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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 - TORONTO: '•'IIE GROUNDS UPON WHICH ARE BASED HER CLAIMS TO BE €\t ^mt flf #0lrerDment af €nmh; WITH A MEMORANDUM ADDKESSKD BY SIE FRANCIS BOND HEAD, Bart., TO THB Mukx^ 0f ShU iat i\t Mmm^ ON THE SUBJECT. TORONTO: THOMPSON & Co., PRINTERS, 52 KING STREET EAST. lecs. Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies having (in a note dated 5th of January, 1858), authorised Sir Francis Bond Head, Bart., ''to communicate his opinion on the selection of the Seat of Government in Canada to any one he might think proper," the publishers have suc- ceeded in obtaining a copy of this important and interesting official docu- ment, and submit it, together with " a statement of the grounds upon which " Toronto bases her claim to becoming the permanent Seat of Government " for the Province of Canada," prepared by a Select Committee of the Common Council of the City of Toronto, to the public. Toronto, February 27th, 1858. CLAIMS OF THE CITY OF TORONTO TO BE THE PERMANENT SEAT OF GOVERNMENT OF CANADA. Governor's Secretary's Office, (Circular.) Toronto, C. W. March, 28th, 1857. Sir, You are possibly aware that the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of Canada have addressed Her Most Gracious Majesty to exercise Her Prerogative in the selection of a perma- nent Seat of Government for the whole Province. In the event of Her Majesty complying with the prayer of their addresses His Excellency, is anxious that Her advisers in England should be enabled to place before Her a full and fixed statement of the claim of each separate city which may be considered a candi- date for the honor of becoming the future capital of Canada. As a matter of course the final selection must depend on a com- prehensive survey of the interests, not of any one place, but of the whole Province, as part of British North America. The claims, however, of each city are likely to be stated by the persons most interested in supporting them, better than they would be by any other party. His Excellency, therefore, invites the Corporation of Toronto to cause to be prepared a paper setting forth the reasons which may, in their opinion, favour the claim of that place to be selected by the Queen. With every wish to afford full time for preparing these state- ments, His Fxcellency desires that it may be in the hands of the Colonial Secretary by the first week in July in the present year. You will please, if you soo fit to comply with Ilia Excolleucy's desire, address the packet to the llight Honorable the Secretary of State for the Colonics, London, and endorse it with the words, *' City of Toronto, Canada." I have the honor to be. Sir, Your obed't. serv't. To His Worship R. T. PENNEFATHER. The Mayor, Toronto. The foregoing Communication was referred, by the late Council, to a Select Committee, consisting of the Mayor, John Hutchison, Esquire, Aldermen Brunei, Manning, Mowat, Phillpotts, and Rob- inson, with Councillors Earl, Moodie, Ramsey and Sproatt. The Committee reported the following as the claims of the City of To- ronto, and it was, in compliance with the instructions contained in the circular, transmitted to the Colonial Secretary, accompanied by several maps and photographic views of buildings and streets of To- ronto, early in July, 1857. Mayor's Office, July 1st, 1857. To THE Right Honorable The Secretary of State For the Colonies. Sir, — The Governor General having called upon me to furnish Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies with a statement of the grounds upon which Toronto bases her claims to becoming the permanent Seat of Government for the Province of Canada, I have now the honour of addressing you in compliance with His Excellency's request. In order to estimate the value of the arguments on which I rely for establishing the justice of the selection I am advocating, it is necessary to state the considerations which will naturally influence Her Majesty's Government in determining upon the selection of a site for the permanent Capital of Canada. In doing so, I h&ie endeavoured to approach the question in a broad and extended view of those interests which concern the whole Province, uninfluenced by the supposed claims of any particular locality to especial con- sideration, for this city repudiates the idea that it has any pre- tensions to the distinction of continuing to be the metropolis of this vast dependency of the British Crown, other than those based upon an enlarged and prospective view of public policy, convenience and justice to the people, considered as one great body of British sub- jects, without regard to national distinctions, which time is rapidly obliterating. Among the considerations which may be presumed to influence the determination of this important question are — 1st. The convenience of the people to be governed, keeping in view the direction in which the settlement of the unoccupied ter- ritories is advancing, as indicated by past experience. The extent and availability of those territories for the purpose of colonization. And also tlie commercial energy of the people as evinced by their commercial wealth and enterprise. 2nd. Economy. 3rd. The defence of the capital in the event of war with the ad- joining States. Although the exigencies which may arise during a state of war are not to be disregarded, it appears just to give the greatest im- portance to the considerations first named, and in relation to them I shall confine myself strictly to facts deduced from official docu- ments, which, without doubt, are within the archives of your office. When the Union of the two Provinces was consummated the districts bordering on the waters of Lake Ontorio at its western extremity were looked upon as being conterminous with the west- ern limits of Canada. In 1843, the population of the two Provinces numbered 1,190,867, and of these there were in the Home District (in which Toronto is situated) and westward of its eastern boundary only 275,081, being 23.1 per cent of the whole population.* * S«e Statistics published in "Bouchette's" Map, 1843. »■ I J"J« 9W i fl 6 lu 1851, by the census then taken, tlie population of United Canada was found to bo 1,842,265, and of these there ^^oro to the westward of the same lino, 570,524, being 30.3 per cent, of the whole, and exhibiting an increase in eight years of IIO.G per cent, west of the supposed line of demarcation, and only 37 per cent, eastward of it. A similar rate of increase, if maintained, would, in 1859, make the population west of Toronto, 1,220,477, and east of it, 1,729,955, while in 1867, just ten years hence, a similar ratio of increase will give a population west and east respectively, of 2,570,324 west, and 2,370,038 east. In like manner, if wo estimate the density of population embraced within circles described with equal radii, and having the various competing cities as centres ; by the ratio of increase indicated by the census of 1851, as compared with that previously taken, we find that, in 1859, within a radius of 50 MILES. 100 MILES. 150 MILES. * Toronto will have 596,992 1,118,578 1,460,558 Montreal will have 551,667 841,185 1,182,868 Quebec will have 251,262 425,523 897,423 Ottawa will have 234,969 544,242 1,179,810 Kingston will have 180,640 621,383 833,567 Thus satisfactorily proving that within two years (as in all proba- bility it now is) Toronto will be the centre not only of the greatest wealth, but the greatest number of inhabitants. As the above calculations are based upon data obtained from official documents, and represent a period of eight years, four of which were years of extraordinary depression, and inasmuch as the progress of settlement in the adjoining States exhibits parallel re- sults, I can discover no reason for questioning the correctness of the deductions drawn therefrom. But doubts, however unfounded, may arise as to the extent of territory available for agricultural purposes, west of this city, being sufficient for so large a population * These figures are arrived at by increasing the population in each district or county included within the limits named, in the ratio of increase shewn by the census of 1851, and those previously taken. These ratios vary from 13 8-lOths per cent, per annum for the districts west of Toronto, down to 8 68-lOOthB for th« district of Montreal. as I have indicated, without checking the ratio of increase on which my jfigures are founded, by ceasing to afford the requisite inducements to settlers, as will presently be seen no such, check is likely to occur. I shall hereafter refer to the Red River Settlement, and the Hudson Bay Territory, and their probable future connection with this Province ; but for the present I shall confine myself to the boundaries of Canada as usually exhibited on maps. Thus United Canada extends from the 64th to the 91st degree of longitude west of Greenwich, and from the 42nd to the 51st parallel of north latitude. Toronto is in longitude 79° 25" west, and nearer as re- gards the east and west limits of the Province to the geographical centre of the country to be governed, than any of the cities men- tioned in connection with this question, and if we exclude from our argument the sterile coasts and territory bounding the Gulf of St. Lawrence, it will be found that this city lies in fact somewhat to tho eastward of the centre ; especially will this appear if we exclude all territory which lies to the north of the mean temperature of Quebec, (i. e. 41 of Farenheit) as we might justly do for all practical pur- poses of colonization. In this way the number of square miles of territory east of the meridian of Toronto would be reduced to 85,690, and west of that meridian there would be 180,484 square miles. That the isothermal line of 41° of mean temperature which passes through Quebec is deflected by the influence of the great inland seas far to the north of the assumed Canadian Territory, is an im- portant fact, inasmuch as the moderate temperature which prevails over the vast tract of finely timbered lands lying to the north of Lakes Huron and Superior, is a guarantee that an early period will see them settled by an agricultural population who will not only be able to supply the wants of those engaged in mining operations on the shores of these lakes, but will have a large surplus of cereals for exportation to Europe. Recent explorations through the territory alluded to, have proved it to be well adapted to colonization, and capable of immediately 8 III affording vast and almost unlimited supplies of timber of tho finest quality.* In fact, therefore, the territory westward of the meridian of Toronto is greater in extent than that to the eastward of it, and if we take into consideration the vast prairies (and the magnificent uplands drained by the Saskatchewan and other rivers) within the British possessions, and if we add to tho importance of these the value of tho vast coal fields and other mineral resources between this Province and the Rocky Mountains, and bear in mind that tho lino of mean temperature before mentioned still tends towards the north as we advance westward, wo shall be forced to the inevitable con- clusion that the present generation will see interests in existence about the shores of Lake Superior, equal in every respect to those which now render the trade of Lakes Huron, Erie, and Ontario, so important an item in the commerce of America. f Apart from all these, however, the fertile districts of the west- ern Peninsula, already surveyed and in a course of settlement, af- ford abundant space for a population far greater than I have in- dicated, without any portion of it becoming more thickly settled than the counties lately constituting the County of York now arc ; it is abundantly evident therefore, that both as regards population and territorial extent, this city occupies a more central position than any other city named as likely to be selected for tho seat of gov- ernment.J It has been justly held that where Railways are in existence, the activity of the traflSc over them may be fairly taken as the exponent * See Commissioner of Crown Lands' Report for 1856, pages 37 & 88. Also appendix to the same, pages 262 & 271. f See Report of Commissioner of Crowu Lands for 1856, pages 40 to 47. J In 1848 the population of the Home District in the County of York was 106,- 852. In 1851 it was 186,111. Increase, equal to 9 per cent, j^/er annum, 28,759. By the at .e rate of increase the population of the Home District or County of York is now 207,070. The number of square miles according to Bouchette, in the Home District is 2,064. Number of inhabitants to 1 square mile 100 3-lOths. The number of square miles in the districts west of the east limit of the Home District or County of York, already surveyed, is 27,671. The population would therefore be equal to 2,775,401 if as thickly settled as the countj- constituting the old County of York or Home District. The following will j hat Extract from the Spe t . i :' .i ^^-; I 1 f The following will prove interesting at this moment, as had neither prejudice, nor local interest Extract from the Speech of Edward Gibbon Wakefifl question of the Seat of Gover He hoped that he had not mis-apprehended the hon. gentleman, to whose speech he had listened very attentively, and it appeared to him that the hon. gentleman had founded his whole argument on the practice of our republican neighbours. He understood the hon gentleman to maintain that it would be for the advantage of a country like this to have the seat of its Government in an obscure village ; that it was desirable to place the delegates of the people in a shualion where the}'' would be under the influence of no opi- nion but that which they themselves should constitute. Nay, he had even gone further, t^ '>ugh perhaps not seriously, urging that it Wc ild be well if the Parliament sat in a pliice where the members would be apt to imbibe agricultural rather than commercial ideas— in a village for example, where the cows and pigs were constantly in sight. But his main argument, the really important point in hie* speech, were the alleged expe- diency of placing the representative body out of the reach of public opinion. That was a strange doctrine, and would even be thought so in the United States. It was true that in many of those states, the seat of government was an obscure village ; but this was not for the sake of the obscurity, but merely with a view to the advantages which would accrue from selecting the most centrical spot For a democratic state the most centrical spot might be the best seat of government, be- cause the greater part of government in such a state was carried on in the different locali- ties by municipal authority, and the func- tions of the central government v/ere almost coiinned to occasional meetings of the dele- gates of the people for the purpose of making laws. Perhaps the best seat for such a go- vernment was the spot which the delegates could most conveniently reach, and from treal presented a remarkable co: Kingston, where for the last t\^ years the Executive Governmen placed out of the reach of public c had been his lot on more than oi to find the Executive Government foundly ignorant on subjects of ii with respect to which he (Mr. "" had just before obtained ample i at Montreal. At Montreal one < information of the state of feel in part of the Province, whether in t of Quebec, or this District, or Western part of the country with gallant Knight opposite was com was so because people from all p Province visited Montreal ; when came to Kingston * except as on( turnpike, for the purpose of passiii i it There was no public opinioi cept during the occasional meeti Legislature. At other times, th ment itself was in a state of ba and this was the state of thinsfs hon. member for Niagara so mucl The Attorney General for Upper C stated that Montreal was the nat of the population of the Province. * * * * * He thought he had made out +ha1 was what was called " the heart Canada." He spoke not of the inhabiting the city, but ^f the vast of the people to whom it was and centre of communications. Thai indisputable ; and those who did ] his view of the expediency of p monarchical administration of affi population centre, rather than the j cal centre of a country, would ; iVIontreal was the proper Seat of G for United Canada. tioment, as exhibiting the views of a Statesman, who 3cal interest to warp his Judgment. Wakefifld, Esq, M. P. P., at Kingston, on the r OF Government in 1843. I remarkable contrast with for the last two or three tive Government had been reach of public opinion. It on more than one occasion tive Government here pro- on subjects of importance, which he (Mr. Wakefield) )btained ample information Montreal one could gain e state of feeling in every ,ce, whether in the District his District, or the more the country with which the pposite was connected. It eople from all parts of the VIontreal ; whereas nobody * except as one goes to a purpose of passing through Lo public opinion here ex- occasional meetings of the other times, the Govern- in a state of banishment ; state of thinnjs which the Niagara so much admired, leral for Upper Canada had real was the natural centre of the Province. * « # ♦ d made out +hat Montreal tiled " the heart of United poke not of the numbers J, but wf the vast proportion horn it was and would be a mications. That fact was I those who did not dispute expediency of placing the inistration of affairs in the rather than the geographi- 30untry, would admit that proper Seat of Government I. was, no doubt, said to make a certain im- pression upon him and his companions ; but if that was what his hon. and learned friend, the member for Kingston, intended, he must address himself to somebody more impres- sionable than he (Mr. Wakefield) was. He would now turn to another point in the debate. It had been emphatically stated that Lord Sydenham had given a solemn pledge that the Seat of Government should be in Upper Canada. Some called it a solemn pledge ; some a direct assurance ; others, a positive promise. He should like to be told the occasion and manner of this important act. He remembered that the subject of the Seat of Government had been discussed in that house during the Session of 1841, when Lord Sydenham was residing within a stone's throw of them ; and yet not a word was then uttered about this ^^ solemn pledge.-' It had never been mentioned till Lord Sydenham was dead, never whispered till the princi- pal witness had departed forever; but he ventured to assure that Hon. gentleman, that persons whose character for veracity and accuracy stood as high as his (Mr. Cart- wright's), high as that was, and highly as he (.Mr. W.) respected it, had publicly de- clared that Lord Sydenham had privately assured them that Montreal would ultimately be the Seat of Government, and that he had placed it for a time at Kingston for the three- fold purpose of removing the Legislature from the influence of Toronto, of depriving the French Canadian population of influence, and of " letting Upper Canada down easy." It was to be regretted that such statements on either side had not been made whilst Lord Sydenham was alive and present to speak for himself; as it was, they deserved no weight. There was only one point more on which laws. Perhaps tlie best seat for such a go- vernment was the spot which the delegates could most conveniently reach, and from which they could most conveniently return home ; that is, the geographical centre of the country without regard to other conside- rations. It was on this principle doubtless, that the seat of government for the great state of New York had been placed at Al- bany, and that of Pensylvania in the obscure village of Harrisburg. But he had now to draw a most important distinction — one which had not been alluded to in the debate, nor did he find it noticed in the Minute of Council on this subject — he meant the v^ery different considerations which should guide a legislature in determin- ing the seat of a monarchical government. Bearing in mind that under a monarchy the business of government is performed by an Executive which carries into effect the laws *l 16 Yon aro aware that I have recoivod no assistanod from your office ; and, excepting brief answers to a very few queries which I sent by post to the Hon. Mr. Boulton and Mr. Merritt, M.P.P., who yesterday read my memorandum, and pointed out three very trifling mistakes, which I have corrected in red ink, I have had no private communication with any one. I have the honour to bo. Sir, Your faithful and obedient Servant, F. B. HEAD. The Right Hon. H. Labouchere, Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies, &c., &c., &c. ii ■' MEMORANDUM, ' Endeavouring to demonstrate the locality in Canada which, for the general benefit of the Province, and of the Empire, should be selected as the Capital. BRITISH AMERICA. The British possessions in North America, according to Alison, amount to 4,109,630 geographical miles, of which 1,340,000 square miles are water. The terrestrial globe embraces about 37,000,000 square miles — so that British America (which exceeds the area and territories of the United States by 939,000 square miles) contains nearly a ninth part of the whole terrestrial surface of the globe. -^-^---.,-.-:.--~.,^^-.^^.^^^^, As, however, the atmosphere in which we live, and which is computed to be about equal in weight to a globe of lead of sixty miles in diameter, at two miles height is scarcely dense enough to bear up the clouds, at a height of six miles becomes too thin for respiration, and at a height of fifty miles is of such rarity that it produces little or no refraction of the rays of light ; so does the surface of the earth diminish in value as it approaches the sterile uninhabitable regions of eternal snow. l-»- ^ . p i ^.' <;• ' ■%. *; ' ^%. '^^ ' * VO to q: LjJ o cr 17 a z CANADA. Keeping the above fact in mind, it may be stated that, in geography the Province of Canada (exclusive of the Red River Settlement and Hudson's Bay Territory) forms very nearly a right-angled triangle, (see annexed sketch) of which the base, fronting the north, and lying in the latitude of Dover, is equal in distance to a line drawn from the northern extremity of Scotland, across the German Ocean, across Norway, across the broadest part of Sweden, across the Baltic, and up the whole of the Gulf of Fin- land, to St. Petersburg. From this northern base to the opposite angle, or southern extremity of Canada, the distance is equal to a line drawn from Antwerp to the Pyrenees, or from the latitude of Dover to that of Rome. Of the great Canadian triangle above described, more than four-fifths, forming the northern portion of its area, from the severity of its climate, and from other circumstances, ever has been, still is, and for a considerable time must remain totally uninhabited. And yet of the remaining portion, which, practically speaking, forms the present Province of Canada, and which in reality is all that is represented by 130 members of the Provincial Parliament, the dimensions are very great. For instance, from the entrance of the River St. Lawrence to the western extremity of Canada the distance is equal to a lino drawn from Falmouth to Gibraltar. In each of the following brief descriptions, it will be deemed necessary, in order to determine the best locality for the capital of Canada, to draw a comparison, not between all the rival candidate cities, but between the Upper and the Lower Province; for if, when fairly weighed, the preponderant importance of either shall be clearly and indisputably established, the difficulties of selection will, of course, be greatly reduced. CLIMATE. In Lower Canada, the entrance of the River St. Lawrence is in the latitude of Guernsey. ■!^ 18 i;.,i!5 i ■; :\i 1* ! In Upper Canada, the whole region may be said to lie between the latitudes of Bourdeaux and Valencia in Portugal, Toronto being situated aboui 480 miles to the south of Sidmouth in Devonshire. But in consequence of the vast territory on the north remaining uncleared, the vrhoie of Canada is at present, in winter, about nine degrees colder than countries in the same latitude in Europe ; and accordingly it appears from the printed emigration reports, that while the climate of Upper Canada has proved attractive to British emigrants, the intense cold of the Lower Province in winter has had an opposite effect. In the last census of the Canadas, for 1851 and 1852, presented to both Houses of the Provincial Parliament, by order of the Governor General, the difference of salubrity between the climate of Upper and Lower Canada is thus described (vol. 2, page 28) : " The longevity of Canada West (Upper), when compared with that of other countries, speaks volumes of its general bealthfulness ; and it is most interesting to compare the ratios of death to the number of living in Canada and the United States ; the number of the latter exceeding that of Upper Canada in proportion to the population, by about 36 per cent., and of Lower Canada by 25 per cent." The difference of salubrity between the Upper and Lower Provinces being in favour of Upper Canada 11 per cent. SURFACE OP CANADA. The surface of Canada is composed of vast regions of land and of fresh water. Land. — The statistics published, by and in the possession of the Provincial Government, indisputably shew, that of these regions of land by far the largest and richest portions are in the Upper Province; and that even on the west of Toronto there lies, cultivated and uncultivated, more rich land than exists in the whole of Lower Canada. ' i- ? The comparative demand for, and marketable value of lands, in the Upper and Lower Provinces, are demonstrated in the Report of the Commissioner of Crown Lands for the year 1856, printed by H:' ia, 19 order of the Provincial Parliament, by which it appears, that in the year 1856, there were sold Crown lands : — In Lower Canada, at 2s. 3d. per acre, to the amount of X5,145 13s. 3d. In Upper Canada, at about 4s. per acre, to the amount of j£52,319 9s. 4d., being nearly double the price, and more than ten times the amount of the land sold in the Lower Province. Water. — The aqueous surface of Canada is composed of — 1«^. Four Lakes, or Seas, belonging conjointly to Upper Canada only and to the United States, of the following dimensions : Lake Superior — 20 times af' long and 4 J times as broad "^ as from Lake Huron — 10 times as long and 8 1-5 times as broad Lake Erie — 13 1-5 times as long and 3 times as broad Lake Ontario — 8 1-5 times as long and 1| times as broad Dover to Calais. With the above is connected — Lake Michigan (belonging to the United States) — 13J times as long and 4| times as broad as from Dover to Calais. These inland seas (of which the four that geographically divide Upper Canada from, or, commercially speaking, connect it with the United States, cover a surface of 150,000 square miles, forming the noblest inland channel of fresh water on the globe, communicate, £8 is well known, with the seaports of Montreal and Quebec by 2nd. The St. Lawrence River, which, in its course of 173 miles from Lake Ontario to Montreal, runs for 105 miles between Upper Canada and the United States, and for the remaining 68 miles between the former and the Lower Province. It therefore appears that of the aqueous surface of Canada, as above described, the navigation of 150,000 square miles of inland lakes, and of 105 miles of the St. Lawrence, belong to Upper Canada, and the remaining 68 miles of that river conjointly to both Upper and Lower Canada. r o It being true, it is moreover necessary to state that while the waters of the four ioland seas of Upper Canada are unfrozen throughout the whole year, the surface of the St. Lawrence (which 20 connects them with Montreal) for five months is converted into ice capable of bearing the heaviest artillery, and this interruption of the navigation extends to so great a distance that, incredible as it will sound to those who have not reflected on the subject, the two sea ports of Lower Canada, for five months in the year, by solid ice, are removed from the liquid water, not of the sea, but of a portion of the St. Lawrence more than 200 miles from the sea, by the following distances : — Montreal remains distant from liquid water, more than 12 times Quebec remains distant from liquid water more than 4 times the breadth of the British Chan- nel between Do- ver and Calais. I ^'1 I': »':. 3. The Ottawa Eiver^ which, on the north of Upper Canada, and on the south of the Lower Province runs through a region of land, by far the greater portion of which is uncultivated ; the navigation in winter is closed by ice ; and in summer, on account of rapids, &c., it is restricted between Montreal and Ottawa City (formerly called Bytown) to boats suited to the dimensions of the Granville Canal — 22 feet wide. CANALS. In Canada there are two Canals of great importance 1st. The Rideau, between Kingston and Ottawa, constructed by Great Bri- tain, at a cost of upwards of a million. 2nd. The Wetland, con- necting Lakes Erie and Ontario. Both these canals run through the territory of Upper Canada only. On the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers, there exists Lockage common to both Provinces. RAILWAYS. There are completed in Canada, about 1,510 miles of Railway, running as follows : — MILES. Through Lower Canada 403 Throngh Upper Canada 1,107 of • I :'■ \ ■>'-ii F . i CO U o 00 00 O o 21 But, as is well known, the value of a Railway depends, not on its length, but — 1st. On the amount of the population and goods traf- fic of the towns it passes ; and — 2dly. On the amount of goods and passenger traffic that, in arterial and smaller streams flow along lines of Railway, concentrating upon it from other countries. Now a moment's glance at Dinsmore'a (the Bradshaw of America) " Complete Map of the Railroads and Canals in the United States and in Canada, carefully compiled from authentic sources," (hereto annexed) it will appear that of the Railways in the United States, which in length exceed the circumference of the globe, more than one half converge upon Canada, via Chicago, Toledo, Sandusky, Cleveland, Buffalo, Oswego, Ogdensburg and Richmond, in the following proportions : — Converge on Lower Canada, J-, Upper Canada, |. POPULATION. According to the last Census of Canada taken in 1851-2, the population of Lower Canada was then 890,261 ; Upper Canada, 952,004: but before coming to any conclusion as to these apparently equal results, it is necessary to investigate whether the velocity at which each Province has reached the same point, has been, and is, the same ; for if not, it is undeniable that the figures representing only the point at which they have met, are no index whatever as to future results. In the Old World the difference in population between two rival manufacturing towns in adjoining counties, may be considered as a fair criterion of the relative industry and commercial importance of each; but in the infant world of America, where of every new location it may most truly be said " Vires aoquirit eundo," the differ- ence in population and even in wealth between two neighbouring locations, is generally a mere criterion of the difference of their respective ages. And thus, if two adjoining countries happen, at the present moment, to contain the same population, it would in America be as erroneous to infer that from that circumstance they would continue to be of equal importance, as, in England, it would be for a man living at w 22 f i if 'III Wcedoii, halfway between Birmingham and London, to infer, that because a luggage train which had started from the former city at 3 a. m., and an express train which had started from it at 3 p. m., passed his windows at the same time, they would therefore arrive at Euston Station at the same hour. However, as regards the amount of population in the tAvo Pro- vinces, the figures and facts are as follows : In 1763 Canada was added by conquest to the British Crown. In. 1774, on the i)assing of the Quebec Act, at which time the upper portion of Canada was one vast wilderness, there existed in Lower Canada, French inhabitants 80,000; 360 English families, (say 5 in each) 1,800 ; total, 81,800. In 1791, when Canada was divided into two Provinces, the popu- lation of Upper Canada was 10,000 ; the population of Lower Canada, 120,000 ; being exactly twelve times as great as that of the Upper Province. In 1825, the population of Lower Canada, (423,639) had become not quite treble that of Upper Canada (157,425.) In 1850, the population of Lower Canada (890,261) was found to have become (61,743) less than that of Upper Canada, (952,004.) From the census of 1852 it also appeared, that while the popu- lation of LoAver Canada had, between 1825 and 1850, increased at the rate per cent, per annum of 2 8-lOths., that of the Upper Province had proceeded at the increased average speed of 7 per cent, per annum, and if these different rates of travelling continue, in the course only of nineteen years, the population of Upper Can- ada will be 3,443,000 ; Lower Canada will be 1,750,000; and thus in 79 years the population of the upper Province, from being 12 times as little, Avill have become more than twice as great as that of the loAver ; indeed the folloAving extract from the census of Canada, (see Vol. 2. page 12,) sheAvs that it has been progressing faster than that of the adjoining RepubHcan States. " It appears from Smith's Work on Canada, that the Huron dis- trict (in Upper Canada) has made more rapid progress since its first settlement in 1827, than the States of Ohio, Michigan and Illinois I 2« (lid in double that time, or than Lower Canada did in 104 years ; the latter is doubtless owing to the almost entire absorption by Western Canada of the vast immigration from Europe." In addi- tion to the above there is another important fact to be considered. To the inhabitants of every young settlement in America, an ancient observation may, with a slight alteration, be truly addressed — " Tempora si fuerint nubila, solus eris, Cum Fortuna ridet, multos numorabis amicoH." So long as the new location remains clouded by the innumerable hardships that attend the clearance of the wilderness, few people feel disposed to approach it. But no sooner does it become pros- perous than emigrants flock to it from all directions, and it is for this reason, that although British America is more healthy and con- tains richer land than the United States, yet the hardships of the younger country, as compared with the luxury and allurements of older settlements, have produced the following results. ' ' (See Census of Canada, Vol. II. page 7.) Of the British emigrants who from 1843 to 1852 crossed the At- lantic in search of a new home, there settled in the United States 1,730,448 ; in all the British Colonies, 412,238. Taking all the foregoing facts and figures into consideration, it is evident that as soon as the superior soil and climate of Upper Can- ada, shall, with the assistance of the Railways, make it as attractive to British emigrants as the United States, its population must in- evitably exceed that of the lower Province, by a far greater propor- tion than that which the census of 1851-52 has already described. ; RELIGION. In the last ** Census of Canada," it is stated (vol. II, page 46), that of the population of Lower Canada (890,261) there are belonging to the Church of Rome 746,866. That of the population of Upper Canada (952,004), the number of Catholics is 167,695. The proportion therefore of Catholics in Lower and in Upper Canada, is as 5 to 1. Now as no man should presume directly or indirectly to assail the religion of his neighbour, and as on so sacred a subject words '( 24 i'ti n'u\\ Hi if i! but too often prove to be sharper even than weapons, it must verj briefly be obserred, that just as, without offending any one, it may be stated that the community of England is divided into men of business and men of pleasure ; and that in London more business is transacted on the East than on the West side of Temple Bar, so in like manner may it be affirmed, that in Christendom do the Catholic portion of the communitj' usually dedicate more time to their religion, and consequently leas time to their temporal inter- ests, than the followers of the Church of England or of any other Christian Sect. The inevitable consequence has been, and is, that in Ireland, Spain, certain Cantons in Switzerland, South America, Lower Canada, and in short, wherever the Catholic religion has been, and is fearlessly, faithfully, and zealously maintained, agriculture in particular, and trade in general are found to be less vigorously pur- sued than in the United States, England, and other countries where commerce and money making of all descriptions engross, it cannot be denied, more time and attention than intrinsically belong to them. RACE. The boundless dimensions of the British Empire, on which it has truly been said that the sun never sets, demonstrate the indomitable energy of the Anglo-Saxon race. And yet, it is beyond the limits of the British Empire, that the same race have displayed, beyond all other inhabitants of the globe, an insatiable appetite for turning anything and everything within their reach into money, or as they term it into "Almighty Dollars." But while in the United States, and to a less degree in Upper Canada, this state of extraordinary commercial excitement exists, the French race, in Lower Canada, are, morally speaking, distin- guished by a calm contentment, which appears to forbid them to increase their wants, and which induces them in the tillage of their lands, and in their other daily avocations, to maintain the simple, primitive habits of their fathers. • In the general accumulation of wealth, this difference of race has of course produced its inevitable results; indeed, as a single instance u of the feeble attachment of the French "habitana" to the bustle and business even of their own capitals, it may be stated, that of the mercantile houses at Montreal and Quebec, at least 19-20ths of the importers and exporters arc British. COMMERCE. In the first report of the census of Canada for 1851 and 1852, the wheat crop of Canada is stated to be nearly j^th of that of the whole of the United States and Territories. Now from the Trade and Navigation returns recently laid before the Provincial Parliament, it appears that in 1856 Upper Canada not only sent down the St. Lawrence, and through the United States, an amount of wheat equal to the whole amount of 1,186,441 quarters exported from Canada, but supplied the Lower Province with 314,117. But by tile railways which have lately been constructed, and which are now in progress, Upper Canada already is, and to a great extent will be connected, via her loestern ports of Collingwcod, Goderich, Sarnia, and Windsor, witli not only the greatest food- producing region in America, but (as will appear from the follow- ing abstract, published on the 3rd of January last at Chicago) in Europe : — EXPORTS OF THE PRINCIPAL GRAIN PORTS OF THE WORLD COM- PARED WITH CHICAGO. NAME. WHEAT, BUSHELS. OATS, UYE, AND BARLKY. I INDIAN CORN. Odessa 5,600,000 ! 1,440,000 Galatz and Ibrella..; 2,400,000! 320,000 5,600,000 Dantzic i 3,080,000 1 1,328,000 St. Petersburg i ; Archangel Riga j Chicago (1854) 2,644,860 | 3,419,551 6,837,899 Chicago (1855) ', 7,115,250 ! 2,000,938 7,517,625 TOTAL BUSHELS. 7,040,000 8,320,000 4,408,000 7,200,000 9,528,000 4,000,000 12,902,310 16,633,813 Now, making the fullest allowance for the exaggeration which may exist in the above statement, it is evident, on looking at the D 26 i . '■) v } map of North America, that the Western District of Canada has justly been described as " a wedge" thrust into the heart of a for- eign country of vast extent and unequalled capabilities. The growth of the Western States of the Republic, coupled with their dependence upon the Eastern markets for the consumption of their surplus productions, invests all means of communication with an interest proportional to the facilities they aiford for rapid and cheap transit. No wonder, then, that the West (United States), seeking the Eastern seaboard, should anxiously endeavour to secure a short route across the territory of Canada. (It may here be observed, that almost the whole of this immense trade, which would naturally proceed vid the St. Lawrence and Canadian railways to Quebec, is now, greatly to the injury of Canada, attracted through the State of New York, principally by the favour and support given by tlie British Government to the Cunard steamers.) The late Comptroller of the State of New York, the Hon. A. C. Flagg, in his essay on internal communication, says, " The battle for the trade of the West must be fought on the lakes or those untaxed waters with which no other communication can compete." It is evident, from the above, that the foreign trade of Canada with the six flourishing llepublican States by which they are bounded, must become of vast importance. On referring, however, to the map, it will appear that, of this joint frontier of 800 or 900 miles in extent, more than four-fifths is in Upper Canada, and consequently less than one-fifth m the Lower Province. And as the four lakes which have been enumerated (on one only — Lake Erie — according to a return from the Board of Under- writers at Buffalo, there are plying 128,245 tons of steamers too large to pass through the Welland Canal into Lake Ontario) belong geographically only to Ujyper Canada, it is undeniable that, in what may be called the immense, or "home trade," on these lakes, the Lower Province has but little share. SUMMARY. If the facts contained in the foregoing very brief description of ".!} Ill *'-.'^' . "■ ■ ■ i -. ,~y---.- .. A„:i :•-..■;• ■:jr.>K^i^.- ^..^.^-:-- '■.•''' . .- ■ ,.--- , -^.. - . f QC u-i a. cc o 27 British Nortli America, Canada, its climato, surface, land, inland seas, rivers, canals, railways, population, religion, race, and com- inorco, he fairly and impartially weighed, it will be evident to any one unbiased by local interests*, that, of the amount of wealth, business, and commerce of (>anada, the centre of gravity prepon- derates greatly beyond the base of the Lower Province, and considerably within that of the f /y/vt'/* one. And if, in addition to the figures which have been given, the Census of Canada for 1851-'J, the Reports of the Conmiissioncr of Crown Lands for 1856, and the Returns of the Post Office and Railways, be carefully consulted, it will moreover appear that the heart or centre of the whole is as nearly as possible — THE CITY OF TORONTO; From which (see annexed map) arterial and smaller railways radiate on the north-east to Kingston, Montreal, and Quebec ; on the norths to the Georgian Bay and Luke Superior ; on the west, to Sar- nia, Lake Huron, and Michigan ; on the south-west, to London (Upper Canada), Detroit, and Chicago ; and on the south, vid Hamilton, to Buffalo, the great western entrepot of the commerce of the United States. Toronto is directly opposite to the Welland Canal and Railway, which connect Lakes Erie and Ontario ; and is, moreover, as nearly as possible, in the centre of the Canadian and American trade on the fine inland seas or lakes which have been described. ON THE DEFENCE OF CANADA. It was well observed by the Chief Justice of Upper Canada (Sir John Robinson, Bart.,) in a volume in which he (as also the writer of this memorandum in another volume, both published in 1840,) emphatically warned the Imperial Parliament, " that the two Provinces of Canada, united, would form a territory much too large to be conveniently ?nd safely governed by one executive government ; that, as no power intervenes between Canada and the uninhabitable regions of the North, she must always have behind her the protection of an impenetrable waste." With a foreign nation numbering 26 millions of people interposing between her and the Atlantic, with but one outlet to the Ocean, closed for more than five months in the year ; she can never become ti I '' ' *M- M Ww a naval power, and, therefore, can never protect her coramerco against the weakest maritime nation in Europe. Canada conse- quently requires precisely that protection which the naval superi- ority of Britain has power to impart. Putting, therefore, out of the question ail feelings o'" loyalty, and all obligations of duty, Canada, and our other North iVmerican Colonies, well know, that if tlieir independence were granted to them they could not maintain it, and conse'^iuently that they have no alternative but to continue the fav, ured Colonies of Great Britain, protected by her fleets and armies, and participating freely in her trade, aided by her capital; or to become a member of that unfortunate mixture of freedoui and slaverv which characterizes the American confederacy. As the British C)'own has already ceded to Canada the wjjolc of her casual and territorial revenues, together with all her ch'irch and other lands, and as the Government is vi.-tually entirely in the hands of the people, who, by an act of the throe branches of their Legislature, can almost constitutionally proclaim their separation from their parent country, whenever they choose>, there exists no necessity for " rebellion," and consequently, on the part of England, no necessity to provide against it. The only enemy to assail them are the people of the United States ; and as these people are peaceably engrossed in commerce, — as they do not fortify their frontiers, — as they scarcely main- tain any army, — as their thriving cities on the inland lakes and on their seaboard are not disfigured by guns or fortresses, — and as they well know that an invasion by them of Canada would bring war upon their vessels and commercial cities throughout the aqueous surface of the globe, it might be deemed invidious for Canada to provide, to any extent, hostile defence ; for, not only are Canada and the United States, by their joint railways, inland navigation, and "through traffic," bound by an enormous penalty to keep the peace, but as, in case of war with Great Britain, the latter, on their seaboard and Canadian frontier, would I ^e so much more than England, by attacking cities with fire and sword, 20 they probably would not bo disposed to set the example ; still, however, it is undeniable that, as regards the defence of Canada, all reasonable precaution should be taken. QUKIJEC. In the opinion of military men, there can exist no doubt what- ever, that Quebec (although for five months in the year more than 100 miles from liquid water) is the Sebastopol of British North America, and a fortiori, of Canada. From its impregnable fortress could be transmitted arms and ammunition, to any amount that could possibly be required ; and in case of unexpected and overwhelming aggression, Her Majesty's Governor General, the Queen's troops, and the archives of the JVovince could remain there in perfect security, until the deter- minations of Great Britain, whatevei ' hey might be, could be carried into effect. On the other hand it must be observed, that Quebec is as far from Toronto, (the centre of Upper Canada) as Coblentz on the Rhine is from Bristol. That again, Toronto is as far from the western extremity of the upper Province, as is London from Brussels ; and as of this im- mense line of joint frontier, between Canada and the United States, the two countries for 340 miles are separated only by a river, averag- ing two miles in breadth (studded with islands), the whole of which throughout the winter can bear the heaviest artillery, it is evident that Quebec, situated at the eastern extremity of this frontier line, is no more capable of protecting, say Toronto, from sudden pssault, than the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein at Coblentz would be capable of preventing a hostile army from crossing the Severn to attack Bris- tol. And yet the immense line of frontier described, is little more than one-half of the whole of the boundary which separates Canada fro^. the United States. Now it is but too evident that to attempt to fortify the whole, or even parts of such a line, would be impracticable ; and consequently the whole must (generally speaking) remain as unprotected by for- tifications, as the opposite frontier of the Republic. >l[ -! ill in. ■ 30 Upon what, therefore, it will be asked, has the Province of Can- ada to rely for protection against invasion by the United States? To this important question she may proudly and confidently reply, " The energy and bravery of our people." The fighting portion of the population of the Province, form its natural defence; and, consequently, the citadel of the ■whole country, (»r in other words, the military heart of Canada, is that point, wher- ever it may be, at which, and from which the fighting portion of the population can, either centripetally, be most easily assembled ; or centrifugally, be most easily despatched to whatever point their services may be required. THE CAPITAL OF CANADA. On the locality in Canada, which for the general interests of the Province, and of the Empire should be selected as its Capital : In Theory, it might naturally be supposed that the capital of every country ought to exist as nearly as possible in its centre. In Practice^ however, the opposite rule has been followed — Dubliri, Edinburgh, London, Paris, Lisbon, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Am? cerdam, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Constantinople, and "Washington in the United States, being all, either on the outside, or at an ex- tremity of their respective countries. Indeed, as a negative proof, it may be remarked, that Madrid, the only centrical capital, is in the least flourishing country in Europe. In India, the Great Mogul reigned internally in Delhi, as the Emperor of China still reigns in Pekin ; but in the one country, Calcutta, and in the other, Canton, both on the outside, are the real capitals. As it would be absurd to suppose that in a living animal, the heart could exist at any other point than at the termination of its arteries ; so must the heart or capital of a country necessarily exist in the centre of its business, and of its commerce ; or, in other words, at the termini of its main arterial railways and lines of water communication, which in the map of every country, are the real in- dices or exponents of both. . «■ ^11. 31 TORONTO. Now it is impossible for any unprejudiced man to study tlio map of Canada, without perceiving, that almost the whole of the main arterial lines of railway, (especially those of the Grand Trunk and Great Western) and of Lake Navigation converge upon or diverge from Toronto, which, as has been already shewn, is not only in the centre of the best land, the commerce, and the business of the Province, but is also the heart of that fighting portion of it, which in case of invasion by the United States would form itB only defence. This is no idle theory. In the Rebellion and invasion of Canada by the American people, armed with the muskets and artillery of their government, in 1837-8-9, Toronto by two Lieutenant Governors was maintained as the point of civil government and of military rendezvous ; and if, from every direction in the depth of winter, the fighting portion of the population hurried through the wilderness to it on foot, at a moment when the whole of her majesty's troops Avere concentrated in the lower Province, how much easier could they be assembled by the railways which from Toronto now radiate in almost every direction. In the City of Toronto^ which for neany half a century has been the Seat of Government and Metropolis of the Uppor Province, and latterly of both, there exist, ready made, a suitable residence for the Governor General, a Parliament House, Public Offices, Barracks, Banks, and the other various requirements of a Capital, As regards its military position, it is a hundred miles from the ' nited States by land, and once and a half the distance from Dovor to Calais by water. In case of war, Toronto, like all the other lake cities of Cauuda and the United States, would be liable to be attacked by vessels of the most powerful of the two Naval forces whichever that might be. But before such an event could occur, it would no doubt be deemed prudent to collect artillery, throw up earthworks, and transmit by Railway to an inland position of perfect security, all public archives of importance. I I' 'i:i I Mi 'U As regards the position of the other candidate citieH, a very feiv i'enlarkd Will, it ia believed, sufiSco. KINGSTON. Of all of them Kingston would be tiio most unsafe, in conse- quence of its being divided from the United States only by the St. Lawrence, which in summer could be crossed by boats, and in winter, in less than an hour, at any time by day or night, on ice. MONTREAL. The populous, wealthy, and important metropolis of the Lower Province, not only lies within a day's march of the United States, but at the eastern extremity of 173 miles of the St. Law- rence, which studded with Islands and averaging only two rniles in breadth, could throughout the greater portion of that distance be crossed with the greatest facility by the enemy, who, by cutting the electric telegraphy breaking up the rails and destroying the lockage of the navigation of the St. Lawrence, could completely isolate Montreal from that fighting portion of the population which throughout the Province, constitutes its main defence. QUEBEC. ^ Of the impregnable fortress and City of Quebec which, like Montreal, is connected by railway with Portland, Boston, and New York, it may briefly be said, that on account of its position as a metropolis, and even as a citadel, it is (especially during winter) " hors du combat." OTTAWA. Of all the candidate cities, Ottawa, formerly called Bytown, would be the most inefficient for the capital of Canada. In a northern and secluded locality, cut off from every arterial line of railway in the Province, and removed also from the naviga- tion of the St. Lawrence, except by a branch railway, greater in length than between London and Brighton, iii tin (C of peace, it would be utterly impracticable to govern and transai r from such a point, the commercial business of the Province : especially that connected with the sale of public lands, as also with the valuable 88 *' through " and "home " trafllc Vih'ich exist between the cities oil the five great lakes, and the vast corn-growing region of " the great west." Ottawa, it is true, communicates with Montreal, bv the lockage of the Ottawa River ; with Kingston by the lockage of tho Rideau Canal : and with Brockville on tho St. Lawrence, by the long branch railway already described. But, in time of ivar, of these three communications, the termini of tAvo in the course of an hour, and of the third in the course of a day, might be in the pos- session of the enemy, who, of course, would also cut the wires of the electric telegraph. And as the St. Lawrence for 85 miles east, and for the same distance west of Brockville, could be crossed bv them at ani/ point, assistance by troops from Toronto might bo either seriously impeded or totally cut off ; and the Provincial Par- liament would then feel that it would be infinitely better for them "to dwell in the midst of alarms" than reign in a desolate region, cut oif from the wealth, commerce, business and fighting population of the Province. Actuated by the intense feelings with which the great cities situated on the main arterial or Trunk Line^ are seeking, on the one hand, to be selected, and on the other to combine together against any one rival, it is probable that for a moment the majority would be less annoyed by the success of Ottawa, than by that of any of their great competitors. But though by order of Govern- ment, trade may occasionally be diverted unfairly from one sea port to another, yet in the selection of a capital for a great country, it is confidently submitted that the laws of nature must be implicitly obeyed, and that in the language of Holy Scripture " where your treasure is there will be your heart also." TORONTO. Now by figures and facts which it will not be easy to gainsay, it has been shewn that as regards the wealth, business, commerce^ and Liilitary defence of Canada Toronto is the heart of the Pro- vince. As regards its locality^ as a convenient p6int of rendezvous for tho 130 members of the House (^* Assembly, and the 48 Legislative" !l> lil ME 'It ' i: ■ 3-1 Councillors, who form the Provincial Legislature, the following- figures will shcAV in that respect, a very remarkable resemblance between Toronto and the position of the Houses of the Imperial Parliament of Great Britain. DISTANCES. From London to Inverness 672 miles. « '' Aberdeen 508 " Averaging 540 miles. From Toronto, to the northern city of Quebec 501 " From London to the metropolis of Edinburgh 400 " " Toronto " " Montreal 333 " " London to York City 189 " " Toronto to Kingston 160 " " London to Birmingham 112 " " Toronto to Huron 95 " " London to the west part of Bristol 112 " '* Toronto to the west part of Sarnia 172 " " London to Liverpool and Great West- ern Ocean 202 " " Toronto to Detroit and regions of the "Great We«t," 221 " CONCLUSION. In the selection by Her Majesty of the city which is to form the Captital of the Province of Canada, the inhabitants of the six great Republican States, which form its frontier, are vitally interested. If the heart of this magnificent British Territory be deliberately inserted unscientifically in the wrong place, it will be physically, morally, and politically impossible for its wealth and commerce to maintain a healthy circulation. For the disease that must ensue, the people of the United States will offer to the people- of Upper Canada, as the only remedy — " Annexation." (Signed) F. B. HEAD.. Oxendon, October 18, 1857. 1 iving" anco erial form f the itally ry be ill be 1 and ) that eople-