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BV AKCHER MAKTIN EVERY Canadian, or at least every V^^ Northwest Canadian, who takes ail intelligent interest in the history of his country, will gladly welcome every contribution from the pen of a'y one at all qualiiind to write on the rise and pro- gress of that great company which gave its ntme to, and is so inseparably hound up with the vast plantation of Rupert's Land; that i«, so long as buch contribution possess the qualifications oforiijinalityand accuracy. If it does nob posse.>s the first of these requirements it is teflious and unprofitable as a literary production ; if it lacks the latter, then it is not only valueless but distinctly harmful from any point of view. Evon a cursory consideration of a recent article in Harpers' Magazine, for Feb- ruary, entitl^-d. " A Skin for a Skin," by Mr. Julian Ralph, shows that it is open to both the above objections. So far as regards the firs% it may be dismissed shortly by sayinct that Mr. Ralph has drawn almostexclusively and in an injudicious manner on the Wr-l -known Parliamentary Reports of 1749 and 1819, to which he refers, and jogginif along thii much travelled track, has nothing new to present to readers who are at all familiar with the suViject. The article, in many respects, much re- sembles one entitled, 'The RomanticStory of a GreatCorporaton," which appexred a little over two years ago in the Cosmopo- litan, and was written by Mr. J. M. Oxley. The illusr rations, from the facile pencil of Mr. F Reminuion, a^ a whole are excellent, though it is evident from the foxy and tagged curs d pi'^ted on page 381 as huHkey dogs, that ih*' arti-t is not familiar with this tine animal ; and from the truly wonderful canoe on page 393, that Mr. Remington is more at home on the plains than he is on the lakfs and rivers of Rupert,'sLind. The illustrations in the Cusmopolitan are of more perma- nent value, as they represent actual places of interest. As regards the second of the essentials above referred to, Mr. Ralph is still more unfoitunate. He begins by stating that the "head offices of the groat corporation" are in Winnipeg, insteid of London, and ends by transforming the old friend of the voyayeur, the tump line, so known to "Webster's Unab idged," into " tomp- line," which is a stranger to us. Passing over the incorrect description of the armorial bearing.sof the d.ncient company, what .ihall we say of tht; unhappy reference to Johnny Cratifait (!) on page 380, or the delightfully unconscious manner in which the writer persistently speaks of the coui'- rier (sic) du hois, instead of the coureur da t^is, all through his paper? Had he glanced at Washington Irving'.) charming " Astoria," or the Cosmopolitan even, he would not have committed thi^ inexcus- able error. Historically, he errs from the begin- ning, for though in the report of 1749 he had a copy of the Company's charter befon; him as he wrote, yei he gives the date of it as 1672 inst ad of 1670, May 2nd; nor is he apparently quite sure of the date he does give, for on anotlier page 392, he fixes the present age of the Company as 230 yriars, whch would make the date of the grant of the charter 1662, or eight years worse than before. Mr. Oxley. at least, got this important date correct in his article. Nor is he more reliable when he says that the charter was given as a reward for efforts made, and to be made to find the North- West Passage. This was only one of the causes for the grant, which goes on to say, in the quaint language of the day, "and for the finding of some trade in furs, minerals and other consid- erable commodities." Mr. Ralph does not appear to have a high opinion of the geographical attain- ments of the readers of Harper's or he would not have stated that " England had offered £20,000 reward to whosoever should find the bothersome passnge to the southern seas via the North i'oie" {!) The Act, 18 Ceo. ii, Cap 17, A. D, 1745, offered that reward to any of His Majesty's sulijects who should find the passage 'through Hudson's Streights to the Western and Southern Ocean of America," and the f ramers ot the statute apparently realized the fact, differing in this respect The Manitoban. 136 a ' 1 1:1 from Mr. Ralph, that a vast expanse of territory lies between Hudson's Straits .and the Polt* ; and by a subsequent enact- ment a special reward of £5,000 was of- fered to any one who cihould approach within one degree of the same. There is no " novelty in the suggestion" given on page 378 that the men of the Corapai>y should be employed in the search for the North Pole, and 'the inter- est it may exuire " will not be perceptible as any onn at all familiar with Arctic ex- ploration well knows that the value of the Company's officers and men in this connec- tion has been recognized for generations. Speaking of the officers of the Company, it might be as well to state that Sir Donald Smith is not the president as there is no such officer. He is the governor of the Company. Mr. Wrigley is not now the commi&sioner, he has been succeeded by Mr. C. C. Chipman since Mr. lialph was there. The statement on page 374 that "by the time the Englishmen established them- selves on Hudson's Bay individual French- men and hiU-breeds had penetrated the country still fuithcrwe.st . . . (and). . . ifitted out by the merchants of Canada puisued the fur trade, etc., is pure fic- tion and the unfortunate creation of Mr. Ralph, who alone, not omitting the bitter partizans of the French and the claims of the celebrated Sir Alex. Mackenzie him- self, is bold enough to advance such a pre- ;posterous proposition. His assertion that " in a hundred years (1770) they (the H. B. Co.) were no deeper in the coun- try than at first (on the shores of Hudson's Bay), excepting as they extended their little system of forts or ■'factories' up and down and on either side of Hudson and James Bays," is not in accordance with the fiicts. The company had established and occupied, more or less intermittently according to the exig- encies of the fur trade, Brunswick House up the Moose River in 1730 ; Hf^nley House, about 174-4, some 150 or 200 mile» up the Albany River; Fianiborough Fac- tory, before 1750, about the same di-stance up the Hayes River; and, about 1740- 50, apparently, a fort at Split Lake, and Fort Nelson far up the Churchill River Mr. Ralph is sti'l more unfortunate •when he says that "as early as 1731 M. Varennes de la Verandrye, licensed by the Canadian Gouernment as a trader, penetrated the west as far as the Rockies, leading Sir Alexander Mackenzie to that extent by more than sixty years." Ver- andrye did not even reach the Lake of the Woods till 1732 and never taw the Rocky Mountains ; in fact he died in the attempt to rtach them in 1749. Two of his sons had, however, pccom- plishid this great design in 1742-3, via the Missouri, eleven years after tho date erron»ou.-ly ahsignfd to the father. What dues the wiiter mean by saying that the ".hrifty French capitu lists and Scotch merihants of Upper Canada" formed the North-West Company in 17831 Really, he ought to know that those canny jirinces of the fur trade — theMc- Gillivrays, Frobishers, McKenzie>, Mac- tavishes, McKays, Giants, Cameron?, Frasers, McDonalds, etc., were all of Montrettl and had nothing to do with the Upper Caiadian merchants. The remark that the "French crown had betn first in the fi-ld with a royal charter" (p. 384) must be assumed to be jocular, as it is difficult to believe that any one wou'd have the hardihood to set up claims in 1818 under the defunct and preposterous charter of the Hundred Associates con- ferred V»y Cardinal Richelieu on the 29th of April, 1627. Sir Alexander McKenzie never so muoh as hinted at any such a right, even if t! at charter had been in operat on it ditlered most mateiially fiom that of the Hudson's Bay Company. The royal license referred to on page 391 as expiring in 1838 was renewed for twenty-one, not twenty years. Conse- quently it did not "expire" in 1858, but so far ae TJritish Columbia was cone* rned it was revoked on September 2nd of that year As regards the rest of the terri- tories it lapsed by effluxion of time in 1859, the Compaiiy refusing to accept ihe short renewal of it which was offered them. It would b'^ interesting toknowonwhat foundation rests the statement that "at first the officers and men were nearly all from the Orkney )sland>%" so far as the officers are concerned. It is probably correct -^s regards the men, and more probably incorrect as regards their superiors, who were almost exclusively 18^719 l.'K it) The Maxitoiiax. En^li-h and Scotch, agdistinguishfcl irotii rjrkneyuien, i.e., if any reliance can be placed on names. Our writar, pAge .'58t, says that Lord Selkirk " held up the opposition to the " world as profiting upon (aic) the weak- " nes3 of the Indians hy giving them "alcohol, yet he ordered distilleries set " up (sic) in his colony afterwards, s »y- "ing, ' We grant the trade is iniqiiicous, , " but if we don't carry it on others will ; '•80 we may as well put the gumeas in " our own pockets.' " This is a very grave charge to make against such a nobleman, one whose name in justly revered in this country, and be- fore he can be reduced to the degrading position of a rum-seller to the Indians, Mr. Ralph wdl have to produce his authority. Ou the very face of his words it looks as though he had confused the .settlers with the Indians. There is a wide difference between allowing the colonists to make liquors for their own use and "orderins;" distilleries to be set up for the purpose of nefarious traffic with the natives. Even the Earl's grants of lands, to the colonists contained clauses restraining the sale of spirits to the Indians. The statement that, on hearing of the trou'oles at Red River, "Lord Selkirk came with all speed, reaching Canada in 1817" is, as might be expected, inaccurate. He had been there, with his family, since the autumn of 1815. Mr. Ralph 1 , how- ever, correct in stating that Canada "was now (1817) an Enylish colony" but this piece of information, while it shows care- ful attention to detads, yet is not calcu- lated to make anyone unnecessarily enthusiastic 0V3r the writer's knowledge of Canadian history as unfortunately he apparently ha^ never heard of the Treaty of Pnrib. •^•^ ttuunds well, doubtless, to refer to thb " numptioua governors " of the Hudson's Bay Company and the " little putty-pipe cannon" of their foits, but then facts are stubborn things, and here, for instance, is the description of Fort Prince of Wales, from a resident at the time it was taken by La Perouse in August, 1782, which explodes the "putty- pipe" pleasantry : "The Fort at this time ** mounted forty-two cannon, six, twelve, " and twenty-four pounders, was provided " with ammunition in great plenty and " the Factory was not in immediate want " of provisions of any kind . . It " was built of the strongest materials, its " walls were of great thickness, and very " durwn ^ges can- fny) ' or ob- it; '.T* Thk Manhohan. 1.S7 " if th**y are not, and no impartial person " will suppose they are, tli»y not only •' allow but approve of the conduct of " their governors, from a conviction of its " being beneficial to the interests of the " company ; a proper reward for the " laburs of their servants, or from some " other motive, which because it is "adopted by men so respectable, and so " much above reproach, must be allowed " to be wise and prudent." We are also presented with a doleful picture of the harsh and cruel conduct of the company's governors towards the "trembling varlets," their servants. The same authority that we have quoted above, fortunately, knew some of Mr. Ralph's "trembling varlets, "and this is the result of his enquiries on their condi- tion. * * ■* ''By way of refuting the charge of ' cruelty and oppression,' I need only add, what none, 1 think, will deny, that they (the servants) have been so well Batistied with the conduct of their super- iors that many of them have continued in the service more than twenty years. I believe upon the whole, it will appear that the conduct of the superiors at home and abroad, is perfectly consistent with the true interests of the Company, and that any other mode of behavior would tend to anaicliy and confusion, and I must declare for my own part, that I never heard of that personal disgust which Mr. Robson (one of Ra'ph's wit- nesses) so much complains of, but have rather found an anxious solicitude to be employed in their ser\ ice." After what has gone before one almost expects the startling statement that Joseph La France "told his tales to Arthur Dobbs, who made a book of them ! " It is enough to make that vener- able writer turn in his grave to hear his scarce and valuable "Account of the coun- tries, adjoining to Hudson's Bay," (1744) called a book of tales, and that because he devoted barely 17 pages to the journal of the " French Canadese Indian," as he quaintly terms him. Fie, Mr. Ralph, a book of tales ! As the writer of an his- torical sketch on the Company you are ungenerous to your predecessor. And then why branch oS into that little irrelevant and speculative disquisi- tion on the origin of the name Peace River, when you might have consulted the best and earliest authority, Sir Alex ai der Mackenzie, on the point f Here in his derivation : "On the l.'Jth October (1792) we came to the Peace Point, from which, accoid- ing to the report rf my interpreter, the river derives its name ; it was the spot where the Knisteneaux and Beaver In- dians settled iheir dispute ; the real name of the river and point being that of the land which was the object of contention.'.' On page 386 will V)e found the fo'low- ing remarkable statements explanatory of the grant of Assiniboia to Lord Sel- kirk, by the Cowpany, in 1811 : "No one, therefore, will wonder that when this grant was made several mem- l)er8 of the governing committee resign- ed ; " and " a queer development of the moment was a strong opposition from holders of Hudson's Bay stock, who were also owners in that Company's great rival,, the North-Weat Company." In regard to the first of the above as- sertions, Mf. Ralph is (juite correct in saying that no one will wonder at the resignation of "several members of the governing committee " for the simple reason that no such resignation took place. Even the N. VV. Co. did not make such a claim in their semi -official "Narra- tive;" presumably it was left for Mr. Ralph to make the discovery. In regard to the second it is regrettable, but none the less true, that the " queer develop- me it " does not develop, for the " strong opposition " on the part of certain H. B. C. stockholders was no- thing more or less than a determined efTort on the part of certain agents of the N. W. Co. to burke Lord Selkirk's enter- prise by purchiising stock about forty- eight hours before the meeting ; not long enough to entitle the.Ti to vote indeed at the general court of proprietors, but enough to give them anopportunity to make an insidious protest. This attempt is so well known and appreciated in this pro- vince, and is such "ancient history " that an apology is almost due for giving it even the slightest consideration. The familiar story of the cruel massacre of the estimable Governor Semple is told again, but space and inclination both pre 188 THK M>NIT(jBAN. vent animadversion on the writer's mode of deaiin'4 with this 8ul)j«ct, except tliat it is wr »ni{ to spenif of " factors " of the North- West Coinpany, and misleading to Bay that all the enipl )yee* of that com- pany who wnre charj^fd with crimes aris- ing out of these disputes between the rival fur traders wern acquitted, for the b ood-thiraty De Reinhard was found guilty of the most foul and atrocious murder of his prisoner, Mr. Owen Keveny, and condemned to he hdngrjon the 8th June, 1818, though, for reasons too lengthy to be discussed here, he was subsequently pardoned, after languishing for sevcal years in jail. Passing ovf-r miuy minor inacouraiies, we have to face the Idow which our his- tory receives when we learn that " in 1871 all, the colonies of Canada were con- federated (/y and wp have had hardly time to tecover from this shock when we are practictlly annihilated by the lordly way in which Mr. Rilph, with a generos- ity born of an untrammelled mind, and an indifference to consequences equal to his generosity, bestows (iu the wrong year) on the " Adventurers of Eagland trading into Hudson's Bay " no less than one-half of the fertile belt of Rupert's Land, though their deed of surrender only reserved to them one-twentieth of that nobla inheiitdnce. Miscellaneous. The truli brave man iz the won afrade off being kalled a koward. Bald-headed truth shuld ware the curl- ed wig of sweet ciroumlution. Moral Reflfxkahun — Whatsbal it profit a man if he gane the hole world and lose his own Boal 1 The man who slweighs rememberz a favor and whoo never forgettz a frend, will pla first fiddle in the heavenli orches- tra. Munny will bi awl the luxuries off this wurld, but itt kant purchase a sit'gle necessity. Sho me the shop whare they sel kontentment, luve, conscience, peace, . and I'll sho you the necessities off life. Thb Great Divider's Diary. —March 29th, '59. — Mudd Hon Holler haz fallen upun evil dazn. The joious levity off i'ts yooth iz past, the bad man iz kno rnoar, virchew now occupies the first fl »ar and the faro tables iz moved upp stares. Whtire once the roolet player sang his sireen song, the counter jumper hoppeth ; and where once the ga revolver did re- volve, the ginger ad kork poppeth. Az Sheakspeer sez, these air piping times off peec--. Our suckcess haz been our ruin. The sturdy miners, the horny handed sun of to 1, have awl Ijeen eucherr-d owt of their mines by slick sitizens, and rob- bery is now konducted according too the rules off komraerce. Lawyers and doctors hav arrived too komplete our finanshall and physical ruin. Slick Bill has yielded to the dsinands of morality, and haz put skreen doarz m front of his bar, and many of his customers have reformed, and keep a barrel off whiski in thare cel- lars, and patroniza his plase kno moar. D'-ug storei have kreptin and injured his trade. Djekons patronize the sody watter fountain and wink when tha sa tha will take sum off "the 8ara«." I a,m sadd, mi diari, but £ see no ra off hoap. The town gt-ows bigijer and l)eiter everi da. We shal suon have policeman, a mayor and worst off all, a board of aldermen. Then, indeed, wil our kup be full. The clever flatterrer konvinces a man that he possesses virchews that he knowz he hasn't got. — Tlie Great Divide, Denver, Colorado. Recently a girl in one of the public schools of this city was asked by her teacher tn explain the difference between the words balance and remainder. Her answer was : "You can say 'A man lost his balance and fell,' but you cannot s.iy 'A ina-» lost his remainder and fell.' " A Fill END recently wanted to write a sketch of the wife of "Bill Nye," and wrote the humciist for Mrs. Nye's per- mission and some facts. " She objects, altbou^h I i'lsisted," wrote the humorist, "and we heJ better let her off. She has always speiied to shrink from this sort of thing for years, and yet she weighs over 150 pounds to day." V\ HBN the farmer speaks of working at the polls he does not u,.eaa labor in a bean patch. If / \ '■ « ^ "