IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^^ // /. 4^ Z ^ 1.0 145 U4 11.25 Itt IIS lU u |20 U 11.6 Photographic ^Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14SS0 (716)S7!l-4503 CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Tachnical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notaa tachniquas at bibiiographiquaa Tha inatituta haa anamptad to obtain tha baat original copy availabia for filming. Paaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua, which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction, or which may significantly chango tha uaual mathod of filming, ara chackad balow. □ Colourad covars/ Couvartura da coulaur |~n Covars damagad/ D D D D n El Couvartura andommagia Covars rastorad and/or laminatad/ Couvartura rastauria at/o:j palliculAa |~~| Covar titia miaaing/ La titra da couvartura manqua n Colourad mapa/ Cartaa giographiquas mn coulaur Colourad ink (i.a. othar than blua or black)/ Encrc da coulaur (i.a. autra qua blaua ou noira) r~1 Colourad plataa and/or illuatrationa/ Planchaa at/ou illuatrationa wi coulaur Bound with othar matarial/ Ralii avac d'autraa documantt Tight binding may cauaa shadows or distortion along intarior margin/ La re liura sarr^a paut eausar da I'ombra ou ds la distorsion la long da la marga intiriaura Blank laavaa addad during rastoration may appear within tha text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certainaa pages blanches ajouties lors d'une restauration apparaiaaant dana la taxta, mala, lorsqua eeia Atait possible, ces pagea n'ont pas At* filmAaa. L'inatitut a microfilm* la meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a iti possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-4tre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification Owns la mithoda normaia de fiimage ton'i indiquAs ci-dessous. □ Coloured pages/ Pagaa da coulaur □ Pagaa damaged/ Pages andommsgAes |~n Pages reatorad and/or laminated/ D D Pagaa reataurtes at/ou pallicul^s Pagea discoloured, stained or foxe< Pages dicolories, tacheties ou piquies Pagaa detached/ Pages dAtach^s Showthroughy Transparence Quality of prir Qualiti inAgale de I'impression Includes supplementary matarii Comprend du material supplimentaire r~7] Pagea discoloured, stained or foxed/ |~n Pagaa detached/ r~7| Showthrough/ r~] Quality of print varies/ nn Includes supplementary material/ Only edition available/ Seule Mition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been rafilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pagaa totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, una peiure, etc.. ont its fiimies A nouveau de fapon i obtenir la meilleure imago possible. Additional comments:/ Conmentairas suppl^mantairas; Pagination as follows : [45] -53 p. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film* su taux de rMuction indiqui ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 2SX aox H^^ ^m^^ m^m^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^es^ ^i^^^ ^^^Hl J 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X Th« copy film«d hero has bson raproducad thanks to tha ganarosity of: McLennan Library McGill University ■Montreal Tha imagas appaaring hara are tha baat quality possibia considaring tha condition and lagibility 01? tha original copy and in icaaping with tha filming contract spacif icationa. Original eopiaa in printad papar covars aro filmad baginning with tha front covar and anding on tha last paga with a printad or liluatratad impras- sion, or tha bacic covar whan appropriate. All othar original copies are filmed beginning on the first paga with a printad or illustrated impree- sion, arrd anding on the laat page with a printed or illustrated impreasion. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol -^ (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol y (meaning "END"), whichfvar applies. ly^apa. piataa. charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those toe large to be entirely included in one expoaura arc* filmad beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, aa many frames aa required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: L'exemplaire film* fut reproduit grAce A la g^n^rositA de: IMcLennan Library IMcGill University Montreal Les imsgee suivantas ont 4t« raproduites avac ie plus grand soin, compta tenu de la condition at da la nattet* de l'exemplaire film*, et en conformity avee les conditions du contrat da filmaga. Les exempleires origlnaux dont la couvarture •n papier eet imprim^e sent filmAs en commenpant par la premier plat at an tarminant soit par la darnlAre paga qui comporta une empreinte d'impreeaion ou d'iliustration, soit par l« second plat, salon la cas. Tous lea autres axemplairaa originaux sent filmis an commen^ant par la premiere paga qui comporta une empreinte d'impreeaion ou d'iliustration at mn terminant par la darnlAre page qui comporte una telle empreinte. Un dea symbolea ih/ants apparaftra sur la darnlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon Ie cas: la symbols — »> signifie "A SUIVRE", Ie symbols ▼ signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planchea, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmte « dea taux da rMuction diffArents. Lorsque Ie document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichA, il est filmA A partir de I'angie supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite. et de haut en bas, en prenant la nombra d'images nAcessaire. Las diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 6 Section II.. 1884. [ 43 ] TiiAN!^. KoY. Soc. Canada. IV. — A Plea for (i_(2ana<-lian-CcLMdm 'Sot/e/^^ By CrEORGE Bryce, LL.D., Professor of Literattire, Manitoba College, ■\Viiiuipeg. (Hoail May 24, 1884.) The task of gathering tht^ materials for a history of our Dominion is one ol" the greatest dilRculty. Leaving out of account the work of minute investigation, and the additional labour of classification required by the historian in order to gain the true perspecti^^^e of events, the mere physical labour of collecting facts from so Avide an area, and from such a variety of sources as our Canadian history embraces, is overwhelming. Mr. Parkman, excelled by few in his truthful appreciation of the scenes he describes, in laborious investigation of the sources whence he draws his information, and in the clear and beautiful diction employed by him, finds it possible, in his most successful works, merely to select here and there a " coi^ne of vantage," and to give a study of some picturesque combination of events in the early day's of Canada's military regime. His works, absorbing as they are, are rather monographs than histories It is true, as belonging to a foreign country, Mr. Parkman can scarcely be expected to have the sympathy and patient apprecia- tion necessary to gather up the elements of our social, intellectual, and material life. That life has originated at many different points in the northern half of this continent, and has grown into ever stronger vital currents ; while these have increased and deepened, have come together, and are now beginning to assume something like a unity of ilow. The historian who would seek to follow this growing, though yet feeble, stream of national life, be he never so earnest, so able, or so willing, will encounter a task of almost unex- ampled dilliculty. The nomadic life of our aborigines implies a state of things of which there is scarcely a trace remaining ; the early life of the new settler, struggling for exist- ence, is proverbially uninteresting and unlikely to attract the attention of any one likely to record it ; the scattered character of the settlements places obstacles in the way of a pre- sentation of the facts. Of the ronllicting statements made in letters, pamphlet.s, and newspapers, the want of a public opinion of any force at the time makes it impossible to find a criterion of correct judgment; while, owing to the recent period of many of the events, it is difficult to give them a faithful treatment without creating animosity on the part of friends of the actors still living. Moreover, the strong political bias, apparently indiirenous to our Canadian soil, renders it most difficult for the liistorian to treat his subject dispassionately, without arousing the susceptibilities of the philosophers who go about subjecting everything in art, science, sociology, and history to the minute inspec- tion of their party microscope. Wide and difficult of comprehensive treatment as the subject of Canadian liis- tory is, the clue to the earliest history of Canada, in almost all the points wlieve Europeans first approached it, lies in its being in north.^rn latitudes. The fur trade was tlie first attraction tluit induced Old World peoples to undertake settlement in 46 GEORGE BRYCE'S PLKA l-OR the difForcnt parts of Canada then occupi(Hl. It is by no mere chance that the beaver finds its place on our Canadian esoutcheon. Cartier, almost exactly three centuries and a half ago, came with his commission authorizing him to open up this trade with the natives. Captnin Chauvin, in 1600, built his trading house at Tadousac to cultivate the fur trade. Champlain returned on his first voyage homo in a ship laden down with furs ; and the Huguenot, de Monts, hastening, under the protection of the monopoly granted him, to take the virgin catch of Nova 8cotia, found, in the first harbour which he entered on the Acadian shore, that he was forestalled by a fur-trading vessel, whose cargo of furs, however, he promptly seized for his own advantage. Within fifty years from the time of Champlain's arrival in Canada the shores of straits and bays by scores, to the extremities of the great lakes, were occupied by the posts of the fur-trader. Michilli- mackinac, Sault Ste. Marie and Nipigon, on Lake Superior, were already centres of trade. It was about the end of that century that Lahontan wrote his amusing and extravagant account of the castor. Indeed, to such an exteiit had the trade grown that in 1700, in Montreal, three-fourths of the furs were burnt to obtain a market for those that remained. The raison iVMre of the settlement of New Franoe was tlie fur trade. While France, with all the force and glory of her more prosperous days, was pushing her explorations and trade to the I'ar W^est, England sought a share of the treasures of the wilderness, and in 1070 laid within Hudson Strait the foundation of her great fur company. Free-handed Charles II gave over with lavish thouglitlessness a vast extent of country to the iui-tradcrs represented l)y the brave Prini^e Rupert, General Monk, the king- maker, and the versatile Lord Ashley. Tlic fur trade was the sole department of trade of the Hud.son's Bay Coiiii>any for a hixndred years. On the borders of the Bay, shut up in their forts, the company treated with wandering tribes coming OOO and 80(1 miles from the interior, justifying, in th(^ keenness of their trade, their motto, " Pro pellc culem." There is a picturesque interest in these Argonauts of lliis century of Hudson Bay adventure, as they returned with the Golden Meece and engaged in th(> somewhat unromantic, but n(!verthel«»ss consoling, wrk of paying large dividends to the shareholders. It is true that their retreat was invaded by the dashing sailor, d'Iberville, and tlieir forts were taken to be restored by the Treaty of llyswick ; liUt this was only an episode in a hundred years of siiccessful trade. One hundred years of the companys life had not passed l)efore the covetous eyes of rival traders fell upon their operations. It was stated that the company was avaricious, tyrannical, selfish, and revengeful ; and repeated efforts at length obtained a parliamentary im^estigation in 1749. The company defended itself with ^igor, and its antagonists, though not silenced, were overborne. Another movement in the opening up of the interior by way of Canada took place at the same time as this fierce onslaught on the Hudson's Bay Company, though entirely inde- pendent of it. The Fr nch explorers had reached the limits of Lake Superior, and heard from Indian sources of vast regions beyond. In the stockade of Michillimackinac was laid the pl.,n for exploring the districts further west. Verandrye, a French officer, who had distinguished himself at Malplaquet, with the advice of a Jesuit priest named Father Gonor, undertook the task. In 17-Sl Verandrye left the shores of Lake Superior; he and his sons were the first to thread the Red, Assiniboine, and Souris rivers, to cross by a portage to the Missouri, and after ascending it to reach the Rocky Mountains. The same A CANADIAN OAMDKN WuOFI':TV. 47 adventwTer or his party explored the Saskatchewan, aud his immediate successor, St. Pierre, iu lt52 reached the Rocky Mountains at the very point where the Canadian Tacilio Railway now enters the pass to (toss the Rockies. As so often happens lo pioneers, the adventurous Vrcnch t>xplorers did not enjoy the fruit of their labours. In 1759, the conquest of Canada by the British cut the connection with the new Northwest. But the field for enterprise was too tempting to be left long unvisited. British merchants from Montreal, in 1T66 and following years, took up the unused canoe and paddle ; and traders, named Curry and Finlay, pushed over Verandrye's route, reached the source of the fur-supplies of the Hudson's Bay Company and intercepted the Indian trappers, who had before gone down the streams to Hiidson Bay. The intru- ders were now taking the trade down Lake Superior to Montreal. Like a sleeping giant roused to action, the English fur company left the shores of Hudson Bay, penetrated to the interior, and the first meeting of the Montreal and English traders took place, it is said, in 1114, at Fort Cumberland on the Saskatchewan. Here l)egan the conflict which for nearly* fifty years was maintained between the Northwest Company and that of Hudson Bay, resulting in the depletion of both, and their final coalescence in 1821. The Northwest Company had been most energetic in its efforts to dot the whole country with posts. It followed in the wake of one of its illustrious partners. Sir Alex. Mackenzie, and crossed the Rocky Mountains, becoming the forerunner of British occupation on the Pacific slope. Beyond the Rocky Mountains this enterprising company, uniting the perse- verance of its hardy Scottish leaders (many of them Jacobite refugees to Canada, or their descendants) with the love of adventure of their French Canadian voi/ageurs, met another band of firr-traders, the Astor Fur Company of New York, formed in 1809 to trade upon the Columbia River Washington Irving has made the story of the Astor Company familiar to us all. I have merely drawn a bare sketch of the leading lines by which our country was first reached, and shown how the stimulus of the fur trade led to the early occupation of almost every part of Canada. It will be observed that I leave out of notice in this paper the remarkable aud, I trust, by Caiuidians never to be forgotten movement of the United Empire Loyalists ; also that part of it — the transference of the loyal Indians to Canada, as well as the subsequent influx of an immense British immigration to our shores— as not included so directly under the head of exploration. My main object in this paper is to give some account of the literature of these several movements originating in the peltry trade, and to recommend some plan for its preservation. The several lines of exploration of which I hare spoken seem lo divide themselves up as follows : — 1. The military colonization of New France. 2. The English occupation of Hudson Bay. 3. The penetration to the new Northwest by Veraudrye. 4. The growth of the Northwest Company of Montreal. 5. The inland movement of the Hudson's Bay Company, 6. The formation of the Astor Compaiiy ; and the expedition of Lewis and Clarke np the Missouri aud over the Rocky Moirntains. *7. The conflict of the fur companies ; the establishment of Selkirk colony ; and the coalescence of the rival companies. 446359 48 (4K0RGR Bin'CE'S PLEA FOR I. Tlio woU-knowii name ol" Champlain is connoctod in the minds of very few with tho pornsal ol" liis own writings. Yot his works, published in (juarto form in Qut'boc in 1870, are intorostiiig- memorials of the life and habits of tho Indians and of his own valour as an explorer. In 1697, the ReeoUct priest, Louis Hennepin, published at Utret^ht the record of his journeys. Among the rare books of this period is the amusing account of travels pub- lished by Earon Lahontan, at Amsterdam in 1705, and The Hague in 171 ">. Who can fail to feel the highest admiration for the six-volume edition of Father Charlevoix, pub- lished in Paris in 1744. The " Jesuit Relations," issued by the Canadian Government, contains a vast amount of information. The twelve large quarto volumes of the documen- tary history of the State of New York are a treasury of information about the early history of Canada, as well as of the state to which they belong. The events connected with the early voyage to Hudson Bay are discussed by M. de Bacqueville de la Potherie and M. .Teremie, wliile the names of Lafiteau, Sagard, and others, speak of interesting memorials of this, the heroic period of Canadian history. I -$ ■t 11. Through not very numerous, the books connected with the early days of the English occupancy of Hudson Bay are of great value. " An Account of Hudson Bay, 1744," by Arthur Dobbs, is one of the rarest and most valuable of these. "A Voyage to Hud- son's Bay," by Henry Ellis, published in 1748, is worthy of note ; and an '' Account of Six Years' Residence in Hudson's Bay, ending in 1747," by Joseph Robson, bristles with opposition to the great company of fur-traders. There is the work known as " The Ameri- can Ti-avcller, 1770 ;" while the Blue-book, containing the investigations by the British House of Commons, gives an account of the fur trade and the unsuccessful efforts of its rivals to overturn the great monopoly. HI. A French period comes next : it is full of the adventurous exploits of the discoverer of Lake Winnipeg and its tributaries. The fact that Verandrye's discoveries, extending from 17:51 to 1745, preceded by so short a time tho loss of Canada to France, no doubt explains why so little is known of that era, now springing into greater prominence as the historian strives to trace the pathway of early adventure in the Canadian Northwest. We are indebted to the researches, in the documents of the archives of the Department of Marine and the Colonies at P?ris, made by their former custodian, M. Pierre Margry, for almost all we know of it. IV. The Sioto-Frcncli movem(Mii from Montreal, resulting in the Northwest Comixmy, has a considerable literature from its l»eginning, about the time of the Treaty of Paris, 1763, to the imion of the rival fur companies in 1821. Among the most noticeable books of travel relating to this periad is the now rare book of Jonathan Carver, published in 1778, of a long A (^ANAPFAN f!AMDK^^ SOCIKTY. 49 W journey to tho interior hilo-n by him sonio ton years before. Between the years, 1*760 and 177*>, i» iniveller named Alexander Henry, in company with Frobisher, one of tho leading founders of ihe Northwest Company, took a journey as far into the interior as Lake Atha- liasoa. Of tliis extended expedition th<> traveller published an aecount in 1809. A loading work of the period is that published by the great traveller, Alexander Mackenzie, after wards knighted for his discoveries by G^eorge III. In the service of the Northwest Company he lirst descended tlie river which bears his name. He, first of white men, crossed the Kocky Mountains north of Mexico, and inscribed in vermilion letters, on a rock on the Pacific coast, the following words, " Alex. Mackenzie, from Canada by land, 22nd July, 1793." Another Northwest trader, Daniel W. Harmon, who, in 1800, penetrated the inte- rior and lived successively on the Assiniboine River in the southern, and on Lake Atha- basca in the northern department, and who even crossed the Rocky Mouutaivs in the Peace River district, has left xis a most absorbing volume published in 1820. Leaving for a time the inward movement by the great lakes and the water-ways of the northwest country, we must notice a series of expeditions from Montreal, and a current of trade, no doubt induced by this Montreal stream, but counter to it. This was the move- ment to the interior made by the great English fur company from Hudson Bay. The Indians, from the whole Northern Department, who had formerly come by the line of con- nected lakes and rivers all the way from Athabasca down the Churchill River, and even from Lake 'Wi}inipeg by way of the Nelson, with their furs, were, as already mentioned, intercepted by the interlopers, as they were considered, from Montreal between the years, 1760 and 1770. To carry out their inland movement, to regain their diminishing trade, the Hudson's Iky Company selected Samuel Hearne, not only an intrepid officer, but a clever writer. His tirst expedition was to discover the Coppermine River, of which the Indians had told. His daring explorations have gained him the name of "the Canadian Park." In 1774 he established posts far inland, — one of them being Fort Cumberland, on the Saskatchewan. Hearne's book was published in 1795. Another adventurer, who, under the direction of the Hudson's Bay Company, carried on this aggressive work was Edward Umfreville, who has given us a work, " Present State of Hudson's Bay Company," which was published in 1790. Tlxe archives of the Hudson's Bay Company would undoubtedly afford ampler details of this period, which was a turning-point in the history of the monopoly. VI. The discovery of the Pacific coost of America belongs to the later years of last century. The unfortunate French navigator. La Perouse, who, having left France in 1785, was never heard of after departure from Botany Bny on his homeward voyage, has a double interest for us. In the account of his travels, published by M. Millet-Mureau, in foitr volumes, at Paris in 1798, these points are given. The first is found in the introdu.ction to the first volume, wh(>re there is a description of the attack upon the forts of Hudson Bay by the French in 1782. La Perouse, again, is said to have discovered a portion of the coast of .St«-. II., 18S4, 7. 80 (IKOIfOK imViM-VS PI.V.A Fon f Hi: , I I Britiwh C'oluml»i:i. To (hit* diiy our I'luilic, coast int'scivt's llio immo of (!aptiiiu Vancouvor, \vho, (luvinal, named Gabriel Fran- chere, has left us a most valuable book in his own tongue. In it he relates the incidents of his return home overland, in 1814, by crossing the Rocky Mountains, floating down the Saskatchewan, journeying over the "Grand Portage" to Fort William, and passing down the lakes to Montreal. In 1854, an English translation of Franchcre's work appeared in New York. The Astor fur-traders seem to have had a taste for writing, for, of the seme party as the preceding, another, named Ross Cox, published in 1832 an account of his jouriu^y around Cape Horn, his residence for six years on the Columbia River, and his return, in 1817, by^ a route nearly the same as that of Franchere. VII. The settlement of the colony by Lord Selkirk, in the valley of Red River, was an event of the greatest importance in the history of British America. It saved for Britain, as it appears to the writer, the fertile plains of *he Northwest. That philanthropic noblemaii A CANADIAN CAMDRN SOCriHT. SI Hurcoo(lt!(l, ill the furtherauco of his great schomes of colonization, in gaining a controlling intcrt'Nt in tht! Hudson's Bay (company. The appearance of his colony on thn Red River was the signal for a bitter contest, resulting well nigh in the destruction of the colony, while the ruin of the rival fur companies was only averted by their union in 1821. A considerable literatun^ grew out of this emigration movemert and ifs troublesome conse- quences. In 1805, the Earl of Selkirk published an able work on Highland emigration ; for he had before that time sent 800 Highland peasants to Prince Edward Island. In con- nection with the emigration scheme by way of Hudson Bay and Rup'rt Liiiul, there appeared "The Narrative of the Destruction of the Settlement of Red River in ISlo," a hi'ovhnre against the Earl of Selkirk by IJishop Strachan in 1810 ; "Narrative of Occurrences in the Indian Country in 1817 ;" a letter of the Earl of Selkirk to Lord Liverpool in 1819 ; "Report of the Selkirk Trials," in two versions, in 1820 ; "The Rod River Settlement Blue- book," published by House of C!ommons in 1819 ; and a " Book of Observations," upon Iho preceding published in 1820, of which only one copy is known to be in exi.stence. VIII. Covering portions of time in all these different eras, there remains to notice one depart- ment, most interesting in the present connection, viz., manuscripts or unpublished narrativi's known lo be in existence. The following may be given as examples of these : — " Travels of Pierre lilsprit Radisson, 168i: ; " " John Adam.son's Voyages, 1*740 ;" " David Thompson's Journal, 17!»G-'98;" "Henry's Journal, 1800-'10 ;" "Peter Fidler's Journey to Athabaska ; " Foundation of ihe Forls in the Yukon Country," ])y an officer in the employment of the Hudson's Bay Company. The Hudson's Bay Comjiany in London has also given to the Society of which the writer is a representative the privilege of examining any papers, at their forts or offices in Canada, belonging to the period antecedent to 1821. Enough has now been siiid to show that wt^ have; in Canada an iiuligenous early literature, most of it now very rare, and yet not deserving the oblivion to which it is fast hastening. Connoisseurs have their choice cabin<>t8 of these books, which they guard with miserly care, and som(>, of our public libraries have a number of them ; scarcely i.s there in Canada a complete collection. The writer has referred largely to works belonging to the field of the Society which he has the honor to represent here — the Historical and Scientific Society of Manitoba, — that field being the " country north and west of Lake Superior." No doubt other gentlemen could have found a considerable earlier literature for the Maritime Provinces, Fnmch Canada, and the more* recent Provinc^e of Ontario. Tlie study of this early literatun* is veiy important. "NVt^ complain that so few devote themselves to the study and preservation of our early history. Surely it is the duty of this section of the Royal Society of Canada to stimulate research and facilitate the study of the records refer- red to. The question is : How can this be done ? I have the honor to propose one way, perhaps not the best, yet one having the pro- mise of accomplishing something in this department. T propose that steps should be taken by which this Society, or some body associated with it, should undertake each year the publication of a number of books and manuscripts relating to the early portion of our 62 OKUIKIK lUlYCK'S TLKA FOK hisUtry. I Hivy this without dispttTngement to tho vohimos pitl>liHht>(l by Di'shnrats of QiU'bt'c, or to Ihf pu)>lii'ntions of Shea of Now York. Tho liittor, howovor, iiro too ( xpou- hivo ; and of tlio Ibrinor many aro alroady Ncanv, Niich as " Chaniphiin," wliifh is now quotod at Vaiis at ciglity IVantsi. Tht'vo iH almndant pivcodont for Nuch an undortakiny; as tliat propoNod. It is hardly nocoHsary toromind yon of sucli au organization an tho Roxbnrgho, Club institutod in 1H12 by Earl Sponcor and a uunibor of gt'iitlomen in I^ndon, for the ropublioatiou of rare books and hithorto unpublished manustripts. The Banuatyno Club, called after George Bannatyno, was established in 1823, in Kdiuburgh, by Sir Walter Stott and others, for printing works illustrative of the history, antiquities, and literatiiro of Scotland, and published some 113 A'olumes, of which the Edinburgh Revino, \n 1835, said: "They form a series of contributions to the stock of historical literature which a munificent gov* ornment alone, or such a society as the ]Jannatyni^ Club, , in a new form, of "Tho Hawkins Voyages," tho first work published by the .society. The llakluyt Society, now mentiont^d, was preceded in time by the Camden Society. This society was organized in liondon in 1838 for the publication of old manuscripts of autiqiiarian or hjs- torii'al interest, and called after old William Camden, buried in Westminster Abbey, the most distinguished antiquarian of the Elizabethan era. Of his great work, "Britannia,"-— of whii'h, by the way, there is a copy of the 1010 edition in the Manitoba Society's liln-ary— it was quaintly said " it was the common sun whereat oixr modern writers have lighted all their little torches." Follwing the exiiniple that these societies atford us, may we not, in the incipient stage of our historical rest>arches, add an impetus to the work, by giving some assist- ance to the production of tho means necessary for undertaking the study of our history. Let us suppos<', as an instance of what might be done immediately, that a committee were appointed to select for issue, this or next year, three works. Let lis choose a work dealing with the history of seaboard America, such as Oldmixou's "British Empire in America" with its curious maps, published in London in 1708, and now sold by dealers for $10 for the two volumes : take as a second work, Hennepin's " Nouvelle Decouverte," in French, as representing, in an interesting way, the period of the French regime, now valued at from $10 to $20 ; and say, for a third, " Harmon's Journal of Northwestern Life," scarcely to be had at any price. Were these three, or others of a similar nature, taken, and a proposition made to some Canadian publisher as to the cost of publishing an edition of 500 or 1000 copies, there could bo no risk in the matter. If, then, a prospectus were issued offering subscribers the three volume.s this year, with the prospect of their being followed by a A CANADIAN (.'AMI>KN SUL'IKTY. 63 Bimilar nnmUor noxt yeav in uniform ntyle, for an annual subNiriptiou of sis') or $♦», no one <'an 8Ui)poH(i that, with th«' influonct! of tho Royal Sotioty and its alliliatod MOcioties, there would he diUiculty in obtaining a number sulUcient to make the enterprise sut-eess- ful, and to giw, tlie Hubscribers a scries of nxost valuable and, to many at present utterly unattainable, works at a minimum of cost.