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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. y errata id to nt rie pelure, iqon d 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 6 s A (iU EMURA * IN joi; THE SETTLERS NEW HOME OR i,« THE EMIGRANT'S LOCATION, IJEING A GUIDK TO EMIGRANTS IN THE SELECTION OF A SETTLEME-NT, AND THE PRELIMINARY DETAILS OP THE YOyAfJE. M iiy SIDNEY SMITH. BRXTZSK ABIERXCA,-CANADA s EMBRACING NOVA SCOTIA, NEW BRUNSWICK, CAPE BRETON, PRINCE EDWARD'S ISLAND, KASTERN CANADA, WESTERN CANADA. ^ TKX: UNITED STATSS : INCLl'UING NEW ENCLAND, THE WESTERN STATES, THE SMTE STATES, TEXAS, CALIFORNIA, HUDSON'S BAY SETTLEMENTS, COMPREHENDING OREGON, AND VAN COUVER'S ISLAND. ♦'-'■ ■* '♦'*: LONDON: JOHN KENDRICK, 4, CHARLOTTE ROW, MANSION HOUSE, 1849. t i COMPANION;^ FOll THE VOYAGE, THE HUT, AND THE ETlA^i HOUSE. The Emigrant may he removed from society without being deprii^ed o companiotis. Even if ho sequesters himself from the company of ih living ^ he may have on the lonely ocean, the distant prairie ^ or iii th solitary toood, communion with those who never die. The mind, for wan. of a better social circle, Jias been glad in the sea calm, or at the catth station, to pore over a series of old almanacks. Before it be too late wc would warn emigrants to provide against solittide by securing to them- selves the intercours'! of books, of which the best happen also to be Hi- cheapest. In the colonies they will alicays sell for double what they coy. in the mother country, while the purchaser has had the use of them into tin- bargain. To supply this desideratum ive have requested our p^'^^blisher t- select a list of books from his stock suitable for settlers, and to append their prices. These will be found at the. end of the volume. r U K F A C E . ^1 tiikfra.m: ng (Jeprivca o ompany of tl \iriey or in tli mind, for wan: r at the catth it be too lak mring to them- also to be tlo what they coy oj them into Ihi ir jmhlisher / to append their It is not iinniiisoimbly nitule a charge ai^ainst political ecouomi^i^s, that they are not agrcod as to their objects, and that they are singularly in- definite in the application of their j)rincii)leii. They aim at an arith- metical exactitude which is not coniiiatiblo with a due considerition of the disturbing causes which must invalidate their calculations; or else they exclude from the operation of the science, moral and political influences, \vithoutthe consideration of which it is of little practical value. Some keep in viewsolely the /?rot/wc 1)0 cstiiiiutcil iiu'o sheet, or or happiiie.ss ther country We do not overnniunt of i'oods we sell se halt' a mil- proved that it ral kiuLjdoin, United States itish crown, — us ten times t they are ton lilo they were jcted and fos- Anglo-Saxon lorn of Chat- pro vinees the nment, which ! spirit, indi- w have been id might still ival in com- antayouist in lut iij) every cture for tlie -!l)endency of ieh, while it a market for nt li-ast .{'"2'), (»()(), o;)() \vorth (jf m.iMut;u'tiir(!s/)er mumm. What, indeed, i.s it that has niado and ((intl'iues tho yreatnoss of the United JSfutes, ex- cept that, spcakiu;;- our lai:guage, adopting- our institutions, assimilating our juri.^pnuk'nco, Ibrmiiig; her pid)lic oi)inion upon our litoi-aturo, oui poo])lo make her, in fact, the chl(!f of our colonies, by annually migrating to and subduing her wastes, — adding to her ca])ital, executing her pub- lic works, and feeding her labour market with supplies, and her navy with sailois, v.ithout which she would make but small appreciable pro- gress. What is it that makes Canada a burden upon rather than an aid to the imjiorial treasury, but the two-fold fact that tho United States are not now a liritish Colony, but a " sympathiser" with the discontents of cur subjects, and that we have too long withheld from o(n' Acadian possessions those powers of self-government to the want of which alono CUV colonial governors attribute their inferiority to the neighbouring republic. Tf we had not taken ])osscssion of the Cape, Natal, New Zealand, Aus- ralia, Van Diomen's Land, of Ceylon, the Mauritius, they must have been seized by other potentates, and could never have become places for the settlement of British subjects. We would thereby have lost these outlets for our redundant pojmlation, our surplus labour, or our snper- iluous energy. If our people had located themselves in these districts, the common obligation under which every country rests to protect its owti subjects, would render it imperative on us to defend :bem in their pos- sessions, — just as we send out fleets to protect our con^ nerce, and to con- \oy our shii)ping. If we turn them adrift, because, on a calculation of mere arithmetical profit and loss, they arc found to be chargeable to us, we must maintain them in their independence until they are able to pro- tect themselves, and when they can do that, they would cease to be a burden on our finances, even if they were continued among tho number of our dependences. There is not a colony we possess that could maintain its own independence against 10,000 European troops for a month after we had abandoned its sovereignty; and as a mere common sense proposition it is obvious, that whatever expense our interference might incur, we could not stand by and see even a minority of our fellow countrymen conquered ^and subjected to the dictation of a foreign power. Cromwell, at a cost VI ritliFACB. 4 of millions, vindicatod the ri^^hts of a single British suhject. Wherever an Knglisinan goes, there the majesty of FiiLjland must be with him Wo recognize the duty of spending millions upon the mitigation of Irish distress; we pay six millions every year to feed and elo^^he 1,!J( )(),()()() En- glish ]jaiii>ors who are totally unproductive. fShiill we achnit our obliga- tion to sui)p()rt domestic beggary, and deny the duty of encouraging the efforts of the entiu'prising, (Miergetic and industrious, to maintain them- selves, subdiu) the wilderness, extend our empire, and increase the ])ro ductiveness of our dominions ? In short, shall our })fiupers alon(; have claims upon us, while our colonists are to ho deserted? Two hundred and sixty thousand of us expatriate ourselves every year, to mako room for others at home, to he no longer a burden upon us ; to help us, it may b(i, to more employment in their customs, in their shipping, in their ex- ports and imports. IJow much gi'eater would be our distress and com- petition, our ])auperism, if these remained in the mother country The question of colonization is indeed a very distinct one from that of our existing management of our colonies. Give to each of them an independent government, and a domestic legislature, owning only like our own, the common sovereignty of the IJritish crown. Why pay governors, and deputy go verriors, bishops and judges? May colonists not have their own president, and vice i)resi(lent ? their own religious instructors ? their own judges and jurisprudence? If they cannot all at once pay their own cxpences, help them until they can, as we do many of our own provincial domestic institutions. The Home Office does not rule the Irish Unions because it helps them to a grant, or a rate in aid. It does not preside in the town council of Edinburgh, because it pays half the debts of the munici- pality. Neither is it right to keep colonies in the leading strings of Earl Grey and Mr. Ilawes, because they are comp<'lled to (reep before they can walk. There is scarcely ever a private comnu'i-cial enterprise that is self- supporthig at the first. The ctiiiitalist must long lie out of interest before he can look for roturns,~and .so must a nation. JUit the sooner colonies are endowed with sr will tliey be self-supporting. liut is it so certain that even undtu" the existing vicious system, our colonies are even a pecuniary loss to us? The wealth of the Indies is ^aved to bo spent in England. The West India trade and fleet, tlic New P Zealand ; and ship maritime Cut us ot Lombard the Clyt richer tli in the wo does she fertility ( ceasing e of the aj distinunii fosters tl our char and em us, whetl foreign s Eitlier w more by railways, governm losing b; of its su or interc Trade and shij brought foundati at the I mangani criminal depende to Singa Do we l'RKI'A(?i:. vil Wliorovor with him m of Irish ►I ),()(){) Kn- ur ohligii- iiin thom- thc j)ro loiio liavo ) hundred liikc room us, it may 1 their ex- and coin- m that of them an ily like our jijovcrnors, have their ors? their their own provincial ish Unions preside in ic munici- gs of Earl •e they can hat is self- rest befoi'o ar colonies ipportinj^. r^stem, our e Indies is , the New Zealand and Australian and Canadian timlxn*, and wool, and minerals, nnd shipi)intf, and Hax, and talh)W, and oil, are they m)thin<; to our maritime interests, our merchants, and bankert^, and manufacturers? Cut us of!* frf)m all these, and where would be Leadcnhall Street, and Lombard Street, and Broad Street ; Liverpool, and Bristol, JNIanchester, the Clydt;, and the Thames? Compared with the population, Holland is richer than England. Yet what is Batavia politically, socially, morally, in the worlds eye, to the leading pow(!r of Europe, — and to what account does she turn her capital ? But for the clastic enttirprise, the inventive fertility of mercantile resources, the restless spirit of adventure, the un- ceasing energy of speculation which bear us onward under tiie inspiration of the aphorism, "never venture, never win," what would there be to distintruish England from Germany, or Spain, or Italy ? And what fosttirs tliat sentiment of universality and grandeur of endeavour which is our characteristic, if it be not the extension of our name, race, language, and empire over the world ? It is of no consequence arithmetically to us, whether a great number of private capitalists sustain heavy losses by foreign speculation, or the amount be taken from the public treasury. Eitlier way it is a deduction from the national wealth. We have lost far more by United States' banks and stocks, by Spanish Bonds, by foreign railways, and continental ventures, than the whole cost of our colonial government. Yet u{)on the whole we gain by the world in place of losing by it; the state must not make itself the judge of the enterprise of it.3 subjects, and it must follow and help them wherever their energy or interest lead them. Trade begets trade. In searcihing for one adventure, our supercargoes and ship-captains tind out another. A single cargo of a strange article, brought home in desperation lor want of other freight, often lays the foundation of an enormous branch of new commerce. We fish for whales at the Bay of I.slands, and find out flax, and gum, and ship-spars, and manganese at Wellington and Auckland. Wo begin by banishing our criminals to Australia and Van Diemen's Land, and end by becoming in- dependent of Saxony for wool, and by finding coal to carry our steamers to Singapore, and Jiombay, and the Cape, as a halfway house to Europe. I)o we owe nothing to posterity ? Is our money of no use to manlund, ';! v viU rUlil'AC^B. but to 1)0 ktrjit ill the moimy ha^s .' Art! wo Imh'Ii only for ourscIvcK ? yimll wo 1)0 cullctl tli(^ foremost men in jill tlio worhl, and ulation feek trade whh dang to find CO ('(•pt in En LoiKltin 4,t The nil anuouncei; dei)ressior pension o; and farm This is tl getUers. colonv, t in price, advantage seeking » favourahl Cn land ^ pheap, ai cultural cheap ra Clid ten is a cin capital is to better The 1 through importa; I'UF-PArK. ix ursolvos ? tliiji^/r*r jctit'v Hiid Ynar ])y ,' l)()J»ultl- f wo k(M?p Kvit.s." A Uoiiodick poimlat'mn, nut\ iill but. Eimlish niin. Tfwc lind ?io tuxes, wo miut still ft i|< triidc, customers, ell»)\v-ro()iii, and j'liiploymeiil. And we repjMit, Willi diiuj^ci'ous eominercial rivals, and distracted l-hii-ope, wliei'c; aro we to llud coiisiiiiiers, outlet, and ]>n)visioii for our increasing nuniburcj, ox- c'(l)t iu Kuui^ration and iu Colunies? Lontlon, /\^l^•lls^, ISl'J, 4, Charlntto K(»w. not, "pet ) oneruizo I, let the need new our over- m. every year stom. To trate con- ive robbed m ductors of hich they s is to be important of estab- subject of iuce to its recent and always be sources of le strictest under tlie undertake If that pardoned f to invent I in the nov heaven and hope," so nigh" in - ** they hav a heaven, i inferior bi are to sps pointed he heaven of Spitalfieldi window-be prairie flo starving p( never owi whose ove nightmare a broken his own A out a lice and see c dustrious profession j»etition o life in th< compelled unsuited i or insolve oppressive or of go^ America, in indepe the thral( keep up nothing,'' my li^e ; I employm tlie surpl INTRODUCTION. 11 [11 If that which is true cannot be profane, Voltaire may almost be pardoned for the sentiment, "If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him." "Man never is, but always to be blest ;" he cannot live in the now and the here ; he must fill the heart's aching void with a heaven and a hereafter. So little to the meditative " in this life only is there hope," so soon to the reflective and spiritual do "the evil days draw nigh" in which they are constrained to say in weariness of very life, " they have no pleasure in them;" that vdthout the assurance of a God, a heaven, and immortality, earth would be but one vast bedlam. In an inferior but analogous sense what immortality is to time, foreign lands are to space. Colonies are " the world beyond the gi'ave " of disap- pointed hopes. The antipodes are the terrestrial future, the sublunary lieaven of the unsuccessful and the dissatisfied. The weaver in his Spitalfields garret who tries to rusticate his fancy by mignionette in his window-box, and bees in the eaves, bathes his parched soul in visions of prairie flowers, and a woodbine cabin beside Arcadian cataracts. The starving peasant whose very cottage is his master's, who tills what he can never own, who poaches by stealth to keep famine from his door, and whose overlaboured day cannot save his hard-earned sleep from the nightmare of the workhouse, would often become desperate, a lunatic, or a broken man, but for the hope that he may one day plant his foot on his own American freehold, plough his own land, pursue the chase with- out a license through the plains of Illinois or the forests of Michigan, and see certain independence before himself and his children. The in- dustrious tradesman, meritorious merchant, or skilful and enlightened professional man, jerked perhaps by the mere chance of the war of com- I»etition out of his parallelogi'am, and exhausting his strength and very life in the vain struggle to get back again into a position already filled ; compelled by the tyranny of social convention to maintain appearances unsuited to the state of his purse ; plundered by bankrupt competitors or insolvent customers, and stripped of his substance by high prices and oppressive taxation, would often become the dangerous enemy of society or of government, but for the consideration that, in South Africa, in America, in Australia, or New Zealand, he may find repose from anxiety in independence, rude and rough though it may be, emancipation from the thraldom of convention, and an immunity from any compulsion to keep up appearances, and to seem to be what he is not. " I care nothing," said the French king, "for these clubs, plots, attempts upon my li^e ; but I have thirty-four millions of restless spirits to find food and empl(»yment for, and I have no colonies." The redundant enterprise ; tlie surplus energy: the fermenting spirit of adventure with which the 3 m f 111: \ SI a. m 1: \ »'^ J INTRODUCTION. )uld, like the fimire of sin In population of tlioso kingdoms tocnis, Milton, have long since turned inwan but lor the "ample scope and verge enough" it finds in the romantic lif(i of our sailors, or the trials, perils, hopes and fortunes of emigration. "Ships and colonies," the time-honoured toast of monopolists, havtt stopped many an etneute, and saved many a rehellion. We are not sure . that they have not more than once averted a revolution. Hampden, | Pym, and Cromwell, turned back by a king's warrant i'rom the emigrant i ship in which they had already embarked, remained to decapitate th(!ir [ sovereign, and estahlish a commonwealth. The nnsettled boil oft' their gu])crfluous mischief in the prospect of a fixed home in the bush or the backwoods; the discontented find comfort and rest in the conviction that "there is another and a better world" in the genial south, or the re- gion of the setting sun. It is always in oui seasons of greatest com- mercial distress and social privation that the largest export of emigrants takes place. The misery and disaffection which otherwise would make tht^mselves formidable to constituted authority, hive off' into the repose of peregrine settlements, and, sluicing themselves into new channels, save the overflow of the parent stream. The wandering Arab, the vagrant gipsy, the restless discoverer and circumnavigator, the pioneer of the backwoods, who no sooner has civi- lized the forest and the prairie, by the plough, and the enclosure, and liuman habitations, than he disposes of his home, and hews out for him- self further and still further removed from man, and settled society, a new resting place in the remote wf ods, these are all but types of an instinct and rooted tendency in human character, which, if it do not find its natural outlet in colonial settlements and naval enterprise, will invent the occupation it cannot find, in disturbing the peace and interrnpting the order of our domestic social fabric. If we do not make war upon the forest we will make war upon mankind ; if we do not subdue the wilder- ness, we will conquer one another. It is in vain that we call upon the governing power to em])loy our people at home, and to reclaim our own \. aste lands rather than send our necessitous al)road. Few colonists leave their country without the mixed motive of necessity and inclination. The love of the romance of adventure is strong in many of the rudest and apparently least imaginative minds. There is an instinct of vagabondism, go to speak, in many otherwise well -regulated intellects, which must find its vent in wandering over the face of the earth. The drudgery, the want of elbow room, the absence of property in the soil one tills, rob a holding on the moor of Scotland, or the bogs of Ireland, of everything which can satisfy the activity and energy of the men whose tendencies present the best materials for colonization. And whatever may be the interest of the government or of the settled community in this regard, it partakes somewhat of mere sentimental cant to pity the hard necessity which drives the poor from misery at home, to colonial independence, and de- ])i ives the peasantry of the privilege of starving in their native parish . that they may leaven the primeval curse with its promise of daily bread, in the abundance of a foreign location. Let this sentiment be examined by the manly common sense of the wimtry, not whined over by its Pecksniffs, and made the hobby horse of antiquated t;ailor, inch lianle to ex cch^sary he j whole civil I.i'one, Cal and the ])i' inunincnt chant who new cIkuhk any proper tlu'rs to tin lord who p llic woods the real in their care. niisnianag( their folly ( at the bottc orders of i which all < tives and t all its ston ot" oui'-poc lodging fo tlie eleem< the deprec Out of th imperial t ignorance, u man cai himself r< of occupa his own f{ well as tl: as to the are not w This is 1 Lubberla I ''Come c \ cuhn, ar to go int( I meadow I us all; n cross bel Chancell a consci( mc!ntal \ ness a m ^utimei INTRODUCTION. s parent, roinanlic [ igration. ■ !Jts, liave I not sure j ampden, ' emigraiir, | ato th(!ir f offtlioir sh or tlie tion that r the re- est coiii- mij[^rants lid make le repose lels, save erer and has civi- iiire, and for him- ty, a new I instinct ; find its nvent the )ting the ipon tlio 3 wilder- iipon the our own ists leave on. The iest and )ondiism, >t find its lie want holdin;^ g- whieii present terest of partakes f which and de- parish , y bread, ; of the horse of '1 antiquated prejudice, and sentimental hum1)U|^. Every soldier, every siiilor, includiufj^ memhers of the highest and richest classes of society, is liai)le to exi)atriatioii at any time the duties of the ser\ice render it ne- cessary he should go on a foreign station or on a lengtliened cruise, Tho wliolf! civil ofHccrs of our colonies, embracing- Hudson's Hay and iSievra T-cone, Calcutta and Jamaica, sustain a virtual banishment fiom home, and the ])erils of the most rigorous climates, added, in many cases, to ininiincnt danger iVom the barbai'ity of savage aborig:ines. The mer- cliiuit who sends his sons abroad to otabllsh foreign houses, and o])('n up new chann(!ls of commerce, is driven to that necessity by tho absence of any proper t>])e!iin,L'; Ibr them at home. The squire wlu) exi)orts his bro- thers to tho East Indies, i)rovidcd with a cadetshi]), or a writership, tiio lord who places his relatives at the head of a colony of tenants, to fell llio woods of Canada or pasture the })iains of Australia, are consulting the real interests, not only of the moth( r country, but of the objects of their care. It is not the rulers who misgovern us, or the legislators who mismanage our affairs, upon whom are made to fall the consequences of their folly or corruption. It is the industry and labour of the country which, at the bottom, have to sustain the whole burden of maintaining all the other orders of society. It is the working classes who produce every thing by which all others profit, or are sustained in their position. The opera- tiies and the peasantry are the real honey bees to whom the hive owes all its stores; they ultimately make tho wealth by which the £10,000,000 of oui'' poor-rates are found, they sustain the buiden of fhiding food and lodging for the 81,000 Irish vagrants who even noAv cast themselves on tlie eleemosynary compassion of the metropolis. Upon their wages fall the depreciation produced by the competition of a redundant po])ulation. Out of their ten fingers, sweat and muscle, must be ground the local and imperial taxes, wasted in the prosecution of crime, caused by want or ignorance, or the abandonment of children by tluur parents. So long as a man can maintain himself and those for whose support he has mnde himself responsible, no one has a right to dictate to him either his mode of occupation or his locality of life. But when, eitiier by misfortune, or liis own fault, he has to call upon his fellow labourers to supjiort him as well as themselves, then he gives a title to society to say to him as w(!ll as to the soldier, the sailor, the sprig of quality, or the farmer, " You are not wanted here, go thon there where thou art wanted." This is not a dispensation of rose Mater and pink satin. Here is no Lubberland, wherein geese ready roasted, fiy into our mouths, quacking-, "Come eat me I" It is a hard, working-day, unideal world, full of foi-ge culm, and factory smoke. The millions of our towns and cities have to go into unwilling exile from hon(?ysuckle, swallow-twittering eaves and nuiadow scented air. The chief ruler among us is the hardest worker of us all; nor can one easily conceive of a life more approximating to a cross betwixt that of a gin-horse and the town-crier, than a Lord High Chancellor or a barristei- in full practice. Paley could not afl'ord to keep u conscience, and mankind cannot indulge in the luxury of mere senti- mental patriotism. Nostalgia is a most expensive disease; home sick- ness a most thriftless virtue; and the most elevated sentiment sinks into teutimentality when it is indulged at other people's cost. And when this b2 '4 I J I TNTRODUCTION. attachment to fiither-land beeomesmere "sorning" upon useful industry at the sacrifice of that manly independence without which the expatria- tion of the citizen would be the gain of the community, it ceases to com- mand respect or merit sympathy. It is a very small portion of the pop- ulation of any country which can consult their taste, or study the fancy of their more inclinations, either in the choice of an occupation, or the selection of their local habitation. LfiMst of all should those dictate to the toil worn but independent sons of labour the condition on which they shall sustain the burden of their subsistence. There are tens of thousands of the children of this country, who, either abandoned by or bereft of their parents, or worse still, taught to lie and steal, are let loose upon our streets, to find a living in begging or petty larceny. They have no home but the jail, the union, the peni- tentiary or the ragged school. Wliy should not society, in mercy to thions, many substi gress in civi diminished thwarting o years of pes the means ( poverty, as M>cial and s destruction scourges to the designs as \ irtnall}' rul)l)inghi5 1,277 mor( he laid his should fall speediest n interested i shaken to rational so perilled. consequcnl volcano; li head al)0V( seizes on n crowd of I the contesi It is tru long that ^ ten vears, ■very diffic scarcely e^' tion of dy labourer, census, w Almighty' course of the pincln year's end sure, losii peasant, \ of his rhe workhous coming a professior desert to olesbury St ill tlio 'upt, tlic Hio land lily, and Gpi(l and iftbnlinn; without ur witli- and the for the ;ion, but it is the al senti- I'e para- is better . ?" Ho istory of a neces- nflexiblo forth to :o a hard ribes and ivestward ipest, for has been latitat in forth to wild, he lade liini le length ervals of ave coii- vourin^'. rrived at the only ; because wo hun- or blue, ws, with MOTIVES FOR EMIGRATINO. 7 each others (»nrcases, seems to ])artake to so great an extent of Piirtrid;,a''s i'iivouiite elcinent of logic called a nan scqtiifur, that one cannot help Mispcdin*;- that battles arise ratlusr from the universal s])irit of puf^nacity, tlian from any solicitude to find out a more rational apoloj^y for them. Inva>ioiis, plai;ues, the snuill-))ox, famines, are still considered as so many substitutes for Malthus's prudential clujck to ])opulation. The j)io- pess in civilization, the improvements in science, which have so greatly diminished these sources of mortality, are regarded by the cynical as a thwarting of the tendencies of nature. They point to our thirty-three years of peace and its effects in intensifying the pressure of population on tlie means of subsistence, and the miseries of encreasing competition and poverty, as a proof that over civilization defeats its own end, and that social and scientific ])rogression contains within itself the seeds of its own destruction. They darkly hint at War, Pestilence, and rnmine, as scourges to the human race, which are as yet essential to the fulfilment of the designs of providence, and silently point to warriors and destroyers as virtually regenerators of mankind. And truly when a prime minister, rultbingliis di'owsy eyes, calls to mind, as he awakes each morning, that Ij'i?? more subjects of the sovereign that day require bread, than when he laid his head on his pillow the night before, it is not wonderful that he f^hould fall into antifpiated habits of philosophising upon the best and si)eediest means of getting rid of them. Nor can they themselves be less interested in the practical result of this enquiry. All Europe has be(!ii shaken to its very foundation by neglect of any endeavour to furnish a rational solution of the question. The very existence of civil society is perilled. Class is rising against class — crime is spreading with unerring consequcntiality upon the heels of misery; we repose at the moulh of a volcanoj like snakes in an Egyptian pitcher each struggles to rear his head above the rest for sheer air and breath; and a crowning selfishness seizes on us all, in the struggle to preserve ourselves from sinking in the crowd of competition for bare life, and from being trampled to death in the contest for existence. It is true we have still standing room in these islands, although how long that will be possible, with an increment of five millions in every ten years, and not a square inch increase of soil in a century, it is not very difficult, by the help of Cocker, to predicate. But that is not life - scarcely even vegetation — but a mere sickly and sluggish hesitative nega- tion of dying. The Spitalfields weaver, the pale artizan, the squalid labourer, the consumptive sempstress, classes that count millions in the census, what optimist of us all can venture to say that that is God Almighty's dispensation of the life of immortal creatures gifted with dis- course of reason ? Or the starved clerk, with the hungry children and the pinched wife, nailed to the desk of the dingy office from year's end to year's end — or the poor wretch that breaks highway mettle by the mea- s^ure, losing a meal by pausing a single hour, — or the spindle shanked peasant, paid in truck with tail wheat, and the very marrow drudged out of his rheumatic bones, until toil is ended by a premature old age in the workhouse — these are ceasing to be mere exceptions, and gradually be- coming a rule of our population. The tradesman, the merchant, the professional man, what one of all of these who reads these pages, can tell ' ii. '.'■-'■■ ( ■ ,. * .' : i; ■'■■ 1 1 * ' j 1 1 J ' .'1 > , 1, 1 ' . f ■ P 8 MOTIVES FOR BMIORATINO. any but onn liistory, that of contitmal aiixluty to sustain himsolf In his oxistin}^^ position— of a total inability to savo anythinj,^ for hi8 children or till! decline of lifo, of a war to maintain liis place aj^ainst the emToachinent of liis n(!i^^hhonr, a mote troublinL" his mind's eye with the spectre of jkis- .sible misfortune and contin^^ent d«!stitution. It was intended that we should toil to live, but never that wo shoidd live simply to toil ; yet mere work ! work ! work ! is literally the exclusive clement of our existence. l{(niss(!an's itrcfcrcnce of the savaj^e to the civilized state was not entirely Utopian. W the ])ride of our civilization would let us, a modest hesitancy miuht well whisp(!r the question, whether the Cossack, the Kahnuck, the New Zealander, tiu! Otaheitian, tiio Hottentot, or the JVortli American Indian, is in very many substantial respects in a state of less dif^nified humanity, or of less ample enjoyment of the rights and priviliges of sen- tient existence, than not a few of the mere drudges and scavengers of our toiling poj)ulation. "God made the country, man made the town," — and such a town ! Wherein a man ceases to bo a man, and is drilled and drummed into a machine of the very lowest mechanical function, upending a whole life in making a needle's eye, or exhausthig an existence ill putting tlie head upon a pin ! Look at that begrimed l)eer syphon a JJlackwall coal heaver, or his archetype the dustman, handling his "paint brush," in doing a bit of " fancy work round a corner" — or the handloom weaver throwing his -weary shuttle for eighteen hours a day, to charm the daily loaf into liis crumbless cupboard — or think of the pinched drudge " in populous city pent," who sees the sun only through the skylight of the dingy ofKce, and hears nothing of the fields but the blackbird in his wicker cage on the peg, and scents the morning air only of the fluent gutter, whose world boundary is the parish march, whoso soul is in his ledger, and whose mind is a mere mill for figure grinding — the slave of a dyspeptic luickster, and thirty shillings a week, whose, and whose child- ren's fate hangs upon the price of greengi'ocery and open ports — or call to mind the lodging-house maid of all work, or the cit's nursery gover- ness, or the trudging peasant, who is, indeed, in the country, but not of it, who cannot leave the high road for the open field without a trespat^s, or kill a hare without transportation, or eat the grain he sowed and rea])ed without a felony, or pluck fruit from a tree, or a flower from a shrub, without a petty larceny — or last of all picture the Irish cateran in a mud pigsty, without bad potatoes enough for a meal a day, dying of starvation wiiile exporting the very food he raised, and after that turned out of his only shed, and his children's sole shelter, into the nearest bog, there to find some ditch that will shield their naked skeletons of carcas(y from the wintry wind — think of these pictures, and compare with tlu lu that of nature's freeholders, that work only for themselves, and only when they have a mind, who are monarchs of all they survey, who fell the nearest tree when they want a fire, and shoot the fattest deer or spear the largest salmon when hunger bids them, to whom every soil is free, every fruit, seed and herb, belong for the gathering — every forest yields a house without rent or taxes, who never heard of a workhouse, and never saw a game certificate, and cannot conceive of a gaol or a gibbet — com- pare; these s J j for all of us conceivable pendence, e together in increment o that evil b( can boast c [that scarce with its cu intelligent artifii-ial m jiiiost sophi jistence in the least na sistence, lit only that e at home, bi to see the i France des ivery existe i<;uiTency ; hhousands, k'upboards Jnian who Jhe may ht eull his ov { MOTIVES rOR KMICiKATIXO. f In his 1(1 ion or icIinHiut ) of pos- thut NVd n^t rnero >;i!'M iq i.;,: I U; •! 10 MOTIVED FOR EM 1(1 RATI NO. least is inox]iiij(iiiil)l.y provider for. What aftcM- all is at tlin root of social «>xisU!nco and tiii^ liasis of limnati industry and tiioii^fht? Tlio cruvin^ maw tliat diily erics "(Jivo!" tlio riii|)ty stoinacli vvitii its tidal frvcr, punctual as tho rlook, whirii must l)n tilled <^1m) "chaos is conu? a^rjii,,." Jhit tliis, tli(^ imdiniinury condition of socicity, tlic fundamental [jostulutr of lifo its»flf, is almost ovcrltioki'd iiinctm;- us, and notliiuLC is perhaps Ie>:< S(M'iously rii^nirded than the iipi)allin^^ fact tluit t\venty-<»ne millions out, of twenty-ci^^ht of our ])oi)ul:ition, liavti liti-rally no more interest in or eonc(^rn witirtho soil, on whoso ])roduclions they depend for hare l)ein<,', than if they were dcni/ens of the arctic circle. Swee]> away th(! leathri- and prunelia of civilization, credit, a p)vernin(!nt, institutions, cxchan;;.' and harter, manufactures, and what would heeomo of the jMJople in tlii> artificiaJ cosmo;;-ony ? Neither iron, eojjper, coal, nor {,'old ; neitlh r cotton, bills of (ixchan!,^^, silk nor leather, neither law, medicine, nop theolotry, can do much to save them from a short shrill and a sixiedy end. JVo, j)lant a man on his own land, though it w(!ro a solitude ; shelter him hi his own house, thou-j^h it should he a lo;,'' hut; clothe hiru in self-produced intcjuuments, thou;;h they -wore the skin of the bear lin killed, of the deer he hunted, or the sliecp he tends; and what eontiii- geney can give him anxiety, or what prospect bond him down with caro ? " Poor and content, is rich, and rich ononf^h. Hut riclu's liiit'lcss arc us poor as winter To liini who ever teais ht; sliall l)e poor." Revolutions of empires, reverses of fortune, the continoeneies of com- merce, are for ever threatening- tho richest with poverty, the greatest with insignificance, the most comfortable with every physical desti- tution. At this very hour how many thousands are there who, hy revolution in France, or monetary crisis in England, after being racked with anxieties, have been prostrated in the most helpless destitution ! hi densely populated countries wliere the great l)ody of the people live tliu dependants on mere artificial contingencies, and destitute of any direct relation with the soil, half the mortality is traceable to a purely mentiil cause, the fear of falling out of the ranks of one's neighbours, of losing place, customers, or money, the dread of i)overty, or the terror of starva- tion. But in America it is rightly said that there are, projierly speakini;, no pour; no man dependant for life or happiness on any other nnin; none without a freehold, or the immediate access to one, which would amply supply lum and his with all that is truly essential to tlie due en- joyment of the glorious privilege of sentient existence on that beautiful earth which every day in sky and sea, in sunrise, meridian, and sunset, in cloud, and moon, and star, acts before us a succession of scenes t*: which all that wealth, power, or genius can add, is less than nothing and vanity. What are the hardshi]is of the backwoods to the corroding care? of the crowded city, or what the toils of the body to the anxieties of the mind ? To the man whose very constitution has become cockneyfied, who has long tiiken leave of nature, whose soul has become moulded in the arti- ficial and conventional ; to wliom Warren '.s l)lackinghas become a neces- sary of life; who cannot exist without hail of the newsman, or out of n'l'M of tho ibiou of the o Iccives how \n river <'oinpai cMhonitous V iiiid the (uirtl i)t the functi( tlic elements lel't about hii cws, his ten stand in tho to plough or ir!l OIKi's owi UDrld lit'e, w where he wa crer was his lie could neit !ind where, f >iiik or survi self assertion of an (Mnigru As hounds even ov«u'taii Russian horn his turn. 1) be in ])oliticj I d(!velopment ? thiit none of make our sh Railways an ised roads 1 without a m three hours are no longt chine. The rested by th another to f nor build, n nor grow w intellectual I interest, an( us, and ner tration of a I qiience. \^ gregarious offices of support oui protective. Every thin; I which is th MOTIVKS roil KM I ^ lions out rest ill or i'(5 boin-,', Iratlirr 'xchaii;^!' o ill tlii<. neitii( r cino, nor Jl S])(!(Miy solitiidi! ; othu hint bear ho it contiii- owu witii s of com- e greatest cal (lesti- who, by nj^' racked lit ion ! J II lo live the any direct !ly mental of losing of starvii- speakin^, her niiin; ieh woiiM le due eii- c beautiful nd sunset, r scenes to ithing" and [ling cares i :,ies of tlie , who has the arti- e a neces- or out of I si;;]it of the town clock ; whose traiuiiiillify !s dependent on the posaes- tiinu of the orthodox number of ])ots and kettles, and who scarcely con- reives how water can lie acces>ihl(f exeept it is " laid on " by the new river company, it may appear an un(on(pierai)Ie ditHciilty, and the most ealauiitous vicissr'^iuU^to be phiced at once ifj immediate contact with nature and the eartli, to Ua calhid on to use his bodily i'a ulties in the dischargo ot the functions for which they were origiiudly (h^.^i^nied, to make war on tlie el»!inents, and to providt5 for li- want.^. IJut to him who yet has left about him human instincts and mftoly intre]»i(|jh', his thews and sin- ews, his ten fingers, his hardy limits will W)on Hud tJuiir rljjht use. To stand in the midst of one's own acres, to lean on one's own door-post, to plough ov sow or r(!ap one's own fields; to tend one's own cattle ; to fell one's own trees, or gath(^r one's own fruits, after a mau has led an old world life, where not one thing in or about him ho could call his own ; wliere he was df^pendent on others for every thing; where the tax gath- erer was his perj)etiial visitant, and his customer his eternal tyrant; whero lie could neiliier move hand nor foot without help that must be ])ai(l for, and wher(% from hour to hour, he could never tell whetlwr he should .sink or survive, if there be in him the soul of manhood and the spirit of self assertion and liberty, it cannot be but tliat to such a one the destiny of an emigrant must, on the whole, be a bhissing. As hounds and horses may be '' overbroke," and wild beasts have been even ovMU'tamed, so man may bo over civilized. Each ])lay(!r in the Russian horn band blows only a single note, and that merely when it comesto liis turn. Division of labour, liowcver cut and dried a principle it may he in ])oliticaI economy, cuts a very poor figure in the science of mental development. We are so surrounded with appliances and " lendings," tli;it none of us is able to do any thing for himself. We have one man to make our shoes, another cobler to mend them, and a third to black them. Railways and steam boats, gas lights, county constables, and macadam- ised roads have extracted the adventurous even out of travel. Almost without a man's personal intervention he is shoved in at a door, and in tliree hours is let out at another, 200 miles off. Our claws are pared; we are no longer men, but each some ])eg, cog, piston or valve in a ma- chine. The development of our individual humanity is altogether ar- rested by the progress of the social prinei])le : we get one man to clothe, another to feed, another to shelter us. We can neither dig, nor weave, nor build, nor sow, nor reap for ourselves. We neither hunt, nor shoot, nor grow what supports us. That variety of mental exertion, and of intellectual and physical occupation which creates a constant liveliness of interest, and cheerful healthiness of mind, is sorely neglected amongst us, and nervous diseases, mental depression and the most fearful pros- tration of all our over stretched or under worked faculties, is the conse- quence. We abdicate our human functions in promotion of the theory of gregarious convention. We lose the use of our prehensiles, and forget the offices of our limbs. We do not travel, but are conveyed. We do not support ourselves, but are fed. Our very manhood is no longer self- protective. We hire police to defend us, and soldiers to fight for us. Every thing is done for, scarcely anji;hing by us. That universality of faculty which is the very attribute of man is lost in the economy of exaggerated Ml I n i ¥ L t 12 MOTIVES FOR EMIGnATING. |i I U civilization. Each of us can do only or.o thinf^, and arc as lielploss? antll mutually dependent for the rest, as infancy itself. We spend our lives in introspection; turninj^ our eyes inward, like Hindoo devotees, we " hx.k only on our own navel ;" the mind heciomes diseased from monotony m thought, and we vegetate leather than live through life's endless variety of scene, incident and occupation. It is not royalty alone in Jerusalem palace tliat siglis, " Oh ! that I had wings like a dove ! for then would I fly away and be at rest . . . then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness." There tlie necessities of present life, the every day calls upon our industry and action, the constantly shifting scene of la- hour and activity, the rural cares which become comforts, bid us to li\(' out of ourselves in the world of external realities. There our friends aiv not our rivals, nor our neighbours our competitors. The sight of " the human face divine," sickens us not with a sea of the squalid visages of multitudinous population, but briglitens our own countenance with we] • cometo a brother. The mind has no time to canker within itself : we have to grappla with the palpable realities of the physical elements, and tlii earth that is around us, not to wTestle with the diseased anxieties of the i brooding mind; the nervous energy wliich in poi)ulous city life, festers in the bi'ain, and eats into the heart, is exhausted in the healthful activity of muscular exertion; the steers have to be yoked, the cows low for milking, the new fallen lambs bleat their accession to our store ; tho maple yields its sugar, the sheep its fleece, the deer their skin for oiiv winter integument ; the fruit hangs for our gathering. There is no ex- ciseman to forbid our brewing our own October, or making our own soap and candles. With the day's work, the day's cares are over : the soul broods not, but sleeps. Tired nature bids us take no thought for to- morrow, for we have the promise that seed time and harvest shall never fail, our house and land are our own, and we have fuel for the felliusj:. Children become a blessing and helpers to us. Nature is w^ithin and above and around us. " Behold the lilies how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin, yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." If then the splendours of a royal court are as nothing to those natural glories which God, in tho fields, by the rivers, and on the mountain side, has made accessible to Vm meanest and poorest of us, and which we may drink in at every sensp, what is there in the crowded city, or the populous centre of wealth and civilization that we should really ju'efer to the enamelled ])rairie, tho echoing forest, the contemplative waterfall, or the fertile valley. " There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, Tiiere is a raptnre on the lonely shore, There is society where none intrudes, By the deep seu, und mi.i>:ic in its roar." Let him to whom a daily paper is an indespensable requisite, and whose evening's happiness depends on the cocking of his dinner, wjio has within him no mental resources, no self help, to whom the simpli<'itv of nature is nothing, and who is made up of conventionalities, wli) "must have every thing done for him," and " cannot be put out of lii^ way," let such an one, whether rich or poor, stick to the sound of Bow bell, and keeu within the bills of mortality. Futile idleness, and worth- less Ineffec tie for uset backwoods urious in c freehold, a ness that v than ploug home and CCS, and m ritual ener hardship, sophisticat that he ca such an oi doubt the veniences backwood the absenc to which 1 as the bri( shops, th€ serve him appliancei must not her accou pelled alv the black hail as in and want But if body thai self deny if he wo fitfidly ii to morrc sent con I to life in sophisti( Toth can onb MOTIVES FOR EMIGRATING. 13 elplfiSf? and our lives ii, wo "!()(/, onotony oi ess varioty Jerusaleiii en would i i remain in every dav cene of la- 1 us to li\(. li'ieiids ;n'.' It of ''the visages ofu witli wcl- 1' f : we liuM! L s, and tli(> I eties of the ^', festers in 'ul activity 1 tvs low for store ; tlifi in for 0111' 3 is no OK- i^ <; our (>\vii|^ over : the | g'lit for to- 1 shall nfivei' ■ the fbliiuir. : within aiul ' i they toil j f was not 'I 'f a royal 1, in tlie ^ible to the ery sense, wealth and fairie, tlio isite, and iner, who simplicity ties, who lut of Ills 1 of Bow id worth- less incffectuality may prevail upon folly to mistake its pretentious bus- tle for useful service j but it could not so impose upon the settlers in the backwoods, or the prairie farmers. Riches can do but little for the lux- urious in colonial settlements, where every man is master of his own freehold, and will not own the service of any one. The tutor or gover- ness that would rather bear "The spurns That patient merit of the unworthy lakes," than plough his own land, or milk her own cows, let them, too, stay at home and wait upon providence. The man who has no internal resour- ces, and no moral intrepidity, who has no external activity, and no spi- ritual energy, to whom work and physical labour of any kind are a real hardship, whose whole feelings, habits and sympathies are trained in tho sophistications of high civilization, and who so " Heeds the storm that howls along the sky," that he cannot encounter it, even to be made " Lord of the lion heart and eagle eye',' such an one needs no advice from us to deter him from emigration. No doubt the life of a settler has its drawbacks. We cannot carry the con- veniences of Cheapside, nor the roads of Middlesex with us into the backwoods. To the member of the middle classes there will be found the absence of the same obedience and servility in servants and labourers to which he has been accustomed. His frame house will not be so fine as the brick one he has left behind him. He has not at his elbow, the shops, the social helps with which he was surrounded. He must often serve himself where he was formerly ministered to by a hundred alert appliances, he must oftener do as he can, than do as he would, and he must not be ashamed to work with his own hands. His wife must lay her account with often being deserted by her servants, and of being com- pelled always to make companions of them. The doctor, the apothecary, the blacksmith, the saddler, the carpenter, will not be so nearly within hail as in England. Furniture will not be so good, nor ordinary appliances and wants so easily supplied. But if a man prefers toil to care ; if he would rather have fatigue of body than anxiety of mind ; if he would train himself in that cheerful self denying intrepidity which " The clear spirit doth raise, To scorn delijjhts, and live laborious days," if he would rather lie harder that he may sleep sounder, than slumber fitfully in troubled dreams, under the Damocles' sword of " thought for to morrow;" if he would prefer his children's happiness to his own pre- sent convenience, or " A lodge in some vast wilderness, Some boimdiess continuity of shade," to life in the noise, strife, struggle and danger of multitudinous civilized sophistication, then there can be little hesitation as to his choice. To the thoughtful parent of the middle classes, whose social position can only be maintained by keeping up appearances, and who must either c '-! - 1 l',I»( u MOTIVES FOR EMIGRATING. 8n1)niit to bo the slave of convention, or to see his family condemned to tlie proscription of their class, it is in vain to preach " Ccrtes, men should be what they seem, Or those that be not, would they might seem none." In England to seem is to be. An exterior is an essential element of bus- iness expenses. A man must spend an income, if he would earn a sub- sistence. Even life insurance cannot meet his case, because before he can die, he may lose the means of paying the annual premium. Where every advertisement for a secretary, a manager, a book keeper, a buyer, a traveller, is answered by two thousand applicants ; where hundreds are ?*tanding by, gaping for dead men's shoes, or envying the snug births of the living, and offering to supply their places for half the money j where th(! slightest slip, or the most innocent mi3fortune, like a tumble in a crowd, crushes the sufferer out of his place, or tramples liim out of ex- istence ; frugality and thrift, which curtail the imposture of appearances, b(3conie absolutely short sighted improvidence. The citizen must for ever bethink himself of Mrs. Grundy. As he can leave his children nothing which, divided amongst them, will enable each to sustain the position ho is comp(!lled to hold, he must spend his substance in the lottery of mat- rimonial speculation for his daughters, or in surrounding himself with connexions who may be useful in pushing his sons into life. When he dies, his girls have the fate of the i)Oor buffeted governess before them, and his boys sink into the precarious existence of eleemosynary employment. In Australia the former would become invaluable trea- sures, and if they chose, already brides before they had reached the har- bour. And even where the material and merely outward prospect is fairer, what are not the thousand moral U mptations and spiritual hazards to which a family of sons is exposed in the gay vice, the unthinking extrav- agance, the reckless dissipation of European cities ! How many pros- perous parents have their whole happiness poisoned by the misconduct or spendthrift thoughtlessness of pleasure hunting boys, whose hearts, per- haps, in the right j^lace, and whose princij)les sound and true at bottom, have their heads and fancy turned and captivated by the follies of the hour, and the '' pleasant sins" of metropolitan gaiety. In the bush, on the prairie, at the colonial iarm, if the attraction be less, the safety is the greater. The hot blood of youth sobers do\\Ti in the gallop over the plain, or falls to its healthy temperature as he fells the forest king, or "Walks ill glory aud in joy, behind his plough U[»on the mountain side." Where all women are reverenced, and respect themselves, the gny bachelor can fix his r(^gards only where he is ready to repose his pros- pect of happiness for life; and where vice presents* no artificial gilding, and debt and dissipation are equally despised, there is small temptation t() improvident extravagance, no inducement to leave the beaten patli of useful industry, and the vigorous restraint of public opinion and vigilant social propriety, to enforce respectability of conduct, and ensuic the observance of a healthy moral discipline. Emigration saves many a pang to the anxious motiier's heart, and renders the duties of a ])ar'ent easy and pleasant to many a thoughtful husband ; nor, wliilo the bubbling hell-broth of European convulsions still turns up its poisoned scum, and momentous s although as j tluni, will pi (solitude, or 1 ]Vo man ei doubled since and occupati every vacant to its very ce that monetai mate interva the people ai douljt mggei suited by re] the impregni wilderness. us — but the retrogressive all are depei circumstance mind of tin scanty popul deal of misi comes dense no longer d€ relations, ev port of such ghape of an are all plani producers o issues by thi in trade. 1 even the wa ship. To tl fells his owi own bread, di^honoure( regarded as to buy all t is, without wliom it is and there v sooner or 1; been the wl military dii cipalities, i We have s( mance, an until the a] and rude s nned to of bus- 1 a sub- e he can Where I buyer, eds are irths of where fclein a of ex- erancep, or ever nothing ition lie of mat- elf with (''hen he I before osynary le trea- he har- is fairer, :ards to extrav- y pros- iduct or ts, per- bottoui, ^ of the i ush, on y is tlie rer the ^ or e." b'-y he gn « pros- ildin":, ptatioii 1 path m and ensure iiany a l)aront bhiiiirj n. and MOTIVES FOR EMIGRATING. 5 momentous social questions allow mankind no rest until they are solved, although as yet no Sphynx can be found with inspiration enough to solve tlu in, will parents fail to reflect on the tranc^uillity of tlie transatlantic Kolitudc, or the hopeful security of young society in Australian Arcadia. ]Vo man can deliberately reflect on the fact that our poj^uhition has doubled since the commencement of the nineteenth century ; that every trade and occupation is so overdone that there are thousands of ai)plicants for every vacant situation ; that the social fabric of all Europe has been shaken to its very centre ; that internal discontent festers in every community, that monetary panics and commercial crises recur at increasingly proxi- mate intervals, and that the condition and prospects of the gi'eat body of the people are becoming yearly a less soluble problem, without having the doubt suggested as to whether mere prudence and security are not con- sulted by removing onesself from European vicissitudes, and taking up the impregnable position of a freeholder in a new country and a fertile wilderness. The science of accumulation comes to some perfection among us — but the philosophy of distribution seems every day to become more retrogressive and confused. The lew get richer, the many get poorer, and all are dependent even for their existing position upon such contingent circumstances and precarious conditions, that a grave thought crosses the mind of the possibility of England having reached its climacteric. A scanty population on a fertile soil and abundance of land, can stand a great deal of mislegislation and bad government; but when the population be- comes dense, and the territory proportionately scanty, so that subsistence no longer depends on natural production, but is contingent upon artificial relations, every increase of population makes the management and sup- port of such numbers nore difficult, and any economical blunder in the shape of an imperfect distribution of wealth more fatal. A people who are all planted on their own land in a fertile country, and themselves the producers of what they consume, are independent of tlie contraction of issues by the bank, of unfavourable exchanges, of panics, and of reverses in trade. To people who have no rent, and only nominal taxes to pay, even the W'ant of customers becomes little better than an imaginary hard- sliip. To the man who grows and weaves the wool for his own coat, who tells his own fuel, builds his own house, kills his own mutton, bakes his (»\vn bread, makes his own soap, sugar, and candles, it is obvious that a dishonoured bill, or the refusal of credit at the bank, is scarcely to bo regarded as a matter of substantial consequence. But the man who has to buy all these things, and who has rent to pay for his house and lands, is, without money or credit, the most destitute and helpless wretch of wliom it is possible to conceive. — Place many such in this predicament, bud there will be disorder and sedition ; make it the case of a nation, and sooner or later it must produce a revolution. In our own time we have iscen the whole of Europe scourged by the incarnate mischief of a great military dictator; more recently we have witnessed not only thrones, ])iiu- cipalities, and powers, but whole classes of society, ruined and undone. Me have seen such kingly vicissitudes as to persuade us that life was a ro- mance, and stern realities stranger than the most imi)robable fiction, until the appalled heart and the sickened soul have sighed for the solitude and rude safety of the backwoods, or the security and certainties of the c2 Mm 1^ ]A ' m^ 'I ;t Ifi (iENERAL ADVANTAGES OF EMIGTIATION. loiKily iir;iii'io, where food and raiment, however rouf^^h and simple wore! sure, and — Wli and tkceit. rnmour ot oppression or iiiisiucessful and succesalul war Miuht never reach us more !" Even where anxiiities are imaj^inary, .still they are anxieties. Tlio romiM'tition of tlie competent amon^^ eaeh other, the struggling jealousy, /iinl)iti()ij, and rivalry of tiiose, who in other regions would be friends, all \\u\ more for being neiglibours, the ditficulties of setting up and gettiiii,' oil' sons and daughters— the ])erpetual round of unnatural drudgery in tbe counting lioiisc witli its risks, or the lawyer's chambers with their giillcy slave work, or tlie thousand offices which minister to the needs of society — do not they suggest the question, whether, under the m(i.>t liivoura})le circumstances such avocations can stand a comparison with tli(! Jiejililiy and athUitic activities of agriculture, the freedom and leisure of th(! settlcir, witli his plough, his spade, his rifle, his horse, his salmon sjjcar, and canoe. Is not life in the crowded city lost in the struggle to live, — does not the faculty of enjoyment pass from us before we have hiisure for its fruition, has not existence rolled past before v/e have begun to study how it may be made happy— have we notput off retirement, until if lias ceased to ])le:ise? We greatly mistake if these considerations have not sunk deep into tbo public mind. The powers of steam, and the iui- provenuMit in navigation are yearly, or rather monthly tempting better i'lasscs of men to (juit what some think a sinking ship, and to venture tlu'ir fortunes in the land of promise. America is within twelve day.s of us, th(? Cai)e within forty, Australia within sixty-two, passage money has become very mocJerate, and the previous emigration has facilitated every thing necessary for the reception and settlement of after comers. As fiiinilies get settled they can otter a home to which others may at onco repair on arrival, and while their own experience gives them the authority of the most uiu'xceptionable witnesses, they acquire money and remit it home to aid the (Muigration of their relatives. As colonies become moiv, l)oi)ul()us, they otier new inducements to colonise, and the tide is likely to Kct in and know no retiring ebb. At last colonies become mighty kingdoms, and either sustain the greatness of the parent country, or become its rival. Hut in either case retain its language, habits, sympathies and wants, and become its most valuable customers. GEiNKKAL ADVANTAGES OF EMIGRATION. Every new country where land is cheap, the soil fertile, and the cli- x\\x\\v^ agreeable, otlers to the poor num this obvious advantage. Tlie rb»'apiu>ss of the land nuikes every man desire to possess it, and Ui culti- vate bis own acres mther than to be the servant of another. If he cuu fell tret>s he can always be his own nuister, and tind his own, and that a ])rotital)le eniploynu'ut. Hence the supply of hired labour is far below the demand, and wages, even for the na)st intlitierent service, are consi- d(>rabl(>. Tbo labourer, who in this country has the utmo>t ditticulty to j>rocuro employment oven at tlie lowest rate of wages, is sure of an cu- rragemont Hon of foo Indian coi hams for ( pound, wl tiou in pre and a fran at the doo distil his t own sugai tages to tl For all of jirices : the emigr £1,000 w tare upon his whole Although understoo to yield fi The state present p: as high a From t in favor o ciirried oi expected num, whi this coun design to tion offer A\]iicli by the least true that cheaply i not give ' • «' Moi cent, pays I the facilit; \ pense won not to wo \ We liave i -without t \ rrlire upo \ i-l,UOO;b I acres, whi i and suppl \ t,nve him I own map '] trfes, an( 1 may be h have ten LALD Fb GENERAL ADVANTAGES OF EMIGRATION. 17 u imple were ties. Tlio g jealousy, friends, al! nd gettini; rudj,^ery in with thcii' 16 needs of the most )n with tJi(! leisure of lis salmon I struggle to e we hiive lave bdyuii ment, until itions have id the iiii- ting better o venture ve day.s of money has ated every raers. As ly at onco ) authority d remit it !ome moi'c is likely to kingdoms, jecomo its tides and I d the oli- age. TliH ri to cuhi- If he can md that a far below are con.^i- tticulty to of an 1:11- ^1 •i. n .1 i I fragomont in a new country at a remunerative price. The vast produc- tion of food renders subsistence at the same time easy. We observe that Indian corn is sometimes sold in America at 6s. 8d. per quarter, whole hanis for 6d. each, meat in retail at from a halfpenny to twopence per pound, whisky at Is. per gallon, and other articles of prime consump- tion in proportion. A comfortable log hut may be purchased for £20, and a frame house of six rooms for £90. Taxes are nominal — water is at the door — fuel is to be had for the felling — he can brew his own beer, distil his own spirits, dip his own candles, boil his own soap, make his own sugar, and raise his own tobacco. These are incalculable advan- tages to the poor man. But their benefits are not confined to him. For all practical purposes four shillings will go as far under such a state of ])rices in America as twenty shillings in England. Substantially then the emigrant finds £250 of as much value in Illinois or the Cape as £1,000 would be in England, and if his family be large and his expendi- ture upon the bare necessaries of life bear a considerable proportion to his whole outlay, the difierenco in the value of money will be even greater. Although the usury laws are in force in most of these new countries, it is understood that the purchase of land may in general be so managed as to yield fi-om nine to twelve per cent, with perfect security for that return. The state stock of Pennsylvania yields upwards of 75 per cent, on the present price ; and money has been borrowed on undoubted security, at as high a rate as from 20 to 25 per cent. From these data it is evident that besides the benefit of the exchange in favor of British money which would add nearly £150 to every £1,000 oiirried out to America, or most of our colonies, £1,000 may be fairly expected to yield in any of these settlements from £90 to £100 per an- num, while that income will command about as much as £200 yearly in this country. To the small capitalist therefore, without the desire or design to become a farmer, or to enter into bujjiness of any kind, emigra- tion offers the advantage of an easy independence.* The facility with A\hich by such a step he can provide for the prospects of a family is not the least of the benefits which colonization is calculated to confer. It is true that he cannot surround himself with the luxuries of life there, so cheaply as in an old settled country. The same amount of money will not give him abundant and good society in the prairies or backwoods, • " Monev may be lent on giod mortgage security in this state [Ohio], at 8 per cent, payable half yearly. 1 thought it probable tliat the high rate of interest, and tlic facility of obtaining small portions of land transferable at a meie trifle of ex- pense would hereafter induce a class of persons to emijjfrate, whose aim would be not to work hard for a livinjj, but to live easily on a small capital already acquired. We have hundreds of tradesmen in our towns Avho cannot continue in business without the fear of losing all and who have not accumulated sufficient money to rrtire upon. A man of such a class in England cannot live upon the interest (»f £1,000 ; but here for j£200, he could purchase and stock a little farm of twenty-five acres, which would enable him to keep a horse and cow, sheep, pigs, and poultry, and supply his family with every article of food, while his £800 at interest would srive him an income of £64 a year. He could even have his own sugar from his own maple trees, to sweeten his cup and preserve the peaches from his own fruit tr<-es, and almost all he v.'ould need to buy, besides clothes, would be tea, which may be had of good quality at from Is. 9d. to 2s. per lb. Still further west he rould have ten per cent, interest for his money."— Tour in the United States, by Archi- LALD PkENIICE, 1818 C3 i- 111 ■ 1 1 -ii. {■V m Irl'il 'I'l,'' i « J hi *i 18 GENERAL ADVANTAGES OP EMIGRATION. i nor gOiMl roads, nor bridges, nor walled gardens, nor well built brick or i-^tone houses, nor medical advice at hand. Above all, no amount of money will there su])i)ly him with good, respectful, and obedient (servants. A new c(uuitry is the paradise of the poor — but it is the pandemonium of the rich, and especially purgatory to the female branches of all who are well to do. Those artificial and conventional advantages, those con- veniences whose value is only known when they are lost, those endless fitnesses and accommodations v/hicli are gradually supplied in an old country as their need is perceived, the emigrant travels away from, and will strongly feel the want of. The mere cockney will be thoroughly miserable in the new mode of existence which every emigrant must enter npon. The nightman, the shoeblack, the newsman, the omnibus, the two-penny post, he will see little of. The water will not bo laid on, nor the drain connected with the soil pipe. Wooden houses have chinks- logs are not so convenient as coaJ — rooms are small, and not very snug — tlie doors and sashes do not he — the hinges and floors creak — house- hold secondary luxuries are dear— and the whole family must be very much their own servants. Nobody will cringe and bow to them, and j ust bring to thair door the very thing they want, tDhe?i they want it. But then the real needs and requisites of life will be indefeasibly theirs. If their house and its contents be inferior, they are as good as their neigh- bour's, a consideration which takes the sting out of many disappoint- ments. Tliey fear no rent day, nor poor-rate or assessed tax collector — neither game nor fish are preserved, nor licenses needed — around them on their own freehold are ample means of subsistence, and a little money supplies all the rest. They need have no care for the morrow except tho consciousness that each day their clearing is more improved and of greater value. Tliey have leisure, independence, peace, security. If they can serve themselves, help each other, find pleasure in the useful activities of self help and country life, and possess internal resources of mind and occupation, then all such in emigi-ating change for the better. If their society is bad, they can do without it, if an occasional qualm of home sickness and the claims of fatherland come over them let them think of the toils, fears, and anxieties they leave behind them, and bo grateful for the change. To ])ersons in the middle ranks of life, emigration is social emanci- pation. Convention is tlieir tyrant ; they are the slaves of mere appear- ances ; they are never able to escape from the necessity for an answer to the (luestion, "What will Mrs. Grundy say?" They must imydicitly conform to the world around them, even to tlie number of rooms in their house, the servants they keep, the hats and gowns they wear. They can- nut be seen in their own kitchen, to make their own mr:;N i ,, to carry their own luggage. Their clothes must be superfine, and the seams in- visible. They must not condescend to work, however willing and able. A glimpse of their wife at the wash-tub would be ruin to the family. Is it nothing to wise and worthy people to escape from all this thrafdom ? The idleness, listlessness, total vacuity which produce in our daughters and sisters so much disease of body and of mind, can find no place in the settler's life. The weak spine, the facility of fatigue, the sick headache, the failing appetite, the kmguor, the restless dissatisfaction wliich result fi'om roni (Acrcisc < !ito«'king-( (•(>nnt('r, \ liiinself, V his rod. ^ by breaki or "sleigh: when the of wearin come in j)riniitive tiie luxui second di hhicking. its occupf jecfiiity, 1 gnaws lif panes to be cobble gaujc is fish ; the watching he brewe( to be irn formed ; tlie sheep land, all its just oi)eration C(miplish vanquishi civili'/ati( the herb subdued contrivin chine ; n providen worth \i\ " clouds deprive n covet.* * Ltfe must coiift derness of nij soli tar ritie, and r riant oavu on the fire vulley fur GKN'KIIAL ADVANTAGES OP EMIGRATION. 19 brick or ouiit of iervants. moniuni all who Dse con- endless an old om, and )i'oup:hly ist enter ibus, the on, nor hinks — ery snug —house- be verv lem, and it. But eirs. If V neigh- appoint- lector — id them e money ccept the . and of rity. If 18 useful mrces of le better, qualm of let them , and be emanci- appear- nswer to iiplicitly 5 in tluir hey can- to carry ;eams in- md able, nily. Is iralddm ? [aughters ce in the leadache, ch result fir>ni ronianci; reading and the polka, are speedily put to flight by the r^orcise of cow-milking, buttev-churnin the man stofUiiig-oiirniiig. (•(>unt('r, who can To whose bakinj^ world has cheese been his pre and ssinj desk or his go nowhere without an omnibus, and do nothing for liiin^elt, what a new world must be opened by his rifle and the woods, or iiis rod. rfund the waterfall ! What new life and vigour may he not draw by breaking his colt or yoking his oxen, or scampering over the prairies, or 'sleighing from house to house in the way of good neighbourhood when the bright snow has made a universal road ! Think of the liberty of wearing hob-nails and frieze cloth ; of living, down to one's own in- come in place of living up to one's neighbours ; of walking abroad in j)rimitive defiance of a hiatus in the elljow or armpits of his coat ; of tlio luxury of serving one's self; of making war ui)on appearances by a ecc'O'id day's beard or a third day's shirt, or a running short of shoe Idacking. Loneliness ! monotony ! not an hour, not a minute without its occupation, compelling the mind to ohjedivity, and saving it from sub- ject u ity, that brooding on itself, which finally eats into the heart and gnaws life away. Shelves have to be put up and hinges screwed, and panes to be put in ; a table has to be attempted, jierhaps shoes have to be cobbled. The young colt has to be broke ; the larder is empty, more game is wanted ; the rifle must be got ready, or the rod for a dish of fish ; the sugar has to be made from the maple, or honey to be got by watching the bees in the wood ; the cider, the beer, grape wine have to bo brewed, or the whisky or brandy to be distilled, or the soap or candles to be made ', or, in fine, the whole offices of the farmer have to be per- formed ; the plough, the wagon, the seed time, the harvest, the cattle, tlie sheep, the horses, the fences, the fuel, the cleared land and the wood land, all cry out upon the sluggard, and promise to crown industry with its just reward. Every work done is a hoarded comfort ; every new o])eration is prospective wealth ; every difficulty conquered is ease ac- complished, and a care chased away. You look around and whisper, I vanquished this wilderness and made the chaos pregnant with order and civilization, " alone I did it !" The bread eats sweetly, the fi'uit relishes, the herb nourishes, the meat invigorates, the more that myself have subdued it to my uses. I feel myself a man with a reasonable soul and a coritriving intellect ; I am no longer a small screw in a complicated ma- chine ; my whole powers are put forth, and every faculty put to its providential use. To-morrow I am richer than to-day in all that is worth living for ; until the fixed and firmset earth shall perish, and the " clouds shall return no more after rain," : o human vicissitude can deprive me of that, which, to have, is to possess all that a wise man should covet.* * Life in the "Wildekness. — Although liable to an accusation of barbarism, I must confess that the very happiest moments of my life have been spent in the wil- derne'ss of the Far West ; and 1 never recall, but with pleasure, the remembrance of nij solitiiry camp in the Bayou Salade, with no friend near me more faithful than my rifle, and no companions more sociable than my good horse and mules, or the atten- dant cavute M'hich nightly serenaded us. Wiih a plentiful supply of dry pine kus on the fire, and its cheerful blaze stieaming far up into the sky, illuminating the valley far and near, uud exhibiting the animals, with well- filled bellies, standing ^l ilv'i i'.| 1.' I !!•*':• 1 ?i ¥"■ 20 GENERAL ADVANTAGES OP EMIGRATION. In Buch a state of boin^ Independence may bo litei'nlly absolute. The savage has retired to his remote fastnesses ; the wild beasts and noxious animals have followed him. In many parts of America the old custom still prevails amcmg many res])ectable, well educated, almost reiined families, of i)roducing every thin<^ which they use and consume. In the winter the woollen and linen yarn is spun and woven into cloth ; the ^annents are homely, but comfortable and decent; tlie furniture if inelegant suits all useful purposes ; the sheep yields her fleece, the deer and cattle their skin and leather ; the fowls their feathers ; the materials of light, heat, cleanliness, even of sober luxury, are all around them M itliin their own freehold ; sugar, fruit, wine, spirits, ripe October, may be commanded on the spot ; they may eiyoy the moderate indulgences of civilization by the work of their own hands without the possession of even the smallest coin. And if they are not competent to the production of all this, or do not desire the labour, they may acquire a freehold just large enough for the supi)ly of their own wants, while a small yearly surplus of money will furnish them ea>ily with all the aonding che( frajiie houses: located, the i coived with wilds of Nov more genera classes agree and take out ulous distrid agreements i contributes ' resulting in | dets of noble sons and fam the Peels, th or the fifth s might be ne( amidst Irish But the I mother cour lation. Loi thieves of L so many ha^ to which th( sire remova independent In 1847 the united king can they do total numbe If to these have a mass of society, a to the natio nation of tl States, or T of jails, pe rates, is up would carrj included, t 84^arcely asl COLONIZATIOW. 23 lormon ? zim nor shipped thedral ? do COID- lold tlio nature's 1 you in re is not ha])j)i- ■j^ration, *ioui you he door, nisery in helter in the state, btedly a al. To 5rs. cob- and relii- lown to- louth, is nee, witli ' do not J the ad- lal sym- th them his old nodes of • former 3 in tlie the old da; thut ^\ Can- f^o out; .re fixed Iteforehand. The capitalist is assured of his okl laboureri; fflnriillM' l<('pt together; the vessel and the voyage are arranged in th« 1 'st man- ner tor the iafety and comfort of all. Our last letter from Auckla/id say^, '' We have every reasonable comfort we can desire but society and old friends." Colonization supplies this ■'.vant, and obviates many gi-eater liiudships. All is prepared beforehand on a well considered plan, by per- sons who know the country and its requirements. The necessaries of life and those appliances, the want of which, form the first difficulty of s(^ttlers, are anticipated. The helpless are assisted and advised ; the des- ponding cheered. Civilization is transferred to the wilderness, and even tnunii houses are carried out in the ship. The first division arrived and located, the second can venture with confidence, where they will be re- ceived with welcome, and England itself is made to re-appear in the wilds of JVew Zealand. As this system becomes better understood, it is more generally followed. Numerous families of the middle and higher classes agree to emigrate together ; single capitalists freight a large ship, and take out a whole colony on their own venture. Associations in pop- ulous districts advertise for companions and canvas for fellow- voyagers ; agreements are made with ship owners, on an advantageous plan ; each contributes his fund of information and advice to the common stock, resulting in greater comfort and economy. Younger sons of squires, ca- dets of noble families go out at the head of their tenant's and cottier's sons and families. It is indeed a somewhat ominous circumstance that the Peels, the Carlisles, the Stanleys send their scions to the new world, or the fifth section of the globe, as if they did not know how soon it might be necessary to look out for new quarters and a quieter life than amidst Irish rebellions, chartist risings and European revolutions. But the great purpose of state colonization must be to relieve tho mother country of its most obvious uedundances in the shape of popu- lation. Lord Ashley has had a conference with a large deputation of the thieves of London : they desire to change their mode of life, to which so many have been driven by social neglect or "necessity of present life, to which their poverty and not their will consents." They earnestly de- sire removal to where they are not known, to work out reformation and independence by industry and the right direction of a perverted ingenuity. In 1847 the number of persons committed for serious offences in the united kingdom was 64,847 ! All of broken fortunes, what more good can they do to society or to themselves at home ? In the same year the total number of paupers reliev<3d, was 2,200,739, at a cost of £6,310,599. If to these be added the middle class of persons of broken fortunes, we have a mass of population who, manifestly, in the existing arrangements of society, are so much surplusage among us, a burden to themselves and to the nation. When we add that these numbers nearly equal the entire nation of the Netherlands, or Denmark, or Switzerland or the Roman States, or Tuscany, or Scotland, and that the annual cost of prosecutions, of jails, penitentiaries, hulks, workhouses, hospitals, added to ihe poor rates, is upwards of £5 per head on paupers and criminals, a sum that would carry the whole of them to Quebec or New Orleans, provisions included, the half to the Cape, or one fourth to Australia, we need si»arcely ask whether a case is not made out for gigantic self suppoi'ting :l 24 COLONIZATION. coloni/ation. Add to those nicans tho procjunlrt of tho nalo of Iniids tn C{ii)itali>ts attrai'tcd to the colonu'S by this prodigious Hiipply of hdxuir, and the sums expetuUid by them in wagot*, and it is clear that tho priK- ticability of the measure is deinonstrabh). Hitherto, from the abseneo of any well digested system of coloni/a- tion, both the labour and capital of cmigrantshavebeen in a great nica- 6uro lost to us. Out of '208,270 emigrants in 1847, 142,104 went to fho United States. Loft to the freedom of their own will, and unassisted liy any previous pre])aration in th(^ colonies for their comfortable reeeptidu and absorption, they naturally took refuge in the poi)ular and prosixioiis American Republic. What is wiinted to be devised, is this:~Let a lai^j tract of good land, in a favorable district, bo properly surveyed and divi-l ded, its roads luid out, good water frontage being an essential desi«lcra- tum. Let substantial frame houses be erected in pro])er situations on ea(!h section of 040 acres, and comfortable log cabins bo put up in easy contiguity, furnished with barely necessary houseliold utensils, labouriiii,' tools, and rations until harvest, for the family. Let labourers and capi- talists, masters and men, make their contracts here, and go out in tho eamo ship together. Let the employers retain such a portion of the wages agi'ced upon as will repay, in eighteen months, to the govern- ment tlie cost of the various items supplied to tho labourers, and let tliis fund be applied to the surveying and dividing and housing and huttiii"; other tracts in the same manner. At first this must be executed on a most extensive scale, and as emigration grows by what it feeds on, -wo have no doubt that, largely and liberally carried forward at the outset, the result will be such that government assistance will soon be rendered unnecccssary. A railway from the interior to the best shipping port, would be constructed at a cost less than that of the mere labour spent upon it. The land would bo had for nothing ; the property on the line could well afford to defray a share of an expense which would so much enhance its value ; timber could be had for tho cost of felling, and tlie rails might quite practicably be made of logs, while in regions where the winter is long and the fi'ost steady, the closing of tho lakes would not obstruct traffic, which could then be carried on by rail. In many parts of the United States the cost of a single tramway does not exceed £1, '200 per mile. In our North American colonies tho work could be executed quite as cheaply. In Denmark and Norway the troops of the line are lo- cated on regimental farms, under their officers, and made by their labour on them to pay all their expenses, in place of destroying their own habits and the morals of their neighbourhood in idleness. We need not be at the cost of a single regiment in our colonies, if we would but, on a systematic plan, send our army and navy pensioners there, and locate them in proper cantonments. Here their pensions cannot maintain them, there all the necessaries of life could be obtained by them without cot't, and their pensions would enable them to live in the highest comfort. Our Navy entails a heavy burden upon us. Mr. Cobden's exposure of the way in which our fleet is disposed, proves that our sailors are not trained as they ought to be, by being sent to sea to keeptheirsea legs, and to be exercised in navigation. To what use could they be half so well applied; even for maintaining tht efficiency of the service; as in carrying ■i I dctachmni ll.ilifiix fr hitter phu tralia, for been fouii Tiu^ \\. exploded, city of UK to render iiioiistrabl uiriis at, liaving ])a ])('rty is tl lings ])er (l(pr(U'iat( market. Australia, icaised to 1 ^ame pro ])rictors a sliould bo ors. The Canada ai Os. to 8s. A very of emigri ing emigi a destinat over whic or have r which wa state, in t it for gra a foreign public mi sell, and to mitiga same scri bribed to cori'espor Btraightw the coun work, write hoi stantly pi a whole i EMIOKATIOX riKf-ni^. 25 Iniids \n of Itibmii the |)i'ii(. I'olonizii. •eat uica- 'ont to rlitj issisted l)y reoepfidii )i'os])(r(»ii> et a lui';i.' and divi- dy.vtcm of (Jtdon/atiou is, it is hoped, iu)\v univ(!rsally expUxled. Thelling labom-ers to continue in the c^ipa- city of mere servauts to capitalists by so enhancing the piice of laud as to lunider its j)osses> )U iiuu'<'essibl<' to the |toor, is clearly unjust and de- monstrably impraehcable. It is calculated to frustrate! the very end it aims at, by diseoui-aging the emigration of labour. C'a])italists after luiviug ])aid forty shillings an aero for laud beconu' insolvent, their pi*o- ]terty is thrown upon the market, and sold for two shillings or three .■•.hil- lings ])er aero, while the solvent purchaser finds that his settlement is depreciated to the same extent by tlu! glut of laud thus forced u])on the market. Tlu^ amiual revenue derived from tlu^ sale of Ciown lands in Australia, when sold at r}^. an acre, was £] 15,Hi2r). AVhen the ])rice was raised to twenty shillings it sunk to £8,()(K), emigration fell off in the wnne proportion, and universal dejiressiou was tiie result. Peasant pro- prietors are the lite and marrow of every state, and all otlu'r objects sliould lie postponed ia the one gi-eat end, of making labourers freehold- ers. The great stream of enngration from this ccumtry has been to Canada and tlui United States, where the upset price of land varies from lis. to 8s. per acre. EMIGRATIOIV FIELDS. A very small numher of the host of publicatiims which profess to treat of emigration are really written witli the single view of enabling intend- ing emigrants to form a sound judgment on the sulyect of the choice of a destination. The authors are biassed in favour of the particular region over which they themselves have travelled. Others have an interest in, or have relatives in the colony desci-ibed. Some have ^lolitical prejiulices which warp their comparison of the merits of a settlement in a foreign state, in the American republic, or in British Colonics. Not a few take it for granted that no British subject woidd migrate to the possession? of a foreign power. Land jobbers ev^^rywhere insinuate their lies into the public mind, against every locality but that in which they have sections to sell, and too many settlers who find they have made a foolish choice, seek to mitigate the calamity of their position by trying to bring otheiss into the same scrape. A wi'iter is well paid for writing up Texas, and the press is bribed to spread the delusion. Merchants write home to their London correspondents to " get up an agitation" in favour of their colony, and straightway deputations are delegated, and public meetings called all over the country. The New Zealand Company sets its powerful machinery to work. The Canada Land Company gets its Lhiion Workhouse settleiT< to write home their unsophisticated letters to their parents, which are in- stantly published by the County paper, the "Cape and its Colonists" have a whole republic of authors scribbling away on theii* behalf, while the u ■ I : ( t i»,., M 20 EMKJRATION FIEL]>8. States m r up the bile of tii^ Chartists and other simpletons in favonr of tlie model rei)ublic and no taxation. As the most recent and glaring specimen of this sort of constructive dece])- tion we may uistance the article Emigration in the British Almanac for 1849. In answer to the question " whither should emigrants go," it blinks the United States, it slurs over Cauada with a kick at its rigorous climate, it does not even meiitioti the Cape of Good Hope, and devotes nearly the whole of its space to South Australia. It shall be our object to maintain the strictest impartiality in giving a candid and practical ac- count of tlie various regions which offer inducements for emigration ; and to afford an intelligible and well digested view of the various features of each district. The climate of our West and East Indian possessions is so inimical to the European constitution that we need say nothing more of these locali- ties than to condemn them. Ceylon, Singapore, Sarawak, Labuan offer great inducements to the store merchant, but not to agricultural settlers. British Guiana adds to a good climate the advantages of a beautiful country and a fertile soil, but is not yet in a condition for the proper set- tlement of emigrants. The same may be said of the islands in the South Sea, of the regions on the shores of the Pacific, and the other possessions in North and South America not in the tenure of the Anglo-Saxon race. Van Couver's Island, that splendid acquisition of the Hudson's Bay Company, combines* every advantage of soil, climate, aud production, and will at some future day become one of the most valuable appendages of the Crown ; but its remoteness, its unsettled state, the uncertainty of its position, the scantiness and uncivilised character of its European in- habitants, combined with the precariousness of its existing elements of trade and production, render removal thither at present unadvisable. To California and other recently acquired annexations of Mexican territory by the United States the same objections apply. Black Feet, Cumauchcs, trappors, and herdsmen are not comfortable neighbours, and are uncer- tain customers. Oregon, the Falkland Islands, and Astoria may be dis- missed with similar brevity ; and it has only to be remembered that tlio Auckland Islands are considerably nearer the South Pole than the south- ernmost point of New Zealand, in order to dispose of the question of tlin ineligibility of those islands as a field ofemigi-ation for any except such as are fonder of whales and cold weather than of fruits, flowers, and a genial sun. The only fields of Emigration which can at present be offered for tlie choice of a settlement, are, 1. Canada and our other North Amei-ican colonies in the Atlantic; 2. The United States; 3. The Cape of Gootl Hope, and Natal ; 4. New Zealand ; 5. Nev/ South Wales ; 6. Van Die- man's Land; 7. South Australia ; C. Australia Felix; 9. Western Aus- tralia; 10. N urth Australia. Before proceeding to describe these regions in detail, it is however necessary that we should, having discussed the general reasons which should determine the question of the propriety of emigrating at all, now consider the various particulars which should fix the choice of a locality, and review those suggestions of detail which are applicable to the subject under all circumstances. Where you are to go is tho first problem to be solved. How you are to go is the second. I Every o Without h To a man (lertukes ii fill ill to his ho nuiy be tlier count stricken d( His wife r The morta the poores and starva had climal winch reti all ranks, climate, I strange lai and home Climate deed it is i tion; mil] reports of We hav given on W(^ shall I New Z finest clin sudden cl equable, i labour ca are yield ccssors, a ever, tha porature to be obs they are markabk some coi: ever caut so on the scarcely iufrequei Next i island, ii toj'istic t( 6h]>th of soil, and tlio sufficiency of moisture, exenqit it from any serious inconvenience which the greater lieat might otherwise (Migender. Au>tralia Felix, Soiitherii and Western Australia, New South Wales, and the Ca])e, jiartake of a character of greater torridity than New Zealand and Van J)ieman's Land; but, nevertheless, they are all calculated for the pleasurable enjoyment of physical existence. It sc(!ms to be generally agreed that, although the extremes to whicn most parts of the United States are liable, render that region less favour- able to health than Great I3riti;in; the weather is very much moi'e jileasant there than it is with us. An exce])tion however must be m:idc in reference to those states which march with our lower Canadian frontiov, where the sunnner heat is very jjreat, and the winter's cold is intense*, and of long continuance. With reference to British North America, the decided preference is to i he given temi)erati but thew of Upi)er winter ai misled en winter pi weeks in want of < winter? i whole ye£ for weeks in Canad{ begins in ther. Th( in Canadi ])rovinee west to s The ri^ winter is 1 dry, and c certain, a sun, imps From the intense, c England i so long of emigri Cape.* rcg In the vario Canad packet \M the Cape Hud 125 the dista market. Thep • In Cai food prov; at all soa tind of la wliicu thf and, inde sometimes The rest the actio tbe proiiK TRANSIT. 31 Ml e lT])pf;r winter, degi'oe, . As a , that iis (liS('US(!, )i'oves to statistics vouralilf! IS in oiu' ons tlian da, wiih ou.s gales onstifn- Edward'^ ese pos- y for and ei's warns ns do not ^endantly cliaractt'i' class (!.v- I' gone to alth ; but lappincss, tio means the pro- Tho lon;^' s\lii('h ad- resence ol ;uti which 1, and the nee which Sontheni take of a n's Land : injoymeiit i to whicii ss favour- neh nioi'tf t be made n frontier, is intense, ,'cnce is to M ho given to Prince Edward's Island, from tlie greater ccinability of its tem})erature. Its freedom from fogs is an important negative excellence bnt the whole of our possessions in America, except the western boundary of [Jp})er Canada, are objectionable on account of the great length of the winter and the absence of spring. Much misrepresentation has indeed misled emigTants in reference to this field of settlement; some assert that winter prevails for seven months in the year; others reduce it to six weeks in the most western parts ; it lias however to be observed, that the want of definitions may account for much of tlie discrepancy. What is winter ? in England no two persons agree in tlieir estimate. We pass a whole year with scarcely a sign of it; at other times the Thames is frozen for weeks at London Bridge. We have examined journals of the weather in Canada, from which we would be led to the conclusion that frost begins in November and ends in February, with intervals of mild wea- ther. The balance of evidence would lead to the conclusion that nowhere in Canada does winter outlast six months, and that in the Upper West ])rovince it scarcely exceeds three, being contracted, in the extreme west to six weeks. The rigours of the Canadian weather are not without their offset ; the winter is the healthiest, indeed a very healthy, season; the air is singularly dry, and catarrhal complaints are little known ; the snow storms, although certain, are few ; it seldom rains, and a brilliant clear sky, with a blazing- sun, impart universal cheerfulness, and great out-of-doors enjoyment. Fi'om the general absence of wind, the frost, although thermometrically intense, does not pierce to the bone as the black frosts and eastwinds of England do. In short it looks colder than it feels. Still the winters are so long and so intense as to detract from the advantages of this field of emigration, in comparison to Australia, New Zealand, and the Cape.* TRANSIT. In regard to transit, we must reverse the order of tlie advantages of the various fields of settlement. Canada by steam is within ten days' sail of England; by ordinary packet within thirty days. New York is within eleven and forty days ; the Cape within thirty and eighty-two days ; Australia within sixty-two and 125 days, and New Zealand within seventy and 130 days. These are the distances wliich the productions of these places are fi'om their market. The passage by sea is a serious consideration with many ; its perils in- • In Canada cattle have to be housed in winter, and great quantities of hibernal food provided and stored for them. In Australasia and South Africa stock can at all seasons find their own food, and the farmer is saved the cost of buildings and of labour in making provision for them; but the perpetual vegetation of whicn the seasons admit m these regions must, we apprehend, exhaust the soil; and, indeed, in England it is observed that too much luxuriance enfeebles and sometimes kills trees, shrubs, or plants, and renders the succeeding crop scanty. The rest which the soil derives from a loHg winter, gives It new strength, and the action of frost upon the earth and its productions is notoiioualy favourable to the promotion of ita fertility. -/;ilt tl fm < I fl IKiiijtf f: 32 ALLEGIANCE. — SOCIETY, ■•I', ' (leod do not always increase in the ratio of its length, because divei'se voyages encounter various kinds of weatlier, and accidents seem to bo less frequent on the Australian than on tlu) American station, although the sea passage of the latter is only one-third of the length of the former. To some persons, especially females, sea-sickness is mortal when long protracted ; to others a sea voyage is eminently disagreeable, especially where it involves the care on shipboard, of a young and large family. In June, July, and August, it is quite possible by steam to make the voyage to Halifax or New York without encountering even a ripple on the ocean. Thus can- not be promised in reference to long protracted voyages. The American liners are remarkably swift sailers, and distinguished by absence of acci- dent, and the great infrequcncy of shipwreck. To those who emigi'atc with the ultimate intention of returning to their native country, it is obvious that greater proximity to Europe is an item of consideration in the fixing of their destination. 1.; would of course be ridiculous to exaggerate the advantage of mere shortness of voyage in reference to emigTation ; but to persons not over- burdened with capital, it must be a consideration that the passage to America can be undertaken for about one-fourth of the expe^ise of that to Australia, and for less than one-half of that to the Cape. Where a large family has to be taken out, this is a desideratum ; but against this has to be balanced the longer inland journey, which has to be made by the American settler, and in the case of the labouring man, it has to be re- membered, that if he have money enough barely to la?id him at tlio Cape, New Zealand, or Australia, he will be hired at high wages literally before he touches the shore — an advantage which he will not enjoy in America. ALLEGIANCE.— SOCIETY. To a British subject it must in general be a matter, not entirely of in- difference, in the choice of a location, that it should place him under our own laws, and government. Before he can become an American citizen, he must forswear his allegiance to England, and be prepared to fight against his own countrymen if necessary. Except in the higher Ameri- can circles, there is, in the States bordering on Canada, a prejudice against the Britishers, as we are called, almost fanatical. We shall afterwards have occasion to expose this trait more at large. Here it is enough to say, that to persons of the middle classes, the manners and habits of the British Americans, the Cape, New Zealand, and Australian settlers, will be much more congenial than those of the model republic. The emi- grants of a poorer grade, but whose object is to farm, will, in some locali- ties in the Western States, have a struggle to make against the quirky and litigious s])irit of the native Americans, who themselves boast that they w^ould go to law with their father for a shilling. In British America, in New Zealand, the Cape, and th(! various Aus- tralasian dependencies, the society is thoroughly English. But in the Cape and New Zealand, dangerous and powerful savages keep up a con- tinual ground of anxiety to settlers, and in our penal settlements where so ;. many discli dispi'oporti the uumbe; ought it to blacks" ha To perso (f«ry to giv agents. B ynn' men ] curing a p; the shippei observe tli vagabonds The GoA watch ovei LONDOI LiVERI Plymo Glasgc Dijblii Cork— Belfas LiMER Sligo, ant Moria LONDO Wat EI These g ward, to j them, as are obligei and emig] pli(id witi They a ance to p] We enj re;le. The Government have appointed the following Emigration Agents to watch over the interests of all Emigrants : — London — Lieutenant Lean, 70, Lower Thames Street. Li vp:rpool— Lieutenant Ilodder. Plymouth— Lieutenant Carew. Glasgow and Greenock— Lieutenant Forrest. Dublin — Lieutenant Henry. Cork — Lieutenant Friend. Belfast— Lieutenant Stark. Limerick— Mr. Lvnch, R.N. Slioo, Donegal, Ballina — Lieutenant Shuitleworth and Lieuten- ant Moriarty. Londonderry — Lieutenant Ramsay. VVaterford, and New Ross— Commander Ellis. These gentlemen are bound by Act of Parliament, without fee ov re- ward, to procure and give information to every person who applies to them, as to the sailing of ships, and means of accommodation. They are obliged to see all agreements between ship owners, agents, or masters, and emigrants performed — that vessels are sea-worthy, sufficiently sup- plied with provisions, water, medicines, and that they sail punctually. They attend at their office daily to afford, gratuitously, every assist- ance to protect emigrants against imposition, and to enforce redress. We enjoin all intending emigrants of whatever class, whenever their resolution is formed, therefore, to go straight to the nearest government agent according to the above given enumeration, and state exactly what they want. Make no bargain with any shipper except through the agfmt, and act implicitly on his information and advice. He it is, also, v'ho can give intelligence of every particular regarding each colony, and tin; method of procuring a free passage. Where persons have fixed upon a particular vessel, or have even chartered a ship, let them still apjdy for the intervention of the government agent to complete the negotiation. It has an excellent moral effect upon the ship agent. Let them also seek the government advice in reference to the taking of their money, sea 1 'I IMJ im *• ; Hi S4 CIIOICK OF A SHIP. Ill 1 Htock,. clothiuf^-, iin]»]<>nH'nts, kc, &c., and get from the apnnt the ad- dress of the government ag(>nt resi(h'nt at the port of debarkation, so tlu.t thvy may have every assLstanee and advice from him the moment thcv land. The Canard and also tlie Peninsular ai.d Oriental Steam Navigation (Company's Hteamers may be perfectly relied on for accommodation ami safety. So may the American liners, inclnding both sailing and steam •vessels. Shii)s chartered by the New Zealand Land Company may also bo regarded as anexcei)tionable. But it will be as well with reference to sailin^g vessels, to see that they have side lights, and are at least six feet and a half in height betwceti decks. Cuddies are so often carried away in a heavy sea, and, unless thn scuppers and fore-part of the ship are very free, are so apt to ship more water than can get away, that although very comfortable, they may bu dispensed with, as bcsidt^s, they break up the range of the deck walk. High bulwarks, if coni))inod with jjerfcct facilities for heavy seas get- ting away if shipped, add greatly to comfort, and the safety of persons while on deck. They form a shelter against cutting winds, and the spray of a rough sea. For steerage passengers an easy access to the cooking apparatus, and abunthince of other necessary accommodation should be seen to, We differ from those who would appropriate a sepa- rate cooking galley to the steerage passengers. Cooking requires a lire, and on board ship no fire should be allowed except such as is immedi- ately under the eye of the steward and cook of the ship. The fate of the Ocean INIouarch ought to be a solemn warning against permitting passen- gers (steerage ]iassengers especially), to have any lights, ignited pipes, or other combustible material at their independent command. The Emi- grants from I5erwick-in-Elmet give an interesting account of accidents on the voyage from i)ermitting steerage passengers free access to the fire. Safety, s])eed, aiul comfort are best consulted by the choice of a large ves- sel not too deeply laden, nor yet too lightly. The character of the captain and diief mate for successful voyages, and kindness to passengers, should be carefully tested. But at all times rather take a sulky captain who is a thorough seaman, and has a good ship, than the most gentlemanly olii- cer who does not stand so high in these respects. We need not add that on the construction of the cabin, and sleeping berths, much of the com- fort of the passenger will depend, and that tlie nearer the centre cf the shi]) the latter are, the less violent will the motion be felt to be. Have a written agreement as to berth, diet, and all other stipulations, requisite — let this be revised by the captain, and it will doubtless keep him to the contract during the voyage. See that ic is a fixed regulation of the ship that no smoking is to be allowed, and that no candles or tires are on any account to be permitted except under the direct regulation and su- pervision of the otfieers of the s;liip. Persons of the working classes are very careless about the carrying about of ignited materials, and a drunken man may peril the lives of all. Great care ought to be used to see that the ship has abundance of water, and a superabundance of provisions in proportion to the number of persons embarking. Potatoes are not to be relied on, as they may rot, !i5 and we sa^ l)iscuits, n contractor weather, t lici'ore ma] No ])erson on the line ledge of tl most of th of the cha Plymouth When e: mine the c enough to captain sel fixed by a sions are h quantity, i An Act proper reg on board c tion by an; ca))tain re( Where e fible confii be eaten c( anchovies, soup, will with curi biscuit, pickles, and if ste tatoes of provisions which wi molasses riie prope emigratioi should be voyage ; especially A chest moment, sils. Not trenchers kettle, an wiien nee is a famil of tin, si allowanct a CIIOICK OF A SHIP. 85 t the ad- )ii,so tliat iicnt tlu'v Favigatiou atioii and nd steam may also that they between t mless the hip more y may be walk. T seas get- of persons ;, and the ess to the nmodaiion ite a sepa- lires a fire, is immedi- fate of the Liig passen- d pipes, or The Emi- ccidents on the fire. I large ves- the captain [•ers, should ain who is manlv otfi- it add that f the com- ntre cf the 3. Have a ?, requisite ep him to tion of the tires are on )ii and su- c'lasses are a drunken indance of le number jy may rot, and wc saw an A.meriean ship with German emigrants, w1m)so stores of biscuits, meat, flour, meal, ^Scc., &c., havin|j been purchased from a ship contractor at Antwerp, proved on her puttinfj into llamsgate by stress of weather, to be entirely unlit for use. Had the 100 passengers ])ut to sea l)('for»i makiniL^ this discovery, they would have been reduced to extremity. No person should trust himself in any ship which does not reg:ularly i)iy on the line of' h(>r then destination. It is from want of thorough know- ledge of the British Coast and channel, on the part of the cajjtain, that most of the disastrous shipwi-ecks have occurred. The tedium and peril of the channel navigation are avoided by embarking- at Southampton or Plymouth. When emigrants " find themselves," the Custom House officers exa- mine the quantity they take on board, and compel the passengers to ship enough to last comfortably during a long voyage. If they rely on tlio captain selling to them what they require, they should have the jirice fixed by a written agreement with him before embarking. When provi- sions are included in the passage money, have a fixed dietary, specifying quantity, rotation, and quality, wi'itten and signed by the captain. An Act (5 & 6 Vic, c. 107), for the protection of passengers, and the proper regulation of ships, has been passed ; two copies must bo kept on board of every passenger ship, and exhibited on demand for insptjc- tion by any one. In case of grievance, let this be consulted, and the caj)tain required to conform to its provisions. AVhere emigrants lay in their own stores, they should as much as pos- sible confine themselves to provisions which are easily cooked, and can be eaten cold. Kippered or pickled salmon, salt or red herrings, and anchovies, potted meats and shrimps, ham, tongues, hung beef, portable soup, will be found best ; a little flour to make an occasional pudding, with currants, raisins, and lard ; tea, coffee, and sugar, of course, hard biscuit, butter and cheese, salt, pepper, mustard in bottles, vinegar^ pickles. Much of the French bread will keep for a considerable time, and if steamed when required for use, will taste as if newly baked. Po- tatoes of the best quality will be useful to correct the effect of the salt provisions ; peas, rice, suet, and salted pork, may be added ; vegetables which will keep, as onions, carrots, turnips, beet root, also oatmeal and molasses will be useful medicinally, especially where there are children, riic proper quantities for the voyage may be ascertained from the ship or emigi'ation agent. As much new bread and fresh meat as will keep should be taken on board for consumption during the early part of the voyage ; do not forget bottled porter, which is highly grateful at sea, especially to those liable to be sick. A chest properly divided will be required for provisions in use at the moment, for condiments and groceries, and for cooking and eating uten- sils. Nothing of glass or crockery should be taken — wooden or i)ewter trenchers, and wooden or tin basins, cups, tumblers, and jugs, a tin teapot, kettle, and coffee pot, (with hooks to hang on to the ribs of the grate when necessary), knives, forks, spoons, a fi'ying pan, and where there is a family, a tin slop pail, a mop, broom, and other necessary utensils, of tin, should be particularly seen to. Also a keg to hold three days allowance of water, and a tin jug to carry it from the tank. i.i: ' li t 'I ¥t^ t(iii« ''I m Ml 30 Till"! VOYAOE AND TIIK SEA. The berths, ospficially for children, .should liavo a board up the front, ^leepoi' fn )lliim' out. \Vh atti cannot he aiTorded, one of straw is best ; have as many chanf,'es of sheets, tfce., as voi! can alrbrd ; a f)a<.>- for dirty rlotlic>, and all clothes not to he used tit M a, should he well aired, ])ut up in cluists^ and all chests i)rote<'ted from the \v( t ihtor by 'two strips of deal nailed alon-x their bottom. Ohl worn out clothes are good enough for contact with the tar, sea water, nails ami other wear and tear of a ship. Stout warm clothing in suiiicient (pi ui- tity should ]n) provided, as it is colder at sea than on shore. We cainiot; fldvise the emigrant to lay in a great surplus quantity in this country, in the id(!a of its being nuich cheaper here than abroad. It is now reason- ably cheap everywhere, and in the region to which he goes, he will iiud the best selection of clothing of the kind most adapted to the habits of the peo))le, and to the clinuite. Indeed he should encumber himself with as little luggage, and land with as much money as he can. For medicines, except a few ai)erient pills, he should apply to the captain or ship sur- geon, and be very careful liow they are administered. As to his money, let him take the advice of the Government Emigra- tion Agent as to its custody or conversion. Emigrants may steal from each other, or they may be swindled by sharpers when they land. On the American lakes and rivers the steamers and canal boats swarm with miscreants, who lie in wait either to steal the emigrant's money or to cheat him out of it. Let passengers take nothing but sovereigns, Bank of England notes, or safe Bills of Exchange ; these should never be out of their sight until they are taken to the Colonial Agent at the port of debarkation, and his advice taken as to how they may be exchanged. By purchasing a " sett of exchange" that is three drafts for the same sum, giving one to the agent in England, another to the captain of the ship, and keeping the third himself, the passenger can, in the event of losing his own, receive payment on presenting either of the others. Take no American Bank notes in exchange for British money. The Canada Company, or New Brunswick Land Company will give bills on their transatlantic agents. The emigrant, will in all cases be entitled, in exchanging English money for the money of the country, to a greater nominal sum than he pays over. In Prince Edward's Island a sovereign is worth 3l)s. currency. Besides sharpers on shore at both ends, beware of sharpers among youi' fellow passengers. THE VOYAGE, AND THE SEA. Individuals who have once made a sea voyage, we observe rarely hesi- tate to make a second. This is the testimony which experience gives to the fact that a sea voyage is by no means so formidable an affair as is imagined. Besides the crew and officers, who spend whole lives, at all seasons, on the same passage to America or Australia (in steam ships to New York once every month), actors, actresses, singers, dancers, authors, take the trip aei'oss the Atlantic and back, again and again, without the slightest repugnauce. Noblemen and squires go for mere pleasure, and . timid wom without a: manned, a happens, !i ^\I'eck. ]V from the f American at exactly very soldo laden, am occurrencf tical blunt trim of th '^ Durir mid peopl the sea ru at night, ^ lors over t orders ; a: This will 1 Fear bege' confusion, bear in m: " A shr the passei of anxietj and first ( than one rate they insurance business. "Look being but nonsense, seasoned on to soli ther, tha torn off*, soned oa with hea Liverpoo ness of s some of thickness secured the like. mass of "Afe dual, -wh fusteniut THE VOYAOR, AND TUli SEA. 31 IK! front, Cannot he ■, tScc, na Je used ut Itcd from 1)1(1 Wdlii [nails uiid |tit quau- c cannot lunfry, in I'cjasoii- will iiud lliabits of liself witii ledicinus, ship sur- Emiora- toal from and. On arm with •r to cheat Bank of 31" be out le port of iged. By lame sujn, the ship, of losing rs. Take le Canada bills on ntitled, in a greater sovereign long your rely hesi- e gives to Fair as is ves, at all I ships to , authors, thout the jure, and timid women make the voyage to New Zealand and back to Eurojxi, without any scruple, two or three times. To good shijjs well found manned, and officered, it is amazing how seldom any serious accident happens, and still more remarkable how fre(piently life is saved in ship- wreck. Many i>ersons considered the President too weakly constructed from the first ; and Mr. Joseph Sturge, who was on her very track in an American liner, and encountered the very same storm, S(!a, and passage at exactly the same time, arrived atNew York without any accid(!nt. It is very seldom that the violence of a tempest overcomes a g(jod ship, well laden, and properly navigated. Cases of foundering are of very rare occurrence to staunch ships. Shipwreck is almost always caused by nati- tical blunder, to which captains accustomed to the passiage, and to the trim of their ship, are very little liable. " During the earlier part of the voyage," observes Mr. Marshall " ti- mid people suffer a good deal from fear ; sliould the wind blow hard, and the sea run high, they will be likely to over-rate the danger j especially at night, when the crew is busy reducing sail j the trampling of the sai- lors over their heads j the loud voice of the commander and mates giving orders ; and the careening of the vessel, very naturally create alarm. This will be increased by hearing other passengers express their fears.. Fear begets fear, and the steerage very often presents a scene of great confusion, without the least just cause for it. Passengers should always bear in mind this simple rule, " Never be alarmed until the captain i"«." " A ship is one of the safest modes of conveyance in the world. Let the passenger remember this, and it will relieve him in many a moment of anxiety. In proof of it, the insurance companies insure the liners and first class transient ships at about five per cent, per annum : less than one per cent, for each passage between Europe and America. At this rate they make good profits, which shows how small the risk is. The insurance companies understand the matter of course, for they make it a business. "Look at the thickness of a ship's sides. People talk about there being but a frail plank between the sailor and a watery grave. This is all nonsense. Take a liner for instance. Her outer planks are of solid well seasoned white oak, at least four or five inches thick. These are spiked on to solid live oak ribs of great thickness, which are placed so near toge- ther, that they would almost keep out the water if the outer planks were torn off. Inside of all this is another close sheathing of solid, well sea- soned oak plank, some four or five inches thick, spiked on to the ribs with heavy spikes. We measured the sides of the splendid line ship Liverpool a few days since, and found them to be eighteen inches in thick- ness of solid tough seasoned oak. It is so with almost all the liners, and some of the transient ships. It should be remembered too that this thickness of plank and timber is caulked together inside and outside, and secured with all sorts of bolts, clamps, knees, breast hooks, beams, and the like. It would puzzle a sailor to tell how to break up such a solid mass of wood, iron, and copper, as this. " A few years since Government sold an old vessel to a private indivi- dual, who wished to break her up for the sake of the iron and copper fiistenings. The difficulty of doing so was so great, that he had to pur- I i' 'r^ I'll . ■ 38 THE VOYAGE. AND TIIH J^KA. chase a l!U-«re quantity of fire wood, wliifh lie placed iiisido the vossol to burn lier u)). Tho strength of a well built ship is equal to any stn;>;i> of weatiier. On tliis point let the passenger dismiss all fear. " The passenger should remember that a shii) is as well adapted to tlio water, as a sea-gull is. Both are made expressly for the water, and hoih purvivo buoyantly, naturally, and safely, upon it, let tho wind blow hiyh or low. " As for upsetting, let the passenger put on his night eap and go t„ Bleep without any coneern. There is not a liner afloat, nor a first vh,» transient ship, if properly loaded, l)ut would carry away every one of Ik t masts before she could upset. And, of course, when her masts liad gone, she could not upset. The danger of capsizing therefore is scarcely anions the possibilities. It never has hai)i)ened to the modern and better clii>. ships, and it will be a pity if ships grow worse in this respect. Let lici- roll, roll, roll, till she si)ills your soup, and cheat you too out of yoiii- broth, and take no heed to it." "To travel by the better class of sliips IS less dangerous, than to travel the same distance by land, in any con- veyance under the eun." Sea-sickness is undoubtedly a very painful malady; where there is great liability to it in a violent degree, its incidence may form no mi»(»i' reason for going to Canada or the United States, rather than a greater distance, and for choosing steam and the finest period of the year for the voyage. But it is very seldom dangerous or of long continuance ; and, indeed, by straining the system, and cleaning it thoroughly out, it almost invariably renovates and invigorates the whole constitution. In general it will disappear in a few days ; time and patience are the best cure for it, and as a rule it is best borne lying in your berth. Iio})ie sickness is the more pernicious malady of the two, and much tho most lasting; indeed, so inveterate is it, that tew leave their native country without the design to return to it, however ill they have fared or been treated while it was still their home. Women especially very rarely become reconciled, even to the most eligible circumstances, which sepa- rate them from the land of their birth. Nothing can be more injurious to their prospects, either of happiness or prosperity, than this pininif nostalgia. It robs them of the stimulus to make the best of their new condition, and it sheds the permanent gloom of settled discontent upon their lot. Let wife and daughter, if they value their own interest and comfort, beware how they damp the energies and depress those hopes which stir up the soul of husband or brother to exertion, by complaining of their adopted country, or hankering after that which they have left. It makes the whole family miserable, exaggerates the disadvantages of their new condition, and renders them blind to those of its excellences fi-om which so much contentment and enjoyment may be derived. Let them beware also of sneering at or depreciating their new home to its native inhabitants, or carrying their English prejudices among their new neighbours. Everywhere they will find kindness, advice, and help, if they cheerfully enter into the spirit, customs, and character of the society amongst which they settle. Give their neighbours respect, and enter upon intercourse with them in a cordial and cosmopolitan temper, ftnd all will go well with them. Settle among them for the purpose of looking dow a i)iiinh'mon iiiid sym])al (•ili;iting the No sentii A man vvhoi gn/e on the jiiid then tu to which w (lisagreeiiblc flie good, B tiuited whei niiud associated ^ young enjo; gay fancies them. But work upon, linnament and God's ( nature ; thi fiance of i( country, th does; and em])ty pur? if lie i)lacc or strews : leafy fores you where you upon the bosky < able house liousewife blazing he country, if your chile tainty of tl ye what w Are we ences bet\ lifttions in river and fretted wi countries count ry. THB VOYAGE AND THE SKA. 30 VOMSOl to 8tl'«!S^ of 0(1 to the and Ixiili low lii^li 1(1 go f(i irst chi.vs no of lici- liid ^oiic, y uiiioiin tor class Let lici' of your of .ships any con- there is 110 minoi' a gi'Oiitci' nr lor the ice ; and, it almost n {general it cure for much the nr native e fared or iry rarely lich sepa- injurions lis pinin!,^ their new :ent upon ;erest and ose hopes nplaining have left, mtages of ccellences -ed. Let >me to its :heir new help, if ;r of the pact, and I temper, urpose of ^1 lookinp down upon or avoiding them, and they will find thoy liavo entered a ])iindoin()niuni. As no civili/ed man can ho indoptjndont of the services siud sympathy of his neighhours, so no one can afford to neglect con- ciliating tlnnr good will. No sentiment can be more v(nieral»le than that of love of country. A man whose sound heart is iu the right place, may well " Cast one longing liiig'rin;^ look lielii d." -^'nze on the receding shore until he can make it no bigger than a crow, iiiid then turn his eyes and weep. The word last, applied to objects to which we have been long accustomed, even when they had become (lisagreeable to us, falls like a knell ni)on the soul. We exaggerate tlie good, and forget the evil of that to which we have been long habi- tuated when we are to " know it no more for ever." We cull to mind "All trivial fonfl records All forms and pressures past" associated with our youth, and early friends, and season of poetry and young enjoyment, and because the place suggests pleasant meiriories, and gay fancies, and happy thoughts, we think it is the place that makes them. But be more rational ; think that it is God's earth you tread and work upon, whether you are in the new world or the old ; that the same lirmament canopies all ; that wherever men are, there are your brethren and God's children, stamped with the broad arrow of our common liuman nature ; that your own freehold and independence of the world, and de- fiance of its cares, are a better home, and truer friends, and a fairer country, than any you left behind you ; that, handsome is that handsome does; and that love of country, or home sickness, will neither fill your empty purse, nor make your pot boil. The God of nature is everywhere; if lie j)laces you by the meditative waterfall, or opens the song of birds, or .strews in your path the prairie flowers, or awakens the eclioes of the leafy forest, or tempts you to the hills "with verdure clad," or sends Yoii where sits darkling the linnet "low down in the vale," or launches you upon the moonlit lake, or leads you among the "hairy fools" of the bo.sky dell or opening brake, and at eventide sends you to a comfort- able house you can call your own, and with a welcome from a busy housewife "plying her evening care" to make you happy before your blazing hearth and abundant meal, where should be your home and country, if that will not content you ? And is it not the native home o» your children ; the country where you know you already see the cer- tainty of tlieir ea.sy independence ? "We speak as unto wise men, judge ye what we say ?" Are we not too prone to take for granted that there are great differ- ences betvvixt our pa.st and our new condition, and to exaggerate va- riaticms into cont)*asts? Green fields and the " rooky wood," the fl.owing river and tlie "cloud-capt" hill, the .sunbeam and " the majestical roof fretted witli golden fire," may be divoiso in their aspects in different countries indeed, as they vary in tlie diiTerent regions of the same country. But after all where, at least in the same / general competition for settlers, the authors are not worthy of trust in reference either to the ex- cellences of the colonies they praise, or the faults of those they depreciate. The patron of Canada describes it as a Valparaiso, while the hack of tho New Zealand speculation pronounces our North American colonies as a tulice off the arctic circle. Mr. Mathew, the appraiser of Auckland and "Wellington, takes it for granted that, because Canada has a long and severe winter, he may venture to say that it will scarcely produce any thing ; forgetting that the hyperborean regions of the Baltic are the gTa- nary of Europe, while New Zealand has never yet fed its own population. He prophecies that such an inhospitable region will soon be deserted, in the face of the fact, that the population in ninety years has increased twenty fold; that in twenty-three years it has received 730,308 emi- grants, and that in 1847 nearly three times as many settlers arrived there as in any former year, and twenty-four times as many as found their way to all our otlier colonies put toff ether, amounting to 10!),G80. Were we to characterize the statements of many of the writers who, under pretence of giving an impartial view of the general subject of emigration, set out from the beginning with the fixed design of crying upon one field of set- tlement at the expense of every other, and of truth into the bargain, wo Avould apply a very sliort word to most of their misrepresentations. We shall content ourselves however with merely cautioning the inquirer against putting any reliance whatever upon a single statement of their own, and advise him sim})ly to extract from their works such facts as are authenticated by competent testimony, and substantial internal evi- dence. Let us pass on at once to the proper object of this work, which, founded on a careful collation of all treatises published on the subject of the various emigration fields before enumerated, proposes to lay btjfoio the reader a coniprehcnsive, practical, and trustworthy detail of tho whole subject. I Of all ] vantage c any other Halifax rr Livei'pool York, wil reach Cai the Cuns ing provi American class passi be calcuh (6 expect! York, Ph safest des< expressly unequalle from £18 Orleans, ^ wards, of the emigr days— to days. Tl fax, fi'om to £20 ; ports £1( States po^ The qu periods w mode of Colonizat Street, bj North being ea tance of than any goods, th with arri any othei natives tc fyir supp! the neces below wh indeed m remunerfi ness argu , speak- ■ Milton, crust of se to his his ten- , merely se out of a man; oiibt nut 'ss which ns either titiou for 3 the ex- jpreciate. 3k of tho )nies as a land and long and cluce any I the gTrt- •pulation. serted, in increased 308 emi- ved there their way Were we ' pretence 11, set out Id of sot- rg-ain, wo )ns. We inquirer t of their h facts as irnal evi- <., which, subject of ay before II of tho I J fi BRITISH AMIiRK A. BRITISH AMERICA. 41 Of all British North America it may be observed that it has the ad- vantage of greater proximity to, and easier access from Europe, than any other settlement. By the finest and safest steam vessels in the world Halifax may be reached by the Cunard mail packets in ten days from Livei-pool — or the American steam ships between Southampton and New York, will convey passengers to the latter port, from whence they may reach Canada in eleven or twelve days from port to port. The fare by the Cunard line is £35, and by the American line £31 10s., includ- ing provisions and steward's fee. The second class fare is £20 by the American steamers. We are not aware that the Cunard line carries second class passengers. At certain ascertained seasons the finest weather may be calculated on so as to avoid sea sickness. In June and July this may »e expected. The American liners from Liverpool and London to New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Halifax, Quebec, are of the very best and safest description. Their accommodations are of the first order, they are expressly built for speed and safety, and they have appointments quite unequalled for excellence. The cabin fare including provisions varies from £18 to £25 ; the distance is from 3,600 to 3,800 miles (to New Orleans, 4,300), and the average passage about thirty-five days or up- wards, of 100 miles a day. By good transient ships we see it stated by the emigration commissioners the average passage to Quebec is forty-six days— to Prince Edward's Island forty days — Nova Scotia thirty-eight days. The fare by these vessels is, to Quebec, New Brunswick, or Hali- fax, fi'om English ports, or the Clyde, cabin, including provisions, £12 to £20; intermediate, £6 to £10; steerage, £4 to £5; from Irish ports £10 to £12 ; £5 to £6; £4 to £5; and to the nearest United States ports, nearly the same. The quickest passages are made in April and May, and these arc thi periods when it is most advantageous to a settler to commence his ncM mode of life. All necessary preliminary information will be found in the Colonization Circular, No. 9, published by Charles Knight, 90, Fleet Street, by authority, price 2d. North America, as a place of settlement, has the obvious advantage of being easily, speedily, and cheaply reached, of being within easy dis- tance of Europe, and of being nearer to the great market of all colonies than any other locality. The freights deduct less from the profits of goods, the returns are quicker, the risks of competition in the market with arrivals from other colonies are less than they can be in reference to any other district. The country is comparatively settled— there are no natives to battle with — credit and trade are steady — above all, labour is in fyir supply, and at a moderate price in comparison to capital— and all the necessaries and comforts of life are accessible at a rate vei-y much bolow what they cost in the more distant colonies. In answer to this, it indeed may be said that in the same degree labourers must be iiKlifferently remunerated, and the profits of the producer must be small. But cheap- ness argues the pressure of abundance both of hil)our and of food; and l3 i' ,;t ' '■■■hi i ■:i 'li.J'f'l 1 A ' ''I I, i't ■I Iff n'l \ n 43 BRITISH AMERICA. if m f ■ i m m L- 1 these, hy forcing the investment of capital, must inevitably make a country proeperous and happy. Sugar, soap, candles, tobacco, flax, and wool, timber, are all manu- factured and produced on the spot. Tea, 2s., sugar, 4d., butter, 5d., cheese, 4d, coffee, lOd., meat, 2d., per lb. j eggs, 3d. per dozen ; fowls, 6d. per pair ; venison. Id. per lb. ; salmon of good size, 2s. each ; and other fish very cheap ; as also fire wood -Indian corn, 8s. per quarter clothing and servants wages as low in price as in England. A sovereigt yields 25s. in Canada, and 30s. in Prince Edward's Island. A comfort- able farm house with fifty acres of cleared and enclosed land may be had for £300, or rented for £25 per annum ; taxes are infinitesimal. To all practical purposes, therefore, a man who can retire upon £150 per an- num, would, by going to Prince Edward's Island, live quite as well as upon £300 a year in England, and if he has a large family, they could live infinitely better ; if they chose to raise their own produce, for which a farm of fifty acres would furnish them with all the means, they would, except for clothing and a few groceries, be really independent of the need of current coin altogether. Emancipated from the tyranny of conven- tion, and liberated from the necessity of consulting mere appearances, they may renovate the constitution by following the healthful activity of a country life. They will be under British institutions and essentially in British society, and among English customs ; they will encounter little of that mere Yankeeism, against which so many entertain so great a pre- judice. The tone of social life is not there indeed very high, and man- ners are more simple than polished. Settlers will not be quite as well, or 60 obsequiously served as at home — they will find everything oi a coarser and plainer, and less perfectly convenient construction, and all around they will be reminded of a ruder and less advanced state of society; roads rarer and rougher, doctors further ofl', shops not so near, nor so well supplied, conveyance and intercourse imperfect, life monotonous, and company, news, incidents, scarce. Ladies especially, will miss many appliances which they have been accustomed to, regard as indispensable, and husbands may lay their account with a house full of patients, la- bouring under the home sickness. Much must be done 6y, which has hitherto been done /or them— and much must be left undone, which they believed they could never do without. Never mind — " Resist evil, and it will flee from thee." Defy the women, and they will become resigned. To horse ! He may be had cheap, and kept at a cost little beyond his shoeing. Take your rod, and bring home a dish of fish — shoulder your Joe Manton, or your rifle, and bring down a wild turkey or a deer — there is no license to pay for, and no gamekeeper to stop you at the march ; or in the winter evenings, bring a book from the town, and while all work round the blazing hearth, do you read for the company. Make the house more comfortable and neat within — more trim without— do what you can for the garden, and insjure in the womankind a taste for botany and flowers. You must be the jobbing carpenter, and locksmith, and Dutcher, and gardener, and groom, and doctor sometimes— the executor of commissions, the brewer, tlie wood-cutter, plasterer, and glazier, the man of all work. And leave every other job to make the house pleasant to the female eye, and replete with the amenities of civilization. That is the fi.^st adoj)tcd ( ens and c these unci you in yc siderate 1 is once fo To us i tire to frc little for 1 very plac^ who is sp head worl or wareh( town life stage, and turn —let into £2,0 they may twenty ye they will existence i for more. These, if ought to 1 have Intel quire to healthful, sophistica pass." The sui daily if medicines The pr( little mor lilngland, labour wi duce, he need care which a" All the obvious a cessity of — a fran quite as year's rei into £1, them fro: make a manu- ;er, 5d., ; fowls, 2h ; aiKl quarter DvereigL omfoi't- y be had To all per an- I well as y could 3r which y would, the need conven- sarances, ctivity of itially in iter little at a pre- md man- s well, or a coarser il around :' society; :•, nor so lotonous, liss many pensable, ients, la- ,'hich has r'hichthey evil, and resigned, jyond his Ider your er — there larch ; or ! all work Make the -do what or botany mith, and executor azier, the e pleasant . That is '. ir BRITISH AMERICA. 4n th(3 fi.^st thing which will reconcile your wife and daughters to tlieir adopted country. Interest them in your bee-hives, get broods of chick- ens and ducks and geese, and all the accessaries of the dairy, and place these under their dominion. Urge your friends and neighbours to join you in your new location, and "make the solitary i)lace glad" with con- siderate kindness, well chosen acquaintances, and the fixed idea that that is once for all your only home and final resting place. To us it appears that the colonies are the especial field for men to re- tire to from the we/iv and tear of life, with a small hoard that could do little for them in the old world, but everything in the new. It is the very place for a small capitalist to afford to be idle in. The literary man, who is spinning his life out at his brains, the surgeon or attorney, whose head work is eating the coat out of his stomach, the merchant, or clerk, or warehouseman, or tradesman, whose anxieties and confinement, and town life, are pushing consumption, or heart disease to their incipient stage, and who with a family staring them in the face, know not where to turn —let these men take stock, and if they can convert their possessions into £2,000 or £3,000, let them take flight in time to the colonies, where they may recover their health, and the tone of their minds, and add twenty years to their lives. They will make room for others in England, they will increase population where there is not enough, they will enjoy existence on what they have, in place of throwing it away on the struggle for more. ' f^t it not be said that — " 1;< I,,, of aught he leaves, knows what it is to leave betimes." These, if they be not mere mechanical unimaginative Bow Bell cocknies, ought to be the very men to enjoy the country life of the settler. They have intellectual resources seldom vouchsafed to the mere farmer, they re- quire to change mental exhaustion for physical exertion, the most healthful, as well as exhilirating of occupations — and, surfeited with social sophistications, their palled senses may gladly " dofi" the world and let it pass." The surgeon-apothecary may do well in any of these colonies, espe- cially if he adds a knowledge of the veterinary art, and can dispense medicines for cattle, horses, &c. The professional farmer may get a productive farm in fee simple for little more than the amount of one year's rent of the farm he left in England, with scarcely any taxes to pay. Every expense except that of labour will be much less, and if he gets but a small price for his pro- duce, he has no rent day to meet, or steward's wrath to propitiate, and need care little for a failing crop, where he has few liabilities to encounter which a scanty and ill paid harvest will not easily meet. All these classes, capitajists in a greater or less degree, establish this obvious advantage by emigration. They are emancipated from the ne- cessity of keeping up appearances — they may live exactly as they please — a frame or even a log house costing from £35 to £85 will lodge them quite as securely as a brick one, which in England cost as much by the year's rent — they gain ten per cent, on the exchange, converting £1,000 into £1,100, the second conversion from sterling into currency gives them from 258. to 30s. for every sovereign according as they go to Lower ■ t I !■ SI, ' 4(1. ■ •iP i k ■I i I I !,' 41 inUTlSII AMERICA. I' I' 1 ^ 1^ or Upi>er Canada, oi* Prince Edward's Island, and tlioy remove their capital entirely from the operation of a taxation which amountw to al least £35 per cent upon the whole property of Eni^land. To those who have little or, still worse, nothing, the necessity and ad- vantages of emigration are still gi'eater. The sturdy but simple farmer beaten by the times, by a bad farm or a high rent, need only to resolva to be industrious and keep up a stout heart, to work out an early inde- pendence. If he must begin by serving, a single day's wages will buy an acre of good land ; he may rent a farm on the simple condition of giving the proprietor one third of what he raises ; or he may get land of his own immediately, at a cheap rate, and on the very easiest terms of payment. A little capital, if jutliciously laid out, will go a great way, and if he have a family, especially of sons, ready and willing and able to labour, he may reckon himself already independent. The farm labourer, inured to greater hardships and privation, moie accustomed to hard work and the manipulation of agriculture, will he still better off if he cultivates industry and sobriety. To the carpenter, blacksmith, mill and cartwright, and bricklayer, the very best circumstances concur in these colonies, where wages are fair, employment certain, food cheap and rent moderate. The tradesman who understands his business, and has capital to buy goods for cash, is sure to make a speedy independence, by keepiiig a store. The store-keepers are indeed the chief men in these colonies. Mere money lending is highly profitable: on good security it will sometimes bring 25 per cent. In bank stock it will readily produce \'2 per cent, and by the buying and selling of land even larger profit may be made. In seasons of temporary depression, such as the present, cleared farms may be purchased at a very cheap rate. It is indeed su<2- gested that high profits of money are scarcely compatible with perfect security : but if farms are purchased cheap, or even unimproved land, in favorable localities, the investment may indeed be subject to temporary de- l)ression, but the tide of emigration flows so fast towards these colonics, the unsettlement of Europe gives such an impetus to the transfer of cap- ital to the new world, and a young country such as Canada, must so cer- tainly progress for many years, that we conceive the security better than even that of land in Europe at present prices. The mortgagees of Ireland would too fully corroborate this. Nor ought it to be forgotten that the law expenses of conveyance, either for large piu'chases or small, amount in our colonies, to not as many shillings as they do pounds in England, that the title is clearer, and that there is no stamp duty on the tranfcfer, of any moment. Were the colonization of these dependencies systematic, as government is about to make it, so that the emigrants should, at once, on arrival, be placed in a position of comparative com- fort, the filtration which percolates to the United States, would not take place, and we should retain all the increment we acquired. Referring the reader to the colonization circular, No. 9, for a detailed statement of the rates of wages in these colonies, we may observe gen- erally that for all kinds of handicraftsmen, they range about the same or are snitK^vhat more moderate than in F.ngland. Carpenters, blacksmifh'*, millwrights, and bricklayers, from 5s. to Us. Uakers, tailors, shocmaliera, painters, s Dress mal< 13s. 6d. to lodging, V £27. Lai low, of C( here. We their empl and either good sum All auth fix, before when he r^ about the They are n as may be where he c liar mode < much valu The bala emigrants ; make verj The woods caution is robust. C cold to wh of exposur place the ] are very h< of wood, n • Referrin in subsequer subject then "In the new breakfast be says Dr. Coi ence of eold at any other tary comma before expo Balling^all e^ prevalent, a; so sticcessfu rience has s open air bef have been A experience ( and rivers o paid to the i 1 1 is also T consumptioi summer. T and colonel during his v Sierra licont BRITISH AMERICA. 45 re their ttt to at and ad- farmer resolvft y inde- ^ill buy lition of ; land of erms of at way, i able to 1, more will be yer, the ire fair, to buy sepiiig a nies. y it will )duco 12 fit may present, Bed sn2- periect land, in »rary de- colonies, [• of cap- t so cer- better 2^agees of forgotten or small, )unds in y on the jndencies migrants ive corn- not take , detailed rve peii- 3 same or [jksmiMi.'!', (cnialieris, ; i painters, shipwi-iglits, from 3s to 48. Labourers and quarrymen 2s. to 9s. Dress makers Is per day, without board. Cooks and dairywomen from 13s. 6d. to 27s. per month and found. Or by the year with board and lodging, women servants from £9 to £12. Gardeners from £22 to £27. Labourers from £16 to £20. Where food, rent and taxes are so low, of course these wages are virtually much greater than they are here. We think they offer great inducements to operatives to remain at their employment for some years, in order that they may save capital, and either become masters in their own trade, or start as fanners, with a good sum in hand. All authorities concur in strenuously recommending every emigrant to fix, before he sets out, upon the district in which he resolves to settle, and when he reaches America at once to go to the spot, and not to loiter about the towns, where his little all will soon be squandered or stolen. They are unanimous also in urging him at once to accept of such wages as may be offered him, until he has had time to look about him and see where he can get better. Until he has become accustomed to the pecu- liar mode of labouring practised in the country, his services are not of much value. The balance of opinion is very greatly in favour of the rule that no emigrants from Britain should take uncleared land. The best of them make very indifferent woodsmen, and the felling of trees is an art. The woods are not healthy, and until the body becomes acclimated, great caution is required in the treatment of the constitution, even of the robust. Clearing land is very laborious, and the extremes of heat and cold to which North America is every where subject, joined to a degree of exposure to which in England the body has never been accustomed, place the new comer in danger of contracting disease, if his labours are very heavy.* To new settlers ten acres of cleared land are worth fifty of wood, nor should it ever be forgotten that in the backwoods, for the •Referring^ the reader to the observations of Mr. Prentice, Avhich will be found in subsequent pag'es, relative to the incautious exposure to which emigrants often subject themselves in the Wcslern States, we rejiard the followinj? advice as vahiable. "In the new countries of the West," observes Mr. Marsluill, " it is important that breakfast be eaten before the person is much exposed to the air. ' It is well known,' says Dr. Combe,' that the system is more susceptible of infection and of the influ- ence of eold, miasmata, and other morbid causes, in the morning before eating, than at any other time j and hence it has become a point of duty with all naval and mili- tary commanders, especially in bad climates, always to give tlieir mess breakfast before exposing them to morning dews, and other noxious influences. Sir George Ballingall even mentions a regiment at Mewcastle in which typhus fever was very prevalent, and in which of all the means used to check its progress, nothing proved so successful as an early breakfast of warm coffee. In aguish countries also, expe- rience has shown that the proportion of sick among those who are exposed to the open air before getting any thing to eat is infinitely greater than among those who have been fortified by a comfortable breakfast.' The writer has had great personal experience of the most sickly climates, Batavia, Sumatra, China, the forests, lakes, and rivers of North America, and he is convinced that particular attention should be paid to the suggestion of Mr. Combe." It is also most important to observe that nature dictates a great reduction in the consumption of animal and stimulating food during the ardent heals of an American summer. The inhabitants of India confine themselves to a purely vegetable diet, and colonel T. P. Thomson, by doing the same, never had so much as a bead-aolie during his whole peiioa of service with his regimcut in India, and as ^overmw of 8i«rra lieoue. I ' Ml i U ii ■ fen i\ 'I :«r,m iik*^ i I ;■ 1 40 PRINCE EDWARD'S ISLAND. ? mi head of a family to have a long sickness, is famine and ruin, and to the capitalist, who may thereby be prevented from looking after his labour- res, it is an immense loss. It is indeed said that wood land is always productive, wiiile much that is cleared is impoverished by cropping. But the remedy for this is to examine the soil, and, if need be, to rent at first, with the option of purchase if approved. A capitalist can, at all times, purchase a cleared farm for one-third less than it cost to im- prove it, and considering the inexperience of new settlers, and that they know, at once, their whole outlay, when they buy a cleared farm, there is no room to doubt the prudence on the score of health, economy, and profit, of the course we recommend. It is also especially desirable that in all cases the emigrant should avoid buying more land than his capital will easily enable him to culti- vate. The poor man should have a sovereign to put against every acre of uncleared land he buys, and the capitalist at least £4. If possible let neither run into debt, but pay the purchase down. From the store keeper they will buy goods much cheaper, and sell produce much higher, by avoiding barter or credit, and in(troducing cash into all transactions. Tlie store keepers are the usurers of Canada, and squeeze terrible interest out of the needy. Colonial Commissioners advise emigrants to keep their contract tickets, carefully, till the conditions have been fulfilled, by their being fairly landed ; to provide themselves with food sulficient for their raaintainenco until they reach the interior ; to take no tools or furniture with them ; to set off from England in the middle of March ; to remember that they are entitled to be maintained on board for forty-eight hours after theii arrival in port ; to avoid drinking the water of the St. LawTcnce, and to go to Quebec, if Canada be their destination, and to Halifax, if for the other colonies. It may be questioned whether passengers for the Upper l*rovince might not more conveniently reach it by New York. The government agents at Quebec or Montreal, and the emigration societies at New York will give ample advice and information as to route, convey- ance, fares. Emigi-ant sheds, and medical advice are provided gratis at all the principal towns. From Quebec to Hamilton, Upper Canada, Cfi7 miles, the steerage passage is 29s. currency ; time about eight days. To Toronto it is 22s., exclusive of provisions, for persons above twelve years. Half price for those between twelve and three, all under, free. The ex- pense of a log hut, is from £5 to £12, and if the chief labour be per- formed by the emigrant, it will cost less. By New York a person in good circumstances may reach Toronto in three days, at a cost of £4 16s. 3(1. It is not our pur])ose to include in this work information which is more properly the object of a mere gazetteer. But as some distinctive teatures belong to eadj of the North American settlements, we shall no- tice them in their order. TRINCE EDWARD'S ISLAND. This island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, is 140 miles long, at Its greatest breadth 34 miles, and contains 1,300,0(10 acres, of which all hvi 10,000 are fit for tillage. It is indented with numerous bavsund hiabouvi^, I and poss producti abound \ habitants Queen's i and it hi capital, i From i is quite f\ and mild able for h subject c of emigri of its soii Ague is u The is would ne Life seem; cheap. I nial legisL glean the very healt severe, bu snow stor] island is ( other pro^ recruit, j prevalent.] from EngJ never usee mon to all where, times, but society, it families h£ pro])erty \[ obtained s( acter of so "There farm or a the enterp buildin":, same cour^ moderate \ "Thecu sequence lime, whic has beconi £1 10s. of for Is. Gd. PRINCE EDWAKI) .S ISLAND. 47 to the abour- always )ppinf?. to rent can, at to im- at they there and should [) culti- ery acre possible [le store I higher, tactions. ! interest t tickets, ig fairly itainence 1 them; hat they ter theii md to go the other Upper •k. The societies convey- gratis at lada, Cfi7 ays. To ve years. The ex- be per- 1 in good 16s. 3d. which is istinctive hall no- ig, at its 'h all but uivbouvt«>, and possesses many rivers. The soil is of excellent quality, and very productive of all crops, which thrive in England. The coast and rivers abound with fish : the country is very level, and easily farmed. Its in- habitants are chiefly Scotch and presbyterians. It is divided into King s, Queen's and Prince's Counties. The population is upvi^ards of 40,000, and it has a governor and legislature of its own. Charlotte Town, the capital, is neat and pretty. From the absence of mountains and its proximity to the sea, the island is quite free from fogs, and is very dry, with a climate more temperate} and mild than any other in North America. The inhabitants are remark- able for health and longevity. In all these points every writer on the subject concurs, and we incline to the opinion, that for every class of emigrants, this, on account of its salubrity, and the superior character of its soil, is the most eligible locality of all our American possessions Ague is unknown, and fever is accidental, not incidental. The island contains a colony of old-fashioned, jog-trot folks, who would never set fire to the Thames, nor let the Thames drown them. Life seems easy to all classes, wages moderate, provisions and clothing cheap. From the perfectly reliable authority of a member of the colo- nial legislature, whose letter is dated so recently as August, 1848, we glean the following particulars. " The climate of the island I regard as very healthy. The summers are very fine ; the winter, at times, very severe, but generally clear and bright, and I do not think, except during snow storms, that the cold is felt to be a serious inconvenience. The island is esteemed to bo so beneficial to persons out of health in the other provinces, that it is no unusual thing for them to come here to recruit. Indeed the general report and impression of its salubrity is very prevalent. I know of no case of asthma, and the governess who came from England with me, used in England always to wear a respirator, but never used it while in this country. Consumption is, I believe, com- mon to all parts of the world, but certainly not more so here than else- where. I know of no case of ague. Fever is an accidental intruder at times, but not more than in England. With respect to the state of society, it is perhaps as good as in any colony, for a good many English families have, within the last ten years settled in the island, bringing pvoi)erty with them, and having by their superior means and number obtained some little influence in the place, they have improved the char- acter of society in it." "There would be no difficulty either in leasing or purchasing a small farm or a small house according to the views and fancy of the settler, as the enterprise of the people of the colonies finds its vent principally in building, &c. &c. in the expectation to sell, and proceed through the same course over again. From £200 to £400 sterling would do all that moderate wants would require. " The currency of the island is at a depreciation of fifty per cent, in con- sequence of an issue of paper money, and increase of debt at the same lime, which is now better understood, and put under restraint ; but it has become established as the fixed rate. A sovereign is therefore £1 10s. of this currency, and an English shilling, in like manner, passes for Is. Od. With £200 per annum a man may live here far better than .:"M'r I • i:^':^:( 1 i^ ii n «' mania, mining, demora- itable to o^vn, m- d, corn- hundred ;h cows, ig house . a forge, ir, raised [nuch as ninety bushels of Indian corn on a single acre. He talked in high terms of the rich interior country. As evidence of the state of the climate the fact here stated, of the existence of prolillc crops of Indian corn is very important. In refer- ence to Lower Canada, Mr. Shirreff observes that " the climate is too cold for the cultivation of Indian corn, which only occasionally ctnnos to maturity in the most favoured spots." Indian corn is a very tender plant; to come to maturity it must be sown early, and it never becomes ripe until the middle or end of October. If then it is successfully culti- vated in New Brunswick, it is apparent that the spring must be earlier, and the commencement of winter considerably later than in Lower Canada. Tlio prices of improved land in this, and all emigration fields vary \uuch according to the temporary state of the district. In hard times, fur which an emigrant should wait, good cleared fanns with suitable buildings, may for cash be had for 30s. or 40s. per acre. At this season of depression great bargains are to be made. Wo have examined tho files of the colonial newspapers (a most useful study for an intending emigrant), and from their advertisements we observe that, good fanns are to be had in all the provmces at prices varying from 20s. to 100s. per acre. CANADA. Lower Canada, or Canada East as, since the union of the two pro- vinces, it is called, contains an area of 132,000,000 acres, and is divided into five districts, and twenty -one counties. The population, which is chiefly French, amounts to upwards of 1,000,000 of souls. It contains several handsome and prosperous towns, and possesses the best river and lake communications of any country in the world. Its cities, Quebec and Montreal are very populous, commodious, and picturesque, and tho scenery of the region is altogether very fine. Abundance of land of cx- '^cllent quality is every whereto be had on easy terms, the upset jirice of uncleared land, ranging from 3s. to 5s. per acre, and improved farms with suitable ofHces even in the neighbourhood of the chief towns, be- ing purchaseable, at prices, varying from £20 to £5 or even £3 per acre. The country is well settled — the institutions for government, jurisjiru- dence, religion, and education, matured, and ample, and the state of society not uncongenial to the British taste or habits. Roads, bridges, canals, coaches, steam and ferry boats, hotels, hospitals, &c., are more numerous and better arranged and appointed in tiiis than in the other provinces, and the conveniences of civilized life are here more readily attainable. Shipping and commerce are prosperous, and transactions are conducted less by barter and more through the medium of a currency hove than in the otlier districts, or the Western United States. The working population are simple and inoffensive in their habits, and more respectful in tlieir manners than elsewhere. Produce yields a bettor price and is more easily convertible into cash also, and wages are fair but not excessive. The proportion which arable land, and soil of superior f2 £3 CANADA. .^ 11 'i (juality, in the sottltnl parts of this i)roviiice, bears to tlio whole ter- ritory is v(!ry lilf^h, and the better ohi.ss(!.s of timber, which it bears in perfection (oak, maple, beech, elm, walnut, cedar, and ash), as also tlio quality and (piantity of tho wheat (forty bushels per acre), sufficiently indicate its superiority. Let us here premise what is necessary to bo observed in reference to climate, both in its effects upon animal and vegetable life. Other thinj^x bein. The constitution of the soldier is not affected in any material degi-ee by the extreme severity of the North American winter ; on the contrary, the degree of health there enjoyed is not exceeded in any quarter of the globe." " The summer heat," observes the backwoodsman, ** of Upper Canada generally ranges towards 80 degrees, but should the wind blow twenty- four hours from the north, it will fall to forty degrees. One remarkable peculiarity in the climate is its dryness — roofs of tinned iron of fii"ty years standing are as bright as the day they came out of the shof) ; you may have a charge of powder in your guns for a month without its hang- ing fire; or a razor out and opened all night without a taint of rust. Pectoral or catarrhal complaints are here hardly known. In the cathe- dral of Montreal, where 6,000 persons assemble every Sunday, you will seldom find the service interrupted by a cough, even in the dead of win- ter and in hard frost ; ])ulmonary consumption is so rare in Upper Canada that in eight years residence I have not seen as many cases of the disease as I have seen in a day's visit to a provincial infirmary at home. The only disease annoying us here, to which we are unaccustomed at home, is intermittent fever, and that, though abominably annoying, is not by any means dangerous : indeed, one of the most annoying circumstances connected with it is that instead of being symi)athised with, you ave laughed at. Otherwise the climate is infinitely more healthy than that of England. " Though the cold of a Canadian winter is great, it is neither distress- ing nor disagreeable. There is no day during winter, except a rainy one, in which a man need be kept from work. The thermometer is no judge of temperature. Thus, with us in Canada when it is low, say zero, there is not a breath of air, and you can judge of the cold of the morning, by the smoke rising from the chimney of a cottage straight up, like the steeple of a church, then gradually melting away into the beautiful clear blue of the morning sky ; yet it is impossible to go through a day's march in your great coat, whereas at home when the wind blows from the north east, though the thermometer stands at from 50 degrees to 00 degrees, you find a fire far from oppressive. During the Indian summer (three weeks of November), the days are pleasant, with abundance of sunshine, and the nights present a cold clear black frost ; then the rains commence —then the regular winter, which if rains and thaws do not intervene Is I 3 1 J •Ni 1 fi k': lIJi' I' ;||iii ii /54 CANADA. ^ .' I . t l^r ! 1 / very pleasant— then rains and thaws again until the strong sun of mid- dle May rjmders everything dry and green." The author of Ilochelaga (Mr. Warburton) corroborates these obser- vations, and Mrs. Jameson, although in the outset of her work she ghcs the gloomiest picture of a Canadian year, winds up, after three years ex- perience, in high spirits, the best health, and with the most favourable opinion of Canada ''and all which it inherits." Indeed, although com- plaining, on her arrival, of very delicate health, she undertook long ex- cursions down the lakes and rivers in open canoes, resting in rude tents during the night, and suffered neither from fatigue, nor an exposure, which most English ladies would regard as suicidal, and which undertaken in England would be decidedly hazardous. It is not tlie rigour of the winter which is so formidable in Canada, but rather the summer heats and the sudden changes of temperature. An AbeiM:leenshire gardener, settled at Montreal, observes, " the garden is surrounded by high brick walls, covered with peach and nectarine trees ; the peaches grow to a great size, and ripen excellently in the open air ; the grapes bear well on the trelisses in the garden ; I had a fine croj) of them, superior to any I saw in the houses at home ', and the melons are also surprisingly fine j I cut 300 melons from ground not twenty feet by twelve, some weighing fifteen pounds ; they require no attention ; just sow the Sued and this is all you have to do. We sow cucumbers about the ditches, and they produce abundantly. Gourds here weiuh fifty pounds. The thermometer s^ood for three months at 99 degrees all day in the shade, and 80 all night. I thought I should be roasted alive, being obliged to take my bed out of the house and lie in an open shed, with nothing on but a single sheet, and after all I perspire very freely." In winter observes Mr. Montgomery Martin and Mr. Evans (on Cana- dian agriculture), "all the feathered tribe take the alarm, even the hardy crow retreats ; few quadrupeds are to be seen, some, like the bear, re- maining in a torpid state, and others, like the hare, turning to a pure white." " The country is covered with snow ] within doors the Cana- dians are well secured from the cold — the apartments being heated with stoves, and kept at a high equable temperature. Winter is a season of joy and pleasure, sledges, curricles fixed on skates, convey over the livers, lakes, and roads, visiting and pleasure parties, and dining, supping, aiul balls fill up the evenings. Even the St. Lawrence is frozen over from Quebec to Montreal." The authoress of the " Backwoods of Canada," after giving a glowing account of the aspect of the country around Quebec, observes, under date 17th of August, " the weather moderately warm (this on board ship op- posite Montreal), and the air quite clear ; we have emerged from a damp atmosphere to a delightful summer. The further we advance the more fertile the country api)oars; the harvest is ripening under a more genial climate than that below Quebec. We see fields of Indian corn iu full flower— the farms and farm houses are really handsome iilaces witli clumps of trees to break the monotony of the clearing. The land is nearly an unbroken level plain, fertile and well farmed. The country between Quebec and Montreal has all the appearance of having be(>n long settled under cultivation, but there is a gi-eat portion of forest still stand- block li of niid- ?e obsor- she ghos years ex- ivonvablo igh corn- long ex- ude tents exposure, idertakeu L Canada, iperature. garden is ine trees ; the open I line croj) le melons wenty feet attention ; jucumbers ere Aveigb legrees all sted alive, pen shed, y freely." (on Cana- tlic hardy I bear, rt^- to a pure the Cana- eated with I season of the rivers, pping, and over from a glowing under date •d ship op- )m a daniji the move lore genial oi'U ill full daces with 'he land is he country r Imn long still stuiid- r AX ADA. bb mg; many herds of cattie wore feeding on little grassy islands. Some miles below Montreal the ap])earance of the country became richer, more civilized, more populous ; in the lower division of the province you feel tiuit the industry of the inhal)itants is forcing a churlish soil for bread — ill the upper, the land seems willing to yield her increase to modor-ito ex- ertion. August 21. — The weather is sultry hot, accompanied by fre- ((uent thunder showers; I experience a degree of langour and oppression that is very distressing." Mr. Patrick ShirretF, an East Lothian farmer, who visited Canada in 1 834, expresses an indifferent opinion of the country in every res])ect, und a great preference for Illinois. But on comparing his narrative with thiit of a very great many reliable and eminent authoi'itiea, and with facts stated by himself, and looking to the spirit in which he views every thing, we are not inclined to place implicit reliance on his estimate. Na- turally of a morose temper, and tainted in his view of external appear- ances by mere political impressions, we are more inclined to judge from ids facts than his mere dicta. " Around Cornwall" he admits, " and more particularly from Coteau de Lac to the Cascades, much excellent wheat was growing on clay soil, formed into very narrow ridges. Other crops indifferent, and choked up with perennial thistles." '' I experienced much pleasure at finding my friends and former neigh- bours possessing so many more old country comforts than the backwood settlers in Upper Canada, and all enjoying good health and spirits. This is quite an East Lothian colony ; four farmers who have settled hero dined with us, and there are blacksmiths, sailors. Sec, without number in the ^ illage. The township of Hinchinbroke is a thriving settlement, and in [loiiit of climate perhaps the best in Lower Canada. The banks of the river are free from wood — good farms are seen." " The Chateauguay is here joined by the Hinchinbroke, Trout River, and Oak Creek, the banks of all of wdiich are settled and abound in good situations." Grass was in many situations excellent, red and white clover abounding without being sown." " The houses consist of wood ; a log house consists of rough logs piled above each other; dove-tailed at the corners, and the intervals filled up with clay or other material. A block house is S(][uare logs classed. A frame house is sawn boards nailed on a frame, lathed and plastered in- side with pitched roofs, slated with shingles." " Land in Hinchinbroke district sells moderately ; a friend bought two hundred acres, with a frame and log house for £270 currency ; another, three hundred acres with ninety cleared, for £2;37." "The general as- pect of the country from St. Therese to Montreal, a distance of forty miles, closely resembles the finest parts of Phigland. I do not recollect of having travelled over the like extent of continuous good wheat soil in any part of the world." " Clover seeds are never sown, yet cow grass and white clover every where abound, and often attain the utmost luxuriance. Heaps of manure were seen dissolving to earth on the way sides." INIr. Shirreif states that the farming is of the most wretched description, and the sheep, cattle, and horses very inferior. The Canadians live in large block houses, clean and neat, but deficient in orchards and the ornament of trees. They arc extremely respectful uud civil. Auolher East Lotliiau m h m :;/".? < 1 .! 1,:^ i*¥, f: 66 CANADA. s fannov, who had recently settled, told him his purchase was very clu'ujs and l»c was in high hopes and .spirits. He gives a most favourable ac- count of the Montreal district, and recommends market gardening there as highly lucrative. A milch cow can be grazed for the season for 4s. .3(1. The price of land on the island of Montreal varied from £10 to £20 \k'.v acre, according to quality, situation, and buildings. Labour is cheap- crops are reaped at 7s. fid. per acre. An East Lothian ploughman got £12 a year, house, garden, firewood, cow's keep, oatmeal, potatoes, and pens. Mr. Joseph Pickering, in his " Inquiries of an EmigTant," more tluin corroborates this favorable account. He speaks of the great number of houses and farms on the banks of the Lower Canada rivers, the neatness, cleanliness and orderliness of the appearance of the French population, and of the great excellence of the Canadian horses. " If not for tho extremes of climate, this might be considered almost a i)aradise." " At- tended a cattle show, a few good Leicestershire sheep, good bulls, cows indifferent, very useful English and Canadian brood mares." *' Manure produced splendid grass, but so disregarded that men were hired to cart it to the river." " The goodness and cheapness of the old cleared land. (£5 to £6 only the acre,) low price of labour, (30s. to 35s. per month,) point this place out as eligible for farmers with capital, as there are no taxes." Plemp grows very luxuriantly." " Winter wheat is little .sown ; but a Canadian informs me that he knew a small piece this season that answered extremely well, much better than spring wheat. The snow would preserve it." At Quebec district, land is good, grass fields luxu- riant. Pasture had a fresher appearance the lower I came down the pro- vince, attributable to the dampness of the climate, for there have been more misty foggy days since I have been in Quebec, than I saw all the time T. was in the Upper Province." " Attended two agricultural meet- ings. Very fine vegetables exhibited, and also fruit ; excellent plough- ing by settlers, (Irish and Scotch,) and very good cattle. The Aberdeenshire gardener states, that in Montreal bread is cheap, 6 lbs. for 8d. ; beef 4d., pork 6d., mutton S^d. per lb. ; eggs 5d. per doz. Labourer's wages, 2s. Od., currency ; joiners 5s., masons the same ; tailors 7s. 6d. ; blacksmiths 4s. 6d. Clothes dear, 30s. for making a dress coat ; 6s. for trousers ; shoes the same price as in Scotland, but not so good. Such is an eliptical account of the various more important particulars relative to the lower province, which it is important for emigi-ants to know. The character and topograpliy of tlie various sub-districts, it is not necessary they should learn until, being on the spot, they can iiit'oiui themselves of the minutest particulars. Here it is our object only tti supply such information as may enable them to form a general idea of the suitableness of the province for their taste and circumstances. Our own conclusion from the facts is, that for handicraftsmen, and persons not proposing to follow agri(;ulture, the chief towns of Lower Canada form the preferable location ; and that for agriculturists the Ui)pcr Pro- vince is very much better ada]>ted. The ai populatii It contai townshij Thee further governm vember the mid( before the 1st o the sum always a land, bu autumn. is the les intense f magazine Great Bi colder in sultry su north." lion of V Mr. P day of tl any gene all day. Cut Ind remarka times to( January Februar' frost in " thawing 19. Thr 26. Fr. *The t Foundlar and 506,1 stated b] in Caiiai It is still 1.199.704 lip of em existing counts, t fact wou 60 per ce (Inited S 'y clicajs •able ac- ing- thf'ic or 4s. Hd. £20 per cheap — got £12 ind peas, ore than umber of neatness, puhition, 't for tho " "At- 11s. cows ' iW an lire I to cart red land, month,) ! are no ;le sown ; son that riie snow rls luxu- the pro- ave been r all the al mect- plongh- choap, 5d. ]ier le same ; X a dress not so rtieulars rants to icts, it is 1 iutbi'iti only to 1 idea of s. Our persons Canada )cr Pro- UPPEll CANADA. UPPER CANADA. «7 The area of the Western Province is 64,000,000 of acres, and the white population is principally British, amounting to upwards of 500,000 souls.* It contains thirteen districts, twenty -six counties, six ridings, and 273 townships. The climate of Canada becomes milder, and the tvinter shorter, the further west the emigrant goes ; "So much so," observes the report of the government agent, " that although the frost generally commences in No- vember at its eastern extremity, and continues in that neighbourhood till the middle of April, it rarely commences on the shores of Lake Erie before Christmas, and usually disappears between the 25th March and the 1st of April. On a comparison with the climate of Great Britain, the summer heat is somewhat greater, but never oppressive, as it is always accompanied with light breezes. There is less rain than in Eng- land, but it falls at more regular Intervals, generally in spring and autumn. The winter's cold, though it exceeds that of the British Isles, is the less sensibly felt on account of its dryness, and seldom continues intense for more than three days together." A writer in the colonial magazine observes that *' the climate is brighter, clearer, drier than Great Britain, but neither so much warmer in summer, nor so much colder in winter, as to prove disagi'eeable : it is neither scorched by the sultry summers of the south, nor blasted by the biting winters of the north." There is, at least, the difference of a month or six week's dura- tion of winter between Quebec and Lake Ontario. Mr. Pickering's diary gives an exact account of the climate for each day of three years. A few extracts will convey a more precise idea than any general description. " August 16, (1825.) Harvest finished, — ram all day. Sowed wheat from beginning of September to 5th October. Cut Indian corn 20th September. December 10. Summer and fall remarkably dry, and still continues. November was mild and pleasant, at times too warm. 21. Snow not half an inch deep, but sharpish frost. January 1st, (1826.) A few very sharp, frosty days, with a little snow. Febriiary 12. Steady frost three or four weeks. Last winter hardly any frost in Western Province. 26. Quite moderate of late ; quite mild and thawing. March 12. Frost out of ground, ice off lake; rain; foggy. 10. Three severe cold days, and snow storms, gone again with thunder; 20. Frosty, cold, wet, mild ; thermometer up to temperate, and below *The total population of British America, appears to be 1,639,715, including- New Foundland and Honduras. The latest account assigns 623,649 to Lower Canada, and 506,855 to Upper Canada. We are therefore not a little perplexed to find it stated by the Honorable J. H.Boullon of Toronto, M. P. for the county of Norfolk in Canada, that Canada alone contains a population fast approaching to 2,000,000. It is still more inexplicable to reflect that if the return be correct which gives only 1,199,704, to the two provinces, that of that amount no less than 767,.'}73 are mudt; up of emigrants direct from the mother country ; a number greater than the whole existing British population of the provinces, if it be true as stated in the last ac- counts, that the native Canadian habitans muster upwards of 500,000, souls. This fact would certainly give countenance to the received impresnion that upwards of 60 per cent, of all emigrants to British America, find their way, ultimately, to the United States. If i I if ■fr .If ill * m ♦r im 68 UPPER CANADA. I <\ s^ ;i ' M freezing point. April *2. Fine pleasant days, some frosty nights. 8. Partly wet and cold, partly fine and pleasant. Sowing spring wheat and clover; sheep lambing; calves and cows turned out to gi'ass. 15. Three rather severe frosty days ; 17, 13 then 53 degi'ees above Zero. Sowing peas, kidney beans, garden turnips. 22. Cold. Spring later than usual; spring wheat coming up. 29. Heavy rain ; fruit, wheat, grass begin to bud. May 6. Stormy and cold; one very warm day; 71 deg. at noon, generally 48 deg. to 62 deg.; peas up. 13. Warm gi'owing week, 65 deg. morning, 81 deg. noon. 20. Dry, warm, 60 deg. to 63 deg. Planted Indian corn. June 4. Foggy ; Indian corn and oats up ; potatoes planted. 6. 81 deg., 88 deg. at Montreal. 10. Very hot week; cutting clover; wild grapes in blossom. 18. Rain and cool, 55 deg. to 67 deg. 24. Ilainy. July 1. Fine and temperate. 22. Harvest general. 29. A cool week, 70 deg.; mornings rather cold. Aug. 5. Another mild week. 12. Very hot; no wind ; 83 deg. 19. Hot week; 75 deg. to 85 deg. 26. From this date to 14th September, very fine weather, 58 deg. to 76 deg. 16. Warm ; nights cold ; 53 deg. morning, 71 deg. noon. 23. Some thunder and rain ; all fruits ripe, and potatoes plentiful and ripe. Oct. 1. A beautiful day, serene sky; still air; covered with flowers. 8. Very fine week, 45 deg. morning, 60 deg. noon. Potatoes all up. 14. Some rain, but fine and pleasant week. 55 deg. to 63 deg. 21. Frosty morn- ings, days warm. Nov. 1. Mild and pleasant ; a little rain; 50 deg. and 60 deg. 4. Snows and sleets all day. 5. Thaw to day. 8. Heavy rain; snow washed away. Dec. 5. Fine pleasant day. 25. Frost has set in sharp; plenty of snow, six or eight inches. Feb. 23, (1827.) A beautiful clear day; snow wasting. March 25. Open weather; some days mild and pleasant ; ice off the lake, frost off the ground, snow all gone. April 1. mild air, cloudless sky. 2. Beautiful and warm. 5. Wlieat grows and looks well. 9. Spring in all its beauty. June 1. Fro^ity nights, warm days. 10. dry and warm ; wheat in ear. July 2. Pleasant; sultry. 23. Harvest general. August 1. Mild, moderate, some rain. Sept. 10. Weather of late fine and jileasant. Few very hot days. Oct. 1. For a fortnight cloudy and coldish. Winter 1827-8, open and dry. Wet, cold spring, but without snow of any consequence. Summer 1828. Various ; some very hot days, but generally pleasant, with showers. Indian corn excellent. Fall of 1828. Sickly. May 1, 1829. Winter mild, open, till 11th February, when a little snow, sharp frost, no rain, snow off in the end of March ; showers to 1st of April. May rather hot, 86 deg. at times. June and up to July, cool and pleasant, 76 deg. The lady who writes letters from the backwoods observes, under date, November 20. — " My experience of the climate hitherto is favourable. Autumn very fine, slight frosts on September mornings ; more severely n October, but during the day warm and cheerful. November in the beginning soft and warm ; latterly, keen frosts and snowfalls, but bright and dry. May 9, 1833, snows of December continually thawing ; not a fiake on 1st of January; couldn't bear a fire; weather open till 29th of January, then cold set in severely. 1st of March, coldest day and night I ever fe/t, even painful; 25 degrees below Zero in the house; breatii congealed on the blankets, and metal froze to our fingers ; lasted niily thiee days, and then grew warmer, 19th of March, snow lay decj) till a fortnig] Though the skj woods c cloud, silver C( 10th, tl enjoy tl all in le spring \ cloudy sent I c you say better hi spirit an quite ex more sc cold, bu log fires convenie 13th, wi March n May, CO and earlj Canadian "You deserves drought owing to much m Mr. Shi months, climate tremes o: same in dining till reach vince, as height to be estima near the three mo and horsi which mal the inhab province, surface nr We hai the climat affects a p t( \ t UPPER CANADA. 69 . Partly I clover ; 3 rather tig peas, 1 usual; begin to at noon, , 65 deg. Planted planted. clover; . Rainy, ol week, 12. Very 16. From 76 deg. 3. Some pe. Oct. 8. Very 14. Some ty morn- I deg. and javy rain; las set in I beautif id lays mild ail gone. 5. Wheat . Frosty Pleasant; ome rain, s. Oct. 1. Iry. Wet, ner 1828. showers. 9. Winter no rain, ather hot, eg. nder date, ivourable. '6 severely )er in the but bright ng ; not a ill 29th of and niglit ro(luce. blowing tVosts anc settled, rich deej To intf than min or other whore capriciou « " Lo\ States), or tliiil the t and Iluroi •• It is p lakes, ma farmer mer. po^yc fail to du ,w1 LOCATIONS, 63 he easier Labour coupled whicli, t not fo untry in Upper , WOl'tll llJ,^ ' A terms — md arti- 3, and in h might 3ught in oiise and esides. — d an ex- t, concur iustrioiis je made, 3 abund- 0, towns, income ihases of the high land can cate and nds, and at home. > become ibourers. old work making, i curing making mantua I cheese, ing their en come the fire stant re- r friends to their lot, and bear with sprightliness that burden which becomes light when it i.s well borne." LOCATIONS. Mr. Ferguson recommends Toronto as the head quarters of those Avho intend inalcing a purcliase of land. There he is sure to meet with nu- merous offers of farms, and, in inspecting the plans of the public laud, lie, will be enabled to avail himself of the valuable advice and assist- ance of the superintendent. The rich and heavy land of Up])er Canada is not to be found in general on the immediate banks of lakes or nvers. 'f he Gore, Niagara, London and Western districts of the Western sec- tion of the province, Mr. Bouchettc regards as the most eligible for settlement, having a pleasant climate, excellent land, and numerous useful rivers. The Siracoe district is equally recommended, and re- i^.irded as more free from ague. Mr. M'Grath speaks highly of the township of Adelaide in the London district, where he preferred tlie " bush" to cleared land. Mr. Sommerville, of Mayfield, town- sliit>, of Whitby, near Windsor Bay, gave £2G0 for one hundred acres in that district (fifty-nine cleared), and from his account it would a]j])('ar that it is most desirable to purchase land partly cleared, as a mere question of profit and loss, to say nothing of the comfort. His neighbour, an emigrant from Scotland purchased two hundred acres, and although he commenced without capital, and also once lost all his property by fire, he had at the end of twelve years three hundred acres cleared, and was worth £3,000 —while another of three years standing had increased £500 to £1,200 The backwoodsman regards the London and Western districts as the garden of Canada, and concurs with several authorities in thinking the Huron Tract as the most eligible, of the best quality of soil, of largo extent, (thus affording choice of selec- tion), superior water privileges, and water conveyance to carry away the l)i()(luce. It is also very healthy, and the prevailing westerly winds, blowing over the lake, which never freezes, temper the rigour of tlie frosts and summer heat. It has also good roads, and is becoming rapidly settled. Mr. Evans says the whole tract is alluvial in formation, of a rich deep vegetable mould intermixed with sandy loam. To intending settlers this general descri})tion of the districts is better than minute details whicli can be more precisely ascertained at Toronto or other head quarters, brought up to the most recent date, in a country where changes from wilderness to population are very rapid and ca})ricioiis. « *' Lower Canada was left out of the comparison (between Canada and th Slates), on account of its long and severe winter. There was a general asreement tliiit tlie triiti^iular territory of v,hi«-h two sides are formed hy Lakes Ontario, Erie, and Huron, is as fertile as any tract of the same extent in the States." *' It is probable that the, as yet, very thinly popuUited, l)ut fertile district on the lakes, may lake ^reat strides in advance of the rest of Canada ; and a well informed fanner, who is settled twenty miles back from Toronto, told me, that a British far- mer, po^yessiii-; from £390 to £500, accustomed to work and plain livintr, conid not fail to do well. I asked how a man with a £1,000 could do. He could do any- g2 I ' 1 hi h-L'l Ki :«.» 04 CHOICE AND COST OF LAND. CHOICE AND COST OV LAND, nil ■ 'I * The government price of land in Upper Canada is (is. 7d. per acre, and not less than one hundred acres can be sold to each individual. Clerf^y reserves 9s. (Jd. ; the Canada Company chai'ge from 7s. 4d. to 3t)s. per acre for wild land according to situation. The expense of clearing land ranges from £3 lOs. to £4 10s. per acre. Mr. IJutler gfves an estimate of the expense of clearing twenty acres, and the concurrent profit for the first three years cropping, from wbich it would ajipear, that by the pro- cess of chop])ing, the mere clearing would be £80, seed, labour, &c., &c., £37 10s., and the profit £165, leaving a balance of £47 10s. By "slash- ing" the tost would be £133 14s., and the gi'oss profit £201. A farm of good land can be purchased, says Mr. Pickering, about TaU»ot district, or almost anywhere in the Western part of the province, at from lis. 3d. to 22s. Gd. per acre. A farm of two hundred acres, seventy cleared, with a good log or small frame house, a barn, and a young orchard, &c., &c., say at 18s, per acre, or £180 ; (£22 10s. down, and so forth yearly), may settle very comfortably a farmer with £200, and cover all necessary outgoings. Stocking the farm, furnishing the house, and paying the first deposit, would cost £148 10s. A year's ex- penses would be £126 13s. 6d., and gross profits £260 5s. " With the beef and vegetables allowed in the calculation, 282 dollars will keep a family of four or five persons well during the year, leaving a clear profit of 200 dollars, or €45, besides the improve- ment of the farm ; and if hemp and tobacco were made part of the productions, the profits probably would be larger." Mr. M'Grath cal- culated the cost of purchasing and clearing an acre of land at £6 Gs., and the proceeds at £8 15s., leaving a first year's profit of £2 8s. 3d. Mr. Ferguson, in his practical notes, calculates that a fanner, with a capital of £500 in the township of Nichol, would clear £200 the first year, £380 the second, £420 the third, and £600 the fourth, besides a cleared farm, fenced, and with the n jcessary stock and buildings, being equivalent in all to £1,200 in four years. This calculation is indeed severely criticised by Mr. ShirrefF, who considers that at the end of the fourth year the settler is only worth £427 8s. 2d. after paying all expenses. But we think this writer is not borne out by other authorities upon the subject. Mr. M'Grath gives the preference to the plan of buying uncleared land to that of buying a cleared farm. It is secured against having been run out, and the title is unquestionable. No doubt it would be a useful precaution in taking a cleared farm, to have it for a year on trial, so that the purchaser may satisfy himself of the good heart of the soil — but with that precaution and with proper care, in seeing to the title, there can be no doubt of the superior advantage of taking cleared land by in- experienced persons accustomed to a European life. tiling! lie said, He could be either a farmer or a dealer. Bless yon, sir, £1,000 of your money makes a consideiably snu}? man, either in Canadii or'tiie States. Alto- gether (at Toronto), there was as much outward appearance of ad>uncement, aj in live towns on the Stales side."— Prbnticb The r nerd, an TIH'tllod third of £35 to f40. T at thirt^ A Sc( 300 Hcr( £300 by others, \ cows £1 kitchen raised ft in Septe Indian c and by t sides spl left, and were gr( wolves, up, his iOaovcs wheat. and in 1 his crop; chased a result w £3000 ; gave a d Anoth States, a different people, respect Canadiai England the year of the T f^chools The last nada, ar nei2-liboi of upwai ASco possessin ler acre, . Clerrry 35s. j)er in<^ land estimate it for tlie tlie pro- &c., &c., "slasli- aboiit )i'ovince, xl acres, 1, and a s. down, til £200, ihing tlie ear's ex- Vitli tiie ars will le year, improve- 't of the rath cal- 5 6s., and 3d. Mr. capital of sar, £380 red farm, ent in all icised by le settler hink this ired land been run a useful trial, so lie soil — itle, there id by in- , £1,000 of Les. AUo- iicnt, a> iit LIFE IN CANADA. Co The rent of a cleared farm in fine situations is from 10s. to 2()s. per ocro, and in less populous i)laces from f>s. to 10s. The most eonmion method is farming on shares, the proprietor receiving one half or one tliiid of tiie produce. The erection of a oood loo house costs from £']') to £(!(); a frame house almut £!)0; barn and staliles from tdi) to t'4(). The Emigration Commissioners calculate the profits ou farming at thirty per cent, on the capital. LIFE IN CANADA. A Scotch settler emigrating to Lower Canada with £300, purchased 300 acres (50 cleared,) with a log-hut and a good framed barn, price £300 by annual instalments of £100 the first year, and £50 each of the others, with interest at 10 per cent. A yoke of oxen cost £15, three cows £15, ten sheep £5, a horse £"31 . agricultural implements, furniture, kitchen utensils, pigs, poultry, &c. The first year he put in a small crop, raised fences, cleared 3h acres of woodland, which he sowed with wheat in September, and occupied the autumn with his late oats, potatoes, and Indian corn ; he hired another man to cut the trees into lengths to burn, and by the 10th of April he had completed the clearing of 30 acres, be- sides splitting rails and making firewood. In spring he had only £50 left, and £200 yet to pay ; his 30 acres of crop looked indifferent ; there were great falls of rain, his horse died, his sheep were devoured by wolves, and an old sow gobbled up all his goslings. But it soon cleared up, his felled timber became very dry and easily burned ; he planted 20 acres of Indian corn between the stumps, and 10 acres of oats and wheat. The rest of his money was spent on clearing 5 acres of wheat, and in turning his oxen into good pasture for Montreal market in winter; liis crops were good, his potash ti'om his burnt timber sold well ; he pur- chased another yoke of oxen, and got in his fire-wood before winter. The result was that, in a few years, his property was worth not less tlian £3000 ; he received letters from his brothers located in Illinois, which gave a deplorable account of their health and condition. Another emigrant, from }3eith, Ayrshire, travelled through the Western States, and gave a most favourable account of Illinois, but a very in- diffiM'ent report of the climate as indicated by the appearance of the people. But we are inclined to suspect that both statements in this respect are prejudiced or interested by the fact of these persons being Canadian settlers ; and it ought not to be forgotten that, in all countries, England as well as others, eiiideniics seize whole counties. It was but the year before last that influenza was so universal that the death column of the Times was five times its usual length, and that institutions and schools were entirely closed from the universal prevalence of disease. Tlie last emigrant, above mentioned, purchased a good farm in Upper Ca- nada, and reports favourably of liis own prospects and those of his nei'jhbours. He also says that farms to let, yield to the proprietor a return of upwards of 10 per cent. A Scotch settler speaks highly of Sandwich in the Western District, as possessing a very fine soil and excellent markets, particularly at Detroit; w 3 'r : '3, V; 4 1 1 i IU'4 ! IV ; m m 4 1 J eo I.nii IN CANADA. *' biu wiuit chiefly fixed his (lotoriniiiution was th(? s^uhibiity of the ch- iiuito, whicii is inimcusuiubly superior to most otlier placets." Anotlicr ill ZoiTU cautions einiy:raiit8 against States' iiotfis, and observes tliat, nlthou«^h his healtli had been very bad in Aber(U3ensliir(% in Canada ho had not liad an hour's sickness in ten months of hard work, and a very rou^di hfo of it, and that it is a very lino country. A settUu* at St. Clair recoiniiKnids New York as th(5 best port of debarkation; he speaks rno.st favourably as to health, calls the climate moderate, not liavin^ been pre- vented for a single day from outdoor work, and never liousin^' cattle in winter; he dissuades all from going- to Lower Canada, Halifax, or St. John's, on account of the severity of the winter. And althou^l) ho landed without a shillinj^, his prospects soon rose to such a point that ho became proi)rietor of iiUO acres of land, and £22 in money. A derj^y- inan at Perth U. C. says : "As to farming, with a family able and willini; to woilv, your friend may live very comfortably. Few peoph; accustomed to home comforts like this place at first, but most settlers become fond of it after a short residence." The lady emigrant describes the district of Peterborough as eligible, and the society, eomi)osed to a great (extent of Ih'itish othcers, as excelhiut. They keep stores, cultivate farms, and tiiey and their families cheerfully ])ut their hands to any kind of work. She likes the manners, and parti- cularly the tendencies of the United States' settlers, which, though, extremely cold and simple, are really i)olite and kind.* She gives a less favourable account of those of British settlers of the lower classes, parti- cularly Irish and Scotch, who are too apt to mistake rudeness and even insolence for independence. Settlement in the bush is earnestly de- precated from the many hardships it at first entails ; supplies run short; there are no, or very bad, roads ; cattle are lost, cows die of a hard winter, pigs trespass everywhere, and you have to put up with a shanty for a year or two. After making their purchase of a " lake lot," the lady and her husband, "through bush and through briar," reach it with difficulty, and are welcomed by, and become the temporary guests of, the kindest neighbours. A "bee" is called to build the house, which con- sists of friendly meetings of neighbours who assemble at your summons to raise the walls of your buildings. You provide abundance of food and plenty of whisky, and everybody considers himself bound to turn out to holp the stranger. It was the end of October; sixteen good Samaritans assembled ; the work went merrily on, with the help of plenty of whisky. Huge joints of suit pork, a peck of potatoes, a rice pudding, and a loaf big as Cheshire ch(>eses, formed the feast. In sjjite of the differences of rank, the greatest harmony prevailed, and by night the outer walls were raised." "A nice small sitting-room with a store-closet, a kitchen • " The look and demeanour of the men in the United States is rather staid and aristocratic llian otherwise; sell'-iiitroiluctions are made respectfully but witii- out yiimace, or the affected gesture of an overstrained courtesy." " I ctiuld not help markint a village. liand rose in value ; a congregation restored the parson to his jiroper dutie:B, and all has gone well with him. The letters of the Magi-ath family arc well deserving of perusal. "Behig informed," they proceed, " at Toronto, that the emigrant can purchase wild land at 5s. or 10s. an acre, the writer proceeds to inspect— for lifteen miles in a public coach ; then by a hired wagon, and a guide, and roosts for the first night in a settler's shanty. Ill refreshed, he starts next morning, and at length is told by his companion, ' this is the lot.' " He returns to the shanty where the settler is ready to share his last loaf with a new neighbour. Engaging accommodation for his family at the nearest farm, he conveys them by a new purchased wagon and horses, Avith i)rovisions for six weeks to his lot. Men, oxen, sleighs are pro- cured, a brush road made, a wooden camp erected, bedding and provisions deposited in it, and a frying-pan, dumer of pork and paste cakes con- Bumed. A log-hut is then erected, and the family planted. The expense of all this, of clearing ten acres, and buying two hundred, is stated at £178; for £20 more he may at once lind a lot partially cleared; ten I; i< ' t Ik. V j^l » i !.(■■ i k ^. ' til II vi I.' M ..*■ 08 LIFE IN CA^•ADA. ni'able acres in good lieart, house, and offices ready built, including a dairy, wash, and I'owl-house and garden; "thus enjoying, in his fi est year, many necfssaries and conitbrts (and of his own production,) tlmt could not be grown till the second in the bush, and being enabled to purchase others at a moderate rate, in an established settlement, which in a new one must be piocured at an advanced price." Mr. T. W. ]\Iu- grath purchased 700 acres in the bush eighteen miles from Toronto, for £325, and with the aid of seventy kind neighbours, they erected a house of three stories, a verandah, a barn GO feet by 36 and 18 feet high, an ice and root house, and dairy, attlie cost of good will, 12 dollars, and 2s. lOd. worth of nails. The family, with the aid of two carpenterS; finished the inside handsomely. Twenty acres were meanwhile cleared with hired help, planted v/ith wheat betw-ecn the stumps, and sown down with timothy, grass, and clover. After wheat, hay is the only crop taken, till the removal of the stum])s, when the plough has room to enter. Of this two tons are cut per acre with the cradle scythe, which gets through from two to three acres a day. The man wiio has land and seed, leaves the management of them to the labourer on shares, w lio takes half the produce, and draws the rest into the barn of the proprietor. On taking logs to be sawed, one half are left for payment ; and wool is carded, spun, and woven into cloth, on the same plan of taking part in payment of the rest. " When we first came here," observes Mr. Magrath, "our hands \vere delicate, unused to manual labour, but seeing every one .ound us, magis- trates, senators, councillors, and colonels, labouring steadily, we fairly set to. Charles can make a great gap in a field of corn, and James can cut two acres of rye before dinner. He makes all the waggons, sleighs, harrows, &c., and I shoe the horses, make gates, fences, chimney pieces, and furniture.— an ivory tooth for my girl, and an iron one for my harrow, — work in the potatoe iield in the morning, and figure at the Toronto ball at night." Mr. RadclifFe, his brc-thcr and (licir friends settled in the Huron tract, in the bush, and gave ten sliilliugs per acre for uncleared land. His house, 4(1 feet by 10 feet, and consisting of a jiarlour, drawing room, hall, kitchen, five bed rooms, two stacks of chimneys, and Cantalievre roof, CO t £50. His brother's large log house cost £25. Their farms in the Adelaide district were beautifully situated and of fine soil, well timbered. Venison brought to the door at a half-penny per lb., mutton, beef, fowls and potatoes. IJutter 7^,d. Cattle do not stand the winter in the woods well, at least the first year. Clearing by task is done at 28s. per acre ; but care should be taken to have a w-ritten agreement at the sight of aibitratois. "Now my dear A.," he continues, " as to advising you whether to come out or not, as I promised to do, I can safely say from nil I have seen and heard, that if you can contrive to reach my house with £500 in your pocket, you may, with your present experience, insure your- self a certain and gentleman-like independence." " We are now comfortably settled, and should have little to complain of if the state of the roads would permit me to haul my luggage up from the Like : but thi' miUlness of the winter prevents this, as there has not yet becii siifficirrit frost and pnow to admit of sleighing. What renders LIFE IN CANADA. Gi) fr i lading a his first on,) tUnt lublcd to t, wliicli W. ]\Iu- onto, for [ a hoiiMe h, an ice I 2s. 10(1. islied th(i th hired wn witli dcen. till Of this igh from them to the rrst 3 half art! li, on tho nds wore 5, magls- airly set can cut sleighs, y pieces, for my :'e at the on tract, lid. His om, hall, vre roof, IS ill the imbered. ef, fowls le woods )er acre ; sight of sing you '■from all use with ire your- complain up from has not • renders this settlement peculiarly agreeable is, its being peopled by British fami- li(!s of respectability, living within a few minute's walk of mo. We are making rapid advances, and there is every reason to loo forward to the future with the happiest anticipations. " Whenever you have money to transmit, lodge it to my credit with the London agents for the bank of U. C, as it will be paid Ijy the bank at York, with the benefit of exchange. Bank stock is now upwards of 12 per cent." These letters contain many animating descriptions of sport, in hunting, fowling, and fi«hing, from which it would appear that Canada abounds with game of all kinds ; and they conclude with a caution against being deceived with the high nominal wages given. In comi)arison to the superior value of the work done, and the cheapness of tbod, it is not considered that the wages in Canada are very much greater than those in p]ngland, while it has to be remembered that a Canadian shilling is nmcli less than an English one, and that wages are often paid in truck, by an order on a store, for goods which are charged at a high rate of profit. We have already observed upon the dry-haired grumbling depreciation which runs through Mr. Sherriff's account of Canada, andwliic^h a])pears to have been poisoned by political animosities. lie i-- tlatly contradicted by nearly every authority on the subject, and we place small reliance on his dicta. He states that game of every description is so scarce as har-lly to be said to exist, while we find it a universal statement that it '-. k<> abundant. Wolves, bears, cat-a-mounts are generally complained of by the farmer. Beavers, racoons, martens, deer, hares, ])artridges, pigeons, ducks, wild turkeys, quails, a great variety offish are abundant. Any person of the slightest reflection must see that this nmst be so, fioni the vast expanse of forest and prairie, the large space of uncleared land, and the great extent of water. Snakes of many, some of dangerous kinds, are found in particular districts, but they do not seem to prodi'.o much annoyance. A much more troublesome vicinage is that of black flies and musijuitoes, and also^ for vegetable life, the wheat ard turnip fly. A large farming cai)italist, in the township of Yorra^ grows ''more and more enthusiastic in favor of the country : climate delightful, — neigh- bours excellent and obliging, — would not, for twenty thousand pounds, return to Scotland. I rise at five ; while the servants manage breakfast, I light the fire, to have all ready by daylight. JVIy shoes are not blacked, but greased. I have cut down twenty acres, —seven axes getting through an acre a day. As currency goes as tar here as sterling in England, I am a gainer of more than a fifth; with the high rate of interest, cheajjuess of living, and exemption from taxes^ I am at least three times asrichaman as I was at home." These pages are written not for the purpose of forming a vade mecutn to a settler after he is loc^ated. He \\'\\\ get far better advice and infor- mation as to details on tlie spot from his neij;hboursthan any to be found in books. Minute directions as to distances, routes, conveyan-'.'S, fares are also much more accurately aftbrded at Quebec or New York, by Emigration Agents or Societies, who can supply the most recent informa- tion, and who, from the increased facilities wliich every day presents for locomotion. "°" "o^'omise tho emigrant quicker and cheaper transport ';^^ >i(- ill I 70 LIFE IN CANADA. "f? i:'i h t i i than even the latest nevrs to Europe could supply. We have abstained also from giving all cut and dried tables of the various items of the cost of settling, and carrying, and farming operations, as the sum total is the only thing which can be usefully coniniunicatod to the emigrant here; and these estimates viiry as to jtarticulars, sometimes to a bewildering extent. The regulations of Emigrant ships are always to be found on board— and with regard to these it is enough to say that they form ai. ample provision for tlie protection of tlie voyager, who has only to set that they are rigidly enforced in his own favour. Our aim has been to ]>resent the emigrant, of any degree or pursuit, with such a general, yet complete view of the position and prospects of a setthn* in Canada, of the kind of life he will lead, and of the country which he may adoi)t, as to enable him to Ibrm a sound judgment of his chances of success and hap] )iness ; and to regulate his choice as to the place of his destination. All accounts agree in the assurance of the en- counter of certain hardshij), and early privations — and in making hard work, great industry, cautious frugality, and sobriety, and courag(\)as perseverance, indisjiensable conditions of success. Very few of the cor- respondents who wiite home appear to have escaped fever and ague, but not one ap])ears lo have sustained any serious inconvenience from the visitation, except in very unfavourable situations. Of other diseasf\s there apj)ear to be few, es]iecially of the thoracic viscera; and the mea- sure of health enjoyed by tlie i>opulation appears to be rather greater than in England. The extremes of heat and cold seem to be intense only for two or three days at a time either way — but the fact that the cold frost- bites off the toes of poultry, shows that occasionally the low temperature must be intolerable. We incline to the impression that Canada isa more healthy, but less pleasant climate than that of the United States; and the fact that such vast numbers of emigi'ants who go expressly to Canada, move forward to the States, is to our mind demonstrative of the sujie- rior advantages of the latter. Still it must not be forgotten that there has also been a considerable immigration of Yankees into Canada, that tlie large inllux into our American colonies from England is a proof of their advantages, that extensive im])rovements, especially in water communi- cation, are continually in progr(^ers, would relieve the mother coimtry of unpro- fitable subjects, and give us proii table consumers of our manufactures on the other side of the Atlantic. It is in vain that Mr. Muut/. and other crofchc to bo d( no neec for dou as a hi who rei starviuf j)ie tiuoi is pi-efo] weaver, guarant jiolicy c onr own are, and they do. thing is national be calle(j would ai zation w VO] Migral us. In i not want 767,373 to the m( 153,195 109,080 her to th It is deli rn issionei that the Now tl leave the: tinning terest ene the Unite own coui liave beer ejectment the state, place of irom fam Tfiign), th vision ma for bare 1. rOLUNTARY EMIGRATION. —STATE COLONIZATION. 71 stained he cost lI is tlie t Viere; ildei'iui,^ und on brm ai. ' to set pursuit, pects of country it of liis s to the the cu- ing hard urageorts tlie cor- ig-ue, hut from tliB • diseases the mea- r greater ense only ;oId frost- nperature , is a more ates; and 3 Canada, ;he supe- there has that the f of then- ommuui- )roiighly ill all the tracted hy axed peo- provision e improve fail nui- convinccd diseas(> of settlement brm. An 1 hy gov- itely saved of unpro- factures on and other crotcheteers urge that, if this or that were to happen, or the other were to ho done, which does not happen, and will 7wt be done, there would be no need of emigrating, and there would be abundance of employment for double our existing population. We have not treated of emigration as a banishment or a necessity — and whatever its effect may be on thosa who remain at home, tliere can bo little doubt that it is a relief to tho starving and desperate condition of those who go abroad. We are sim- ple enough to believe that a freehold, and the life of a farmer in Canada is pi-eferable to the condition of a miner, or scavenger, or handloom weaver, or navigator, or road maker in England, even if he could be guaranteed constant employment. We believe that if our constitutional jiolicy could admit of the masses of our people being distributed over our own soil as yeomen, the population would be far happier than they are, and would consume three times the quantity of manufactures that tliey do. As that is impracticable, or is at least not done, the next best thing is to make them yeomen elsewhere. Let this be done on a truly national scale, and we make no doubt that a great and happy people may be called into existence in Canada, and that our exports to that colony would amply repay all the expense which an efficient system of coloni- zation would temporarily entail. VOLUNTARY EMIGRATION.— STATE COLONIZATION. Migration has tacitly become recognized as a national necessity with us. In 24 years 1,985,786 of us have taken it for granted, that we are not wanted here, and may be useful, at least, to ourselves elsewhither. 767,373 have landed in Canada, of whom half have proceeded onward to the model republic, 1,040,797 have gone direct to the United States, 153,195 to Australia, and 24,321 to other dependencies. In 1847, 109,080 landed in Canada, and in 1848, only 31,005; whereas, the num- ber to the United States were, in 1847, 142,154, and in 1848, 188,233. It is deliberately stated in the latest circular of the Emigration Com- missioners (No. 9), with reference to all our North American Colonies, that the demand for labour is limited and has materially fallen off". Now the temper in, and the circumstances under which, emigrants leave their native country, make all the difTerence betwixt their con- tinuing well affected to their fatherland, and being converted into its bit- terest enemies. We believe that the most rancorous of the war party in the United States, the fiercest denouncers of England, are those of our own countrymen, especially from Ireland, and their descendants, who l)ave been starved out of Britain by want of employment, or by landlord ejectments, without one helping hand having been held out to them by the state, to render their path smoother, and make their new location a place of rest and comfort to them. Those, also, who having escaped irom famine in this country, find, when (no thanks to their own sove- reign), they have crawled to Canada, that there is nothing to do, no pro- vision made to establish them on a clearing, and that they must escape for bare life to the States, can entertain no other sentiments, either to « ' il \}' ! ■ ^' ;: il I! (I m 72 iiiE UNITED STAii:-S. m IK their country or to their countrymen but detestation juul contempt : in- deed, their own recollection of both is, that they have beggared and done nothing to help them. If a collection of their letters could be made, it would be found that the nearly universal sentiment was that of enmity to the British Government, and congratulation on their having shaken its dust for ever from their feet. In 24 years Canada has lost 1,400,000 most valuable settlers by our idiotic neglect of the means of colonization by the State. We cannot without indignation reflect -n the self sufficient complacency with which the Colonial Commissioners announced the transmigration of British subjects to the States, and the falling off in tlie Canadian demand for employment, in a province which has millions upon millions of acres of the finest land in the world waiting only for labourei's to make it fruitful, the colony great, the mother country happy, by supplies of food in ex- change for her manufactures. This is not an indifferent matter ; the capital, year by year more considerable, carried by these emigrants,, from the mother country, is by such supineness, lost to our colonies and given to our rival — useful and valuable colonists are converted into grudgiiif^ and active enemies, and worst of all, l)y settling in the States they turn the whole tide of emigration thither, and foster among the friends and relatives they leave at home disaffection to the State, contempt for our institutions, and a determination in intending emigrants to settle, not in our colonies, but in the States among their connections. We have else- where shown that Western Canada contains the finest tracts of unre- claimed land in the world, crying out for culture. In place of sending our subjects thither, we squeeze them out of these islands, drive them away from the very soil that clamours to be tilled, and promises abun- dance, and compel them by neglect and discouragement to throw them- selves into the arms of a rival power to which common gratitude for shelter, employment, and final independence, must bind their hearts and conciliate their best affections. Such a scandalous abdication of the pa- ternal duties of Government cries shame upon us all ; and we call upon the nation to enforce upon the executive the necessity of adopting immediate measures for securing to our North American possessions, tlu; full advantage of that tide of population which alone is wanting to ren- der them the happy home of our redundant numbers, and the fostering granary, and best market for the manufactures, of the mother country. THE UNITED STATES. As the object of this work is confined to the supply of such informa- tion as may be necessary to enable intending emigrants to judge of the ^"ligibility of the various fields of settlement, it is not our purpose to su- persede the functions of a gazetteer; we shall not therefore give a minute geographical description of the United States of North America— but, i'efen'ing the reader to the map and to its topographical explanation, wo shall proceed to inform him of what in reference to the selection of a Testing place it may be desirable for him to know. We li liave th the furt mi\to, ge six mon weeks, furtlier the wint subject gi'eater fiuiiiptif '^0.) yea U'lth t and la inlia1)it for mar play ni( regular they m{ Europe; field of Cohl Decern vcrdan 10S(! idl is a full nal thu,^ east wii 10 Dry wai'ui a parsnip NVui'in in bloui npt: in- and dono made, it f enmity haken ita rs by our cannot th wliif'h )f British mand for acres of t fruitful, [)d in ex- ittcr; the mts., from and givfMi grud^-inf^ they turn lends and pt for our le, not in have elsc- of unre- of sending Irive them ises abun- ■ow them- ititude for hearts anti of the i)a- id we call if adopting 3ssions, tlie ng to rf^u- le fosteriug 3r country. h informa- idge of the 'pose to su- ve a minute lerica— but, auation, we ection of a Tin: EASTKKN, OR NKW ENfJLANI) STATUS 73 GEOGHAPIIICAL DIVISIONS. The Eastern States bordering on the Atltintic, and bounded on tlio m'st by the Alleghanuy rnugo, conipiise N(nv Engliiiul, iu]i!!!)iled by tlio \'ankees proper, the d&scendnnts of tlic Enj;lisli puritans. Tho Western States range between the western slope of the Allegluirniies, and tiie east- ern side of the llocky IMountains ; to the west of tliese again, on the western side of the Rocky Mountains is California, the recent acquisition of tho United States, abounding in gold, quicksilver, cattle, an(' a fertile soil. The southern or slave states form the southern boundary of the ^\('stern and eastern states. To the southern states has lately been an- nexed the territory of Texas. TIIE EASTERN, OR NEW ENGLAND STATES. We have already seen that the easternmost portions of British America liave the coldest and longest winters, and the fiercest summers, and that the further west you go to the extreme ])oint of Ujiper Canada, the cli- m;it(^ gets more temperate, until the winter, which, at (^uel)ec, endures for six months, is reduced at the westernmost point to little more than six ^^■eeks. Although the eastern states or the neighbouring repuljlic are furtlier south than Canada, they are quite as far east, and conse(iuently tlie winters are rigorous, and the summer heats torrid. They are also su1)jectto more sudden extremes of temperature, which, com])ined with greater atmosphfu'ical moisture, I'ender them more j^roductive of con- sumption and other pulmonary afiections. They have been setthnl for '2(K) years, and are the oldest and most populous districts of tho Union. U'ith the exception of those located in the aguish districts along the flats nnd lakes, the population of New Juigland are nearly as robust as the inhabitants of Great Britain. The In-acing air of its winters lits it welj for manufacturing industry ; and persons of European descent there dis- play more energy and faculty of work than in the West or South. Thu regular Yankees of tho working classes ndgrate to other districts where they may be their own masters, or dispense with numual labour. For the Eluropean labourer or artizan, there is therefore left open an excellent field of em]>loyment in the Atlantic cities and farming districts. Cob])ett, writing from Long Island, New York, states that ''from December to May there is not a speck of green. The frost sweeps all verdant existence from the face of tlie eartli. Wheat and rve live, but lose all verdure. In June crop and fruits are as in England, and harvest is a full month earlier than in the soutli of England." His weather jour- nal thus reports. " Gth May. Veiy line day as in England. 7. (Jold, sharp east wind. 8. \V)irm day, frosty niuht. 9. Cold shade and hot sun. 10 Dry, grass grows a little. 11. Thunder and rain. 12. liain, then wai'm and beautiful. 10. Warm fhie dav. L(»ttuces, carrots, onions and parsnij)s jus"^ coming up. 14. 8!iarp-(iry. — trav(>l in great coat,- L W u'm and lair; Indian corn planting. IG. Drv wind and warm ; cherries ,' i iij ^ » 1" bjooiii. —elder in flower, 17. U'armer than yesterday. \S. I'ine. H 'm li "■ 74 THE EASTERN, OK NEW ENGLAND STATES. 19. Rain ; grass grows, potatoes planted. 20. Warm. 21. Fine, warm morning, and cAennig coldish. April sown oats np. Rest of the month warm and dry,— every thing comnig in blade, leaf, or flower. 1st Jiuk!. M'arm, but a man covers his kidney beans for fear of frost. 2. Warm rain. 3. Fine cold night. 4. Fine rain. 5. Rain. 6. Fine. 7. Warm. 8. Hot. 9. Rain all day. 10. Fine. 11. Finer. 12. Not a cloud ia the sky. 13. As hot as English July in common years. 14. Fine and liot but always a breeze. 15. Rain. 10 to 20. Fine. The wJiole garden green in eighteen days from sowing. Green peas and cherries ready to gather. 21 to 30. Two very hot days,— two of rain, the rest fine. July. Six fine days, — seventeen fine, but very hot, — eight fine, but ''broilers," 85 deg. in shade, but a breeze, — two rain. Never slept better in all my life. No covering, — a sheet under me and a straw bed. The moment aurora e^^pears I am in the orchard. It is impossible for any human being to live a i)leasanter life than this. 1st August. Same weather • two shirts a day wringing wet. Twenty tumblers of milk and water every day. No ailment, — head always clear. Very hot and close ; often not a cloud. 28 and 29. Windy and cold. 30th August to 11th September, hot and fine. 12. Rain. 13 and 14. Cloudy and cool. 15. Fair and cool— made a fire. 16. Rain, — warm. 17 to 30. Very fine, but a little rain on two days. October 1 to 16. Very fine, — 56 deg. in the shade. 17. Warm, — smart morning frost. 18. Rain at night. Beautiful day, 19 to 31. Very fine days, but frost in the mornings, and warm rains occasionally. Thermometer 56, 67 and 70 deg. in the shade. Indian corn harvest. Gathered last lot of winter apples. Pulled up a radish weighing twelve lbs., and measuring two feet five inches round. Novem- ber 1 to 30. Occasional warm rains, but splendid weather throughout, like an English June. 63 deg., 61 deg., 69 deg., falling gradually to 55 deg. in the shade. Left off my coat again. White and Swedish turnijis grow surprisingly, — loaved lettuces, endive, onions, young radishes, cauli- flowers. Rye fields grow beautifully. December 1 to 15. Open, mild weather, with more rain. 16 and 17. Sharp nor' wester, hardish frost. 18 and 19. Open and mild. 20. Hard frost. 21 and 22. 22 deg. below freezing point. 23. Milder. 24. Thaw. 25. Rain. 26. Fine, warm. 27. Cold. 28 and 29. Ditto. 30. Rain. 31. Mild and clear. January 1 and 2. Same. 4 to 16. Hard fi-ost and some snow. .17 to 21. Moder- ate frost and clear. 22 to 2nd February. Hard fi'ost with occasional thaw. 3 to 25. Frost with occasional snow and thaw. 27. Complete thaw. 28. Very warm. March 1 to 31. Open weather, with some d -y warm days, except 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 28th and 29tli when frost. We uave had three months' of winter. In England it begins in November, and ends in March. Here we have gi'eater cold, — there four times more wet. I have had my great coat on only twice. I seldom meet a waggoner with gloves or gi-eat coat : it is generally so dry. April 1 to 17. line, Marni, occasionally raiji. 18 to 23. Cold, raw and cutting. 24. Warm night; warm and fair day. My family have been more healthy than in England. W^e have had but one visit from ""the doctor. This is a better climate than that of England." Such is the account by an acute and practical ob- server, by one who toiled and worked in the field and garden, of the cli- mute and "eather of the Eastern or New England States of America. At the sam of this 1 are mor ('onsum althougl an exce^ more ])1( more t'^d^ sally adi and spai rotindue; rally rer of healtl the heal doubt ex country Europe i ever, we tensity o] You rec( forilinj? a point I ha' nractice of 1 s'wc tlie )>reniiiiiii Iowa, uit tliKJi's the ofJice alio till' rate o to an uiis( life is six Ijf'uriiiii ii tiic tail' |in were tlicv a settler's western S land wo LI I The li 1,1 \ Age. An 21 2-j .•50 :i, in mind that a majority of the settlers there have left sedentary occupations, tlie fair i)rcsumptimi is, that the ratio of mortality is less with them than it would be were they to remain in this country, or in the eastern cities. Everything depends on a settler's jud<>nient in the choice of his lor.ation. Personally, I can say, tha* in th(! western States i have encountered with impunicy circumstances whicli in my native land would prove speedily fatal. T. S. The ttbles of the Mutual Insurance Company of Baltimore . — For lot) Dol.LiVits. I' Altc. Annul I Premium. •Annual l*remium. Aimuii. Freuiiuni. For life. Annual Freuuura For life. hor one year. I'or seven years. Witliout profits. With profits. Dollars. Dollars. Dollars. Dollars 21 O.SO o,:»t> 1.69 1,82 25 0.07 l.(»7 l."() 2.04 .{0 1.10 \M 2.1 'J 2.36 a:i 1.25 1.37 2.53 2.75 40 1.44 1.56 2.it6 3.20 45 l.f)5 1.78 3.47 3.73 r)0 1.87 2.10 4,21 4.t)0 m 3.1f] 4.. {4 6. (IS 7.<»0 ! > -s ; n li 2 IT' ft ! ' ll i 70 TIii< KASTliUT*, OK NliW EN(iLAM) ST;\ .KS. omiJiitlon which tluMr Institutions evorywhere pvosont, — t)ifi g^roater diffi- culty in connntnidint,^ donu'stic ccMiilbrts of h.^nso and service than W(! ex- perience, — and above all tlie dietary arra:i;;-emeiits of the country. The abundance and universal accessibility of everylliinf^- that can ])rovoke the. a])])etite, the lonj,^ sauce and short sauce, the ])reserves and fruits, the, inlinite varieties of bread, all biiked in a way to lie heavy on thostonuich, the (>ndless array of wines and liquors, the interniinabh; diversities of meats, taken at least three times every day, actinlier. All- Rates of uium, with' It Profits. Maua'.;er. i(>ril<', ver, andctm- TIIL EASTEUN, OR NISW ENGLAND STATES. 77 mow four acr(3s of jfrain, or two and a lialf of lioavy j^rass in a day. Tiio laeu aro tall and well built, — bony rather than tleshy, — and live, as to Jood, as well as men can live. Jwery man can use an axo, a saw, and a liamiuer ; mend a plou^^h, wapf.>:on, or I'ough carpciitoring-, and kill the meat. These Yankees are of all men the most active and liardy. They will race a pijjf down ; are afraid of nothin. Kent, clothes, and coal, ure 00 i)er n a I.' ' I;l t tl i i. 7.^ Tllli liASTEU.V. OK NEW ENGLAND STATES. , 1 " In AiTKM'lcii," obsorvos Hucklnghiun, spoaklii;,' of tho lilusteru StatcrJ, *' tho oc'i'iijiitir of a fai-m is, tilniost, invurinbly tho owner, and know.'i iiotliiij^' about conditio-ns of cultiiru, rent raisin;,^, ejcctiiuMits, or flurical iiiii^istratcs. No titlics, or |)oor-i'at(M, \vorkhotis(3>, or jails, exist in tlu>, rural districts whoro there is plenty to cat, and wages are high. Thu American country gentry and fanners sire much better off, and happier ilian the same class in P^ngland, scarcely anything ever occurring to ruffle tho serenity, of a country and ha])py life, ■ in the well settled parts of America. There is not a single labourer on tho farm who receives I.ns than a dolhir a d;iy -and when they are residents on the fiimi tlu^y have as good living as ])ros]K!rous tradesmen of tho middle classes in England. Three substantial meals a day, and at. harvest time four, with abund.i co and vai"i(!ty at each — excellentschools, almost gratuitously, neat little cot- tag(^s, a plot for gardening. They are well fed, dressed, and educated, intelligent, and agreeable in manners. On Mr. Uelevan's farm (New \'ork), scarcely a labourer who had not money out at interest. Tin' deaths do not reacli two ])er cent, per annum, and the ages extend to eighty jind ninety ' ordinarily,' on account of tho spread of temperance principles." In the Eastern region, the high lands of Pennsylvania V»C ;^Tcatly re- commended for their salubrity and fSourers, who save a few pounds, enter into some small street tnuliii';:, take a store, and their sons become respectable merchants, a process we never observe in Manchester." — Prenticc. The author has here touched upon the ^ ' ' ■ ■ ■■ -' the worst and weakest point of American leiiislation, their protective system, by which they actually impose an import duty of Os. 8d. per quarter on wheat, and ii.") per cent, on cloth, raised to .'30 per cent, when manufactured into garments. 'J'here are twenty millions of inhabitants in the sta'es — on a moderate computation^ they spoiul at least £i lOs. per head, per annum on clothes, 50 per cent, whereof protcelive duty, or JiOs. is equal to a tax of no less than 4;;'>0,0fl0,000 sterling- ! Tiiere is no such drawbacU in Canada, which is, in eyery respect far luore lightly taxed than its neinhbour the model rei)ublic. * " In the immediate vicinity of the city (Louisville Kentucky), much of the I'Uid is in market gardens, and sells" tor, from £20 to £30 an acre, "l believe that land jr.ight be purchased in iVLiryland, Virginia, and Kentucky, to pay a large return mr • he capital invested. Kxte'nsive tracts are to be obtained cheap, and there are in- slances of great profit for the growth ol uiliclcs of food. Kentucky is the garden Til (he 1 price ot the east iiiiest (| about i acres, n of KK) i cent. J i;4()(), a <.i' ;{()0 } cent, I very hi;, is sfatiid jiiircliasi iiu(! liirn miles fr( liirni of Kenti and con and fitte lands of of their large pr< desirous would hi • " Ha and lKi\ii veiled tif to intend] far prefe is a slave- thev belli; ""in W. I'liited St are Engli V. ho have "A goo thirty fee covered v like dime slitep, li()< such buil logs, and i be cic peiids upr if you deii The pri lioi-fte-mu fi'r It urn (3 ciieh— she eourse to f cheese 6 c The pre «'<'iit higlu the price < fiorn 2 to »f tlw republic."— J'tiENTica. TIIK EASTliUN. OK NliW ENGLAND STATKa. 70 •11 {States, 1(1 kll()\V:J r clurifiil ist in tlii>, ^•h. Tho I hui)i)i('i' ji- to riifflo l)Ul'ts of civos Ln.s thoy Imvd Eng'luu'l. huiid.i CO little c'ot- cducatcd, Till (New •est. Th.' extend to jmperauco Teatly rc- nild, ])iis- jopulutiou V pi'odiicij vel peiiiu- 3S that tlio )ver ci-o])- , applyiuLi,' jle return 3 given tor and Vir- osperous.* him in food ;Js in Eiij;- eek, and Ins e sanie slyU; aals. Ieavini>- gallon, very seek refuse some small ts, a process Duched iipou ive sysUin, 1 wheat, and garments, computation^ ;nt. whereof lin-I Tliere ightly taxed 1 of the l:iiid e that land ije return iin' there arc iu- j the "arden TiiIIk! imniediato nei},Mil)onrliood of I'liiladelphiii, Mr. SheiTifF foiUMi thu |iii('(^ of ^'ood cleared land in high heart from .£*2() to ,£*2') )>er acre. Oi: the east l»atd< of th(! Hudson, Mr. l-Vrguson was oM'ered il'Ai acres of the ini(>st (|iia[ity, inclnding 100 of wood, at £7 10s. per acre, returning about .t'lH!2 per annum, certainly no very yreat profit. Anotlit^r of '21o acres, rented tit .£(};), was ofi"ere(l at , £1,300, or about T) per cent. One of 10(1 acres returned £')0 chuir, and tlie jwice was ,£."i:J(), about !)i per cent. A tine farm of 118 acres, with good huildings, was oH'eretl for £400, and would give a profit of £40, or 10 per c(!nt. Colonel TJ rant's i>t" IKK) acres was rented at £(>7 10s., and was sold for £l,oO(), or 4S per cent. In the neighhoin-liood of lialtimore, rents appear to luiv(^ be00. Kentucky is universally described as ii state of great heaiity, fertility, and comparative saluhrity, well settled, and highly fertile, pictures(|iu^, and fitted for pasture. Still more delightful is tiie climate of the high- lands of Virginia, where many fine farms may he had cheap, on account of their heing deserted for the regions of the west. In this latter district, large i)rofits are not to be expected — but the small capitalist ui' ICurojJe, (le.>irous of living cheai)ly on his interest, under a very pleasant climate, would here find a charming retii'ement.* • " Having resided several years in Virginia, though not in the western district, and l>a\iMg remained a short time in one of the nt)rth-w. -stern states, and also tra- velled th'ough some of tlie otlier states, I . ^^- IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ■*- -.V^ 4i. 1.0 I.I 1.25 |50 "^^ IM^S 1^ lis IIIIIM i.R lA IIIIII.6 V] <^ /^ 0». .,y ^,, o 7 /A Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80 (716) 873-4503 # r\ ^ :\ \ lV ^ ^ t/j §!• o , ' i \ i 80 TlIK EASTERN, OR NEW ENGLAND STATES. Although, for labourers without capital, the Western States arc gcnp- raliy regarded as most desirable for settlement, we are not sure but, that on the whole, they would do better in tlio east. Gardeners, well trained agricultural labourers, good waggoners, would always find full eniploy- ment in the east at fiiir wages, paid in money. They would have to en- counter no privations, and run little risk of disease. They would be sur- rounded with superior comforts, a great security for health, and endure none of the hardships of inexperienced persons in a new country. A good house, near markets, medical attendance, and the accessories of civilization to which they have been accustomed at home, they would b(5 sure to meet. They would not, indeed, rise to the position of proprietors of land, easily, or so soon emancipate themselves from service — but ser- vice is only an evil where it is coupled with dependence and precarious employment. If they have wives and families even, it may indeed be true that, ultimately, their children, where their farms were well cleiued in the western states, would be in an independent position — but they would all have to pass througli much privation, tlie sickness incident to early hardships in a new country, much present anxiety, and even at llio last they would have fewer of the comforts of European civilization, than as well paid labourers in the more settled eastern states. Skilful car- penters, millwrights, blacksmiths, shipwi'ights, shoemakers, hatters, en- gineers, tailors, would never have any difficulty in procuring good en- gagements in the east, and, although, the cost of food and rent is higher there than in the west, they get money wages, and procure clothing and many other articles cheaper than in the west. We do not think it de- sirable to give any detailed account of the amount of wages, because these fluctuate much, and, nominally, are very different from what they are really. As a general rule, however, employment is in New England con- stant, wages fair, and the cost of living a good deal less than in Great Britain. We learn from Mr. Stuart that women earn 3s. and men 4s. per day, at farm work. The hours, invariably, are from sunrise to sunset, with proper intervals for meals — but it is to be remembered that the hours of daylight ai'e longer m winter, and shorter in summer than in England. fnrniiiiw implements cheap : green tea. 1 dollar per pound ; coffee, 8 cents per pnund; in\)i;a :, brown, first quality, 4.^ rents per pound; refined sugar, 13^ cents per pound; flour, 4 dollars per barrel; fruit, peaches, peeled, 2 dollars; unpef led, 1 dollar; ap- ples, 50 cents per bushel; candles, 10 cents per pound; soap, 5 cents per pound; bacon. 6 cents per pound ; beef, 2\ to 3 cents per pound : mutton, 2 cents per |)oundi potatoes, 25 cents per bushel, generally, though now 50 cents, owing to scarcity. I think there are farms of l()0 or 150 acres with an improvement ot from 30 to ■){) acres, with a tolerable honse, barn, stable, and outbuildings, and other improvemenis, can be got for 1,000 or l,5oO dollars. A family of ten persons in Guyandotte or its neighbourhood, having the necessary household and kitchen furniture, might live well and plentiful on 300 dollars a-year, evtn if they had to rent the premises. Bread and meat in our country are cheap, as well as all kind of vegetables ; if six acres were judicious! v managed, it would more than supply all needed vegetables ; it wonld go tar towards supporting a family of the size before mentioned. If you lived in Guyandotte, you wouM use coal, which can be got for 7 cents a bushel ; but, if you lived in the country, you would use wood which would cost you nothing but having it cut.— William McComas Cabbell, ComV house, Western Virginia [a laud owner]. Tim liASTEUN, OH NEW ENGLAND STATES. t t i' I 82 THE EASTERN, OR NEW ENGLAND STATES. .'I \M ill* 1 •'■ M • i| tho clioa])er mtc of living. In the Southern States the wa^-es are hij^^host fiml livinrt, and of the ry, and Qtl Mr. id Nfiw nandod eat and ffee, all ice. A 1 to the ick and r week, founder 16s. per )e times it buck- irs, wild d works western than on t ten de- Jersey, both for edition, ice of all r day ir. e for 3s. than aw irough, iuperior, or sheep divided, ird, was ibout 9" eat, and laracter. d, come to 12s. ; jhia re- r manu- md near 3 remote of heat e mineral lie riclvea nnd cold arc dcscri)>cd ])y settlors as gTcatcr in New than in Old Ku^land, it is a feature of all their lettei's, that they either do not speak of the climate, or notice it without complaint, a circumstance from which we would draw the inference that it presents no serious incon- venience to the European constitution. We need not add that emigration being rarely resorted to by such as have any means of doing well at liome, discontent and prejudice against the country they have left, are apt rather highly to colour the superior advantages of the country of their adoption. From the southern, or slave states, our information is comparatively scanty ; and it is a circumstance significant of their interior attractions, that few Europeans settle there. Nevertheless, the institution of slavery may have decided many without reference to other considerations, and tl'e superior commercial advantages o-f the east, and the agricultural ta- cilities of the west, may have much to do with the avoiosf'(/ parts of that great table land which rises from (M)\) to 1 ()()() feet above the level of the sea. In the vallies the climate is mild and temperate, evi- denced by the fact that, on the whoh?, the state produces more wheat and of finer quality than any other in the union, and is celel)rate(l for tiio number and quality of its sheep. With a g'ood d(!al of swamp and marsii, in some districts, it contains extensive, beautiful and fei'tile prairies, and abounds in minerals and thrivincf manufactures in its numerous tf)wns It is reg-ardcd, especially towards the south, as very healthy, and produces good wine, abundance of silk, and excellent tobacco. It presents all those advantar iid tlu' lieat.' all tlip year Mu'ii tbis'is a » haul rou;;li pnm, flowiiiff ailt, ilifi^rtul ILLINOIS. ILLINOIS. 8o ( *. Tills seems the chief of tlie "Western States, in every thinpf that relates to ri'^M-iculture. More r(>cently settled than Ohio, it possesses tewer of the advantaij^es of civilization, and is more scantily jx'opled. IJut its('llinat(; is far superior, in a six week's winter, a Icnj^thened and beautiful s|iiin{^, a productive sumniei', and a delightful autumn. Less rigorous and uniformly milder in all its seasons than the nei;^hbo\0'ing- states, in tliese respects it holds out unrivalled advantages; but when we add that with a superior elim.ate is combined a greater (luautity of uniforndy tine soil, of unbounded fertility, than any other territory of tJie same extent in tlie world, and vast i)rairies of alluvial mould, ready at once for ))lf)ugh and seed, we have said enough to prove it to Ije the very best of incations for the emigrant. The cost of tine land, either cleared, fis in the ])rairies, alternated with wood and clearings, as in the skirts of the prairies and the openings, or timbered with wood of fine quality, and of licavy soil, is so low, ftom one to four or five dollars per acre, that whe- ther for the capitalist who can begin at once, or the labourer whose hif.>Ii wages and very cheap living enable him to jjurchase an acre of cleared freehold land with the labour of a day, we can scarcely conceive of a more desirable place of settlement. Bilious fevers and ague are no doubt com.- mon in unfavorable situations, or under adverse circumstances of excess in eating and drinking, mental depression from a feeling of loneliness in a new country, inattention to proper comforts, or absence of the jirecau- tion of anticipating the effects of acclimation by a few doses of calomel or other proper medicine. But if situation is wisely chosen, and a set- tlement is made in pojiulous and long established districts, we ai)pre- hend that sickness may, to a great extent, be escaped ; and indeed many travellers avouch fi'om the testimony of hundreds of settlers, that the very best health is enjoyed in Illinois. "People," observes IMr. Pren- tice, " concur in the oi)inion that the heat is more moderate west of the Allcghanies than on the Atlantic shores, and that the winters are milder." In this State, Indian corn, the best food for man, and ali kinds of stock and game, grows with unfailing luxuriance. All descriptions of cattle roam at large over the unappropriated land, free of charge, brought back to the owner, whenever he pleases, by his well known cry and its accom- jtaninent of feeds of salt. The seasons are so mild that live stock are never housed, summer or winter, and food is so abundant that they are always in condition. But without reierence to domestic animals, families may live luxuriously on the abundant game every whereto be found, and little town, amonpst uliich AVanesvilk and X^nia were the most attractive, In tliis l)eantil'ul part of the country I tbund tluU a farm liaviii<> tlie licli alluvial soil all in a state of cultivation and the woodland partially cl> ared, with a j^ood suljstan- tial farm house, and the necessary farm ofiices mi^iht l;e had at from £1 to £H per acp?. A well informed farmer was in the train with us who said, " If a young nian comes on uncleared land, lie is completely worn out tiefore his work is done; Imt he escapes almost all the liardships if he hejiins with a f;ood bit of cleared land, and ha. a house to ffi* into, and a shed for his cattle." I asked him what i.n Kniilish farmer could do who should hr.ni; jfldO* into such a conn iry? " Do?" l.e Slid, *'^Vhy he could buy and stock a fa«nn>f lOO acres <»f cnpital land, and live like a gentleman." Lund partially cleared can frequently be had very cheap.— PuEM ICE. ■^ Ti i' •■•: ■ !■ « I V,:i ' ill till 66 ILLINOIS. the lino fish which crowd the rivers, while the command of the finest timber renders the rearin*^ of houses und offices cheap and easy, (iood hoard and lodginj^ can he had for persons even of the middle ranks lor £26 per annum, and the ways and means of life are so inexpensive mid accessible, that with the exception of the fastidious and finical, settlers rriny be said to be relieved from all but the merely imaginary cures of life. We repeat that this work is not intended to supersede a gazetteer, hut to supply the place of a friendly adviser to the stranger and British enii- gi-ant. Wo do not, therefore propose to enter into minute details, but to present a view of the general features of the country which may enaldn the reader to judge for himself as to the choice of his destination, leaving- to himself, on his arrival, those enquiries which can only be satisfactorily answered on the spot. In the neighbourhood of Springfield and Alton, the emigrant will find himself amongst his own countrymen, and English habits, modified by local necessities. The Sangamon territory for health, fine soil, and hnv^ settlement, is much recommended. Peoria is a very fine locality, but the greatest amount of testimony concurs in fixing on Jacksonville, as in every respect, the most eligible location in Illinois. For manufacturint,^ and mechanical pursuits, all the principal towns, of which there are many, are highly spoken of. For agriculture, the neighbourhood of the mineral district of Galena promises ready money, large consumption, and the best prices. But the inhabitants are persons of rude, and even des- perate character, and this forms, in our opinion, a decisive objection against this district. In other regions, except near the large towns, money is scarce — all are sellers of produce, and few buyers. Prices are, there- fore,very low, and, occasionally, farm produce is unsaleable. Truck is done by barter with store keepers, who pay little, and charge large i)ro- fits. Money fetches as high as 25 per cent, interest, a sure sign of the low price of other articles. Even labour is more nominally, than really high, as it is mostly paid in truck, or by orders on a storekeeper. But, these very causes make subsistence so cheap and easy, that life is passcfj without care, and in the enjoyment of substantial independence. IVo man can indeed get rich in mere money under such a system — but he may and does, easily surround himself with all the primary means of life, footl, a house, plain furniture, coarse, perhaps, but perfectly comfortable cloth- ing. Even the capitalist can here make money go a far way, and in tlie erjoyment of leisure, of nature, and of the pursuits of horticulture, bo- tany, agTiculture, he is assisted by a never failing soil, and a climate whicli brings every sort of vegetable production to perfection, without troul)le. The opening o the English market to the unrestricted import of food will probably raise the price of Illinois products materially, and emanci- pate the farmer from the exactions of the storekeepev. To persons of asthmatical or consumptive tendencies, the whole west- ern region presents the greatest attactions. The mildness combined with the dryness of the climate, all travellers consider as an effectual enr(3 of these tendencies, and as making them strangers to natives. A farmery wife, an emigrant from Leeds, states, that she had been afiflicted .vith asthma for twelve years, and, although on her arrival in Illinois, siu' had to work hard, to submit to much exposure, and to great hardsliiii?*; li^r With ar of four and 3,i iiiont o ''Th tion of Indian ILLINOIS. 67 the finest y. (iood ranks i'nv uhivt) and tiers may of liic. ttecr, but itisli (Mni- Is, but to ay enable n, leavinj;- isfactorily t will find odifiert by and lon^- y, but the iile, as ill ufacturiii'^^ there are ood of tlio iptiou, and even des- objection ns, money are, tlu'rc" Truck lA large pro- ign of the ban really iper. But e is passed ence. IS'o )ut he may f life, food, able cloth- md in the ilture, bo- rate whicli at troul)le. rt of food d emauci- hole wcst- coml)iii{'d ctual euro i farmer''y ictcd -.vith is, siic liad ship^; li^r complaint entirely left her, and she and h(!r fujnily « njoyed excellent liealth. Mr. J. li. Newhall, indeed, observes tliat tlie ]iroportion of |iriiirie land to wood land, and the great (luai.tity of too level prairie ren- (ItM* Illinois more liable to bilious diseases tban Iowa or M'isconsin — but then the emigrant may Und, near Peoria or Jacksonville!, a )>revailing un- dulation, and either there, or in the neighbourhood of t_^i)ringfield, according to general testimony the situation is declared to be healthy. The geniality of tb(! climate, undoubtedly, would suggest the propriety of a much more decidedly oriental system of dietetics tlian prevails here. Tempted by tlie ch(>apness of all sorts of liquors, the almndance and variety of food, and the extensive resources of confectionary, jjreserves, and made dishes, emigrants accustomed to the regimen of colder climates, continue a diet unsuiteul to any, especially, a warm climate. Disease feeds on the i)oison of an overfed system. In Turkey and India, wine is forsworn from the un^iitableness of stimulants to a high state of heat — a poi)ulous nation lives on rice for the same reason — and during the warm season the diet in Illinois should bo of the most temperate description. "There is no country in the world," observes Mr. Sherriff, an author rather proijio to depreciation, than exaggei'ation, "where a farmer can com- mence operations with such a small outlay of money, and so soon obtain a return as in Illinois. This arises from the cheapness of land, and tho facility with which it is cultivated, and will appear more evident from the following statement : — Suppose a settler, with sufficient capital to pur- oluise and stock a farm, and maintain himself for six months. Tho farm to consist of 200 acres, 35 forest, and the rest prairie. If the purchase were made in spring, the expense might be thus stated : — dollars Purchasing 200 acres at 1.^ dollars 250 i'encing two fields of 40 acres, with eight rail fence HO Ploughing by contract 80 acres at two dollars 1(10 Seed for 80 acres Indian corn, ten bushfds, at 15 cents .... 1 Cutting and thrashing Indian corn, at three dollars per acre 240 Seed for 80 acres wheat, after Indian corn, 45 bushel, ;:t 45 cents . . 20 Harrowing wheat 20 Cows, four at eight dollars, young cattle, eight at five dol- lars, pigs, ten 82 Buildings and household furniture 000 Maintenance of family six months, vegetables, seeds, ])otatoes, and poultry 150 cents. 50 25 G 0-, Total dollars 1G04 With an expenditure of £340 17s. sterling, is obtained the dairy produce of four cows, and the improvement of eight cattle, grazing on the prairie, and 3,200 bushels of Indian corn, besides vegetables, and the improve- ment of a lot of pigs and poultry. " The attention of the settler is supposed to be confined to tho cultiva- tion of vegetables, tending the cows and pigs, and planting and husking Indian corn. I2 « .' t I .'.' h.l ( r'f u i ( 83 ILLINOIS. " In tho spi'ini:? of tlio socoiid youv ('i;,'lity additional acres would l)0 Ibnond, ])lou«li('d, phiiitcd with Indian corn, and harvested at tin! same ex])ense as tho first year dollars 48 1 50 cents llarvc'stintj 80 acres of wheat at 3 dollars ii40 Total dollar** 7'il 50 cents Sup])osing the Indian corn of the second year equal to the first crop, tho wheat to yield 'J'il bushels per acre, and cost 2^ bushels in thrashin«jf, the farmer, in eighteen months, would have expended 23125 dollars 50 cents or £484 4s. (Id. In the same way he would have reaped 0,400 bushels of Indian corn, and 1,(100 bushels of wheat, and enjoyed abundance of ve- tretables, dairy produce, beef, pork, and poultry. With this produce, and ex])enditure, the farnnir does not perform any laborious wcu'k. The cal- culation of the produce is much under what Illinois is said to yield, tnd tho expenses are stated at much higher than an industrious and fruy^al occui)ier need lay out. A person with £130, and his own labour miyht bo S(!ttled in 80 acres, house, furniture, &:c., &c., and, besides feedinjjf well, raise 2,40() bushels of corn, and 675 bushels of wheat. The cost of cul- tivatin so mai nature nislied But the tei'i the mei that siK if, inde( sion in it is onl tion int< peratior forts of pi'uii'io. Iowa in | pie had men in finds iti narrativ we havi of Illinc left the which tl human there th I'ican va he ih pu worst, c and wil J ii'M'e m( binders r ling, i"'4" and f^f idlen "f tlie St the stri '>.v wJiol not. Ml out bars niau's p V '^ COMPARISON OP WEr^TKRN STATKS. 05 instances, he spring us fevers, th attem- he coldest south the llinois too I extremely lio. )rth, west, vater seas, lut its ex- id swamp, severe, and ;s southern veil as the margin of upon it in 1 preference as Illinois, bject to the s, bnt being rcumstance, he east and een severed ent govern- the frontier lost univer- ■ lawlessness, tions for the ble attention ;he labouring the shape of reat lakes— a s commercial ississippi, the owa, both of th than Wis- more fertile, to expect that and geniality, to these states settlement of working men Ln their most favoured districts; and Mr. GeorgoShophord, the editor of the Eastern Counties Herald, who spent soverul years in both States, and subjected himself to personal t;xperience of their niannc!" of life, by roughing it like the natives, supplies intelligent, and we liave no reason to believe, other than trustworthy details on the subject, of their actual condition, advantages, and drawbacks. In a fair, and not ungenial, spirit, he takes us to task for the disparag- ing account, we have not hesitated to give of the state of society in Iowa. That he has not convinced us that we are in error, does not arise from any disinclination to retract what we may discover to be wrong. We see so many gi'ounds of encouragement to settle in these states, from the nature of the soil and climate, that we are only too willing to be fur- nished with reasons for justifying a recommendation in their favour. But we speak from authority in reference to the social condition of the territory up to the year 1844, and although five years are an age in the mere material progress of a young American State, we are satisfied that such can interval affords little time for moral or social improvement, if, indeed, it does not raise a presumption, rather of temporary retrogres- sion in the ratio of an unnatural influx of population. As a general rule it is only daring and desperate men who become the pioneers of civiliza- tion into frontier states. Nothing but a necessity which amounts to des- peration, would lead those, who have any hold on the hopes and com- forts of a civilized community, to tempt the wilderness or the untrodd{!n prairie. Mr. Shepherd's own admission, that lato only began to exist in Iowa in 1848 is pretty substantial proof tliat, prior to that time, the peo- ple had to be a law unto themselves — an experiment for which English- men in England are unfit — and by which the omnium gatherum which finds itself a community in Iowa, is still less prepared to abide. The narrative of the eventful life of the emigrants from Yorkshire, to which we have before alluded, clearly proves that even in the well settled state of Illinois, the absence of police, and of the efiectual authority of Jaw, left the inoffensive settlers a ])rey to the most lawless brutality, again.^t which there was scarcely any protection. It is not merely American but human nature, that the lawless will run to where there is no law — and there they will make the rule of the strongest reign. Where is an Ame- rican vagabond so likely to go as to a frontier territorv, in which, even if lie is pui'sued, he knows he can set retribution at defiance — or, at the worst, can cross the frontier and there find himself safe among the wilds and wild beasts. W^ho in America will work in mines, except to have 1 irge money wages, which he may stpiander in debauchery, -a^ tho gold iiiiders do in California ? There is abundance of land for all for the til- ling. Who that loves the habits of peaceful industry, would prefer work- in';- under ground, except that he may be sui)plied with the means of fits of idleness and dissoluteness. Mining is the chief industrial occupation of the state, and one of the most demoralizing, everywhere, except amidst the stringest restraints of an old country, where the bad are compelled by wholesome fear of the constable, to assume a virtue, if they have il not. Mr. Shepherd proves little by showing that he slept in houses with- out bars, and with money, without being robbed. Open theft from a man's person, or burglary in his house, is not the American way of doing T.I J. < i f H i ! i >ll iiM ^V: • ^ f^i ,1 1 I.;."' i i; 90 C0M1»ARIS0N OP WESTKRN STATES. hnsinoj^s. "The wise" and tlio Yiinkeos "convoy it call." Tlioy keep the hiire law outhcirsido by svvindlitii;,, or proiiiiso brciikinpf, in ])laco v( open til loving — and, if thoy desire to take ])osse.s.sion of what is not thoii- own, or to sicken you ont of what is yours, they break down your fences, lead their horse or cattle amon;,^ your corn, get up some forged title to your log hut and clearing, gouge your eye out, or flourish their bowie knife. Mr. Prentice tells us that his nephew had been murdered just, before his arrival, with the favorite quarrel settler of the West — quarrels to a great extent, meaning only ruffianly spoliation under the cloak of the argument wfiich the wolf urged to the lamb. God forbid we should allege tliat this is universal. Many, very many, worthy men are to h(> found among these wilds, ready to assist the weak and innocent against the brutal. But it is perfectly obvious from the nature of the case, tlint frontier settlements will always be the refuge of the vicious criminal, and hiwless of more orderly communities -and there finding the restraints oi' constituted authority, necessarily weaker than where a denser population can vindicate its power, we are to expect what is invariably found the hardy, bold, adventurous, but also the violent and dishonest. Doubtless as the settlement becomes more attractive to persons of orderly habits, and the increase of population, subjects the actions of all to the eye of many neighbours, gi-eat improvements will take place in this respect. Even already to the poor and the physically strong, if they live in each others vicinity the ruffianism of the bad will not present a very formid- able aspect, and their uneasy neighbourhood may have its compensation in the advantages of soil, climate, and cheapness. Families migi-ating thither in co-operative association can combine against the common enemy and drive him from the field. But other well ordered districts offlr themselves in so many quarters, that we see no necessity for any one to betake himself to thispw aller of emigration. It may be proper, however, before dismissing this subject, which, from the increasing tendency of associative migration to direct itself to Wis- consin and Iowa, rises in importance and interest to the reading public to afford more ample details of the various topics it involves : — "Iowa," observes Mr. J. Buxton Murray, "is situated at what has been called 'the fag end of the world,' certainly at the western extremity of civilization. A considerable portion of its inhabitants are connec't((l with the extensive lead mines of the West, and for these reasons their character is far from being that of a polished peojde. The settler will therefore be subjected to a great many social inconveniences and dit- ficulties, common to all frontier cotmtries. But should the mode oi settlement recommended in these pages be adopted, the annoyances of a frontier life will be less felt, as each party will find companions and associates in their own friends or relations, and the sooner also will the character of the country be raised in the scale of moral excellence." Dr. John Thomas, of St. Charles Dane County Illinois, states: — " As to the population of Iowa, it is something like that of Texas, tho refuse of the States, and of Europe. The phrase, * He has taken tlio Iowa short' is familiar in these parts, for he that has fled the country for his crimes. It is a frontier territory, and, like all such, is the ultima 'rintle of the civilized world. For myself, I would as soon go into exile at unco ns emi this lit; the be,- "'As ndi'th-' iiig to 1 more h Wiscon is less ( diseases cral (lis country — at lea and slo) or in de These " speaki nature ( we have wliich c anxious into com tlie l)ill • " Und States—: cossive r had a t( with th( al)()ve wi| stances, nor incl] their int employ houses t| plain an| London food whi| emi^Tanl ^vh(n•e lit "AmiJ So far ad and ])ro]] live undtf tliG legisl in our b( a well-ol persons nor pos^ tliere arl should 11 COMTARISON OF WESTERN STATES. 97 lioy keep I place <-{ , not tlieii- ur fenros, (1 title to eir bowio lered just —quarrels ; cloak of we should are to be nt against case, that tninal, and 3straints ol" population found the Doubtless fly habits, the eye of lis respect, ve in each sry formid- tnpensation migi'atin<; mon enemy ;tricts ott'cr any one to srhich, from self to Wis- public ding it what has n extremity e connect( (1 easons their ; settler will :;es and dit'- he mode oi jyances of a panions and also will the lence." ates : — ►f Texas, the as taken tlio luntryforliis ilthna 'rixtle exile at once ns emigrate to Iowa as it is. A civilized man wants somethinor more in this life than earth, water, air, and sky : unless he have cong(!niaI society, tlu; best farm is but a dreary waste. I speak from experience. '"'As to the health of Iowa, this same rule will apply as to all this north-western region. On the streams it is more or hiss aguish, accord- ing to the bilious predisposition of the settlers. On the open ])rairie it is more healthy than in the timber; but, \\\)on the whole, Nin-thern Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa, are as healthy as any counti-y upon earth. There is less disease, in general, in these countries than in the British Isles; diseases arising from poverty are unknown. I have not visited the min- eral district, west of us some eighty mil(>s, ])ut those who have say that the coimtry is very hilly, and certairdy not well adapted to farming ])ui'])oses — at least so we believe here, who have a country of fine undularions and sloping plains. We are no advocates here for ploughing around hills, or in «leep hollows : we consider it too much labour for man and horse." These extracts will be sufhcient to show that we have not Ixsen "speaking without book;" and, as we have shown that, in the very nature of things, they have every presumption of trutli in their favour, we have not hesitated to adopt them. In that spirit of candid inrpiiry, which can alone give any substantial value to a work which we are anxious to make a safe and authoritative guide to emigrants, we call into court Mr. Shejdierd for the defendant, who thus files his answer to the bill • — " Undoubtedly, the general cliaracter of the population of the Western States— Iowa included — exhibits a large proportion of what our ex- cessive refinement calls rudeness. They are in the main men who have had a tough fight with fortune— who have reclaimed forest and prairie with their own hands, and bv their own labour have raisesd themsehes above want or the fear of want — who, though independent in circum- stances, are yet strangers to luxurious ease — wlio have neither leisure nor inclination to cultivate " the graces of civilization " — and who, in their intercourse with neighbours or strangers, are not accustomed to pmploy needless forms, or to waste time in compliments. They build houses that are somewhat rough in their exterior, their furniture is plain and scanty, their garments would shock a London tailor, and a London epicure might turn with disdain from the homely but abundant food whicii forms their daily fare. What is there in all this to terrify an emigi'ant, or which an emigrant must not be prepared to encount(;r, go where he will ^ "Amidst the rudeness of frontier life, there are many redeeming traits. So far as the northwestern region is concerned, I am satisfied that life and in'operty are more secure than in this country. It is my lot now to live under the protection of English law, and to share the security which the legislation and institutions of centuries guarantee to all ; sokliei's are in our barracks, ready at a moment's notice to sustain the public peace; a well-organized police patrol in our towns and villages to guard our persons and possessions. Even with these advantages neither persons nor possessions are altogether safe; we feel that, though in England, there are masses of men who live in utter violation of the law ; and we should as soon think of taking poison, or throwing our purses into tlie if m 98 COMPARISON OF WESTERN STATES. :V,^ son, as of j^'oinc;- to bed without previously iiseertiiining that our windows and doors are secure." We need scarcely say that, if with ''soldiers in our barracks," and a "well orj^anized police," we are entirely unsafe, our predicament is not liktily to be improved where these restraints arc entirely removed from tli(! disorderly —and that is just the case we make out at^ainst Iowa : — " I was located," continues Mr. Shepherd, " amontfst squatters, witliin a few miles of the extreme frontier line, in the immediate nei;;hhourh()()d of an Indian settlement, and I have never felt a greater sense of security than I then enjoyed. One fact will illustrate this: I slept for a con- siderable period in a lo;j^-house which had neither door nor window- frame, and with no other companion than a small Scotch terrier ; peoi»le around were acquainted with the circumstance, and may be sup]ios(Ml also to have known that, as a recent settler, I was not wholly without money; other settlers felt equal security, for only in one instance that I am aware of was a lock or bolt employed ; and yet, neither in my case, nor in any case within my knowledge, was any robbery or outrage etfected or attempted. "The kindness of the population is as uniform as their honesty. I could name several instances which came under my own observalion where children deprived of parental protection were at once and without solicitation taken home by neighbouring settlers, and fed, clothed, and educated by them with as much care and consideration as though they had been their own offspring. The highest purposes of a poor-law arc voluntarily fulfilled as a religious duty, and without the degradation which here attends the acceptance of relief. "Admitting, then, that in Iowa and Wisconsin, no less than in England, there are men of ferocious character and lawless habits, I maintain that the majority of the population are well-principled citizens, obliging to neighbours, kind-hearted and generous to sti'angers." We here leave the evidence to be balanced by the reader, and proceed to that department of the subject about which there is likely to be less difference of opinion. "Supposing the frontier States to have been chosen, the question will still remain, whether Iowa or Wisconsin is to be preferred. "Wisconsin has hitherto been the favourite State with British emi- gi'ants. The Temperance Emigration Society and the Potters' Society have established settlements there. I travelled over a large portion of it in 1843, and found numerous parties of old country people everywhere. In the neighbourhood of Racine, a port on Lake Michigan, a small body of London mechanics had raised their humble dwellings ; and in the in- terior were various groups of log-houses, tenanted by men who held some distinctive principle in common. Many of these men had belonged to Owen's co-operative movement in its palmiest days. The Temperance Society's location is within a moderate distance of Madison, the capital, and possesses, in. an eminent degree, the important qualifications of sa- lubrity and fertility, combined with almost unequalled natural beauty. The Society did not commence operations until after I had left Wis- consin ; but I have a vivid recollection of the deliuiit with whicli 1 first gazed upon the glorious scenery of the district they have chosen. Wtno I calle trict, 1 as, on "Of this cc the otli more I rities, wealth dant SI country both til ])o,sitioi] that sor this cou but of I governij Mississi] l)oiut 0] lor the ill popu county, timber i and well is rathe chiding witli se^ opjiositc Bur en i iin])rov£ Lee cou north oi Cheeau( extolled laud till is, abov ]tros(!iit tluin in ci.so spo in recoi Dovenp choicest chosen of the counties Mississil Kivers the WaJ wuall ol "1 COMPARISON OF WESTERN STATES. 03 wiudowH 1(1 a "wpII lot lik(!ly from tlu! 'vs, witliiu il)ourh()<)(l )f secui'ity bi- a con- window- \v ; peopld supposcMl [y without ,nec that I n my case, )!• outrago onesty. I )bs(5rva1ion nd without othed, and lOugh tliey )or-law ai'O legradation ss than in ,s habits, I led citizens, ei's." md proceed ly to be less uestion will British emi- ters' Society portion of it everywlievc. I small body id in the in- in who held lad belonged Temperance , the capital, ations of sa- taral beauty, .ad l(>fr Wis- whit'li I lii"^'' Loscn. Wei'O I called upon, however, to advise an emigrant as to his choice of a dis- trict, I should certainly name that through which the Rock River flows, as, on the whole, the best farming country I saw in Wisconsin. " Of the neighbouring State of Iowa, comparatively little is known in this country ; although it is, I think, su])erior in many respects to all the other Western States. It is as beautiful as Illinois or Wisconsin, and more healthy than either ; its soil is pronounced, by competent autho- rities, the richest in the Union. It has apparently great mineral wealth ; it has an admixture of prairie and timbered land, with an abun- dant supply of water; and it holds out advantages as a pRstoi-al country. "Lee county is one of the most thickly populated, and, commanding both the Mississippi and Des Monies Rivers, enjoys a good commercia.' ])osition. In the interior are many flourishing villages. It is understood that some caution is necessary in the purchase of land from settlers in this county, in conse((uence of certain half-breed (Indian) reservations ; but of course no difficulty exists when the ])urchase is effected at tlie g(tvernment land ottice. The flourishing town of Burlington, on the INIississippi, invests Des Monies county with importance in a business ])()iiit of view; but its surface is rather too level, and its soil too heavy. tor tlie general pur])oses of agriculture. Dubuque — next to Burlington in po])ulation and business — is also on the Mississippi. In Jacksoa county, between Dubuque and the Maquoketa River, there is plenty of thnber and water, and prairie farms. Muscatine county is well settled and well watered ; in some tracts it is deficient in timber, and in others is rather unhealthy. Between this county and the Macjuoketa — in- cluding Scott and Clinton counties— there is a fine and fertile region, witli several rising towns. Devenport, for instance, is in Scott county, opjiosite to Rock Island, Illinois. Among the interior counties, Van liuren is the most deserving of notice, on account of the extent of the imi)rovements which have been there effected. It is immediately behind L(!e county, and on the Des Monies River. Jefferson county is to the north of Van Buren, and is handsome, well wooded, and watered by the Cliecauque, with numerous tributaries. Linn county, agai.i, is highly oxtolled, as having a more desirable proportion of thnber and prairie liuid than most of its neighbours. The northern ])art of the State — that is, al)ovo the Iowa River — is, in my judgment, the best adapted at the ]»i'osi!ut time for settlement by British emigrants. The population is less than ill the southern division, but the soil is much superior. The pre- cise s])ot for location cannot with safety be indicated ; but I am warranted in recommending the emigrant to pass Burlington, and land either at Devenport or Dubuque. The former will readily conduct him to the choicest parts of Scott and Clinton counties ; while Dubuque should bo chosen by those who deserve most easily to reach the picturesque scenery of the Ma(iuoketa, or who have a fancy for the lead diggings. Those counties are usually considered the best which are contiguous to the Mississippi ; but it must be borne in mind that the Des Monies and Iowa Rivers are navigable to some distance by boats of light draught ; and tlie Wapsipinecon is by many said to be improveable at a comparatively wiiall outlav. k2 •I I \ (' \) s\ it ' J fi'^ !•' ;!'!'« 100 COMPAltlSOX OF WESTEllN SFATJiS. " Tho agy^rey'uto pojmltition of the .Stiitu Ccinnot bo iiiuch less than 200, 000. " The ))i'odiicn of Iowa is vari(>(l aiulabiiiKhmt. Wheat and maize arc the ero])s to which tlie seftlcr Hrist tuius lii.s attention. The remarkahio ease uitli wliicli maize iseuUivated, and tlie numberless uses to wiiich it is ai)|)IieabJe, renders it a croj) of tlie utmost inii)ortance to tlie emigrant; beside which it is the best sod crop, that is, tlio crop grown on the turf when ncnvly turned by tiu; breakinj^' ])lougli, and before cross-])loughiufi' has been ajjplied. Wheat, again, tlirives aniazingiy, and is always re- garded as a cash article. It is customary to speak of it as producing from 30 to 40 bushels to the acre ; but tliough I have no doubt that, with care and industry, cro])s of that character may be raised; I am bound to add, that what 1 i>a\v of the western country, left a convietion that not inon^ tlian twenty busluls are ordinarily obtained. Even that, howevei', is a large crop, considering the slovenly character of the farming. In Wisconsin I ])lantcd potatoes witli great success, and the soil and climate of Nortliern Iowa are, I think, etjually favourable for the growth of that root. Turnii)s, too, succeeded well, but their importance as winter jn-o- vender is lessened by the abundance of pumpkins, which literally re()uiro no care whatever. Oats do well, but except in the immediate vicinity of towns do not command money. Hemp may be raised in any part of tho tState, and in the warmer districts, tobacco and the castor bean will, in time, become staple articles of growth. Beet root has been introducctd to some extent in Illinois. Iowa is quite as much adapted for it as Illi- nois. Beef, pork, hides, lard, and wool, are articles which the Iowa far- mer may bring into the market with certain profit. There are no natural pastures in the world to be compared to the i)rairies of that State. Coarse as the wiry grass seems to the eye of the stranger, he soonlearns to dis- cover its fattening qualities, as the food of the horned cattle which roani almost at will during the spring, summer, and autumn ; the pig finds sustenance in the acorns and wild roots of the timbered lands, and aro fattened at a cost little more than nominal. The sheep carries a capital care ase, and yields a fleece of more than common excellence. " Mining must not be forgotten in the enumeration of the pursuits to which the inhabitants of this region direct their attention. Several thou- sands of persons are already engaged in digging for lead; and hereafter coal and iron ore must occupy attention. " The articles of export for which the settler may obtain more or less cash, are, then, flour, beef, pork, lard, hides, and wool. I say ' more or less cash ;' and I do so, because, even in regard to these articles, ' trad- ing,' or barter, largely prevails. A common rule at the store is, half \m\\- ment in goods, half in casl , although there are many dealers who ])ay all in cash for wheat, pork, and wool. liCad is invariably a cash article ; and hence, both in Iowa and Wisconsin, the mining district is that in which the most ready money is to be had. " Dubuque, Davenport, and Burlington are the chief seats of com- merce in the State. Iowa city, the seat of government, is in JolniM)ii County, on the Iowa Iliver, which is navigable by small steamers. I'ort Madison and Keobuck are relatively important places, and others of a similar character are rising in different counties. At all of these places less than maize arc inai'kablo 1 which it cniij^raiit; )M tlje turf ])loughiii|_^ ilways re- pi'oduciii^f tliat, with I boiiud to n that not , howevei', ■miiij^. Ill nd climato vvth of tliat tvintei' pi'o- illy rtxiuiro ) vicinity of part of tlie an will, ill introduced V it as Illi- e Iowa far- e no natural ate. Coarso earns to dis- which roam le pig finds ids, and aio ies a capital • pursuits to Several thou- id hereafter nore or less I say ' more tides, ' trad- is, half pay- ers who pay cash article ; ;t is that ill 3ats of eorn- 1 in Johnson aniers. I'oi't others of a • these places COMPARISON OF WKSTEKN STATES. 101 tlio emi<^rant lias markets for his jn'oduce. The fact that the whole aro not casii markets has given rise to a belief that none but settlers wl'.o liave lands within a very moderate distance of the Mississippi can dis]»oso of what they have to sell. The constant influx of emigrants into the interior of the country furnislu's a demand for grain and meat of gi'eat Vi'due to the farmer. 1 cannot better illustrate this, than by stating that in Sauk County, Wisconsin, I paid quite as high a yirice for wlieaten flour as was paid in this country in average years before the rcjieal of the corn laws, the article being brought from St, Louis up the Wisconsin lliver in a steamer of light burthen. "An important advantage of a prairie country is, that it offers faci- lities for the construction of roads not to be found in the eastern states, or in Canada. No riding can be smootlujr or easier than over a gently undulating meadow, which is all that a prairie amounts toj and the ''corduroy roads" which run through the heavily wooded lands are of comiiaratively small extent. It is well that they are so ; though the an- noyance they occasion is not greater to the teamster than that which arises from the marshy districts, where the water often reaches to the axle of the wagon wheel, and hides a somewhat treacherous bottom. On the main lines of communication, the roads are, generally speaking, ex- cellent; rough but substantial bridges have been constructed, where necessary ; where rivers are too broad for bridges, ferries are providxt to it must be placed a uniform determination to do all that can be done for the development of the immense resources of the country, by rendering rivers more navigable, by forming state roads and canals, and by assisting in the construction of railroads." " In reference to the course to be pursued by the moneyed emigrant on his arrival in Iowa, some diversity of opinion prevails. The mecha- nic, or unskilled labourer, who wends his way to that distant region to procure the bread which he cannot earn " at home," and who reaches Hnrlington or Dubuque with but few shillings in his pocket, has plainly no alternative but to seek employment, and accept it at the current rate of wages ; and this task is, happily, easy of accomplishment. But with the moneyed emigrant the case is different. He has to choose between settled districts, where improved farms are to be purchased; and unsettled districts, where the whole work of improvement is to be performed. The foiTner are usually preferred by men with families, who are anxious to effect comfortable settlements without loss of time, and to secure advan- tages only to be obtained in peopled localities— proximity to the resi- dence of a medical man, a store, a school, or a chapel, or all of them. They decide upon selecting land already partially under cultivation, with a house and sheds already built, with a well dug, and with ten, twenty, 1 3 ! T '• \i rt ■ ti 1 ■ , f i i, ■ h1l tJ ■>i m. 102 COMPARISON or WHrtTKRN STATES. thirty, or forty ac-ros foiioed, ploiiij^licd, uiid In crop. Tho Amnrican set- tlors an;, as a Ixxly, prepared at any time to ^ell their tarins, and to eoni- inenco anew tlieir arduous labours, wiien the ehanm^o is profitable. Tlie amount of i)roHt required depends upon cireumstances, which ])reelud(! any attempt to tix tho priee at which tlie emif^rant may obtain his object. Tho needy farmer, 8tru},'j^linj^ with debt and law, enters tho market at a disadvantaj^e, and will often "sell out" at a serious sacrifice. Tho fatlier of half-a-do'/(Mi boys and girls, rapidly rising into their toons, discov<'rs, it may be, that tho farm to bo apportioned amongst them is small, and in that case he will be content witli a moderate sum for the imi)rovcmeiits eflected, in additon to the averngfi })rice of land as enhanced by risiii.'; towns and villages. It is for the emigrant to act with caution, and, if not aid(Ml by the advice of resident friends, to avoid everything like makiiii;, an offer unril he has formed an idea of the position of the parties ho de- sires to address. If he be ostentations, and seek to impress those about him with a sense of his wealth, depend upon it ho will pay for his pride, and pay smartly too. A shrewd man will avoid this, even by seeking information as an inquirer rather than as a purchaser. Quito as much depends uj)on the tact with which this is done as upon the circumstances of the actual settler. I have known a snug little farm to be purchased within an easy distance of a good market for one half the price paid for land, at least 1*20 miles distant from a similar place. Why was this? Simply because the buyer in one case knew how to transact business, while, in the other, he placed confidence in statements which moderate inquiry would have proved to be groundless. One had acquired western experience; the other, though not a simydeton, had failed to study tlio nature of his position. So far is the latter from being a singular case, that I think it would not be difficult to show that the " great bargains," about which we now and then read in the published letters of emigrants, are few in comparison with the number of errors committed by parties unduly eager to obtain settlements. " If asked to state at what price improved farms may be obtained, I should say that they range from ten dollars per acre in the neighbourhood of towns to three dollars i)er acre in less populated districts ; houses, sheds, and fences, being given, as it were. Where land has reached tla; liigher figure, one half of an eighty acre farm ought to be in cultivation; in more remote places the proportion will be considerably less; seldom, indeed, more than twenty acres, often not more than ten. Farms of tliu last description are frequently found in districts not actually " in tht! market" that is, not yet offered for sale at the government land. office. The value set upon the improvements by the seller is added by him to what he deems the worth of his " pre-emption right," which is the term used to convey the preferential claim of the possessor to the purchase of che land when ordered by the i)rcsident to be sold. Having purchased the pre-emption right, the emigrant will be able, at the proper time, to buy the freehold at the ordinary rate, namely, a dollar and a quarter l)er acre. "While a single stranger will act wisely in purchasing improved land, I think it may be proved, that parties of emigrants will, in the main, consult their interest by settling on wild prairie land, and creating for themselves all the improvements they require. I'egions MIDDLE AND SOUTH WKSTLUN STATUS. 103 'ic'tin sct- 1 to eom- :)lo. Tho ])recliiublican free- dom has here a domain as ample as its most extended ambition could desire. Stretciiini^ across the broadest portion of the western continent, and touching; two oceans, <^\tendinj,r north to the 41Jth degree. iXlUl south to the 'ioth, it includes in its millions on millions of acres, it might naturally be supjjosed, every possible variety of climate that tlio temperate zone atlbrds. Counting the dejgrecs of latitude by tens, I have resided in them all, but have sougiit in vain for the Elysian climo of which western bards have sung, anub(hio ih'jir forests. I would ^tay nearer home ; the; Atlaiitii; places me at a sjutHcient distance from i( without waudrring, at c<»t of time and moury, some thousand miles towanls the lloeky Mountains. I have off cm w knew no better, but were sent tiutlier by lanil si)eculators or tlicir i, -ents. " My opinion also is, tlmt ch'ai'cd lands arc preferable, for my country- int'u. to forest lands. I wi>h it, iiowover, to be undcr.st(»od, tluit in. raying this, I express private o])inion, though four years ])raetice of tiirmiug in the section of country in whieh I now reside, iind iutinnite experience, hy resid(Mice in the woods, entitle my opinion to some weight. " Let us Hrst suppose that we hav»^ decided on forest land, unimproved land, as it is here called. It may \w ])urchased for from one to livo (lullars per acre, according to tho situation, ^^'ell, Ijere it is; we aro now in the centre of our farm, consisting of one hundred acres. IIow profound the gloom and solitude, you say. Yes, but you hear the (.listant sound of an axe. Our neighbours aro at work, and we shall soon change the scene. Wliat trees ! Yes, it is heavily tind)ered, and therefore good land. It is virgin soil, a plough has never ])rofaned it. To cut down these trees is our Hrst business. We have l)rought witli us a ffood woodsman, for without him w(! could do but little ; he will cut (li)wn a tree while we should be looking round it to see where to l)ei,in. His w}>gcs will be half a dollar per day and board. We must, of course, cat down, first, such trees as are suitable for building our house, and get that up as (piick as we can, for our wives and children have been sleeping long enougli in tho wagons and under the tents. When we have; logs enough prejjared our neighbours will come and help us build. Let us work well, and we shall have a good cabin in a day or two. Then we must i)ut u]) our outbuilding in the same manner. The next thing is to pn.'pare rails for our fence. For this purpose we must cut down oak trees, that will rive well, and cut them into lengths of eleven feet, split them, and carry them on to the line where the fence is to be. And now we can go on felling the trees, but let us first select the site of our permanent dwelling, for we must bo careful to leave there some of th« liandson)est trees for ornament and shade. We will not do like ;>ome of our neighbours, who make a war of extirpation where they go, and whose murderous axe does not spare a single tree to shade even their cottage door. This site must be convenient to a spring, for we shall not like the labour of digging aw^ell. Yus ! here's the place, sufticiently out of the hollow, to escape the fog that is apt to settle there, and not too tar away to carry water. We must compromise the claims of labour and health in this matter. Some of those trees to the north we will leave ; they will shelter us from the winds in winter ; a few also must lie left standing to the south, near to where the house will be, to shade us in summer. And now down with the rest of the lords of tho forest ; they liave lived and reigned from the creation, but they must now bow to lordier man. " When a sufficient space is thus cleared, we shall call in our neigh- I M :l ;,,i !■» !H ^^1 ii4 4 ! i It! ■ ;■* ■ ■ li , I lOG MIDDLI-: AND SOUTH WESTKRN STATES. ])o Ill's ai^ain to help us. Thei-e logs will be rolled up in piles, tho limbs and brush heaped on the toj). Then we must put up the fence, and next fjo to work to grub up the smaller roots, and divide the larger (luos, cutting off the bark of tlu! .stumps to prevent them from vegetating hereafter. In the spring we shall set fire to these log-piles, and plough, as well as we can, the ground. A man and stout boy will thus prei)are live or six acies in the course of the winter. The first crop will be liidian-corn and potatoes, and the next, if tlie ground is in sufficient good order, may be wheat, if not, corn, again. We shall probably get from forty to sixty bushels y)er acre of corn, and from fifteen to twenty bushels of wheat. Cultivating a crop among these roots and stumps is no easy work, as you may judge, to one not used to it, and you will tjiand a chance of breaking your plough occasionally, and sometimes, j)erhaps, your shins; but they who are used to it make little of it, and, I suppose, by and by, we shall not mind it either. Let us have ]taticnce, and, in some ten or fifteen years, old father Time will get them all out of the way for us. Thus we shall go on, year after year, until we get the whole farm cleared, taking care to reserve a sufficient (luantity of wood land. "The first year we must, of course, purchase our provisions; and, as our means are slender, ne bhall have to make up our minds to suffer some privations to which we have not been accustomed. Let us see : wc shall cultivate a garden, and thus have sufficient vegetables through the summer. Our cows will get their living in the woods, with the excep- tion of four winter months ; their calves, kept in, will bring them up every evening. Our pigs will run at large, and a little corn thrown to them occasionally, and the slops of the house, will keep them near home. Then we shall need to purchase corn, flour, pork, potatoes, and, if we can afford it, coftee, tea, and sugar for ourselves, and corn and fodd^ir for the stock. Say our two families consist of four persons each, be- sides one or two little ones, then the following will be something like tlio probable esthnate. dollars. 100 acres of land, at one dollar per acre 100 Surveying, title deeds, and taxes 12 Stock and implements 250 Wages of hired man one month 20 150 bushels corn, at 40 cents CO 8 barrels flour, at 5 dollars '. 40 1500 pounds of pork, at four cents 60 Groceries 30 Clothing, mechanic's bill, and extras 30 Hay, and fodder for stock 30 Total C32 Divide this amount by 2, and we have 316 dollars, about £03 sterling. " Let us now suppose ourselves on cleared land. Wo will imagine it to be an old Virginia farm. Here is a large but dilapidated houiie, and th down i How c has ex tuckv < V Virgin slaves ( lo the 1 ters hai taken ti they ev would r '' B\x\ chop do op^n coi filiation fruitful J '^Inti and, I \ liiindred instance!; per acre, dred acrt leaving, i soiling s;y' is scarce ties. W( up perpe roof. W of sawing one thouc litdeshec house. All togetl Jng trees] MIDDLE AND SOUTH WESTEllN STATES. 107 piles, tho the fence, the larger vegetating id plough, IS prepare )p will bo i sufficient obably get to twenty . stumps is id you will sometimes, little of it, Let us have ne will get ? after year, a sufficient )ns ; and, as ids to suffer t us see : wc through the 1 the excep- ng them up ■n thrown to n near home. ,, and, if we and fodd«'v us each, bc- hing like the dollars, . 100 . 12 . 250 . 20 . GO . 40 . 60 .. 30 ,. 30 .. 30 ... 032 , about £03 will imagine )idated house, farm here than first place, this and tho buildings around are in the same state. The fences are broken down and the land is in many places overgrown with blackberry bushes. How comes it in this state? Why, the kind of farming it lias received, has exhaiiisted the soil, and the owner has left it to go away into Ken- tucky or Tennessee, and cut down trees as we have been doing. This is Virginia, you say, and then we are among slaves ! No, there are no slaves of any consequence in western Virginia. The slaves have gr)ne oft' to the new countries, and taken their masters with them, or their mas- ters have taken them, which is the same thing to us; but they have not taken the land, though they have used it worse, I'll answer for it, than they ever did their slaves; indeed if they hud used it half as well, it would never have been in this state. " But to our farm. I have said that I would rather chop down trees and work among the stumps. In the open country is generally more healthy, owing to there being a freer cir- oulation of air, and no decaying vegetable matter as in the woods — a fruitful source of disease. '' In the next place, farming this land will be to ns far more pleasant, and, I believe, quite as profitable. Let us see. Here are six or seven hundred acres; it may be bought, say for five dollars per acre (in some instances these farms may be had for nothing, in others for ten dollars per acre, according to circumstances). It is divided into fifty and hun- dred acre farms. We will first enclose the whole tract with a good fence, leaving, for the present, the division-fences, as we propose to adopt tho soiling system, and, consequently, shall not turn out the cattle. Wood is scarce here, and we cannot build log houses; we must put up shan- ties. We shall put posts in the ground, plates on the top, set the boards up perpendicularly, and nail strips over the joints, and put on a board roof. We have, therefore, to haul the logs to the saw-mill. The cost of sawing will be about five dollars per thousand feet, and it will take one thousand feet to build a house eighteen feet square, one story, witli a little shed. Here we must live until we can afford to build a good frame house. The stable and other out buildings will be of the same kind. All together will cost us, say fifty dollars. Here, then, instead of fell- ing trees, and grubbing, and rolling logs, we shall spend our winter ill making manure. First, we must build a lime-kiln : this will be tho joint labour of all the company, and then we must haul the lime-stone and burn it.* Next get marl, or peat, or mud, as the case may be, for lemeinber, we do not go upon lands where one or {ill of these fertilizing auents cannot be obtained. This we will haul home after it has been ^pread out to dry, and put under a shed erected near to the stable, first digging a pit under the shed, three or four feet deep, sloping at each fud, so that a cart may go in at one end, dump the load, and go out iit tlie other end. Or if we wish to dispense with the shed, we can ])ut up the marl or ])eat into conical heaps, like hay-cocks, and beut t!io surface with a shovel, to exclude the rain. We must make as mueh manure as we can, with our cattle, and that with as little hay and corn-stalks as possible, for the provriider we shall liave to buy, and wo shall, perhaps, have a long way to go for it, so that it will bo * Where nmi*l can be obtained hiuo will not be needed. \ ^ ! ' I" i|' El'! !■< !' 108 MIDDLE AND SOUTH WESTERN STATES. best to stable our stock ; they will eat less than when exposod to thn weather, and wo sliall rnako more inaniyT. At the heels of the cows let us make a gutter, eirty of 27,000. ties of uncul- whieh can l»e iiid, although .ing in water- power. Dan River, on the south, is navlj^able for batteaux, and the lands on the river are ^ood, and sell high; but off the river, a few miles, from two to three dollars. Danville is situated on thisrivor, and a line for a railroad is now surveying, and the work will, in a few months, be put under contract from Richmond, 150 miles. Staunton, on north side, is aUo navigable, andtlie lands much lower, as well as thinner, but abound- ing in the finest timber, oak, pine, and chestnut. High lands, a few miles from the river, can be bought in any quantity, at from fifty cents to two dollars. Staunton is twenty-five miles from the flourishing mar- ket town of Lynchburg. There are numerous other lesser streams run- ning through the county, all affording water power for mills, or manu- facturing establishments for enterprising persons; and, as produce is abundant and cheap, as well as materials, such can bo readily erected. Any quantity of land, lying level and well watered, can always be bought, and very low, sometimes at twenty-five cents per acre ; indeed, I sold a tract ten miles from Staunton, a short time ago, as a com- missioner in lots of 200 acres, at 12i and 23 and 25 cents., on six and twelve months' credit ; but no difficulty would be met with in buy- ing lands, of tolerable quality, very low, and oven on the line of the railroad. I wrote an article, twelve months ago, calling the attention of emigrants to this fact, and stating that labour next year would be in demand in constructing the railroad. We have a system of free schools in each neighbourhood, where we educate, gratis, those who are unable to educate their children. The prevailing religion, in this county, is Baptist and Methodist. Presbyterianism prevails at Dan- ville and the Coiu't House. Convenient, or within two or three miles of the latter place, I own 500 acres of common land, on a creek and branches, in pine and oak, no improvements. I ask two dollars per acre, on twelve and twenty four months' credit ; and adjoining the land is a flour, and corn, and saw mill, besides three or four others in three or four miles ; and a tract of same size, poor, but a good house and outhouses, at same price, on shorter credit; however, lies well; the court-house is twenty miles from Danville, a fine market town ; fifty from Lynchburg, and one hundred and fifty from Richmond and Peters- burg. I am an elder in a Presbyterian church at Pittsylvania Court House, and would like exceedingly to aid a few Presbyterian families in settling close to our church. Produce is plenty, and cheap, with us. Much of our lands being cheap, pine lands would answer first rate for rais- ing sheep. Tobacco is our staple; as nothing else will bear carriage until tiie railroad is completed. Cows and calves are worth liom eight to ten dollars; sheep, one dollar fifty cei.ts; sows, say with six pigs, six dollars. Horses are low. Oxen, from fifteen to thirty dollars per yoke. As we have plenty of blacksmiths* shops, all kinds of imple- ments of husbandry are cheap and plenty. Question 1. — Ans. Various quantities of it. 2. Any quantity from 50 to 500 acres, and in different neighbourhoods.— 3. From 20 (Danville), 50 (to Lynchburg). 150 (Richmond and Petersburg).— 4. Water car- riiigo t» Dan and Staunton. Land carriage to Lynchburg and Dan- ville.— 5. Corn, 40 to 50 cents per bushel. Wheat. GO to 73 cents. Oats, 30 to 40 cents. Rye, 50 cents. Tobacco varies annually from four to L 3 114 MIDDLE AND SOUTH WESTIIRN STATES. ! I !r ten dollars.— G. Red, and g^roy porous, some fine soil, some jrood sub- Boil, and some none, and isoiiie tolerably so, tiom 50 cents to tliree dol- lars. — 7. Tlie county, excei)t the Wbite Oak, Smith's and Tin key Cock mountains, lies level, three-tburths of it almost level. 8. Partly cleared, and ayain all in woods. — 9. I'ine, oak, and chestnut in the orij^inal growth; second g'rowth pine tVom six to twelve inches throuf^h. — 10. A'arying-. — 1 1. Never.— I'J. Connnon land from six to ten bushels corn; better, ten to thirty. — 13. Neither, but railroad will enable us to do so. In Grayson and Washington counties, fifty or sixty miles off, but very bad roads, plaster can bo had at iifty cents j)er ton. —14. Coimty abounds in millsites. — 15. Answered above. — 1(). Depends upon fancy and the hands, and their capacity for business, varying- from 100 to 300 pounds. ■ — 17 and 18. Common lands, oue and two year's credit, sometimes one- third down, — 10. Respectable, but good when rail-road gets under way. So far as mechanics are concerned, it would depend upon the neighbourhood and their profession. Pump-borers, carriage- makers, ditchers, wheelwrights, boot and shoe makers, castings, and plough- makers would all find employment. Any service I can render, you connnand it." The general advice contained in the address of the society of which Mr. Thomason is secretary, is exceedingly valuable. He warns all that hard work, and virtuous conduct are more indispensable in Ame- rica than in England, and that no one who desires to make a com- promise with daily labour, will find comfort in America. He declares that a drunkard leads a far more unhappy life in the new world tlian in the old, by reason of the universal abhorrence which public opinion has there create against intemperance. He proclaims the disappoint- ment of demagogues with the practical working of the American Coii- stitution, and the probability that those who migrate simply to enjoy tlie advantages of republican institutions, will find the improvement scarcely worth the change. He, especially, denounces the too common prac- tice of electioneerers, who hasten to emigrant ships, thrust forged certifi- cates of citizenship into the hands of voyagers, hurry them up to the polling booth, and get them to swear they have inhabited Ame- rica for two years, the fact being that they have only that moment landed. A wise caution is given by the Society against the indulgence of the pride of John li ullism. The Americans are excessively clannish, and given to combine against foreigners in any question touching love of country. They are intolerably vain, seeming to take to themselves as a merit the glories of Nature with which they are suiTOunded, and tho- roughly provincial in their jealousy of every other country and peo])lc. ''It's a grand country, sir," said a Scotch settler to Mr. Prentice, "if the natives wadna' blaw Fae muckle aboot it." If an emigrant woulfl consult his peace and ease, let him say little of his own land, and nothinc;' disparaging to that which he has adopted. He must not keep himself aloof as if he held the natives cheap. Let him mingle freely with tlioin ' — engage in no comparison betwixt the merits of America and his own country, and above all when he spojdcs at all on America, let it he V^ praise of it. This will make society easy to hiin, while a contrary line of CO pros]i Th. for ar publi( is als( farmii advise poisor will d( The A do no found disorgi t'ov \\a< mocral in flu en do witl taken ( workm natives, in an Ufa amendr the pro any syrr ^*trlkes. I factureii duties agitatoij .C'Hins o| way. Infer\ MIDDLli AND SOUTH WESTKUN STATES. iir> (0(1 sub- lire dol- Loy Cock ( el(nii'('d, original i;,^li.— 10. els corn ; to do so. but very J abounds and tho pounds, iuic's one- ets undov npon tho e- makers, 1 plougU- snder, you ' of which warns all le in Arne- ke a com- le declares world than jlic opinion disappoiut- 3rican Con- to enjoy the ent scarcely imon prac- rged certifi- i up to the )ited Anie- hat moment r>;ence of the lannish, and hing love of smselves as a led, and tho- y and peoiile.^ Prentice, "it" ligrant would [, and nothin^j; keep himself ely Avith tliPiii aandhi^nvn •ica, let it he a contrary line of conduct will ensure perpetual discomfort and scrions injury to Lis prospects. The large former of England is advised not lo exchange liis tenantcy for an American freehohl. For the small i'armer with a family the re- public is described as the uiost (eligible of all ])liices. Tin; faru)- labourer is also invited to emiurate, but to give n]t tlu^ ])rejii(lices of Knglisb farming, and to learn with docility the American j)luns. He is sjtecialiy advi.sed to attend only to Ijis master, and not to allow his mind to he poisoned by his i'ellow lalwurer. " Oh," says an American farmer, " ho will do very well when lie has learnt, if a native don't whisth^ in his ejir." The American manufacturers make just the op])osite com])liiint. " Wo do not like to have Englishmen in our emjiloy. ^^'(> have generally fouiul them amongst the most troublesome of our woi-kmen. 'I'liey are disorganizers, tho first to ex])ress dissatisfaction, and to propose a strike for wages. They enter into politics, and are noisy and violent ultra de- mocrats. They are intemperate and immoral, and tlwir example and influence are decidedly pernicious, and I would not have them if I could do without them." 'Is it not probable,' I repli(>d, ' that advantage is taken of their ignorance, and that they are instigated by the native workmen ?' * No, sir,' was the reply ; ' on the contrary, th(\v lead on the natives.'" — This is exactly the lanyuage which is held by continental manufacturers in reference to English workmen ; ami unless there is an amendment manifested in this respect, the results may be disastrous to the prospects of British skilled labourers in America. Not that we have any sympathy with the complaints of the American manufiicturers against strikes. The English spinner or y)rinter finds the American manu- facturer running away with exorbitant ])rofits by means of protectivfl duties which enormously tax his customers, and if the expatriated chartist agitator has the wit to see that the hands should go snacks in the high p,Kins of the protected master, he is quite right to show them the way. Inferior mechanics are not encouraged to go to America, as the natives are very superior. Shopmen, clerks, school-teachers, small tradesmen, literary gentlemen, &c., are also especially discouraged, on account of the si'.])erior qualifications of the natives. Autumn is recommended as the liost season for agricultural settlers to emigrate, as they will liave the winter before them to prepare for the spring. Lads and female servants are in great request in the cities. The latter are especially advised to rt'tiiin their English feelings, deportment, and conduct, and to clear their heads of the ideas of equality with their mistress, which will only make their lives unhappy, and themsehes shunned. In the country, it is said, servants are still helps and e([uals of their mistress — but in the eastern towns excessive com])etition has introduced the English relations of mistress and servant, the latter of whom may lead a happy and respected life if she will only remain thoronghly English. It will have been observed that Mr. Thoinason extols East Tennessee as possessing the most eqnahle climate, altliough it is distant and of inferior soil. Other authorities which we have consulted h-ad us to the conclusion that that region is tlie most eligible in the union in many I'etfpects. Inferior fertility is only an indication of a smaller propoitiou J ' I 116 MIDDLE AND SOUTH WESTERN STATES. i I I \h ■ >!| : ! ■ 3 a!'' : as' of that dccaylnpj vegetable matter which Is the source of so much discaRO in the New world. Mr. Kobort James, of Cardcw, Cumberland, travelled through Canada. In Ohio he found ''some excellent dairy farms, one of which I visited, that had twenty-seven cows, was producing- 100 lbs. of cheese per day, the selling price 5 and G cents per lb. ; the average annual produce of each cow was estimated at 20 dollars. Although in general a good wheat country, the crop was this season very poor, and injured by the fly, which last is of common occurrence. The Saxon and Merino sheep are kept here, but are subject to the "foot rot" and worni in the head; they have invariably to be housed during the winter, which in this state is also long and severe, rendering stock-keeping expensive from the heavy con- sumption of winter fodder. '' In Southern Ohio and the neighbourhood of Cincinnati, the farms are somewhat better improved than in the north, and the land higher in price, being worth from 20 to 50 dollars per acre ; the Indian corn crops were good, wheat crops very indifferent, not exceeding seven imperial bushels per acre, the oat crop was good, and the soil seems to be well adapted to green crops, although they are not raised to 'iny extent. " The farms in the neighbourhood of Lexington, in Kentucky, are in a high state of cultivation and improvement ; land in this and some of tho adjoining counties sells at from 40 to 50 dollars per acre. The soil is a black limestone, on which the blue grass (a fine natural pasturage grass) grows spontaneously. The Kentuckians, who are well-informed gentle- manly men, have a very superior breed of horses, mules, cattle, and hogs. The markets are south and east. From Kentucky, I crossed the Cumberland Mountains into East Tennessee. The Tennesseans are slovenly farmers and very indolent ; to live an easy life seems with them to be a leading consideration. The capabilities of the soil and general advantages of the country are, notwithstanding, unsurpassed by any por- tion of Canada or the United States which I have visited. Four months out of twelve will constitute the average amount of labour done by each farmer; and farm labour in East Tennessee, to support their own popu- lation, and export what they do, is strong evidence of the fruitfulness of the soil and genial nature of the climate. If, therefore, four months will produce so much, what, in the hands of industrious Englishmen, will twelve months produce ! Land is lower in price here than in any state in the Union; this is accounted for, by its being, hitherto, from its isolated position, almost unknown to emigi'ants. The country is now, however, becoming more known, and rendered so much more accessible by rail, roads, steamboats, &c., that an advance in the price of land is confidently expected; its present selling price is from 2 to 10 dollars per acre, according to its quality and improvement ; the best upland cannot be exceeded, it is a rich chocolate-coloured loam, with a clay basis. Ex- cellent farms, with good buildings, orchards, &c., can be purchased at from 4 to 7 dollars per acre. The river bottom farms are the most valuable, but usually unhealthy; they are worth from 15 to 50 dollars per acre. Excepting these farms, the country is as healthy as any ])urt of the world; the climate is delightful, the summer not being so hot as I found it in Canada and the other states that I visited; it is not unlike tho KU contin by sev tlie mi horses, SOIltllOl tended tlmro w ville, tl Duriujj; was foi hands ( country woodlai nouncci: short, c of the 2 crops, t his low of cost, ( by numl l)erate \ at an elt fen- Slav and tret seem in "Sue preferen both of Mr. facturin; ])f'i'ienct and the ofTenn^ "De pictures MIDDLE AND SOUTH WESTER* fe i E*- 117 1 diseafsc Canada. [ visit«d, per day, reduce of od wheat ly, which are kept ■ad; thoy ate is also eavy con- the farms higher in corn crops n imperial to he well ctent. :y, are in a ome of the 'he soil is a rage grass) aed gentle- cattle, and crossed the esseans are 5 with them and general by any por- i'our months one by each I' own popu- ■uitfulness of months will 'ishmen, will in any state •to, from its mtry is now, are accessible ice of land is LO dollars per pland cannot ly basis. Ex- purchased at are the most I to 50 dollars ly as any liart eing so hot as t is not unlike the summers wo have in England, I)ut commeiiclm min'h r aer and continuing longer. The country is beautiful and |i tuiestpu Wrtt'^refl l»y several navigable rivers, and al^ouudiug in ereek.x uiid stre»*ii.s wiAiJ tlie majority of the farms iiave springs of exccdlent watcn*. " Teuupssoe raises more Indian corn than any other state. Ilo » horses, and cattle const! tut(! the leading exjmrts, whicii are sent to ti •< houtiiern and soufh-wesfcru states. Whfjn the (jieorgia Railroad is c.v- tended thirty miles, nanitjly. to Chattanooga on tlie Tennessee lliv<;r, tliero will be a direct steamboat and railroad communication from Kuox- ville, the central town of East Tennessee, to Charleston, South Carolina. During my stay here, a cotton-spinning and manufacturing comi)aiiy was formed, a portion to bo English capital, and worked by Jilnglisli hands on the Manchester principles. The resources of this section of country destine it for a great manufacturing district. The mountain and woodlands are unindosed, and, as long as they remain so, the law pro- nounces them free to the community for pasturage ; the winter being so short, cattle and other stock require very little winter feeding. The soil of the great valley farms is so well suited for pasture, meadow, and green cro[)s, that a sheep or stock farmer can winter at a trifling expense on his lowland farm, and send his stock to the mountains in summer, free of cost, except the looking after and salting (which custom is now adopted by numbers of the Tennessean farmers). They are an orderly and tem- perate people. I saw but two drunken men during my stay, one being at an election, and the other at a muster of volunteers for Mexico. The few slaves there are in East Tennessee, are apparently well fed, clothed, and treated; attending church or meeting, Sunday schools, &c.; they seem in general both happy and comfortable. " Such is my impression of East Tennessee, and to it I have given a preference over any of the other states, by completing a purchase therein, both of land and water power." Mr. J. Gray Smith, who had been an English farmer in our manu- facturing districts, settled in East Tennessee in 18HS, and after an ex- ])tn'ieuce of eight years, furnishes in a '• Brief Report of a Trip to Canada and the United States," the following interesting and intelligent account of Tennessee, now the land of his final adoption: — " Blount County, East Tennessee, Dec. 3, n4f>. "Dear Sir, — It is impossible to conceive a valley of land more picturesque and beautiful than the Great Valley, comprising the greater portion ot the district of East Tennessee. In travelling along the roads, with which the country is well intersected, and whicli are in general good, almost every half mile or mile will present a different prospect : sometimes of a substantial homestead with its orchard, corn fields, and meadow, bounded by the primeval forest; at other times approaching a majestic river, its banks fringed with evergreens, and its waters over- shadowed by the gigantic sycamore — {Plantanus Occidentalis); whilst its rich alluvium bottom lands, hundreds of acres in extent, from their un- bouuded luxuriance, remind you of the Nile lands of Egypt, until a bend ill the river, or the elevated benches of upland, again diversify the scene. At other times crossing some stream, " bubbling onwards to the neigli- bouring mill," which you can just get a peep at tlirough the woods, with 118 MIDDLE AND SOUTH WESTERN STATES. ,<'i > ■ j\ tho dusty " miller" gazinj? out towards tho road, vvondorinj^ who "that stran^t.T" can bo. And iii^^ain, at other times jmssinj^ the newly erected lojj^ buildin;^ and clearinfjf of a recent settlor, with half a dozen Imrdy, bare-footed, bare-headed, and all but shirtless urchins playin*^ about the logs and fences. Whilst you will again occasionally i)ass the worn and turned out fields of some of the original settlers, or their less industrious, or still less thrifty desceiulants, with tho fences removed or rotting down, and the grouiul partly grown up with pine, cedar, persimmon, or sassa - fras, and, mayhap, a few straggling peach trees, yet, withal, pleasing to tho eye, not unfrefpiently reminding you of the lawns and ornamental park grounds of England. Add to tlio general view the lofty range of the Alleghany Mountains on tho south, and the Cumberland range on the north, which are perceptible in tho distance from any part of tiie Great Valley, and a tolerably correct conclusion may be drawn of tiie general appearance of this interesting section of country. "The river bottom farms are considered the most valuable, possessing a rich, alluvial, black soil of several feet in depth. On many of these farms Indian corn, which is an exhausting crop, has been grown for up- wards of thirty years in succession, without change of crop, and yet still produces on an average forty and fifty bushels to the acre; in these bottoms the corn stalks will be fifteen and sixteen feet high. Above tho lower lands is a second bench, usually termed " second bottom," the soil of which is not so rich, but yet will average from thirty to thirty-five bushels to the acre. The first bottom is valued at from 20 to 30 dollars per acre; the second at from 10 to 15 dollars; and the upland adjoining at from 4 to 6 dollars per acre, the latter being somewhat more valuable near the river bottom lands, for rail-timber and firewood than further in the interior. On these farms there are either hewed log dwellings and out-buildings, or what are termed frame-buildings, which are of sawed scantling, weather-boarded outside with half-inch boards, and ceiled inside with five-eighth inch boards, brick chimneys, &c. ; the buildings are sometimes painted, but more frequently not. Tliese buildings usually contain two or three rooms below, and the same above ; the kitchens and "smoke" or "meat houses" are always detached. On some farms, of late years, brick dwellings have been erected ; but, ii-om the manner in which some of these are tenanted and furnished, it reminds you strongly of Washington Irving's description of the Yankee's "shingle palace" with its "petticoat windows," store rooms of " pumpkins and potatoes," and "festoons of dried apples and peaches :" and, though the good dame of the house may set her cap a little more trimly, she is evidently as much out of her element as the snail in the lobster shell ; there are, how- ever, exceptions in these things. The river farms vary in extent, running from 500 to 1500 acres; and although, as regards productiveness, they are most desirable, yet I cannot advise any of my countrymen to settle upon them; for, except in some localities near the mountains, whore the streams are rapid, they are, in general, more or less subject to fever and ague. "A first-rate upland farm, that is, a farm not adjoining the river, say of 600 acres, and of the best quality of land, generally, in this and tho neighbouring counties, of a deep mulatto colour, with good buildings, under r(!pair, would with l)!i fl'W of si)ring. Of the follows is, for I' potatoe.' HO acre oats, an for rail- its laud become liad no before t descend} what sa( of tho V with SOI] farms ar their mc man had lawn, sh above-de corn, oii and two "A sd stances e little inf( liausted- well, or acre. Tl exceptin_ worn-out pasture to five to th from five "Thet These hav but the la out fields ^•ill be fn oats, and " Wood from two In Polk ai ';ia line, v\ «^er, light MIDDLE AND SOUTH WEHTKRN ftTATES. no ,0 "that \f orci'UnX 11 Imnly, ihout tlm .vorn iind lusti'ious, n ** in good repair," is worth from 7 to 11) dollars per acn^ The dwelling-hoiiso would pr(»l>;il»ly bo either a superior hewrd-log frame or brick building with bani, stabh^s, &e., to matc^h ; p, good sju-ing near the house, for but few of our good farms are without, although some have well.s, and the si)ring, m- some other hruncii, running throiigli a portion of th(! farm. Of the ()0() acres, perhajjs 200 acres will be cleared and in cultivation as follows: 10 acres orchard, garden, and truck patch, as it is termijd, that is, for rais.. 'g early corn (for roasting ears), beans, peas, Irish and sweet ]»otatoes, cuhbago, and tobacco, and cotton, for home consumption, 80 acres Indian corn, 30 acres clover, 10 acrei^ meadow, 30 to 40 acres oats, and 20 to 30 acres wheat, the remaining 400 acrly their immediate wants, reckless at what sacrifice ; for to cut down timber indiscriminately, and get it out of the way by rolling in heaps and then burning, was, and is even yet with some, a perfect frolic ; in consequence of wliich many of the old farms are so short of fencing timber as to be obliged to beg or buy from their more fortunate neighbours ; even now, a Tennessean would say a man had " queer notions," as the term is, that would leave a handsome lawn, shade, or timber tree in his clearing. The average yield of tho above-described farm would bo from thirty to forty bushels of Indian corn, eight to ten bushels of wheat, from thirty to forty bushels of oats, and two tons of hay or clover per acre. " A second-rate farm, say of 000 acres, with buildings in many in- stances equal to those of the first-class farms, and indeed generally but little inferior, but the land, perhaps, naturally thinner or more ex- hausted — probably the land may be of the best quality, but not lay so well, or be in so good a locality — would sell at from 4 to dollars per acre. The cropping would ])erhap3 be similar to the flrst-class farms, excepting that there might not be so much clover, but in lieu thereof a worn-out field grown uj) with wild grass and sprouts, and used as a pasture for stock. These farms may be estimated to average from twenty- five to thirty bushels of Indian corn, twenty to thirty bushels of oats, and ft'om five to seven bushels of wheat per acre. " The third class farms usually sell at from two to three dollars per acre. These have, generally, tolerably comfortable log buildings, orchards, &c., but the land thinner or more exhausted, with perhaps a number of turned out fields, or a scarcity of rail timber. The average crop of such farms will be from fifteen to twenty bushels of Indian corn, twenty bushels of oats, and three to four bushels of wheat per acre. " Wood-land, without any improvements as to buildings, &c., sells at fi'om two to six dollars per acre, according to the locality and quality. In Polk and Bradley counties, sixty miles below this, adjoining the Geor- gia line, woodland can be bought at 50 cents per acre; the soil is, how- ifivcr, light and gravelly. n 120 MIDDLE AND SOUTH WESTERN STATES. ,1 ! 'A I m^ n ! , ^4]^m " The improved farms in Tennessee vary from 150 acres to 1000 aeres ; there beinj^ but lew less than 150 aeres, the Tri::jority of them run from 200 to 400 acres, on some, not more than one-fourth of the land is cleared, on some, one-third, on others, one-half, and on others, two- thirds. The crop of wheat and oats may appear lijj^lit ; but, from th(5 manner in which they are put in, it is a wonder that tliey obtain a crop at all. Oats are sown in February on corn or wheat stubble, without any previous ploughing, and then ploughed in with what is called a ' bull tongue ;' and this, without ever being harrowed, is all the attention tliey get until harvest, which commences early in July. Wheat I have fre- quently seen sown broadcast in October and November amongst the stand- ing Indian corn, and so p'oiighed in; after the corn is gathered, the stalks will be cut and carried off, and this many call putting in wheat ; it is usually harvested about the last week in June. Our best farmers are now however, beginning to put in their wheat with something like a system, namely by ploughing up their clovered land, cleaning, harrowing, &c., but still no attention is paid to the selection of seed, liming, rolling, &c Shallow ploughings have injured much of the land in this country. Soiiio years ago the common shovel and bull tongue ploughs were in general use ; and, as these seldom go more than three or four inches deep, on land at all sloping or undulating, the soil has washed off with the heavy rains we sometimes have, whilst the cropping from year to year with In- dian corn, has, of course, added to the mischief. Deep ploughing aiul clovering, which our leading fiirmers have begun of late years to adopt, soon, however brings this description of lands round again, much of the virgin soil being still under the surface. " I had, last year, a man ploughing up a small lot for me; and, ob- serving him do it in the country fashion, two or three inches deep, though not much of a practical farmer, I thought I could beat that, and accordingly took the line, when, rushing in the plough as deep as it would go, I turned up the rich mulatto loam ; the fellow stared, and said that, if I wanted it done that way, he would do it, but (ou/ Tennesseans seldom swear, except about iron and salt works) that he would be d d if it did not ruin my horse, and perhaps it did, for sure enough it died afterwards. — Believe me, dear Sir, your's truly, "J. Gray Smith." We make no apology for engaging the attention of our readers with the rest of these letters, whose literary merits are equalled by their j ability and good sense. " Montvale Springs, Blount County, East Tennesse, 7th Feb., 1847. *'Dear Sir, — The markets for the produce of East Tennessee arej North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and New Orleans.f Horses, mules, cattle, and hogs are driven in the months of October,! November, and December, to the whole of these States. Bacon, flour.l butter, lard, feathers, bees' wax, dried peaches and apples, peachi brandy, &c., are hauled thither by waggons ; and in the boating seasdiil produce of every description is taken down the river to North Alii- bama; it is estimated that from five hundred to .six hundred keel aiii' consisti: yams, melons, tion, th ter— th( fruits, currant and fru: may pr< MIDDLE AND SOUTH WESTERN STATES. lil 1000 acres ; 11 run tVom the land is (thers, two- t, from tho lin a crop at svitbout any ,lled a ' bull tention tliey I have fi'R- ;st the stand- 3d, thestalk?^ wheat ; it is [Tiers are now .6 a system, rowing, &c., , rolling, &c untry. Some L'e in general les deep, on th the heavy ear with In- oughing and jars to adopt, much of the ne ; and, ob- inches deep, 3eat that, and as deep as it ared, and said • Tennesseans uldbed d nough it died Y Smith." p readers with died by their Feb., 1847. 'I'ennesfiee are New Orleans. ;h8 of Octobei, Bacon, flour. apples, peacli boating sea>('ii o North Mil- dred keel iuJ flat boats of considerable tonnage pass Knoxvillc annually for this mar- ket and New Orleans; there is also a steam-boat line from Knoxvillo to the muscle shoals in Alabama. Tho bulk of tlie Indian corn is con- sumed in fattening hogs, cattle, horses, and mules, or distilUid iuto w^hisky and sent down the river. The little wool raised is consumed in the country. Philadelphia and New York, however, furnish an unli- mited market, the banks or merchants in this State cashing draughts ou mercantile houses in these cities, and allowing a pnnninm on them of from one to two per cent. Were some of your skilful sheep farmers here, nothing could prevent them realizing one hundred percent, per annum on the capital invested ; for, with the little attention paid to them in East Tennessee, in three instances out of four, not even being f"d in winter, they will yield three pounds of wool to tho fleece, which will bring a dollar, whilst the sheep itself is only worth a dollar — mutton being but rarely used, some prejudice existing against it; but with the care and feeding, a practical sheep farmer would bestow, he would, at least, double the fleece, as well as have an extra increase in lambs ; for, although our winters are not severe, food and shelter must not only bo advantageous, but necessary. The greatest yield of wool that I have heard of here has been from the Saxony sheep, — as much as six and seven pounds to the fleece having been obtained where the feeding has been in some measure attended to. The common wools of the country are of a good medium quality, being a good deal mixed with the merino, which were introduced some twenty years ago, and are now again becom- ing mixed with the Saxony, several hundred of which were brought hero in 1840, from Connecticut ; they at first sold for forty dollars tlie pair, but can now be bought at from five to ten dollars per pair. The horsos of this country are in general from ' blooded stock,' our farm hors(;s being usually even lighter than your * hacks.' They are, in fact, too light for farm work, and require crossing with some of your heavier breeds. The mules are much superior to those generally seen in Eng- land, running from fourteen to sixteen hands high ; they are sired by imported Spanish and Maltese Jacks, which are very valuable, being worth from five hundred to one thousand dollars each. The cattle are of a mixed breed ; the Durham have been pretty ])lentifully intro- duced. I have not, however, seen any of the handsome ' Devons,' which I think would suit the country better than the Durham, being lighter and better suited for driving to the southern market than tho heavy and cumbrous Durham. The hogs are cro.ssed with the China, Berkshire, Irish Grazier, kc. The vegetables raised here are, with some additions, about the same as the common run of those used in ]'>ngland, consisting of garden and field peas, Irish and sweet potatoes, French beans, yams, cabbage, beets, carrots, parsnips, cucumbers, water and cant(jloj)e melons, as}»aragus, onions, turnips, Ace. I believe that, without excMjp- tion, they all gi-ow as well as with you, and many of them much bet- ter—the sweet potatoes, yams, and water melons are vei-y fine. Of fruits, the strawberry, raspberry, and red currant do well ; tho black currant is partially cultivated, but is not liked ; the gooseberry grows and fruits freely, but the fruit is smaller, and sometimes mildewii ; this mav probably arise from want of pruning and other attention. The !\ 122 MIDDLE AND SOUTH WESTERN STATES. W ' better kind of grapes, as Hambro', Frontignac, Tokay, &c., are culti- vated by the upper class of citizens, and do not require any shelter ; apri- cots and nectarines are occasionally met with, but not often, though the climate is favourable. The Orleans, damson, and blue violet plums are grown here, but are not plentiful -, and the best kind of cherries are en- tirely neglected, having nothing but a wild sort, not much better than your 'merry.' The wild fruits are the raspberry, strawberry, vacci- nium. or whortle-berry, service -berry, hack-berry, wild plum, persimmon, or date plum, black walnut, sweet or Spanish chestnut, butter nut, shell- barked hickory nut, two or three varieties of the grape vine, and the pawpaw, or Indian fig. " The forest growth consists of the different varieties of the oak, yellow and white, or Weymouth pine, hemlock, spruce, plantanus, or button- wood, liriodendron, tulip tree, gum, beech, birch, elm, maple, horse chestnut, hickory, locust tree, mulberry, red cedar, magnolia, &;c. The shrub growth consists of the holly, dogwood, sourwood, red bud or Judas tree, bird cherry, shumac, sassafras, &c. The herbaceous are too nume- rous to specify : amongst them, however, are the coreopsis, rudbeckia, lily, iris, aster, gentiana, lobelia, veronica, spiraea, viola, &c. The rhododendron, kalmia, andromoda, azalea, magnolia, hemlock spruce, &c., are principally confined to the river banks and mountain districts. " In the great valley, partridges, rabbits, squirrels, and wild ducks are plentiful ; but deer, turkeys, and pheasants are becoming scarce. Rac- coons and opossums are numerous, and good eating — in my opinion, far superior to *' roasted pig." The red and grey fox are in places too plentifiil, and the black fox is occasionally caught. There are not any bears or wolves ; and the rattlesnake and other venomous kinds of the species are but rarely seen or heard of in the valley, being principally confined to the mountains, so that the most timid need not have any fears on that head. This country is supplied with gi'oceries from Charlestown and Columbia, (South Carolina,) Augusta and Columbus, (Georgia), and New Orleans ; and with cotton, silk, linen goods, hard- ware, &c., from Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. " Coffee and sugar sell for ten and twelve cents per pound, molasses or * treacle,' at seventy-five cents per gallon. Grey sheeting, thirty-six inches, ten cents per yard ; bleached shirting, twelve and fourteen cents per yard. Printed calicoes and fancy dry goods are high, the merchants generally having one hundred per cent, on the original cost. In my next, I shall give you some account of our manufactures, people, towns, manners, customs, &c.; and believe me, dear sir, your's truly, ♦*J. Gray Smith." " Montvale Springs, Blount County, East Tennessee, April 8, 1847. " Dear Sir, — To an indifferent observer the latitude of Tennessee would present a southern climate, but the elevation of the Great Valley above the low regions of the south, coupled with the altitude of the immense chain of mountains forming its southern boundary, thus shield- ing us from the hot sultry winds which blow off the Gulf of Mexico, as well as those from the low unhealthy swamps along the Atlantic sea- board, at once account for the temperature and salubrity of our summer mon thou ther have the c "1 Kent the n more^ to zer would wintei or the able M howev occasi( our wi tinned est and years ; ever I : blosson white I now rei and Sp{ out leaf violets like the 1 MIDDLE AND SOUTH WESTERN STATES. 123 are culti- erj apri- ough the )lums are 63 are en- itter than I'y, vacci- srsiramon, nut, shell- !, and the ak, yellow )r button- ,ple, horse &c. The id or Judas too nume- rudbeckia, . &c. The >ck spruce, in districts, d ducks are irce. Rac- ay opinion, . places too ,re not any jnds of the principally ; have any ceries from Columbus, oods, hard- molasses or thirty -six iirteen cents e merchants ost. In my ■ople, towns, Smith." 11 8, 1847. ►f Tennessee ^reat Valley iitude of the thus shield- f of Mexico, Atlantic sea- our summer months, the thermometer usuariy ranging from 70 to 85 degrees ; and though, for several years a close observer of it, even in our hottest wea- ther I have but seldom known it exceed 90 degrees, whilst even then wo have light breezes or eddies of wind from one range of mountains, or the other. **In winter, the Cumberland range of mountains, which divide us from Kentucky, shelter us from the cold, raw, and piercing prairie winds of the north-west j that, were it not for one or two (I have seldom known more), extremely cold nights in winter, when the thermometer will sink to zero, I believe the orange and lemon, with other tropical plants, would live here without shelter. With but very few exceptions, the winter does not commence until Christmas, and continues until the end, or the first or second week in January, when we have pleasant and agree- able weather, not unlike the February of the south of England ; it must however be understood, that on to the middle or end of March we have, occasionally, cold spells of two or three days continuance. This season, our winter did not commence until the early part of January, and con- tinued, off and on, until the end of February; it is considered the long- est and most severe winter experienced for a considerable number of years ; the season is, consequently, from two to three weeks later than ever I remember it; the peach, plum, and cherry are just going out of blossom, the apples are now in bloom, the Cornus Florida, with its large white blossom, and the " red bud," or Judas tree, with its dark pink, are now rendering our woods both gay and brilliant, the tulip tree, maple, and Spanish chestnut, are all in young leaf, and some of the oaks putting out leaf and blossom ; the pink and white azalea, dwarf blue iris, and violets are beginning to ornament the slopes of our mountains, and, un- like the Canadian woods — " Where birds forgjet to sinsj, E t silent bats in drowsy clusters cling," migratory birds are returning from enjoying the milder winters of the south, and, in concert with those which remain with us, enliven the woods with the most sweet and varied notes from sunrise to sunset ; amongst these songsters may be noticed the little wren, and the robin (the latter, twice the size of yours), the red bird (about the size of the thrush), and many others, with plumage as beautiful as their song, but whose names are unknown to me. The mocking-bird is migratory, 60 is the whip poor-will, who, but yesterday, for the first time this sea- son, awoke me with his call half an hour before sunrise ; the whip-poor- will is never heard through the day, only for a little while before sunrise, and then after sunset ; his note is loud and clear, though there is a sad- ness about it which some would deem to border on harshness. The beautiful humming-bird has already returned to us also, and busies it- self like a " spirit of air" (for it is never seen to alight), in sipping nec- tary from the early blossoms around us. The turtle dove remains through the winter, and its sweet, though mournful note is to me oft- times more grateful than that of the gayer and more varied choristers around, impressing me with something of that feeling which may be supposed to have possessed Isaac, " when ho went out to meditate in the field at eventide." ] i y: 124 GENERAL FEATURES OF THE WESTERN STATES *' In Canada, and the Northern and Eastern States, summer follows quick upon a short sprin^^ ; here the spring is lengtliy, usually com- nieneinf^ the latter end of January, and continuing until tlio end of May; our autumn usually commences about the latter end of September, and (with the exception of now and then a slight frost), may be said to con- tinue until Christmas ; in November we have, what is termed " Indian summer," when the thermometer will range from 50 to 70 degrees, with a remarkably mild and genial atmosphere ; it is considered by many the most pleasant and dolightfal season in the year. " The slave population of East Tennessee is small, with the exception of some wealthy planters on the river bottom farms, consisting principally of house servants ; not one farmer in ten throughout the Great Valley owning any at all. They were formerly more numerous, but the high prices which they commanded in Mississippi and Lousiana a few years ago, as much as one thousand and twelve hundred dollars being given for a young, able-bodied, field negro, tempted the cupidity or necessities of the majority of the East Tennessee slave holders to sell out ; others, * conscience stricken,' availed themselves of this seeming chance of ' washing their hands' of the ' plague spot,' soothing themselves with the reflection, that in ceasing to be holders ' they would be clean;' not considering, or allowing themselves to do so, that they were inflicting a worse bondage upon the poor negro, by consigning him to the merciless driver of the South, than he would have endured with them in Tennessee. Others, again, have held on to their negroes until in the grasp of death, when, having made all the use of them they could in this world, and fearing retributive justice in the next, they have kindly determined that their heirs should have none of their qualms of conscience on the subject, and, therefore, in their last will and testament, declared their bondmen and bondswomen to be for ever — ' free.' "I must, injustice, testify to the almost universal kindness with which the, comparatively few, slaves that remain here are treated ; it is true, they are valuable, and this treatment may emanate from policy, or a species of ' domestic economy ;' with some, this is doubtless the main- spring of action, but there are others who, I feel assured, act from a more benevolent motive and feeling, yet, who, like the young man who had * great possessions,' still prefer treasure on earth to * treasure in heaven.' My own impression is, that this stain upon humanity and Christian nations will, ere many years, be abolished from amongst us, if not by State enactment, by the voice of popular opinion, and the poor benighted negro be clothed with the mantle of freedom, and the rights ofcitizenship.— Believe me, dear Sir, your's truly, "J. Gray SxMitii." GENERAL FEATURES OF THE WESTERN STATES- CONCLUSION. The Western states abound in beautiful flowers, wild fruits, and birds of every variety, and of the gayest plumage. The glow-worm and fire- fly.^ and butterflies of every hue, are common, and the musquitoea in the shelte great dents night formei ness h genera veyan( the CO] are inc selves it is ini and th( the An substan great a strange is mud tracts, result dowmei phatical a penny of the c quence i from th locality universa tive pol debt, if ( remedy finds ma tie shill pound ; rately p as the a best info tellectua sedatenei the high plication thing cai music o: dians— t of high Sedgewi( theologi( rope. I whom h whom si iMHMI GENERAL FEATTJRES OP WESTERN STATES. V2r> • follows lly com- of May; ber, and to con- " Indian ees, with nany the !eption of 'incipally it Valley the high few years given for essities of ; ; others, chance of )lves with not !an .» iflicting a merciless Tennessee, of death, orld, and [nined that tie subject, ? bondmen R'ith which is true, )licy, or a the main- om a more who had ■easure in lanity and ongst us, if I the poor the rights jMITII." ES— ^ and birds n and lire- itoea in the shelter of the woods, are very annoying. Snakes are very numerous, of great variety, and some of them exceedingly dangerous ; yet few acci- dents happen from their attacks. As we have elsewhere said, day und night are more equally divided in America than in Europe, and in the former there is an entire absence of twilight, or gi'ay, still evening, dark- ness hastening on the moment the sun sinks beneath the horizon. As a general rule, roads are few and bad, and bridges still worse. Public con- veyances are conducted in an inconvenient way, from the independence of the conductors upon the custom of the public ; and inns and steam boats are indifferently regulated. In the former, the innkeepers bear them- selves as the obliging parties, and often decline to serve customers whet it is inconvenient. The beds and bed-rooms are very badly managed and the houses over crowded. The balance of testimony is in favour of the American character for evenness of temper, deference to women, substantial good manners, with great plainness of speech and address, and great and genuine kindness to the sick or the distressed, particularly strangers, widows, and orphans. Commercial integrity is low, and there is much over-reaching and sharpness in bargains, and mercantile con- tracts. The litigious and pettifogging tendencies of the people, are the result of their acuteness, logical intellect, and inferior sentimental en- dowments. Law and lawyers are the curse of the country, and it is em- phatically said that an American will go to law with his own father about a penny. These features are not the result of the character, so much as of the circumstances of the people. Character is not of much conse- quence to a people who may be ruined a dozen times, and recover easily, from the great facilities of getting a living, and of moving from one locality to settle in another. Even repudiation is the consequence of universal suffrage, and would occur, if we are to believe our conserva- tive politicians, and Chartist orators, in the case of our own national debt, if every male adult had a vote. A sponge to the debt is a favourite remedy of the Chartists, and an " equitable adjustment" as it is called, finds many supporters among ourselves. Indeed the Birmingham " lit- tle shilling," is but a thin disguise for a composition of ISs. in the pound; while Earl Stanhope, and his agricultural disciples, delibe- rately propose the plunder of the national creditor, and of the church as the alternative of the policy of protection. The Americans are the best informed and educated people in the world. They possess, in- tellectually, a great fund of gaiety and humour, veiled by a cool sedateness of exterior. In our apprehension, their literature is of the highest order, and their attainments in science, especially in its ap- plication to practical purposes, are far beyond their opportunities. No- thing can be saperior to their promise in poetry — they have invented a music of their own — their drama can boast its Cushmans and come- dians—their kistorians, lexicographers, and Jurisconsults, are deservedly of high reputation — their lighter literature has its Coopers, Irvings, Sedgewicks, Sigourneys, and, above all, its Kirklands, and in moral and theological disquisition they have not fallen behind the standard of Eu- rope. Emerson, Parker, Ware, Channing, Norton, Dewey, Everett, whom have we that we can place above such men ; and for orators, to whom shall we reckon Webster inferior ? M 3 S, '■ 1: If h V. M -,) 12G GENERAL FEATURES OP WESTERN STATES. Ml; V : ' i: ( ' n Every form of government has its excellences and its dangers. A re- publican constitution is the only one which was ever practically possible among a peo])lo who are all freeliolders of am])le lands, and entirely in- dependent of each other. That which wo regard as the peculiar safety of our institutions, the absence of centralization, and the preva'ence of local self government, operates to even a greater extent in America. The universal education and intelligence of her people, the deep root which religion has taken among tlicm, their love, almost conceit of country, and their reverence for their really great men,joinedw'th the boundless natural wealth of their territory, and the comfortable circumstances of all, are guarantees for the stability and prosperity of her order of society, to be found nowhere else. Their extraordinary progress in every art of life, and their superhuman conquest of nature over the amplitudes of abound- less territory, mark them out as the greatest nation that ever existed. Contrasting their hi'tory and position with the recent annals of Euro})e, it is impossible to doubt that the probabilities in favour of security from anarchy, violence, and revolution, preponderate in favor of the transat- lantic republic. United in patriotism, national sympathy, and federa- tively, the people are yet so divided into independent communities, that local convulsions do not affect the general tranquillity. The institution of slavery only affects a portion of the republic, and will gradually sink before the influence of public opinion, and moral dynamics. Her crav- ing for Avar is providentially counterbalanced by regard for the dollars it will cost, and the discovery of Californian gold, will restore her currency to a state of health, and mitii^ate the evils of truck and barter. Of repu- diation the settled states j re ashamed. We do not believe any national stocks in the world are so "^afe as those of New York, Pennsylvania, Mas- sachusetts, Ohio, or Kentucky. The market of England is now opened tor tlie provisions and grain of the Western States, and we cannot enter- tain a doubt, that for centuries to come, this great republic must pro- gress in comfort, security, prosperity, and every good which can make civilization desirable, and the institution of society, an element of humau happiness.* ♦The contradictory accounts g-iven of American character, arise to a great extent from Ihe prejudiies of tlie writers. Some believe nothing good can come from a republic, — others tliut it must be productive of every social excellence. The ten- dency of the human mind to chissify where there is no warrant of resemblance, in- duces many to attribute to a nation that which is true only of the individuals of whom the writers have personal experience. If an Englishman is cheated by a Y: nkee, he calls all Yankees rogues;— if by an Englishman, he only attributes the roguery to the individual. .Among the vulgar of our own country there exists a superstitious prejudice against all foreigners, and a clannish combination against them. Their helpless condition, their i<;norance of our laws and customs, make thnni the easy prey of our domestic scoundrel?. The further you go into our thinly popu- lated districts, the greater will be found the dislike of Yankees, Frenchmen, or even Irishmen. «o must our emigrants expect to find it among the Americans, especially if they carry the price of John bull and his natural contempt of every body else, on tlioir backs and in their bearine. Wherever Lnglishmen go, they grumble at every thing that is not English. They abuse their ov.n country at home, and depreciate every other abroad. Is it singular that Americans should be animated by a similar instinct? We ought not to be surprised that the rogues and scoundrels who infest America, as they do our own country, should fasten upon the ignorant foreigner, as their legitimate prey. Their knowledge of the quirks and quibbles of their own law, will be readily used to cheat the helpless eitugraut. But wc have scarcely secii au TEXAS. i27 rs. A rn- ly possible intii'oly in- ifetyofour C9 of local rica. Tho .'oot which )untry, and less natural of all, are ;iety, to be art of life, )f a bound- er existed, of Euroi)e, !urity from 16 transat- ,nd federa- inities, that istitution of lually sink II er crav- le dollars it Br currency Of repu- [ly national rania, Mas- low opened nnot enter- must pro- I can make t of human great extent :onie from a le. Tile Umi- emhlance, iii- iidividuals of iheated by a attributes tlie lere exists a lation against IS, make thnin r thinly popti- imeii, or even icially if they else, on tlioir Lt every thins? preciate every nilar instinct] iifest America, fner, as ilieir leir own law, arctly sccu au TEXAS. For the sake of completeness, we enumerate Texas amonf tho rc""ion9 of emigration. We have carefully coni])ared the testimony given to the state and prospects of this territory, and read nniny contradictoi-y accounts of its character. The most recent narrative of emigration prospects is that furnished by tlie late exjiedition of Icarians from France, whicli gives a deplorable account of every thing connected witli it. Tlie (!lia- racter of the leaders and projectors of the emigration, seems chiefly how- ever chargeable with the failure of the scheme, the only very significant fact, condemnatory of the district, being the circumstance that, all tho travellers have left it, and returned, some to the Western States, others to France. But it is notorious that the French are deficient in fortitude, hope, and perseverance, and never make good colonists. Our own Co- lonial and Land Emigration Commissioners have inserted tlie following : — " Caution respecting Emigi-ation to Texas," in successive numbers of instance in which this has been attempttnl, where tlie native Americans have not assisted the stranger against the knave who souglit to o|)pres£ him. Fiu-ts sppdK vo- lumes. Crime of every kind^ is far less in America than in En^ijland, or indeed in any other country. _ The inciting cause of fraud and di>honesty does not exist there. The8Uf>portof life is easy. There is uo struj:j;le for a living, nor any of tliat violence of competition which tempts so many to realize Poor Itichard's adage, " It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright." In the Western States, encli man )»as his own free- hold, and to him a neiglil)our is a comfort and an increase of his wealth. We ought not to believe all the statements made by those, who, not being contented here, are not likely to find the customs of a new country, among stranL',ers, in con- formity with their own notions. There are many localities in which they may find themselves surrounded by their own countrymen. If they place themselves in the k-ss settled districts, they will perhaps find Amerirans who thetnselves complain, as grievously as they do, of bad neighbours. The emigrants from Llmet, near Leeds, encountered a ruffainly neiirhbour in their remote location ; but he was as much de- tested by the Americans, wlio combined to drive him from the district. Another who tried to oust them by law from their holding, ns many litigious men do in Euf;^- land, was defeated by the native Americans, who defended the Yorkshireman against their own countryman. Doubtless in the large cities, where the rascaldom of Europe hide themselves, the simple foreigner will be taken in, as a raw man from th*! country would be in London. Even in the coimtry, where a stranger may be little known, and his responsibility not ascertained, the natives may be sharf> in enforcing their contracts with him, as we would be in reference to a newctuner. But the fact that in twenty-four years a million and a half of our country min have settled in the States, is the best evidence of the treatment they receive from the Americans, whose kindnecs to the sick, whose succour of the helpless, whose ready help to the unfortunate are notorious. Proud of their cotmtry, trained to habits of self respect, they will indeed not tolerate depreciation of the (»ne, or superoi iouS disrespect to the other. But it is universally conceded that their lower ordeis are incapable of the pickery, theft, and embezzlement, which are too common here; and that considering the motley and shifting character of the population, society is singularly well ordered among them. We have heard loud complaints made by those in this country who have had occasion to employ American attornies, and of tlie great dilRculty they have experienced in the eniorcement ol debts, ortheic- covery of property due, or belonging to them on the other side of the Atlantic. Americans, we fear, would too often have a similar story to tell of attornies and debtors in England. Human integrity, every where, is too rnueh graduated by the ratio in which fraud can be delected, and punished. The absent, like the de; ',are nnable to tell tales. English attornies, stewards, partners, debtors, in tlie \\ est or East Indies, in Canada, in Australia, are persons iroin whom it is only possible to get a reckoning by meeting tlitrm face to face. ii> u hi iff ■I •,it ¥t'A -III*! <•' ' I >;i 128 TEXAS. their circular. " Emigrants are warned that the statements recently cir- culated, resi)ecting the salubrity of climate, the fertility of soil, and the richness of the mineral productions of Texas, are reported by authority to be greatly exaggerated, and that British subjects, who may be induced to emigrate to that country, are likely to fall into sickness and destitu- tion." The southern position of Texas, and its capability of raising tro- pical productions, argue a too torrid climate for a European constitution. It is comparatively unsettled, it is a border debateable land, betwixt Mexico an, 1 the United States, and it is peopled by the scum and refuse, the daring, adventurous, and lawless, of all other countries. When fully peopled, well settled, and placed under the vigorous controul of permanent government, and institutions, its natural capabilities will render it a desirable place of settlement. It abounds, if we are to believe Mr. Kennedy, and other more questionable authorities, in fine land, extensive prauie, game, and fish ; it is well calculated for cattle, sheep, rice, cotton, and other tropical productions. It has scarcely any winter, and is not subject to the sudden changes or great extremes of climate which form the defect of the North American continent. Its proximity to Europe may ultimately make it preferable to the Cape, or Australia, which, in many respects, it much resembles. But at present it does not hold out that security for life, property, and the quiet pursuit of industry which is essential to the happy condition of a colonist, and even still the Cumanchees, White-feet, half-casts, and trappers, make in- 2ursions upon the cattle, and sacrifice the lives, of many settlers who live in lonely or unprotected districts. Nor can we accept without quali- fication even the attested panegyrics of the cliiaate. The German settlers speak of its swamps, its desarts, its yellow and intermittent fevers, even its sudden alternations of temperature, and only except from unmeasured condemnation, the uplands and mountain tracts. Even the " Practical Farmer" admits that " towards the west there are vast prairies devoid of water and timber, and eastward the coast is flat, wet, rushy, and worthless. The country presents here and there arid and marshy tracts." We cannot, therefore, recommend it as a field foremigi'ation, except to such as all good citizens would desire to rid the mother country of. " Gone to Texas" has become the proverb for a scamp. '* The Texan stock of Americans," observes the New York Tribune, "such as I have seen thrown upon the surface in this war, so far surpass in brutality and universal scoundrelisrn all Mexican examples, as to set at defiance any attempt at comparison. Rhetoric aside — Texas is a miserable country and its inhabitants a mi- serable population. Grain, Texas cannot grow to any extent. Her cotton trade must ever be next to nothing, and her sugar trade literally nothing. Her grazing facilities are incomparably inferior to those of the whole Western region north of latitude 36| d-eg. from the Alleghany to the Rocky Mountains. Except a small patch in Eastern Texas, she has no productive soil, because she has no seasons. Like most of Mexico, the rains of heaven are scarcely vouchsafed to her at all, and never in seasonable regularity. He who sows has no confidence that he will ever be permitted to reap. Not one season in five is profitably productive to the labourer. Irrigation can only make the soil yield a i^ure return , and so small a proportion of tlie w] more foniia Caliib Froi that o unobjc the pr offer g mate a It is m classes embue( Kentiall restless constan subsiste rich by all how a certa; prudent be pros the Ath or aqu[ become sent me 1 Perhi that, fo Lake tliose liilis an the Wil climate and of g forces g( protecti( suiTounc mere loc •nigrutic long, is become anxiety uiider ai ■pi^ OnhiiON — VAN COUVKU'S ISLAND — CALITORM A. I'JO intly cir- , and the authority 3 induced destitu- ising ti'O- stitution. , betwixt id refuse, hen fully ntroul of ipabilities if we are ai'ities, in ulated for IS scarcely ; extremes nent. Its B Cape, or at present ice pursuit lonist, and , make in- •s who live out quali- lan settlers )vers, even nmeasured Practical 8 devoid of worthless. We cannot, as all good 'exas " has mericans," upon the 3undrelism omparison. mts a mi- ent. Her de literally those of Alleghany uctive soil, , of heaven regularity. ;ed to reap. Irrigation ■oportion of tlie whole is susceptible of this artificial and expensive adjiiiicf, that it is more trifling to consider it. The same is true of JVew Mexico and Cali- fornia. Texas is hopelessly bad, New Mexico, if possible, worse, and California worst." OREGON. VAN COUVER'S ISLAND. CALIFORNIA. From Texas to Oregon the emigrant would find a fall analagoiis to that of, " out of the frying-pan into the fire." Tlie climate and soil are unobjectionable -but everything else is. Van Couver's Island, under the protection and dominion of the Hudson's Bay Company, seems to oifer greater advantages to the adventurous. California has a good cli- mate and soil, admirably adapted for cattle, and not unsuited to cereals. It is notoriously the region of gold, and also of that most desperate of all classes of men, gold finders. To the bold and intrepid, to all wlio are embued with the spirit of adventure, to that frame of mind which is es- Bentially gipsy, Kalmuck, and Arabian in its desire for a wandering and restless life, these regions offer the inducement of a climate whicli admits of constantly living in the open air, of productiveness which renders, rough subsistence easy with little labour, and of the chances of getting rapidly rich by the lucky acquisition of the precious metals. We regard them all however as the destination only of men of desperate fortunes, and as a certain source of unhappiness to all persons of orderly, industrious, prudent, and virtuous habits. Their ultimate fate will, in all probability, be prosperous; and if the new projects for connecting the Pacific witli the Atlantic by canals joining chains of lakes and rivers, or by railways or aquaducts at the Isthmus of Panama, be speedily realized, they may become much more rapidly populated and settled than is, with the pre- sent means, probable. Perhaps we ought not to dismiss the subject of Oregon without stating that, for persons already located at the upper end of the Missouri, or Lake Michigan, and accustomed to the life of migration so common in those regions, and to the transport of cattle and goods over ranges of hills and through vallies, and across rivers, a settlement at Vancouver, the Willamette, orWalhamet, offers the advantage of a very salubrious climate, fine pasture, a good grain country, and untaxed goods, cheap and of good quality. The government of the Hudson's Bay Company en- forces good order, and good faith, offers encouragement, assistance, and protection to all settlers, and manages its commerce so judiciously as to surround its subjects with many of the advantages of civilization. As a mere location, it is regarded by alias greatly superior to California, and the migration through the \A'estern prairies of America, although tedious and long, is not accompanied with many dilfieulties. But a life tluit uiay become easy to Americans on the borders of civilization, would bo i'all of anxiety and difficulty to a European, and ought not to bo encountered under any circumstances whatever. i-: \ f^l 130 APPENDIX. — O — ! ' (■■'. BRITISH NORTH AMERICA. PRINCE EDWARD'S ISLAND. Wnpcs of labourers are 3s. Mr. Cunard holds an estate in this island ; he extends roads through liis wnste lands, and lays out lots of fifty acres each alontj the sides. He lets each of these farms to any respectable man, on a lease of 899 years, paying- no rent for the first three years, then .'Jd., then 6d., then 9d., and then Is. an acre, enabling the tenant at any time to purchase the freehold at twenty yenrs' purchase, with all the improvements. Instead of taking the rent in money, he employs his tenants in making the roads ; thus receiving pay- ment in labour, and improving the estate of the labourer. It answers the emi- grant's purpose better to take his land than to receive a free grant, because, in tlie one case, he would have to go into the wilderness to look for his grant, and find it surrounded by wild land ; while, in the other the roads to a market are made, and he can select his land from a plan. Mr, Cunard remarks, — " Settlers are very apt to endeavour to get large tracts of land ; but I have lately prohibited tliat on my lots ; and when a poor man comes, J say, * Fifty acres is quite enougn for you, because I retain the adjoining lot for you to increase your farm when your family gets up, and you can increase your farm behind.' Within fifteen or twenty years they generally choose to purchase, un- less a man is very fortunate in making some speculation, and then he is able to purchase sooner ; but as I only charge five per cent, interest on the money, and six per cent, is the rate of interest in the country, they are not disposed to pur- chase. I cannot take it from them as long as they pay the rent ; I think if a man is sure of getting his fee-simple by-and-by, he works with more cheerful- ness and spirit. I have been able to note the progress of many settlers from the time of their taking the land, and have never known an industrious sober man who has not succeeded. I would give land to 1,000 men at that price, if they had £10 or £15 a piece. I should ask for none of it myself, but it would be a kind of security that those men would not become burdensome the first year ; I mean taking the average of the family of each man with £10 at five indivi- duals. I would not take paupers ; I require men of good character. In harvest time there is some labour to do ; but I think a man with a few pounds would go on his lot of land almost immediately. He would get some of his neighbours to assist him in cutting down logs and erecting a log-house, sufiicient for the fa- mily till he is enabled to replace it with a good house. The price of provisions is extremely low, and a sober man will always get a little credit to enable him to go on," Mr. Cunard further stated, that he believed the island would, if cultivated, support ten times its present population, and that he had seen as many as seventy vessels from the United States engaged in fishing round the island, lying in the harbour at one time. He remarks, " the climate is healthyi the soil good, the production good ; it is a beautiful spot, no one can visit it without admiring it" — Emigrant Journal. The following extract from a work, published some years since, aflPords a good account of the seasons : — " After a serene and usually dry October, the weather begins to get more un steady in the early part of November, and sometimes a sharp frost, with showers of snow, takes place before the middle of that month ; but, when this occurs, the October weather returns again, and commonly lasts about ten days or a fortnight This short interval is called the 'Indian Summer.' When it Clima' there wc tLere w Ai>ri:xi)ix. ini island ; he 9 each alon^ 1 a lease ot d., then 9d., the freehold ' taking the ceiving pay- ers the emi- because, in a grant, and , market are ; but I have say, ' Fifty t for you to e your farm irchase, un- l\e is able to money, and Dsed to pur- : think if a »re cheerftil- ers from the s sober man rice, if they would be a first year ; I t five indivi- In harvest ids would go eighbours to it for the fa- )f provisions » enable him if cultivated, ly as seventy , lying in the oil good, the idmiring it" fiords a good get more un ) frost, with lit, when this out ten days r.' When it occurs, the frost dops not gnnornlly not in heron' tlic hcj;,-iMninp: of Dofciiiln'i- ; but the cold weather more eoniiiioiily begins iilxmt tlie "JOtli of No\einl)er. mnl gradually increases, until the grouiid resists the pliniirh, wliieh \h (inliiiiirily about the second week in I)eeeiiil)er. The eold now inernisfs mpidly, nntl tli« ground becomes covered witli hiiow; nnd nl)oiit Cliristiuiis the troHt im an intenKo as that experienced during the severent winters in Kn<.vliiiul. " During the months of January iimi Februiiry, tlie wentlier is usnnlly Hfendy, ■with the thermometer veiy frequently below zero of l''iihrenl>eit. Hut KtuiietiMH'M a thaw takes place, and by laying the ground bare of its wintt-r e«)vering, ocea- eions great inconveniences. "The weather is not so cold as to interferes with jiny outdoor oeeu])ntions, and the length of day at the winter nolstice, by reiison nf tlie dillerenee «»f lati- tude, is nbout an hour longer at (!h»rlott(f Town thmi ut Lonilon. "March, as in Europe, is a windy month, and in throughout very eh:ingeuhh>. \bout the close of this month, the snow rapidly melts, and the ice in the i-iv was asked for some suburban spots on the plank road. Tlie buildings about the towns and alonn' the roads all seemed warm and Hubstantial. Tho field of enterprise, bein^ so unlimited in Western Canada, there is no doubt our ICnjrlish eminrants will jjrefer that country. — Hu bio's Rambi.ks. PiticK OF Land in Canaiu.— We extract the following- from a Canadian ad- vertisement, as the best price current of land cleared and unoleared. 2r>l acres, 165 cleared; lar^e frame house, frame barn and out-houses, orchard, &c., situated on the bnnk. of the Grand Kiver, four miles from lirantwood, nnd two fnmi Paris. Price £1 10s. per acre — 14r) acres, 135 cleared; very H'ood log buildings, six mil(!s from Brantford, and within one mile of the plank road to London ; well fenced, and in good cultivation. Price £5 lOs. per acre 185 acres, 160 cleared, on the White Man's Creek, about six miles from Brantford ; frame house, and barn. 'ITie farm is well cleared, and in a good vicinity. Price £ia00. 350 acres, 210 cleared, frame and log house (containing six rooms and stone cellar), two log houses, large frame barn, with mill shed attached, &c., &c. Within three miles of Brantford, with a large frontage on the plank road to London, price jC^OOO, and terms accommodating. 100 acres, cleared ; frame house, barn, &c., six miles from Brantford, £625. 100 acres, 60 cleared; with good log buildings, situated in the west part of Burford. An excellent lot of hard-wood land, well cleared and fenced ; in a good neighbourhood, — £350., half cash. 100 acres, 54 cleared ; frame house, frame bam, and sheds, and a large bearing orchard,— situated on the Old Oxford Road, 17 miles from Brant- ford, good land. £.'i per acre. 3 acres, with a good frame house and barn, and a large orchard, situated in Dumfries, about half way between Brantford and St. George, and about five miles from Paris. This is a desirable little property, and would suit a doctor or other professional person wishing to reside in the country. Price £i's, to have the ship fever. Tlion, again, you Citn come for one half the money, and be better looked to than Avhen there are so many cominfj. If I were coming over again, I would start about January ; for there are worse storms in the ^ring than in January. ^I can buy as f?ood land as any there is in Enfrland for 58. an acre, witli the trees on it ; and the timber on the ground Avill pay for the clearing and smooth- ing over. And the Innd will want no manure for twelve years. I should never want to come to England again, if it were not to see my relations. Though the trade is worse in America just now than ever it was known before, yet there are plenty of chances to do well in America. I am getting 6s. 3d. a day, English money. When traffic is good, the wages run about two dollars a day, or H8.4d. English money. It would not take more to keep us both in living than it does to keep myself. You can have n fat sheep for about 3s., and you can buy as nice a fat pig for Id. a pound as ever you saw. You can buy "a goose, eighteen pounds weight, for 2d. A turkey, about twenty-eight pounds, for ^'s. The price of meat varies from Id. to 2d. a pound. It is' considered dear this year. You can buy cheese a whole one at a time, as good as any I ever tasted,' for Id. a pound. But but- ter runs from :id. to 3d. a pound. Tea runs from 2s. to 3s. a pound. Sugar runs from 2d. a pound upwards. The best sugar is 4d. a pound. It is a fine country for tea drinkers. There is scarcely a man to be seen drunk. In America drunkards are looked upon like dogs. Malt runs from 2s. to 2s. «d. a bushel. Hops are 3d. a pound. You can buy the drink for a Id. a quart from the brew- ery. Cider sells for 2s. a barrel. Whisky, 10s. a barrel. 'ITiere are thirty-two gallons in a barrel. All other liquors are about the same, except brandy, which is dearer. So that a man can get drunk for a little money. Tobacco is 6d. a pound. Cigars from 3d. to 6d. a dozen. I have been a teetotaller these three weeks. And I have had no tobacco yet. I think I shall h9. a teetotaller, for tee- totallers are looked on well. Men are not kept under hero as they are in Eng- land, llie masters talk to them like talking to one another. You can buy potatoes for 6d. a bushel : and apples for 9d. a bushel. Peaches can be got for 2s. a bushel. Flour is 20s. a barrel just now. It is rather dear; but it will be down next week to 16s. a barrel. They are bringing it into Buf- falo by thousands of barrels a week. The table at which I sit, is set off like gentlemen's tables in England. There are fowl, cheese, butter, pies, rice puddings, peaches, and apple sauce and ice creams. There are so many dishes that you cannot taste of all of them. It is in general, as I like it to be. You have "beef steak and potatoes for breakfast and supper, as well as to dinner. — C. Jones. t FROM A CHARTIST. Pittsburg, July 24th, 1848. Deah Sir, — You know by Ann's letters that we live In Pensylv'enia, we like america first-rate; We finii It all and more than all we expected; Wages high and living cheap. A beautyful and healthy country, perfect security to life and property, honest and Inteligent persons for neighbours and associates, plenty of trade for all who are willing to work. In fact, the United States Is the most prosperous and flourishing country In the world where All the Inhabitants have enough to eat, A fact that does not admit of contradiction. No begers disfigure our streets, this is the land of plenty. Where Industry Is rewarded, And all l)('rsons has to earn their livelyhood each one for himself, And not as In Eng- land, where some role In luxury, while otliers Starve. The working man here Is not robed of half his earning by taxation, here all men are equal No here- ditary titles and distinctions, Such as lords dukes, and other niok -names have existiuice here; no fat Bishops and State Church, to supply the rich gentry and fag-end of nobility with large sallaries and nothing to do for It, unless it Is to domineer over the working clurgy. I like the americans verry much, they are agreeable kind of people ; their politeness Is seen more In their actions than words, there Is nothing artificial about them. Idou'tsee scarcely any differenc* APPENDIX. m? •ccpniljer in r iis in the Vhrni tltore n crowded the money, 'era cominjc •ma in the 3, with the 11(1 siaooth- liould never Thongh the 'et there are ly, English y, or H8.4d. eep myself. fat pi'ji- for ids weight, meat varies buy cheese I. But but- Sug-arnins fine country in America I. a bushel, n the brew- i thirty-two andy, which ceo is 6d. a these three Her, for tee- are in Eng- jl. Peaches •ather dear; it into Buf- and. There lice and ice them. It is jr breakfast 24th, 1848. nia, we lite Wa^:e8 high by to life and tes, plenty of Is the most ibitantshave rers disfigure led, And all as In Eng- ng man here ill No here- -names have h gentry and iiless it Is to uch, they are actions than my differenc* In the appearance of things here and In England. It is much warmer here In sumer and less rain, bright sun shiney days, without fog or clouds cmitiininlly. A summer day here is 2 hours shorter than in england. The oenery round pitts- burg Is beautyful, Shut in by hills that slopes to the edge of the fiver, covered with trees, looks charming troin the smokey city. You would be surprised what quantitys of steam boats you can see here, many of them 700 ton burden. They run down to New Orleans and Intermediate towns and citys. "lliere la several large cotton factorys here, And Iron works, Glass works, &c.. Similar In Its productions to the English Birmingham. House rent Is as dear here as In Lon- don, and an empty house Is not to be seen or found. Some things are cheap here; ham, 3d. per pound, as good as the best you could gej in Loudon, and beter ; Beef, 3d., have It cut from any part of the beast. Get Afovl for 9d. ; mutton, SJd; ; veal, 3d. ; Butter, 7d. per pound; sugar, moist, 3d. ; white, 5d. ; treacle, 2d. per quart; Tea, 3s. per pound, as good as you can get In London for Gb., no duty on it here ; Coffee, 6d. per pound ; milk, 2d. per quart ; vedgetables, much as the same as London market ; Gardening is good business here ; I think Ann and John would do well here, the strawbereyes used here Is enormous for making strawbereyes and cream, the reason why so much Is used Is, All the Inhabitants can afford to have some. Fruit of aHl kind 1« abundant, not verry cheap, the cittisons buy so much. Servants girls get 8s. a week. And sometimes more. Servant Is a word never used here, nor master, you can't tell which are lady's here, the women dress so line, all of them, and they literally hoop their fingers with rings and signets. Wages Is about 6s. a a day for mechanics, 4s. for labourers. Flour 4s. and 7d. per bushel, things are dear now. So the Inhabitants say, the Americans drink verry little Ale or Spirrits, we don't have any ourselves It Is to hot here without that, water does better. — Jem and Jane Powell. IOWA — ILLINOIS — WISCONSIN. "he state of Iowa contains a white population little if any R'lort of 200,000 ' i Q , The number is regularly increased at the rate of 12,000 a year. Three- 3 . »!■; of the whole state may be said to be quite ready for the plough, being c. . .. , and without tress. At the same time, in all districts, a sufficient quantity of timber is found for every necessary purpose. 'ITie growth of grass is luxuri- ant. Mr. Bradford states that during a residence of six years in the state, he scarcely ever ate butter that was not superior to the choicest that is to be pur- chased in any of the eastern states. The mere up-turning of the plough, with the most careless after tillage, is only needed to convert nearly the whole terri- tory into a fruitful garden, Coal, lead, and copper are, in different distncts, found in immense beds, and in connection with ample water-power, mark the future greatness of Iowa not less formanufacturing than for agricultursil wealth. The climate is as propitious to health as that of almost any country in the worl(J. Its remoteness from the ocean secures it from those insalubrious winds which carry with them a host of pulmonary disorders on the nortliern sea-board; while its high and dry soil, and pure atmosph(!re, preserve it from the; fatal fe von* to which the flatter surface and the fervid sun of the Lower MissiH.sii)])i often subject the denizens of the south. The winter — extending from D(!cernber to March — is cold, but dry, bracing, and clear; the heat of summer is tfinivrcdhy genial breezes and refreshing showers ; and the auturnnis peciiliiir for itw beauty and serenity — the mellow softness of tlie (;]imnte, the beauty and grandeur of the foliage, the balmy fragrance of the atmos])here, the serene sky, all combined, form a picture calculated to excite the most jileasurable feelings. The general aspect of Illinois and Wisconsin in many respects resembles Iowa to which, however, both are decidedly inferior. Illinois is deficient in its pro- portion of timber to prairie, and, as a whole, cannot honestly be described as equal to the desired standard in the item of health. Wisconsin, again, is colder and has less water than Iowa, with more inferior land. Newhall, a resident in the state, shows, by a simple calculation, that, with £80 on his arrival, an emigrant, with a modi-rately-sized family, will start with a good prospect of success. The experience of the British Temperance Emigra- tion Society has led its agents to name a similar sum. Marshall, another settler in the Far West, shows, in his "Farmer's and Emigrant's Hand-book," that with 200 dollars (£iO), and with a team, farming tools, and household furniture, a man may conlidcntly coMmence his «fruggle with the world. "Many a mau N 3 .1^ n iv mi 138 API>ENDIX. I in fho wpst is now conipnratively rich, who oommonced with tt less sum. All that is Willi t«'(l 18 (!ourage aiul iiulustry— some would sfiy luck, but luck, almost always follows induKtiy." Our own opinion is, tliiit £'1U6 in sterling money, well c'Xi>end('d, and tended with industry, will be found sufficient for making- a pood commencement, even if the emigrant hns not been aeciiHtomed to agricul- tural labour. — Eastern Counties Hdralu. — From a late resident. IOWA — WISCONSIN, WESTERN STATES. Avcrare prices of cattle and farming implements for a beginner— £ s. d. Good milch cows, 10 to 15 dollars ; yoke of oxen, 15 dollars 10 Sheep, 87 cents to 1 dollar per head, 4:i sheep 2 00 Farm waggon, 50 dollars 10 H arrow, 14 dollarB,bcythe, pitchfork, rake, shovel, chains, &c., 32 dollars 2 6 Double Log Cabin £15, seed corn 10 acres, potatoes, turnips, garden seed, £i 16 Poultry and a young pig, 12s., fnmily expenses, three to five of a ta- niilv, 68. per week, for 30 ^veeks, ctlO 10 12 80 acies prairie laud, Os. per acre, £20; horse, £10 30 Total 80 18 For £80 the emigrant can be comfortably settled on his 80 acre tract, furnished ■with every necessary, and 30 weeks provisions. If you do not happen to have a home-sick wife, I can see no reason why, with patience and perseverance, you should not prosper equal to your utmost expectations. If you have £20 left — keep it It is the error of emigrants to spend their last dollar for the acres a the outget. If you have £500, purchase 320 acres, a half section.— Nkwuill, THE FAINT-IIBARTBD— THE HOPEFUL. A recently came to this port from England with a wife and three small children. He was connected with a Baptist church in his own country, and from all that I can learn, he is a very worthy man. Several years ago he en- tered upon a farm with several hundred pounds capital. The rent was too high, and, in spite of all liis industry and frugality, he sunk money, and at fast failed. His friends furnislied him with a few pounds to bring him out to this country. He came ashore witli twenty dollars in his pocket. One of his cliil- dren was ill, and in a few dnysdied. His money was, of course, soon gone, and his effoi'ts to obtain a situation, citlier as a superintendant of a farm, or as as- sistant in a store, tailed ; his expectiitions so sanguine, by the accounts he had heard of America before he l(!ft home, thus disappointed, left him broken hearted. He is now on a sick bed, and kept from the almshouse only by the charity of his countrymen. This is no solitary case. I give it as an example ; B was also an English emigrant, but he had left his family behind. Fail- ing, as in the other instance, to find employment in the city, he must either get a place in the almshouse, or beg his way in the country, until he found employ- ment. He wisely chose the latter He tr.avelled, begging and working on his way, several hundred miles, until he came to a new settlement. He met there with a landowner, who offered him land at one dollar an acre, to be paid for when he was able. He purchased fifty acres. He called on a neighbouring farmer, and told him he had bought some land, but he had not a single imple- ment of husbandry, and not a cent in his pocket. " Well, never mind," said his uemTous friend, "I guess we can help you along. Hold on till I come back." He soon returned with a few of his neighbours, each one with an axe. They set to work on the land of their new neighbour, cut down some trees, built up a log house, turned up, or rather scratched up the ground, between the stumps, and p];int(i(l it witli corn. One bro ight Liiii a cow, another a pig, tinother some poultry. All this, the work of three days only, was done with the understand- ing tliit he was to help them i:i return, and jiay them back what they had lent him wlieii he was able. In two years from this time, the man had his family abiiut him, in a comfortable Ioa house, a good irart of his farm cleared, and was as happy as iudepcudeuce an J competence could make kirn.— Hints to Emi- grants. APPENDIX. 139 iura. All rk. almost g money, making- a [> agricul- £ s. d. 10 2 10 2 6 16 10 12 30 80 18 , furnislied I to have a ranee, you jt'^O left— > le acres a iVVUilX. Iiree small untry, and ago he en- 8 too liigh, md at last out to this >f hia chil- ri gone, and I, or as as- mts he had im broken only by the 1 example ; lind. Fail- t'ither get a id employ- ling on his > met there be paid for jighbouring igle imple- nind," said jome back." 3, They se t lilt up alojc tumps, and 1 other some mderstand- ey had lent his family ed, and was lits to Bmi- llie Unitod Rfntfs occupy by far the most vrilunblo and tlio most tcniperalo portion of Morth ihixrica. Coniined originally to the slioit's of tht,' Atiiintic Ocean, tliis great coiiledcracy of rejmblics liaa extended its empire over the •whole region, npreading westward to the Pacific, and surjiasses in internal re- sources, and the means of developing its natural wealth, the capacities of any of the enii)ires of the old worhl. 'jo the miner, the artizan, the iiiaiuilaituref, merchant or agricu turist, it oilers the most unbiiunded inducciiMnts, In stajjlts inexhaustible, in mechanical power efficient, in means of trani^purtution ui.ex- (!e])fion5ible, in matter and mind not surpassed, the i)rnspects of t/ie Auieju-an I nion are ])re-eminently brilliant. The commerce, the internal trade, mecha- nical skill and agricultural industry of the Inited States, are si'^ond, indeed, to those of no other nation, except in the aggrc:Jiate aiijounL of couiinercial transactions, in which it is sur])assed by Great Hritain alone. 'i'he progressive increase of the dimensions of this coantry by conquest and cession has been rapid. At the termination of the revohitioi), in l~^o, it v/as confined to tlie territories east of the Wississii)pi, and south of the Canadas. In 180.3 it was augmented by the purchase from France of Lousiaua.a country now occupied by the thriving states of Lousiana, Arkansas, JMisi^iouri, Iowa, and several territories extending over many hundreds of thousands of square mil(!s Florida was purcliased in 1819, and at the ^■.li..etime the ,Sp:inisli cluini to the 'Oregon' was transferred to the repuVdic. in ISl,) Texas voluntarily an- nexed itself to the I nion ; and by the treaty of 2n ! of Fei>ruary, 184S, the whole territories of New Mexico and California were ceded by the republic of Mexico. The present limits of the Fnited States are bounded north by the Canndas, and the 49th parallel of north latitude ; east by the Atlantic Ocean ; soufli by the Gulf of Mexico, the Rio Granuo, and the liio Gila, which separates if froiii the Mexican States of Chihuahua, Sonora, &c., and on tlie west by the I'jicilic Ocean. This vast country measures in extreme length from east to west, 2,H(;0 miles, and from north to south, l,;)tJU miles, Avith an estimated superficial area of about ,'},200,0()0 square miles, an extent of surface little inferior to thnt of the whole of Europe, and a population counting from 21,000,000 to 22,()Ul^,(i00 of souls. The United States comprises three essentially different geograjihical regions : — the slojjc fiom the Alleghany Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, which ctun- prises the oldest settlements ; the valley of the Mississipjii, or, great cintral plain, now in the process of settlement; and the slojie from the cordilleras of New M 'xico and the P..ocky Mountains to the shores of the I'ucific Ocean. Such art the great natural divisions. I sually the country is divided into what are termed northern and southern, or free and slave states, in which the cli- mate and habits of the people differ materially. It is chieily, if not entirely, to tiie non-slaveholding states tluit the imnngrants, those from Great JSritain es- pecially, direct their attention, because there they can enjoy a strictly healthy climate, and associate with neighbours of kindred opinions and lialjits of life. Greater scope is likewise afl'orded in these regions for their industry in ajiricul- tural and mechanical einidoyinents. 'J he slave states, especially tlujse in tlie ex- treme south, or below the line of 30 deg. oO sec. north latitude, otfcr inducu'inenta only to the capitalist who has sufficient to purchase both lands and slaves. There the climate is U7isuited to the European constitution. Neither are the soil or stajjles of agriculture there grown, such as the European has been ac- customed to. To raise cotton, tobacco, sugar, and other tropical products, is the peculiar employment of the African, and could not be attempted by those indi- genous to temperate renions. There a^e now in the I nion thirty separate and independent states, and a number of territories which areas yet but thinly settled. The states have also separate and distinct governments, and have uncontrolled surveillance over all their own institutions, and forai their own lnws and mu- nicipal regulations. The whole states, however, are bound together as a confe- dt'racy, and are subiecttothe constitution of the United States. Ihe state con- stitutions are mostly of a similar form, and only dlU'er from the «'(i;>t( diration in being integral republics. The territ 11 . . . 400,000 j New Mexico Califor Oregon 80,000 70,000 20,000 Capital. Augusta. Concord. Montpelier. Boston. ( Providence ( & Newport. ( Hartford and ( N. Haven. Albany. Trenton. Harrisburg. Dover. Annapolis.. Richmond. Raleigh. Columbia. Milledgeville. Tallahassee. Columbus. Indianapolis. Springfield. Lansing. Madison. Iowa City. Jefferson. Frankfort. Nashville. Montgomery. Jackson. Baton Rogue. Austin. Little Rock. Washington. Inhabited by Indian Tribes. Fort Snelling. Fort Leavenworth. Fort Gibson. Santa Fe. Puebla de los AnrcloS. Astoria. Tiie Emigrant's Hand-Book.— Cotton. N. Y. The f: The abi table to and li()M The n of wintt for tJu! t mer pas Thf! gi and tlie country. who ha Mhy s1j( It" is ti year, wl in searci the flat 1 the wuitt The an little sah their ran In the night an( browse a raised in winter in The fla towards water, by die of the of the fla Kence bottoms, tints, do J uj)on thei I'hough farming your neiji and brei'( The kep thciust'lvt niglit, the take care range. Ahize, it lias pec gr«iit hoa pi'ople wl tlinr after and mont harvested ill a coi: lilted by t til at can I Tail, fir he After th( slight fur' of the fiel ctiru are ( or a man. weeds sta AI'1»KNUIX. Ml apitiil. FAR.\IIN(I IN TIIK I'llAIRIKS, Bta. 3rd. pelier. tn. )vidence Newport. rtford and Haven. ny- ton. •isbnrg. IT. Eipolis.. imond. Mgh. imbin. ed^eville. ahassce. imbuR. ianapolis. iniifield. sing:. lison. a City. arson. nktort. ihvillc. itfiomery. I son. on Rogue. tin. le Rock. ASUINGTON. mg. euwortn. AnrcloB. Ion. N.Y. The farms in Illinois are generally made in the ]n'uirio near to the timber. The abundiiHce ot" grass growing in the pvairie, and the quantity of wild vege- table food for animals, offers iin ample snbsisteuee for horses aiid cattle, shec!') and hogs, during the summer months. The number of these tinnn:ils that a farmer keeps, is only limited by the amount of winter fo(»d which he can raise on his farm. The farm, on enclost'd fteld, 'S for the sole purpose of growing the grain, or gTass for hay ; but not for sum- mer pasturage. The great pasture is all outside open to everybody, and to everyljody's ciittlc, and the abundance and extent of the range is one of the resources ot' a new country. The cattle thus let loose in the wide world dc not runaway, as])oo)»le who have kept them only in houses and enclosuies are apt to suppose. ^^ hy should they? there is abundance of food every whei-e. It is true they show a preference to certain spots, and in the autumn of the year, when the grass in the prairie gets dry, they will wander into tbe woodn in search of more succulent plants; and as winter ajiproaches, go further into the flat lands of rivers and creeks, where grass is yet green, and keeps so all the winter. The animals like to come to their home where they liave been wintered ; and a little salt given to them every time they return, will generally ciroumtjcribe their range within a mile or two from home. In the autumn, or early winter, we bring them into the farms, and feed them night and morning. In the day, during the moderate weather of winter, tliey browse about the woods and the skirts of the prairie. Thus are cattle smd horses raised in great numbers. We should let them procure their own food in the winter in the river flats, but for the danger from the water. The flats are frequently a little lower tovvards the blulf highlands, than towards the bank of the river. A rise of the river encircles the cattle with water, by which they are penned up on the highest spots of ground, iu the mid- dle of the flat; and if the river rises very high, the water overflows the whole of the flats, and the cattle are all drowned. Hence the danger of letting cattle run unattended, in cane breaks and river bottoms. But much of the stock of these settlers, who live on the margins of the flats, do get their living there, and are perfectly safe, the owners having an eye U])on them when the water rises. I'hongh great quantities of cattle are thus cheaply raised, the system of range farming is destructive of all excellence in the breed of cattle. Your own and your neighbour'scattle, of all sorts and sizes, ages and qualities, mingle, browse, and breed together. i'he keeping of sheep is not so easy. They are not strong enough to protect themselves from the wolf, as are the cattle; they must be broug}it home every niglit, they are not safe even in the fields at night. Hogs are better able to take care of themselves; yet the wolf has usually a large share of pigs in the range. Maze, or Indian corn, is more universally cultivated than any other grain ; it lias peculiar qualities that suit the country and climate, it likes rich land and great heart: it has both. But the peculiar 'quality for which it is valued by a p('0[)le who have very few labouring hands, is its indestructability from wea- ther after it has ripened. It may be left in the field without injury for weeks and months after it is ripe. All other grains, when ri])e, shell out, and if not harvested would soon be lost. In a country short of labour, the quantity of small grain sown must be regu- lated by the power of harvest help at command. Not so with Indian corn. All that can be cultivated to perfect growtli nny be planted. Its cultivation is th;} Tull, or horse-hoe systt;m of husljaudry, drill and horse-hoe. After the land is ploughed in April'it is marked olf, that is, a i)lough makes a slight furrow or mark every four feet both ways, the wiiole len-th and breauth ot the field. At the interseeting angles of the" furrows, three or four grains of c«»ru are dropped by a child, and liivhtly covered with an hoe by an older child or a tnan. Thret; plants are suticrcd to remain upon each hill; the curn and weeds start together. I 4 142 APPEND7X. When the blade of the corn is about four inches high, wo rnn a one- horse ploiif^h down the rows, passing as close to the corn as possible, throwinff tJie earth into the middle of the interval. When the whole field is f^one over once in this manner, run the plough into tho middle of the interval, and throw the earth back to the corn. Thus the corn grows rapidly, and the weeds arc killed. The last ploughing is generally given in July. It is ripe and hard in Oc- tober. There are two modes of harvesting corn. One mode is to cut up the plants with a short sword about six inches from the ground, and set them up on end in large circular shocits all over the field. This operation is performed when the plant is yet green in leaf and stem, and when the kernels of the ear, though perfectly formed, are yet soft. There is sap enough in the stem to perfect the ear. The leaf and stem thus preserved is excellent winter food for cattle ; it is called fodder, in distinction to hay. In the early part of November each stalk, is stripped of its ripe and hard ears, which are put into a com crib, and the fodder is left standing to be fed away to cattle in the winter. But the most common way is to let the corn mature on the stalk in the field ; ■when it is hard the corn is gathered, and the dried stalks with tlieir dried leaves left standing, and the cattle, during a snow or frost, are turned into the field, to eat as much of them as they will, which is all the blades and half of the stalks. Corn affords good food for both man and beast. It is most excellent for fat- tening hogs. A man with no other help than his own little family, can, at his leisure, gather his crop of corn, even if the gathering time is prolonged for •weeks or months. It is bad economy, however, to let the corn stand all the winter, as the deer, racoons, and squirrels, are apt then to make depredations upon it. Englishmen must remember that corn, in America, means maze or Indian corn. Tlie term is not applied to wheat, barley, and oats, which are called, " small grain," but never corn. The hunter, when he first settles in the forest, cultivates a small field of corn, enough to feed his few horses, cattle, and hogs. The cultivation of the corn lasts from May to July. His fainning is then all done, and he pursues his favourite occupation of hunting all the rest of the year. The next settler in succession that buys him out, adds another field, and cul- tivates, besides corn, a little wheat, and some oats. He hunts less, keeps more hogs and cattle, and digs a well. The third is, perhaps, a Pennsylvania farmer, a Yankee, or, perchance, an Englishman. He enlarges his fields, lays down broad meadows of grass, and plants an orchard, then permanent settlements begin, and a new aspect of extended and permanent comfort is visible in house and lands. Then towns grow up and useful institutions of every sort arise. The preceding pioneers all move on further westward, and are supplanted by more permanent and substantial men. Tallyrand said a man plants his patriotism with his trees. I believe it. The choppers and destroyers have no local attachments. Their pleasures are of ano- ther kind and derived from other sources ; fewness of wants, absence of care, lightness of labour, and variety of scene. We have, in Illinois, no system of agriculture, properly so called, yet there are certain parties that follow in regular succession, suited to anew country, where land is cheap and plenty, and where labour is scarce. It is a system, if system it may be called, arising from circumstances and not from any preconcerted theory. We first use such spontaneous productions as the earth yields. The grass, the fruits of the forest, the meat of wild animals, such as deer, turkey, &c., &c. The first crop is produced by the fertility of the soil with very imperfect culti- vation. We plant and sow on the same piece of ground until its virgin strength is exhausted. We seek not to retain its fertility, but receive from it all that it will give, and then go to another piece and do the like. Land is cheap, and labour dear, we therefore use land plentifully, and labour sparingly. The English farmers do not carry this system to the same extent as the natives, but sow grass seeds on the exhausted soil, and allow the land to recruit its strength unde? a few years of pasturage. Tho scar do. Every weather en out. This I appearance has yieldec is Buffered There is i universally tion and fe milar and ( essentially the cause o demn and i voluntarily in America some highlj among the ingly agrees forming an; office of doj additional c union of nei ?ood taste. The Amer job, (or whii agreeable ei their mode ( the females, awful day, performed, httle by litt before she I more than i than ordins parlour, no there is no the other wi house-work The gene nian on his tional chan Englishm fairs of life tion, and, i: There is i affairs and of your Ian house of gli iug eye of to attempt' requisite to tion which throw it int yourself wi every othei This doef garious hal pauionship ono-liorsG •owing the over oncn [ind throw weeds arc ird in Oc- the plants up on end med when I'iir, though perfect the ittle ; it is each stalk b, and the the field ; tlipir dried d into the id half of nt for fat- ^an, at his ilonged for nd all the predations or Indian are called, eld of corn, e corn lasts IS favourite d, and cul- keeps more nia farmer, lays down settlements >le in house ; arise. The ed by more ive it. The are of ano- ace of care, et there are ntry, where a, if system reconcerted te grass, the ey &c., &c. erfect culti- >-in strength it all that it , and labour the natives, o recruit its APPENDIX. 143 The scarcity of labour induces us to do that only which wo are compf^lled to do. Everything that can be deferred is put off'; all operations whic;l» time und weather can perfoi-ra, are left to them; everytliingis left that can be done with- out. This gives to the exterior of our farms and farm ljiiildiup,8,a vory Klovenly appearance. The weeds are suffered to take possession of the gard'cn, which has yielded its abundant crop of vegetables. The old and abandoned building is Buffered to drop to pieces tor want of time to take it down.— Flower. AMERICAN CUSTOMS. There is no error more palpable, none so generally admitted, yet none so universally committed, as that which calls up hasty expressions of ( isiiijjjroba- tion and feelings of dislike, when we first encounter nntional customs, dissi- milar and opposite to our own. Englishmen, with all their good quulitios, are essentially a most obstinate and opiniated people. Without waiting to examine the cause or the effect of the customs objected to, they are apt, at once, to con- demn and reject them. This conduct is particularly unreaisonable when they voluntarily enter a new, and, to them, a foreign country. Many customs prevail in America, so generally, that they may be set down as national characteristics, some highly beneficial and agreeable, others, the reverse. A custom prevails among the females of America, so highly beneficial in its influences, and strik- ingly agreeable, as to be worthy of universal example. It is, that when per- forming any kind of work, whether in the manufactory, the shop, or in the office of domestic drudgery, American ladies are, then, generally attired with additional care. On many such occasions I have observed with admiratioiij a union of neatness and simplicity in their dress, approaching to the perfection of yood taste. The American women have a happy knack of rendering a very disagreeable job, (or which is rendered so by the old mode of doing it), oftentimes a very ligreeable employment; and, in none is it more strikingly displayed than in their mode of getting through with the labour of the wash. Disarray among the females, and dismay among the men, combine against all comfort on the awful day, of an English six week's wash. Here the whole thing is differently performed. The accumulation is not suffered to be so large. Here it is taken little by little, and the mode of attack is very different. The American lady, before she begins her morning's wash, first dresses and adorns herself with more than usual care and grace, yielding to the head and hair a little more than ordinary elegance. If a sudden call is made for her appearance in the parlour, no more time is needed than is necessary to dry her hands. Thus armed there is no danger of being caught ; indeed, in this case, the catching is apt to bo the other way. American females have a sleight of hand in getting through house-work of all kinds, without apparent labour. The general inquisitiveness of Americans is very surprising to an English- aian on his first arrival. This inquisitiveness is but a feature of a great na- I tional characteristic. Englishmen have a great reserve in all personal matters, and in the minor af- fairs of life generally. A reserve, by which they fail to acquire much informa- tion, and, in truth, lose much enjoyment. 'i'here is a sort of community of feeling in America, of all men and women's affairs and motives. The fact is, or ought to be, known, that from the moment of your landing in America, to the latest moment of your stay, you are in a house of glass. There is no point so distant, no place so retired, but the all -see- ing eye of your neighbour, for the time being, is upon you: it is perfectly vain to attempt to conceal word or action ; and some practice in American society is requisite to prevent the ready divination of the thoughts also. This is a por- tion which you have hitherto enjoyed in private, but now you are required to throw it into the common stock of information, and, in return, you may amuse yourself with all the actions and schemes of your neighbours, and with those of every other person with whom you may come in contact. This does not altogether arise from individual curiosity. The erratic and gre- garious habits of the people, throw large masses of them in continual com- paiiionship. l.f? 144 APPENDIX. Travelling' in steam boatn and ruih'oad cars, meeting and eatings toi^ether in large hotels and boardini? houHes all timd to publicity. The iiabit of reirister- in;;; name, residence, and destination at every tavern is as efficient a clue, as the official records oft he French police. Nothing is more common than when yon are on the eve of starting' on a jour- ney a person with whom you are but slightly acquainted, asks you where you, are going. "To Baltimore, perhaps." "Hew long do you think of stayin^rl'" " Three weeks, perhaps." He accosts the iie it person he meets •with, " A has gone to Baltimore ! wonder what he's gone f r. Oh'i he's gone for so and so." Thus its all known in less time than I have bien writing about it. This general publicity gives great tact in keeping secret, or veiling a motive where it is ne- cessary so to do. The merchant's counting house, or the public offices in America, have nothing of the brief despatch, abrupt <;iue8tion and reply of the like places in England.; In England you are not generally admitted until the other, who is in, has finished' his business. On entering, you state your business Standing, receive your an- swer and go out. If, indeed, it is something more of a consultation than is usual, perhaps you recline one elbow on the desk, whilst conversing with the oc- cupant who either quits his stool or pen until you have finished, a nod is all the ceremony in parting. In America a courteous reception, invitation to a seat, enquiries of your health and that of your friends, precede the most pressing business. If half a dozen people are present, yon are introduced to them all, and no feeling exists about speaking of your business before the whole company. You are ushered into the apartment of a public man, who is engaged in •writing an important state paper, he turns round immediately, converses most freely, resumes his pen when you are gone, without a single expression of vex- ation at the interruption. In this way you become acquainted with everybody, know everything, and hear all that is going on. It takes some years of experience before an Englishman, asks himself, Why do I want to be alone? what, have I got to conceal? America is a social gossip- ing country I incline to prefer these social habits of intercourse of the Ameri- cans, to the greater reserve of the English. It creates a kindly feeling in the community. It is not an easy matter for an emigrant to attain to the perfection of this social talent, for talent it certainly is. He may have lost all hostility to the practice of free and open intercourse at all times and seasons. He may be on excellent terms with his neighbours, but if he will stay at home and only mind his own business, he can never be a decidedly popular man. In this country where freedom of intercourse is almost unrestrained, as to time and place, a retirement or secluL.un, is a species of neglect, if not offence, which is decidedly felt, though it may not be expressed. You may sin and be wicked in many ways, and in the tolerant circle of American society receive a full and generous pardon. But this one sin can never be pardoned, and if you would be elected constable, squire, or president, be sure you never commit it. It is an error to suppose. that freedom of speech is greater in America than in En<^land. Freedom of expression and unreserved speech is not universal in America. Common conversation is conducted with mora courtesy than in Eng- land. The energetic and fierce reply, and flat contradiction, is never heard in the commonest tavern, or stage coach. This may be accounted for. At a court, manners and speech are courteous. In America we are always in presence of the sovereign people. Motives of policy constantly predominate. 'The unpre- meditated thought is seldom expressed. But what is proper and expedient for the occasion is expressed in courteous and guarded phraseology. In questions of domestic policy, American statesmen are, what may be termed compro' 'sing politicians. Striking and eminent examples to the contrary exist amon^ the most distinguished statesmen of America. Henry Clay, of Kentucky, and Thomas H. Benton, of Missouri, though in most particulars directly opposite to each other, and of two distinct political parties, are, nevertheless, consistent, and uncompromising politicians in the courBS of po- litics which they severally pursue.— Flower. Ai \ together in of retjister- t a clue, u» ig on a jour- I where you, of staying'?'"* ith, "A has so and so." This general lere it is ne- lave nothing in Eng-land. , has finished' ive your an- tion than is ■ with the oc- od is all the )n to a scat, lost pressing to them all, ole company. engaged in nverses most 3sion of vex- h everybody, liiiiself, Why social gossip- )f the Ameri- eeling in the he perfection II hostility to He may be cue and only aan. In this to time and nee, which is be wicked in eceive a full , and if you sr commit it. irica than in universal in than in Eng- jver heard in '. At a court, n presence of The unpre- expedient for In questions jompro* "sing it amou^ the lough in most iitical parties, I courss of po-