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Tous les autres exempiaires originaux sont filmte en commenpant par la premlAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration at en terminant par la derniAre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaltra sur la derniAre image de cheque microfiche, selon Ie cas: la symbols —► signifie "A SUIVRE ', Ie symbols ▼ signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmfo A des taux de r6duction diff Arents. Lorsque Ie document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichA, 11 est film* A partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en isas, en prenant la nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthodo. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 CANADA AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE COUNTRY iT, .* ^i HER MAJESTY THE QUEENiEMPRESS. 1 CANADA AN ENCYCLOMDIA OF THE COUNTRY THE CANADIAN DOMINIOX CONSIDRRi:!) TN ITS HISTORIC RELATIONS, ITS NATURAL RESOURCES, ITS MATERIAL PROC.RESS, AND ITS NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT BY A CORPS OF EMINENT WRITERS AND SPECIALISTS IN KIVB VOLUMES EDITED BY J. CASTEIvI^ HOPKINS Author of Life and Work of Sir John Thompson, Life and Reign of Queen Victoria, Life and Work of Mr. Gladstone, The Sword of Islam : or Annals of Turkish Power. ILLUaTTRA-TED VOLUME I. THE LINSCOTT PUBLISHING COMPANY TORONTO, CANADA. Entered according to Act of Parliament of Canada in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight, by the Bradley-Garretson Company, Limited, in the Office of the Minister of Agriculture. :^ lifi C9 Ber moit Qractom maldiy Uictorla Queen ana Enprm OQIboee pcrsonaHte bae become cuabrlneO tn tbe affectfone of the Srtti0b people aU over tbe worie ; wboee ejample baa ctB8tal»3«!^ bigb iOea(0 of purtts ant> bonour in tbe bomes anb Uves of bee aubjecta; wboae Jnterprctatlon of ConatttutJonal ©ovetnment baa cnaraveO /ISonarcblcal prlnctplea beep In tbe public minb anb beart of tbe £mplre, CMS Record of Her Canadian Dominion Ts by €xpre$$ Permission Respectfnfly Dedicated ! I HIS EXCELLENCY, THE EARL OF ABERDEEN, G.C.M.G., P.C. Governor General of Canada. PREFACE »v HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA THAT a country should require an Encyclopcedia implies that it has a history and a future. And not only so, but to justify such an undertaking the country must possess encyclopaedic features : comprehensiveness in extent, in resources, and in capabilites of development. That these attributes apply to Canada is a well-ascertained and recognized fact. The first requisites for the success of such an enterprise as the present, viz. : occasion and scope, being thus provided, the next essenrial, that of execution, has to be considered. Here, also, there is every ground for confidence and satisfaction regarding the prospect. Mr. Castell Hopkins, the Editor, has already earned a reputation and has made his mark in Canadian literature. In particular he has proved that he possesses among Other qualities those which are the most indispensable in carrying out a work of this kind, including readiness, energy, facility of expression, and the capacity for rapid accomplishment of work. The undertaking is indeed no light one. The present volume will comprise the treatment of the early history and constitutional development of the Dominion, as well as a record of its fiscal and banking progress ; and four subsequent volumes will be required for the complete treatment of the various subjects included in the general scheme. The contemplation of these arrangements suggests the thought that while to every literary undertaking of any magnitude the simile of a vessel is more or less appropriate, the metaphor is more par- ticularly applicable to surh an enterprise as this. In the present case it may safely be said that the lines of construction have been carefully devised and prepared, and that an auspicious launch may be anticipated, to be succeeded by a long and prosperous voyage. Thus the Encyclopaedia of Canada, fitly inaugurated in this ever memorable year of that inspiring landmark in British history, the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, may confidently be regarded as a practical advantage not only to Canada, by means of the information which it will afford to those who are actually engaged in the work of her development, but also to the people of the Mother Land, by whom Canada is regarded with ever-increasing confidence and pride. ^!^C < ^«.^ INTRODUCTION fi THE DOMINION OF CANADA is set by .lature in a position of which its people have reason to be proud. It has unbounded agricultural resources and immense mineral wealth. Its inland lakes and teeming fisheries ; its vast forests and thousands of miles of sea coast ; its geographical situa- tion in northern and vigourous latitudes midway between Europe and Asia ; its pivotal position in regard to the maritime supremacy, the commercial progress, and the .rinsportation facilities of the British Empire; combine to merit, and should produce, both prosperity and power. Canada, in fact, requires only to be known in order to be great. But its own people are not 3^ well informed of the history, resources and development of the country as they ought to be, and for that reason, if no other, can well afford to overlook the occasional ignorance shown by their fellow-subjects elsewhere. The time has passed, however, when this lack of knowledge should be condoned, and it certainly should now cease to be a factor in holding back the Dominion from progress at home and success abroad. Evidences of appreciation, sympathy and kinship have been showered upon the Dominion during the Diamond Jubilee year of the reign of its gracious Sovereign, but there is ample room for more knowledge in Great Britain and elsewhere concerning is past, its present, and its future possibilities. There is also scope for a better appreciation in Canada itself of the lemarkable annals which its dual nationality and complex political evolution have produced The combination of French enterprise, chivalric bravery, and intense devotion to King and Church, with British courage, colonizing heroism, and commercial aggressiveness has produced a pioneer history which fairly teems with incidents of national interiist and international importance. The shrouded figure of the Indian stalks through its pages in silent, stoical, gloomy picturesqueness ; varied developments of discovery and war, trapping and hunting, pioneering and settlement, find, or should find, a prominent place in the records of its writers ; a marvellous variety of fiscal experiment and experience furnishes one of the most interesting economic studies in all history ; while the story of Canadian loyalty to the Throne and adhere. ice to British connection presents a picture as striking and stirring as any which has appeared in the annals of the world. Hence the value which such a work as this should have if properly carried out upon the lines projected. The co-operation with which the Editor has been honoured is at least an indication of the national desire for authoritative information about Canada upon a broader basis than that furnished by isolated historical works, or net'essarily limited official publications. The Editor's aim has been to produce a work which should bear the stamp of authority through the reputation of its contributors and the character of its contents ; provide all reasonable information upon every important topic in Canadian history, life, achievement, and development ; convey to those who seek its ptages a general view or picture of Canada in its internal and external relations ; and give at the same time details to the specialist which will either afford the knowledge sought or enable him to obtain it elsewhere at a minimum of time and trouble. Through the help of the many eminent men in Canada and (}reat Britain who have promised their aid, it is hoped that the work will in reality prove a library of Canadian information. How far such an ambitious aim may have been realized in the subjects treated of in this present volume it is not for the Editor to say. He can only labour towards a certain end, and hope that some measure of success will result. A few words of explanation may not, however, be out of place. The method of arrangement — in fact, the whole plan of the work— is original, and the reader will look in vain for any exact precedent for its style and fashion. The designation itself can be merited only by the encycloptedic nature of its contents, and not by comparison with the construction of other Encyclopaedias — the idea being that each contributor shall have his signed article under some suitable title, followed by Editorial Notes completing or amplifying his treatment of the subject, and connecting it with the next article upon the same lines and within the same Section. It will also be seen that the work is national and not universal in its scope. For the Notes to the various contributions the Editor desires to assume entire responsibility, and to their preparation he has given the result of much labour and the study of years. They will probably be found of especial CANADA : AN ENCYCLOPEDIA. value to the student who has not time, or the reader who has not the inclination, to consult ponderous and scarce files of daily papers, or almost forgotten records of British, Canadian, and American official documents. Many points of historic importance now buried in rare volumes, amidst vast library accumulations, will, it is hoped, be in this way brought to light. It may be also said in passing that, although not in any sense a biographical work, a few details of men intimately connected with the historical text will be occasionally given, and in connection with the article in this volume upon Canadian Pioneers of Trade, a few almost random sketches of typical and repre- sentative men in the earlier days of Canadian development will be found. Every effort has been made to keep the contents free from political bias, although the special contributions must of course reflect the opinions of the different writers. In the Trade and Tariffs' Section of this volume it will be noticed that Mr. Charlton's article is of a controversial nature, and that the Editor, in a separate contribution, has presented some phases of the other side of the important question discussed. Upon several of the greater topics dealt with in such a work it is indeed absolutely necessary to have the different schools of political thought and action prese nted. The Tariff policy of Canada and the Manitoba School (juestion are cases in point. To attempt more than a general expression of thanks at this stage would be an impossibility. In the last volume it is intended to publish a bibliography of Canadian works, or works dealing with Canada, which will show the sources of much information, and where more can be obtained. To His Excellency the Earl of Aberdeen, who during his residence amongst us as Governor-General of Canada has done much to foster and encourage Canadian literature, most grateful appreciation is due. To Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the Prime Minister of Canada, Sir Charles Tupper, the late Premier, Sir Henry Strong, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and Sir Alexander Lacoste, Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench in Quebec, who have consented to help by the writing of Prefaces in the forthcoming volumes — as well as to the many eminent contributors in this and other portions of the work — the Editor's most sincere thanks are offered. His warmest appreciation is also tendered to Mr. James Bain, Jr., Chief Librarian of the Toronto Public Library, Mr. Avern Pardoe, of the Ontario Legislative Library, and Mr. George Johnson, Dominion Statistician at Ottawa, for much assistance given. Grateful acknowledgments are also due to Mr. John B. Magurn, of Toronto, and Messrs. Nbtman Bros., of Montreal, in connection with some of the illustrations. And it may not be out of place for the Editor to say something of the hearty co-operation and assistance afforded him by the Publishers, and especially by the President of the Company, the Reverend T. S. Linscott. Without further words this Volume must be left to its fate — whether that be one of public appreciation or public criticism. The latter it will no doubt receive in some measure, but the hope is cherished that the work as a whole will prove of subs^ntial service to very many seekers .after information, and to others who do not particularly require works of reference may, through the thoughts and words of its contributors, help towards making Canada better known as a youthful and rising British nation upon this American continent. May it especially assist in impressing upon our people, through that greatest of all influences — knowledge — the aspirations so beautifully embodied in a verse by Miss Agnes Maule Machar : " The stamp of true nobility, high honour, stainless truth ; The earnest quest of noble ends ; the generous heart of youth ; The love of country, soaring far above dull party strife ; The love of learning, art, and song — the crowning grace of life ; The love of science, soaring far through nature's hidden ways ; The love and fear of nature's God — a nation's highest praise." HyJCjUUi fp/Q»^ ^■ii^vKiai ILLUSTRATIONS The Queen-Empress Frontispiece The Earl of Aberdeen, p.c, g.c.m.g 8 Map of Canada 17 Jacques Cartier 27 Samuel de Champlain 28 Sir Sandford Fleming, k.c.m.g., ll.d 32 Niagara Falls — View of the Canadian Side 38 City of Quebec 45 R. W. Shannon 55 Marquess de Montcalm 67 Major-General James Wolfe 68 Guy Carleton, Lord Dorchester 87 Field-Marshal Lord Amherst 75 St. John's Gate, Quebec 76 Lieut.-Col. G. T. Denison, f.p.s.c 79 James Hannay 105 Canadian River Scenery— the St. Lawrence 123 Lieut. -General J. Graves Simcoe 141 Major-General Sir Isaac Brock 172 Colonel George McDonell, c.B 183 Colonel C. M. de Salaberry, c.B 194 (ieorge Johnson, Dominion Statistician 205 Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) 207 Canadian Scenery — the Grand River 215 Rev. George Bryce, LL.D., m.a 227 Tecumseh 236 Dr. Oronhyatekha 253 Sir Alexander T. Gait, g.c.m.g., lup 283 Dr. George T. Orton, ex-M.p 303 Hon. Alexander Mackenzie 309 Sir Louis H. Davies, k.c.m.g., m.p. 311 Hon. Edward Blake, q.c, m.p 313 Sir S. L. Tilley, k.c.m.g., c.b 321 A. H. U. Colquhoun, b.a 324 Hon. W. Hamilton Merritt, m.l.a 328 Sir W. P. Howland, k.c.m.g., c.b 335 Earl of Elgin and Kincardine 338 Hon. William McMaster 355 Hon. Joseph Howe 357 Sir Richard J. Cartwright, g.c.m.g 368 John Charlton, m.p 374 The i6th Earl of Derby, k.g 391 Sir John A. Macdonald, p.c, g.c.b 399 Hon. G. W. Ross, ll.d., m.p.p 407 Erastus Wiman 412 Hon. James Young, ex-M.p ; 417 Hon. Edward Murphy 443 Robert Hay, m.p 446 Henry Franklin Bronson 448 Hon. James Gibb Ross 450 Staplelon Caldecolt 451 George Hague, Merchants Bank of Canada 453 Sir Francis Hincks, k.c.m.g., c.b 481 E. S. Clouston, Bank of Montreal . 487 Hon. Peter McGill, m.l.c 489 B. E. Walker, Canadian Bank of Commerce 498 E. H. King, Bank of Montreal 503 R. H. Bethune, Dominion Bank 509 D. R. Wilkie, Imperial Bank of Canada ^13 TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION I Dlscovertoi and Explorations. Voyages and Discoveries of the Cabots : By the Rev. Moses Harvey, ll.d., f.r.s.c, F.R.G.S ■ '7-«S Editor's Notes: Newfoundland as the Landfall 25 Cape Breton the Probable Landfall 2.S Memorial Tablet at Halifax 26 Table of Continental Discoveries 26 The Norscnen and America 26 Jacques Cartier and Canada 27 Samuel de Champlain 28 French and English Sovereigns 29 Early Explorations and Discoveries : By Sir Sandford Fleming, k.c.m.g., ll.d., F.G.S., F.R.S.C, F.R.G.S 3^i^ Editor's Notes : De La Verendrye and the North-West 36 French Pioneers in Canada 36 SECTION II The French and the English. Origin of the French Canadians : By Benjamin Suite, f.r.s.c 47-So Editor's Notes: Fur-Trading Companies of New France 50 The Hundred Associates 50 Exploits of the French Canadians : By R. W. Shannon, Editor of the Ottawa Citizen 51-60 The Struggle between France and England : By the Editor 61-69 Editor's Notes : Lord Amherst's Orders 69 The Sovereign Council of Quebec 70 Treaties between France and England 70 Romantic Incidents 72 French Rulers in Canada 73 Sketches of Early Leaders 73 Acadia and the Acadian People : By James Hannay, Editor of the St. John {^.^.) Teiegraph 77-83 Editor's Notes : Early English Governors 84 Official Letter by Governor Lawrence 84 Early French Governors 85 Acadiatis of To-day 85 Canada Under Early British Rule : By John Reade, f.r.s.c.. Associate Editor of the Montreal Gazette 148-154 SECTION III — Wars between Great Britain and the United States. Canada and the American Revolution : By the Editor 86-96 Editor's Notes : British Employment of German Troops 96 Franklin upon the British Connection 97 Character of George III 97 American Commissioners in Montreal 98 American Employment of Indians 98 British Secretaries of State 99 Address from Congress to the People of Quebec 99 Address to Canadians by Baron D'Estaing. . . 10 1 Washington's Canadian Proclamation 101 French Financial Aid to the Revolution 102 Sketch of Lord Dorchester 103 American Troops in the War 103 British Grants to the Loyalists 103 The United Empire Loyalists : By Lieut.-Col. George T. Denison, f.r.s.c. President of the British Empire League in Canada 104-1 10 Editor's Notes : Migration of the Loyalists in Loyalist Regiments in the War in History and the Loyalists 112 Verses by William Kirby 112 Loyalist Address to George III 113 Canadian Regulations concerning Loyalist Grants 113 Loyalists of New Brunswick 114 Early Government of New Brunswick 115 The Number of the Loyalists 115 Treaty of Paris and the Loyalists 116 British Parliamentary Debate ti6 American Treatment of the Loyalists 117 Sketches of Loyalist Leaders 117 Modem Loyalist Associations 119 Historical Sketch of the War of 181 2 : By Iviiss Agnes Maule Machar (Fidelis) iSS-i7S Editor's Notes : Canadian Population and Militia 175 The Loyal and Patriotic Society of Upper Canada 175 Protest of a New York Meeting against the War 176 14 CANADA: AN ENCYCLOP/KDIA. Brock's Address to the Legislature 176 General Hull's Proclamation 177 General Brock's Canadian Manifesto ^7^-9 American Forces in Canada during the War. . 179 Legislative Address to the Prince Regent 180 British Capture of Washingtori 180 British Forces in Canada 181 Sketches of British andCanadianCommanders 181-3 The Berlin Decrees 183 Colonel Harvey's Letter 1 84 Admiral Cochrane's Proclamation 184-5 Unveiling of the Monument to Sir Isaac Brock 185-7 Speech by Sir John Beverley Robinson 187 Bishop Strachan's Letter 187-9 American Expectation of an Easy Conquest... 189 Canadian Finances during the War 1 89 Relative Gain and Loss 190 Table of Canadian Events in the War 190-3 Treaty of Paris 193 Treaty of Ghent 193 Treaty of London 193 Colonel Coffin's Summary 194 SECTION IV.— Early Constitutional Progress. The Quebec Act of 1774: By William Houston, m.a , formerly Librarian of the Ontario I^egislature 1 20-5 Editor's Notes : Sketch of Baron Masferes 125 Sketch of Chief Justice Hey 125 Message of George III 126 Opinions of Cs^rleton, Maseres, Hey, and Lyttelton 127 Debate in the House of Commons 127-9 London's Address to the King 129 Statements by Thurlow, Wedderburn, and Marryott 1 30- 1 Treaties Connected with the Act 131-4 Lord Mansfield's Judgment 135 Sketch of Lord Mansfield 135 Queen Elizabeth's Ecclesiastical Policy 135 The Constitutional Act of 1791 : By P. F. Cronin, Editor of the Catholic Register, Toronto 1 36-45 Editor's Notes. British Governors-General up to 184 1 145 Sketch of Lieut. -General Simcoe 145 Sketch of Adam Lymbumer 146 Opinions of I^rd Dorchester 146 Opinions of Chief Justice Smith 147 SECTION v.— The Indians. The Indians of Canada : By the Editor 205-14 Organization and History of the Iroquois: I. — By Miss E. Pauline Johnson 215-7 II. — By Edward M. Chadwick 217-9 The Indians of Western Canada : I. — By the Rev. George Bryce, m.a., lud.. 220-27 II.— By the Rev. John Maclean, m.a., PH.D.. 228-35 Editor's Notes : Origin of the Indians 235 Early Friendship towards the White .Man .... 236 Indian Cruelty Considered 239 Franklin and the Indians 240 Indian Land Question in Canada 240-1 The Micmacs of Nova Scotia *4i-S Indians of British Columbia 245 The Yukon and Coast Indians 245-9 Sketch and Character of Pontiac 249 Career of Thayendanegea 250 Letter from Thayendanegea 251 Life and Character of Tecumseh 251 Tecumseh's great Oration ... 252-3 Sketch of Oronhyatekha 253 Indians in the War of 1812 253-4 Indian Address to S. P. Jarvis, Chief Super- intendent 255 The Oka Tribe 256 Statement Regarding the Okas, by Sir Hector Langevin 257 Commissions of Inquiry into Indian Affairs. . 257-8 The Western Indians and their Canadian Treaties 258-9 The Indian and the Buffalo 260 Sitting Bull and Major Walsh 261 The Indian Half-Breeds 261-4 Sketch of Hon. John Norcjuay 264 French and Indian Ha f-Breeds 265 Mr. F.N. Blake's Report to U.S. Government. 265-7 Early Official Documents relating to Indians.. 267 Indian Act of 1876 268-70 Indian Population and Expenditure 270 Indian Progress and Present Population 271 Early Treaties with the Indians 272 Hon. Alex. Morris and his Indian Treaties.. , 273-6 Sir F. B. Head and the Indians 276-7 Annual Presents by the British Government... 277 Despatch from Lord Glenelg 278 Lawrence Oliphant and the Indians 278-9 Sketch of I^aurence Oliphant 280 Sketch of Viscount Bury 280 Sketch of Hon. Alexander Morris 280 Sketch of Hon. David Laird 281 Superintendents-General of Indian Affairs. . . 28 r Indian Display at Regina Exhibition 281 Schoolcraft on Indian Life and Character. . . . 282 SECTION VI.— Trade and Tariffs. The Fiscal History of Canada : By the Editor 285-94 Editor's Notes : British Treaties of Commerce 294-6 Lord Farrer on Commercial Treaties 296 Early Canadian Trade 247 The Financial and Commercial Crisis of 1857 297-9 The Financial and Commercial Crisis of 1893 299 /" CANADA : AN ENCYCLOP/KDIA. »5 ).. 220-17 v.. 2 28-35 235 236 239 240 . * ■ 240-1 . . • 24>-5 . • * 245 345-9 249 250 . . • • 251 . . . . 251 . • • 252-3 . . ■ • 253 . . . . 253-4 uper- 255 .... 256 ector . . ■ • 257 iirs . . 257-8 adian 258-9 260 261 261-4 264 265 ment. 265-7 iians.. 267 268-70 , • « • ■ 270 1 271 272 ;ies.. , 8 73-6 . • • • 276-7 nent. 277 278 .... . 278-9 280 280 280 28t lirs. . 281' 281 ten. 282 iriffs. .... 285-94 294-6 .... 296 247 jf 1857 297-9 )f 1893 299 Trade with the West Indies 300 Canadian Tariff Rights 301 The Protectionist Movement in Parliament . . 30 1 The Halance of Trade Question 304 Mr. David Mills on the Depression of 1876. . 305 Report of Parliamentary Commission of 1876 305 Mr. Mackenzie on l'"ree Trade and Protection 308 Depreciation in Values 309 Sii R. Cartwright on the National Policy .... 309 The Liberal Convention of 1893 310 Mr. Fielding on the Tariff of 1897 311 Mr. Blake on the Tariff in i88i and 1887... 312 Conservative Conventions at Toronto in 1878 and 1884 313 The Duke of Newcastle and Mr. A.T. Gait on Tariff-Making Powers (1859) 314 Sketch of Sir Alexander Gait 316 Sketch of Sir Leonard Tilley 317 Mr. Gait on the Canadian 'lariff in 1859 .... 317 Report of Mr. Hamilton Merritt's Legislative Committee (185 s) 318 Inter-Provincial Trade in Canada : By A. H. U. Colquhoun, 11 a., Editor of McLean's Trade Journals ; late Chief liilitor of the Toronto Empire 320-8 Editor's Notes : Report of Legislative Committee in 1855. . . . 328 Report to the Government by Mr. (Sir) VV. P. Howland in 1862 329 Canadian Internal Trade Tables, 1858 62 . . . 333 Report of House of Commons' Committee . . 334 Statistics of Inter-Provincial Trade 334 The Reciprocity Treatv ok 1854 : By the Editor 335*43 Editor's Notes : Sketch of the Earl of Elgin and Kincardine. . 343 Statistics of Trade, 1850-71 344 Speech by Lord Clarendon 345 Report of Hon. Israel T. Hatch, U.S. Com- missioner • . . 346 Historical Sketch of Trade Relations 346 Resolutions by New York State Legislature . . 348 Canadian Trade with the United States com- pared with that of other Countries 349 Reply of Mr. A. T. Gait to American Charges 349 Historical Extracts from Sir Edward Watkin's Memoirs 351 Select Committee of the New York Chamber of Commerce 354 The Detroit Reciprocity Convention 355 The famous Speech of Hon. Joseph Howe . . 356 Letter from the Rt. Hon. John Bright 357 Report of Canadian Executive Council to Lord Monck 358 Report of Executive Council Committee. . . . 359 Report of James W. Taylor to United States Government 359 Report by E. H. Derby to United States Government 361 Report of Canadian Commissioners to Wash- ington in 1866 362 Sir John Rose addrusses the Colonial Office about Reciprocity 365 Terms of the Reciprocity Treaty of 1 854 .... 366 Canadian Trade Relations with the United States : By John Charlton, M.i- 371-8 Editor's Notes : Report upon International Fiscal Relations by the Hon. Peter Mitchell 379 Report by J. N. I^rned to United States (jovernment 380 - Canadian Reciprocity Commission of 1874. . 381 Transportation Advantages of the United States in 1854-66 383 Memorial of the Dominion Board of Trade in »873 3S4 The McKinley (U.S.) Tariff Duties 384 Resolutions presented to the House of Com- mons upon closer Trade Relations 385 - Canadian Power to make Foreign Treaties. . . 387 Inter-Provincial Conference .at Quebec 388 Mr. Blake and his West Durham Address . . . 389 Resolutions by the Manitoba Legislature .... 390 Reciprocity Negotiations of 1891-2 391 Reciprocity Convention at St. Paul, U.S.A. . . 394 Export Trade of Canada, 1887-96 395 Report of Parliamentary Committee in 1874.. 395 Petitions to United States Congress for Reci- procity .• 397 Sketch of Sir R. J. Cartwright 398 Si.' John A. Macdonald's Manifesto in 1891... 399 Sir Wilfrid Laurier's Manifesto in 1891 401 Sir W. C. Van Home on Unrestricted Reci- procity 404 The Dingley (U.S.) Tariff Duties 405 Hon. G. W. Ross on Reciprocity 406 Letters of Mr. Fielding and Sir L. H. Davies upon Unrestricted Reciprocity 407 Hon. G. E. Foster's Election Address in 1891 409 Sir J. A. Chapleau on the History of Reci- procity 409 List of Important Documents and Speeches bearing upon Reciprocity 410 Sketch of the Commercial Union Movement by Erastus Wiman 411^ The Hitt Resolutions in Congress 414 The Commercial Union Club, Toronto 414 Sir A. T. Gait upon the Zollverein Proposal of 1862 415 Mr. J. N. Lamed upon the American side of the Proposal 416 Hon. James Young upon the Probable Results of Commercial Union 416 Congressman Hitt's Letter to Mr. Wiman 419 Central Faraiers' Institute of Ontario 419 Toronto Young Men's Liberal Club Manifesto 420 Terms of the Congressional Butterworth Bill.. 421 Resolution of the Toronto Board of Trade . . 422 Mr. Ward's Report to Congress in 1862 422 »• Letter of the Hon. Elijah Ward in 1870 423 16 CANADA: AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA. Opinions of the Hon. Thomas White 424 Opinions and Position of Mr. Ooldwin Smith. 425 Sketch of Erastus Wintan 426 'liiK Commerce of Canada : Hy the Hon. James Young, ex-M P., formerly Treasurer of Ontario 4*7-3' The Pioneers of Trade in Canada : By Stapleton Caldecott, ex-President of the Toronto Board of Trade 432-3 Editorial or Biooraphkai, Notes : Hon. John Molson, m.e.c 437 Hon. John Molson, M.i.c 437 Hon. James Crooks 437 Hon. lohn Young 437 Hon. Peter McCHll 43» Senator Skead 438 Hon. Austin Cuvilier 438 Senator Simpson 439 Hon. Isaac Buchanan 439 Hon. John McMurrich 439 Senator Benson 440 Senator Hope 440 James Gooderham Worts 440 William Gooderham 440 Joseph McKay 440 Hon. Henry Rhodes 441 William Workman 441 I )amase Masson 441 Hon. Isaac Burpee 441 Hon. Charles Seraphin Rodier 442 Hon. George MofTatt 442 Senator Murphy 442 1 )avid Torrance 443 Hon. James Ferrier 443 Hon. Isidore Thibaudeau 444 Hon. William Todd 444 Senator Carrall 444 James Macl^ren 445 Hon. Billa Flint 445 Robert Hay, m.p 446 Hon. Elijah Leonard 446 Philemon Wright 446 Senator John Macdonald 447 Hart A. Massey 447 Henry Franklin Bronson 448 Senator Hamilton 448 I ). D. Calvin, m.p.p 449 Hon. James G. Ross 450 Senator McMaster 450 Hon. J. L. Beaudry 451 Senator Turner 45 1 SECTION VII.— Banks and Banking. An Historical Sketch of Canadian Banking : By George Hague, General Manager Merch- ants' Bank of Canada 452-61 Editor's Notes : Early Stages of Canadian Banking 461 Mr. Breckenridge on Early Bank Charters 463 The Bank of Upper Canada 464 Political Banking 465 The Financial Crisis of 1837 466 Influence of the Imperial Authorities 467 Banking in Nova Scotia 469 Position of Canadian Banks in 1857 470 Montreal City and District Savings Bank .... 471 Banking in New Brunswick 472 Position of Canadian Banks in 1867 473 Review of the System in 1869 by Thomas Paton 474 Mr. Hague's Comments before the Parlia- ' mentary Committee of 1869 475 Views of the Hon. R. D. Wilmot 477 Bank of British North America 478 Sketch of Sir Francis Hincks 479 Institutions Formed in 1858-66 480 Expansion Period of 1868-74 480 Expansion Period of 1882-6 484 The Manitoba Inflation 485 Number of Canadian Chartered Banks 486 Canadian Bank Suspensions 486 Bank Stock Quotations, 1875-95 486 The Canadian Bankers' Association 487 Sketch of the Bank of Montreal .... 487 History of the Quebec Bank 490 Bank of British Columbia 491 The Merchants Bank of Canada 491 I^ Banciue Du Peuple 493 Canadian Bank of Commerce 493 Some further Historical Details 494 The Canadian and American Banking Systems : By B. E. Walker, General Manager Canadian Bank of Commerce 495-504 Editor's Notes : The P'ree Banking System 505 Mr. Breckenridge compares the Systems 506 Comparative Merits described by Mr. Watson 507 Mr. Arthur Weir upon the United States Monetary System 507 Mr. W. Weir's Letter to the U.S. Congress . . 508 The Banking System of Canada : By D. R. Wilkie, General Manager Imperial Bank of Canada 5 10-15 Editor's Notes : Mr. Rose's Banking Scheme of 1869 516 Sir Francis Hincks' Banking Measure in 1870 516 Bank Act Renewal proposed by Sir Leonard Tilley in 1880 517 Bank Act Renewal presented by the Hon. G. E. Foster In 1890 518 Statistics Regarding Chartered Banks 519 Sketch of Mr. E. H. King 519 The Canadian Currency System 520 Banking Capital, Notes, and Deposits 522 Sketch of Sir John Rose 522 Canadian Bank Statistics in 1897 523 SECTION VIII.— Miscellaneous. Principal Events in Canadian History .... 37-44 Place Names of Canada ; By George Johnson 195-205 Index. 5-'.v:*6 466 467 469 470 47' 47a 473 474, 475 477 478 479 480 480 484 485 486 486 486 487 487 490 491 491 493 493 494 505 506 507 507 508 510-15 516 516 517 518 519 5«9 520 522 522 523 37-44 I'opyt'ight .r^,y . . ■ ,;..:S.:/-\ , ■ »i ( . ' . , ; -;V 1 ,,f ■ ^ , .■-.,■»•■ ' 1 ■/ • .•■.■•l';,^;. J ■ . i 1 •■ , ,, ,;*;> .■- -■■'■-'' ,,.'■■,•"'■■■'" AV' . \ \ i _ ' - .^.iNo .^-.->N,.^r/ ...w, .*-•»-■ Vjl'-^'"'".%*r*' Miv^-*..:-^-.-**-^— t" — .**— - ..-u< - -.u. »rt»^M ^>-- ViyM-^ .-^. -„«,'««<». VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF THE CABOTS .^: THE REV. M. HARVEY. LL.D., F.R S.C. FOUR hundred years apo, on the 2nd of May, 1497, a little vessel of some sixty tons burthen took her departure from the port of Bristol and turned her prow towards the stormy, unknown wastes of the North Atlantic. On her stern she bore the name, " The Matthew of Hristol." Her commander was John Cabot, a Venetian by birth, but for some time resident in Bristol. He had obtained a patent from Henry VII. of England for the dis- covery of new lands to the westward, and with a crew of eighteen stout west country sailors he now embarked on his perilous enterprise. The expedition attracted little or no attention. In silence, without any pomp or circumstance, the little craft spread her sails on this bright May morning and dropped down Bristol Channel un- noticed among the other tiny vessels that then furrowed its waters. We do not know the name of a single officer or sailor on board the Matthew, and even of her brave commander, John Cabot, we know very little. We must judge these daring navigators by their deeds, for perhaps never was there an enterprise having such far-reaching consequences and exciting such an influence on the destinies of humanity of which so little notice was taken at the time, and so few and meagre records been preserved. So far as known no diary was kept on board the Matthew, and her commander gave to the world but little account of what took place beyond the bare results of the voyage. The voyage of Columbus has had thrown around it the glamour of poetry and romance. History has gathered into her golden urn every incident connected with the great enterprise, and eloquent pens have told the thrilling story in every variety of picturesque detail. But of the voyage of Cabot, fraught with such vast results, almost nothing is known. The records whirh have floated down to us were mostly written long after the event, and arc of the most meagre and unsatisfactory description. Hence, while from the writings of Columbus and those of his contemporaries, we are able to form a vivid idea of the man himself, of his heroic character and great achievements, so that his name is a household word, and his life history a part of our literature, John Cabot is a mere shadow looming dimly from the darkness of the past. He has been till recently almost forgotten, his great discoveries overlooked, and his services to England and humanity ignored. No honours have been paid to his memory, and it is only now, after a lapse of four hundred years, that the pub- lic conscience seems to be awakening to the injustice done to the name and memory of a great man, and that the wrongs of centuries seem likely to be righted. " The great soul of the world is just," no doubt, but it is often up hill work to convince the world as to who have been its true benefactors, and are entitled to its admiration and reverence. Cabot's hour has come at last, and the accumulated dust of centuries will be cleared away from his memory, and due honour paid to the man who pioneered the way for the English speaking race which has now overspread the continent of North America. Not for a moment would I attempt to detract from the glories that encircle the great name of Columbus. His achievement must be regarded as the most important in the annals of the world. He raised the curtain that shrouded the abysses of the western ocean, and revealed anew world of boundless wealth and marvellous extent and beauty. He at once doubled the habitable globe, and gave a new direction to men's thoughts and efforts. The new world reacted on the old, and 8 CANADA: AN ENCYCLOIVKOIA. through the competition which was awakened among five of the great nations of Europe for the possession of the new territory, the wliole course of European politics was altered. Hy Columbus a connection which could never be lost was estab- lished between the two hemispheres. His dis- covery of America was one of those unique achieve- ments which can never be repeated, and for all time must encircle the name of the doer with imperishable renown. One noble deed leads to others. The grand achievement of Columbus fired the soul of John Cabot with the idea that he too could do some- thing great for the honour and advantage of his adopted country. The thought that possessed his mind was that by taking a northwest course across the Atlantic, instead of the southwest route of Columbus, he would reach, by a shorter voy- age, the eastern coast of Asia. He hoped to open up intercourse with China and Japan, or as they were called by Marco Polo, Cathay and Cipango. Like Columbus he achieved far more than he dreamed of. He little suspected that between him and the eastern coasts of Asia there lay a vast continent and the waters of the Pacific Ocean. But the glory of his achievement lay in this — that he was the first who saw the mainland of the American continent ; and a year before Columbus touched the margin of that continent, in the neighbourhood of Veragua, and before Amerigo Vespucci made his first voyage across the Atlantic, Cabot landed on its shores, and coasted them for hundreds of miles. His hoped- for communication with China and Japan, in this direction, had to be adjourned for three hundred and fifty years ; but by the energy and enterprise of the English-speakmg race, whose way he had pioneered, this intercourse has at length been established. Roads of steel, steam-driven vessels, and telegraphic wires have linked Cathay and Cipango to England and the rest of the world across the Canadian part of the continent of North America and the waters of the vast Pacific. The old idea has been realized in a new and more fully developed form. After four hundred years the western path to Cipango and Cathay has been found. " There is nothing new under the sun." The discovery of Cabot was only second in greatness to that of Columbus. Indeed, in some respects, the former had the more difficult task. While the path of Columbus lay in genial climes, amid summer seas and pleasant breezes, Cabot's course led him across the North Atlantic, the stormiest sea in the world, strewn with icebergs and icefields and often swept by fierce tempests. While the course of Columbus, ever bending to the south-west, iirought him into " the Mar de Damas, the ladies' sea," where with "the blue above and the blue below," there is almost per- petual summer, and storms are almost unknown, Cabot had to face the scowling waves of a grim unknown sea, with its fogs and dangerous currents, and to grope his way without knowing where land would be found. Columbus had the Azores as a half-way port ; Cabot had two thousand miles of unbroken ocean, never furrowed by European keel since the days of the Norsemen, five hundred years before. Equally with Columbus he had to confront the dark unknown, but under greater perils, where, as Pasqualigo informs us, " he wandered about for a long time." It needed a stout heart und a resolute spirit to launch out into these wild waters for the first time in a little car- avel — a mere cockle-shell — in which most men would now hesitate to take even a short coasting voyage. But Cabot and his bold west-country sailors did not quail ; and they have placed their names high on the rolls of fame by conquering a new world for England. For in point of fact, the day on which the Matthew sailed from the port cf Bristol was an historic moment, on which hung the destinies ol millions. Cabot, as we have seen, was the real discoverer of North America. In virtue of his di"-, coveries England established her claim to the sov- ereignty of a large portion of these northern lands. That passion for colonization which has since dotted the globe with English colonies was then first kindled. In Newfoundland, and as a conse- quence of Cabot's discovery, England was after- wards to try " her prentice hand " in planting colonies. Here was her eldest-born colony, "the beginning of her strength " ; and the "swarming" tendency thus developed, has gone on deepening and strengthening ever since. That England is now a world-empire, and not confined to her own small islands and narrow seas, but has spread her millions of sons and daughters CANADA: AN ENCYCLOlMiniA. »9 over both hemispheres, is largely owing to Cabot's great discovery. It led first of all to the occupa- tion of a large portion of the northern continent. The fish wealth of tlie surrounding seas first attracted English fishermen. Battling with the billows, these hardy fishermen became expert and fearless sailors ; built up the British navy ; and helped to lay the foundations of that sea-power and maritime supremacy which England has pre- served from the days of Elizabeth to those of Victoria. Enormous wealth was drawn from those North American fisheries. For their pro- tection colonies were first planted, and these led on to greater developments. Other nations, such as France, came to share in the spoils, but were finally compelled to retire from the field. To the daring genius of the Cabots we largely owe it that North America is to-day almost entirely occupied by an English-speaking population, with all their vast energies and accumulated wealth. The honour of England was pledged to keep what the daring enterprise of her seamen had discovered. But for this voyage of Cabot, Spain might for a long time have monopolized discovery in North as well as South America. English and French enterprise might have taken different directions and the history of North America might have been shaped in a different fashion. England might not have developed into a great mother of colonies, and have failed to become the dominant sea-power of the world and the ruler of the waves. The com- ing of the little Matthew into these western waters heralded the approaching supremacy of the Eng- lish race. Meantime, we must try to follow the little caravel which left Bristol on the 2nd of May, 1497, as it struggled westward, a mere speck in the world of waters. Pacing its deck we see, " in our mind's eye," the heroic man who is about to throw open the gates of the North Atlantic. Is there not a moral grandeur around him, as with eyes kindling with the fires of faith and hope, he blesses every breeze that wafts him from the abodes of civilized men into the grim wilderness of unknown waters ? His resolution is inexorable as doom as he Siiils boldly westward, far beyond the bounds where the most daring have ventured before. The rude winds pursue their wild revels, indifferent to his fortunes ; the black billows leap around his little barque, threatening to swallow it up ; but the heroic heart refuses to turn back. The invis- ible seems to him to whisper, " Onward I " A hand is stretched out to him from the darkness, and in faith he grasps it. His prophetic eye sees the fair lands to which he is opening a pathway. Still, it was a hard battle, and doubtless hope often wavered. For fifty-two days the tiny craft had been struggling with the waves, and still there was not the faintest indication that land was near. There were no bright tropical birds, as in the case of Columbus, to alight on his mast-head, and cheer him onward to the land from which they came. But as the sun rose on the morning of the fifty- third day — the 24th of June — th'; welcome cry of " Land ho ! " rang out from the mast-head of the Matthew, and west-country sailors greeted the sight of the new land with hearty English cheers. It was a memorable day, only second in impor- tance to that on which Columbus and his com- panions gazed on the shores of San Salvador. How we should like to know more of the wel- come with which these English sailors greeted the first sight of land ; how they gathered round their brave commander with cheers and congratula- tions; and with what ceremonial forms Cabot landed and planted in the soil the flag of Eng- land, and that of St. Mark (being a citizen of Venice), and also a large cross, thus unconscious- ly taking possession of a continent for his Sovereign. But of this momentous event we have but the briefest record, by the hand of an Italian merchant in London, who met Cabot on his return. " The English," said Carlyle, " are a dumb people. They can do great acts but not describe them. Like the old Romans and some few others, their epic poem is written on the earth's surface : England — her mark." Cabot gave to the spot where he landed the name of Prima Vista. There is no reason for supposing that he, any more than Columbus, knew of the greatness of his discovary, or even suspected that he had touched the margin of a new continent. He reported on his return that he had reached the territory of the Grand Khap, so that, like Columbus, he thought the western coasts of the Atlantic, where he landed, were the eastern coasts of Asia. After spending some twelve or fourteen days in ae CANADA : AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA. exploring further along the coast Cabot turned his prow homeward, his provisions probably running low, and on the 6th of August he arrived at Bristol, having been absent ninety-six days. No cheering multitudes, or waving flags, or salvos of artillery greeted Cabot on landing, after his memorable voyage. So far as known his return received no public or official notice, and called forth no popular rejoicings. His discovery was neither understood or appreciated. Probably his voyage was considered a failure, as it brought no immediate gain — no news of gold, or spices, or prospects of profitable trade. Two Bristol chroniclers, however, took the trouble of making a note of the event. One old manuscript, still in existence, records that " This year (1497) on St. John the Baptist's Day, the land of America* was found by the merchants of Bristowe, in a ship of Bristowe called the Matthew, the which ship departed from the port of Bristowe on the 2nd day of May, and came home again the 6th of August following." Another Bristol manuscript has the following record, in briefer terms : " In the year 1497, the 24th of June, on St. John's Day, was Newfoundland found by Bristol men in a ship called the Matthew." Both of these ancient documents agree as to the date of the dis- covery of land and the name of the ship, and both fail to mention the discoverer whose genius and courage pointed the way which so many thous- ands have since followed. Such too often is fame among contemporaries. The world's great men — the benefactors of their race — are too frequent- ly, when living, treated with neglect or bitter contempt, but after generations recognize their merits and do justice to their memories. Bristol will this year make amends for its neglect of the living Cabot. On the fourth centenary of his discovery a statue of its greatest c itizen will be unveiled in Bristol, and a noble orator (Lord Dufferin) will pronounce his eulogium, and twine fresh wreaths of immortelles around his name. It would appear that Cabot made but a brief stay in Bristol and went on to London, no doubt to report himself to King Henry. What was his reception there ? Did his grateful sovereign sum- mon him to his royal palace, as did Ferdinand in * '* America " is, of course, a later interpolation. the case of Columbus, and in the miSst of his asdeinbleJ courtiers, listen to the tale of his mmr- vellous achievement, give him thanks for the im- mense service done to his realm, and heap rewards and honours on his head ? No such thing. Henry sent him ten pounds and evidently thought he acted generously, as he hastened to make an entry of this benefaction in his Privy Purse accounts, which are still to be seen in the British Museum, in the following curt terms : " August loth, 1497. To Hym that found the New Isle, £10." This stinginess on the part of Henry is rendered more flagrant by the fact that in the patent he granted to John Cabot and his sons, he stipulated that the enterprise should be carried out "upon their own proper costes and charges," but that " the aforesaid John and his sonnes and heirs is bounden of all the fruits, gaines and com- modities growing of such navigation, to pay unto us, in wares or money, the fifth part of the capital gain so gotten." Never did a monarch obtain a continent on such easy terms. There is an old letter which some years ago was brought to light in Milan, written by Lor- enzo Pasqualigo, a Venetian gentleman then resident in London. It bears the date of August 23rd, 1497, and is addressed to his brother in Venice. In it the writer says : " This Venetian of ours, in a ship from Bristol in quest of new islands, is returned and says that 700 leagues hence, he discovered terra firma, which is the territory of the Great Khan. The King is much pleased with the intelligence. He has also given him money wherewith to amuse himself, and he is now in Bristol with his wife who is a Venetian woman, and with his sons. His name is Zuan Cabot, and they call him the Great Admiral. Vast honours are paid to him, and he dresses in silk ; and these English run after him like mad people, so that he can enlist as many of them as he pleases." It would appear from this record that the achievement of John Cabot touched the hearts of some of the people, whatever Henry and his courtiers may have thought of it. But the shout- ings of a street crowd soon died away, and the King's present of ten pounds (equal in purchasing power to about one hundred pounds of our money) was soon exhausted in the pleasures of a brief hnii- CANADA: AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA. ai day ; and in a few years Cabot's name was almost forgotten. It would, no doubt, be very gratifying if we knew with certainty the exact spot on which Cabot landed and planted the banner of St. George. To erect his statue, or some suitable monument on that spot, on the fourth centenary of his discovery would be an act of historic justice, redressing, as far as we are able, the wrongs of the past. But even this is impossible. Nothing approaching to absolute certainty regarding his landfall is now attainable. Historians and antiquarians differ widely on this point. It is certain that Cabot made a record of his landing-place. In the S^ate Archives of Milan a letter has been found, some thirty years ago, in which Raimondo di Soncino, writing under date i8th of December, 1497, to the Duke of Milan, says among other things : " This master Zoanne Caboto has the description of the world in a chart, and also in a solid globe which he has made, and he shows where he landed." The Spanish envoys, Pueblo and Azala, writing between August 24th, 1497, and July 25th, 1498, mention havmg seen such a chart and globe, but unfortunately they are lost. It can hardly be doubted that Sebastian Cabot, afterwards, would write an account of his father's voyage and deline- ate his course on a chart. Writing in 1582, some twenty-five years after his death, Hakluyt tells us that Sebastian Cabot's papers were then " in the custody of William Worthington, and were shortly to be printed." In some mysterious way they disappeared, and not a fragment of them is known to be in existence ; and not a solitary line written by John or Sebastian Cabot has escaped the wreck of time. It is not wonderful, therefore, that with such meagre and fragmentary records of contemporaries as are left us, there should be such a diversity of opinion in regard to Cabot's landfall. Among historians and geographers there are at present three leading theories as to Cabot's land- fall. Some place it at Cape Bonavista, on the eastern coast of Newfoundland. Others hold that it was on the coast of Labrador, but differ widely as to the latitude of the place ; while an increasmg number of the ablest writers are in favour of the most eastern point of Cape Breton Island. The most recent and the most careful researches point in the direction of the last-named locality as the true landfall, and by some of the best authorities probabilities are now pronounced to be strongly in its favour. Mathematical demonstration on such a point is, of course, out of the question ; moral certainty alone is attainable. But the evi- dence now accumulated, chiefly from a study of the oldest and most reliable maps, reaches a high degree of probability ; while an impartial examin- ation of the proofs presented by the supporters of the other two theories shows that they are entirely insufficient. In regard to Bonavista, in Newfoundland, its claim rests on a vague tradition or assumption, for which no tangible proof can be adduced. Prob- ably, the name, which is Portuguese, suggested to after-generations that " happy sight " must also have signified " first sight " ; and that therefore Bonavista must have been the first land seen by Cabot. The mistake crept into general literature, and has been repeated by many writers who did not give the matter any consideration. But it must be remembered that Cabot was himself an Italian sailing on a voyage of discovery under the patent of an English monarch, and with an Eng- lish crew, and was, therefore, very unlikely to give a Portuguese name to his landfall. In favour of the Labrador theory many high authorities might be cited. But without going into the controversy at any length, there seems to me to be one conclusive objection to Labrador having been the landfall of Cabot's first voyage. He made land on the 24th of June. At that date the coast of Labrador is beset by ice and icebergs at the alleged latitudes — 56° to 58"— and is rarely, if ever, accessible so early in summer, especially by vessels approaching from the eastward. In any case, Cabot, had he made his way to this part of the coast on the 24th of June, must have seen immense quantities of ice. Now, we have several accounts of the first voyage, the most reliable being that of Pasqualigo. He mentions that Cabot saw " felled trees, and snares for catching game," and speaks of the tides being slack, but makes no mention of ice or any difficulties connected with it. Further, John Cabot told Soncino, " that the land he saw was excellent, and the climate tem- perate." Such description could not apply to Labrador. m 33 CANADA: AN ENCYCLOP^flDIA. The positive evidence in favour of the Cape Breton theory is cumulative and derived from sev- eral reliable sources; and in the aggrefjate, pre- sents such a formidable array that it would be dif- ficult, if not impossible, to set it aside. Dr. S. E. Dawson, of Ottawa, in an exhaustive monograph read before the Royal Society of Canada, in 1894, and in a sequel presented in i8g6, has massed his evidence so skilfully that to the writer he seems to have settled the long-debated question. No source of information had been left unexamined. Dr. Dawson's local knowledge of the region and of the adjacent islands and coasts is turned to admirable account ; while his refutation of com- peting theories is complete. No one who wishes to study the vexed question should over-look these important papers which appear in " The Trans- actions of the Royal Society of Canada." The brief space allotted to this article does not permit me vo enter minutely into this controversy. It must suffice to state that Dr. Dawson rests his argument mainly on the famous map drawn, in 1500, by the Biscayan pilot, Juan de La Cosa, who sailed with Columbus on his first and second voyages. The importance of this map in determ- ining Cabot's landfall can hardly be over-rated. Fiske, in his " Discovery of America," writes : " So far as is known, this is the earliest map in existence made since 1492, and its importance is very great. La Casa calls La Cosa the best pilot of his day. His reputation as a cosmographer is also high. The map is evidently drawn with honesty and care." By a careful study of this map, combined with many other sources of in- formation. Dr. Dawson has reached the conclusion that the most eastern point of Cape Breton Island — indicated on this map as " Cavo Descubierto " or " the discovered cape," is the prima terra vista. He also shows that this map of La Cosa's was beyond all reasonable doubt, based on John Cabot's own map which Pedro de Ayala, the Spanish Ambassador, had from him, and promised in July, 1498, to send to King Ferdinand; so that we have here John Cabot indicating his own landfall in a Spanish translation ! A second patent was granted solely to John Cabot, dated February 3rd, 1498, authorizing him to sail with six ships "to the land and isles of late found by the said John in our name and by our commandment." This patent was evidently a supplementary commission. Strange to say from this date John Cabot's name disap- pears from contemporary records. Whether his death took place before the expedition was ready, or soon after its return we know not. No satis- factory record of this second voyage has been preserved. A letter from Pedro de Ayala, the Spanish Envoy then in England, and an entry in Stow's Chronicle make it certain that the expe- dition sailed early in the summer of 1498, and had not returned in the following September. In fact there is no authentic account of its return, but from the pages of Peter Martyr, Ramuseo, Gomara, and Galvano we learn that on this voyage Cabot sailed far along the Labrador coast till stopped by masses of ice, that he then turned south and followed the coast to 38" N., thus discovering from 1,200 to 1,800 miles of the coast of North America, in virtue of which Eng- land in due time claimed sovereignty over these northern lands by right of a first discovery. It is curious to note how historians have dealt with the memory of the elder and younger Cabot. For a long period the father's name was ignored and almost effaced in connection with the great discovery, while the son's name was unduly and unjustly exalted, as though he had been the prime mover and the ruling spirit in carrying through the great enterprise. It was even de- clared to be doubtful whether John Cabot had sailed on the first voyage at all, or that he took any part in the second, so that the whole glory belonged of right to Sebastian. Indiscriminating praise was lavished on the latter, while the name of the elder was suppressed. In more recent times fresh documents have been brought to light, chiefly from Spanish archives, which have completely turned the scale, and re-established the reputation of John Cabot on a solid founda- tion — proving him to have been the real discover- er and the moving spirit in the whole enterprise ; a man, too, of a noble spirit and courageous heart. Now, the rebound seems to have gone too far, and some are disposed to deny all merit to the son, and even refuse to believe that he had any part in the discovery. His character has been assailed and he has been painted as an unmiti- m CANADA: AN ENCYCLOP/EDIA. «3 i the D far, the any been miti- gated liar, an impostor, and one who endeavoured to deprive his father of his well-merited fame. Even nautical skill has been denied him. The eminent historian and antiquarian, Harrisse, has gone to great and unwarrantable extremes in his violent onslaught on the memory of Sebastian Cabot, As usual, the truth lies between the two extremes. The reputation of Sebastian Cabot has suffered not only from eulogiums of over zeal- ous friends, but also from the fact that no record from his own hand has escaped the gnawing tooth of time. We are dependent for information re- garding the second voyage and the utterances and after career of Sebastian, on the works of men who wrote long afterwards, and who wrote from memory — such as Ramuseo and Gomara — and whose recollections may have been, in many cases, dim and mcorrect. Memory, in such cases, is apt to prove treacherous after a lapse of years ; or the writers may have partially misunderstood the voyageur, and unintentionally misrepresented his statements. They did not know the whole case. Some of them knew only about the voy- age of 1498, nothing of the earlier one. Others confounded the two voyages. It is unLirto con- demn Sebastian Cabot and to brand him as an unscrupulous falsilier, on certain conversations which these writers say they held with him. We have not the whole case before us ; and many of his reported statements may have admitted of explanations, had we the means of sifting them. If we merely pick out flaws, imperfections, and failings in a man's character, we shall form a very false estimate of the man : for the best of men have plenty of weaknesses and imperfections, and often yield to selfish considerations or gusts of passion. The heroic Columbus was far enough from perfection ; and as some ungracious writers have tried to prove, was guilty of some very questionable deeds. But allowance is made for the influence of his age and training, and not- withstandmg these, we admire and reverence the hero for his solid worth, true nobility of soul, and his great work. Thus, let us deal with Sebastian Cabot. He lived at the close of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth century — an age when scheming and intriguing, and even lying and deception were prevalent among the educated classes, and did not meet with the condemnation they deserved. Cabot could hardly escape being tainted with the vices of his age. To seize on some apparent or real transgression of the laws of veracity and hunt him down and condemn him for these, is to mis- judge and deal unfairly with the man. He had his failings, no doubt, but that he was the per- tinacious liar and incompetent pretender that Harrisse has tried to paint him is entirely incred- ible. He may have been guilty of want of candour and concealment of facts, we admit; but it must be remembered, we have no opportunity of cross- examining the witnesses against him. He was still a brave and able man, who did a great work for the world, and on the whole, in a noble spirit. If we withhold our respects from him and condemn him for certain flaws of character, what great man can we reverence ? For, consider the broad facts of the case. His name was associated with that of his father in Henry's first patent. That he accompanied his father on his first voyage is in the highest degree probable, though the few meagre records do not expressly say so. From the fact that his father's name totally disappears from contemporary records, and that he is not mentioned as ever returning from the second voyage, we may fairly infer that his death took place at that time, and that Sebastian commanded the second expedition. It is well known that Sebastian's ruling passion was to find a passage to Cathay by the northwest. Hence his father's original programme was altered, and in his second voyage he boldly steered to the northwest, and fought the ice-floes and icebergs along the rugged coast of Labrador as far north as Hudson's Strait. Therefore, to Sebastian Cabot must be accorded the honour of pioneering the way in Arctic exploration, and of kindling in the bosoms of Englishmen that passion for Arctic dis- covery in which they have surpassed all others and put on record deeds of heroic bravery which have won imperishable renown. Sebastian Cabot led the way, and a long line of Arctic heroes followed, the latest being the gallant Nansen. When com- pelled to turn back by the ice and intense cold, he sailed south as far as 38" N., thus discov:;ring the whole coast of North America, from Hudson's Strait to liorida — an event of the first magnitude in connection with the settlement of the continent. 24 CANADA: AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA. Some time after his return to England he was invited by Ferdinand of Spain to enter his ser- vice. He had no reason to consider himself under any obligations to England. His discoveries had not yet been understood or appreciated by the English, and no objections were raised to this tidnsference of his services, in 1512, to Spain. Ferdinand gave him an honourable position and a salary of 50,000 maravedis per annum. He wanted to turn to account Sebastian's knowledge of the Baccalaos or New Fish-Lands which were considered of no value in England. Who could blame him, under such circumstances, for remov- ing to Spain, and accepting an office of honour and emolument — that of Grand Pilot of Spain and head of the Department of Cartography at Seville? This office he held with credit to himself till 1546, both under Ferdinand and Charles — two of the ablest monarchs of those days, and excellent judges of character. Had Sebastian been the incompe- tent sham represented by Harrisse, would such shrewd judges of men and affairs not have speed- ily seen through him and given him his dismissal, instead of honouring him as they did for thirty- four years ? During those years Sebastian Cabot made sev- eral more voyages of discovery, actively promot- ing maritime enterprises and trading adventures; and by invitation, took part in the famous confer- ence at Badajos. In his old age he returned to England, and Edward VI. bestowed on him a pension oi£i66 as a mark of respect. His mental activity and interest in maritime affairs continued to the last, and he died in London, probably about 1557, when close on eighty years of age. In view of all these facts there seems to be no reason why the name of Sebastian Cabot should not be joined with that of his illustrious father, though of the two we may be found to accord the higher honour to the memory of John Cabot who was undoubtedly the originator and leader in the first voyage. His son, however, is entitled to high praise for brave and daring deeds, and to an honoured place in the roll of England's illustrious sailors. After the lapse of four hundred years it seems unjust and ungracious "to draw his frailties from their dread abode," and ignore his vast ser- vices to the English race, and overlook the part he took in the expansion of England. Although the theory that Newfoundland was Cabot's landfall must be abandoned as untenable, yet no one has ever doubted or denied that he discovered the island on his first voyage, and was the first to report the immense fish wealth of its surrounding seas. How much of the island he saw cannot be determined ; but the fact of dis- covery is indisputable ; and the name " New- found-land," which included at first the adjacent coasts and islands, was finally appropriated to the island which still bears the name. Still, it must be admitted that no critical author- ity of eminence can be cited in support of the theory that Newfoundland was Cabot's landfall. Harrisse, who has made a most extensive and minute examination of the old documents, con- nected with the Cabots and the discovery of America, does not even mention or discuss it. In his earlier works he held that the landfall was on the eastern coast of Cape Breton ; but in his latest he fixes on Cape Chidley, the most northern point of Labrador — an impossible landfall, as we have seen, on the 24th of June. For Newfoundland, however, Harrisse does not seem to consider there was any evidence whatever. On the other hand, many of the most eminent geographers and his- torians may be quoted in support of the Cape Breton view. Dr. Bourinot, Dr. Charles Deane, the Ab'oe J. D. Beaudoin, Francisco Tarducci, an eminent Italian historian, Breevoort, an Ameri- can author, and Dr. S. E. Dawson, and many others, support the Cape Breton landfall. Except as a matter of historical and antiquarian interest the mere spot where the Cabots first saw land is not of any great importance. The map of La Cosa shows that on his return voyage Cabot coasted along the southern shore of Newfound- land for 300 miles, and named many places, thus closely identifying himself and his famous voyage with the island. The landfall, about which there will be perhaps always a difference of opinion, is comparatively a minor point. Without laying myself open to the charge of egotism I may perhaps be permitted to state that as far as I am aware I was the first to call public attention to the claims of the Cabots to a centen- ary celebration. In a paper read before the Historical Society of Nova Scotia, in 1893, I put forward the claims referred to, and urged the CANADA: AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 25 greatness of Cabot's work as a reason for a com- memoration. Afterwards, in a communication to the Royal Society of Upper Canada, I called attention to the matter. The Society then ap- pointed a committee to report on the proposal. Their report was favourable, and suitable arrange- ments were made by the Society for the celebra- tion. The proposal was favourably received throughout Canada as well as in England. At a much earlier date, in a paper published in The Maritime Monthly Magazine for October, 1874, I brought forward the same proposal in regard to " the discoverer of North America." No doubt the same idea occurred to other minds. To myself, however, it is a matter of much satisfac- tion that the idea has been translated into action. The claim of Newfoundland has for its strong- est adherent Judge Prouse, of that island. His views are substantially summed up in the follow- ing paragraphs : If Cabot, as the Italians say, had gone north from Ireland and then sailed west, he would un- doubtedly in a direct course have made the land of Northern Labrador ; but he did not go on a straight course, he was driven up and down by light east and north-east winds early in May, and when approaching the land, if the nights were dark and foggy, he would lay-to, and, probably during three days passing across the Labrador current:, which extends in June from 250 to 300 miles from Newfoundland, his vessel would be drifting south. Cartier, on the same course, made Cape Bonavista, and John Cabot might make the land anywhere from Belle Isle to Cape Race, though it is probable he would, like Cartier, come up with the great auks off the Funk Islands, and knowing from the appearance of these birds, which had very short wings and could not fly, that he was near the land, he would boldly strike in and make a landfall, as Cartier did, at Bonavista. It is quite clear that on this westerly course he must have made land somewhere on the Labrador coast or on the east coast of Newfoundland ; to pass all this long line of coast extending north and south i,2oo miles and then to make Cape Breton, is wildly improbable, if not impossible. There are two other very strong points against the Cape Breton theory ; one is the name Cape Breton, which appears in the very earliest maps ; no one can doubt that this designation was given by French fishermen, who were amongst the very first to visit North America ; there is no trace of Cabot and his discovery in this name. The other is the undoubted fact that Cape Breton was not known to be an island, and its insular character is not shown in any map for forty years after Cabot's landfall. It was not frequented by European fishermen until long after Cabot's voy- age, and there are no names on its coast beyond Cape Breton, marked on any map prior to 1540. The claims of Labrador may be summarily dis- posed of. All the references in the earliest accounts of the voyage are to an island or islands. Moreover, Soncino, writing to the Duke of Milan Dec. i8th, 1497, says; " The land is excellent and the climate temperate." Reference is also made to trees on the coast and to the abundance offish. No discoverer would refer to a great peninsula like Labrador as an island. The great codfishery does not begin until July, and its bleak and rug- ged shores could never be described as wooded or beautiful and pleasant. Cape Breton as the land-fall has, however, the bulk of authoritative opinion. Dr. Charles Deane, of the Massachusetts Historical Society ; Sir Clements Markham, President of the Royal Geographical Society of England; Signor Tar- ducci, a recent biographer of the Cabots ; Mr. R. G. Thwaites, Secretary of the Wisconsin Histori- cal Society ; Dr. S. E. Dawson, of Ottawa ; and Dr. J. G. Bourinot, of Ottawa ; all favour the Cape Bre- ton theory, while Dr. Justin Winsor is doubtful, and H. Harrisse, in his work upon the Cabots, in- clines to Labrador. The latter location was favoured by both Humboldt and Biddle who wrote, however, before the discovery of the Cabot map oi" 1544 and other documents. a6 CANADA: AN ENCYCLOIVKDIA. On the 24th of June, 1897, His Excellency, the Earl of Aberdeen, Governor-General of Canada, in the presence of many representative men, unveiled a tablet erected in the Provincial Building, Halifax, Nova Scotia, in commemoration of Cabot's dis- covery. It bears the following inscription : " This Tablet is in honour of the famous navi- gator John Cabot, who, under authority of letters patent of Henry VII., directing him * to conquer occupy, and possess for England all lands he might find in whatever part of the world they be,' sailed in a British ship, The Matthew, and first planted the flags of England and Venice, on the 26th of June, 1497, on the north-eastern seaboard of North America, and by his discoveries in this and the following year, gave to England a claim upon the continent, which the colonizing spirit of her sons made good in later times. This Tablet was placed in this hall by the Royal Society of Canada in June, 1897, when the British Empire was celebrating the sixtieth anni- versary of the accession of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, during whose beneficent reign the Dominion of Canada has extended from the shores first seen by Cabot, an English sailor four hundred years before, to the far Pacific coast. His Excellency the Earl of Aberdeen, Gov- ernor-General of Canada. His Honour M. B. Daly, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia. C. O'Brien, d.d.. President of the Royal Society of Canada, Archbishop of Halifax. J. G. Bourinot, C.M.G., Honorary Secretary of the Royal Society of Canada. City of Bristol delegates, William Robert Barker, j. p., and William Howell Davies." The following: table of discoveries and dis- coverers connected with Canada, and the continent as a whole, is necessary to a complete comprehen- sion of its earlier history : 1492 San Salvador Island discovered by Colum- bus. 1495 Jamaica discovered by Columbus. 1497 John Cabot discovers Newfoundland and the shores of Nova Scotia. 1498 Sebastian Cabot explores the American coast from Nova Scotia to Hudson's Straits. 1498 Eastern coast explored by Americus Vespu- cius, after whom America is named. 1502 Columbus lands on the American Continent. 1502 Cortereal, a Portuguese, explores the Atlan- tic coast of North America, 1512 Florida discovered by Ponce de Leon. 151J Balboa discovers the Pacific Ocean. 151 7 Mexico discovered by Franciso Fernandez. 1524 Verrazano of Florence, sent out by the French King, and explores the coast from the Caroiinas to Newfoundland. 1527 The Bermudas discovered by a Spaniard of that name. • 1534 Jacques Cartier discovers the St. Lawrence River. 1536 California discovered by Cortez. 1541 The Mississippi River discovered by Ferdl* nand de Soto. 1553 New Mexico discovered by the Spaniards. 1576 Greenland discovered by Sir Martin Fro- bisher. 1584 Virginia first visited by Sir Walter Raleigh. 1592 Straits of Juan de Fuca discovered. 1609 Hudson's Bay discovered. 1613 Champlain explores the interior of Canada, and discovers Lakes Huron, Ontario and Nipissing. 1682 Cavelier de La Salle explores the Mississippi and the "great west " of the continent. 1778 British Columbia coast explored by Captain Cook. The origrinal and first discovery of North America really lies at the credit of neither Cabot nor Columbus. There is now little reason to doubt that the restless Vikings of the Tenth century found sailing over the known seas of the world too tame a {>astime for their Norwegian energies and wild natures, and that they more than once sighted and visited the shores of this continent. Iceland and the Faroe Islands were settled by them in the Ninth century. Eric the Red occupied the Greenland coast in a.d. g86. Beorn, one of his colonists, was, not long after- wards, swept by stormy seas to the west and south, where he sighted hitherto unknown shores. Leif Ericson in a.d. iooo, fired by stories of what his comrade had seen, started out to explore the new lands on his own account and probably touched the continent where Labrador is now located. This desolate region he called Stone- land. Further south, perhaps the coast of New- CANADA; AN ENCYCI.OP.l-DIA. n foiindlnml, he called Uushland. Still further he sailed and reached a pleasant country — probably Nova Scotia — svhich he named Viiieland. Here he established a village, and here others came until many ships and large cargoes and a flourish- ing colony were the result. But the Indians seem to have been too much for the settlers and to have ultimately overpowered and driven them away. Nothing at any rate now remains but eloquent memories embalmed in two Icelandic sagas. Europe was too busy with its internal questions and wars to think or even hear of such matters, and presently these earlier navi- gators and settlers were shrouded in a veil of oblivion which deepened as the centuries rolled on. Jacques Cartier was the discoverer of the St. Lawrence, at once the entrance to Canada and the ocean gateway of its vast fresh water lakes. A sturdy, courageous, keen, and enterprising navi- gator, he was born in 1494, at the ancient seaport of St. Malo, in Brittany, and during the earlier years of his manhood pursued the calling of the sea with a success which can best be judged by the fact that in 1534, he was selected by Philippe de Brion-Chabot, Admiral of France, and acting for King Francis I, to lead an exploring expedition to the New World. Ten years before this date, Verrazano had been also sent by the French King with very fair results in the way of coasting discovery. Cartier, however, seems to have made up his mind to do more than that, and to have determined either to find his way into the interior of the country, or, as he hoped, into a new ocean and pathway to the East. During his first voyage he advanced up the St. Lawrence to Anticosti Island. Upon his second he started in 1533 with a little fleet of three vessels — the largest being only 120 tons burden. This time he sailed up the great Canadian river, and past the grim and frowning entrance to the Saguenay, until he reached the Isle D'Orleans— which he called Bacchus, on account of the grapes found by his delighted crew. The Indians received him with every mark of honour and courtesy, and helped him in his further explorations up to where Montreal now stands. This kindness was treacherously repaid by his seizure of the Indian Chief and his transportation to France where he died a year or so after- wards. During his third visit, in 1541, Cartier was able to do little owing to the very natural hostility and suspicion of the Indians, and Cana- dian exploration, with the exception of some efforts made by I)c Roberval, languished until revived by the spirit and energy of Cham- plain. Jacques Cartier, the humble sailor, re- turned to France where he became a noble- man under the title of Seigneur of Limoilou. He died in comparative retirement at St. Maio, in the year 1554. Meanwhile Jean I'rancois de Jacques Cartier. La Roque, Sieur de Roberval, who had been appointed Governor-General of New France dur- ing Cartier's last voyage and who arrived with his fleet a year too late to do the former any service, had made a determined effort to carry on the work of colonization. He rebuilt Cartier's aban- doned village and embryo fort where Quebec now stands, and cleared the fields, sowed crops, and made other preparations for a permanent settle- ment. But the coming of winter, the scarcity of food, and the prevalence of scurvy amongst his •8 CANADA : AN-ENCVCLOIVK DIA. men compelled him eventually to return home with a mere remnant of his expedition. In i.<)4i), he and his brother, with a large number of emigrants, many ships, and plentiful supplies, sailed for the St. Lawrence to try once more the foundation of a new State in the New World. But the unfortunate expedition was never deOa- itely heard of again and its fate remains one of the secret shadows upon the dial of history. Samuel de Champlain was the central figure of Canadian internal exploration and pioneer colonization. While Cabot hrst touched the Canadian half of the continent, and Cartier led the way up the St. Lawrence to vast unknown fields of discovery and exploration, Champlain was the pioneer in practical work and in the sys- tematic examination of the vast interior. Born in 1567 of a noble family, at Brouage, on the west coast of France, he had seen considerable military, naval, and engineering service before, in 1603, ac- cepting association with Pontgrav^, an adventur- ous merchant sailor of St. Malo, and Pierre du Guast, Sieur de Monts, a chivalrous noble of Henry the Fourth's Court, in an expedition to investigate the deserted regions of New France and establish a connection which might increase French power while also preparing the way for a prosperous personal business in furs. The expenses of the undertaking were assumed by M. de Chastes, Governor of Dieppe, who was anxious to see France in the forefront of American settlement, and was not dismayed by the disap- pearance of de Roberval and the disastrous results of an attempt in 1598 by the Marquess de !a Roche to found a settlement of convicts on the bleak and barren shores of Sable Island. Pont- gravii, who had shared in the latter enterprise, had, however, succeeded in establishing a small trading post at Tadousac, at the mouth of the Saguenay, and this point de Champlain and his associates reached during the month of May. The former, with a small party, then sailed up the river in batteaux as far as the rapids of St. Louis, which checked his further progress as had previously been the case with Cartier. After some minor explorations along the shores of the river he re- turned to the ships and the whole party sailed for France. De Chastes, having meanwhile died, and de Monts, feeling full of the lire and fever of explora- tion, the latter fitted out a second and larger expedition in 1604, and with de Champlain, the Baron de Poutrincourt, and a very mixed crew, prepared to take possession of Acadia for the French King — a vague name or phrase which in his charter or patent might have included all the territory from Pennsylvania to the banks of the upper St. Lawrence. The coasts were pretty thoroughly explored and names given to many bays and headlands. Poutrincourt, and indeed Samuel de Champlain. all the party, were greatly delighted with the natural beauty of Annapolis Basin, and the former obtained a grant of the region immediately sur- rounding what he called by the afterwards historic name of Port Royal. The beautiful Passama- quoddy Bay was next reached, and here, on St. Croix Island, a settlement was effected. The winter which succeeded, however, was one long misery, and the colonists had eventually to aban- don the place and be transferred to Port Royal. Meanwhile, Champlain and de Monts had ex- 'i™ CANADA : AN ENrYCI.OI'.i.OIA. 39 plored the coast as fur south as Cape Cod. During the next few years questions of colonization, sup- plies, and home interests divided the attention of the pioneer leaders. De Monts bound up his fortunes with those of Acadia. A settlement was made on the shores cf the St. Lawrence in 1608, by de Champlain, who, accompanied by Pontgravd, laid the foundations of Quebec in the shadow of the towering rock which has frowned upon such varied scenes of historic struggle and individual suffering. Many explorations into the far interior followed, together with constant struggles with the Iroquois, and intense, determined efforts by Champlain to establish the New France which he loved, and to which he later on brought his family, and practically consecrated his career. The difficulties of local settlement, the abuses of the fur trade, the indifference or hostility of the home authorities, the blood-darkened :^.hadow of savage life, all hampered his successful action. But still he struggled on, and after the three years' temporary occupation of Quebec by the English seemed in 1633 to be entering, with his colony, upon a period of rest and prosperity. The hand of death, however, intervened, and within two years of that time the great Governor of New France — the Father of French Canada passed away to his reward. During the period of discovery and restless maritime action which lay between the expedi- tions of Columbus and Cabot, and the ex- plorations of Champlain and de Monts, much depended upon the reigning Sovereigns of France Ucasxi.in. En|I>nH. 1485 Henry VII. i5u\as thought to be much less than it has since bocn found to be, and the land discovered by Columbus and Cabot was supposed to be the eastern shore of Asia. Spain and Portugal, then the great mari- time powers of the world, agreed under a Treaty of Partition, founded on a bull issued by Pope Alexander VI. in the year 1412, that the Spani- ards should possess exclusive control over the western route to Asia, while the Portuguese should communicate through eastern channels. This question of jurisdiction having been settled and affirmed under the authority of the highest powers the Portuguese pursued their discoveries to the east by way of the Cape of Good Hope, while the Spaniards endeavoured to find their way in a westerly direction, through new seas and unknown lands, to India. The Spanish ships cruised along the Atlantic coast of America in the hope of finding a way to the south of Asia. In 1513 the Isthmus of Darien was crossed, and three years afterwards Spanish navigators passed through the Straits of Magellan. Thus the Pacific Ocean was discovered at two widely separated points. In 1592, Juan de Fuca is reported to have followed the Mexican and Californian coasts until he reached the broad inlet of the sea which to-day bears his name, and forms the southern limit of Canada on the western ocean. Eight years after the alleged discovery by Juan de Fuca, Henry Hudson ascertained the existence of a great inland sea accessible from the Atlantic side of the new continent. From Hudson's Bay it was confidently expected that some passage would speedily be found \/hich would enable ships tr traverse from the Atlantic to the Pacific md shorten the voyage from I'2uroj)0 to Asia. In 1670, the whole region surrounding Huil;on s Bay was granted by the British Crown to ibe society of merchants ever since known as the Hudson's Bay Company, who, after thorough- ly exploring its shores, failed in discovering an outlet to the west. With the view of reaching Asia by a northwest passage efforts at discovery were persistently extended until the middle of the nineteenth century, but they proved completely barren of useful results. The explorations by land must be regarded in a different light. The first civilized men who pierced the interior were French adventurers, missionaries, and trad- ers from old Canada, while the country was in the possession of France. The exploits of these men, who, without the slightest previous knowledge of the territory, penetrated amongst numerous savage tribes, remains of thrilling inter- est. Finally they passed from the St. Lawrence through the great lakes of Huron and Superior, and by the innumerable intricacies of streams, lakes, and portages to Lake Winnipeg. Thence they ascended the River Saskatchewan to about the 103" meridian, where they planted their most distant trading post, some 2,000 miles from the the then colonized parts of Canada. In 1679 Robert Cavalier de la Salle, entertain- ed the idea of finding a way to China through the lakes and rivers of Canada. His expedition set out in the frail canoes of the natives, and his point of departure above the rapids on the St. Lawrence, near Montreal, was named, and is still named, LaChine — in consequence of the daring project to reach from that point the land of the Chinaman. Half a century later the attempt was renewed. In 1731, Pierre Gauthier de la Veren- drye, under the auspicesof Charles, Marquess de I CANADA: AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 3' ?. to the iiiropo to rrouiuling sh Crown known as thorouRh- vt-rinf,' an f roachint; discovery Idle of the ;ompletely ns by land he interior , and trad- iintry was :xploits of St previous d amongst lling inter- Lawrence 1 Superior, if streams, Thence n to about their most s from the entertain- hrough the ledition set es, and his on the St. and is still the daring land of the ittempt was e la Veren- larquess de Ucauharnois, Governor of New France, com- manded the expedition, and although he failed to leach the Pacific Ocean he advanced farther on the western prairies than any of his predecessors. In 1762 Fort La Rouge, close to the site of the future Fort Garry and Winnipeg, was an estab- lished trading post. Soon after this the conquest of Canada extinguished French possession and terminated French exploration in the western wilderness. Even the French missionaries, who were the first to preach the Gospel to the aborigines, abandoned the country, and did not resume the work for nearly sixty years. A hun- dred years after the grant to the Hudson's Hay Company one of their agents, Mr. Samuel Hearne, was commissioned to examine the interior. Between 1769 and 1773 that explorer made journeys, on foot and in canoes, 1,000 miles westerly from the place of his departure on Hudson's Bay. He discovered Great Slave Lake and other large lakes, and traced the Coppermine River to its mouth in the Arctic Ocean. A hundred and twenty years ago, and in the year before the sad death of that most distinguished navigator and discoverer, Captain Cook touched at Nootka Sound, on the Western coast of Vancouver's Island, claimed its discovery, and remaining there a few weeks, sailed along the coast to Behring Straits. After an intermission of eleven years, Alexander Mackenzie, in the service of the North West Fur Trading Company, set out on an important ex- ploration of the interior. Between 1789 and 1793, that intrepid traveller discovered the great river which justly bears his name, and followed it to the Arctic Ocean. He ascended the Peace River to its source, and was the first civilized man to penetrate the Rocky Mountains, and pass through to the Pacific Coast. This traveller in- scribed in large characters on a rock by the side of Dean Inlet, " Alexander Mackenzie, from Canada, by land, 22nd July, 1793." On the same day that Mackenzie placed that memorable inscription by the side of the Pacific, Captain Vancouver was pursuing his examination of the coast about two degrees further north. A short time before Mac- kenzie emerged from the interior, Vancouver had visited the spot where Mackenzie slept for one night within the sound of the sea. Thus these two distinguished travellers, from opposite direct- ions and engaged in totally different pursuits, discovered precisely the same place, and by a remarkable coincidence, all but met each other. In 1806, Simon Frascr crossed the Rocky Mountains from Canada, and descended the great river of British Columbia, which in his honour was named after him. I w:»s my good fortune many years ago to read . .ser's original manu- script journal, then in the ,i uJs of his son. I have since witnessed the f ' ng rapids and boil- ing whirlpools of that wildc... ut all large rivers, and I cannot be surprised that not many have attempted, and still fewer have succeeded, in fol- lowing in the wake of Simon Fraser from its source to its mouth. Twenty-two years afterwards, however. Governor Sir George Simpson made the daring attempt. In 1828, he stepped into a canoe at York Factory on Hudson's Bay, and stepped out of the frail craft some time afterwards at the mouth of the River Fraser, having in the interim traversed the interior, and carried the canoe as Mackenzie did before him, from the source of Peace River to the great northern bend of the Fraser. This celebrated traveller, in his journey round the world in 1841, again crossed the northern, or Canadian, half of America. His course was by the St. Lawrence, the Ottawa, Lakes Nipissing, Huron, Superior, and by the canoe route to Lake Winnipeg ; then across the prairie via the Sas- katchewan to the Rocky Mountains, and by Kootenay to the Columbia River. Among the officers and others connected with the great fur trading companies who have left a record of their travels, the following are the most noteworthy. David Thompson made extensive surveys between 1794 and 1811, embracing the rivers Nelson, Churchill, Saskatchewan, and their tributari IS, the country of the Mandan Indians, Lac la Biche, and Athabasca. He crossed the Rocky Mountains in 1807 by the Horner Pass, and in 1810 by the Athabasca Pass. In 1811, he followed the Columbia to the Pacific Coast on the occasion of Fort Astoria being established, and was the first civilized man to traverse the river Columbia from its source. In 1799, .Alex- ander Henry left Montreal for the interior, crossed , — Hiimmiumiuianjmt HmmiRMi 3« CANADA: AN ENCYCLOPEDIA. the Rocky Mountains in 1811, again in 1813, and followed the Columbia to its mouth. In 1814, Gabriel Fanchon having passed round Cape Horn to the Pacific Coast, ascended the Columbia, crossed the mountains to Little Slave Lake, and then found his way easterly by Fort Cumberland and Lake Winnipeg. Some years later Ross Cox, after serving the fur company to which he was attached at various points in what is now known as the State of Washington, and in British Col- umbia, returned overland to Montreal. Between 1800 and i8ig, D. W. Harmin trav- Sir Sandford Fleming. elled over a great extent of the interior, and spent ten years in the Peace River region, and in New Caledonia, now the northern part of British Columbia. Harman's journal, published in 1820, furnishes an interesting narrative of his travels. Another traveller, Alexander Ross, was connected with the first establishment of Astoria, and stayed from 181 1 to 1823 among the Indian tribes. He returned in company with Sir George .Simpson across the Rocky Mountains to Edmonton. In a volume published in 1849, he describe^' the career of the Pacific Fur Company, its operations, re- verses, and final discomfiture. His adventures among the Indian tribes west of the Rocky Mountains are given in a second narrative publish- ed in 1855. John McLeod, in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company, crossed the mountains from the east in 1822 with his wife and two young children, and descended the River Fraser to the Strait of Georgia. In 1826 he left Fort Vancouver to proceed eastward in the company of Edward Ermatinger, and the distinguished botanist, Douglas, reaching York Factory after following the chain of waters to Hudson's Bay. At York Factory the party met Sir John Franklin on his arrival tiiere. Robert Campbell takes a prominent place among the adventurous explorers of the Hudson's Bay Company. He travelled from York Factory to the Stickeen River, discovered Pelly River, which proved identical with the Yukon, crossed the height of land to Peel River, and ascended th Mackenzie. In 1852-53, this traveller made a re- markable journey from the Yukon territory to Eng- land. He left the Alaska boundary, ascended the Pelly and crossed the mountains to the Liard. Winter having set in he walked on snow shoes to Crow Wing on the Messenger, extending over sixteen degrees of latitude and twenty-seven de- grees of longitude. He had with him three men and a train of dogs to Crow Wing, where he ob- tained horses for the journey to Chicago, and eventually reached London. From his starting point this traveller had made a continuous journey of 9,700 miles, nearly half of which was through an uninhabited wilderness, and of this distance 3,000 miles were passed over in the dead of win- ter, and much of it walked on snow shoes. In June, 1843, Captain (afterwards General Sir Henry) Lefroy arrived at Red River, passed through to Lake Athabasca, and then remained from the middle of October to the end of Febru- ary following, engaged in meteorological and magnetical observations. In March, 1844, he started for Fort Simpson, on Mackenzie River, where for several months his time was occupied in similar pursuits. The North -West Passage, a problem which has baffled the energy and skill of navigators, remained unsolved at the beginning of the pres • CANADA: AN ENCYCLOPEDIA. 33 ent century, and a series of attempts were made to throw light on the gloom that surrounded it. Some of these efforts assumed the form of expeditions by land, traversing the re^jion which now constitutes part of central Canada, and therefore call for notice. The reference to them must be brief, but the indomitable perse- verence and heroic endurance which they devel- oped and displayed demands a passing tribute to names which will ever be familiar in Canadian and Arctic story. In i8ig, an Arctic land expedi- tion was organized under the command of Captain Franklin. That officer travelled via Red River to Cumberland House on the Saskatchewan, and thence by Fort Chipewayan, Fort Enterprise, and the Coppermine River to the Arctic coast. This expedition was marked by frightful suffering and loso of life. In 1825, Franklin started on a second expedi- tion. Having reached Lake Ontario, he passed, via Lakes Huron and Superior, to Red River, and thence traversed the country to Great Bear Lake, where he wintered. The following year he pur- sued his journey to the Arctic Coast, via Macken- zie River. In 1833, Captain Back, on an expedi- tion in search of Sir John Ross, passed from Montreal to Lake Winnipeg and thence to Fort Reliance, where he wintered ; after which he fol- lowed the Great Fish River to the Arctic Coast. In 1836, Messrs. P. W. Dease and Thomas Simp, son, at the instance of the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, started overland from Red River on a joint expedition. Thev spent the years 1837, 1838, and 1839 in explorations on the northern coast. They joined the surveys of Franklin and Beechey at Point Barrow in Behring Strait, and those of Franklin und Back between the Coppermine and Great Fish Rivers, making the longest boat voy- age in the Arctic seas on record. Dr. Rae in 1845 took his departure from Lake Superior on the breaking up of the winter, passed by the common route to Red River, by Lake Winnipeg to Norway House, and thence to York Factory, where he wintered. A year afterwards he wintered at Repulse Bay without fuel, and subsisted with his party for twelve months on food obtained with the gun and spear. He united the surveys of Ross and Parry, a distance of about 700 miles, and made the first long sledge journey performed in thiat part of the world, the total distance being nearly 1,300 miles. In 1848, Sir John Richardson, who already had made two overland journeys with Sir John Franklin, made a third in search of that lamented traveller. On the last occasion he was accompanied by Dr. Rae. The two volumes published by Richardson on his return afford evidence of the minute scientific observations made in the part of Canada which was traversed by these two celebrated explorers, and afford ample proof of the value of their labours. In 1849, Dr. Rae alone, passed down the Cop- permine River, pursuing the object of discovering Franklin with unabated vigour. In the following year he renewed the search. He wintered at Fort Confidence, Great Bear Lake ; descended the Coppermine River ; travelled over ice nearly 1,100 miles at an average rate of from twenty-five to twenty-six miles a day ; and made the fastest long Arctic journey which has ever been known. Subsequently, on the same expedition, he made a boat voyage almost rivalling that previously made by Dease and Simpson. In 1853 and 1854 this indefatigable and justly celebrated traveller was again in the field. We find him wintering at Repulse Bay, living nearly altogether on the produce of the gun, the hook, or the spear. He made another sledge journey of over a thousand miles, and joined the surveys of Dease and Simp- son with those of Ross and Bothea. On this occasion Dr. Rae was so far successful as set at rest all doubts as to the sad fate of the Frank- lin expedition. For this the promised reward, jfio.ooo sterling, was presented to him *>v the British Government. With the exception of a final exploration made in 1855 by Messrs. Anderson and Stewart, who passed down the Great Fish River, Dr. Rae's record above referred to closes the narration of the overland Arctic expeditions. It cannot be denied that notwithstanding all the toils, perils, and privations inseparable from them, these expeditions have resulted in loss and disappoint- ment in the main object for which they were undertaken, viz., a northwest passage for ships. They have incidentally, however, given valuable additions to our knowledge of the country and made important contributions to science. 34 CANADA: AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA. These various overland Arctic expeditions, of which 1 have presented but an outline, extended over a period of thirty-six years. But for them the northern regions of Canada would not have been so thoroughly explored. We have now a fair knowledge of the northern coasts, with all their silent and peaceful grandeur, and distance from the feverish bustle of busy men. The more Arctic portions of the Dominion are probably destined to remain for ever undisturbed by the hum of industry, and to continue as Providence has hitherto kept them, with the characteristics of snow and solitude which mark the landscape in high latitudes. While investigations were being proceeded with during a series of years in the northern parts of North America in connection with the futile at- tempts to find a practicable north-west passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, it was not until a comparatively recent period that special attention was directed to the southern and far more valuable portions of the country. Between the years 1819 and 1855 the northern districts were traversed in many directions. It was only subsequent to the later date that regularly organ- ized efforts were made to gain information respect- ing the country nearer home. In 1857, on the recommendation of the Royal Geographical Society, Her Majesty's Government sent out an expedition to explore the country between Lake Superior ami the Rocky Mountains. It was placed under the command of Captain Palliser, who, with a staff of scientific men continued his investiga- tions until 1839. Reports of the highest value were published on the return of the expedition. The Government o*^ the late Province of Canada likewise sent out an expedition in 1857. Its object was to survey the canoe route between Lake Superior and the Red River Settlement. Messrs. Dawson and Hind, who were in charge of distinct branches of this expedition, pursued their investi- gations during 1857 and 1858, extending them as far we.,t as the south branch of the Saskatchewan. During the same years Captain Blakiston, at the instance of the Royal Society, was engaged in nieteonjlogical and other scientific observations. He began at York P'actory on Hudson's Hay, passed inland to Lake Winnipeg, and thence by the Saskatchewan to the Rocky Mountains. There were other travellers who were not directly commissioned by the Imperial or Colonial Governments, who passed through the country, and on their return added valuable contributions to the general stock of information. In 1846-48 Paul Kane, of Toronto, who had studied Art in Europe, determined to devote his time and talents to the completion of a series of paintings illustra- tive of Indian life and character. His journey to the Pacific Coast and his experience among the Indians is graphically given in a volume published in 1889, " Wanderings of an Artist from Canada to Vancouver Island." In 1859 and i860, the Earl of Southesk followed the Assiniboine and Saskatchewan valleys to the Rocky Mountains, and some years afterwards gave the public the benefit of his observations. In 1862 and 1863, Lord Milton and Dr. Cheadle crossed from the Atlantictothe Pacific by the Yellow Head Passand Thompson River, performing a journey in which they were exposed to many perils, and narrowly escaped disaster. The volume, "The North-West Passage by Land," published on their return to England, is one of the most charming of modern books of travel. In 1864, we again find Dr. Rae at work. On this occasion he had abandoned the Arctic region in favour of a more southern journey. He cr'^iiacd, as Milton and Cheadle did in the pre- ceeding years, via the Saskatchewan to Tete Jaune Cache, but, unlike them, he turned at this point to follow the River Eraser in place of the River Thompson, finally reaching the Pacific Coast. I ought not to omit to mention Messrs. Douglas and Drummond, both botanists, who spent some time in the country. To David Thompson,already mentioned, and after whom the Thompson River is named, we are indebted to no small extent for our geographical knowledge of much of the interior. It would be an injustice to the mission- aries who have gone forth at different times to Christianize and civilize the native tribes, did I overlook the part they have also taken in throwing light on the physical features of the several regions they have visited. Ministers of the Anglican, Wesleyan, Presby- terian, and Roman Catholic Churches have each and all done their part. To French priests of the last named Church, we are greatly indebted. Nearly a hundred and seventy years ago Per^ ,* S CANADA : AN ENCYCLOPEDIA. Si - -■'!a Annaud on his first meeting: with the Indians, fell a victim, together with Vercndrye and their party, between Lake Superior and Red River. The French fathers indeed, furnish a long list of martyrs to the cause they embraced. Canada owes much also to the learned Archbishop Tachfc, whose travels during a sojourn of many years in north- western Canada have been extensive, and the re- sults of whose observations in many parts of the far interior have been given to the world. This is but a brief reference to some of the principal explorers. I cannot pretend in this paper to give even the names of all who par- ticipated up to the period when the whole territory formerly known as British North America came under the name and jurisdiction of Canada. The Imperial Act by which British Columbia and the Hudson's Bay territory entered the Dominion, came into force in July, 1871. On that day strong engineering parties were sent out by the Dominion to explore the whole region inter- vening betvtcen the seat of Government at Otta- wa in the eastern provinces and the Pacific Coast at the west. The object was to obtain fuller information respecting the country than had previously been placed on record, with the view of establishing a line to be followed by a trans-continental railway. The engineering force engaged in this work reached nearly a thousand men of all grades. The survey was continued for a number of years. I have been intimately con- nected with it myself, and therefore it behooves me to refrain from saying much in respect to the manner in which the work has been done. I may, however, allude to the earnestness and determina- tion of the Government and people of Canada with respect to the development of the magnificent country which then came under their control. An instance may be given in connection with the surveys. After three years had been spent by a large staff in exploring every part of a wild, unin- habited, and roadless country, extending a dis- tance of about three thousand miles, a great amount of exact engineering information had been obtained at heavy cost, when a serious and dis- couraging disaster occurred. In 1874, in mid- winter, the building in which were deposited the field note-books, the unfinished plans, and nearly all the information accumulated, was destroyed by fire, and nearly every scrap of paper consumed. Thus the labour of three years, the results which had been obtained at a cost of about £300,000 sterling, were lost. Nothing daunted, the order was given to commence the work of surveying afresh. I shall not attempt to give even an outline of the details of a work which might fill volumes, and will simply allude to the general information which has been acquired, and to some of the more impor- tant results which have been obtained. It will, however, enable the reader to form some idea of the labour expended on this survey when I state that the total length of explorations made during the first seven years exceeded 47,000 miles, and that no less than 12,000 miles were labouriously measured by chain and spirit level, yard by yard, through mountain, prairie, and forest. To state that the Canadian Government, on this special examination alone, expended about 3f700,ooo sterling, will not even convey a correct idea of the energy and determination displayed. Besides extensive land surveys in Manitoba, the boundary line between Canada and the United States has had to be defined from end to end. The work was performed by a Joint Commission appointed by both countries. The British section of the Commission was in command of Major (now General) D. R. Cameron ; the work occu- pied three years, and the reports furnished, includ- ing scientific papers by Captain Anderson Feather- stonhaugh, and Mr. George M. Dawson, have largely extended our knowledge of that portion of the country adjoining the southern boundary line from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Moun- tains. A boundary survey west of the mountains had been previously completed. The foregoing sketch of the early discoveries within the limits of that portion of No'-th America, which together constitute the Dominion of Can- ada, and the reference to the various explorations and surveys which from time to time have been made in different directions, will enable the reader to judge of the value of the information, geo- graphical and physical, which has been acquired respecting much of the country. The several Provinces on the Atlantic sea-board and the St. Lawrence, are well known. The southern margin of the country, extending from these 1 36 CANADA: AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA. Provinces westerly to the mountains, has been examined with the greatest care by the Royal Commission appointed to define the boundary between Canada and the United States. The Canadian coast on the Pacific, with its many deep fiords, flanked in some instances by moun- tains reaching the limit of perpetual snow, has been the subject of repeated explorations. The northern side of the country, with its long sum- mer day and its equally long winter night, has been visited in nearly every part by brave and indefatigable men, who, after perils and priva- tions of no ordinary kind, have mapped it out. and left it again to the silence and desolation which pervades the Arctic circle. The interior is so vast that it cannot be said yet to have been completely examined. There are still districts where the foot of civilised man has never stepped, but, as I have shown, explorers have laboured in many directions, and, with unflagging toil adven- turous men have penetrated the gloomy recesses of the primeval forest, have peered into the rocky fastnesses ot the mountains, and with unflinching endurance, have gained for us a general and rea- sonably correct knowledge of much of the vast country now known as the Dominion of Canada. The opening of the North-West by the Sieur de la Vereniirye was a remarkable episode in the history of Canadian e.xploration. In 1731 he started with his three sons and a small picked party from Michilimackinac in search of a great lake which the Indians called " Ouinipon " and which is now known as Lake Winnipeg. Through .the wilderness to the north and west of Lake Superior the party journeyed until they reached a large boi.y of fresh water which De la Verendrye called the Lake of the Woods, and on whose shores he established a Fort, after some prelim- inary skirmishes with the Sioux. From there they descended the turbulent Winnipeg river to the lake for which they were in search. Upon the other side of that stormy inland sea the party came to the Rod River and ascended it to its junction with tlie Assiniboine where a fort was built on the site of the present Provincial capital. From these headquarters many exploring expedi- tions were sent out and trading posts established. Lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis were discov- ered and the Sackatcliewan River ascended for some distance. In 1742, one of the sons was the first European to see the mighty summits of the Rockies. Their exploration, hov/ever, was left to others at a later period. It must not be forgotten that the French were the pioneers in Continental as well as Cana- dian discovery. Champlain discovered Lake Champlain in 1609, the Ottawa river in 161 3. Lake Ontario and Lake Nipissing in 1615, and Lake Huron in the same year. Lake Michigan was discovered by Jean Nicolet in 1634; Lake Erie, by Chaumonot and Br«5beuf in 1640, and Lake Superior by some coiireitrs-du-bois in 1659. The upper waters of the Mississippi were first sighted by Father Marquette and a merchant adventurer named Joliette on June 17th, 1673, when they paddled down the great river past the mouths of the Illinois, the Missouri, anu the Ohio. Many adventures and much danger from the Indians were encountered before they reached Quebec again in September, and Marquette him- self died a couple of years later, worn out by the privations and perils of the wilderness. As a result of these discoveries and much other daring exploration by Nicholas Perrot — a famous ct'!»r«>- de-bois — who was the first European to stand upon the site of Chicago, the whole great lake region was formally annexed to France by the Intendant Talon. So with Hudson's Bay terri- tory. Father Albanal, in 1671, was the first European to see from land the stormy and sombre waters in which Hudson had perished nearly a century before. The Niagara Falls were dis- covered by Father Hennepiu, in 1676. VIEW OF NIAGARA FALLS FROM CANADIAN SIDE. It ! PRINCIPAL EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF CANADA 1497. 1500. 1517. 152+. 1534- 1535- June 24. Cabot discovered Canada. Gasper Cortereal entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Sebastian Cabot discovered Hudson's Bay. Verrazano explored the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia. July 1st. Landing of Jacques Cartier at Esquimaux Bay. Discovery of the St. Lawrence. Second visit of Cartier. August loth. Cartier anchored in a small bay at the mouth of the St. John River which, in honour of the day, he named after St. Lawrence. The name was after- wards extended to the gulf and river. Third visit of Cartier. 1542-43. The Sieur de Roberval and party winter- ed at Cap-Rouge, near where Quebec afterwards stood. First visit of Samuel de Champlain to Can- ada. Founding of Port Royal (Annapolis), Acadia (derived from an Indian word " Cadie " a place of abundance), by the Baron de Poutrincourt. 1608. Second visit of Champlain. Founding of Quebec, the first permanent settlement in Canada. Twenty-eight settlers winter- ed there, including Champlain. 1611. Establishment of a trading post at Hoch- elaga. 1613. St. John's, Newfoundland, founded. i'^'5. Lakes Huron, Ontario, and Nipissing dis- covered by Champlain. Champlain sailed up the Ottawa River, crossed Lake Nipissing, and descended French River into Georgian Bay and Lake Huron, re- turning by Lake Ontario. Population of Quebec, sixty persons. 1540. 1603. 1605. 1620. 1621. First mention of the name "Nova Scotia" in a grant of the Province to Sir W. Alexander by James 1. First code of laws promulgated at Quebec. 1624. Nova Scotia first settled by the English. 1627. Canada granted to the Company of One Hundred Associates by the King of France. July. Capture of Quebec by the English under Sir David Kirke. 117 persons wintered there. Canada, Cape Breton, and Acadia restored to France by the Treaty of St. Germain- en- Laye. First school opened 'n Can- ada at Quebec. July 4th. The Town of Three Rivers founded. August 13th. Fort Richelieu (Sorel) founded. Sillery founded Jesuits' college in Quebec. December 25th. Death of Champlain at Quebec. Lake Michigan discovered by Nicolet. Ursuline Convent founded at Quebec. May i8th. Ville Marie (Montreal) founded by Maisonneuve. 1642-1667. Frequent and serious wars between the French and the Iroquois Indians. 1654. Acadia taken by the English. 1659. M. de Laval, first Roman Catholic Bishop of Canada, arrived from France. Lake Superior discovered. 1663. Company of One Hundred Associates dis- solved. Royal Government established. First Courts of Law. 1667. Acadia restored to France by Treaty of Breda. White population of New France, 3.918. 1670. May 13th (new style). Hudson's Bay Company founded. 1629. 1632. 1634. 1635. 1639. 1642. 37 38 CANADA : AN ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 1672. Count de Frontenac appointed Governor 1759, of New France. Population, 6,705. i673' June 13th. Cataraqui (Kingston) founded* 1674. Iroquois established at Caughnawaga. i68g. August 15th. Massacre at Lachine by Indians. 1690. Capture of Port Royal by Sir William Phipps, and unsuccessful attack upon Quebec. 1692. Population of New France, 12,431. 1697. Treaty of Ryswick and mutual restoration of places taken during the war. 1698. Death of Frontenac. Population, 13,355. 1701. August 4th. Ratification of a treaty of 1760. peace with the Iroquois at Montreal. 1709-10-11. Canada invaded by the English. 1762. Port Royal (Annapolis) taken by Nichol- son (1710). 1713. Treaty of Utrecht, by which Hudson's Bay 1763. and adjacent territory, Nova Scotia (Acadia), and Newfoundland were ceded to the English. 1715. First ships built at Quebec. 1720. Population of New France, 24,434, and of 1764' St. John's Island (Prince Edward Island), about 100. 1721. January 27th. Mail stages established between Quebec and Montreal. 1722. Division of settled country in Canada into parishes. 1739. Population of New France, 42,701. First forge erected in Canada, at St. Maurice. 1745. Louisbourg, Cape Breton, taken by the 1768. English. 1747. Militia rolls drawn up for Canada. Courts 1769. of Justice constituted in Nova Scotia. 1748. Restoration of Louisbourg to the French in exchange for Madras, by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. 1749. June 2ist. The City of Halifax founded 1774. by Lord Halifax ; 2,544 British emigrants brought out by the Hon. Edward Corn- wallis. 1752. March 23rd. Issue of the HMfax Gazette, the first paper published in Canada. 1755. Expulsion of the Acadians from Nova Scotia — about 6,000. 1758. First meeting of Nova Scotian Legislature. July 26th. Capture of Fort Niagara by the English under General Prideaux, who was killed during the assault. July 25th. Commencement of the siege of Quebec. September I2th. Battle of the Plains of Abraham and defeat of the French by General Wolfe, who was killed on the field. Loss of the English, 700, and of the French, 1,500. September 13th. Death of General Montcalm, commander of the French forces. September i8th Capitulation of Quebec to Geneeral Townsend. April. Unsuccessful attack on Quebec by General de Levis. British population of Nova Scotia, 8,104. First English settlement in New Bruns- wick. February loth. Treaty of Paris signed, by which France ceded and guaranteed to His Britannic Majesty in full right "Canada with all its dependencies." Cape Breton annexed to Nova Scotia. June 2ist. Issue of the Quebec Gazette. In this year Pontiac, Chief of the Otta- was, organized a conspiracy for a simul- taneous rising among the Indian tribes, and a general massacre of the British. The plan was successfully carried out in several places, where not a soul was left alive, but finally the Indians were forced to succumb. General .Carleton, afterwards Lord Dor- chester, appointed Governor-General. St. John's Island (Prince Edward Island) made into a separate Province, with Walter Patterson as the first Governor. The first meeting of an elected House of Assembly took place in July, 1773. The "Quebec Act " passed. This Act gave the French Canadians the free exercise of the Roman Catholic religion, the enjoy- ment of their civil rights, and the protec- tion of their own civil laws and customs. It annexed large territories to the Prov- ince of Quebec, provided for the ap- pointment by the Crown of a Legislative Council, and for the administration of CANADA : AN ENCVCLOP^EDIA. 39 the criminal law as in use in England. North-west coast of British Columbia explored by Vancouver and Cook. 1775. Outbreak of the American Revolution, and invasion of Canada by the Americans. Every place of importance rapidly fell into their hands, irith the exception of Quebec, in an attack upon which Gcaend Montgomery was defeated and killed on 31st December. 1776. Reinforcements arrived from England, and the Americans were finally driven out of Canada. 1778. June 3. First issue of the Montreal Gazette. This paper is still published. 1783. September 3rd. Signing of the Treaty of Versailles and definition of the boun- dary line between Canada and the United States, viz., the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence, the 45th parallel of north latitude, the highland dividing the waters falling into the Atlantic from those emptying themselves into the St. Law- rence, and the St. Croix River. 1784. Population of Canada, 113,012. (United Empire Loyalists in Upper Canada not included.) Fredericton, N.B., founded. Cape Breton separated from Nova Scotia politically. British population of Nova Scotia, 32,000 (about 11,000 Acadians not included). 1784. About this time began the migration into Canada and Nova Scotia of the United Empire Loyalists, as they were called — that is, of those settlers in the American States who had remained faithful to the British cause. This migration lasted for several years, and though it is not pos- sible to arrive at any exact figures, it is probable that the number altogether was not less than 40,000. The Loyalists were well treated by the British Gov ernment. 1785. May 18. Date of charter of St. John, N.B., the oldest incorporated town in Canada. Sydney, C.B., founded by Lieutenant- Governor DesBarres. August 16. New Brunswick made a separ- ate province; population 11,457. Re- introduction of the right of Habeas Corpus. 1787. First Colonial See established in the Brit- ish Empire, in connection with the Church of England in Nova Scotia. 1788. Western Canada (now Ontario) divided into five districts, and English law intro- duced. King's College (N.S.) founded. X79I, Di v isi on of the Province of Quebec into two provinces, yiz., JJfptt and Lower Canada. Each Province to have a Lieutenant-Governor, and a Legislature composed of a House of Assembly and a Legislative Council. The members of the Council were to be appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor for life, those of the Assembly to be elected by the peo- ple for four years. Population of the two provinces, 161,311. 1792. September 17. First meeting of Parlia- ment of Upper Canada at Newark (Niagara), under Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe. The House of Assembly con- sisted of sixteen members. December 17. Opening of the Legislature of Lower Canada, at Quebec, by General Clark. The House of Assembly con- sisted of fifty members. 1793. Abolition of slavery in Canada. Upper and Lower Canada separated from the Church of England See of Nova Scotia and founded as a separate See. Toronto founded as York. Rocky Mountains crossed by McKenzie. 1796. The seat of government of Upper Canada removed from Niagara to York (Toronto). 1798. The name of St. John's Island changed to that of Prince Edward Island, in honour of the Duke of Kent — the change to take effect in i8oo. Population, 4,500. 1800. Jesuits' Estates taken possession of by the Government. King's College, N.B., granted a Royal charter. 1805. Founding of the Quebec Mercury. 1806. November 22. Issue of L/i Canadien, the first newspaper printe^d entirely in French. Population of Upper Canada, 70,718, and of Lower Canada, 250,000. / 4« CANADA : AN ENCYCLOP^CPIA. i 1812. War decl'.red between Great Britain and the United States. August II. Surrender of Detroit by the 1836, Americans under General Hull to Gen- eral Brock. October 13. Battle of Queenston Heights 1837- and defeat of the Americans. Death of General Brock. November. Defeat of General Dearborn by Colonel de Salaberry at Lacolle River. 1840. 1813. April 25. Capture of York by the Ameri- cans. June 5. Battle of Stoney Creek and defeat of the Americans. September. Battle of Moraviantown. Re- 1841. treat of the British and death of the Indian chief, Tecumseth. October 26. Battle of Chateauguay. De- feat of three thousand Americans under General Hampton by Colonel de Sala- berry with four hundred French-Cana- (Jian militia. November 11. Battle of Chrysler's Farm. Defeat and rout of General Wilkinson and the Americans by the Canadian militia under Colonel Morrison, 1814. July 25. Battle of Lundy's Lane and de- feat of the Americans. December 24. War terminated by the Treaty of Ghent. Population of Upper 1842. Canada, 95,000, and of Lower Canada 335.000- 1818. October 30. Convention signed at Lon- 1843. don regulating the rights of Americans 1844. in the British North American fisheries. 1845. 1821. Commencement of the Lachine Canal. First vessel passed through in 1825. 1846. Amalgamation of the Hudson's Bay Com- 1847. pany and the Northwest Trading Com- pany. 1827. Guelph founded by John Gait. Treaty of 1848 London. McGill College received its charter. It was founded in 1811. 1849. 1831. Population — U pper Canada, 236,702 ; Low- er Canada, 553.134- 1833. August 18. The steamer Royal William left Pictou, N.S., for Gravesend, Eng- 1850. land, at which port she arrived after a stormy passage. She was the first steamer that ever crossed the Atlantic with a motive power entirely steam. July 21. Opening of the railway from Laprairie to St. John's — the first railway in Canada. 38. Outbreak of rebellion in both Provinces. It was suppressed in Upper Canada by the militia, and in Lower Canada by the British troops. Death of Lord Durhatn, to whose exertions the subsequent union of the Provinces was mainly due. Quebec and Montreal incorporated. Montreal AuVy Advertiser founded. First daily journal in Canada. February 10. Union of the two provinces under the name of the Province of Canada, and nominal establishment of responsible government. The Legisla- ture was to consist of a Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly, each Province to be represented by sixty-two members — forty-two elected by the people and twenty appointed by the Crown. Population of Upper Canada, 455,688. May 17. Landslide from the Citadel rock, Quebec — 32 persons killed. June 13. Opening of the first united Parlia- ment at Kingston, by Lord Sydenham. August 9. Settlement of a boundary line dispute between Canada and the United States by the Ashburton Treaty. Victoria, B.C., founded by James Douglas. Population of Lower Canada, 696,000. Large fires in the city of Quebec, 25,000 people rendered homeless. Oregon Boundary Treaty. British navigation laws repealed. Electric telegraph line established between Que- bec, Montreal, and Toronto. The St. Lawrence canals open for naviga- tion. April 25. Riots in Montreal over the pass- age of the Rebellion Losses Bill, and burning of the Parliament library at Montreal. The first sod of the Northern Railway turned by Lady Elgin. The road was opened from Toronto to Bradford on -:■*£ CANADA: AN ENCYCLOIVEDIA. 41 13th June, 1853, and was the first loco- motive railway in operation in Upper Canada. 1851. Transfer of the control of the postal system from the Hritish to the Provincial Gov- ernments, and adoption of a uniform rate of postage, viz. : three pence per half ounce. The use of postage stamps was also introduced. Population of Upper Canada, 852,000; of Lower Canada, 890,261 ; of New Brunswick, 193,800 ; and Nova Scotia, 276,854. Young Men's Christian Association organized in Mon. treal — first in America. 1852. Commencement of the Grand Trunk Rail- way. 1853. The number of members in the Legislative Assembly increased from 84 to 130, being 65 from each Province. May 9. First ocean steamer arrived at Quebec. 1854. January 27. Main line of the Great Western Railway opened for traffic. Abolition of Seigneurial Tenure in Lower Canada, and settlement of the Clergy Reserves question. June 5. Reciprocity Treaty with the United States signed at Washington. 1856. The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada made an elective chamber. Allan Steamship Line commenced regu- lar fortnightly steam service between Canada and Great Britain. 1857. March 12. Desjardins Canal railway acci- dent; 70 lives lost. 1858. Adop*'on of the decimal system of cur- rency. Selection, by the Queen, of the city of Ottawa as the capital of the Dominion and permanent seat of gov- ernment. April. Gold found in British Columbia. Gold found in Tangier River, Nova Scotia. 1859. New Westminster, B.C., founded by Colonel Moody. i860. Winnipeg founded. First Provincial Synod of the Church of England held in Mont- real. August 25. Opening of the Victoria Bridge by the Prince of Wales. This bridge crosses the St. Lawrence at Montreal on the line of the Grand Trunk Railway. It is the largest iron tubular bridge m the world, is 60 feet high in the centre, and nearly two miles in length. September i. Laying of the corner stone of the Dommion buildings at Ottawa by the Prince of Wales. These buildings, together with the Departmental build- ings, have been erected at a total cost, up to 29th June, 1894, of $4,979,242. Art Association founded in Montreal. 1861. Population of Upper Canada, i,396,o()i ; of Lower Canada, 1,111,566; of New Brunswick, 252,047; of Nova Scoii.i, 330*857 ; of Prince Edward Island, 80,- 857 ; of Vancouver Island, exclusive of Indians, 3,024. 1864. Quebec Conference held. Resolutions are passed in favour of confederation of British North American provinces. Raid from St. Albans into Canada. 1866. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick accept confederation with Canada. Great fire in Quebec ; 2,129 houses burned in St. Roch's and St. Sauveur suburb. 1866. March 17. Termination of the Reciprocity Treaty, in consequence of notice given by the United States. June I. Invasion of Canada by Fenians. Battle of Ridgeway, and retreat of the volunteers. June 3. Withdrawal of the Fenians into the United States. June 8. First meeting of Parliament in the new buildings at Ottawa. At this meeting the final resolutions necessary on the part of the Province of Canada to effect the confederation of the provinces were passed. November 17. Union of Vancouver Islan 1 and British Columbia proclaimed. 1867. February 10. The British North American Act passed by the Imperial Parliament. July I. Union of the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick under the name of the Dominion of Canada. The names of Upper and Lower Canada changed to Ontario and Quebec respec- m^^mmt^mm mmm* A* CANADA: AN ENCYr:i,0P.1':DIA. ^i tively. Lord Monck was the first Governor-General of the Dominion, and the first Parliament met on the 6th November, Sir John A. Macdonald being Premier. 1868. April 7. The Hon. T. D'Arcy McGee, M.P., murdered at Ottawa. July 31. The Rupert's Land Act passed by the Imperial Government, providing for the acquisition by the Dominion of the Northwest Territories. Uniform rate of three cents for letters throughout the Dominion adopted. l86g. June 22. Bill passed providing for the Gov- ernment of the North-West Territories. October 29. Hon. William Macdougall appointed Lieutenant-Governor. Red River Rebellion commenced. November 19. Deed of surrender signed, Hudson's Bay Company to Her Majesty. 1870. March 4. Thomas Scott shot at Fort Garry. September 24. Arrival at Fort Garry of the expedition under Colonel (now Lord) Wolseiey, when the rebels were found to have dispersed. May 25. I'enians crossed the frontier at Trout River, in Quebec, but were driven back by the volunteers. July 15. Addition of the North-West Ter- ritories to the Dominion, and admission of the Province of Manitoba into the Confederation. This Province was cre- ated out of a portion of the newly acquired territory. 1S71. May 8. Signing of the Treaty of Washing- ton. July 20. Admission of British Columbia into the Confederation. Population of the four Provinces, 3,485,761 ; of Mani- toba, 18,995 ; of British Columbia, 36,224; and of Prince Edward Island, 94,021. Total, 3,635,001. November 11. The last British regular troops left Quebec. 1872. Abolition of dual representation. Dominion Archives established. 1873. May 20. Death of Sir George E. Cartier in London. July I. Admission of Prince Edward Island into the Confederation. 1875. Rupert's Land and the North-West Terri- tories placed under jurisdiction of a Lieutenant-Governor separate and dis- tinct from Manitoba. Presbyterian Church in Canada formed by the union of all the Presbyterian churches. 1876. Opening of the Intercolonial Railway from Quebec to Halifax. June 5. Supreme Court of Canada, first session. Legislative Council of Manitoba abolished. 'strict of Keewatin created by Act of ment. 1877. June 20. C re in St. John, New Brunswick. November 23. Award by Halifax Fisheries Commission of the sum of $5,500,000 to the Imperial Government. 1879. Adoption of a protective tariff, otherwise called the National Policy. 1880. Death of the Hon. George Brown. All British possessions on North American continent (excepting Newfoundland) annexed to Canada by Imperial Order in Council from 1st September, 1880. The Arctic Archipelago transferred to Canada by Imperial Order in Council. Royal Cana- dian Academy of Arts founded by the Marquess of Lome. October 21. Contract signed for the con- struction of the Canadian Pacific Rail- way. 1881. April 4. Population of the Dominion, 4,324,810. Royal Society of Canada founded. May 2. First sod turned by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. 1882. May 8. Provisional Districts of Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Athabasca created. May 25. First meeting of the Royal Society of Canada in Ottawa. June 22. Constitutionality of the Canada Temperance Act confirmed by the Privy Council. August 23. The new seat of Government for the North-West Territories received the name of Regina. CANADA : AN ENCYCLOPEDIA. 43 Rail- -'4 1883. Methodist churches In Canada formed into one body. I'irst congress of the Church of England opened in Hamilton. 1884. Boundary between Ontario and Manitoba settled by decision of Judicial Committee of the Imperial Privy Council, and con- firmed by Her Majesty in Council, Aug- ust II, 1884. 1885. Marc!\ 26. Outbreak of rebellion in the North-Wcst. Commencement of hostil- ities at Duck Lake. Apiil 2. Massacre at Frog Lake. April 14. Fort Pitt abandoned. April 24. Engai^ement at Fish Creek. M ly 12. Battle of Batoche and defeat of ^e rebels. Ma\ 26. Surrender of Poundmaker. July i Termination of the fishery clauses of the Washington Treaty by the United States. July 2. Capture of Big Bear, and final suppression of the rebellion. Total loss of militia and volunteers under fire, killed, 38; wounded, 115. The rebel loss could not be ascertained. November 7. Driving of the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway. 1886. May 4. Opening of the Indian and Colonial Exhibition in London. June 13. Town of Vancouver totally des- troyed by fire — four houses left standing, fifty lives lost. First through train left Montreal for Vancouver. First Canadian Cardinal — Archbishop Taschereau. 1887. Inter-Provincial Conference held at Quebec. At this Conference Sir Oliver Mowat was President. Twenty-one fundamental resolutions were passed— one declaring in favour of unrestricted reciprocity in trade with the United States. April 4. Important Conference in London between representatives of the principal Colonies and the Imperial Government — Canada represented by Sir Alexander Campbell and Mr. Sandford Fleming. June 14. First C.P.R. Steamship arrived at Vancouver from Yokahama. November 15. Meeting of the Fisheries Commission at Washington. 1888. February 15. Signingof the Fishery Treaty at Washington. Rejected in August following by the United States Senate. i88g. September 19. Landslide (second) from Citadel Rock, Quebec — forty-five persons killed. Boundaries of Ontario confirmed by Imperial Statute. i8go. May 6. Longue Pointe Lunatic Asylum, near Montreal, destroyed by fire — over seventy lives lost. The buildings had been erected at a cost of $1,132,232. October 6. McKinley Tariff Bill came into operation in the United States. 1891. April 6. Population of the Dominion 4,833,239. Power given by Parliament to the Government to refer to the Supreme Court of Canada for its opinion important questions of law or fact touching provincial legislation or the appellate jurisdiction as to education and any other matters. April 29. The first of the new C.P.R. steamers arrived at Vancouver from • Yokahama, beating the record by over two days. The mails were landed in Montreal three days and seventeen hours from Vancouver. June 6. The Right Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald, G.C.B., Premier of the Dominion, died. 1892. April 17. Death of the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie. May 24. Death of Sir Alexander Campbell, Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. September 28. Legislative Council of New Brunswick abolished. December 5. Resignation (from ill-health) of Sir J. J. C. Abbott, K.C.M.G., Pre- mier of the Dominion. Sir John S. D. Thompson called upon to form a govern- ment. 1893. Legislative Council and Assembly of Prince Edward Island merged into one body. April 4. The Court of Arbitration, respect- ing the seal fisheries in Behring Sea, which met formally on 23rd March, be- gan its session. Arbitrators : Baron de Courcel (Belgium), Lord Hannen (Great Britain), Sir John Thompson (Canada), 44 CANADA: AN ENCYCLOPEDIA. I 1 } ||i John M. Harlan and J. P. Morgan (United States), Marquess Visconti Venosta (Italy), and M. Gram (Norway and Sweden). October 30. Death of the Hon. Sir J. J. C. Abbott. June 8. First Steamer of the new Australia- Canada line arrived at Victoria, B.C. The title " Honourable," as conferred by the Queen in the Duke of Buckingham's despatch, No. 164, of 24th July, 1868, explained by Lord Ripon as extending to all parts of Her Majesty's dominions. See Official Gazette (Cc.iada), August 5th, 1893. 1894. June 28. Opening at Ottawa of the Colon- ial Conference to discuss matters of interest to the Empire. The Imperial Government, New South Wales, Cape Colony, New Zealand, Victoria, Queens- land, and Canada represented. July 23. Canadian re-adjusted Customs Tariff assented to by Governor-General. December 12. Death of Right Honourable Sir John Thompson in Windsor Castle. December 13. Sir Mackenzie Bowell called on to form a Cabinet. December 14. Funeral service in London for Sir John Thompson. December 20. Franco-Canadian treaty passed the French Senate. 1895. January i. H.M.S. Blenheim, with Sir John Thompson's remains, arrived in Halifax. January 79. Imperial Privy Council de- f live.ed judgment in the Manitaba School "/ Case appeal. April 4. Canada-Newfoundland Confedera- tion Conference opens. April 24. Report of the Royal Commission on the liquor trafRc submitted to the House of Commons. April 30. Sir Henry Tyler, President of the Grand Trunk Railway, resigned. May 10. Sir Charles Rivers- Wilson elected President oftheG.T.R. May 15. Deadlock in Newfoundland con- federation negotiations. Royal Society met in Ottawa. May 22. Manitoba School Question Con- ference at Ottawa. May 29. Principal Peterson appointed to McGill University. June 6. Sir John Macdonald Memorial un- veiled at Montreal. June 13. Manitoba refused to obey the Remedial Order. July I. Sir John Macdonald Monument, Ottawa, unveiled. July 7. Cabinet crisis at Ottawa. July II. Announcement of the Hon. A. R Angers' resignation from Dominion Cabinet. End of crisis. July 20. Private Hayhurst, Canadian Bisley team, won Queen's prize. July 25. Lundy's Lane Memorial unveiled at Drummondville. September 9. Opening of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal. September 25. Chrysler's Farm Monument unveiled. September 27. B. C. Sealers ask for arbi< tration re Behring Sea claims. October 23. Macdonald monument at Kingston, unveiled. October 26. Unveiling of monument to heroes of 1812, at Chateauguay. November 25. Copyright Conference at Ottawa successful. Hall Caine ban- quetted at Ottawa. u a PQ D o» O > Q < Q < H U a H O I > i1: THE ORIGIN OF THE FRENCH CANADIANS BY DENJAMIN SULTE. F.R.S.C. WHAT part of France did the French- Canadians come from ? How did they acquire their present form of language? From whence did they receive their present characteristics ? Why are not some of the different "patois" spoken in France heard here ? I intend to try and explain the transformation of a certain number of French people into settlers upon the St. Lawrence during the 17th century and from this to trace the origin of the present French-Canadian popu- lation. Acadia was peopled without any kind of or- ganization between 1636 and 1670 or thereabouts, No one has yet satisfactorily demonstrated where tlie Ficnch of that colony came from, though their dialect would indicate their place of origin to be in the neighbourhood of the mouth of the River Loire. They are distinct from the French- Canadians in some particulars and not allied by marriage with the settlers on the St. Lawrence. Brittany never traded with Canada or New France, as it then was, except that, from 1535 to 1600, some of the Malo navigators used to visit the lower St. Lawrence and barter with the Indians, but there were no European settlers in the whole of the pretended New France. After- wards the regimfe of the fur companies, which extended from 1608 to 1632, was rather adverse to colonization and we know by Champlain's writings that no resident, no habiiant, tilled the soil during that quarter of a century. The men who were employed at Quebec and elsewhere by the companies all belonged to Normandy, and, after 1632, twelve or fifteen of them married the daughters of the other Normans recently arrived, and became permanent settlers. Brittany remain- ed in the background after, as well as before 1632. This is confirmed by an examination of the par- ish registers of Quebec, in which seven or eight Bretons only can be found during the 17th century. The trade of Canada remained in the hands of the Dieppe and Rouen merchants from 1633 until 1663. It consisted solely of fish and fur, especially the latter. Therefore, any man of these localities who wished to go to Canada to settle there was admitted on the strength of the Charter of the Hundred Partners who were nominally bound to send in people brought up to farming in order to cultivate the soil of the colony, but who did nothing of the kind except transport- ing certain emigrants who sought of their own volition to go. There is even indication that the transport was not free. The other seaports of France, having no connection with Canada before 1662, five or six families only came from those ports. The little colony at Montreal, which came from Anjou, subsequent to 1640, differed little in char- acter from the others, except that its members had not been brought up to till the soil and there were no women among them. A number, there- fore, married the daughters of the earlier Norman settlers. This helped to preserve the uniformity of the language and general habits of the people. Had the Company of Rouen and Dieppe mer- chants continued to control the trade of the colony, it is certain that the development of the agricultural population, slow as it had been from the beginning, would have been altogsther on Norman lines. But in 1662 another influence made its presence felt in Canada. A small flow of immigrants, men and women, set in from the country parts around Rochelle and from the Pro- vince of Poitou. These were, year by year, as they came out, merged amongst older colonists, assuming their habits and forms of speech. 47 48 CANADA: AN ENCYCLOP/EDIA. When the business of the Hundred Partners collapsed about 1660, Paris and Rochelle came in for a certain share of interest as they were the creditors of the expiring company, and soon we notice additional immigrants arriving from the neighbouring country places of those two cities. These settlers (i633b3) came as a rule individu- ally or in little groups of three or four families related to each other, as many immigrants from various countries do at the present day. From an examination of family and other archives ex- tending now over thirty years of labour I make the deduction that Perche, Normandy, Beauce, Picardy, and Aiijou (they are given in their order of merit) contributed about two hun- dred families from 1633 to 1663, the period of the Hundred Partners' regim^. By natural growth these settlers reached the figure of 2,200 souls in 1663. In this latter year theri came about one hundred men from Perche and one hundred and fifty from Poitou, Rochelle and Gascony, with a small number of women. This opened a new phase in the history of our im- migration by introducing Poitou and Rochelle amongst the people of the northern and western provinces of France who already counted two generations in the three districts of Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal. After 1665, the city of Paris, or rather the small territory encircling it, contributed a good share. The whole of the south and east of France had no connection with Canada at any time. Normandy, Perche, Maine, Anjou, Touraine, Poitou, Saintonge, Angoumois, Guienne, and Gascony — on a straight line from north to south — furnished the whole of the fami- lies now composing the French-Canadian people. From 1667 till 1673 a Committee was active in Paris, Rouen, and Rochelle, recruiting men, women and young girls, for Canada. This Committee succeeded in effecting the immigra- tion into Canada of about 4,000 souls. Half of the girls were from country places in Normandy, and the other half were well educated persons, who did not go into rural districts, but married in Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal. Since these people were brought to Canada by the organized efforts of a Committee we might expect to find some detailed record of their arrival and origin, but as yet no such information is known to exist. We are merely told by contemporary writers of that period how many arrived at such and such date, and the port of embarkation. Happily the Church registers, notarial deeds, papers of the Courts of Justice, and several classes of public documents show abundantly the places of origin of those who actually established their families here. In 1673 the King stopped all emigration, and this was the end of French attempts to colonize Canada. The settlers, of course, remained as they were, and in 1680 the whole population amounted only to 9,700 souls. Double this figure every thirty years and we have the present French population of the Province of Quebec, Ontario, and that of the groups now established in the United States. The bulk of the men who came during 1633-1673 were from rural districts, and took land immediately on their arrival here. It is noticeable that a large number of them had, be- sides, a trade of their own, such as carpenter, cooper, blacksmith, etc., so that a small com- munity of twenty families possessed between themselves all the requirements of that kind which were needed. No land was given to those who did not show qualification for agricultural pur- suits, but they were placed for three years in the hands of an old farmer before the title of any pro- perty was signed in their favour. Discharged soldiers from the Carignan Regi- ment, in 1670-1673, together with many of the men from Poitou and Rochelle, who came out single, married the daughters of the previously settled Normans. This accounts for the marked absence at the present time throughout the French speaking communities of Canada of any but the Norman accent and forms of speech. All other accents have been overcome by that of the Nor- man mothers, and while it is true that the number of immigrants coming between 1662 and 1674 far exceed those of the earlier period, yet those first settlers, through their conservative powers and clannish tenacity, could not be overcome by the influx ot numbers, but became, on the contrary, the conquerors, and that too in a very short space of time. After 1674 few, if any, immigrants settled on the banks of the St. Lawrence. There were at most not more than thirty or forty a year, which were CANADA: AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 49 absorbed in the same manner into the general population. The wars which prevailed from 1634 to 1713 depleted this annual immigration, so that the census of 1631 is taken as the basis for all French Canadian genealogical computation even up to our own time. In regard to troops disbanded in Canada at various dates much misunderstanding exists. The real facts are that before 1663 there were no soldiers, therefore no disbandment, and from 1665 to 1673 a few isolated cases only. The Regiment of Caiignan came to Canada in 1665 and left in 1669, with the exception of one company, which eventually was disbanded here, and from 1673 to - 1753 the garrisons of Canada consisted as a rule of about three hundred men in all, under an In- fantry Captain, sometimes called the Major when no longer young. Besides that "detachment," as it was styled, an addition of six or seven com- panies was sent to the Colony during the years 1684-1713, on account of the war. From 1753 to 1760 the regiments sent under Dieskau and Mont- calm (Seven Years' War) do not seem to have left any number of men in the country. Therefore, the " military element " had very little to do with the formation of our French population. I desire now to deal with La Hontan, a writer upon whom succeeding historians based their assertions as to the questionable character of many of the emigrants who were sent out by the Home Government. La Hontan, who came to Canada in 1684, wrote home to his friends describ- ing the country and his experiences. These letters were collected and afterwards published in book form. In some of these letters he describes the marrying scenes of newly arrived girl immigrants and other spicy matters which never took place, and as it is that kind of reading that takes the eye and remains longest in the popular mind, this letter is the one most quoted. Now, La Hontan ill many of his epistles describes most accurately what occurred before his eyes, but this particular letter is so untruthful that there is little doubt that it was never written by La Hontan, especi- ally as many of the incidents therein referred to indicate the scenes as having occurred in the West Indies. The statements, too, from other sources, that Canada was peopled by discharged prisoners is manifestly untrue, for the Supreme Council of Canada exercised the greatest care in the selection of settlers, and the whole details of the case re- ferred to are found noted in the deliberations and correspondence of the Council. Such items as — "two needle makers having come out with the last party of immigrants are not desirable settlers," are constantly to be found. On the subject of that uniformity of language which is so remarkable amongst the French- Canadians I may observe that it is the best language spoken from Rochelle to Paris and Tours, and from there to Rouen. Writers of the 17th century have expressed the opinion that French-Canadians could understand a dramatic play as well as the elite of Paris. No wonder to us, since we know that theatricals were common occurrences in Canada and that The Cid of Cor- neiile was played in Quebec in 1645, The Tartiiffe of Moliere in 1677, and so on. The taste of music and the love for songs are characteristics of the French-Canadian race. The facility with which it learns foreign languages is well known in Canada, where many speak Indian, Spanish, and English as well as their own tongue. There now remains to be considered only the question of the half-breeds, with regard to which there need be little doubt, for the civil as well as the religious authorities were strongly opposed to inter-marriages with the Indians. Then, too there exists at the present day such a complete record of the genealogy of each family, showing clearly that rarely did such marriages take place. Of course those who removed to the North-West are not taken into account when speaking of mixed marriages, because, far from forming part of the French-Canadian population, they were apparently lost to it at the time of migration, as are those who have since gone to the States. In this brief glance at the origin of the French- Canadians nothing has been said of Scotch, Eng- lish, and Irish elements which have been in many cases absorbei'> by the original Norman stock and have become part of the race, but on the other hand Indian half-breeds of all periods are looked upon as distinct in race from the white population. The conclusion which I have arrived at is that the French- Canadian type is Norman, whether its origin be pure Norman, mi.xed Nor- man, Gascon, or French-English. so CANADA: AN ENCYCLOP.^.DIA. II. 1 ' i: I ' The Fur-Trade Companies held an Important place in the history of Canada, and their annals would furnish a prolonged survey of adventurous trading, interesting discoveries, perilous positions, painful hardships, and brave actions. This state- ment of course applies chiefly to the individuals who obtained the furs and sl