">>.■> '

^-^^^' .0.

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

*"<•" ^ A, *^^^

. A

'«r

12.2

!'! I.I

2.0

1.2

1.4

1.6

>>;:•

*•#

Photograpnic

Sdences
Corporation

-'"'is /J^

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y 14580

(716) 872-4503

CIHM/ICMH

Microfiche

Series.

CIHM/ICMH
Collection de
microfiches.

Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / lostitut Canadian de microreproductions historiques

O^^

Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notos techniques et bibliographiques

The Institute has attempted to obtain the best
original copy available for filming. Features of this
copy which may be bibliographically unique,
which may alter any of the images in the
reproduction, or which mav significantly change
the usual method of filming, are checked below.

L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire
qu'il lui a 6ti possible de se procurer. Les details
de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du
point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier
une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une
modification dans la m^thode normale de filmage
sont iiiidiqu^s ci-dessoiis.

D
D

Coloured covers/
Couverture de couleur

Covers damaged/
Couverture endommagee

Covers restored and/or laminated/
Couverture restaur^e et/ou pellicul6e

Cover title missing/

Le titre de couverture manque

Coloured maps/

Cartes g^ographiques en couleur

Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/
Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire)

Coloured plates and/or illustrations/
Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur

Bound with other material/
Reli6 avec d'autres documents

Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion
along interior margin/

La reliure serree peut causer de I'ombre ou de la
distortion le long de la marge intirieure

Biank leaves added during restoration may
appear within the text. Whenever possible, these
have been omitted from filming/
II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout^es
lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte,
mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces parjSS n'ont
pas ^t^ film^es.

Additional comments:/
Commentaires suppldmentaires;

□ Coloured pages/
Pages de couleur

I I Pages damaged/

Pages endommag(§es

Pages restored and/or laminated/
Pages restaur6es et/ou pelliculees

I I Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/

Pages d6color6es, tachet^es ou piqu^es

Pages detached/
Pages d^tach^es

Showthrough/
Transparence

Quality of prir

Quality in^gale de I'impression

includes supplementary materii
Comprend du materiel supplementaire

I I Pages detached/

I I Showthrough/

I I Quality of print varies/

I I includes supplementary material/

Only edition available/
Seule Edition disponible

Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata
slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to
ensure the best possible image/
Les pages totalement ou partiellement
obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure,
etc., ont 6t^ filmdes d nouveau de facon i
obtenir la meilleure image possible.

This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/

Ce document est film6 au taux de reduction indiqud ci-de^sous.

10X 14X 18X 22X

26X

30X

12X

16X

20X

24X

28X

32X

The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks
to the generosity of:

National Library of Canada

L'exemplaire filmi fut reproduit grSce d la
g6n6rosit6 de:

Bibliothdque nationale du Canada

The images appearing here are the best quality
possible considering the condition and legibility
of the original copy and in keeping with the
filming contract specifications.

Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le
plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et
de la nettetd de l'exemplaire filmd, et en
conformity avec les conditions du contrat de
filmage.

Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed
beginning with the frcnt cover and ending on
the last page with a printed or illustrated impres-
sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All
other original copies are filmed beginning on the
first page with a printed or illustrated impres-
sion, and ending on the last page with a printed
or illustrated impression.

Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en
papier est imprimde sont film§s en commenpant
par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la
dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second
plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires
originaux sont film6s en commenpant par la
premidre page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par
la dernidre page qui comporte une telle
empreinte.

The last recorded frame on each microfiche
shall contain the symbol —►(meaning "CON-
TINUED "), or the symbol V (meaning "END"),
whichever applies.

Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la
dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le
cas: le symbole — ♦- signifie "A SUIVRE", le
symboie V signifie "FIN".

Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at
different reduction ratios. Those too large to be
entirely included in one exposure are filmed
beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to
right and top to bottom, as many frames as
required. The following diagrams illustrate the
method:

Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent §tre
filmds d des taux de reduction diffdrents.
Lorsque le document est trop grand pcur dtre
reproduit en un seul cliche, il est film6 d partir
de i'angle sup^rieur gauche, de gauche d droite,
et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre
d'images ndcessaira Les diagrammes suivants
illustrent la mdthode.

1880.

-•••-

BRITAIN'S

FUTURE CORN SUI>PLY:

FOREIGN OR CANADIAN?

ROBKBT WILKES,

{LATK MEMBFAi OF THE DOMIXION PARLIAMEST.)

Jrom the (!^»nadi»u Pouthlg nnd |(ation»l |(evieu'.

Coronlo :

HUNTER, ROSE & COMPANY. |

AGKNTS : I

TORONTO NEWS COMPANY. MONTREAL NEWS COMPANY. 1

'ii. ^■'i'V/.V-';'*.-?, ■:)*-.".:- 96t'5*i

^''^i'^titiSS;

I'-J^t^^'^jl'-^S'^.'^''^

1 ""W

C'ltj^i /r-

1880.

BKITAIN'S

FUTURE CORN SUPPLY:

FOREIGN OR CANADIAN?

EGBERT WILKES,

{LATE MfJilBER OF THE DOMISIOS PARLIAMENT.)

4xm tlif ^uuartinu Puuthly \m\ 'gwWamX Icvieii'.

Toronto :

HUNTER, ROSE & COMPANY,

AGENTS :
TORONTO NEWS COMPANY. MONTREAL NEWS COMPANY.

141939

A^i

Av.

tSmtmm mmaa i ^ a^ ux semim

4t«»

7(1

?,■.

\p \ «i>tVv

■V

''/

% •/

^ r.

'^.NO'

«■

^ ^ Y

ttlniM

■>, o_.

fr"*w.

.^-X;

c..

«.H

frt"

Pt^ I f

,-hj

^. ■%

.<^

.5^

'Z>^

J^^

»*J

:.i«^

Vi v^j \

str" *,^

•X2?S'

'^J!

PcJUrW

»ak \

^TW<""

^\ >

iV^

'ipiiU

Bay

''<fe^'

\)W

V/* <"

/>;•

fir»»«-r-

)T!lO'

p«.

>tfa|llT:

|IT« B.j

j«*rV«

A'"r'

\ "'li?;

O^:

:*^

I: ''V!

^ 4v

i\^

'JCJ*'(<*^ .

0W.O

rji*-*""

n!«r

hfUrM^r

^■^

'''^*-?3^Ti.ir**"'

•f /

/ *."•

-^^Mi

"-•wAi,

TiP^^uw i.

^*:^

jgnltf-*—"'

ASb::Cl:

.Hr-v-^~Ai/'

./ I »«.-•*

'•%0Uni^

■^

3^^_

^-7^^

'slo

Vi^l

:f)/

jiZL

-V

•V:^

:ot:i«l

riJ^'

<o^

,n.i'

^^^

/Ij

-Ve^Ybra

^?li

Liinyiliidf il?s/ (iri //Vw/ Cnrmwin'h . Ool

v.s •

■^

SHEWING THE EXTENT AND SITUATION OF ITS \
ALSO ITS GEOGRAPHICAL RELATION TO THE

«^

. ". vV

^.. Published bv order of -s^v

*it.> - — ^ ^\^

l.l)\,

,-ts

PHOTO LlTM BY THE B'JRLANO UTM CO MONTREAL

V 'ti.'i-.-

•i>Zr'".

'^mmmmt

i' . V » '-

•.».'.

• i. • » .

BRITAIN'S FUTURE CORN SUPPLY.

-♦-••^— ♦-

("^ RE AT BRITAIN'S adverse balance of trade has long been
JT a special subject of discussion, some regarding it as of no
serious importance, while others recognise in it symptoms of com-
mercial decline. The steady increase of this unfavourable balance
not only in volume, but in its proportion to exports and to the in-
crease of population, is specially deserving of attention. Twenty
years ago, the total exports of one hundred and fifty-six millions
sterling were eighty-seven per cent, of the amount of the imports,
while in 1877 the exports were but sixty-four per cent, of the
amount of the imports. Taking two decaded periods, 1859-68, and
1868-77, the average of the first period was, imports, two hundred and
fifty millions, exports, one hundred and ninety-six millions, or seven-
ty-eight and one-third per cent.; and of the second period, imports, three
hundred and forty-six millions, exports, two hundred and seventy
millions, or seventy-eight and one-third per cent., being a slight gain,
but comparing with 1876 or 1877, greatly to the disadvantage of the
latter part of the period. When viewed in relation to population, the
first period shows imports per capita, of eight pounds, eight shillings,
exports, five pounds, four shillings, or sixty-two ^^er cent.; and
in the latter period, imports, ten pounds, sixteen shillings, and
sixpence, exports, six pounds, fifteen shillings and eightpence,or sixty-
three per cent — a gain of one per cent. On the last two years of
the period (1876-77) the exports only average fifty-three per cent,
of the amount of the imports per capita.

These large and increasing imports consist chiefly of two classes.
Food Staple\ and the Raw Materials of Manufactures. During the

4 BRITAIN'S FUTURE CORN SUPPLY.

second decadal period referred to, the former class of imports were
as follows : —

Wheat, Corn and Flour — annual average . . . £4f> ,000,000

Tea 11,000,000

Sugar 20,000,000

Annual average total £77,000,000,

or about twenty-two and one quarter per cent, of the total importa-
tions. The latter class during the period was

Cotton, annual average £57,000,000

Wool, " '• 20,000,000

Silk, " " 9,000,000

Total annual average , £80,000,000

These three raw textile staples amount to twenty-five per cent, of
the total average import. If to the above be added timber, averag-
ing say, twenty million pounds per annum, the results in all amount
to over fifty- three per cent, of the total imports. To the Food Imports
has now to be added, meat from America, live and dead, which will
bring the total for these classes to about sixty per cent, of the aver-
age imports.

I propose for the present to consider chiefly the item of " corn "
supply and its principal sources, and whether there be no alternative
for the United Kingdom, but to continue to pay gold to strangers for
her bread-stuffs, in excess of her immense exports of manufactured
articles. Protectionist writers on the American side often attribute
the unfavourable b lance of British trade to the supposed decline of
English supremac in manufactures ; whereas it actually results
from the enormously increasing consumption of food and raw mate-
rial of foreign growth.

During a period of years, the supply of corn has come chiefly from
Russir, and the United States. As far back as 1854, the latter country
sent almost one-fourth out of a total of eight millions of quarters..

BRITAIN'S FUTURE CORK SUPPLY.

In 1859, Russia supplied about one-fourth of a total of ten millions
of fjuarters. But since then the proportions have been remarkably
reversed. During the five years, 1873-77, the total "corn" imports
averaged a value of fifty-four millions sterling. Of this Russia sent a
little over four millions, or7f per cent., while the United States fur-
nished nearly twenty-one millions sterling, or 33^ per cent.,per annum.
During the first nine months of 1879, the United States is reported
to have sent the enormous proportion of about sixty per cent, of an
unprecedentedly large importation.

In 1877, the total imports from the United States were seventy-
eight millions, and the exports to the United States, sixteen millions,
or about 20 per cent.; showing a balance of trade against the United
Kingdom with the United States of over three hundred millions of
■dollars. The total excess in the United States of exports over imports
in 1878, is returned at two hundred and sixty-five millions of dollars
— so that more than their total excess is with Great Britain.

Russia, in 1877, sold Great Britain to the value of twenty-two
millions sterling, while she bought of strictly British produce, only a
little over four millions, or about 18 per cent, of the value of her ex-
ports to Great Britain. Few will dispute the maxim that, in so far
as it can possibly be guarded against, no nation should be dependent
for her vital supplies on either hostile or rival nations.

In ships and the material of war, Britain constantly supplies her
rivals; she herself never depends for these upon foreign assistance.
Indeed, she does not depend upon private domestic sources ; the
nation maintains vast establishments for the manufacture of her own
armaments of war.

However numerous the enemies of Britain may be, her danger of
armed invasion is not imminent. Her defences by sea and land are her
security. Britain's danger rather consists in being compelled to buy
her food and raw material from rival nations, and to pay for them
in gold, while these nations not only exclude her manufactures from
their markets, but compete with her in countries where they could
not sell their raw materials.

While England thus pays vast sums to strangers for natural pro-
ducts, the wages to produce which in no way benefit her own people.

BRITAIN'S FUTURE CORK SUPPLY.

she has, on the one hand, an immense home population, insufficiently
employed, and, on the other hand, accessible territories, won by the
bravery and enterprise of her sons, and still held by the Crown, suit-
able for the production of all the food and raw materials that she can
possibly consume.

The problem for British statesmen to-day is, how to utilise those
resources, so as to benefit the nation and make the empire absolutely
independent of foreign countries for its vital supplies, in peace no
less than in war.

Hitherto, the great colonies have been peopled through the neces-
sities of the individual emigrant. Badness of trade, failure of crops,
or personal misfortune of various kinds, have induced persons in the
mother country to emigrate. They brave the ocean passage, and the
greater risk of obtaining employment or finding a settlement under
new and often uncongenial circumstances. During a visit to Mani-
toba, last summer, when nearly a hundred miles west of Red River,
I met a ribbon weaver from Coventry. He had toiled with his little
effects in ox-carts, for five days over the wet prairie from Winnipeg
— and had yet several days further to travel before settling his
family on a free " homestead." Emigrants such as this endure great
privations, but they ultimately succeed ; yet I could not but feel
that as a representative of the class of voluntary immigrants by
whom the great North-West is destined to be peopled, the Coventry
weaver was suffering disadvantages, to a large extent, due to the
system.

Mr. Froude, in the Edinburgh Review, some time since, urged as-
'^isted Imperial emigration to the Colonies, instancing the result of
the opposite policy in the case of the Irish exodus to America. But
no Government has hitherto been found prepared to favour such a
scheme; nor has it been influentially advocated by the press or in
Parliament. Emicjration hitherto has been individual, not National
or Imperial. It is, therefore, very unlikely that the British taxpayer
will consent to an outlay in which he has no direct advantage,
merely to relieve the home labour market, to benefit the unsuccess-
ful surplus population, or to people colonies, that in return may ex-
clude his manufactures by protective tariffs.

itly
thQ
uit-
can

his

BRITAIN'S FUTURE CORN SUPPLY. 7

To gain the consent of the British people to an expenditure for
emigration, it must be shown that the outlay will be beneficial to
the home population ; and that while the Colonies are being de-
veloped, increased trade and greater independence of foreign nations
will result to Great Britain.

The imports of foreign and colonial cereals have now reached the
enoi-mous value of over sixty millions sterling, per annum. The
growth of this vast product has furnished no employment to the
British people, nor has the profit upon it, in any way, benefited the
British taxpayer. It has, indeed, been landed at the ports, chiefly
in British bottoms, and so has yielded employment to Great Britain's
unrivalled commercial fleet, but there the commercial benefit has ended,
for the price has to be paid in gold.

Instead of thus paying strangers and rivals for her breadstuff's,
why should not Britain produce them herself from lands of the
Crown ? If the manufacture of their own ships and war material by
the British Government can be justified on sound principles of poli-
tical economy, is it unreasonable to produce the food of the people ?
The alternative is no longer avoidable, Britain must continue to en-
rich rival nations from which she purchases her corn, or she must pro-
duce it for herself as a National enterprise. In the history of nations,
the opportunity seldom arises to utilize vast tracts of fertile Crown
Lands, within easy access to the mother country. Britain enjoys
this rare opportunity to-day in the Dominion of Canada!

Within fifteen days of Liverpool there is an unlimited area of
fertile prairie land, as yet uncultivated, belonging nominally to " The
Crown." In less than five years this territory could supply the
whole British market with grain of a quality unsurpassed in the
world. All reports by competent judges concur in the opinion that
the great fertile belt of British North America — stretching westward
a thousand miles from Red River — will in time become the wheat-
field of the world. In a few years it will have railway communi-
cation with the seaboard, as well as unequalled water highways. It
therefore only requires labour and capital for its development, and
for placing the entire British people who are its inheritors in com-
plete independence of all foreign food supply.

BRITAIN S FUTURE CORN SUPPLY

:i-

Individual colonization must naturally be slow, and as such set-
tlors cannot be expected to have Imperial objects in view — no mat-
ter how great may be the tide which flows towards this " illimitable
wilderness" — it cannot result in such timely develo{)ment as to over-
take the demands of the B.iitish markets, and so to outstrip foreign
competitors.

Instead of such fitful and tardy settlement, I pro])ose that the
Imperial Government re-acquire extensive tracts of land in Mani-
toba and the North- West territories, and that such lan<ls be culti-
vated exclusively foi" the giowth of corn and cattle directly by
the Crown. By arrangement with the Canadian Parliament, the
lands — some of which are held as railway reserves — could readily
be acquired at a fair valuation. British labourers could be sent
under labour contracts to cultivate them, and the entire sur-
plus product could be profitably sold in Britain on Government
account.

These lands are now held at prices, varying from one dollar (48.) per
acre to five dollars (20s.) per acre, the latter being for the belts nearest
to the Canada Pacific Railway, now under contract from Winnipeg-
westward. The reserved belts might be left to unassisted settle-
ment ; for there are thousands of square miles within reasonable reach
of outlets that are fertile beyond conception, and that could be ac-
(^uired for the maximum price of one dollar per acre.

The descriptions which have been published concerning the re-
sources of this northern territory, have naturally been received in
Britain with considerable incredulity. Preconceptions of a country
only known as the former domain of a vast fur-trading company
could not naturally be favourable, and actual observation, on ajiy
extensive scale, has been so recent that the British public may well
be excused if they have thought of it not as a fertile, but as a fro-
zen wilderness. I may, therefore, quote some remarks here con-
cerning it, from sources exceptionally well informed, or not likely
to be unduly prejudiced in its favour. The Pioneer Press, a paper
published at St. Paul, Minnesota, makes the following statement: —

*' Within the isothermal lines that inclose the wheat zone west and north-west
of Minnesota, which is being, or is to be, opened to cultivation, lies a vast area

BRITAIN'S FUTURE CORN SUPPLY.

of fertile lands, from which might easily be cut out a dozen States of the size of
New York."

The lands referred to are all within the British American North-
West. Mr. Wheelock, the official statistician for the State of
Minnesota, remarks concerning the wheat area of the United States
that —

" The wheat-producing district of the United States is confined to about ten
degrees of latitude and six degrees of longitude, terminating on the west at the
98th parallel. But the zone of its profitable culture occupies a comparatively
narrow belt along the cool borders of the district defined for inland positicms by
the mean temperature of fifty-five degrees on the north, and seventy-one degrees
on the south, for the two months of July and August. This definition ex-
cludes all the country south of latitude forty degrees, except Western Virginia,
and north of that it excludes the southern districts of Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, while it includes the northern parts of these States,
Canada, Now York, Western Virginia, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Red
River and Saskatchewan Valleys. In general terms it may be stated that
the belt of maximum wheat production lies immediately north of the district
where the maximum of Indian corn is attained."

And he remarks further : —

" 1. That physical and economical causes restrict the limits of wheat culture
to the seats of its maximum production, in less than one-third of the States of
the Union, within a climatic belt having an estimated gross area of only 250,000
square miles, from which nine-tenths of the American supply of bread and a
large and constantly increasing amoimt of foreign food must be drawn.

' ' 2. That within tliis zone the same climatic and other causes tend to concen-
trate the growth of wheat in the upper belt of the North- Western States, always
preferring the best wheat districts.

" 3. That Minnesota and the country nortlv-xced of It is the best of these wheat
districts, having the largest average yield, the most certain crops, and the best
and healthiest ijrains."

The whole wheat-growing area of the United States is thus esti-
mated at two hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) square miles,
whereas the fertile belt of British America embraces an area of
four hundred and fifty thousand (450,000) square miles, estimating
nothing higher than 55° north latitude. On the far western plains

BRITAIN'S FUTURE CORN SUPPLY.

the isothermal line of wheat culture undoubtedly reaches consider-
ably north of this limit. It can therefore readily be seen that
the most extensive wheat fields of America are on the British
Canadian side of the line.

Professor Macoun, during the past season, made an official inspec-
tion of a very extensive portion of the North- West. His opinions
concerning the soil and climate are therefore not only the most
recent, but they are undoubtedly the most reliable, yet published.
He is reported to have spoke in a recent lecture as follows : —

"From the 102nd meridian, he had journeyed due west over 13.1 degrees of
longitude, the course embracintr a little more than two degrees of latitude ; in
other words, he had travelled G50 miles west from Fort Ellice, on a line extend-
ing 150 miles from north to south. Within these limits were included 100,000
square miles — a territory of vast extent.

** In the country lying to the south of the Assiniboine, south of the Qu'Ap-
pelle and east of the 103rd meridian, there are 800,000,000 acres of land, scarcely
any of which is second-class, nearly all being of the highest excellence. Never-
theless, being destitute of wood, all this land would remain unsettled for years
to come, were it not for the abundant supply of coal. There will, without
doubt, very soon be a rapid immigration from Rock Lake.

" North of the Qu'Appelle River, and extending westward as far as the 105th
meridian, lies a region containing not less than from 0,000,000 to 10,000,000
acres, which can with certainty be pronounced of excellent quality. There is
not a finer region in the North- West than that extending along the southern
base of the File Hils and the Touchwood Hills.

" The facts concerning the rainfall are these: — As the heat in the spring
increases, the rains increase ; then, shortly after the nummer solstice, they
decline, and by the last of August, or earlier, they cease altogether. After that
a period of six months commences, during which there is very little fall of rain
or snow ; and, with this period, the year ends. The operations of the season of
vegetation nre as follows : — As soon as the warm weather of the spring com-
mences the snow melts. Then, when the frost is out of the ground to the depth
of five or six inches, the farmer sows his seed. During this time there i»
scarcely any vain, but the frost underneath keeps melting by degrees. The
roots of the young plants keep following down, after the frost, and increasing in
size, till the latter part of May. In June and July, both the air and the earth
are warm, and everything rushes to quick maturity. Next comes the dry fall,
when the grain can be harvested without injury. These general characteristics
apply to the climate of the whole of the North-West, and the same results are
everywhere observable over tracts embracing 300,000 square miles. One impor-

BRITAIN'S FUTURE CORN SUPPLY.

tant result is that hardness of the grain which cornea largely from the dryness
of the autumn. Another important result is the adaptation of our immense
plains to the raising of cattle. The whole of the south-western plains, which
formerly yielded food for the buffalo, will, in our day, become covered with
cattle. Many persons have said that the vast plains to the south of Battleford
are too exposed for the raising of stock ; but God tempers the wind to the shorn
lamb. The admirable adaptation of the climate renders the successful raising of
cattle practicable where, under other circumstances, it would be impossible."

The special adaptation of the soil and climate of this vast terri-
tory to supply the food requirements of Great Britain cannot be
disputed. All that is necessary to attain this result are Capital.
and Labour, and these Britain commands without limit,

I will assume, what is certainly within the mark, that, for an
outlaj^ of twenty millions sterling, a territory larger than England,
Ireland and Scotland, could be secured. Out of one hundred millions
of acres, tracts adapted for cultivation could be acquired equal to the
full area of the whole United Kingdom, which contains about seventy-
seven millions (77,000,000) of acres — a large percentage of which,
especially in Ireland and Scotland, is not under cultivation.

Important drainage works, and the building of rail and tramways,
might cost two millions more. The conveyance, shelter and first main-
tenance of an army of contract labourers from Britain, and the
necessary implements for their work, would probably bring the whole
capital outlay to twenty-five millions siierling. This at three per
cent, would entail a charge upon the Consolidated Fund of six hun-
dred thousand pounds per annum.

For this outlay the Crown would hold in fee, through a Royal
Commission, a veritable " New Britain " in the heart of the conti-
nent. All the appliances for agriculture on the most extensive
scale, entrusted to a male and female labouring population of over
half a million, which with such soil and aj^pliances^ would show
results that would astonish the world.

In ten years, lands brought under such cultivation could be sold»
if need were, for from two to five pounds per acre, to the very persons
sent out to cultivate them, if to no others. The investment would,,
therefore, undoubtedly yield a profit on a large scale whenever it

BRITAIN'S FUTURE CORN SUPPLY.

was considered prudent, on the part of the Crown, to relinquish tlie
enterprise, and this profit would he a direct gain to the Home tax-
payer.

As the result of actual oncpiry upon the spot during the past sum-
mer, I estimate the cost of wheat to the individual producer in
Manitoba to be about thirty-five cents per bushel — equal to Is. oAfl
To make full allowance for outlay on a large scale, I would estimate
wheat grown as proposed to cost sixty ccnt« per bushel — one dollar
(4*'. 2d.) per cental — or say one half-penny per pound. Such wheat is
grown, and can be grow^n, yielding forty bushels to the acre. As
soon as railways now under construction are completed, the average
cost for carriage from any central point to Liverpool via Montreal and
Quebec, would be about from sixty to seventy-five cents (2s. Gd. to
3.5. "Zd.) per cental, making the cost at Liverpool 6s. 8(?. to 7s. 4ci. per
cental — equal to 28s. 9c?. to 34s. Gd. per quarter. If to this calcu-
lation five per cent, for commissions and charges be added, it would
still leave the cost of wheat in British ports from 30s. to 3Gs. Gd. per
quarter. The enterprise would thus almost from the first be self-
sustaining, yet if ten years' interest were added to the capital outlay
the profit would still be large.

If it be said that the delivery of wheat so produced would bo ruin-
ous to the British farmer, it may be answered that it would be sold
only at the market price, as now, but with this important difference
between it and foreign wheat, that it was grown by British labour
on British soil, and that the profits on its sale would accrue to the
British taxpayer. There can be no question but that the immense
imports of American wheat into British ports of recent years, coupled
with deficient harvests, have greatly discouraged British agricul-
turists. They feel that land, stimulated by artificial manures, and
costing an annual rental of from 30 to 40 shillings ner acre, cannot
compete with virgin soil costing in fee simple but a nominal sum. It
is true that the yield per acre of wheat lands in England is greater
than in any other part of Europe, averaging about 26 bushels per
acre, which is greatly in excess of the average yield of North Ame-
rican lands ; still, in the face of increasing imports, the average wheat
^cultivation in England of three millions of acres is likely to decline.

BRITAIN'S FUTURE CORN SUPPLY.

This docs not neceasarily imply a permanent reduction in the vahie
of English lands, but merely a change of products. In the colonial
times, over a hundred years ago, wheat was extensively grown in the
valley of the CWnecticut River, in New England ; and less than 50
years ngo the Genesee Valley, in the State of New York, was cele-
brated for its wheat. Now its cultivation is almost abandoned in
these districts, for they cannot compete with the western prairies.
Still the lands are more valuable than ever , for tobacco, fruit, an<l
other products are now profitably cultivated on the former wheat
fiehls. In England similar changes must occur with the growth of
population. She is likely to become a (javdening rather than a farm-
ing or stock-raising country. Thus the decline of wheat culture is
more likely to increase the value of British lands rather than to
lessen it.

Some discussion has taken ])lace concerning the adaptation of the
North-West for stock-raising; it is claimed by many that cattle may
be wintered in the shelter of the wooded streams in tl)-^ severest
weather, and that, like the Indian pony, they will scrape the dry
snow from the grass. I think that no reliance can be placed on
such statements as applied to cattle-raising on any important scale.
In all the northern and eastern sections of the territory, cattle would
require winter housing ; yet, as during the winter months farming
operations proper are suspended, abundant labour would be availa-
ble for profitable employment in attending to stock. The true test
is the cost of food. At present hay can be obtained from the
natural meadows without limit. I have heard the value of the saving
estimated at two dollars (88.) per ton, but I consider this too low. It
can, however, be safely estimated at not more than four dollars (16.s'.)
per ton, delivered at reasonable distances from where it is cut.
Root crops are grown in great perfection, avera;^ing, it is said a thou-
sand bushels to the acre. Coarse grain can also be grown, produc-
ing the highest yield. There is, therefore, no room for doubt that fat
cattle could be raised at a low expenditure on the very territory
chiefly devoted to wheat growing.

Beyond this, however, the plains of the South-West are specially

BRITAIN'S FUTURE CORN SUPPLY.

adaptcnl for grnzing. Concerning a very largo 'district, Professor
Macoun is reported as saying : —

" The suitability of the Bow River country for stock-raising is attributable
in a great measure, to the Chinook winds, which, coming from the south-west,
from Arizona, Wyoming, etc., greatly tend to modify the climate, sometimes
raising the temperature (50 degrees in two hours. The diy atmosphere is regarded
as a cause of the low temperature not interfering with vegetation."

These western plains could he stocked with young cattle from the
Texas herds, and a cross could soon be obtained which would yield
cattle better adapted for the British markets than any now raised in
the American teritories.

Under competent overseers, no better herdsmen could be found
than the native Plain Indians. The buffalo is fast disappearing
before their indiscriminate slaughter by the white man and the In-
dian. The only salvation for the Indian is to employ him as
a herdsman of cattle, and thus ensure him maintenance. The Indian
tribes on British territories have generally been peaceable and always
loyal. If kindly treated and wisely employed they will remain
faithful. The attempt to convert these nomads of the Plains into
farmers is an unreasonable one. After a long period some, no doubt,
may be induced to cultivate the soil ; but the true and profitable em-
ployment for the Prairie Indians is cattle raising. Concerning them
the writer above quoted says :

" The Blackfeet and the Sioux were the finest men, physically, in the North-
West. The Sioux at Prince Albert ask for work that they may earn something
to purchase food. When men talk about danger from Indians, they do it for
place or for plunder ; for, wherever there is an Indian war or scare there is
place, and, when supplies are scarce, there is plunder."

Professor Macoun mentions instances of actual starvation havincj
happened among the Indians by the failure of the buffalo, while the
crops of settlers in the neighbomliood were left undisturbed. The
Indians on both sides of the line respect Englishmen and Canadians
both of whom in the west they call "King George Man." The British
people owe it therefore to these faithful tribes, whose titles have

m '■

BRITAIN'S FUTURE CORN SUPPLY.

In-

been ceded as far as the Rocky Mountains, to furnish them with a
means of livelihood, by the investment of capital in stock-raising,
from wliich it is certain that the return will be tenfold.

Of the nnllions who have emigrated from Great Britain and Ire-
land, many have carried, rightly or wrongly, a memory of by-pnst
wrongs; others a consciousness of neglect, and of disadvantages and
privation, suffered in the struggle for existence. In the peopling of
this, the last fertile region, within reach of the Celtic and Anglo-
Saxon races, it is of great importance to reverse the former feeling.
Men conveyed by the nation to distant fields, assured of employ-
ment, and a bright future opened for themselves and their children,
would certainly entertain for the mother country not only the feel-
ings of loyalty, for which all colonists arc distinguished, but a warm
sense of gratitude which would bear practical fruits in later years.

The vast North-West offers a free area for all peoples — for the
Icelanders, for the Russian Mennonites, for the Norwegian, the Swede,
the Dane, and the German ; but above all, it offers a home for the
British people. To them it afford;} an unequalled opportunity of de-
veloping British Institutions on a grand scale, believing as they do,
that, under such institutions, there is enjoyed civil liberty and social
order, unequalled by that of any other system on the face of the
earth.

In the settlement of the older Provinces of the Dominion, from the
Atlantic to the Great Lakes, the lands being chiefly wooded, an un-
natural system was adopted. The townships were surveyed and laid
out in farms of two hundred acres, on each of which, one or two soli-
tary families settled, to hew a home for themselves out of the forest.
The early settlers were absolutely isolated, and were thus partly de-
prived of social, educational and religious advantages which might
have been otherwise enjoyed. To this day, even in the well settled
districts this isolation prevails, and has the injurious effect of tempt-
ing a large percentage of the youth to forsake the farms for the
towns. The unparalleled town growth of America can largely be
accounted for in this way. There is no excuse for the repetition of
this error in the settlement of the prairie lands of the west. Never-
theless, such is still being attempted, both in the Western States of

111

niUTAIN'S FUTURE CORN SUPPLY.

the Union, nn«l in Canada. The travollcrby rail or \vat<'r may s^ny-
whore (ioscry on tlu; liori/oii tlio .solitary dwelling of tlic pioneer Rot-
tlcr, prohaMy separated liy n.ilen from liis nearest nei^dihour. Tlu^
inteivenin«^' tiiU't niay bo lield as a railway reservn^ at a fancy price
oi" ])y Hpciculators for a lise in value.

The rational Miode of settlement is tlie horf system of Europe,
only on a "^^randtir scale. The; sites of aj^ricultural towns should l»e
selected by <;omp(.'ient enj^ineers, located not only with nifen^nco
to tlie tract to i^e cultivated, but also with reference to the facility
for draiiui^'c, the adjacency of c<ml or wood, and the general adapta-
tion for healthful occupation. In this way many of the sites cho.sen
would become populous (nties durin;^ the present {generation, and
would, in contrast with the accidental locatiomi of the great centres
of poj)ulation, be abs(dute sanatoriums. The construction of cheap
sectional rail or tramways r)ver the prairie would meet all thercipiire-
inents of tran.sit to labour and the removal of crops; but even with-
out thos(^ theie is no natural road in the world to compare with the
piairie in the harvest season.

It may be supi)osed by some that th(; Canadian (Government and
people would view with jealousy such a vast Jnjperial establishment
(tarried on in <lirect competition with th<;irhomo a<.(ricultural industry..
At first, no doubt, such obj(!ctions might arise, but they would be
l)a.sed neither on justice nor on expediency. All piibiic lands in the
Empire are calN-d "Crown Lands," i.e. — held by the Crown intrust
for the peo'fde. " The People" surely UKsans more than the resident.s
of any particular colony — the emigrants of yestenhiy. It nnist be
held to mean t/ic. whole Bfifi.sli'iu'ople, by whose enterprise and valour
these lands acro.ss the si.-as were won.

" Tlwy, too, weri> civiitffl laiiiH of Uio earth and claim itH dlviHion."

The British emigrant of yesterday has, therefore, no exclusive rightn
as against the liritish Immigrant of to-day, they have each claims
upon the lands of the Crown, an<l tin; Crown has a claim on their
services for the furtlu^rance of Imperial interests. But the (Cana-
dian people have more than reasons based uj)on right and ecjuity
to cause tliem to acrpdcsce in a scheme of Imperial colonization.

mil TAIN'S FlJTUniC (JOHN HIIPPLV.

They arc uhsoluUily conmiiUcid to tlio vast undeitakin^^ of a railway
across tliecontiiuint horn tin; (iioaf, Lakes to the INuMJicr. Tlio interest
on tliiH outlay nmst he p.-iid liy tli<- colonial taxi)ay(!r,s, or (\\sit tlir
land roHOives mnst bf .sold. No system of individual settlement
can occupy tliese lailvvny lands in twenty-live years; the "free
grants" will atti-act -ictual settlers, even t(j places remote from
railways, so that no larg<i sales will be spcjedily made.

The advertising of the lands by a |)ublic comjjany of contractors or
otherwise would, no doubt, assist their settlement ; but the <-ontineid,
.has already had enough of "company" mono[)oly to lead to sucli
a system being regarded with favour; and to inclini! ( -anadians
to prefer any wcill consideied ImjHtrial scheme to one; of grasping
manipulation of the fair lands now held in fee simple for the whoh;
British |)eople. The conveyance of large tificts to the Imperial
(lovernment would, tlKsrefortr, })e at once a solution of the railway
prol)lem, ami would also (insure a develojwnent of the comdry in ten
years such ascouhl not otherwise be obtained in lifty. All this woidd
be immens(dy advantageous to Cnnadsi, at tli<; very tinu; that it se-
cured tlie highest interests of the Motlusr (Jountiy.

Po'imlaiioii is the great nc^ed of the Dominion of (vauiida. Th(i
outflow of British emigration during the past fifty yc^ars has maiidy
benefited the Great Repuldic. The future tide of unassisted innid-
gj-ation will tend to follow in the wake of its predecessor. Nothing,
therefore, can so rapidly [Xiople the Canadian N<jrth-West as an
lm[)erial scheme, mainly based upon lm])erial objects.

A large majority of tlie (Canadian I'arlianumtary constituencieH,
(although a small one of the (Jana<iian people), has, in 1878, declared
in favour of a protective tariff. Such a policy to be successfid,
above all, recjuires consumers; these wouhl b«( furnisluid by the
proposed scheme. All tin; implements of husbandry wouhl find an
immensely increased denuind, and in such the Canadian makers arc;
not surpassed in tin; woild. Domestic woollen and cotton ch)thing,
blankets, boots and shoes, and nuniijrous other staple su[)plies are
ahnost exclusively produced in the (Jolony for local use, am' the
trade in tlxsse would nec(!ssarily be benefite<l. Tin; liake and Mari-
tjyuitj Provinces would in this way become to the North- West what the

BRITAIN'S FUTURE CORN SUPPLY.

New England States aro to the Western States, and the stimulus
would, produce an unprecedented development in all the Provinces.
The products of the Imperial colony would not be offered in the local
markets, and could not therefore depress them. Tho fruit of this
new industry would of course meet the colonial exporter at all British
ports ; but he would then have only to compete with Imperial wheat,
as he now does with American and Russian grain; while on every
cental of the former his country would make an indirect profit, and
the Empire to which it is his pride to belong would become indepen-
dent of the foreign wheat fields of the world.

The Canadian Liberal press and its leaders predict an early reversal
of the protective policy. This is not likely to be realized. Follow-
ing the precedent of the United States, the manufacturing interests
will acquire increased political influence; and the agricultural majority
are, for the most part, indifferent to questions of this nature while
they themselves enjoy moderate prosperity. If the Imperial colon-
ization scheme were carried out, the dominant province would soon
be neither Ontario nor Quebec, but Manitoba, or provinces to the
west of it. These would be largely peopled by men of British
training, and of British trade ideas ; colonial manufacturers would
therefore soon have to compete with British goods without regard to
tariff, for the wheat and cattle growers of the West would never
consent to the artificial exclusion of the better value products of the
mother country by a protective tariff".

This view might tend to prejudice the present dominant Canadian
party against the scheme ; but their necessities, and probably their
patriotism, would assure their concurrence.

Beyond all mere questions of trade policy, I advocate the speedy
settlement of British America with a people loyal to the British
constitutional system, as a countei-poise to the Republicanism of the
United States.

One hundred years ago the population of the revolted American
colonies numbered about four millions. North of the lakes and the
St. Lawrence was almost unbroken forest ; the population, including
the French colonists, hardly numbered five per cent, of the success-
ful revolutionists. To-day, after the lapse of a centu ry, during which

*■'

BRITAIN'S FUTURE CORN SUPPLY.

the peoples of the world have been thrown into the hip of the Repub-
lic, the then Canadian wilderness numbers a loyal people, about equal
in number to those lost by George III., that is, about ten per cent.,
instead of five, of the present population of the Great Republic-
These have built cities, established factories, created canals and rail-
ways, raised cattle and develoi)ed agriculture, in a ratio which com-
pares most favourably per capita with the Republic. They main-
tain a commercial navy not only beyond that of the States, but fourth
in rank among the nations of the world. A country showing such
results under many disadvantages deserves to receive a trial on an
' ample scale. It may then demonstrate to the world that material
prosperity can be obtained under the well tried British system, equal
to that which is witnessed under a republic, if not even greater ; the
system of government often erroneously receiving the praise which
rightfully belongs to a virgin soil and unexampled vai'iety of natural
resources.

Great Britain possesses in Canada the chief element that she lacks
at home, an unlimited fruitful soil. Its most southern boundary is
the forty-second parallel, and more westwardly the forty-ninth. In
Europe this latitude would place Niagara Falls and Toronto on the
southern boundary of France, and Winnipeg in the position of Dieppe.
Nor are these localities actually belied by the summer heat, or the
perfection of thiir fruits and cereals. The peaches ripened on the
Niagara River and on the south shore of Lake Ontario are not easily
surpassed in France; and the wheat of the Red River district is
certainly not excelled in Normandy. During the past summer I
experienced heat in August on the Assiniboine River, a hundred
miles west of Winnipeg, that I never knew exceeded in Paris. The
vastness of the American Continent, stretching far towards the
North Pole, does indeed give a far colder average winter than that
experienced in the same latitude of northern Europe, but this severity,
does not retard, but rather increases the fertility of the soil.

The immense territory from the Red River to the Rocky Moun-
tains has a northern slope. The Nelson River, which empties into
the Hudson Bay, from Lake Winnipeg, drains the valleys of the
North '^and South Sascatchewan rising in Hhe Rocky Mountains ;

■4

BRITAIN'S FUTURE CORN SUPPLY.

the Assin'boine rising in the Touchwood Hills, 52 degrees north
and 7 west of Fort Garry ; and tlui Red River, which rises to the
south, in the American territories. This area is almost one-fourth the
size of Europe. In the far west the Peace River flows east, through
a canyon of the Rocky Mountains, watering an immense upland on
which wheat is said to ripen admirably. The Peace River is a tri-
butary to the G/eat Mackenzie River, through Lake Arthabasca and
the Great Slave Lake, also draining the Great Bear Lake, and empty-
ing into the Arctic Ocean, carrying the waters north of 55°, from a
vast area of which but little is known, but admitting of immense pos-
sibilities in the liands of a hardy pioneer race. While the elevated
regions to the south of the line are saline deserts these northern ter-
ritories, owing to the lowness of level, are well watered, covered
with deep vegetable mould, and abundantly fertile. There is, there-
fore, a British territory half as large as Europe, within the wheat
growing isothermal lines, that is capable of producing in abundance,
the products of the temperate zone. This country only awaits the
occupation of it by a hardy population to be able to supj)ly all the
corn and cattle required by the mother country, and to develo]>e
Biitish institutions on a scale beyond all previous possibilities.

" I hear the tread of pioneers of nations yet to be ;
The first low wash of waves, where yet shall roll a human sea."

In the histoiy of the world there is no parallel instance where a
race and a system of Government have thus enjoyed a second oppor-
tunity such as is now within the reach of the British people. Amer-
ica, with its broad, free acres, is apparently the chosen field for the
development of the Saxon and Celtic races, as the British Islands
clouded by the sea fogs, and washed by the northern ocean, were their
cradle.

Through false conceptions of the lights of the colonists, and the
lack of appreciation of their importance to the Emi)ire, the original
thirteen colonies, with their flourishing western oflfspring were lost to
the Crown. Stretching from Massachusetts Bay to the Gulf of
Florida, what fairer field could be desired for the growth of the tree

BRITAIN'S FUTURE CORN SUPPLY.

of liberty ; a plant which flourished in its island home diu'ing ages
when it was lost to other nations ?

The colonists of those days, rather than struggle longer to right a
temporary injustice, flung away the constitutional system which was
their priceless birthright.

Thoughtful men alike of the North and of the South now admit
that there are fearful risks to the ark of liberty tossed upon the
stormy ocean of a Republic of manhood suffrage, and guided only by
the helm of a parchment scroll.

On the northern, but larger half of the continent, ther-e is yet a
splendid field for the development of the British system, administered
by a British people, who will be the yeomen proprietors of the soil.
Municipal government is already established ; Provincial and Federal
organizations exist that admit of unlimited application, and a system
of national education is founded, that will compare favourably with
any in the world.

Here, then, is a great opportunity for English statesmen. By a
moderate investment they can inaugurate a system that will furnish
desirable employment to a large section of their own peoi)le ; and
that, in a few years, will produce from British soil, breadstuff's, pro-
visions and cattle enough to support Britain's utmost necessities, and
make her mistress of the food markets of the world.

Britain can thus rebeve herself from dependence, either in time of
war or peace, on hostile or rival nations. She can witness in one
generation the unprecedented growth of a prosperous and loyal
people sprung from her own loins, and enjoying the legitimate de-
velopment of her own institutions. She can thus span the American
Continent, and afterwards girdle the earth with a chain of British
peoples, speaking her language, enjoying her literature, her institu-
tions of civil and religious liberty, and, in spite of her faults and the
calumnies of her detractors, become more than any other nation a
blessing to her own race and to all the peoples of the world.