coloni/atiuii lload Ancnls ( Wo.«^t) II ,:j!t2 UO J)n. Do. ' (Kast^-) In.spcctioii of Aui'iicios ( West) *J,'d7(> Ot) Do. J)o (Kast) ;{,;')! 4 00 A.irrii'ultural Sociotles ( West ) 5:J,S!M (U) Do. Do. (East) 48,725 00 iMiiii^ralion sovvicc, Inland and l''or.(Mut justice must be done, fearlessly Included in the item of *' Roads and Bridges," C. E. 8 done, in the port of Quebec, the coming season, or the loud cry of disappointed hope, ^oinc home from tliis side, will disgrace u,s all, from the highest to the humblest person con- nected with this Government. Having originally recom- mended the appointment of Provincial Agents abroad, in my report of 18G0, I Wiis of course happy to see that that sug- gestion had been acted upon, as far as Great Britain and Ire- laud, Germany, France and Belgium were concerned. There may bo some doubts as to whether the persons appointed pro fern, to fill those offices have been always the fittest persons for their work — there may be some doubts whether they have been stationed at the best points for their work, but there can bo no doubt that a few able agents, on the other side of the Atlantic, must be of benefit to this Province. But they ought to be men well qualified, and likely to command confi- dence, wliose sense of responsibility to their own Government would lead them to ask help, if they were not able io prepare a grammatical placard, as to the objects of their appointment. (Hear, hear. ) [3Ir. McGee here exhibited a placard publish- ed in Belfast, Ireland, ivhich he regretted to see, so incor- rectly was it worded, bearing the signature of 3Ir. Donaldson, one of the Agents of this Province in Ireland.] He continu- ed, — The French agency has been objected to in some quar- ters as useless and unprofitable, but when we see from the statistics of New York that during the last few years, from 10 to 12 per cent, of all the arrivals at that port were from Havre — some 8,000 last year out of 08,000, — when we sec that Havre ranks as a North American port next to J^iver- pool and Hamburgh in this trade, I cannot concur that the appointment of Mr. Verret, was a needless or improper one. If Mr. Verret should not succeed in doinc: much in France, he may make better progress in Belgium and Switzerland — at least let us hope so, for the sake of the undertaking. (Hear, hear.) Whether Berlin is the proper station for the German Agent, Mr. Wagner, despatched by the Crown Lands De- partment, I cannot pretend to say, but my impression is that one of the great Northern shipping ports — Bremen or Ham- burgh — ought to be his head quarters. (Hear, hear.) But another appointment equally important, which was suggested in 18G0, has not yet been made, — I mean a Canadian agency at New York. By the New Yovk booking system, we know that in 1859, 2,000 emigrants were landed at that port, whose destination was Canada; tha,t in 18G0, there were 1880, and in 1801, 1554, similarly bound for Canada — or in three years, 6,434 vsettlers. Now this is a contingef)t well worth looking () 9 4 after ; and supposing such an agent appointed at JNew York, it might be nmde part of his business, during other seasons of the year, to visit those neighborhoods in which there are native Canadians, willing and anxious to return to this coun- try, to report the facts, and to arrange for their return. (Hear, hear.) He would also meet with other British sub- jects — with some of those hundreds of natives of the British Isles, who have besieged the Consulates in the great cities, anxious to be sent back again to their old homes, where thoy will find themselves on their return strangers indeed, and from which they may be forced, in all probability, to a second emigration. (Hear, hear.) I am not an advocate for the creation of new offices, Mr. Speaker, unless when they are shown to be really required, but I would not be doing my duty to the Province, if I did not once more point out the impor- tance of a proper agent at New York, as well as at Liverpool, Havre, and Hamburgh. As to the new arrangement of the inland agents, within this Province, I am not prepared to speak in detail at this moment ; besides so mnch depends on the personal habits and character of the men and so much on the head of the department, that I shrink from discussing particular reforms, until we have examined them in Commit- tee ; and I hope we may have the united sanction of the Committee for recommendations, which, as an individual and a member in Opposition, I fear would have little chance of adoption — coming from me. I will not, therefore, dwell on that point ; for it must rest in the end with the Minister of Agriculture whether any of these offices are to continue sine- cures, or to be made realities. Mr, Speaker, the mention of New York reminds me of the truly paternal, sagacious, and politic care which that state and city has of late years exer- cised over the Emigrants arriving in their waters. Formerly it was not so ; but for the past 10 or 12 years, no department of the public service has been more steadily improving than the department committed to the Commissioners of Emigra- tion. I have here their last annual report, and it is highly instructive to see how they handled the 68,000 aliens landed in their port during 1861. I have thrown their results into a tabular form of my own, for greater convenience, and T find that. The arrivals at New York in 1861, were 68,311 Of these, arrived in steamers 2l,l 10 In sailing ships 37,201 J - 10 Total number of voHsels 453 Averaj2;c of passengers to ship 1 50 Deaf in at ion of .iVcio Yorh arrira/s in 1861. New York City and State ;i2,783 Pennsylvania and New Jersey 7,006 New England States 5,771!) Western States 16,595 Southern States 3,755 Canada West 1 ,544 Canada East 8 Balance to (!alifornia, c^e Aiff and Fjmploijmcnt Ajf'ordc/L Amount received at Castle Garden and its agencies, from friends of emigrants in interior, to assist emigrants on arrival — .... .$17,591.^0 Advances made to emigrants on deposits of baggage 1,299.00 Of w^hicli was repaid during the year 1,267.00 Number who received treatment or relief in Emi- grant Refuge and Hospital 5,079 Number of emigrants sent back to Europe at their own request 418 Number provided with temporary lodging in New York, Albany, Buffalo, &e 6,177 Temporarily supplied with food in Oastle Garden . . 1,880 Number of persons of both sexes provided with situations by Commissioners and their agents in New York City and State !. 6,028 Emigrant Vorrespo7iut 1 would be false to a great public interest, which I have zealously es- poused, if T did not renew the protect I made agiinst the ap- pointment of that gentleman to his present position. I only know him by the testimony of others, and by his own record- ed public acts, and I must say that to put a man of mean abilities in such a position, at such a time as the present, is something worse tlian a defiance of public opinion, it is a wilful and deliberate surrender of a golden opportunity for this country. I say this in no spirit of party — give us an able man, let him be ever such a partizan ! Give us a man able to originate — to direct — to check — to control — to com- mand the entire field of settlement — the whole stafi" of agents and employees — give us a man to inspire respect, and to efibct salutary changes, — and let him be, I repeat, as staunch a par- tizan as you please. (Hear, hear.) But do not amuse us with granting committees and receiving reports, when after all, the execution or suppression of everything we may mature, must depend upon the will or whim of an accidental knight, who is at best but a provisional minister. (Hear, hear.) Now, Mr. Speaker, supposing the organization of the department to be all that it ought to be, in its head and its members, let us consider the attractions we can offer in Canada to intending settlers. It is true that this Province has neither the golden rivers of California nor the luxurious climate of Australia, but it has two things which free born 9 14 men value higher ; complete civil and religious liberty, and land to be acquired by any man's industry. Our chief moral attraction must ever lie in our institutions; our chief material attraction must lie in cheap or free land. The institutions of this Province, whatever defects may exist are, tnko them all in all, the most desirable in the world, and if we can only succeed in keeping down the wrathful spirit of religious bigotry — bigotry on all sides — that despotic temper which makes a bigot in religion and a tyrant in politics out of the self same stuff — if we only succeed in keeping down ihat spirit, the institutions of Canada, ought naturally attract valuable accessions to our population from abroad. As to our material advantages, ilie land resources of this Province are not so well understood, even by Canadians themselves, as they should be. Which of us familiarly thinks of the 100 million acres in 1 iower, and 50 million acres in Upper Canada, so ably and fiilly descri})ed in that Vade Mecum of such informa- tion, the Crown Land Commissioner's Report of 1857, for which the honorable gentleman (Mr. Cauchon) and those who assisted hiui in its preparation, deserve the highest credit; a report that ought to be familiar to every member of this House. (Hear, hear.) But confining ourselves to the public land actually in the market in this Province, we find that we commence the year with over 7,600,000 acres of Crown Lands in the two sections ; over 500,000 of Clergy Lands, not to mention the School Lands, the Indian Lands, and the Ordnance Lands, withheld, and I think very properly with- held, for the present. I will trouble the House with a tabular view ol these lands, taken from the new Emigration pamphlet, giving the acreage in round numbers only : — CANADA EAST. Acres. Counties on the north side of the Ottawa 1,093,000 Counties on the north side of St. Lawrence 1,378,000 Counties south side of St. Lawrence 1,544,000 Total disposable in Canada East 4,010,000 CANADA WEST. In the Ottawa and Huron country 600,000 Continuations of Lennox, Frontenac, Addiugton and District of Nipissing 660,000 Continuations of Hastings and Peterborough, Victoria, Simcoe and part of Nipissing 1,170,000 15 so District of Algoma 200,000 Fort William (Lake Superior) 64,000 Total disposable in Canada West 2,094,000 Tliese are the figures according to the new emigration pamphlet, while according to the Crown Land Commissioner's Report for the year ending December 31st, 18G1, the Crown Lands actually in the market at that date were : — Acres. Canada West 2,021,229^ Canada East 5,593,833 Total Crown Lands in market 7,G15,0G3i This domain might be diminished at the rate of a million acres a year, — by 10,000 or 20,000 one hundred acre farms, and the decrease would not be felt, — the want would be sup- plied by the new surveys, on which the Province keeps con- stantly employed from two to three hundred land surveyors. As the House is aware, Mr. Speaker, a per centagc of this immense domain is very liberally given away in " free grants;" to what extent that per centage may be actually in demand I am not now going to discuss, but the average price at which the lands of the Crown, disposed of by sale, are sold, cannot be considered exorbitant. In Upper Canada the average price obtained in the sales of last year was, for the Crown Lands ^1.25, the School Lands 81.50, and the Clergy Lands $2.50; in Lower Canada the average prices were, for the Crown Lands less than 50 cents, and for the Clergy Lands less than $1 per acre. Considering that on these purchases five years time is usually given, and that a first instalment of ten per cent, is all that is usually required, it is evident that the first cost of our public lands cannot be any great obstacle to the more general settlement of our waste territory. Are there, then, defects in the machinery by which the lands are to be settled ? — are the formalities expensive ? — are the surveys inaccessible ? — are there hostile combinations? These are all considerations of the utmost importance for this House, and especially for the committee which I have proposed. Before passing altogether from this point, I cannot but remark on the existence among us of certain landed monopolies, which, I fear, have given Canada a bad name, for a poor man's country to get. I allude to such corporations as the British American Land Company and the Canada Company ; and speaking of these great com- 16 panics of land jobbers, I was sorry to sec, sir, by the Crown Lauds Huport for this year, that Mr. Vankoughnet had dis- posed "of ten townships rv< hloc^^ in the Ottawa and Lake Huron tract to another of these companies. I know that the late Commissioner, to whose great administrative abilities I have always cheerfully paid homage, intended and stipulated that settlement duties should be rigorously exacted of this new company. (Hear, hear.) But who is to answer that his successors will be equally resolute 't Who is to guarantee the Province that a corporation rich enough to purchase will not be influential enough to hold up these ten townships at an excessive figure, and so keep back the surrounding settle- ments ? What has been our experience of these large landed companios? They all came into existence with the fairest possible professions towards this Province. The Canada Company and the .IJiitish American Company were created by lioyal Charter before the days of Kesponsible Govern- ment, so we are not fairly aiiswerable for them, as we shall be for others, if others arc to be created by our own action. The Canada Company's report for the present year is now in my possession, and shows how they have used their chartered privileges to speculate upon Canadian lands during the past lew years. The. directors congratulate the proprietors on the constant progressive rise of prices in their sales of wild lands. They say : *' The Directors again draw the attention of the proprietors to the steady annual inciease in the market value of the Com- pany's lands as a most satisfactory and important feature in their affairs ; the ultimate success of their operations depend- ing, as it does in some degreCj upon the progressive increase in the price to be obtained from the sale of the remainder of their estate. The subjoined table of land disposed of since the year 1829, arranged in decennial periods, furnishes an interesting illustration on this head : — 1820 to 1840 736,608 acres, at lis. Id. per acre, 1841 to 1850 989^117 " 15s. 4d. " 1851 to 1861 493,873 '' 328. 4d. '< " It will be seen from these figures that, although the quantity of land disposed of during the last ten years has been less by one-half than in the preceding period, it realized more than double the amount." No doubt this is a most satisfactory state of things to the Canada Company, to the Directors of the Canada Company, and to the proprietors of the Canada Company, but if the 17 growth of the western section of the Province in in some degree retarded, if its increasing population is obstructed by this, for the American world, cxhorbitant price of wild land, (32s. sterling per acre), it is not quite so satisfactory a state of things for Canada as for the Company. The traugactions of the Company during the first two months of the present year, are figured up in the same report, us follows : — '< From the 1st January to the 28th February, 1802 : -124 acres have been sold at 32s. lid. per aero. ♦),221 acres have been leased at 5Gs. lid. per aero. 24,522 acres converted to f reehold.s. The collections of money for the same period amount to- £36,800 currency, viz : — ''On account of purchase money £20,875 " rent and interest 9,581 " sundries , 314 "The sum of £31,000 sterling/' adds the Report, "has been remitted home by the Commissioners since the 31st December." I have no disposition, Mr. Speaker, to exagg(3rate the evil in our state of society, of these great land companies, but I think it my duty to state to this House that, both in the Eastern Townships, where the l^ritish American Land Com- pany still retains en bloc many thousands of acres, and in those counties in Upper Canada in which the Canada Com- pany retains its vast reserves, that they are generally looked upon as lets rather than as aids to settlement. They allow their lands to lie waste, unless they can get their own exorbi- tant prices, or if they lease them it is often to take them back again from the disheartened lesees ; for, in any event, the value is certain to increase by the mere increase of the neighboring settlements on the lands of the Crown. The whole surround- ing country is tugging to lift that dead weight of corporate lands held oi bloc, and if a more liberal policy is not adopted by them — if a policy less hostile to Canadian interests is not adopted — this Province may be compelled, in self-defence, to inquire by what means it may best mitigate this evil, and en- franchise the large scopes of country now held in worse than mortmain clutch. The Clergy Reserves and the Seignorial Tenure, strong as they were, had to give way to the require- ments of a growing society ; and those companies, if they are wise for themselves, will not overdo the opportunities which they unfortunately possess, to retard, in many sections, the 18 growth of population. (Cheers.) It might seem to be a sufficient cure for this evil, that the millions of acres of public lands in the market were to be had, in Upper Conada, on an averagje at $2 per acre, and in Lower Canada, from $1 to 50 cents per acre j but, unfortunately, the great companies have got into the very heart of the land, — they have got prime soil centrally situated — which gives them the opportunity they so usurioualy employ, to monopolize and overcharge — according to all existing American standards of the value of wild lands. (Hear, hear.) Another topic in connection with our land policy relates to what are called the Colonization or ^' Free Grant" roads, east and west. (Hear, hear.) From the Crown Land Commissioner's Report, just laid on the table of the House, we may see at a glance with what unequal strides the work of free colonization went on, last year, iu Up- per as compared with Lower Canada. In this section of the Pro- vince all the free grants fell a fraction short of 10,000 acres; while in Upper Canada the free grants somewhat exceeded 30,000 acres. Now, as to the quantity of " free grant " land reduced to cultivation during the year, the number of settlers actually established on the colonization roads, and the report- ed value of the annual production on those new lines of road, I hcive taken the Commissioner's figures, and I find that the result in each section of the Province, for last year, stands thus : — Roads in Upper Total Value of Pro- Canada. Acres. Settlers, ducts in 1861. Addii.gton 796 27 $38,562.20 P>obcavgeon — — " 30,007.10 Hastings 960 88 44,418.15 Muskoka 300 62 4.900.23 Opeongo 416 40 36,716.32 Total Upper Canada 2,472 217 $154,584.00* Roads in Lower Value of Pro- Canada. Arpents. Settlers. ducts in 1861. Elgin road 731 29 $15,000.72 Matane " 705 «— 4,443.15 Kempt '' 305 14 1,317.70 1,741 43 $20,762.57 * This figure must be taken, not for the year 1861, but for all ''free grant" reclamations on those roads to that date. 19 I The colonization road expenditure last year in Lower Canada was over ^52,000, and for that very considerable sum and the donation of 10,000 acres, we have 43 new " free <;rant " settlers added to the pioneer population. Thof-e 10,000 acres, according to the statutory limitation of 100 acres the grant, ought to give the Province at least 100 such settlors. It may be that on some of these free grants, settlement duties will be commenced the present spring, but it is evident that taking 18G1 by itself, the acres granted are not represented by the required number of grantees. (Hear , hear.) In Upper Canada, (exclusive of the liobcaygeon road, not returned), we have only 217, instead of 300 new settlers for 30,000 acres — but this is a nearer approximation to the requirements of the law, than has been made in Lower Canada. It would be instructive to know what proportion of these '* free grants," so freely advertised abroad, were taken up by Emigrants and what portion by Canadians; but I believe there is, at present, no official information of that kind — unless it may be supplied in the Ileporfc of the Ministor of Agricul- ture, not yet in our hends. (Hear, hear.) Another impor- tant consideration for us, at this moment, remains to be taken up. We were invited as you will romembcr, Mr. Speaker, in His Excellency's speech, at the opening of the session, to consider the highly important subj^ict of our military defences, and we have assured his Excellency that we will give our best attention to that subject. I have full confidence that this House will keep good faith with His Excellency ; but Mr. Speaker, I deny that we can wisely consider the subject of our defences apart from the subject of our population. (Hear, hear.) Nay, more ; we must consider it in connexion with the growth of that American population who alone could ever cross in anger our interior border. Our boundary is theirs, but while on our side there are about 2,500,000 inhabitants, in the Northern States that face our frontier there are nearly 20,000,000. Does any one believe that we could hold our own, with the odds against us eight to one ? Allow everything you please for a people defending their own soil — allow every- thing you please for Imperial assistance — the disproportion between the two populations is so enormous as to inspire many with the apprehension that it is a mere question of time, when it must come to our turn to be devoured by our gigantic neighbor. I feel, sir, that these fears are neither weak nor fanciful — but I still hold that if we use our present opportu- nities as we ought — if we fill in our frontiers with a sturdy yeomanry — if we create and establish a peasant proprietory, trained from youth to the use of arms, that Canada may fairly 20 pretend to an ind(^pcndcnt existence on this continent. I havo no knowledjjjo of military aflfairs, Mr. Speaker, but I would bcfi; the attention of tlio House in considering our defences, as well as the present subject, to a ghuif o at the map of the country, both the populated and unsettled parts of it, and to the in(|uiry which arises from even such a glance, what con- nexion exists between the distribution of our people, and their roHOurces for self-defence ? It seems probable that we shall all be oblijj^cd to study the map of the country hereafter, tnorc than we over did before ; and it is impossible, it seems to me, to cast even a cursory p;lanco at it without feeling that wo occupy one of the most peculiar positions — that our population, so far, is the most peculiarly distributed — of any to be found anywhere else on this side of the world. Our great central valley from Cornwall to tlio Saguonay is banked on both sides with settle- ments, facing to the front and not extending, on an average, ex- cept up the lateral valley of the Ottawa, and in the direction of* the Eastern 'I'ownships, 50 miles from the St. Lawrenco; we have thus a long narrow riband of population, one-seventh the breadth of its own length, as singularly shaped a country as eye ever beheld. East of the junction of the Saguenay with the St. Lawrence, our population is carried down to the gulf by the south shore alone, while west of Cornwall, it is found only to the north of the upper St. Lawrence and the great Lakes. 'J'he peopled part of the Province thus presents the shape of a long fantastic letter "S" — a waving Lesbian line, which to my eye, is neither a line of beauty nor of grace, nor of defensive strength. At and above Cornwall, this twist of population is determined by the 45th line of latitude, but there is no necessity for any such peculiarity in ]jOwer Can- ada. From the Ottawa to the St. Maurice, and from the St. Maurice to the Saguenay on the one shore ; from the Chateau- gay to Iliver du Loup on the other shore, there is the strongest testimony of the best authorities, surveyors, geologists, lum- berers, practical men of all origins, that three, four, seven- fold the present population may find ample space and remu- neration for their industry. (Hear, hear ) Fortunately for us who advocate the recruiting of a productive rather than of a destructive army, science with its hammer and its theodolite, has been for twenty years, at work in those wildernesses. Our living geologists have exploded one fallacy — that the granite country between the Ottawa and Lake Huron could never sustain a numerous population — and this is precisely the same country, geologically, which we find open to settlement in Lower Canada. (Hear, hear.) This is precisely the cha- 21 factor of the North Shore Counties between Montreal and Quebec, wlicro, it' over Canada stands at bay, in defence of her separate nationality, it must be with her back to that great Laurentian chain ot hi;jthlandH, whicli trends away from the Sagucnay to the Ottawa ftud from tlie Ottawa to Lake Huron. (Cheers.) i have not a pnrticl - of desire, Mr. Sj)cakcr, to underrate or overrate the untouclu'd resources either of Upper or Lower Canada ; it is as tr^ilv frmtifying tome to read the testimony of Mr. Symrnos, SupertudJidant of the St. Maurice Works, to the excellent soj) in portions of tlint valley, as it is to read the testimony of Mr. I*. ]j. S. Salter, that there is abundant room for ** sixty fire town.ship?? of thirty-six .^^quare miles each," on the north south of Lake Huron. (Hear, hear.) 1 rejoice to lind the country widening before us, as we ad- vance both east and west; I rejoice to know that we have no limit to our growth, but the line of perpetual frost, beyond the liaurcntian mountains. (Cheers.) Another subject in- separably interwoven with the object of my committee, is the representation (jue.-»tion. We eaniiot be blind to the fact that at the Tnion, Lower Canada contained some 225,000 more in- habitants than Upper Canada, and that now she contains 2«JO,000 less. This is an actual decrease of above 500,000, in twenty years. Now, does any rational man believe that this disparity can contiinie, and jot that strict e(|Uality of repre- sentation can bo upheld '^ If not, what then is the obvious remedy '^ Have the limits of population in Lower Canada, been reached 'r' Are her cultivable lands all taken U|) '^ So far from it, that I am well satisfied, Mr. Speaker, from all the evidence taken before the several committees over which I presided — from all the reports of men of science and men of business, that even below Quebec, the soil and the climate will not be found materially different from the soil and climate of the still unsettled parts of 1 ipper Canada, be- tween ]jake Huron and the Ottawa. There are with us two regions to tho North and South of the St. Lawrence — what are commonly called ^' the St. 3Iaurice country'' and the '' Eastern Townships ;" we have abundant evidence, obtained at great expense to the Province, of the extent and resources of both these regions. Popularly, the Eastern Townships are tolerably well known ; much has been done for them, and much more ought to be done. (Hear, hear.) That instead of a quarter of a million they are capable of sustaining three to four million souls, is generally admitted, — but the St. Mau- rice is a complete terra incognita. The summer traveller who hears steam blown off at night at Three Rivers, seldom 22 dreams, that he has just passed a great river which two hun- dred miles from its outlet, is still a ^reat river ; which drains a country larger than all Scotland, — and as capable as Scotland of bearing its three millions of inhabitants. (Ilear, hear.) Why il is this great valley shut up from the native and the immigrant sattlcr alike ? Why does the native Ca- nadian turn disheartened away from its pathless woods ? Why does the crowded passenger ship and the laden steamer pass by its port, Three Rivers, year by year, and day by day ? When I last spoke on this subject in this place, 1 quoted a statement which had appeared in a local paper that opposition to its settlement came chiefly from an hon. member of this house, (Hon. Mr. Turcotte). The paper referred to has since withdrawn that statement, and I am happy to repeat, unsolicit- ed, the correction, for I could not believe that any Canadian statesman would be capable of entering into a conspiracy against any class of ller Majesty's subjects seeking a home in this country. (Hear, hear.) We are here, Mr. Speaker, within 100 miles direct of the middle waters of that great river on which there are as yet but two or three townships organized — Polette, Turcotte and Shawinegan. Quebec wants a back country — and 30 or 40 miles of a road, continued from Gosford would tap the St. Maurice at the Tu(£ue, the centre of its lumber operations, and give Quebec a back country. A lateral road again from the St. Maurice to the waters of the La Lievre and the Gatiueau would not be so heavy an under- taking as the Opcongo Road, which from lienfrevv to Parry's Sound, is to be 18G miles in length. Such roads might serve to give immediate employment to a number of emigrant laborers, under skilled leaders, to familiarize them to the use of the axe — and to prepare them in one season for dealing with ''the bush" in the next. (Hear, hear.) My hon. friend, the member for Napierville (Mr. Bureau) who has given great attention to this subject, has a notice on the paper, for an increase of the Colonization road grant, and under cer- tain conditions, I think such an increase desirable ; but every- thing depends — everything — on the spirit and system in which the service is hereafter to be administered. If that depart- ment was in the hands of a Marquis de la Gallissionnere-if such a man lived in these degenerate days — he would soon, without favoritism or injustice, or conspiracy, redress the balance of population between the east and west, he would give us internal peace on just principles, and external security, on the guarantee of our united numbers. (Cheers.) I can- not but think, Mr. Speaker, that, under a proper adminis- tn m 28 lid m- is- trative system, the county agricultural societies, and the municipalities might also be made important agencies in the settlement of our waste lands. By the new emigration pam- phlets just published, we learn that certain Municipalities have informed the Bureau of a demand for upwards of 18,500 farm laborers, wervautH, and mechanics. It strikes me that these little local parliaments might do some- thing more, if they were not afraid of being flood(!d with a pauper immigration. But that fear, in view of the present isocial state of Great Britain and Ireland, is quite chimerical. The pauper class is no longer there ; they have been cut out of the basis of society ; we shall, fortunately, never see again the scenes Canada saw, in 1832 and 1847. The munici- palities, then, ought to be enlisted with the government in operations in common, to feel a direct interest in the common object— to make Canada a powerful and populous country. (Hear, hear.) There is yet another impediment in our way to which I must allude before I close. It is, the impression which seems to prevail in some quarters, that there is an. in3vitable conflict of interests between the lumberer and the actual settler. But this conflict the spread of intelligence will postpone indefinitely. To the experienced eye of the surveyor or the geologist, the character of the timber indicates the character of the soil. Such men need not look below the surface; if they find large hemlocks and basswoods mixed with white pine, maples, beech and birch, they immediately infer a warm productive soil beneath. ^' Mixed timber gen- erally,'' says Mr. Duncan Sinclair, (a good authority, — in his reply to my committee in 1860) *' indicates good land," "Oak and black walnut/* he adds, " always bespeak themselves good soil to grow upon." Thfre is no necessity for the lum- berer's interest and the settlers' coming into collision, but valuable as the timber trade is, agriculture is more valuable still, and those charged with the supervision of the public domain should see that the greater interest is not sacrificed to the less (Hear, hear.) The woods and forests and the agricultural settlements are necessary and useful to each other, and it ought not to be a matter of difliculty for a firm and intelligent Minister to ensure each its own field, and to guarantee all fair advantages to both. (Hear, hear.) I have thus, Mr. Speaker, endeavored to sketch hastily and very imperfectly, in consequence of the lateness of the night, the outlines of a reform which I believe to be essential to the best interests, to the largest increase, and fullest security of this Province. The Committee which the house is. I am rejoiced 24 to know, well disposed to grant, will, I trust, be as much more eflFectual as it will be more numerous, than any of its pre- decessors. In alluding to the (Jommitttees of the last Parlia- ment, I will only say of them, that any one who will take the trouble to consult the journals of this House for 18G0 (vol. XVIII) and 1861, (vol. XIX) may see in detail the reforms we formerly projected and advocated. I cannot but again express my gratification that some of those reforms have been adopted — such as the agencies abroad, and districting the the inland agencies, to some extent. I confess, Mr. Speaker, I am deeply, nervously anxious about the ciiigration of the coming spring. If it is botched, we shall be all disgraced, and the fair fame of the Province will bo deeply compromised ; but I trust we will be able to handle this difficult interest firmly and wisely, as well as tenderly. The subject should en- list all our sympathies, for in one sense, and that no secondary one, all men arc emigrants or sons of emigrants. The history of our species is a history of emigration since the first sad pair departed out of Eden, v/hen, " The World was all before them, where to choose A place of rest, and Providence their guide." In these latter days, the sons of Adam, and daughters of Eve, renew the ancestral experience — obeying the Divine ordi- nance — ''go forth and fill the earth and subdue it." (Cheers.) In the eyes of the frivolous and the vain, such wanderers may be adventurers, and the term adventurer may be made to mean anything tliat is base and disreputable. J>ut all the civilization of the world has been the handiwork of just such adventurers. Heroic adventurers irave Greece her civiliza- tion ; sainted adventurers gave Home her Christianity ; the glorified adventurers celebrated in history, established in western Europe those laws and liberties which we are all en- deavoring to perpetuate in America. (Cheers.) Let us rather, then, as adventurer has lost its true meaning, let us rather look upon the emigrant wherever born and bred as a founder, as a greater than kings and nobles, because he is des- tined to conquer for himself, and not by the hired hands of other men, his sovereign dominion over some share of the earth's surface. (Cheers.) He is the true founder who plants his genealogical tree deep in the soil of the earth, whose escutcheon bears, what Cowley so happily called the best shield of nations — ''a plough proper in a field arable." (Cheers.) Mr. Speaker, in the spirt of a broad, uncireum- scribed Canadian patriotism, which knows in this House, in Imore pre- irlia- the [(vol. )nDs ligain 25 any legislative light, neither race, nor religion, nor language, but only Canada and her advancement, I beg to move for the fourth lime for a Committee on Emigration and settlement. When T see these interests adopted as their own by hon. ifeutleiiien opposite who have the power, if they have the will, to establish a new system, I certainly feel some degree of ex- ultation, at the favorable prospects which are before this great project. I can say for myself most truly, though not at all insensible either to the favor of my constituents or my col- leagues in this House, that if I were quitting public life, or personal life to-morrow, I would feel a far higher satisfaction in remembering that some honest man's sheltering roof-tree had been raised by my advocacy, tliaii if I had been made Premier or Governor (Jeneral of the Province. (Cheers.; Let it be th'j mad desire of others in Europe and America to lay vraste populous places ; let it be our better ambition to popu- late waste places. Tn this we shall approach nearest to tli(j Divine original whose image, however defaced, we bear with- in us ; in this we shall become makers and creators of new communities and a new order of things j it is to further in Home degree this good work, during the present session, that I liave now the honor, Mr. Speaker, to move for a Select ( -ommittce, to take into consideration the subject of P] migra- tion and the settlement of the country. [The hon. gentle- men sat down amid loud cheers from all parts of the House.] House ojt Assembly Monday, April 28, 1862. The fOiL wing committee, were on motion of Mr. McGee, seconded by Mr. Bell of Lanark, appointed by the House : — Mr. McG-ce, Honorabli^ Messieurs AUeyn, Robinson, Foley, Loranger, Drummond and Portman, and Messrs Jackson, McDougall, Robitaiile, Joseph Dufresne, De Cazes, Desaul- niers. Pope, O'Halloran, Jobin, Bell (Lanark), Dawson, Scott, Abbott, Benjamin, Hooper, Dickson, Haultain and Mc- Kellar.