Canadian Lea\^es History, Art, Science, Literature, Ccmh^erce A Series of New Papers KUAU IIKFUKk: IHK Canadian Club of New York Awake, my country, the hour of ili-eHuis In done : imuht not, nor ili-ead. the Ki'eatncrHx of thy fate." IIOBKRTS. KDriEU liv (;. M. KAIRCHILl). JR. Vice-Pres. C. C. II.I.ll.SI KA I'EU IIV THOMSON WlLl.INC; A. R. C. A. NEW YORK NAPOLEON THOMPSON & CO., PUBITSHERS 51 AND 53 Maiden Lank 1887 ±OOOD«J /i;-^ Copyright 1«8H, by Napoleon Thompson & Co. DEDICATED TO HIS EXCEL L KNC V THE MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE COyEKNOR GENERAL of the DOMINION OF CANADA AS A TOKEN OF THE ESTEEM IN WHICH HE IS HELD HY THE CANADIANS RESIDENT IN NEW YORK PREFACE. N apology is not needed in present- ing this work to the Public, but one is due to the early subscrib- ers for the delay in its appear- ance. A fire in the building occupied by the printers caused almost a total destruction of the printed sheets and necessitated a suspension of work for some time. It is rare to find gathered into one volume so brilliant a series of original papers by so many distin- guished authors and scientists. I feel a just pride that the pleasant task of editing them should have fallen to my lot. I have endeavored to give them a setting worthy of their value, and in this laudable effort I vi Preface. have been most ably seconded by Thomson VViHing, A. R, C. A., the illustrator, and by the publishers Napoleon Thompson & Co., both of whom have spared no pains to produce a handsome volume, pictorially and typographically. The Canadian Club of New York is to be con- gratulated upon its wise policy of having instituted a winter's series of entertainments that are not alone delightful reunions of Canada's sons and fair daugh- ters, in voluntar}' exile, but which have kept alive their interest in the affairs of our great Dominion of Canada through the clever papers which have been delivered before the Club upon Canadian topics, G. M. FAIRCHILD, Jr., Editor. Neui York, December, iSSj. Table of Contents. PACK. Dedication • .III Preface, ......••• V Table of Contents vii Errata. ^l" The Future of the Dominion of Canada. , . . r By EUMLND Cul-LINS. The Schism in the An^lo-Saxon Race. ... 19 By GoLuwiN Smith, M. A., D. ('. 1.. The Great Canadian North-West 59 By Rev. John C. Ecli.esto.n, D. D. The Humorous Side of Canadian History. ... 93 By J. W. Bengchcjh, Kditor 'loronto (hip. The Heroines of New France. 107 By J. M. I.KMOINK, F. k. S. C. Literature in Canada, i-9 By Geo. Stewart, Jr., I). C. 1... K. R. G. S., K. R. S. C. Echoes from Old Acadia, '45 By Prof. Chas. (i. U. Roberts, Kings College, Windsor, N. S. Commercial Union between Canada and the United States 1/5 By lion. B. Butterworth, M. C. "viii Table of Contents. PAGK. The Mineral Resources of Canada, .... 217 By John McDougali.. An Artist's Experience in the Canadian Rockies, . 233 By John A. Frasek, R. C. A. Canada First, 247 By Rev. GeoR(;k Grant, D. D., Principal Queen's University. The Advantaijes of Commercial Union to Canada and the United States, 269 By Erastus Wiman. The Canadian Club, . 283 By G. M. Kairchii.I), Jr. Canadian Club Officers, 1887, 291 ERRATA. Page 3, line 5, for xclio seek, read, which seek. 108, line 23, iox guiding-halloiv, read, guiding-halo. " 113. '' '5> for introduced to court, read, introduced at court. Page 1 13, line 16, for /// ivaiting of, read, in waiting to. 115, " 20, for /rtj/A/^, read lying. " 141, "25, transpose Picturesque Canada after Ocean . to Ocean. ow ]p[^^e i^ob|ejMi\-llowloi_^ iOo front- fhe world ^Jot^e WaR|i***P^|fiWPii**W*WW?^^ THE FUTURE OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA. EDMUND COLLINS. An Address delivered before the Canadian Club of Neiv York. OME of the greatest historians of the olden times, for the purpose of illus- trating a nation's greatness, would only take into account the number of her spear's on the land, and of her galleys on the sea ; and it must be confessed that, even in this age of industry and peace, we are not a little proud of our battalions and of the thunder of our turret guns. In dealing with Canada, we have more substantial elements to fire our eloquence ; we have her boundless acres, her limitless 2 New Papers on Canadian History, forests, and the exhaustless treasures of her rriines and seas. Under the Confederation immense strides have been made in national development, and this I think ought to be a guarantee for the future. But, after all, there are several gentlemen in Canada, who are not satisfied with the Union. Indeed, at very frequent intervals, some patriot who has failed in the pulpit or at the bar, who has brought a country school into disrepute, or added to the population of a graveyard, arises among his countrymen, and declares that the Confederation must be smashed. The intensity of his eloquence on such an occasion will be commensurate with his wants. If he is able to scrape along at all, he will not be very fierce, and will receive no great attention ; but if there is neither brief, nor school, nor pulpit, nor consumptive in sight, he rises to the very highest pitch of patriotism, and some admiring organ of public opinion puts an "extra" at his disposal. If, in the experience of Dr. Johnson, "patriotism was the last refuge of a scoundrel," in ours, treason is the first refuge of a patriot. I presume that those who hear me are not unaware that Nova Scotia has lately passed resolutions affirming a desire for separation, and there is a rumor in the air that New Brunswick wants to get adrift. I do m*t ^believe that these ideas will prevail ; but they have undermined faith in the solidity of the Union, and Castle Garden receives the immigrant. It is no harm, however, to sin against the State. If you libel an individual, or decry his enterprise, the law will look after the matter ; but assail the country whose institutions protect, and whose kindly breast sustains, and the Governor Art, Science, Literature, and Cominerce. j will select you as his chief adviser or his Secretary of State. For my part, instead of providing cabinet oflfices, I should prepare the cat and the pillory. It may not be uninteresting, if not precisely cheerful, to enquire about the fate likely in store for the provinces who seek separation, in the event of the possibility of their release. In spite of the wealth which they boast of, to me they seem to stand up on the very verge of pauperdom. Enjoying the felicity of independence and isolation, each one would be a Lazarus at the gates of the Empire. We know very well that the expense of house-keeping, in Nova Scotia and in New Bruns- wick, is greater than either province is able to bear ; and either one or the other is always found at Ottawa, with a threat or a prayer upon her lips, asking for still " better terms." Let us suppose one of these provinces cast adrift. Her only sources of income would be the proceeds from the sale and lease of her timber and mineral lands, and the toll of the custom-houses. To-day Nova Scotia is almost completely stripped of her forest, and the area of woodland in New Brunswick is rapidly diminishing; and if there is but little income from the mines for the individual, there would be less for the public treasuries. The ship-yards are idle, and must remain so from now until the end of time; nor is there any industry in sight or in the distant future. Under the terms of confederation a sum of 80 cents per head is set apart from the Dominion treasury, and to hope that this amount could be made up under the regime of divorce, from the little provincial custom-houses, is mere delusion. For the lack of responsible guarantee, the obligations of these provinces would go begging in the money ^ New Papers on Canadian History, market. Capital and immigration would pass by their doors, and they would become the paupers of the Empire. It is the custom, among certain people in the East, when famine afflicts the land, to enter the temples and belabor with clubs their favorite idols. As the timber becomes scarce, and revenue falls off, these good people by the sea wax fierce in their denunciation of taxes, as if the most weighty and unjustifiable tax of all, tliat on coal, were not merely main- tained as a sop to them. However, it may be said, once for all, that Nova Scotia and her sister will be saved from themselves. For there is no road leading out of the Union. If, in discuss"-".g the prospects of Canada in general, I may be allowed to confine a few more observations to the maritime provinces, I should say that I believe their manifest local destiay to be maritime union. To superintend about a million and a half of public business, they have three petit kings, three houses of Commons, and at least two houses of Lords ; while in number the judges and chief justices, to borrow a fantastic comparison, are as the stars of the heaven. But let alone the fact that each province requires a legislature, a governor, a cabinet and a standing army of officials, to transact half a million dollars of business, there must needs be in addition the pomp and circumstance of presenting arms, firing salutes and decking out in uniforms and cocked-hats. I have heard many speeches delivered from those very provincial thrones at the opening of the legislature, and have noted some of their items. There is always a paragraph having reference to Providence and the harvests; and this seems to be Art, Science, Literature, avd Commerce. 5 quite fitting, for the harvests are about the o.\\y matter in their poHtical economy in which the hand of Providence is to be seen. In New Brunswick, I once listened to one of those pretentious speeches from the throne wherein this passage occurred, the most important one of the whole communication : " During the year, my Government have given earnest attention to the affairs of the husbandman, and the improvement of stock ; and to this end have effected the importation of a superior breed of sheep." I turned to the itemized public accounts and found that the numerical strength of the importation consisted in six animals. Imagine putting on a cocked-hat and a sword to announce that a Government had brought in Canada six ewes and rams. To sum up the matter, one capable business man could, without governor or cabinet, without volunteer or the firing of rusty cannon, effectually transact the whole affairs of the thre petty provinces by the sea. I think, therefore, that the conch sion any sensible man would arrive at in this connection wt be that these provinces ought and must rid themselves by f. one-half of their present expensive administration. This be accomplished by a maritime union, which would give for three provinces one lieutenant-governor, one legislature ar but one army of official dependents instead of three. An outsider listening to one of the maritime statesme would assuredly hear him talk of retrenchments ; hear him ciph' how much the Lieutenant-Governor squanders in paint at coal-oil, and naturally would ask himself why in thunder mention is made of the larger items? He would scarcely h xx a word about maritime union, because maritime union w( jid 6 New Papers on Canadian History, be the death of fully one-third of the professional politicians. But, suppose this part of the difificulty removed, there would still be in the background the burning question : " Which province is to have the seat of government?" Nova Scotia would rather pay two dollars in civil expenditure, where only one is needed, than that ** The Island," or New Brunswick should be able to say that she was the home of the government. It will be seen, therefore, that so long as the question remains in its present shape, the three pinched provin- ces will go on maintaining their overwhelming system of magnificence and expenditures. There is, I think, one way out of the difficulty, and although I have elsewhere indicated the way, I may be permitted to once more refer to it. A few years ago, when a teacher made application for a school in a back district, the great difficulty in his way was the question of where to board. The thought that oae settler should monopolize the honor and the profit of his domiciliation was in itself odious, and the matter was finally settled by his consenting to " board round the deestrict." Are we to infer from this, that if the government of these three little united provinces would consent to " board round the deestrict," the greatest obstacle to maritime union would be removed. Before discussing the governmental alternatives left to Canada, we must preface our remarks by stating that the political atmosphere should first be made purer if we desire to contemplate with pride the future of the country. There are now in public life in Canada some good men ; men who earnest- ly strive to use their talent for the general good : but, after all, Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. y such Wcitiiy ones are few. For the greater part, politics are in Canada what they are in the United States, one of the lowest of all the games that offer success to ability devoid of honor. The best men, and the most thoughtful among them in either country, are not to be found in political life ; such men shrink from the ordeal which is the lot of the political candidate. The successful men are generally those who are popular in the billiard-room, liberal in treating at the bar, or foremost on the turf or lucky in the gambling pool. As a rule too, these men are without means and of no social standing ; they are devoid also of education and of the knowledge indispensable to com- petently help in the making of laws. If a man enters public life without fortune and stripped of all honorable ambition, it is deadly certain that his chief aim is to further his own interests. Given an unscrupulous politician at the head of government, and he will buy these men as a butcher buys a flock of sheep. It is true that these men give a semblance of patriotism to their movements by allying themselves with a party ; but this party has become a machine, and the harm that the machine does to public interests and public morals is greater even than could be accomplished by loose fish who held themselves aloof from either side. I take it for granted that there is a splendid opportunity in store for young men in Canada, provided they stand aloof of the machines and take as their watchword, not Protection or Free-Trade, but the purification of public life. I say the young men, because the older ones have already suffered themselves to be bound to the wheel, and to the end will go sinning for the party rather than bring upon their brilliant names the reproach of " turncoat." I? New Papers on Canadian History, I affirm without dread of refutation, that our country is worse now, and not better, for her politicians. The Conrfederation is made up of interests more or less divergent , and of aims more or less conflicting ; there is a slight antagonism of religion, and there is fierce conflict of races. The best and the noblest deed patriotism could perform would be to restore harmony to that part of the instrument which is jangled and out-of-tune ; to seek and close up the joints in the Confederation; to demonstrate that the interest of the many ought to prevail over that of the few ; that Canada is the country of the Gaul as well as of the Celt and the Saxon ; and, finally, that the triumph of the country as a whole, in civilization and prosperity, is of far greater moment than the success or the aims of a section, a creed, or a race. Mr. Gold- win Smith describes the F"rench province as a wedge driven between the Eastern and Western sections of the Union ; but even this tenacious and exclusive nationality would in time blend into its surroundings if the politicians did not rekindle the old feuds periodically and were not continually unearthing for new discords. I do not think, however, that there is much room for anticipating that this province will readily submit to the logic o5 environment ; if there were, such a hope dwindles down to mere nothingness when we find that the execution of a man convicted of treason and murder furnishing a nev/ source of discord and isolation. Before dismissing this chapter of my subject, I beg to point out one condition under which much could be done to improve political morals and draw men of character and fitness into public life. I think the honor of a seat in the Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce, ^ legislature should be of itself a sufificient reward to the legislator. In England this is the rule, and instances like our own Pacific scandal, or the many frauds that blot political history in the United States is unheard of. In our country, as in the States, a man imagines that an evil political deed brings no personal taint ; until men are made to feel a reproach upon their public honor as keenly as a wound, the life of the legislator can not be an honest one, his calling an honorable calling. Honor is everything to most of the men who serve in Westminster, and for honor alone do they seek the place; their fortune puts them above the debas- ing influence money exercises, there we hear nothing of the sin so familiar to our own ears. I am aware that it would be a grave injustice to the people of a young country to place its representation and its law-making power solely into the hands of those who could afford to serve without salary ; for, at such a stage in a nation's life, every Cincinnatus handles his own plough. But the distribution of wealth is now wide enough to make the com- pensation one of honor; and wherever honor is the sole reward the best men only strives for the place. Admitting even that the twenty New York aldermen who perpetrated, in in the early morning, the foulest act known to municipal history, were not needy, we must concede on the other hand that they were the product of what is worst and dishonorable in the wards; if a higher standard of representation had obtained, candidatures as theirs would have been out of the question. 10 New Papers on Canadian History, And now, I shall endeavor to briefly discuss the three alternatives which the future holds for Canada : — First — Federation with the Empire. Second — Annexation to the United States, and Third — The formation of an independent nationality. Federation is a vast scheme ; nothing will so capture and dazzle a small mind as an omnipotent question. I may state, for the benefit of those who may have forgotten the fact, that the first public man of note in Canada to advocate Federation, was Sir Alexander Tilloch Gait ; — but, looking over the files of old Canadian papers, I find that this same gentleman was at one time the leader of a movement in Montreal which sought to bring about annexation. But, such as the idea is, I have to deny credit for its origination with Sir Alexander, or for that matter with politicians. It was con- ceived by Mr. Justin McCarthy, who deals in some very splendid kite-flying in the closing portion of the history of Our Own Times. But Mr. McCarthy derived the inspiration from Tennyson, who, as everyone acquainted with Locksley Hall knows, tells us of a time when the war drum shall throb no longer, " And the battle flags be furled, In the parliament of man, the Federation of the World." I wonder that somebody has not overtopped Lord Tenny- son and taken in the moon. Sir John Macdonald, on account of whom I have been blamed for having over-praised him in my books, has latterly favored the idea; but Sir John is now nearly seventy-two, and a medical friend of mine, Dr. Ferguson, Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce, it informs me, upon his professional reputation, that atrophy of the brain begins a little after fi*ty. Moreover, it must be remembered what influence an extra decoration, if it takes the form of a star or a pretty ribbon, has upon the understand- ing of men. What puzzles me is how men like Sir John and Sir Alexander, so thorough in their examination of questions, and so sound in judgment, should have failed to find three or four objections to this project, any one of which is fatal. For instance, the fundamental notion in the scheme is the equality of the several portions of the Empire; but, if the existing Imperial constitution were to be preserved, this would mean colonial representation in the House of Lords as well as in the Commons. Colonial soil does not produce, that I am aware, peers of the realm; and the principle of entail and primogeni- ture is lacking to propagate the dignity and the status of a transplanted peerage. Imagine my grandson, the third Lord Collins of Canada, exercising his noble energies in sweeping chimneys ! Then, as to our concern in affairs of the Empire. ^n the prestige and the power of Great Britain, we all glory, and the throbs of transport felt at the heart of the motherland thrills the colonists to the finger tips; but for all this we are not prepared to give our last man and our last shilling, as Sir George said we were ; nor, for that matter, any man or any shilling, in erecting scientific frontiers, in making disastrous excursions through the Khyber pass, or shooting blacks in Ashantee. The British tax-payer may be persuaded that to bear the brunt of this class of undertaking is proper 12 New Papers on Canadian History , for him, because they maintain and augment the potencv of the British name ; but the Canadian tax-payer does not want, and will not bear, any share in such burdens. It would be only folly to expect otherwise, and this feature of the question is not worthy of further discussion. Having disposed of these tv/o barriers, let us picture to ourselves a contingent of representatives from Canada crossing the seas to discuss at Westminster whether a projected railrcid bridge in Ontario should cross Swan's Creek or Duck's Puddle, and how much compensation deacon Estabrook's widow should receive for the slaughter of her cow or her husband by a government engine. Imagine the widow setting out from her farm to cross the wintry ocean in order to establish her claim before a listening England ! / I suppose the question of divorce would be taken from the fond hands of the Ottawa senators to the House of Lords ; and what a glorious occupation it would be for the Howards and the Stanleys to sit and hear the petition and the evidence of Martha Smith, and decide whether, after all, it was not best to turn the said Martha loose again into the matrimonial market. Some one, among those present, will probably say that the Parliament of the Empire would have cognizance of only such questions as treaties, but three or four treaties in a life-time are about the number that past history has produced. Let me repeat the fact that there is still a mightier question behind all this ; it is found in the position that the heart of the Empire would occupy in relation to its outskirts. I am aware that our statesmen leave India out of the programme; Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. ij but, at the risk of repeatin^j an old joke, I will aflFirm that this is like leaving Hamlet out of the play. Yet, even in doinff this, I can, without danger of incurring the self-reproach of wildness, permit my imagination to travel to a time when the population of Canada alone will exceed that of the Imperial Island ; so, when the representatives of goodly Canada would move into the house at Westminster, you would have the spectacle which Dundreary has best described, that of the tail waggling the dog. Let those who smile remember that a federation on the mighty plan suggested is not a compact made for the span of a statesman's life, but a constitution fashioned to endure as long as the power and the glory of the British Empire last. For these reasons and for a score of other good ones, I do not deem the scheme of federation to be either wise or practicable. It is a splendid subject to talk about, and, after all, it would be a pity to deny politicians the opportunity of discussing something grand now and again. The second alternative is Annexation, and upon this I shall not waste many words. At the outset, allow me to remark that I can conceive of little in national ambition higher than a desire to form a portion of the mightiest Republic that the world has ever seen ; but, with Canada, annexation would not mean alliance, it would simply mean absorption. Canadian individuality of course would cease, while the material condi- tion of the people would not be improved. This, however, is a question about which we can only vaguely surmise. But 1 think that those who, like ourselves, have had an opportunity of comparing certain republican institutions with corresponding 14 New Papers on Canadian History, ■ ones under English monarchy, can have no difficulty in giving the preference to those of the latter. I shall not dwell upon vhe spectacle of the ermine trailed through the party mire and ' \olden to the bad men who pull caucus wires, for I should h to speak with some bitterness. I contend that the administ. on of justice in this country is not, nor can it be held above suspicion ; for, it is not lik -'ly that the judge upon the bench can ignore the men who gave him his eminence ; he would be more than human if he were able to forget those who can, at a stated time, give him that eminence again. Nor would I, without a struggle, surrender the mild, I might say fictitious, kingly prerogative for that of the veto — which may be as arbitrary and capricious as the dictum of a Roman Emperor. If the veto is never arbitrary and never capricious, the man is to be thanked and not the constitution. ' It would be well too, for those who contemplate the grandeur of a political brotherhood extending from the Isthmus of Panama to the land of the Esquimaux, to ponder whether or not there may not be somewhere a breaking point in national expansion. Lastly, I do not think that our political vocabulary would gain much in elegancJe by the addition of such candidates as the " Mugwump" and the " Bloody Shirt." But, whether there be any force or not in my objections, I think that I am not over bold in affirming that our people do not desire annexation and never will accept it. Finally comes the proposal of national independence. At the risk of shocking some of my hearers, I will state as Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 75 my belief that national independence is the more natural and logical future of Canada. I think it just as natural and just as logical that, in good time, the Dominion should end its con- nection with the cherished motherland, as it is for the boy, attaining man's estate, to leave his father's house and, single- handed, achieve his own fortune. But, come independence when it may, there will be no reddening of the land and no serious turmoil. Mr. Gladstone stated his belief, less than three years ago, that if Canadians were to inform the mother country of their desire and readiness «:o stand alone. Great Britain would not say " No." After all, it will not be necessary to kill my friend Colonel Dennison or any of those U. E. Loyalists who carry the integrity of Canada upon the blade of their sword. To put in a plea for Canadian independence, of course you are called upon to state the gains, and you are handed a bill of costs. Upon the list of gains I shall put first what some may count as nought, and that is sentiment : take sentiment out of the breast of man and he becomes a sordid grubber for his bread. Independence would stimulate national ambition; it would give Canada a status in the eyes of the world, and divert immigration to her fertile lands. Furthermore, it would give her the power to make and fashion treaties in accord with her commercial needs, and give her a place among nations. Higher aims would prevail in the political sphere, and as a consequence ambition would be more lofty. In a word, it would give that for which some of the noblest men that ever 1 6 New Papers on Canadian History, lived, fought and bled and laid down their lives. I do not care to deal in heroics, but if the position of the guardian be higher than that oi the ward, I take it that the standing of the independent state is superior to that of the dependent one. I ■ .. do not see how there can be any dispute on this score. Some will say: "Granted, but your independent Domi- nion will be a mere weakling among nations." And others may ask: "What can she do against hostile guns? What is to hinder the Republic at her side from swallowing her up?" I deny that she will be a weakling. Her population is greater now, and her defenses are stronger than were those of the American colonies at the time of their revolt. Her population is greater than any one of nearly a dozen indepen- dent European kingdoms, and she has a wider area of fertile land than any country on the face of the earth. Alone, the valley of the Saskatchewan, according to scientific computation, is capable of sustaining 800,000,000 souls. And along these boundless stretches of fertile wheat-land, herds and flocks live, without housing, through the winter season. In short, the v; capabilities of this country, about whose future the misinformed have doubts, are so great that an adequate recital of them would be simply amazing. Let us now consider the dangers of an attack by hostile powers. In spite of all what pessimists may say, this is an age of peace and not of war ; nations are not growing more warlike but more peaceful. We have reached at last the age of commerce, and to-day the battle is that of the ploughshare anjj not of the sabre. I do not think that we need fear to see any grapeshot sent across the Niagara, for our good friends the Americans are Art, Science, LiLr attire, and Commerce. i"/ quite too busy making money lO embark into such a profitless occupation. They have given us abundant proof that war is not upon their programme ; for they maintain no mighty fleet nor grinding army, but only ships and muskets enough to serve as a police force on land and sea. Moreover, they remember that the Canadian volunteers knew how to fight as early as 1812, and they have not forgotten some of the lessons we taught them at Chrysler's farm, Chateauguay, and Queenston Heights. Looking into the future, I perceive my country spanning this broad continent, her bosom throbbing with life and great plenty. Upon the pages of her history I can read the record of her achievements, it is worthy of a land with so rich an inheritance. I see her artists kneel for inspiration before her majestic and lovely landscapes, while able pens are moulding the traditions and legends with which the land is so richly strewn into an imperishable literature, encompassing history, romance and song. Later on I imagine that I see a people — intelligent, thrifty and well-ordered — who, with roll of drum and the joyous waving of flags, celebrates the centennial anniversary of the birth of Canada; and I hear statesmen alluding to this nineteenth year of the Confederation, as the one which saw unworthy men strive to sever the ties of the sisterhood. Later on still, it seems as if I heard them relate with pride that in spite of these men's treason, the loyalty and faith of the people remained unshaken ; that they went on adding rnd building, striving and achieving, until they crowned their work with a nationhood that in the eyes of civilized mankind stood second to none in prosperity, intelligence and general contentment. ^■-« THE SCHISM IN THE ANGLO-SAXON RACE. GOLD WIN SMITH, M ( An . A., D. C. L.\ ( Ca An Address delivered before the inadian Club of New York, N the strength of the Anglo-Saxon race, — of which British institutions, now adopted by every European nation except Russia, the British Empire in India, and the American Republic, besides many a famous deed and glorious enterprise, are the proofs, — there lurks a weakness. It is the weakness of self-reliance pushed to an extreme, which breeds division and isolation. Races such as the Celtic race, weaker in the individual, are sometimes made by their clannish cohesiveness stronger in the mass. The MO New Papers on Canadian History, Celt seems to have lingered long in the clan state and to have had his character permanently moulded by it, while the Anglo- Saxon as a sea-rover came early out of that state and was trained from the infancy of the race to self-government. In enterprise and peril Anglo-Saxon will be the truest of comrades to Anglo- Saxon. But except under strong compression they are apt to fly apart. Even in travelling they hold aloof from each other. They quarrel easily and do not easily forget. Their pride perpetuates their estrangement. In their spleen and factious- ness they take the part of outsiders against each other. It is thus that the race is in danger of losing its crown. It is thus that it is in danger of forfeiting the leadership of civiliza- tion to inferior but more gregarious races, to the detriment of civilization as well as to its own disparagement. The most signal and disastrous instance of this weakness is the schism in the race caused by the American Revolution with the long estrangement that has followed, concerning which I am to speak this evening. You and I, gentlemen of the Canadian Club of New York ; you, natives of Canada, and some of you perhaps descendants of United Empire Loyalists domiciled in the United States; I, an Englishman, holding a professorship of History in an American University — represent the Anglo-Saxon race as it was before the schism, as it will be when the schism is at an end. We remind the race of the time when its magnificent realm in both hemispheres was one, and teach it to look for the time when that realm will be united again, not by a political bond, which from the beginning was unnatural and undesirable, but by the bond of the heart. While the cannon of the Fourth of July Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 21 are being fired, and the speeches are being made in honor of American Independence, we, though we rejoice in the birth of the American Republic, must toll the bell of mourning for the schism in the Anglo-Saxon race. We must ask ourselves, and so far as without offence we may exhort Americans to ask themselves, what the quarrel was about, whether it was such a quarrel as might reasonably breed, not only enmity for the time, but undying hatred ; whether it ought not long before this to have given place to kinder and nobler thoughts ; and whether by cherishing it and treating it as a point of national pride the Anglo-Saxon of the west does not disparage and traduce his own greatness. The relation of political dependence between an Anglo- Saxon colony and its mother country was probably from the beginning unsound, and being unsound it was always fraught with the danger of a violent rupture. Perhaps it may be said that nothing could have averted such a rupture except a prescience which the wisest of statesmen seldom possess, or the teaching of a sad experience such as has led England since the American Revolution to concede to Canada and her other colonies virtual independence. The Greek colonist took the sacred fire from the altar hearth of the parent state and went forth to found a greater Greece in perfect independence, owing the parent state no political allegiance but only filial affection. It might have been better if the Anglo-Saxon, fully the equal of the Greek in colonizing faculty and power of political organization, had done the same. In this way it was that England herself had been founded. But the sentiment of personal allegiance to the Sovereign in whose realm the emi- New Papers o?i Canadian History, grant had been born was strong in all feudal communities. It shows itself clearly in the covenant made on landing by the emigrants of the Mayflower, nor had it by any means lost its hold over the minds even of men who took part in the American Revolution. In the period during wh'ch the col- onies were founded this sentiment was universal. The colonies of the United Netherlands were dependencies as well as those of the Spanish, French, and British monarchies. They were dependencies, and as such they were protected and supported by the military power of the parent state. Had the British colonies not been protected and supported by the arms of England, would this continent have become the heritage of the English-speaking race ? The English colonist was stronger no doubt than the colonist of New France ; but was he stronger than the colonist of New France backed by the French fleets and armies? Might he not, instead of calling this vast and peerless realm his own, have merely shared it with three or four other races between whom and him there would have been a balance of power, rivalry, war and all the evils from which afflicted and over-burdened Europe sometimes dreams of escap- ing by means of a European Federation? Might he not even have entirely succumbed to the concentrated power of the French monarchy, wielded by the strong hand and the towering ambition of a Richelieu or a Louvois ? These are contingencies unfulfilled, but unfulfilled perhaps because one memorable morning, on the Heights of Abraham, a British army and a British hero decided that Anglo-Saxon, not French, should be the language ; that Anglo-Saxon, not French, should be the polity and the laws of the New World. And when that day Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 2j was won there burst from the united heart of the whole race in both hemispheres a cheer not only of triumph but of mutual affection and of Anglo-Saxon patriotism which history still hears amidst tht cannon of the Fourth of July. Was the connection felt by the colonists to be generally oppressive and odious, or was the cause of quarrel merely a dispute on a particular point with the home government of the day? In the first case it might be natural, if not reasonable or noble, to cherish the feud ; in the second, it clearly would be unnatural. That the connection was not felt to be oppressive and odious, but, on the contrary, to the mass of the colonists was dear and cherished, is a fact of which, if all the proofs were produced, they would more than fill my allotted hour. Franklin said, only a few days before Lexington, that he had more than once travelled almost from one end of the continent to the other, and kept a variety of company eating, drinking, and conversing with them freely, and never had heard in any conversation from any person, drunk or sober, the least expres- sion of a wish for separation or hint that such a thing would be advantageous to America. Jay said, that before the second petition of Congress, in 1775, he never heard an American of any class or of any description express a wish for the independence of the colonies. Jefferson said, that before the commencement of hostilities he had never heard a whisper of a disposition to separate from Great Britain, and after that the possibility was contemplated by all as an affliction. The Fairfax County " Resolves " denounce as a malevolent falsehood the notion breathed by the Minister into the ear of the King that the colonies intended to set up for independent States. Wash- 24 New Papers on Canadian History, ington, on assuming the command, declared, in his reply to an address from New York, that the object of the war was a restoration of the connection on a just and constitutional footing. Madison, at a later day, avowed that it had always been his impression that a re-establishment of the colonial relations to the parent country, as they were previous to the controversy, was the real object of every class of the people till the hope of obtaining it had fled. Dickinson was not more opposed to arbitrary taxation than he was to separation, and the fiery Otis might be called as a witness on the same side.* Men there were no doubt, like Samuel Adams, republicans in sentiment and devoted to political agitation, who from the beginning aspired to independence and meant to bring about a rupture ; but they found it necessary to cloak their designs, and that necessity was the proof that the general sentiment was in favor of the connection. There is another proof of the same fact which is familiar to every Canadian mind and of which Canada herself is the lasting embodiment. It is found in the number and constancy of the Loyalists whose annals have been written in a most generous spirit by a representative of their enemies, Mr. Sabine, and whose illustrious and touching heritage of mis- fortune is still the light and pride of not a few Canadian hearths in the land in which, by the insensate cruelty of the victor, the vanquished were compelled to seek a home. There seems reason to believe that fully one-half of the people, including a fair share of intelligence, remained at least passively * I owe most of these citations to Mr. Sabine. Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 2^ loyal till the blundering arrogance and violence of the royal officers estranged multitudes from the royal cause. Twenty-five thousand Americans, as Sabine thinks, according to the lowest computation, were in arms for the crown. To the end there were whole batallions of them serving in the royal army. Sabine says that Sir Guy Carleton sent away twelve thousand exiles for loyalty's sake from New York before the evacuation. Judge Jones, in the history the publication of which we owe to the New York Historical Society, gives a much larger number. Two thousand took their departure even from the shores of Republican Massachusetts. When the Netherlands cast off the yoke of Spain, when Italy cast off the yoke of Austria, how many Dutchmen or Italians went into exile out of loyalty to the oppressor ? This was not like the revolt of the Netherlands or of Italy, a rising against a foreign yoke : it was a civil war, which divided England as well as the United States. The American party in the British Parliament crippled the operations of the govern- ment and upon the first reverses enforced peace. Otherwise the loss of Cornwallis's little army would not have been the end. The contest would have been carried on by Great Britain with the same unyielding spirit which, after a struggle of twenty years, overthrew Napoleon. " It is the glory of England, " says Bancroft, " that the rightfulness of the Stamp Act was in England itself the subject of dispute. It could have been so nowhere else. The King of France taxed the French colonies as a matter of course ; the King of Spain collected a revenue by his will in Mexico and Peru, in Cuba and Porto Rico, and wherever he ruled. The ^^ New Papers on Canadian History y States-General of the Netherlands had no constitutional scruples about imposing duties on their outlying possessions. To England exclusively belongs the honor that between her and her colonies the question of right could arise ; it is still more to her glory, as well as to her happiness and freedom, that in that contest her success was not possible. Her principles, her traditions, her liberty, forbade that arbitrary rule should become her characteristic. The shaft aimed at her new colonial policy was tipped with a feather from her own wing." The reason why the colonies took arms, in short, was not that they were worse treated by their mother country than other colonists in those days^ but that they were better treated. They rebelled not because they were enslaved, but because they were so free that the slightest curtailment of freedom seemed to them slavery. Whig and Tory, as Mr. Sabine says, wanted the same thing. Both wanted the liberty which they had enjoyed ; but the Whig required securities while the Tory did not. The Tory might have said that he had the securities which Bancroft himself has enumerated, those afforded by the tradi- tions, the Constitution, the political spirit of England herself, against any serious or permanent aggression on colonial liberty ; and that while he possessed, in municipal self-government, in jury trial, in freedom of conscience and of the press, in the security of person and of private property, the substance of freedom, he would exercise a little patience and try whether the repeal of the Tea Duty could not be obtained before he plunged the country into civil war. The Stamp Duty had been repealed, and though at the s?me time the abstract right of parliament to tax the colonies had been asserted, this had been Artt Science, Literature, and Commerce, 2j done with the full concurrence of Burke, and manifestly by way of saving the dignity of the Imperial legislature. The Tea Duty, trifling in itself, was a mere freak of Townsend's tipsy genius, to which the next turn in the war of parliamentary parties might have put an end, if colonial violence had not given a fatal advantage to the party of violence in the Imperial government. Nor does it seem to have been clear from the outset, even to the mind of Franklin, that the Imperial Parlia- ment, had not the legal power of taxing the colonies, unwise and unjust as the exercise of that power might be. It was the only Parliament of the Empire, and in regard to taxation as well as other matters, in it or nowhere was sovereign power. That it had absolute power of legislation on general subjects, including trade, was admitted on all hands ; and surely the distinction is fine between the power of general legislation and a power of passing a law requiring a tax to be paid. That there should be no taxation without representation might be a sound principle, but in the days of the unreformed Parliament it did not prevail in the mother country herself. Ship-money, to which the Tea Duty has been compared, was part of a great scheme of arbitrary government. It was intended, together with other devices of fiscal extortion, to supply the revenue for an unparliamentary monarchy, the reactionary policy of which in Church and State would, in Hampden's opinion, have quenched not only the political freedom but the spiritual life of the nation, and made England the counterpart and the partner in reaction of France and Spain. Nothing like this could be said of the Tea Duty. Bancroft acquits Grenville of any design to introduce despotism into the colonies. Such a 28 New Papers o?i Canadian History, design could hardly have entered the mind of a Whig who was doing his best to reduce to a nullity the power of the King. What Grenville desired to introduce was contribution to Imperial armaments, and he may at least be credited with the statesmanship which regarded the colonies, not as a mere group of detached settlements, but as an English Empire in the New World. The King may have had absolutist notions with regard to colonial as well as to home government, but the King was not an autocrat. The bishops may have wished to introduce the mitre, but the bishops were not masters of Parliament. Chatham was more powerful than King or bishops, and had his sun broken for an hour through the clouds which had gathered round its setting, the policy of the home government towards the colonies would at once have been changed. The preamble of the Declaration of Independence sets forth a series of acts of tyrannical violence committed by George III., and it suggests that these were ordinary and characteristic acts of the King's government. Had they been ordinary and characteristic acts of the King's government they would have justified rebellion ; but they were nothing of the kind. They were measures of repression, ill-advised, precipitate and exces- sive, but still measures of repression, not adopted before violent resistance on the part of the colonists had commenced. No government will suffer its officers to be outraged for obeying its commands and their houses to be wrecked, or the property of merchants trading under its flag to be thrown into the sea by mobs. Jefferson, who penned the Declaration, is the object of veneration to many, but his admirers will hardly pretend that he never preferred effect to truth. Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce, 2g One count in Jefferson's draft of the Declaration he was obliged to withdraw. In inflated, not to say fustian phrase, and with extravagant unfairness, he charges George III., who, though he had a narrow mind, had at least as good a heart as Jefferson himself, with having been specially to blame for the existence of slavery and of the slave trade. " He has waged," it says, " cruel war against human nature, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither. This piratical warfare, the opprobium of infidel powers, is the war of the Christian King of Great Britain. Determined to keep open a market where men should be bought and sold, he has prostituted his negative for suppressing any legislative attempt to prohibit or restrain this execrable commerce." This count, as we know, was struck out in deference to the sentiments of patriots, heirs of the spirit of Brutus and Cassius, who were perpetuating and were resolved, if they could, to go on perpetuating the violation of sacred rights and the piratical warfare laid to the charge of George III. Not the least curious, surely, of historical documents is this manifesto of a civil war levied to vindicate the sacred principle that all men are born equal and with inalienable rights to liberty and happiness, when we consider that not only was the manifesto framed by a slave-owner and signed by slave-owners, but the Constitution to which the victory of the principle in the war gave birth embodied a fugitive-slave law and a legal- ization of the slave trade for twenty years. A stranger inducement surely never was held out to men to fight in the JO New Papers on Canadian History, cause of human freedom than that which was offered by Virginia to volunteers, three hundred acres of land and one sound and healthy negro. Equity compels us to admit that the want of a thorough grasp of the principle of liberty was not limited to the mind of George III. A Virginian planter fought not for freedom, the love of which had never entered his soul : he fought for his own proud immunity from control and for the subjection to his will of all around him. His haughtiness could hardly brook even association with the mercantile and plebeian New Englander in military command. Suppose the negro had taken arms in vindication of the prin- ciple that all men were born equal and with an inalienable right to liberty and happiness, his manifesto would have been tainted by no fallacy like that which taints the Declaration of Independence. The acts of tyranny and cruelty of which he would have complained, the traffic in human flesh, the confis- cation of the laborer's earnings, the chain and the lash, the systematic degradation of the slave, and all the wrongs of slavery, would have been not temporary measures of repression, adopted by authority in self-defence ; they would have been normal and characteristic of the system. On Jefferson's principle of framing indictments against governments what an indictment might the Loyalists again have framed against the government of Independence ! " We have adhered, " they might have said, " to a connection dear to all of you but yesterday, to the allegiance in which we were born, to a form of government which seems the best to us, and not to us only, but to Hamilton and others of your leading men, who avow that if Constitutional monarchy were here attainable Arty Science, Literature, and Commerce. ji they would introduce it here. For this we have been ostra- cized, insulted, outraged, tortured, pillaged, hunted down like wild beasts. The amnesty which ought to close all civil wars has been denied us ; some of us have been hanged before the face of our departing friends ; and now we are stripped of all our property and banished from our native land under threat of death if we return. Even women, who cannot have borne arms in the royal cause, if they have property, are included in the proscription and in the sentence of death. The proscription list shows, too, that membership of the Church of England is practically treated as a crime ! " Surely these complaints would have been not less pertinent than those of Jefferson against George III. Atrocities had no doubt been committed by the Loyalists, but, as Mr. Sabine says, they had been committed on both sides. Conscientious error is no crime in politics any more than in religion, though it is treated as a crime by fanatical revolutionists as well as by inquisitors. Supposing even the Loyalists could have foreseen the present success of the American Republic, and with the success the evils and dangers which disquiet thoughtful Americans, would they have been very base or guilty in shrinking from revolution? We are on the Pisgah of Democracy, but not yet in the promised land. No one is in the promised land at least, except Mr. Carnegie who, in his genial and jocund hymn of triumph, pouring forth his joyous notes like a sky-lark of demo- cracy poised over the caucus and the spoils system, ascribes it to Democratic institutions that the Mississippi is as large as twenty-seven Seines, nine Rhones, or eighty Tibers. The Democracy which shall make government the organ of public ^2 . New Papers on Canadian History, reason, and not of popular passion or of the demagogism which trades upon it, is yet in the womb of the future. Canada exults in having exchanged her royal governors for a government which is called responsible, though nothing is less responsible than a dominant party. In time, we trust, her exultation will be justified ; but there is too much reason to doubt whether the rule of an honorable and upright gentleman, trained not in the vote-market but in the school of duty, such as General Simcoe or Sir Guy Carleton, was not, politically as well as morally, better for all but professional politicians, than a reign of faction, demagogism and corruption. Forwards not backwards we must look, forwards not backwards we must go. Yet history may extend its charity to those who, when they were not smarting under intolerable or hopeless oppression, shrank from passing through a Red Sea of civil bloodshed to a Canaan which was beyond their ken. Besides the Tea Tax, no doubt, there were the restrictions on trade. These were in reality a more serious grievance, and probably they had at bottom at least as much to do with the Revolution as the Tea Tax. But such were the economical creed and the universal practice of the day. Chatham, the idol of the colonists, it was who threatened that he would not allow them to manufacture a horse-nail. The colonists themselves pro- bably, though they groaned under restrictions, shared the delusion as to the principle in pursuance of which the restric- tions were imposed, and they enjoyed privileges granted on the se -ne principle and equally irrational which were supposed to be a compensation. The light of economical science had then barely dawned. Even now the shadows of the restrictive Ari, Scmue, Literature, and Commerce. jj policy linger in the valleys though the peaks have caught the rays of morning. There were Americans who desired a Republic. Samuel Adams we can hardly doubt was one of them. Judge Jones tells us that there was a Republican association at New York with classical phrases and aspirations. The patriotism of those days, the patriotism of Wilkes and Junius, was classical, not religious, like that of Hampden and Cromwell. It affected the Roman in everything, and was not unconnected with Roman Punch. But had George III. offered his colonial subjects a Republic, his offer would have been rejected by an overwhelming majority. Jefferson was a Rousseauist and a French revolutionist in advance. When Jacobinism came on the scene his affinity to it appeared. He palliates, to say the least, the September massacres and gives his admirers reason for rejoicing that he was not a Parisian, since, if he had been, he might have canted with Robespierre and murdered with Billaud Varennes. " My own affections, " he says, " have been deeply wounded by some of the martyrs to this cause, but rather than it should have failed I would have seen the earth desolated. Were there but an Adam and Eve kept in every country and left free it would have been better than it now is." So inestimable to this slave-holder appeared the boon of liberty, even the liberty of a bedlam turned into a slaughter-house, even the liberty which went yelling about the streets with the head of a Farmer-General or the fragments of a Court lady's body on a pole. Jefferson and his fellow Jacobins had not learned what the Puritans of the English Revolution had learned, that you cannot, merely by getting rid of kings, make the soul ^4 New Papers on Canadian History, worthy to be free. They had not learned that tyranny is the offspring, not of monarchy, but of lawless passion in the possessors of power, and that it can wear the Jacobin's cap-of- liberty as well as the despot's crown. A true" brother of Rousseau who preached domestic reform and sent his own children to the foundling hospital, Jefferson declaimed against slavery and kept his slaves. His theories may have been true and his sentiments may have been beautiful, but the British government could not have been reasonably expected to shape its colonial policy so as to satisfy a Rousseauist and a Jacobin. Hamilton, as I have said, avowed his belief that con- stitutional monarchy was the best of all forms of government. He thought the House of Lords an excellent institution. Mason said that to refer the choice of a proper character for a chief- magistrate to the people would be like referring a trial of colors to a blind man. Betwen the sentiments of these men and Jefferson's democracy the difference was as wide as possible. It would have been difficult for poor George HI. to satisfy them all. It is unquestionably true that the conquest of French Canada, by setting the British colonists free from the fear of French aggression and rendering the protection of the mother country no longer necessary to them, opened the door for their revolt. But this, again, to say the least, is no proof that the colonies had been oppressed by the mother country. Had she left the French power on this continent unassailed in order that it might bridle them, her councils might have been reasonably .branded with Machiavelism and bad faith. The ostensible cause of this civil war, of the schism in our Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 35 race and the violent rending of its realm, must be confessed, I submit, to have been inadequate. In their hearts the people felt it to be so, and their feeling showed itself, I cannot help thinking, in the languid prosecution of the war on the revolu- tionary side. States fail to send their contingents or their contributions, the armies are always melting away, brave men leave the camp on the eve of battle, the Federal cause is served without enthusiasm ; only the local resistance, where the people were fighting for their homes as well as on their own ground, is really strong. Better materials for soldiers never existed, and the colonies must have set out with many thousands of men trained in colonial or Indian wars. The royal armies were about the worst ever sent out from England, and every possible blunder, both military and moral, was committed by the royal generals, who allowed advantages to slip from their hands which Wolfe or Clive would certainly have made fatal while they estranged multitudes of waverers who were inclined to return to their allegiance. Yet Washington's last words before the arrival of succor from France are the utterance of blank despair. " Be assured, " he writes to Laurens, the agent in France, in April, 1771, " that day does not follow night more certainly than it brings with it some additional proof of the impracticability of carrying on the war without the aid you were directed to solicit." Nor is it only of want of zeal and vigor that Wash- ington and those who shared his responsibility complain ; they complain, and complain most bitterly, of self-seeking, of knavery, of corruption, of monopoly and regrating, heartlessly practised in the direst season of public need, of j6 New Papers on Canadian History , murderers of the cause who were building their greatness on their country's ruin. They complain that stock-jobbing, pecu- lation, and an insatiable thirst for riches, have got the better of every other consideration in almost every order of men, and that there is a general decay both of public and of private virtue. In order that contractors may fatten, armies go unfed and unclothed, tracing the line of their winter march with blood from their shoeless feet. Congress pays its debts with paper which it tries, like the French Jacobins, to force into circulation by penal enactment, and which, like the French assignats, opens an abyss of robbery, breach of contract and gambling speculation, an abyss so foul that Tom Paine himself afterwards proposed that whoever suggested a return to paper money should be punished with death. Washington's indig- nant hand lifts a corner of the veil of secrecy which covered the proceedings of Congress and the life of its members at Philadelphia. There was at least as much public spirit among these people as there was among any other people in the world. But the cause had not been sufficient to call it forth. As soon as the tar barrels of revolutionary excitement had burned out, the enthusiasm of the Sons of Liberty failed. The insur- gents of the Netherlands, when they struggled onwards through wave after wave of blood to independence, had behind them the hell of Spanish rule. The American insurgents had behind them no hell, but a connection in which they had enjoyed the substantial benefits of freedom ; and, after tasting civil war, most of them probably wished that things could only be as they had been before. The relation between a dependent colony and the imperial Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. jy country, I repeat, was probably from the beginning false. At all events separation was inevitable ; it was impossible that the Anglo-Saxon realm in both hemispheres should remain forever under one government, when the hour of political maturity for the colonies had arrived, especially as there was a certain difference of political character between the Anglo-Saxon of the old country and the Colonist which prevented the same policy from being equally suitable to both. What is to be deplored, if any foresight or statesmanship could have prevented it, is the violent rupture. What was to be desired, if human wisdom with the lights which men then possessed could have achieved it, was that the two poitions of our race should have divided its realm in peace. Shelburne and Pitt seem to have wished and tried, when the struggle was over, to get back into something like an amicable partition of the Empire. Among other happy effects of such a settlement the fisheries' dispute would have been avoided. But the wound wns too deep and too fresh. Shelburne and Pitt failed, and tho two great Anglo-Saxon realms became absolutely foreign countries — unhappily, they became for many a day worse than foreign countries — to each other. Suppose, however, that not only the separation but the rupture was inevitable ; because the inevitable came to pass, were the two branches of the race to be enemies forever ? Let the Fourth of July orator ask himself what were the consequences to England, to America, to the French monarchy, which, out of enmity to England, lent its aid to American revo- lution, and to mankind. To England the consequences were loss of money, which she could pretty well afford, and of jS Neiu Papers on Canadian History ^ prestige which she soon repaired. The Count de Grasse, as the monument at Yorktovvn records, feceived the surrender of CornwalHs who, hemmed in by three or four times his effective number, could get no fair battle and was taken like a wounded lion pent up in his lair. But Rodney who did get fair battle did not surrender to the Count de Grasse. Spain, too, must needs interfere in the Anglo-Saxon quarrel ; but on the blood- stained and flame-lighted waters of Gibraltar sank the last armament of Spain ; and the day was not far distant when she was to invoke the aid of England as a redeemer from French conquest. England went into the fight with Napoleon, for the independence of Europe, as powerful and indomitable as she had gone into the fight with Philip II. or with Louis XIV. Her great loss was that of the political enlighten- ment which she might have received from an experiment in democracy tried by a kindred people at her side, while her politics have perhaps been somewhat deflected from the right line of development by the repellant influence of galling memories and of friction with an unfriendly Republic. The colonies having been the scene of war must have lost more men and money than England, besides the banishment, when the war had closed, of no small number of their citizens. This loss they soon repaired, but they also lost their history and that connection with the experiences and the grandeurs of the past which at once steadies and exalts a nation. What was worse than this, the Republic was launched with a revolutionary bias which was the last thing that it needed. At the same time there was engendered a belief in the right of rebellion and in the duty of sympathizing with it on all occasions, which was Artt Science, Literature, and Commerce. jg destined to bear bitter fruit at last. The rebellion of the South in i86i was manifestly inspired by sentiments nursed and consecrated by the Revolution. I remember seeing some words of Abraham Lincoln, in his earlier days, on the right of rebelling as often as people were dissatisfied with their govern- ment, which it seemed to me would have justified Southern secession. Another consequence was the schis'n of the race on this continent, issuing in the foundation of a separate and hostile Canada, which, in the course of a few years, was to encounter the Revolutionary colonies in arms and to defend itself against them with at least as much energy and as much success as they had defended themselves against England. British emigration, moreover, was diverted from America to Australia ; Anglo-Saxon cities which might have grown up here grew up on the other side of the globe ; and the Anglo-Saxon element on this continent, in which the tradition and faculty of self-government reside, was thus deprived of a re-inforcement the loss of which is felt when that element has to grapple with a vast influx of foreign emigration untrained in self-government. To the French monarchy the consequence was bankruptcy, which drew with it utter ruin, and sent the King to the scaffold, and Lafayette to an Austrian prison. To humanity the consequence was the French Revolution, brought on by the bankruptcy of the French monarchy and by the spirit of violent insurrection transmitted from America to France. Of all the calamities which have ever befallen the human race the French Revolution, as it seems to me, is the greatest. If any one is startled by that assertion let him review the history of the 40 - ■ New Papers on Canadian History, ■ . preceding half century, see what progress enlightenment had made, and to what an extent liberal and humane principles had gained a hold upon the governments ci Europe. Let him consider how much had been done or was about to be done in the way of reform by Turgot, Pombal, Aranda, Tanucci, Leopold of Tuscany, Joseph of Austria, Frederic, Catherine, and Pitt. The American Revolution brought the peaceful march of progress to a violent crisis. Then followed the catastrophe in France, the Reign of Terror, the military despotism of Napoleon, the Napoleonic wars, desolating half the world and lending ten-fold intensity to the barbarous lust of bloodshed, the despotic reaction of 1815, another series of violent revolutions, another military despotism in France, with more wars in its train ; and, on the other hand. Communism, Intransigentism, and all the fell brood of revolutionar}' chi- meras to which Jacobinism gave birth, and which, imported into this continent by political exiles, are beginning to breed serious trouble even here. Separation, once more, was inevi- table; but. if it could only have been peaceful what a page of calamity, crime, and horror, would have been torn from the book of fate ! ■ ; Then came the disastrous and almost insane war of 1812, an after-clap of the war of the Revolution. So far as that war was on the American side a war for the freedom of the seas it was righteous. Nobody can defend the Orders in Council, or the conduct of the British government, and the only excuse is that Great Britain was then in the agony of a desperate strug- gle, not for her own independence only, but for the indepen- dence of all nations. So far as it was a war of anti-British Ari, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 41 feeling and of sympathy with Jacobinism, as to a great extent it was, the protest of Webster and New England, it appears to me, may be sustained. That strife over and its bitterness somewhat allayed, there came disputes respecting the bounda- ries of Canada and at the same time bickerings about the slave trade, which England was laboring with perfect sincerity to put down. Later still came the quarrel bred by the sympathy of a party in England with Southern secession. I saw something of that controversy in my own country, stand- ing by the side of John Bright against the dismemberment of the great Anglo-Saxon community of the West, as I now stand by the side of John Bright against the dismemberment of the great Anglo-Saxon community of the East. The aristocracy of England as a class was naturally on the side of the Planter aristocracy of the South, as the Planter aristocracy of the South would, in a like case, have been on the side of the aristocracy of England. The mass of the nation was on the side of freedom, and its attitude effectually prevented not only the success but the initiation of any movement in Parliament for the support or recognition of the South. If some who were not aristocrats or Tories failed to understand the issue between the North and the South, and were thus misguided in the bestowal of their sym- pathies, let it in equity be remembered that Congress, when the gulf oi disunion yawned before it, had shown itself ready not only to compromise with slavery, but to give slavery further securities, if, by so doing, it could preserve the Union. Not a few friends of the Republic in England stifled their sympathy because they deemed the contest hopeless and thought that to encourage perseverance in it was to lure the Republic to her ruin. When New Papers on Canadian History, Mr. Gladstone proclaimed that the cause of disunion had triumphed and that Jeff. Davis had made the South a nation, some there were who echoed his words with delight ; not a few there were who echoed them in despair. I first visited America during the civil war, when the Alabama controversy was raging in its full virulence. Even then I was able to write to my friends in England that, angry as the Americans were, and bitter as were their utterances against us, a feeling towards the old country, which was not bitterness, still had its place in their hearts ; and it seems not chimerical to hope that the feel- ing which was thus shown to be the most deeply seated will in the end entirely prevail. In England, already, a display of the American flag excites none but kindly feelings, and the time must surely come when a display of the flag which American and British hands together planted on the captured ramparts of Louisburg will excite none but kindly feelings here. The political feud between the two branches of the race would now I suppose be nearly at an end, if it were not for the Irish, or rather for the Irish vote. I am not going into the question of Home Rule, or as it would more properly be called, the question of Celtic secession. But I wish to impress upon my hearers one fact, which, unless it can be denied or its plain significance can be rebutted, is decisive, as it seems to me, of the Irish question. The north of Ireland is not more favored by nature than other parts ; its laws, its institutions, its connection with Great Britain under the Union, are pre- cisely the same as those of the other provinces ; the only dif- ference is that, having been settled by the Scotch, it is mainly Anglo-Saxon and Protestant, while the rest of the Island is Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. ^j Celtic and Catholic ; and the north is prosperous, contented, law-abiding and loyal to the Union. This fact, 1 say, appears to me decisive, nor have I ever seen an attempt on the part of secessionists to deal with it or rebut the inference. To extend Anglo-Saxon constitutionalism and legality to the clannish and lawless Celt, who after the Anglo-Saxon settlement in England still had his abode in Cornwall, Wales, the Highlands of Scot- land, and Ireland has been a hard and tedious task. Cornwall was Anglo-Saxonized early, though traces of the Celtic temper in politics still remain. Wales was Anglo-Saxonized later by Edward the First, and the Kings his successors, who perfected his work. The Highlands of Scotland were not Anglo-Saxon- ized till 1745, when the last rising of the Clans for the Pre- tender was put down, and law, order, settled industry, and the Presbyterian Church penetrated the Highland glens with the standards of the United Kingdom. The struggle to make the Celtic clans of Ireland an integral and harmonious part of the Anglo-Saxon realm, carried on from age to age amidst un- toward and baffling influences of all kinds, especially those of the religious wars of the Reformation, form one of the most disastrous and the saddest episodes of history ; though it must be remembered that struggles not unlike this have been going on in other parts of Europe where national unification was in progress, without receiving so much critical attention or making so much noise in the world. One great man was for a moment on the point of accomplishing the work and stanching forever the source of tears and blood. That Cromwell intended to ex- tirpate the Irish people is a preposterous calumny. To no man was extirpation less congenial ; but he did intend to make 44 New Papers on Caradian History, an end of Irishry, with its clannishness, lawlessness, supersti- tion, and thriftlessness, and to introduce the order, legality, and settled industry of the Anglo-Saxon in its place. To use his own expression he meant to make Ireland another England, as prosperous, peaceful, and contented. It is impossible that British statesmen can allow a separate realm of Celtic lawless- ness to be set up in the midst of the Anglo-Saxon realm of law ; if they did, the consequence would be civil war, murder- ous as before, between the two races and religions in Ireland, then reconquest and a renewal of the whole cycle of disasters. Nor can any government suffer the lives, property, and indus- try of its law-abiding citizens to be at the mercy of a murderous conspiracy, or permit terrorism to usurp the place of the law. Butchering men before the faces of their wives and families, beating out a boy's brains in his mother's presence, setting fire to houses in which men are sleeping, shooting or pitch-capping women, boycotting a woman in travail from medical aid, mob- bing the widow as she returns from viewing the body of her mur- dered husband, driving from their calling all who will not obey the command of the village tyrant, mutilating dumb animals and cutting off the udders of cows, blowing up with dynamite public edifices in which a crowd of innocent sightseers of all ages and both sexes are gathered — these ore not things which civilization reckons as liberties. They are not things by which any practical reform can be effected, by which any good cause can be advanced. America has seen something of Celtic law- lessness as well as Great Britain, and more Irish probably were put to death at the time of the draft riots in this city than have suffered under all those special acts for the prevention of Ai'i, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 4^ crime in In;land, miscalled coercion acts, the verj^ number and frequent renewal of which only show that the British govern- ment is always trying to return to the ordinary course of law. Americans do not allow conspiracy to usurp the place of legal authority, or one man to deprive anothei of his livelihood by boycotting at his will ; nor do I suppose that holders of real estate in New York regard with philanthropic complacency the proposal to repudiate rents. When the other European governments find it necessary to put forth their force in order to oppose disturbance, when Austria proclaims a state of siege, or Germany resorts to strong measures in Posen and Alsace-Lorraine, no cry of indignation is heard ; when Italy sends her troops to restore order and crush an agrarian league which is dominating by assassination and outrage like that of Ireland, no American legislatures pass resolutions denouncing the Italian government and expressing sympathy with the Camorra. It seems to be believed that Ireland is governed as a dependency by a British Viceroy with despotic power, who oppresses the people at his pleasure or at the pleasure of tyrannical England. I doubt whether many Americans are dis- tinctly conscious of the fact that Ireland like Scotland has her full representation in the United Parliament, and if her mem- bers would act like those from Scotland, might obtain any practical reform which she desired. The Lord-Lieutenant has been compared to an Austrian satrapy in Italy. An Austrian satrapy, with a full representation of the people in Parlia- ment, a responsible executive, trial by jury, habeas corpus, and a free press ! It happens that thirty years ago the British House of Commons voted by an overwhelming majority the /f.6 New Papers on Canadian History, abolition of the Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland, but the bill was dropped, as Lord St. Germain, the Lord-Lieutenant of that day formally announced, in deference to the expressed wishes of the Irish people. ;,.;;;.: V' '• I do not blame Americans for misjudging us; the au- thority by which they are misled is apparently the highest. But they too know what faction is, and that in its evil parox- ysms it is capable not only of betraying but of traducing the country. Americans will presently see that the dynamite of Herr Most and that of Rossa is the same ; that the seeds of disorder and contempt for law scattered in Ireland will spring up here ; that war between property and plundering anarchy impends in this as well as in other countries, and that you can- not strengthen the hands of anarchy in one country without strengthening them in all. Openly, and under its own banner, anarchism is making formidable attempts to grasp the govern- ment of American cities. It is not only your neighbor's house that is on fire and the flames of which you are fanning, it is your own. Nor ought Americans to forget that they have re- cently themselves set us an illustrious example. By them Englishmen have been taught resolutely to maintain the integ- rity of the nation, even though it be at the cost of the most tremendous of civil wars. But then there is the social friction. At the time of the Revolution one ultra-classical patriot proposed that the language of the new Republic should be Latin, forgetting that Latin was the language of Nero and his slaves as well as of the Gracchi. I sometimes almost wish that his suggestion had been adopted, so that the two branches of our race might not Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 47 have had a common tongue to convey their carpings, scoflfings, and gibings to each other. English travellers come scurrying over the United States with notions gathered from Martin Chuzzlewit, seeing only the cities, where all that is least American and least worthy is apt to be gathered, not the farms and villages, in which largely reside the pith, force, and virtue of the nation ; ignorant of the modes of living and travelling, running their heads against social custom, carrying about their own bath-tubs, and dressing as though they were among hunter tribes. Then they go home and write magazine articles about American society and life, Americans go to England full of Republican prejudice and sensitiveness, with minds made up to seeing nothing but tyranny or servility on all sides, — ignorant, they also, of the ways of the society in which they find themselves, construing every oversight and every word that they do not understand as a studied insult not only to themselves but to their Republic. I was reading the other day a book on British Aristocracy by a distinguished American, the lion's provider to one still more distinguished. He was so far free from prejudice as to admit that English judges did not often take bribes. But, in English society, he found a repulsive mass of aristocratic insolence on one side and of abject flunky- ism on the other. The position of the men of intellect, the Tennysons, Brownings, Thackerays, Macaulays, Darwins, Hux- leys, and Tyndalls he found to be that of the Russian serf, who holds the heads of his master's horses while his master flogs him. He represents the leaders of English society as going upon their knees for admission to his parties, which ought to have mollified him, but did not. It seems that when he was ^8 New Papers on Canadian History y in England there was only one high-minded gentleman there, and even that one was in the habit of traducing the hospitality which he enjoyed. If people despise aristocracy as much as they say they do, would they be likely to talk quite so much about it ? So far from the British people being the most abject slaves of aristocracy, they are the one nation in Europe which would never tolerate the existence of a noblesse and always insisted on the equality of high-born and low-born before the law. Aristocracy has survived in England for the very reason that there alone its privileges were closely curtailed and its arrogance was jealously repressed. In England, as in other countries, aristocracy as a political power is about to pass away, and there will be other and more rational guarantees of order and stability for the future. But I do not believe that the British aristocracy is worse than other rich and idle classes ; I do not believe it is worse than the idle sons of millionaires in New York. It has at least some semblance of duties to perform. All its sins are committed under an electric light and telegraphed to a prurient world, which by its very craving for aristocratic scandal shows that it has a flunky's heart. As to the pomps and vanities of life they seem to me to be pretty much the same on both sides of the Atlantic. Assured rank, indeed, is less given to display than new born wealth. Surely all our studies of the philosophy of history and social evolution have not been utterly in vain. We ought to know by this time that in a land old in story and full of the traditions and relics of the past, beneath the shadow of ancient cathedrals, gray church towers, legendary mansions and immemorial oaks,— a land, of which the trim and finished loveliness bespeaks Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 4g fourteen centuries of culture, — the structure of society cannot be the same that it is in this New World. We ought to have philosophy enough to admit that a structure of society different from ours may have graces, perhaps even virtues, of its own. The old cannot at a bound become as the new, nor would it be better for us if it could. Americanize the planet, and you will retard not quicken the march of civilization, which, to propel it, requires diversity and emulation. England may be politically behind America, and have lessons to learn from America which she will learn the more readily the more kindly they are imparted. But she is not a land of tyrants and slaves. Her monarchy does not cost the people more than Presidential elections. Good Mr. Carnegie, who deems it the special boon of Democracy that he is perfectly the equal of every other man, is no more politically the equal of a Boss than I am of a Duke. One liberty England possesses, unless my patriotism misleads e, in a degree peculiar to herself, and perhaps it is of ah oerties the most vital and the most precious. During this Irish controversy, terribly momentous and exasperating as it is to us, Irish Nationalists and American sympathizers with Irish nationalism, have been allowed freely to express their opinions even in language far from courteous to Englishmen through all the magazines and organs of the English press. The English press is under the censorship neither of kings, nor of th _• mob. Perhaps the censorship of the mob is not less inimical to the free expression of truth, less narrowing or less degrading than that of kings. The literary men of America, whose influence on sentiment must be great, are apt to be somewhat anglophobic. They ^o New Papers on Canadian History, have reason to feel galled by the unfair competition to which the absence of international copyright subjects them. I was reading, not long ago, an American book of travel in Italy, very pleasant, except that on every other page there was an angry thrust at England, where the writer told us he would be very sorry to live, though it did not appear that the presumptuous Britons were pressing that hateful domicile upon him. Then, after harping on English grossness, brutality, and barbarism, he goes to worship at the shrines of Byron, Keats, and Shelley ; as though the poetry of Byron, Keats, and Shelley were anything but the flower of that plant, the root and stem of which are so coarse and vile. A Confederate flag is descried, floating probably over the home of some exile, on the Lake of Como. The writer is transported with patriotic wrath ac the sight. Two Englishmen on board the steamer, as he tells us, grin ; and he takes it for granted that their grinning is an expression of their British malignity ; yet, surely, it may have been only a smile at his emotion, at which the reader, though innocent of British malignity, cannot possibly help smiling. " Heaven knows," a character is made to say in an American novel now in vogue, " I do not love the English. I was a youngster in our great war, but the iron entered into my soul when I understood their course towards us and when a gallant young sailor from our town, serving on the Kearsage in her fight with \.\\^ Alabama (that British vessel under Confederate colors) was wounded by a shot cast in a British arsenal, and fired from a British cannon by a British seaman from the Royal Naval Reserve transferred from the training-ship Excellent^ The writer shows that by the very way in which he strives to color the facts that Art, Science, Literahire, and Commerce. 5/ he knows the charge here levelled against the British govern- ment and nation to be unjust ; and art ill fulfills her mission when she propagates false history for the purpose of keeping up ill-will between nations. The soldiers, by whom it might be supposed that the traditions of hostility would be specially preserved and cherished, I have usually found not bitter ; but soldiers seldom are. When Mr, Ingalls, or Mr. Fry, pours out his vocabulary upon England and upon us who rejoice in the name of English- men, I want to ask them, whether Ingalls and Fry are not English names. These gentlemen must have very bad blood in their own veins. Their education too must have been poor, if it is on English literature that their minds have been fed. The character of races, though perhaps not indelible, is lasting. It passes almost unchanged through zone after zone of history. The Frenchman is still the Gaul ; the Spaniard is still the Iberian. Abraham still lives in the Arab tent. Yet we are asked by American anglophobists to believe that of two branches of the same race, which have been parted only for a single century, and have all that time been under the influence of the same literature and similar institutions, one is a mass of brutality and infamy, while the other is unapproachable perfection. There has no doubt been a certain division, both of char- acter and of achievement, between the Anglo-Saxon of the old country and the Anglo-Saxon of the New World. The Anglo- Saxon of the New World has organized Democracy, with the problems of which, after the Revolution, he was distinctly brought face to face ; whereas the Anglo-Saxon of the old §2 New Papers on Canadian History, country, having glided into Democracy unawares, while he fancied himself still under a monarchy because he retained monarchical forms, is now turning to his brother of the New World for lessons in Democratic organization. With the Anglo-Saxon of the old country has necessarily hitherto remained the leadership of literature and science, which the race has known how to combine in full measure with political greatness. With the Anglo-Saxon of the old country have also remained the spirit of Elizabethan adventure and the faculty of conquering and of organizing conquest. Surely, in the British Empire in India, no Anglo-Saxon can fail to see at all events a splendid proof of the valor, the energy, the fortitude, and the governing-power of his race. Remember how small is the number of the Anglo-Saxons who rule those two hundred and fifty millions. Remember that since the establishment of British rule there has never been anything worthy the name of a political revolt, that at the time of the great mutiny all the native princes remained faithful, that when Russia threatened war the other day one of them came zealously forward with offers of contributing to the defence of the Empire. Remember that the Sikhs, with whom yesterday England was fighting desperately for ascendancy, are now her best soldiers, while their land is her most flourishing and loyal province. Yet we are told that the Anglo-Saxon can never get on with other races ! It is not on force alone that the British Empire in India is founded ; the force is totally inadequate to produce the moral and political effects. The certainty that strict faith will always be kept by the government is the talisman which makes Sepoy and Rajah alike loyal and true. In an American Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. §j magazine, the other day, appeared a rabid invective against British rule by one of those cultivated Hindoos, Baboos as they are called, who owe their very existence to the peace of the Empire, and if its protection were withdrawn would be crushed like egg-shells amidst the wild collision of hostile races and creeds which would ensue. The best answer to the Baboo's accusations is the freedom of invective which he enjoys, and which is equally enjoyed by the native press of India. What other conqueror could ever afTord to allow perfect liberty of complaint, and not only of complaint but of denunciation to the conquered ? We, gentlemen of the Canadian Club of New York, heirs not of the feuds of our race, but of its glorious history, its high traditions, its famous names, can look with equal pride on all that it has done, whether in the Old World or in the New, from New York to Delhi, from Winnipeg or Toronto to Sidney or Melbourne, and rejoice in the thought that though the roll of England's drum may no longer go with morning around the world, and though the sun may set on England's military empire, morning in its course round the world will forever be greeted in the Anglo-Saxon tongue and the sun will never set on Anglo-Saxon greatness. And if in the breast of any American envy is awakened by the imperial grandeur of his kinsmen in the Old World, perhaps there is a thought which may allay his pain. Power in England is passing out of the hands of the imperial classes, and those which gave birth to the heroic adventurers, into those of classes which, whatever may be their other qualities, are neither imperial nor heroic. It seems to be the grand aim of statesmen, by protective tariffs and ecocomical legislation of ^4 New Papers on Canadian History, all kinds, to call into existence factory-life on as large a scale as possible, as though this were one thing needed to make communities prosperous and happy. Wealth, no doubt, the factory-hand produces, and possibly he may prove hereafter to be good material for the community and the Parliament of Man, but he is about the worst of all material for the nation. He is apt to be a citizen of the labor market and to have those socialistic or half-socialistic tendencies with which patriotism cannot dwell. England has been inordinately enrich^-d by the vast development of her manufactures. But for her force, perhaps even for her happiness, it would be better if Yorkshire streams still ran unpolluted to the sea and beside them dwelt English hearts. It seems at all events scarcely possible that such an electorate should continue to hold and administer the Indian Empire. . , : -, . ;, Some day we may be sure the schism in the Anglo-Saxon race will come to a end. Intercourse and intermarriage, which are every day increasing ; the kindly words and acts of the wiser and better men on both sides; the influence of a common literature and the exchange of international courtesies and good ofTfices — these, with all-healing time, will at last do their work. The growing sense of a common danger will cause Americans, if they hold property and love order, to give up gratifying their hatred of England by fomenting disorder in Ireland. The feud will cease to be cherished, the fetish of hatred will cease to be worshipped, even by the meanest members of either branch of the race. No peddler of inter- national rancor will then be any longer able to circulate his villain sheets and rake up his shekels by trading on the Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce, ^§ lingering enmity of the Anglr.'" ,-. i of the New World to his brother beyond the sea. But between the two branches, of the race which the Atlantic divides, the only bond that can be renewed is that of the heart ; though I have sometimes indulged a thought that there might at some future day be an Anglo-Saxon franchise, enabling a member of any English- speaking community to take up his citizenship in any other English-speaking commr.iity without naturalization, and that, in this manner, the only manner possible, might be fulfilled the desire of those who dream of Imperial Federation. But the relations of the English-speaking communities of Canada to the English-speaking communities of the rest of this continent are manifestly destined by nature to be more intimate. I do not speak of political relations, nor do I wish to raise the veil of the future on that subject ; but the social and commercial relations of Canada witn the United States must be those of two kindred communities dwelling not only side by side, but on territories interlaced and vitally connected in regard to all that concerns commerce and industry with each other, while united these territories form a continent by themselves. In spite of political separation, social and commercial fusion is in fact rapidly going on. There are now large colonies of Cana- dians south of the line, and Anglo-Saxons from Canada occupy, so far as I can learn, not the lowest grade, either in point of energy or of probity, in thehierarchy of American industry and trade. One name at all events they have in the front rank of American finance. Of those American fishermen, between whom and the fishermen of Canada this dispute has arisen, not a few, it seems, are Canadians. Not a little of Canadian ^6 New Papers on Canadian History^ commerce on the other hand is in American hands. The railway system of the two countries is one ; and they are far advanced towards a union of currency. Of the old estran- gement, which the Trent afTair for a moment revived, almost the last traces have now disappeared and social reconciliation is complete. It is time then that the Anglo-Saxons on this continent should set aside the consequences of the schism and revert to the footing of common inheritance, instituting free- trade among themselves, allowing the life-blood of commerce to circulate freely through the whole body of their continent, enjoying in common all the advantages which the continent affords, its fisheries, its water-ways, its coasting-trade, and merging forever all possibility of dispute about them in a complete and permanent participation. The Fisheries dispute will have been a harbinger of amity in disguise if it leads U3 at last to make a strenuous effort to bring about a change so fraught with increase of wealth and other benefits to both countries as Commercial Union. The hour is in every way propitious if only American politicians will abstain from insulting or irritating England, whose consent is necessary, by reckless efforts to capture the Irish vote. Let us not allow the hour to pass away in fruitless discussion, but try to translate our wishes into actions. Nor need any Canadian fear that the political separation to which perhaps he clings will be forfeited by accepting Commercial Union. A poor and weak nationality that would be which depended upon a customs line. Introduce free-trade at once throughout the world and the nationalities will remain as before. Abolish every custom- house on the Pyrenees, France and Spain will still be nations Ari, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 57 as distinct from each other as ever. If political union ever takes place between the United States and Canada, it will not be because the people of the United States are disposed to aggres sion upon Canadian independence, of which there is no thought in any American breast, nor because the impediments to commercial intercourse and of the free interchange of commercial services will have been removed, but because in blood and character, language, religion, institutions, laws and interests, the two portions of the Anglo-Saxon race on this continent are one people. ^^e^ '€<^ d^^^ THE GREAT CANADIAN NORTH-WEST. BV A\v. JOHN C. ECCLESTON, D. D. ( Read before the Canadian Club \ of A\-u< York. NWARD has been the march of Canada in the path of progress through the development of its rail- way system and the enlargement of its canals. Therefore, and for two special reasons, I gladly accept the honor conferred upon me by your kind invitation to address you this evening upon " the resources of the Dominion of Canada — as developed by the recently completed Canadian Pacific Railroad." First, — Because it affords me a fitting opportunity to acknowledge my personal indebtedness to Sir George Stephen, 6o New Papers on Canadian History, and Mr. W. C. Van Home for their great kindness in extend- ing to me the courtesies of their road, whereby I had the experience of a most thoroughly enjoyable summer vacation. Second, — Because I am glad to have a chance to tell my countrymen of the " States " (for I am sure they are for the most part as ignorant as I was), some things they ought to know, something about this great Dominion of the North, just knit together by this Iron Nexus into one grand Confederation, reaching from ocean to ocean, and advancing with giant strides to imperial power. ' ' We have been so long accustomed to see Canada figure on our maps as a narrow strip, with scattered villages and towns along the St. Lawrence and the great lakes, with innumerable smaller lakes and rivers, that it is difficult for us to realize that a rival nation, with a territory vastly larger than the whole American Union (not counting Alaska) and hardly eighteen years old, has arisen upon our borders, and like a young giant, set about making a glorious future for itself ; building up great manufactories, levelling the mountains, fillinf^- up the valleys, bridging the rivers of the continent, digging canals, constructing thousands of miles of railroad, whereby to consolidate its empire, and make accessible its boundless natural resources of timber, mines and agricultural lands. We are in the habit of laughing at the mistakes of English writers and tourists, concerning the geography of the United States, but this ignorance about America is rot half so great as the ignorance of most of our people respecting a country which is at our very doors. Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 6i The battle on the Heights of Abraham (Sept. 13, 1759) determined the ascendancy of the Anglo-Saxon race and tongue in Arnerica. When the news of Montcalm's defeat and death reached Paris, Voltaire, with his characteristic flippancy, said : " Well, we are well rid of 1 5,000 K;igues of snow and ice." Madame de Pompadour rejoiced, and said : " Now that Montcalm is dead, the King will have some peace " ! But the people of France, who had gloried in the heroic deeds of Cartier, Champlain and De Salle, and the zealous labors of the martyred missionary fathers in the New World, mourned over the loss with a sore lamentation. The Marquis de Choiseul, upon whom devolved the humiliating duty of signing the treaty of peace, was discon- solate. Turning to the British plenipotentiary, he said : " We shall be avenged : so long as France held Canada, your Ameri- can colonies, needing your protection against a foreign power on their border, had to remain submissive, but now that you have driven us away, they will rebel against your authority, and assert their independence." We need not stop to relate how the Frenchman's prophecy was verified, how in process of time, the thirteen American colonies rebelled against King George, not that they loved the mother country (old England) less, but because they loved the liberties of Englishmen more, how during the terrible years of the revolution, the tide of a fratricidal war raged along the shores of the St. Lawrence and the great lakes. But, all this is of the past. We rejoice that our lot has fallen on better days, that the strife of angry contention is forever ended — the sword supplanted by arbitration, and that 62 New Papers on Canadian History, henceforth, the only contest there can ever be between these two branches of the great Anglo-Saxon race, will be which of the two can best improve the magnificent inheritance God has divided between them in the western world. MONTREAL. The rattling of the train through the Victoria Bridge (one mile and three-quarters long), the master-piece of Brunell and Stephenson, announced our arrival at the city of The Royal Mount. By ten o'clock F. M., I was safely and most comfort- ably housed at the Windsor Hotel. I made the most of the three days I had for viewing the city, and could profitably have prolonged the time to a week, so numerous are its interesting sights and so beautiful its situation, that it is considered by many persons one of the finest cities on this continent. Three miles of river frontage give ample room for shipping of every class. Back of it are, first long lines of warehouses and stores, then great massive public buildings and churches, and, further on, palatial mansions stretching westward to the foot of the mountain. Indications of a quiet, inobtrusive and substan- tial wealth are apparent on every side. It is asserted that there is no wealthier city area in the world than that which lies between the parallelogram made by Beaver Hall Hill and the foot of Mount Royal on the one hand, and Dorchester and Sherbrooke streets on the other. The view from the moun- tain, up and down the river, and over the Adirondack Mountains of the State of New York, and the Green Mountains of Vermont, is unsurpassingly grand and unique. The city claims 150,000 inhabitants. Here lived in former days the great Ari, Science, Literaiiire, and Commerce, 6j feudal lords of the fur-trade : the McTavishes, the McCiillimans, the McKenzies and the Frobishers, and other magnates of the Hudson Bay and the North-west companies, at the time of their greatest prospenty. It was at this spot that, from time to time, the Ottawas, Hurons, Algonquins and other tribes, who hunted the countries bordering on the great lakes, would come down the Ottawa river in canoes, laden with rich peltries, and barter them off for blankets, kettles, guns, knives, and all kinds of " fire-water," upon all which, the fur-lords were sure to make a profit of two or three hundred per cent. To-day, the Indian and the beaver, frightened alike by the scream of the iron horse, have retired to the inaccessible defiles of the Rocky Mountains, and the fur-lords have also vanished, but the beautiful city they had adorned and enriched still remains to challenge our admiration. -• OTTAWA. Before commencing our journey across the continent, journey which properly begins at Montreal, we will stop a few hours at the new and beautiful city of Ottawa, the political— as Montreal is the commercial — metropolis of the Dominion. Tossed backward and forward between Toronto, Kingston, Quebec and Montreal, the legislators of Canada have here found an abiding resting place. Ottawa is beautifully situated upon high bluffs, between the spray and roars of two headlong rivers, the Ottawa and the Gatineau. The Parliament buildings, which cover an area of four acres and which were erected at a cost of $5,000,000, are in gothic style of the Xllth century, unblemished by any surplus ornamentation. No edifices on 64 New Papers on Canadian History, this continent are more imposing and pleasing at the same time than these buildings. Built of a cream-colored sand-stone, the dressings are of Ohio free-stone, while the arches, over-windows and doors are of the warm Potsdam red-stone, a combination of colors most gratifying to the eye. Ottawa is the centre of the lumber interests. Last year the revenue of the Dominion from the rental and leases of its forest limits was $1,300,000. The number of feet of lumber cut was 1,600,000,000, repre- senting a value of $58,000,000. Among the far-seeing, anxiety is felt about the prodig- ious annual destruction of the forests, and they do not hesitate to declare that in twenty-five years at the present rate the lumber interest of the Dominion will be a thing of the past. One of the main causes of the forest waste, and one for the most part preventable, are forest fires kindled by hunters and others, who take no pains to extinguish their camp-fires or cover the embers with earth. Pioneer settlers clear the land by setting the under- brush on fire ; should a strong wind arise, the flames sweep onwards with a roar that is apalling. Great pine and cypress trees, of two and three hundred years of age, are shrivelled up like straws, the flames mounting almost in an instant from the roots to the topmost branches. The very surface of the soil is burnt up and the fiery hurricane, for thousands of acres, leaves nothing in its passage but hideous charred trunks, naked stones and mossless rocks. It is estimated that in 1881, the autumn fires in the Province of Ontario consumed $15,000,000 worth of timber. Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 6^ THE ORIGIN AND INCEPTION OF THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY. The daily express leaves Montreal for Vancouver at 8 P. M., or 20 o'clock, as they call it ; we take the sleeper at Ottawa, about midnight ; but before doing so, there are several interest- ing preliminaries deserving our attention. First, a word about the history of the railroad. As far back as 185 1, a Company was projected at Toronto by Mr. Allen McDonald and the Hon. Henry Sherwood, by the name of the Lake Superior and Pacific Railroad. This, as well as similar schemes by the Hon. A. W. Morin and Mr. John Rose, came to naught, chiefly on account of the adverse report of Capt. Palliser who had been sent, in 1857, by the Imperial Government to survey and report upon the several proposed routes. After a four years' exploration, he pronounced the region of the Laurentides, around Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods, impracticable for a railroad (speaking as an engineer), and the Rockies as an obstacle not to be overcome. He declared the central part of British America forever shut off by nature from both the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards. But Canada, having meanwhile consolidated her far distant and outlying provinces into a Federal Dominion, the v^uestion of binding these several Provinces together into some intimate and practicable union, became an urgent political as well as social and commercial necessity. Americanizing influences were in dangerous proximity at Winnipeg and Victoria. St. Paul and Portland and San Francisco were only a few hours distant ; Ottawa was many weary days' journey remote. 66 New Papers on Canadia7i History, It is unnecessary to dwell upon the interminable and fierce battles, the squabbles and scandals of the two rival parlia- mentary parties — the Liberal and Conservative ; or among the greedy speculators who opened wide their mouths to swallow the big plum of 25,cxx),ooo acres of the best wheat-land in the world, besides endless bonuses, and who gnashed and ground their teeth when they failed to receive them. When the Conser- vatives returned to power in 1878, the work of construction, meanwhile undertaken by the Government, was pushed forward with much energy, and the contract for the British Columbia section, the most difficult of all, was awarded to Onderdonk & Co. of New York. r , - In 1880, finding the labor too great, the Government wisely determined to put the construction of the road in the ha'^ds of a syndicate, which subsequently resolved itself into Com- pany. The syndicate was to receive from the Government 25,oco,cxX) acres of land, $25,000,000 in cash, und sections 2 and 4 completed were given them as a present. The con- struction of all rival roads was prohibited for twenty years, all material for construction was to enter the Dominion free of duty, a free gift was made of all land required for workshops :\nd stations, and an entire exemption of the whole property of the Company from taxation for twenty-five years. The road was, in consideration of these generous concessions, to be completed and put in running condition by May 1st, 1 891. The road is divided into four sections, and from Montreal to Callander it follows the old Canada Central Railroad. Section First begins at Callander and ends at Port Arthur, 657 miles. - - Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 6j Section Second, from Port Arthur to Red River, 428 miles. Section Third, from Red River to Sarona Ferry, I 252 miles. Section Fourth, from Sarona Ferry to Port Moody, 213 miles. r- ^ s Total, 2,555 rniles from Callander to the Pacific Ocean. . , No sooner was the transfer to the syndicate accomplished than the work commenced with unparalleled vigor. The last rail was laid and the last spike driven on the 7th of November, 1885. Thus in the short period of five years or four years less than the contract with the Government called for, the road was thoroughly equipped and in running order. CHARACTER OF THE ROAD AND ENGINEERING DIFFICULTIES. More than 300 miles of the road have been cut through the hardest rock known to geologists — sienite and trap ; moun- tains had to be tunnelled by the score ; innumerable rivers of various sizes had to be spanned, some by iron bridges over a 1, 00a feet in length ; one by a wooden bridge 286 feet above the water — the highest structure of its kind in America. No less than fourteen streams had to be diverted from their natural beds, by tunnelling through the solid rock. The work went on summer and winter, sometimes the mercury stood at 30 and 40 degrees below zero. On the Lake Superior section there was at one time an army of 1,200 men, and 2,000 teams of horses, which were supplemented in winter time by 300 teams of dogs. The entile line is thoroughly built with the best of 68 New Papers on Canadian History, material, nothing was spared to make it first class in every particular. The rails are of steel, and of English and Prussian manu- facture. The passenger equipment embraces many novelties not found elsewhere. The sleeping and dining-room cars are finished with rich upholstery, delicate carvings and antique brass-work, solid English comfort and artistic effect have been sought for in every detail. Bath-rooms, for ladies and for gentlemen, are pro- vided in the sleepers, and luxurious accommodation for smokers. 1 he fare in the dining-room cars is all that the most fastidious epicure cculd ask, choice fruits from California are furnished in season, all the way across the continent. THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILROAD BRIDGE ACROSS THE ST, LAV/RENCE, I cannot omit drawing your attention to a great achieve- ment in railroading that has been accomplished by the directors of the Canadian Pacific Railroad during the past summer, viz, : the bridge across the St, Lawrence, about one mile below the village of Lachine, where the river has a width of 3,300 feet and a depth of 40 feet. The construction of this bridge, which is only a few miles above the Victoria bridge, furnishes a fine illustration of the great progress made in the mechanical arts during the last twenty-five years. The " Victoria " costs. $8,000,000 and six years were consumed in its construction, the " Canadian Pacific " has been completed in less than one year, at a cost of less than $1,000,000. The masonry consists of two abutments and fifteen piers. Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 6g There are four land spans of 80 feet in length. Eight arches of 240 feet each, of the ordinary Pratt truss, span the river from both shores, while the channel portion of the river is crossed by two flanking spans of 270 feet in length, and two through " Cantilever " spans, each 408 feet long, these latter spans have an elevation of 60 feet above ordinary summer- water level. The most difficult portion of the work was that of anchor- ing the piers of solid masonry on the rocky bed which, in some instances, was not only 40 feet below the surface but covered by a " hard pan " deposit 14 feet in thickness, which had all to be removed in a current of ten miles an hour. This difficult task was performed under the supervision of Mr. R. J. Reid of the firm of Messrs. Reid and Fleming. Original and most ingenious methods were resorted to. After the bottom had been carefully cleaned off with a dredge, a bottomless caisson made of square timber, with carefully caulked sides, was sunk upon the site of the pier; once sunk the small spaces between the rock and the bottom of the caisson were carefully packed by divers with bags of concrete. As soon as this was accomplished, large iron boxes containing two cubic yards of concrete were lowered inside the caisson, and by means of a crank acting upon a false bottom, the concrete was deposited in the caisson which on an average contained but one foot of water. The concrete was composed of one part Portland cement, one part sand and three parts broken stone. The day after the concrete had reached one-third the depth of the caisson, it was found suffi- ciently hardened to allow pumping and stop water from entering. After levelling this first course, it was then ready to receive yo New Papers on Canadian History, the masonry, which in some cases Hes at a depth of 25 feet from the water level. This system had the double advantage of avoiding the expense, risk and loss of time entailed by the use of coffer-dams of old ; it gave a solid and durable bed for the masonry to rest upon, — a bed capable of resisting a head of 24 feet of water oiiC day after its laying, and which, as time goes on, will certainly become as hard as rock itself. To accurately anchor the caissons in such a rapid current was considered to be one of the most difficult operations of the whole work. This was effected with the aid of scows, anchors, chains and wire-ropes. For piers 13 and 14 these means were not considered sufficient and entirely practicable ; therefore a rough crib in the shape of a truncated triangle was primarily sunk in front of those piers, the up-stream end of the crib was 10 feet long, the sides and lower end being 30 feet long, it was made of pieces of timber 10 inches apart, thus allowing the water to pass through and reducing the pressure of the current against it. These cribs were easily held in the rapid current^ a small quantity of stone was afterwards brought to bear on their bottom, and as tiliey were filled with stones, the latter stopped the current while offering at the same time greater resistance to the pressure of the water ; when entirely filled these cribs formed a large eddy, behind which the perma- nent caissons were floated. The eddies were so strong that the caissons were forced up-stream, and instead of having to haul them against the current, it required a slight force to pull them down the stream into position. Thus one of the most difficult problems in the construction of the bridge was solved in a cheap, rapid and satisfactory Art, Science, Literature, a?id Commerce. yi manner. When the tenders for the masonry were called for in October, 1885, requiring, under penalties, the completion of the foundations by the 30th of November, 1886, only three contract- ors bold enough were found to compete for the job. Engineers and others who had seen a similar work occupy the genius of a Stephenson and a Brunell six years for its construction, declared that it was utterly impossible to perform the work within the specified time. The steel for the superstructure was furnished by the Steel Company of Scotland, while the bridge proper was constructed by the Dominion Bridge Company of Lachine. The whole of this great work has been executed under the supervision of chief engineer, P. Alex. Peterson ; and Mr. E. Shaler Smith, member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, acted as Consulting Engineer for the superstructure. [This portion of the lecture was beautifully illustrated by an outline drawing of the bridge kindly furnished by Mr. Van Home, Vice-President of the Canadian Pacific] DIMENSIONS OF THE DOMINION. I alluded in the beginning of my lecture to the ignorance of Americans respecting the geographical extent and resources of Canada. Let us study for a few moments this fine chart of the Dominion, across which you see the track of the Canadian Pacific Railroad, as indicated by the black line passing over the two eastern provinces of Quebec and Ontario, covering 290,421 square miles, and stretching from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to y2 New Papers oti Canadian History, the Red River ; fasten your eyes upon the vast region once known as the North-western provinces purchased from the Hudson Bay Company in 1870, and now divided into four pro- vinces : Assinaboia, 95,000 square miles ; Saskatchewan, 114,000 square miles ; Alberta, 100,000 square miles and Athabasca, 122,000 square miles. We have in these four provinces an area of 2,665,252 square miles, a region larger than all Russia in Europe, while the total area of the United States is but 3,547,000 square miles. The world is beginniiig to find out that this vast region which was once supposed to be forever abandoned to the beaver and the polar bear, really contains some of the finest wheat and grazing lands of the continent. I do not allude now to the comparatively well-known resources of Manitoba and Assinaboia, but of regions lying four hundred miles north of the Canadian Pacific Railroad, as far up as the Wild Peace River, where has been grown the No. i wheat which received the first prize at the Centennial Exposition in Phila- delphia. Again, look at this magnificent province of Manitoba, with its 123,200 square miles of area. Here are 75,000,000 acres, claimed by the enthusiastic " Winnipeggers " to be the wheat-field of the world, six million bushels of wheat found their way to the markets of the province last year. An expert estimates the average yield per acre throughout Manitoba at 18 bushels per acre, of which 95 per cent, will grade No. i hard. For 300 miles west of Winnipeg and for many miles on either side of the railroad, 95 per cent, of the prairie is excel- lent wheat-land, a rich black loomy soil of exhaustless fertility. In the Qu'Appelle Valley there is in successful operation a Ari, Science, Literature, and Commerce. /j joint-stock farm of 64,000 acres (100 square miles). This year the proprietors expected to send 500,000 bushels of surplus wheat to the market. The Manitoba wheat is well known as being extremely hard, yielding 50 per cent, more than Minnesota wheat. There are physical causes for this. The further you travel towards the northern limit of its growth, the finer the quality of the soil you meet. The subsoil, throughout the intense heats and droughts of summer, is kept moist by the slow melting of the deep winter frosts ; the moisture reaches up and nourishes the roots of the grain, and secures the crop, although the clouds may withold the later rains. Again, the sun- shine in this land of the North is longer just at the needed time, when the ears are ripening. Heat alone will not bring wheat to maturity, solar light is also needed, and the greater its amount the better the result ; and from the 15th of June to the 1st of July there are nearly two hours more day-light in Mani- toba than in Ohio. ,, The valley of the Red and Assinaboine rivers alone are capable of feeding a population of many millions. Lord Selkirk was ridiculed, in 1812 when he said these " hyperborean alluvials would, some day, maintain a population of 30,000,000 souls." The child is born who will see Lord Selkirk's predic- tion realized. Immigrants are coming every day and from every part of the world, from Iceland and Russia, Sweden and Scotland ; on foot and by steam, on horse-back and mule-back, and in the slow lumbering " ships of the prairie " — We hear the tread of pioneers of nations yet to be, The first low wash of waves where soon shall roll a human sea. 7^ New Papers on Canadian History, If Manitoba is to supply the world with bread, the succulent beefsteaks and blooded horses will come from Alberta. It is the ranch-ground of Canada, one vast area stretching from the Red Deer River and across the Bow Valley to the south of Belly River. We have reached here the foot of the great snow-capped Rockies, the backbone of the continent ; but, to our surprise, there is in the air a warmth and a moisture different from anything yet experienced. The climate is more that of England than Canada ; it is cooler in summer and warmer in w'nter than in the plains below and behind us. The "chinook" winds, wafting the moisture from the Kuro Siwo— or Japan gulf-stream of the Pacific Ocean — blow with regularity through the defiles of the mountains ; their action so temperates the atmosphere during the winter that snow seldom accumulates to any great depth, or that severe cold weather prevails to any great extent, not to a sufficient extent to prevent cattle and horses from roaming, all the year round and uncared for, upon the thousand hills and surrounding valleys, Calgary, the capital of Alberta, is admirably situated on a high plateau, at the junction of the Elbow and Bow rivers, from whence there is a superb view of the distant peaks and slopes of the mountains. It is about 65 miles from the Rockies, and 840 miles from Winnipeg. The atmosphere is a marvel of purity and clearness, objects ten miles away appear to be only two miles distant. Words spoken in ordinary tones, at half a mile distance, can be heard distinctly. If I thought of emigrating to the Dominion, Alberta would certainly be my choice. Finally, let us look at that great Province or empire, as Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce, 75 British Columbia might be justly called. Its area of 341,305 square miles, is larger than Great Britain and France combined, and five times as large as all the New England States. You see the road upon which we are to travel cutting across the three great mountain ranges that divide it : the Rocky, the Selkirk and the Gold. How audacious the attempt to run a train of cars over this seemingly inextricable tangle formed by raging torrents, treacherous glaciers and abrupt mountains, presenting the aspect as if a vast molten sea, lashed by titanic forces into gigantic billows, had been suddenly petrified at the extreme height of the storm ! Fifty years ago, this great Province was virtually unknown to the trappers of the Hudson Bay Company. In 1843 a fur-governor was stationed at Fort Camosun, now the beautiful city of Victoria, to receive the valuable pelts which the Indians brought in from the interior. Though it cannot yet be said of this Province that it is a land flowing with milk and honey, yet it is a beautiful country, endowed by nature with fertile fields, rich mines, the grandest scenery in North America, and a mild and salubrious climate. EN ROUTE FOR VANCOUVER. But let us retrace our imaginary steps, and begin at the starting point of our journey of five days and twelve hours. Having secured at Montreal our sleeping accommodation through to the Pacific, we take the daily express train at Ottawa about midnight, and going immediately to bed, wake up the next morning to find the train skirting the shores of the beautiful Lake Nipissing. The Jesuit mission- /<5 New Papers on Canadian History, aries found the Indians residing around this Lake so beset with spirits and infested by demons, that they called it " The Lake of the Sorcerers." It abounds with fish of great size, affording fine sport for experts of the rod and reel ; deer and cariboo are plentiful about its shores. Nipissing was repeatedly crossed by Champlain in his foreys against the Iroquois, and was in the direct line of communication used by the Hudson Bay voyageurs and its agents in their annual trips from Montreal to Fort William. During all of the next thirty hours we traverse a region for- bidding to the eye ; it is a puzzle to geologists and is destined for all times to be a cause of despair to the agriculturist. We are in the region of the " Laurentides" or " Laurentian Hills," that gigantic granite chain which rises on the coast of Lab- rador, and, after forming the northerly wall of the St. Lawrence Valley, sends one of its spurs down into the state of New York, where it towers up into the majestic Adirondacks, another spur circles the north shore of Lake Superior, whilst a third one sweeps northward and westward and finally sinks into the icy sea. Professor Agassiz expressed the opinion that this Lauren- tian range was the oldest land on our globe, the first to lift its head above the primeval waters, and obey the almighty ^^z".- " Let the dry land appear." Vegetation has a hard struggle here with the rocks and crags, hewn into every shape by the storms of years, and the boulder-strewn beds of antidiluvian lakes and rivers ; but stores of minerals of incalculable wealth lie buried in the bosom of these hills. At Sudburg junction (444 miles from Montreal) the much Art, Science, Liierahtre, and Commerce. yy abused " Algoma Mills" branch juts off, 93 miles to Georgian Bay. This branch road will be soon extended to Sault Ste.-Marie, and there will connect with the projected road from Duluth. The Canadian Pacific Company have opened at a point six miles north-west of Sudburg, copper mines of wonderful promise. The ores are sulphides containing an average of 16^ per cent, in copper. An expert says, " I feel safe in saying there are here two hundred million tons of ore in sight, and above the surface of the country." As Port Arthur is approached, the glorious scenery of Lake Superior and Thunder Bay make an impression which the traveller will never forget. Thunder Cape, like a mighty janitor of the harbor, rises abruptly 1,400 feet above the lake. Across the water, the dark mass of the McKay's mountains looms up majestically, while Pie Island sits astride the mouth of the harbor like a huge Monitor at anchor. These three gigantic upheavals stand in massive dignity, like three em- perors, each with a cloudy crown about his head. Six miles from Port Arthur is the rival and once famous settlement of Fort William. When the North-west Fur Company was in its glory. Fort William was the place where the leading partners from Montreal proceeded in great state, once a year, to meet their agents and factors from the various trading-posts of the northern wilderness, to discuss the affairs of the Company and arrange plans for the future. Wrapped in rich furs, their huge canoes freighted with every convenience and luxury, and manned by Canadian voyageurs, these fur- lords ascended the Ottawa and the Matawan to Lake Nipissing, thence up the French River to Lake Superior. y8 New Papers on Canadian History, They had a retinue of cooks -ind bakers, casks of choice wines, delicacies of every kind, in fact everything necessary for the banquets which were indispensable adjuncts of these great meets. In an immense wooden building was the great council hall and which also served as a banqueting hall, decorated with Indian arms and acoutrements, and trophies of the fur- trade from the Rocky Mountains to the Arctic Ocean. : . ; There was a vast deal of solemn deliberation, hard Scottish reasoning and drinking. The tables groaned under the weight of game of all kinds : venison from the woods, fish from the lakes, with hunters' delicacies, such as buffalo tongue and beaver tail, and various luxuries from London, all served up by experienced cooks. - . - ^, While the chiefs thus revelled in the Hall and made the rafters resound with bursts of loyalty and old Scottish songs, chanted in voices cracked and sharpened by northern blasts and blizzards, their merriment was echoed and prolonged by a mongrel legion of Canadian half-breeds, Indian hunters and vagabond hangers-on, who feasted sumptuously on the crumbs that fell from the tables, and made the welkin ring with old French ditties, mingled with Indian yelps and yellings. The feudal state of Fort William is a thing of the past. Its banquet hall is deserted, its council chamber in ruins and the fur-lords of the lakes and forests have vanished forever like the buffalo and the beaver. Three hundred miles from Port Arthur, we reach Rat Portage, the capital of the enormous but not prepossessing district of Keewatin, the " country of the north wind," and the " Lake of the Woods* " station. This lake, — once supposed to be the source of the Mississippi River, Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce, /p and the starting-point for a boundary line in every treaty between Great Britain and the United States, — is 1 80 miles long and a veritable paradise for hunters, fishermen and the lovers of nature, in her inner sanctuaries. It is a favorite place for summer excursionists from Winnipeg, and unequalled as a place for camping parties. ^ ; . ^ ■' ' ^ ; - - Pierre Jaultier de Varennnes, Lord of Vcrendroge, built forts on the islands of this lake one hundred years before Lewis and Clark saw the waters of the " great river of the west." It was here one of Verendroge's sons, a Jesuit priest, and twenty men were massacred by the Sioux. The lake is so profusely dotted with islands that it seems, as it shifts and winds about in its devious channel, like a wondrously beautiful river. Just half way across the continent, 1,434 miles from Montreal, 1,486 miles from Vancouver and 1,827 miles from New York, we reach the city of Winnipeg, the ambitious rival of Chicago. It is one of the "seven wonders" of the New World — whatever the other six may be ; it is the central city of the continent and, probably within the very near future, one of the largest. In 1870, when General (now Lord) Wolseley t cached Manitoba to quell the Red River rebellion, all there was of Winnipeg consisted in a few huts and cottages erected by the pioneers close to the walls of Fort Garry, as a protection against the knives and tomahawks of the savages. To-day it is a proud city of 30,000 inhabitants, with substantial and beautiful buildings and churches, which would do credit to London and New York ; it claims four hundred business houses ; more than fifty manufacturing establishments, fifty good hotels and So New Papers on Canadian History, over a dozen banking-houses. Last year, 6,000,000 bushels of wheat passed through the Winnipeg elevators. Three daily papers furnish the citizens the news of the world. Six railroads center at Winnipeg and discharge at all hours of the day crowds of tourists, emigrants, farmers, merchants, and fill the streets with a busy, bustling concourse that reminds one of Broadway or Charing Cross. I spoke of six different railroads, but soon there will a seventh, which, according to the sanguine projectors, is destined to revolutionize the traffic of the continent. Sir Hugh Sutherland, President of the Manitoba and Hudson Bay Railway, promises that in two years' lime trains will be running from Winnipeg to Churchill Harbor — Hudson Bay — a distance of 715 miles. From Winnipeg to Liverpool, via Hudson Bay, is but 3,641 miles, that is 783 miles less than by way of Montreal, and 1,052 miles shorter than by Chicago. It is claimed by the projectors of this new route that it will considerably shorten the distance between the two great empires of the East and England's principal shipping port. Between Liverpool, China and Japan, a gain of 1,117 miles is made over the Montreal route, while a gain of 2,136 miles will be effected over the San Francisco and New York route. Tae new route will not only control the wheat traffic of all the north-western Provinces of the Dominion, but likewise that of Minnesota, Dakota, Montana and Washington Territory. The farmer shipping direct to Liverpool via Hudson Bay, will receive at least 15 per cent, more for his grain and save the interference of middlemen. Time will prove the truth or fallacy of these fond hopes. Ari, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 8i Deriding skeptics say that the first ship loaded with wheat that gets blocked up, and has to spend six months in the ice of Hudson Strait, will prick this bubble into flatulency. Others affirm that a safe and expeditious passage can be depended upon five months in the year. Evidently Sir Hugh believes in the road, and as the government has guaranteed the interest on $5,000,000 worth of bonds, it is more than likely that the road will be completed. The next step in order will be the building of a branch road to Fort Yukon ; and that wonderful child, already spoken of, may yet see the iron horse careering down the valley of the Yukon and cooling his heels in the icv waters of Behring Sea. Taking again our point of departure at Winnipeg, we have a stretch of 800 miles of prairie before reaching the foot of the Rockies. We pass on our way the thriving town of Brandon (which, before it was a year old, had grown into a city of 2,500 inhabitants), and reach Regina, the capital of the new territory of Assinaboia. Regina is the head-quarters of the *' mounted police," the most efficient organized body of 500 men in the world — the terror of evil-doers in general and rumsellers and drinkers in particular. Having already spoken in my preliminary remarks of the Province of Alberta, and its capital Calgary, we pause once more before climbing the mountains, at Bauff, which is destined, like the Hot Springs of Arkansas, to be the great sanitarium for rheumatic and other diseases of a chronic nature. Here, at a great elevation, surrounded by snow-clad mountains, we found hot sulphur springs of varying temperatures. I met a man who told me that he had suffered such 82 New Papers on Canadian History, tortures from chronic rheumatism that, despairing of rehef, he had come to these springs resolved to kill himself if he did not find relief. After a few weeks bathing, his limbs relaxed from their fearful distorted condition, pain and agony subsided, and finally he was perfectly restored to health. The Canadian Pacific Railroad Company are erecting a first-class hotel on the spot, having every convenience for tourists and invalids, and unquestionably Bauff is destined for an important future. OVER THE MOUNTAINS. Forty-two miles from Calgary -up the Valley of the Bow River — we reach the foot of the hills, and the scenery becomes beautiful beyond description. At Padmore, 904 miles from Winnipeg, we are in the midst of the mountains, however the soil is still good and productive. The Stoney Indians, the best in the North-west, own large herds of cattle and horses, and hunt the wild-sheep and goats, the mountain-deer and the small fur animals of the mountain parks. Great mineral wealth is believed to exist in this portion of the route, not only gold and silver mines, but extensive and accessible coal-fields, both bituminous and anthracite. The " Yellow Head " pass — far to the north of the present route and near the source of the Fraser river — was the point first chosen for crossing the Rockies, but after long and continued explorations the line was located thence down the North Thompson. However, after the road had been trans- ferred to a syndicate by the government, an air-line from Winnipeg was decided upon, and the gap of the Bow River, Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 8j known henceforth as the Kicking Horse River — so-called from the refractory steed of the engineer who mapped out the international boundaries — was the point finally chosen to cross the Rocky Mountains. The adoption of this route saved loo miles, while the road on that account was not more difficult to build nor more heavily graded than on the longer northern line, and its natural resources in land and minerals much greater. The highest peak above the pass was named Mount Stephen, after the President of the road. The bed of the road in the pass reaches an altitude of 5,300 feet above the sea-tevel, but its approaches from the east do not exceed the grade of 40 feet to the mile, save in the upper five miles of the Bow River where the rise reaches 75 feet per mile. The work of construction was easy through this pass. The licenery here is grand beyond description, with beau- tiful peaks and abrupt mountains 5,000 and 6,000 feet high. It is generally cold at night, but the "chinook" winds do not allow the snow to remain long on the ground, save upon the summit of the mountains. Sometimes a heavy snow-storm is seen raging far above, while the sun shines in the valleys below. The summit itself is a plateau four miles long dotted with three lakes. The first, going west, is Summit Lake, the source of Summit Creek ; the second. Link Lake, seems to have neither exit nor entrance, no visible supply and no outlet ; whilst the third and largest is the source of the noisy, impetuous Kicking- Horse River, which springs from its parent head, a wild, strong stream 50 feet wide, gaining in volume and speed as it rushes down the Kicking Horse Valley. Although the total length 84 New Papers on Canadian History^ of this river is but 47 miles, its fall, until it finally merges with the broad Columbia, the great river of the west, is over 2,8cx) feet The railway follows the Kicking Horse River for 45 miles, and upon this plateau the work was not only extremely heavy, but the gradients and curves were more difficult than any yet encountered on the route. The lowest gradient obtained was 1 16 feet to the mile, or about I in 45 ; this rate of descent is maintained for 17 miles in one stretch. The heaviest work had to be performed upon the upper part of the plateau ; here, in the distance of six miles, three tunnels of an aggregate length of 1,800 feet had to be constructed, and the Columbia had to be crossed three times. The work on the next ten miles was tolerably easy although the gradient was heavy ; the lower part of the plateau has two or three tunnels of about 1,400 feet ; the river is crossed no less than eight times, and the same heavy gradient, with curves of ten degrees, or 573 feet radius, had to be resorted to. The road follows the Beaver River to the summit of the Selkirk range, which is 96 miles from the summit of the Rockies^ and is about 1,000 feet lower, or 4,316 feet above sea-level. In the ascent the heavy gradient of 1 16 feet to the mile is agairi resorted to for about 16 miles, and then for 20 miles further on in descending the western slope. At the head of the Loop, a magnificent glacier sweeps down almost to the very edge of the rails. More glaciers are seen in the distance, but this one towers upwards to the cloud line, just back of the station. A comfortable hotel is being erected at the toot of the glacier, where tourists can enjoy a. refreshing sojourn and explore the mountain of ice. Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 8^ The whole region between the main range of the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific is a vast disturbed rock formation. For 800 miles in i. north-west and south-east direction there is a valuable belt of metalliferous rocks, and in addition much of the country is heavily wooded. The Canadian Pacific Railway having penetrated here, the whole of this immense mining district has now a great future, and the gold of the Columbia and Kootenay rivers as well as the galena along Kootenay Lake is made accessible. The country lying around the mother lakes of the Columbia, and much of the Kootenay River valley, is interspersed with forest and prairie lands favorable to settlement, and admirably adapted for cattle rais- ing. It only needs means of communication to make it equal to any part of the Dominion. The " bunch " grass, which grows constantly and is green at heart, even in mid-winter, is one of the most valu^'ule pasture grass in the world, and is found everywhere in abundance, even at an altitude as high as 3,000 feet above the sea-level. The climate in the Kootenay district, from the Rocky Mountains to the Shuswap Lake, is very much like the mountainous portion of P'rance, whilst west of the Rockies to the Pacific it compares favorably with that of the south of England. The vast region surrounding the beautiful Shuswap Lake, close to the railroad Station of Sicamous, is a veritable haven for the lovers of the gun and rod ; as much can be said of the district in the vicinity of the famous Okanagan Lake, which is reached by the same railroad station and thence by the Spila- macheen River. The water of these lakes is alive with fish, and their surface which is seen from the car-windows, is liter- 86 New Papers on Canadian History, ally covered with swan, geese and ducks of every variety. The Okanagan region is also famous for its delicious bunch grass, and it is claimed that its valleys can produce the finest wheat in the world. The tourist should not fail to stop at Yale, where the scenery is magnificently beautiful, affording all, in the form of raging torrent and snow-crowned mountain, that the most vivid imagination can paint. If time can be spared a visit to the once famous Cariboo gold mines, up the roaring Frazer River, will well repay the traveller. Here may be found wild mountain scenery unsurpassed foi crrandeur on our globe, and yet in the midst of this wildness then; isa vegetation luxuriant in freshness. V-'^he'-ever there is a crevice, even at the very base of the snow- clad peaks, are found clumps of the beautiful Douglass pine ; lower down, and wherever a handfull of soil can rest, are myriads of wild-flowers and lilies of the valley. Skirting further on the north bank of the Frazer River to within a few miles of New Westminster — where the river leaves the Frazer Valley and crosses th . lowlands of the Pitt River marshes — the road reaches Port Moody, at the extremity of the southern arm of Buward Inlet. The grand terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway is established at Vancouver, six miles further down the Inlet, where the government of British Colum- bia has given the railroad company a tract of land nine square miles in extent. Here is the prospective site— as I was told — of the great metropolis of the Pacific coast, a contemplated rival of San Francisco. I was offered a building lot 25x50 feet, with the primitive forest still standing on it, for $1,000, but I did not purchase it. Meanwhile, as an injunction at present Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 8y hinders the train from running through to Vancouver, we have to take the steamer at Port Moody for Victoria, 75 miles distant across the Gulf of Georgia, which is, for all passengers, the real terminus of the road. *^ VANCOUVER ISLAND. The termini question of the Canadian Pacific Railway has been a cause of great anxiety to dwellers on the Pacific slope of the Dominion, and the occasion of no little bad blood on the part of disappointed speculators. Sir John A. Macdonald, with his wonted astuteness, essayed to cut the gordian-knot at a reception given him by the people of Victoria last August. " We are not, said he, to be limited to Halifax, Quebec, Montreal or British Columbia, whether it be Port Moody or Victoria — the termini of the Canadian Pacific Railway are Liverpool and Hong-Kong ! " Victoria, the chief city of the island, and the capital of the Province, is a charming place ; it has a population of 12,000 which is increasing rapidly. Founded in 1843 by the Hudson Bay Company, it received the name of Fort Camosun. In 1845, in honor of the Prince Consort, the name was changed to that of Albert, but later on and in the same year, it was definitely named Victoria. ^'■''; •. : " -^ ■ :y-r--, ■■'-■.■-:•■. ■:^i H- , •.;*.■ In 1857-58, the discovery of gold on the main-land attracted crowds of adventurers, and Victoria experienced the same kind of "boom" that cursed Winnipeg in 1882. Thirty thousand gold hunters from California and the American territories invaded the Province, and made incursions into the wilds of 88 New Papers on Canadian History, the Frazer River placers. The destruction of the fur-trade and the almost total disorganization of society were the results of this invasion. A few hundreds — surviving to famine and every hardship — secured bags of gold ; but the rest perished miser- ably, or drifted back to Victoria, demoralized and ruined. During this period of aggressive rowdyism, the main-land was constituted into a colony. In 1866, Vancouver Island was legislatively united to the main-land and the name of British Columbia was given the colony, which became in 1871 a Province of the Dominion. Until the first train from Montreal'arrived at Port Moody, the Union was little better than one on paper; but now, with daily trains bringing mails and passengers in twelve days from England, with her three hundred miles of gold-bearing quartz mountains, her splendid harbors, her coal-fields, her fisheries and forests, the future of British Columbia is assured. She is destined to gravitate to the very front rank of the communities on the Pacific, if not to become some day the strongest and richest Province of the Dominion. The climate of Victoria is the most equable in the world. The winter is especially mild, the mercury seldom reaching the freezing point. The summer is temperate, heat seldom rising above y2° . Southerly winds prevail two-thirds of the year. Summer lasts from April to October ; flowers bloom out-doors the whole year. And yet in Victoria we are here six degrees north of Quebec, in latitude 50. The softness of the climate is due to " Kuro Siwo," which brings the warmer temperature of the Japan and China seas, in the same way as the gulf-stream tempers the climate of the British Islands. The weather of Art, Science^ Literature, and Commerce. 8g Vancouver Island is said by those who have thoroughly tested the matter to be milder and more agreeable than that of the south of England, the summers longer and finer, the winters shorter and less rigorous. > : The harbor proper of Victoria is small, with a difficult pass ; but the adjacent harbor of Esquimault, across a narrow neck of land, affords all the requisites of a first-class naval station. The Imperial Government is spending large sums here, and in the outer royal-roads the largest men-of-war can ride safely. At an early future Esquimault will undoubtedly be the emporium of an immense trade with the Asiatic ports, and fortnightly lines of first-class steamers, subsidized by the Home Government, will ply regularly between Victoria, Hong-Kong and Australia. The coast fisheries are almost illimitable, and their capab- ilities have hardly been put to contribution ; yet, the principal species are halibut, salmon, cod and herring. In some of the narrow estuaries and bays, at flood-tide the water is so densely packed with salmon struggling to reach a spawning-ground, that it is actually possible sometimes to lay boards upon the backs of the swarms and walk over dry shod. Halibut, from lOO to 500 lbs., are common. For ten cents Ii.dians will furnish enough fish to feed ten men. Herring are raked out of the water by boat loads. ^ »^ ■ \ Here is a grand and exhaustless industry awaiting develop- ment ; and, as if Providence had designed to indicate a way to utilization, salt-springs of great value, yielding 3,446 gr. of salt to each gallon of water, have been discovered near Nanaimo. ^ New Papers on Canadian History, It would pay the Dominion Government a handsome dividend to transport bodily the starving population of the icy coasts of Labrador to the prolific shores of British C<^lumbia. Some day the wheat-fields of Manitoba may become exhausted and refuse to yield their tribute ; the forests of Ontario and Quebec may perish before the woodman's axe and the devastating flames, but the riches of the ocean are inex- haustible, and each recurrent tide will bring to the inhabitants of this favored land abundant food. Ladies and gentlemen, I have detained you longer than was my purpose, but my excuse for this encroachment upon your patience and comfort lies in the fact that even a partial development of the subject under consideration was out of proportion to the one-hour time to which I should have con- fined myself. I may have been incoherent and sometimes perhaps inconsequential in my remarks ; but I shall be content if I have succeeded, even in an imperfect degree, in diffusing a knowledge of what Lord Beaconsfield once happily phrased : " The boundless regions and illimitable possibilities of the great North-west." In concluding, I may be permitted to remark to the mem- bers of the Canadian Club of New York, that my countrymen, the great people of the United States, entertain no petty jealousies for such noble competitors as I have told you of to-night, but taking only into account the good secured, they hail with joy the opening of this new route to the riches of the mighty West. The honors of knighthood were never more worthily bestowed by royalty upon any subject, than by Her Majesty Queen Victoria upon the President of the Canadian Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 9' Pacific Railroad, Sir George Stephen, in recognition of his great abilities and persevering industry in bringing this great work to so speedy and happy a completion. THE HUMOROUS SIDE OF CANADIAN r HISTORY. /. IV. BENGOUGH, Editor Toronto Grip A Read before the Canadian Club of New York. . AN I convey to you, in the hour at my disposal, as much solid information as you may be in need of? Probably yea, because the lectures given in this course, under the auspices of the Canadian Club, hc./e naturally pertained to that glorious country, Canada. But, so far as I am aware, no speaker has yet dealt systematically with the history of Canada. Pending the arrival of Mr, Goldwin Smith, who is at present engaged umpiring for the foot-ball club at Cornell, I propose to devote my hour to the subject suggested, and in case Mr. Smith should feel offended by my intrusion into his special domain, I will endeavor to mollify him in advance by g^ New Papers on Canadian History, making a pretty portrait of him right here. [A rapid sketch here set forth a picture at once recognized by the audience as —not Goldwin Smith— but Mr. Whitelavv Reid.] Perhaps, before going on, I ought to apologize to the American portion of my audience for not having chosen a theme of greater novelty to them than the History of Canada. I had anticipated an audience made up chiefly of Canadians, but it is too late now to rectify the mistake. I am well aware that the citizens of the United States are just as familiar with Canada, her history and her affairs, as they are with Chinese Tartary, and I can hardly hope to tell them anything they do not know. But in view of the fact that Canada and the Republic have many features in common, besides baseball, and that many more or less distant relatives of American citizens are residing in that country, having in a few cases been struck somewhat suddenly by its charms as a place of residence, and having since exhibited a clinging affection for it, which few native Canadians can rival, it seems to me that all will be interested in the theme I have selected. Canada is the name given to the greater portion of the continent of North America, and politically it is an integral portion of the British Empire. I mention this because there is an impression prevailing in Ohio and some other foreign coun- tries, that Canada is owned by a railway syndicate. This is a mistake. Nominally Canada belongs to Great Britain, it con- tributes the adjective to the title, as Britain itself is only a small affair, but really and practically the vast Dominion is owned and run by the handsome and picturesque people so well represented in blanket suits on the present occasion. [Allud- Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 95 ing to the uniformed snowshoers ranged upon the platform.] I may just remark here, en passong, as they say in Montreal, that the Canadian people when at home, invariably dress in the costume here shown, just as the people of New Jersey wear long-tailed coats and short breeches with straps to them, and bell-crowned beaver hats, with stars on their waistcoats and stripes on their pantaloons. It's the national costume you know, but they rarely venture out of the country with such good clothes on. When a Canadian makes up his mind to settle in New York, he invariably adopts the New York style of dress. He changes his clothes at the border, and then he goes in like a regular American, to Wall Street " born." Before long, so far as outward appearance goes, he would pass for a native New Yorker, and you could only tell he was a Canadian by contemplating the number of islands he owns and the magnitude of h's ferry franchises. And this leads me to remark that when M. Bartholdi dressed that statue of his in Greek clothing, he availed himself of a poetic license. Canadians of the sterner sex never dress that way, never. To illu&trate this point I will here make a rough sketch of the statue, as pictures of it are so rare in this city that its shape may have escaped your memory. Not only in the matter of costume, but also in the features, Bartholdi, with true French naiveti', endeavored to conceal the fact that in this great work of art he was paying a delicate compliment to a Canadian. He was afraid Mr. Wiman mightn't like it if made too literal. For I suppose it is pretty well known by this time that the statue is really meant for Wiman. The very fact that it stands there bossing an island is enough to suggest this, even if Bartholdi had never confessed his real p^ New Papers on Canadian History, design. To be sure, mustache and mutton-chops do not look well in bronze,, but they're all right on pa;.>;r, and they're necessary in this case to expose Bartholdi's pleasant allego;>. All that remains to be changed now is the legend, which is not *' Liberty Enlightening the World," but " Wiman Defying New Jersey." This, however, is a digression from our historical subject. Canada was discovered by Jacques-Cartier, while engaged in a fishing cruise around the banks of New Foundland. From the banks to Canada would seem to be an unerring impulse of the Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce, gj human mind. It is not true, however, that Cartier is French for cashier, and time has fully vindicated this gentleman's character, as the banks of New Foundland are to-day as sound as ever. The coincidence was startling, it must be confessed, and we can therefore excuse the newspapers of the day for hinting that there was something fishy about his sudden departure. This event occurred some time after Christopher Columbus had got in his work. And Columbus, by the way, as an illus- tration of patience and perseverance is worthy even of the study of those good Democratic statesmen who are waiting for Cleveland to " turn the rascals out." I don't know what Columbus looked like, but I feel sure that upon his counten- ance was stamped a calm tranquil expression that no delays and discouragements could change. If so, he didn't look much like this. [Here a wild-looking sketch of Mr. C. A. Dana was given.] Consider what Chris had to go through before he got started on thai: memorable voyage to India. It took him just twenty years to get started. Now, if it had been that he had to wait for Mrs. C. . . to get dressed, we wouldn't have wondered so much. But the trouble wasn't of that kind, it was purely financial. He couldn't sail without raising the wind, and mark his wonderful patience in raising it. Twenty years. The trouble was, nobody believed in his scheme as sound, and in the public interest. If it had been a surface-line franchise he was after, he might have convinced the Aldermen, but Christopher wasn't Sharp. It never occurred to him to get the ladies of the Congregation to go around with the book, though as a matter of fact he succeeded at last by the aid of a lady. Queen Isabella g8 New Papers on Canadian History, of Castile, whose name is to this day a sweet smelling savor, embalmed in an immortal kind of soap, " Matchless for the complexion.— Yours truly, LiLY Langtry." Columbus went from court to court after the boodle, it's a way boodlers have of going from court to court, if you notice — and at last he found a friend in Ferdinand. Ferdinand had a lot of the proceeds salted down, as was generally suspected, and he gave Columbus a check for the required amount, remarking, " Go West, young man, and grow up with the country." Thus was patience rewarded. The voyage was a severe one, everybody was sick of it and mutinied. Columbus stood on the quarter deck with his guitar and sang to the moon about everything being at sixes and at sevens. A bird alighted on the topmast ! Omen of success : Land must be nigh. With one rapid glance the piercing eye of Columbus seizes the happy portent. The fact that it was an Eagle proved that land must be near ; while the shield of stars and bars upon its breast, the Canada codfish falling from its talons, the ninety-cent dollar hanging from its neck, and finally its piercing cry of E Pliiribus Umun proved that that land could be no other than America, where all men are born free and equal, but don't stay so. America was discovered ; no longer could it bashfully avoid the gaze of the other nations, and it doesn't. Columbus' work made a boom in the discovery business, and that's how Cartier happened to be around in time to discover Canada. Cartier was a Frenchman, and he handed over the country to the king of France, as a matter of course. This one action is enough to show that Cartier had no connec- tion with the Standard Oil Company ; but his simplicity in giving Art, Sciaice, Literature, and Commerce. 99 away the country when he might have kept it himself has modified Mr. Gould's opinion of his otherwise admirable char- acter. This was the first time Canada was givt;. ''way. The offence was repeated, I've heard, at the time of the Wash- ington treaty. Public opinion over there is opposed to this, as a regular thing, and at present there is a disposition to conserve the public interests, as it were. Perhaps I can convey the idea with a sketch. 700 New Papers on Canadian History, When Mr. Cartier first landed in Canada there were Indians there. I do not wish to pose as a sensationalist, nor to rudely upset your settled convictions for the mere purpose of startling you, but I do allege that there were more Indians in Canada then than there are now. Several more. In fact, the majority of the present inhabitants are ivliitc, though President Cleveland seem to think our Government doesn't act that way. The fact is the Indians are comparatively scarce now. They don't a»'y longer pitch their tents in the main streets of Toronto, Montreal and Quebec. Most of them have been : killed, though they still persist, the survivors, in playing Lacrosse. Had foot-ball, I mean the Yale and Andover variety, been known amongst them, the race would no doubt have been extinct. Then politics has no doubt helped to exterminate the Red Man. An Indian can eat most anything, but he must have pure air, and when the party caucus was established in Canada, the Indians had to go further back. You never find any Indians in the lobby at Ottawa. They couldn't stand it. I am informed that Indians take an active part in politics of Tammany Hall in this city, but that only shows that pure, mugwumpy politics isn't so fatal to them as the corrupt kind. At the same time I suspect that the Tammany politicians are not really Indians of a delicate type. In Cartier's time the popu- lation of Quebec was sixty, that is the pale-face population. As the uncivilized red men ruled on both sides of the St. Lawrence in those days, it is not likely that there were refugee defaulters. The Indian is pretty mean, but he isn't mean enough to have an extradition law that protects that sort of thief from justice. These white men were honest French voyageurs, but Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 10/ there ai ^ probably sixty of the other fellows in Quebec to day. Such is progress and civilization. The manners of the early Indi.'.n tribes of Canada are very interesting. Their way of bringing up children, for example, was peculiar. The infant was strapped to a board and placed against a tree outside of the tent. This kept the youngster straight, which is more than the modern white method does : and besides it inured the child to the hardships of boarding out. I might also mention the Indian system of writing. In signing treaties, they used symbols for their names, thus the Great Chief VVise-Owl-Who-sees-in-the-Dark, would sign in this way. [Here a rough outline sketch of an owl was given J. Now such a signature wasn't much as a work of art, but it was worth more on a treaty generally than the white man's. In too many cases the words our Canadian poet Mai:' has put into the mouth of an Indian character were true : " Our sacred treaties are infringed and torn, Laughed out of sanctity, and spurned away, Used by the Long Knife's slave to light his fire Or turned to kites by thoughtless boys, whose wrists Anchor their fathers lies in front of Heaven !" This Indian method of conveying ideas by means of pictures, is a great scheme, a id is now in vogue in the highest journalistic circles. It forms the basis in fact, of the colossal and well-earned fortunes of Messrs. Keppler, Nast, Gillam, Opper, De Grimm, Hamilton, Zimmerman, Taylor and many other smart young men well known to you all. Of course in their hands it is greatly improved. They color their symbols 102 New Papers on Canadian History, more or less gaudily, and sell them for ten cents a copy. And they finish them up better than the Indian artist used to. For instance, in this case they would put on the modern improvements in this way, and call i' Vise-Man^Looking-Two ways-for-a-Presidential-Nomination. n owl was here trans- formed into General B. F. Butler.] The institution known as the lodge was universal among the aborigines, and one of their most striking characteristics was a fondness for display in the matter of dress. Nothing so tickled the untutored child of the forest as to be rigged in regalia, with feathers, sashes and ribbons, and the letters A. F. & A. M., or I. O. O. F,, or other mysterious symbols be-spangling his bosom. In such a costume he thought nothing of fatigue, but would willingly travel on dusty roads all day in the hottest weather. When the savage denizens of Hochelaga (now Montreal) wanted to go on the war-path, they would just stick orange lilies in their hair and marched through that village on July I2th. That was all that was necessary. The Indian women didn't have a vote, but the men folks let them carry everything by acclamation, especially tent poles and camp-fixtures, and they never endeavored to deceive them by subsequently chewing cloves. In vain Miss Anthony, who arrived a little before Cartier, advocated the female franchise and dress reform. No doubt the latter was needed, as you will see when I roughly sketch the costume then in vogue. To show that the absurdity was not confined to one sex, I will try to give you an idea also of the costume of the young bucks of the Iroquois tribe. [Here an amusing carica ture of an Indian dude and dudene ;vas given.] Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. loj The domestic arrangements of the Canadian Indians were, as we might reasonably anticipate, no better than those of other barbarian people. They were especially faulty, however, on the very important subject of marriage. In the first place the courtship was peculiar. Sometimes the principal parties were not consulted at all. The young woman's mamma simply took a fish pole and went abroad to catch whatever she could in the shape of a man. No mere Indian, however handsome, had any chance while there were young lords and counts visiting at Cartier's house. The Indian girls were just c/azy after blue blood, but sometimes they eloped with a low down Indian, because then the papers always described them as beautiful and accomplished. There is no mention in this early history of divorce proceedings, and so we are left in the dark as to how ladies, without talent even» became actresses '"n those days. The Indians had two very noticeable vices, gambling and cruelty. As to the first it is alleged that in the excitement of the game (Stock Exchange or whatever they called it), players often staked their lives on the result, whence no doubt is derived the phrase : " You bet your sweet life." Their cruelty was proverbial, they were the original inventors of the spoils system, and after a victory they tortured and scalped their captives without any fine distinction as to offensive partisan- ship. I am glad to say this is no longer the practice in Canada. We now enjoy civil-service reform and the victorious party doesn't murder its enemies. It only removes them from ofifice. To return to Jacques-Cartier, he appears to have been a 104 New Papers on Canadian History, man of great magnetism and chivalry, as he earned the popular title of the Plumed Knight amongst the simple and unsophis- ticated aborigines. Just here it might be interesting to introduce his portrait, which I have copied from historical documents discovered in Maine. Maine at that time belonged to Canada you know, and does yet by rights, some folks say. [Here a portrait of J as. G. Blaine.] Cartier was succeeded by a long train of other French gentlemen whose deeds I have not time to dwell upon. At length, the country passed into the hands of the British, after some preliminary ceremonies on the plains of Abraham, near Quebec. You are familiar, of course, with the incidents of that memorable battle, and especially with the last words of Wolfe, which are so often quoted. Somebody said to him : " They run." "Who run?" he asked. " The Republicans." " Then I die happy," he replied. I think that was it, if I haven't got it mixed with the third- party vote in Pennsylvania in November. The British flag was still waving over the land when 1 left. Attempts have been made on a couple of occasions to put a showier piece of bunting in its place, but without success. A certain Republic, which shall be nameless, had something to do with the attempts I refer to. If you had only told me of your intention I could have saved you a great deal of worry and expense by mforming you that the Canadians cannot be conquered by force of arms. I don't blame you for trying though, for everybody who knows what Canadian girls are like would be anxious to conquer or perish just as you were. It is a tribute to American shrewdness, however, that you have Arl, Science, Literal ire, and Commerce. lo^ dropped the military plan, and resorted to this present scheme. I have no doubt your calculation is correct that as soon as the absent boodle aldermen and bank presidents form a majority of our population over there, they will cast a solid vote for annexation on condition of a general amnesty being granted. And I have only this to say, that as soon as a clear majority of our most wealthy citizens so decide, annexation will be all right. But I see that my time is up, and i must drop this interesting theme and bid you good night. '■"^S. 'm '^^^^^^l::; >' ^ ^ ' Ji^y^' ^^ ^Sz^^lL^tU^C^ THE HEROINES OF NEW FRANCE. /. M. LEMOINE, F. R. S. C. ( An address delivered before the ( Canadian Club of New York. ERTAINLY, your cordial greeting this evening overcomes much of the diffidence I felt in making my first bow to a cultured New York audi- ence. However, in your presence, I feel as if I required but scant apology for my subject : The noble devotion to duty of three of the remarkable women, whose brave deeds have illumined the early times of Canada. This evening, I witness what to a Canadian is a very gratifying spectacle : an array of Canada's most hopeful sons. io8 New Papers on Canadiati History ^ striking out boldly and successfully as merchants, manufac- turers, professional men, writers, in fact an arrray of energetic men invadingevery important path open to the human intellect and human industry in this great metropolis of the western world. Had I to dilate on the patriotism of De Longueuil ; the daring achievements of his worthy brothers d'Iberville and De Stc.-H^lfene ; the self-sacrificing Bollard des Ormeaux and his Spartan band of heroes; the saintly memories of Jogues, De Brebceuf and L'AUeman ; the lion heartedness of grim old Count de Frontenac, answering admiral Phips from the mouths of his cannon, as well as of other worthies whose careers constitute, according to a well-remembered Vice-Roy of ours. Lord Elgin, what he happily styled " the heroic era of Canada," easy would be my task, ample the material. The pregnant though silent past abounds with grand figures in our historical drama ; of men illustrious in life, glo- rious in death ! But it is not my purpose to entertain you this evening with man's prowess in the early history of Canada. My object is to recite to you the plain and unvarnished tale of three of the purest, bravest and most devoted women that have illustrated the early part of our history, whose heroic deeds cast a guiding-hallow in the path of toiling and tottering humanity, and to whose spotless record thinking men cannot remain indifferent. We have had on our side of the frontier, as you have had on yours, several noteworthy women, who have left their foot- prints on the sands of time. One of the first recalled is the helpmate of the dauntless Ari, Science, Literature, and Commerce. log founder of Quebec, Hel^ne Boull^, the girlish-bride won by Samuel de Champlain from her gay and refined Parisian home, and whose sweetness later on, in 1620, made fragrant Canadian wilds. On the 5th December, i6fo, Champlain was wedded to Mademoiselle H^l^ne Boull6, whose father, Nicolas Boull6, was private secretary in the King's household. The damsel had not yet attained her twelfth year ; she had been brought up a Calvinist, the faith of her father. Her mother, Marguerite Alixe, originally a Roman Catholic, had also espoused her husband's creed : but presently we shall see the youthful H^lene adopting Champlain's religious tenets and becoming, in later years, quite an enthusiast in her newly-pledged faith. It was soon rumored that the daring founder of Quebec had not only won the hand of a handsome, high-born French girl, but also the heart of an heiress: 4,500 livres of her dowry of 6,000 livres were forthwith placed at the disposal of her liege lord to fit out vessels for his return to Quebec. However, it does not appear that until her landing in Quebec, the youthful bride had seen much of her elderly husband, who was constantly engaged about 161 8 in distant sea-voyages, land explorations and Indian wars. Champlain spent two years in France, and having realized upon all he possessed there, he persuaded his spouse, who had then attained her twenty-second year, to accom- pany him to Canada. She cheerfully consented, taking with her three maids-in-waiting. Intense was the joy of the struggling colonists at the return of their brave Governor, their trusted and powerful protector ; uo Ncio Papers on Canadian History, great was their admiration of the winsome and lovable wife that accompanied him. The first lady of Canada very soon realized what meant a Quebec home in 1620. It was a life of incessant alarms, with scurvy and periodical famines for the colonists ; of gluttony and pagan rites, of debauchery on the part of the greasy, naked and uncouth savages hutted round the fort. Within two years after Madame de Champlain's arrival, a large band of Iroquois hovered on the outskirts of Quebec. The recollection of the fatal effects of Champlain's arquebuse alone deterred them from raiding the town. One day Champlain and the greater portion of his men being abserjt, the war-whoop was sounded ; the women and children shut themselves in the fort, the Recollet Convent on the banks of the St. Charles was assailed. The friars fortified their quarters, and made a bold front ; the Iroquois retired after capturing two Hurons, whom they tortured and burnt. Judge of the alarm of the gentle deserted lady in the fort and of her French maids. For four successive winters January storms and prowling Indians had gathered round the battlements of the grim old fort, and still Madame de Champlain remained firm at her post of duty. One of her favorite occupations was that of ministering to the spiritual and temporal wants of the Indian children, and visiting them in their wigwams. Soon she appeared, in their simple and grateful eyes, as a species of superior being ; they felt inclined to worship her. History recalls the charms of her person, her winning manners, her kindliness. The Governor's lady, in her rambles in the forest, wore an article of feminine toilet not unusual in those days : a small mirror hung to her Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce, iii side. The savages took particular delight in seeing their swarthy face reflected in the magical glass. It appealed irresistibly to their simple nature : " A beauteous being, they said, who watched over them in sickness, who loved them so much as i-o carry their image close to her heart, must be more than human." Blessings and offerings attended her footsteps. The graceful figure of the first lady of Canada gliding noiselessly, more than two centuries ago, by the side of the murmuring waters of the wild St. Lawrence, a help-mate to her noble husband, a pattern of purity and refinement, was indeed a vision of female loveliness and womanly devotion for a poet to immortalize. Daily alarms, solitude, isolation from the friendly faces of her youth, soon began to tell on the forlorn chdtclainc. Four years of existence in this bleak wilderness was too much for the high-born dame, nurtured amidst the amenities of Parisian salons. She longed for the loved home beyond the seas. In her dreums another solitude had been revealed to her : the mystif- aolitude of the cloister, where, undisturbed, she might send up her prayers on high for her absent husband. One bright August morning in 1624, [the 15th], all Quebec sorrowfully watched the sails of a white-pennoned bark, reced- ing beyond Pointe Levi, conveying to less lonely climes the released captive. . . . Nineteen years after the death of her valiant knight, Madame de Champlain founded at Meaux, in France, a Convent of Ursulines nuns, to which she retired. On the 20th December, 1654, her gentle spirit took from thence its flight to less evanescent scenes. 112 New Papers on Canadian History, We shall shift the scene from the old Stadacona's heights to the rugged though fertile land to which the magic pencil of Longfellow has lent unfading glamour : to Acadia, now Nova Scotia. More than one hundred years before the forest primeval and golden wheat-fields of Grand Vxt had echoed the sighs of Longfellow's Acadian Maidens, there lived, loved and died on the historic shores of the river St. John, at Fort St. Louis, an accomplished French lady, known to history as the Lady de la Tour. Claude de St. Et"enne, Sieur de la Tour, was allied to the noble French house of Bouillon, but had lost the greater part of his estates in the civil wars. He came to Acadia about the year 1609 with his son Charles, who was then only fifteen years of age. Charles, after the destruction of Port-Royal by Argall, became the fast friend of Biencourt and lived with him, both leading a free and easy woodman's life. Biencourt claimed important rights in Port-Royal. At his death, he bequeathed his claims to the young Huguenot, Charles de la Tour, namingh im his lieutenant and successor in the Government of the colony ; he could not have selected a bolder, a more enterprising and successful leader. In 1625, or thereabout, Charles de la Tour married the lady whose adventurous career it is my object to depict. Shortly after his marriage he removed to a fort he had erected near Cape Sable, which he called Fort St. Louis, and which he also intended to make a convenient depot for Indian trade. Ari, Science, Literature, and Commerce. iij About this period the French colonists were becoming sensible of the weakness of their settlements in Acadia in case of foreign aggression. Claude de la Tour, the father of Charles, was sent to France to represent the matter to the French Gov- ernment. Returning with ammunition and supplies intended for Port-Royal and Quebec, the squadron, in 1628, was captured with Roquemont's fleet by Sir David Kirk, and Claude de la Tour was sent a prisoner to England. Far from losing heart, he seems to have made the most of his captivity to forward his own ends. A Huguenot of note, he found favor at once among the French Huguenots who, exiled from their own sunny land by intolerance, had sought an asylum in London. The English Monarch sought them as useful allies. Claude de la Tour was introuuced to Court, fell in love and married one of the ladies in wai.lug ol Queen Henrietta Maria, the consort of Charles I., and was dubbed a Nova Scotia knight. He, as well as his son who then commanded in Acadi.i, was pro- mised a grant of 4,500 square miles in the new Scotch colony to be founded there by Sir William Alexander, provided he could persuade his son to hand over his fort to the representa- tives of the English king. The unscrupulous parent, on mentioning to his son the price which those flattering distinctions and emoluments were to cost, soon found out that something greater than ill they might represent existed, that was summed up in the word " Honor." Charles de la Tour indignantly scorned tL ^ parental offer. Trouble was in store for Charles the moment D'Aulnay 11^ New Papers on Canadian History, Charnisay, Razely's lieutenant, came to Acadia in command of another settlement. Charnisay was restless, ambitious, revenge ful : " Acadia seemed too small for two such aspiring men." Soon Charnisay set to work to supplant his rival at the French Court, and succeeded through powerful friends. The blow fell on De la Tour in 1641 ; his commission as the King's Lieutenant was revoked and a vessel sailed from France to carry back the deposed Governor. Encouraged by his spirited wife, Charles refused to bend his head to the storm — urging that the King's good faith had been surprised. He fortified the fort, applied to Boston for help and sent a representative to the Huguenots of La Rochelle seeking aid against their great enemy, Richelieu. De Charnisay, in the meantime, had gone over to France to prosecute his deadly plans of revenge against De la Tour, and he heard of the arrival of the Lady De la Tour, whose influence he dreaded very much. He at once pro- cured an order for her arrest, as being an accomplice in her husband's treason. She fled to England and succeeded in chartering a ship in London, which she freighted with provis- ions and munitions of war to relieve her husband at Fort La Tour. Instead of steering straight for the Fort, the English captain spent several months trading on the coast for his own account. De Charnisay had not remained idle in the mean- while. On returning he laid watch and succeeded in inter- cepting the ship ; the master had to conceal in the hold his daring passenger, the Lady De la Tour, pretending his vessel was bound for Boston. De Charnisay then gave him a message to deliver to the Boston authoritie: and he reached there a few days after. 4. Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 115 This change of itinerary, added to the untoward delay which had already occurred, was a grievous loss and incon- venience to the Lady De la Tour. She brought suit in Boston against the English captain on the charter-party for damages, which were awarded to her to the extent of ^2,000 by a full bench of magistrates. She seized the cargo of the ship and hired three vessels to convey herself and property to Fort La Tour, where she arrived in 1644, to the great joy of her hus- band, after an absence of more than twelve months. De Charnisay, after storming at Governor Endicot and the Boston people generally, for having given help to Lady De la Tour, took advantage of the absence of Governor De la Toui from his fort to attack it fiercely, after having first apprised himself of its weak condition. The garrison, 'tis true, was small, but there was at its head an indomitable spirit worth a whole garrison, the Lady De la Tour. She stationed herself on the bastion, directing the cannonade and infusing into the combatants her own heroic spirit. Soon she had the satisfac- tion of seeing De Charnisay's ship making cover behind a point to prevent her sinking, and twenty of the besiegers laying dead and thirteen wounded. This repulse took place in February, 1645. De Charnisay's last attack on Fort La Tour occurred on the 13th April, 1645. This time the attack was directed from the land side. Unfortunately, the fort was in no better condi- tion than on former occasions to make an attack ; moreover, De la Tour was absent and in Boston, unable to reach the fort, owing to the armed cruisers with which De Charnisay patroled the Bay of Fundy. The Lady De la Tour, though Ji6 New Papers on Canadian History, despairing of making a successful resistance, resolved to defend the fort to the last.* For three successive days and nights the storming continued, but the defence was so well managed that the besiegers made no progress and De Char- nisay was compelled to retire with loss. Treachery, however, finally achieved what valor had failed to effect. Charnisay found means to bribe a Swiss sentry who formed part of the garrison, and on the fourth day, an Easter Sunday, while the garrison were at prayers, this traitor per- mitted the enemy to approach without giving any warning. They were in the act of scaling the walls before the inmates of the fort were aware of their attack. Lady De la Tour instantly rushed out at the head of her soldiers and fought the besiegers with so much vigor that Charnisay, who had already lost twelve men besides many wounded, despaired of the success of his undertaking. He therefore proposed terms of capitulation, offering the garrison life and liberty if they consented to sur- render. Lady De la Tour, persuaded that successful resistance was no longer possible and desirous of saving the lives of those under her command, accepted the terms offered by Charnisay and allowed him to enter the fort It was then that the full baseness of Charnisay's nature was revealed. With the exception of one man, he ordered the * Madame De la Tour's career is the subject of one of John Greenleaf Whittier's sweetest poems, entitled : Saint John, 1647. The noble con- duct of her husband in refusing to surrender to his father's sollicitations, for the English king, the French fort he held, was immortalized in verse by the late G^rin-Lajoie, one of our leading writers, in a drama, entitled : Le Jeune Latour. Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. iiy whole garrison, Frencly as well as English, to be hanged ; the one life he spared was on the dreadful condition that he should become the executioner of his comrades in arms. Even the slaughter of these poor soldiers failed to satisfy his blood- thirsty instincts. Had he dared, he would doubtless have had Lady De la Tour assassinated with the rest ; but the Court of France, venal though it was, might not have tolerated such an outrage. Charnisay did what was almost as contemptible ; the heroic womai., with a rope around her neck, like one who' should also have been executed, but who by favor had been reprieved, was forced to be present at the execution of her soldiers. It mattered nought to her what further schemes of vengeance her implacable foe might devise. None could move her, her great heart was broken. She was far away from her husband, to whose fortunes she had been so faithful ; she dared scarcely hope to see his face again, except, like herself, a cap- tive. Her work in life was done ; she felt she was not born for captivity, so she faded away and drooped day by day, until her heroic soul left its earthy tenement. Within three weeks after the capture of the fort she was laid to rest on the green banks of the St. Johns River, which she had loved so well, and where she had lived for so many years, " leaving a name as proudly enshrined in Acadian history," says the historian, "as that of any sceptered Queen in European history." Let us now review one of those energetic characters which marked one of the proudest epochs in Canadian history : The era of Frontenac. You have all heard of the dashing French regiment of Carignan, commanded by Colonel de Sali^res, which the Grand ii8 New Papers o?t Canadian History^ Monarque, Louis XIV., in 1664, had given his haughty Vice- Roy, the Marquis de Tracy, as an escort to Quebec. It was officered by sixty or seventy French gentlemen, many of whom were connected with the French noblesse. Four companies, some six hundred men, were disbanded shortly after their arrival in New France. The officers and privates were induced, by land grants, supplies of cattle and other marks of royal favor to marry and settle in the New World. Many of them acquiesced and became the respected sires of the leading French families in after years. Among them De Chambly, Sorel, Du Gu6, La Valtrie, Verch^res, Berthier, Granville, Contrecceur, De Meloises, Tarieu de la Parade, Saint-Ours, De la Fouille, Maximin, Lobeau, Petit, Rougemont, Traversy, De la Nouette, Lacombe and others, worthy comrades in arms of De Lon- gueuil, d'lberville, and de Ste-H^l^ne. One of them, M. de Verch^res, obtained in 1672, on the banks of the St. Lawrence, near Montreal, where now stands the flourishing parish of Verch^res, a land-grant, of three miles square, which the King materially increased in extent the following year. In those troublesome times, the seigneur's house meant a small fort, to stave off Indian aggression. " These forts," says the historian Charlevoix, "were merely extensive enclosures, surrounded by palisades and redoubts. The church and the dwelling of the seigneur were within the enclosure, which was sufficiently large to admit, on an emergency, the women and children, and the farm-cattle ; one or two sentries mounted guard by day and by night ; with small field pieces, they kept in check the skulking enemy and served to warn the settlers to Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. iig arm and hasten to the rescue. These precautions were sufficient to guard against a raid," but not in all cases as we shall soon see. Taking advantage of the absence of M, de Verch^res, the ever-watchful Iroquois drew stealthily around the little fort and took to climbing over the palisades. On hearing which, Marie- Madeleine de Verch^res, the youthful daughter of the seigneur, seized a musket and fired it. The marauders alarmed, slunk away, but on finding that they were not pursued, they returned and spent two days hovering like wolves around the fort, however not daring to enter, as ever and anon a bullet would reach the man who first attempted an escalade. What increased their surprise, was that they could detect inside no living creature except a woman ; but this female was so active, so fearless, so ubiquitous, that she seemed to be everywhere at once. Nor did her unerring fire cease, so long as there was an enemy in sight. The dauntless holder of the fort Verch^res was Mile de Verch^res, then in her twelfth year. This hap- pened in 1690. Two years later, the Iroquois returned in larger force, having chosen the time of the year when the settlers were engaged in the fields, tilling the soil, to pounce upon them. Mile de Verch^res, then aged fourteen, happened to be saun- tering on the river bank. Noticing a savage aiming at her, she eluded his murderous intent by rushing homeward at the top of her speed ; but for swiftness of foot the Indian was her match, terror added wings to her flight. With tomahawk up- raised, he gradually gained upon her, and was in fact rapidly closing as they neared the fort, another bound and she might 120 New Papers on Canadian History, be beyond his reach. Straining every nerve, the Indian sprang and seized the kerchief which covered her throat. Rapid as thought, and whilst the exulting savage raised his arm to strike the fatal blow, Mademoiselle tore asunder the knot which fastened her kerchief, and, bounding within the fort like a gazelle, closed the door against her pursuer. ** To arms ! To arms ! ! " Without heeding the groans of the inmates, who could see from the fort their husbands and brothers carried away as prisoners, she rushed to the bastion, where stood the solitary sentry, seized a musket and a soldier's cap, and ordered a great clatter of guns, so as to make believe the fort was fully manned. She next loaded a small field-piece, and not having a wad at hand, thrust in a towel instead, and discharged the piece at the enemy. This unexpected rebuff, struck terror in the marauders, who saw their warriors one after the other grievously hit. Thus armed and with but the aid of one soldier only, she continued the fire. Presently the alarm reached the neighborhood of Montreal, when an intrepid officer, the Chevalier de Crisasi, brother io the Marquis of Crisasi, then Governor of Three Rivers, rushed to Verch^res at the head of a chosen band of men ; but the savages had made good their retreat with three prisoners. After a three days pursuit, the Chevalier found them with their captives strongly intrenched in the woods on the borders of Lake Champlain. The French officer completely routed the murderous crew — cut them to pieces only a few who escaped. The prisoners were released, all New France resounded with the fame of Mile de Verch^res who was awarded the title of heroine. Another instance of heroism on her part, added fame to her Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 121 reputation for courage. A French commander, M. de La Nau- di^re de la Parade, was pursuing the Iroquois, some writers say in the neighborhood of the river Richelieu, according to others in the vicinity of the river Ste.-Anne, when there sprang, unexpectedly, out of the underbrush, a swarm of the implacable foes. Taken unaware M. de la Parade was just on the point of falling a victim to their ambush when Mile de Verch^res, seizing a musket, rushed on the enemy at the head of some resolute men and succeeded in saving him from the Indian toma- hawk. She had achieved a conquest, or better she became the conquest of M. de la Perade, whose life she saved. Henceforth, in history, the heroine de Verch^res will be known as Madame de la Parade, the wife of an influential seigneur. The fame of the heroine reached the banks of the Seine, and Louis XIV. instructed his Vice-Roy in New France to call upon her in person and procure her version of her courageous deeds. The simple statement pleased the French Monarch very much. It was my intention to close the career of the Heroine of Verch^res with this last episode, but on the eve of my leaving for New York, an antiquarian friend, a lineal descendant also of this noble woman, the Hon. Justice George Baby, of the Court of Appeals, placed in my hand an unpublished memoir revealing Madame de la Parade, as possessing the uncommon courage and presence of mind you have just admired, not merely in the ' spring-tide of her existence, but retaining it as well in the autumn of life. This document, aside of its historical value, gives interest- ing glimpses of the vicissitudes of the daily life of the Canadian 122 New Papers on Canadian History, seigneurs in those time. Possibly you will forgive me for trespassing on your indulgence a few moments longer, to give you in English a few extracts. " Many years," says the Memoir,* " after Mile de Verch6res' marriage to M. Tarieu de la Naudi^re, Sieur de la Parade, she was instrumental in saving his life a second time. The Iroquois, true to their sanguinary instincts and to their deadly hatred of the French, never pad- dled past Ste.-Anne de la Parade without leaving there some trace of their hatred. About sunset, one mellow September afternoon, either believing that M. de la Parade was absent and that they had a chance to surprise the settlement, they landed. The seignorial manor stood apart from other dwellings, a short distance from the river, secluded from public gaze by a thick growth of forest trees. Madame de la Parade's aged husband was confined to his bed grievously ill. Except his wife and a young maid servant sixteen years of age, no other inmates were inside. "The marauding Indians suddenly, landed from their canoes which the rushes hid from view. One party marched *This narrative, adds Judge Baby, I had from my aged aunt, Mile Marguerite de La Naudi^re, a granddaughter of the heroine, who expired at Quebec on the 17th of November, 1856, at the age of 81 years. The venerable Mile de La Naudi^re was for years in Quebec a kind of landmark between the past and the present. Her memory, conversational powers and repartees, made her sought after by the highest in the land ; her dignified and courteous manners reminded one of the old school. More than once our Governors General and their families called on her, in her St.-Louis Street mansion ; among others, the Earl of Elgin, Sir Edmund Walker Head, Lord Monck. After his departure, Lord Elgin, kept up with her a friendly correspondence until her death. Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. I2j towards the house, whilst another crouched behind the trees waiting for a signal. " A glimpse at the savages revealed to Madame de la Parade what fate awaited her and her husband. She forthwith bolted and barricaded the front door as best she could, coolly directing her maid to fetch the only two fire-arms left by the absent farm hands, she determined to face the foe, and if possible keep them outside. " The leader of the band and his blood-thirsty crew, had scarcely ascended the wide flight of steps which led to the front door of the manor, when she, without even allowing him to speak, addressed him in his own dialect and in a firm voice asked what he wanted. " The chief, taken aback at hearing a white woman speak his language, replied, in a subdued tone, that he wished to confer with M. de la Parade — that he was the bearer of an important message, stating that he and his friends knew enough of the hospitality of M. de la Parade to warrant their visit to his house and to expect meat and drink as well ; that they were hungry and thirsty, adding also that a little fire-water would be acceptable. " Madame de la Parade, without exhibiting the slightest fear, replied that her husband was engaged, could not see them told them to leave. " The chief, convinced that he had merely to deal with a lone woman, exchanged in a whisper a few words with his followers ; then, raising his tone, insolently answered that if the door was not instantly thrown open, that they would soon find a way to enter. " Well did Madame de la Parade know the treatment which 124 New Papers on Canadian History, awaited her, should the Indians enter. Her husband lay help- lessly ill, within hearing of all this. Something had to be done, and that instantly. Sending up to heaven a prayer for help, she felt stronger, and, undaunted, spoke as follows : ' The door shall remain closed, and if you refuse to go, I shall find means to compel you.' " The savages used their utmost strength in order to break in ; in those days the door of a Canadian manor required to be strong, as you may be sure. " Baffled, the Indians rushed down the steps, uttering their terrible war-whoop. Then crowding abreast a window, through which they felt sure to find a passage, they poured in a volley of shot and bullets which went crashing through the sash and lodged in the wainscot and rafters. " Quick as lightning, Madame de la Parade fired on the murderous redskins, first one gun, then another. Astonished by this vigorous reception, the marauders wavered, shrank back, and finally retreated bearing one of their comrades wounded in the leg. Instantly reloading, Madame de la Parade, had just time, under the gathering shadows of evening, to give the retreating horde another volley. One of those panics common to Indians seems to have occurred ; and fancying the place was protected they ran to their canoes. " The brave woman's trials were only half over, for at this moment, her young maid came rushing to her, saying : ' The roof is on fire!' Parthian like, in their retreat, the Iroquois, had directed flaming arrows towards the old peaked moss- covered gable. How could her sick husband escape the flames ? Even if she should succeed in carrying him beyond their reach, Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce. 12^ were not the Indians lurking in the neighboring woods and watching for a chance to pounce upon them ? " She was not yet aware that the defeated savages were retreating in their canoes from an imaginary pursuing foe. Her first impulse was to ascend to the burning roof with her maid and pour water on the flames ; her next thought was to rush through the smoke and fire- to the apartment where M. de la Parade lay, and implore him to rise and save himself. But all in vain, he was too enfeebled. Thanking his devoted wife, he replied that it seemed as if it were the will of God he should die then. 'Adieu! Adieu! my kind and true friend,' said he, 'twice under God's dispensation your heroism has saved me from the Indian tomahawk. To-day, God calls me ! I am ready. Adieu.' " Madame de la Parade, momentarily crushed by this har- rowing scene, suddenly felt herself endowed with a supernatural fortitude, and, seizing her sick husband in her arms she carried him out, deposited him on the grass, and then, physically and mentally exhausted fell insensible by his side. " The evening was c«lm and the fire smouldered slowly on the house-top. Soon a shower which had been threatening, broke, and in a measure put out the fire whose reflection had attracted the tenantry who came to the rescue." The heroine of Verch^res expired at Ste.-Anne, on the 7th August, 1737. Have these remarkable careers no lessons ? In Madame de Champlain, we have a lady of noble birth, youth and beauty ; a life pure and gentle, and kindliness combined to such a degree as to make the possessor appear " more than human " to those among whom fate had cast her. 126 New Papers on Canadian History, Madame de la Tour exhibits a sterner, more Spartan spirit, ready at all times to confront war contumely, adversity in its direst form ; a model of sweet, womanly devotion to her husband and of self-sacrifice to duty. In Mile de Verch^res, you have to admire the warm blood of youth blending with the cool courage of maturer years ; the masculine daring of the sterner portion of humanity pulsating through a heart of fourteen summers, and gathering strength with the weight of years. Allow me to close my remarks with the sentiment expressed in my opening : May Providence, in its clemency, continue to send us more of those true, tender and brave spirits, beacons from on high, to light up the rugged path of erring, mortal man ! Works on Canadian History consulted : — Histoire de la Colonie Franqaise en Canada. — Faili.oU, Vol. I, pp. 17, 185, 252. Cours d' Histoire du Canada. — Ferland, Vol. I, p. 234. First Conquest of Canada, — KiRKE, p. 69. Relations des Jisuites. Chroniques des Ursulines de Meaux. — ^JOURNAL DE QUEBEC, 1854. Art, Science, Literature, and Commerce, I2y History of Nova 5i-tf//Vi.— Beamish Murdoch. History of Acadia.—]. Cavenay. Histoire des Grandes Families Fran^aises du Canada. — DANIEL. Histoire du Gi«rtrf pire. Pantheon Canadien. — BlBAUDyV««^, p. 295. Histoire de I'Amirique Septentrionale. — B\QUEV!LLE DE LA POTHERNE. Mimoires et Lettres de famille. — Hon. Judge Geo. Baby. h>^i '> s > »»^»» ' S $ »»»»»> 4: ^ > >»> > > >> > >>>>>>>>>>>^> « < < C<<<