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 1 2 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
1861. 
 
 British Columbia and Vancouver Island. 
 
 33 
 
 named), wlicrc ovltv force exists tlint can ' roninto Inmls with «ii ii)(lustrioiis-f)opulation, 
 limit a nciiilibdiirinij: torcc. Fiance, with Iier ; aii<l eiihiro'iiisj; tlie lioiiiaiti of civilisHtion. 
 jn-oscnt social and territorial oriraiiizati^n, i Tiiroe centuries were permitted to elapse 
 inu.'t, in our mind, always he condemned to t after the discv<very of Amerits'i het(Sre any 
 inferior internal development; hut, reifttively \ new reii-ions productive of cold were opened 
 to her own history of the last thrcyqiiarters | to the enterprise of man. Some of the con- 
 of a centnrx, relatively to what .-h/'was under j scfpiences of that great event, and the evils 
 the first and is under the sccon^'' Empire, the I which it entailed on the ><ew AVorld, 
 Parliamentary period of Fraute, from 1815 1 were not calculated to inspire a hope that 
 to 1848, is the oidy period to which any i the experiment, if we may so cx{iros8 it, 
 lionest Frenchman can Ipck back witii satis- j would be very speedily repeated. In ilne 
 faction. 'This rer/ii/ie/' Montalemhert truly , time, however, society was to be again agi- 
 says, 'gave to France thirty-seven years of tated by the concurrent discoveries of gold 
 
 life, of legal liberty, and of constituted an 
 thority, the benefits of which have survived, and 
 to which we nutt' owe whatever small amount, 
 of good is still left to our public morals.' 
 .SVe cordfallv echo that sentiment, and, as 
 
 in regions widely separated from each otner. 
 A great State is now rising at the auti)K)des 
 which may even aflect the future of India 
 and China, and change the character of their 
 civilisation. The influence of the Californ'an 
 
 we liavo already said, we claim for M. de | discoveries will be transitory compared with 
 Montidembert a place to himself in the pub- I the results which must follow the rapid 
 lie artnals of France, — that of a fearless, j colonization of Australia. The gold of (';di- 
 np^^trht, even-handed, tliorou^-'' Member of] fornia raised a neglected portion of America 
 l^iirliament, such as the word means in Great into the dignity of membership with a great 
 Britain. repuJ)lic. The gold of Australia will pro- 
 
 bably be the foundation of an empire that 
 may efjual, if not rival, that of tln^ parent State. 
 The Californian and Australian discoveries 
 were quickly followed by another. In a 
 remote, unexplored, almost unknown, region 
 
 torv 
 
 Akt. III. — 1. Papers relative to the Affairs 
 
 of British Columbia 
 o 
 
 f 
 
 Part I. Copies 
 
 Majesty, 18th February 1859. 
 
 2. Papers relative to the Affairs of British 
 Columbia. Part II. Copies of Pesjxitches 
 
 from the Governor of British Columbia to 
 the Secretarij of State for the Colonies, 
 relative to the Government of the Colony. 
 Presented to both Houses of Parliament 
 by command of ller Majesty, 12th August 
 1859. 
 
 3. Further Papers relative to the Affairs of 
 British Columbia. Part III. 
 
 4. Facts and Figures relative to Vancouver 
 Island and British Columbia, showinr/ 
 what to expect and how to get there. With \ 
 Illustrative Maps. By J. Despakd Pem- j 
 BERTON, Surveyor-General, V.I. London, j 
 18G0. j 
 
 5. Wanderings of an Artist through British j 
 North America. By G. J. Kaxe. Lon- 
 don, 1857. 
 
 The great reserves of gold which are destin- 
 ed, from time to time, to give a fresh im 
 
 as useless to Great Britain, either for com- 
 merce or colonization, as lioothia Felix or 
 anvof the other happy lands wliich our Arctic 
 voyagers have added to the domain of geo- 
 graphy. The highest use that could be rea- 
 sonablv assigned to it was that of a Inii tinop 
 ground of a commercial corporation of o'd 
 standing and repute. The territory now 
 known as the coloTiy of British Cohmibia, in 
 fact, constituted for two centuries a portion 
 of the vast region which was gratited by 
 charter to that ancient and celebrated body, 
 the Hudson's Bay Compatiy. Their forts 
 and stations were thinly scattered oxer a 
 jnounta.inous and picturesque region, inhabited 
 only by tribes of roving Indians, who ex- 
 changed the produce of the chace for some 
 commodities of Europe. No civilised man 
 ever entered this remote region, unless he 
 was connected w ith the fur trade. The great 
 corporation had no interest in its glens, 
 mountains, and prairies beyond their pro- 
 ductiveness in animals of the chace. They 
 
 petus to the progres. of mankind, appear to I rcganled it as a game preserve ; and if they 
 have been hidden only to be brought to light as I were aware of its agricultural capabilities 
 the exigencies of society and the expansion i they certainly did not iipprcciate them. To 
 of the human race require. Certainly no ' have made them known would have been 
 agent has been found so potent in supplying ^ to invite immigration, and to encouraoi" 
 VOL. XXXV. 3' /<^lc/ 
 
84 
 
 British Columbia and Vancouver Island. 
 
 Aug. 
 
 scliciiii's cssfiitially ojiixtsfd to tlie-ir lom- 
 nil irinl fliiiriictcr. 'Iliis tciritoiy fiiis liccii 
 rt'i'ciitlv Iniiiid to ooinliiiif, in a iciiiiiikalilc 
 <Ji-\Ui'C't', t'lTlilc land, tine tiiiil".T, naviijalilr 
 rivcrf;, ri(di deposits of alluvial j^old, coal and 
 oilier njiiieials, and many of tLe most im- 
 jioitant elements of veallli. On tlie disco- 
 very of gold, a state of tilings arose wliieli 
 rendered tliu government of tlio Hudson's 
 J lay ('om|iany altogether unsuitalile to tlio 
 country. It was indeed attempted to apply 
 tlio administrative machinery that liad long 
 Ix'eii in acti<iii to the regulation of the new 
 society which so suddetdy and unexpectedly 
 sprunii'up; but it was t'ound wholly unsuit- 
 alile, and the Crown came to an arrange- 
 ment with the ciirporation for resumption of 
 its dominion, A feeble attempt liad jirevi- 
 ouslv been made to Mitroduce an agricultural 
 and pastoral element into the country, under 
 the auspices of tiie company itself, but the 
 wishes of the <iovernment were but ill 
 seconded, and the project fell to the 
 ground. 
 
 ^J'liis valuable possession was declared a 
 colony of the J>ritish empire by an Act of 
 I'arliament wliicli received tiio Koyal assent 
 on the 2d of August I808, and is theretore, 
 as a IJritish de[)endency, just three years 
 old. It is declared to comprise 'a*ll such 
 territories witiiin the domiinon of her Ma- 
 je-ty as are bounded to the south by tlie 
 frontier of the United States of America, to 
 the east by the main cliain of the Uock_\ 
 Mountains, to the nortii by Siin])son's Kiver 
 and the Finlay branch of the Teace liiver, 
 and to the west by the Pacific Ocean, ani^to 
 include (^ueen Charlotte's Island an<l all 
 other islands adjacent.' It possesses 50U 
 miles of sea coast, and is about three-and-a- 
 half times tiie size of (Jreat Ilritain. 
 
 r.ritish Columbia is remarkable for several 
 physical peculiarities, which, notwitlistanding 
 its mimerous atlvantages, [irescnt obstacles of 
 no orilinarv maLrnitude to the settlement of 
 the country, anil which must involve works 
 of labour attended with considerable expense. 
 It is extremely mountainous, and, generally 
 slieaking, covered with a dense growth of 
 wood. Fertile valleys abound, as we'! as 
 elevated table lands, ca])able of supporting 
 large herds ot' cattle. (,>uadrupeds are, nevei'- 
 theless, singularly scarce in a country very 
 well adapted to suj)port them. The country, 
 from the mouth of Frazei's liiver to the ¥i\\U 
 which intcrrrpt its navigation (a distance of 
 about 200 p. lies), is thickly timbered, moun- 
 tiiinous, and, except by the ' trail' or track 
 used by the Indian hunters, almost impass- 
 able. The miner, on camping in these ele- 
 vated regiiins, finds no resources beyond those 
 which the rivers supply. During the winter 
 
 the thermometer indicates occasionally from 
 20" to .'to" of cold below the Zei-o of Fahren- 
 heit; but this severe tcmi)erattire is contined 
 to the upper country contiguous to the Kocky 
 Mountains. In general, snow does not lie 
 to such a depth along the banks of the prin- 
 cipal streams as to preclude winter travelling 
 with pack animals, and in some j)laces it 
 never lies at all. The changes of tempera- 
 ture, however, are very remarkable. The 
 thermometer has been often noted at 31" at 
 <lavlight; in the sliade at noon on the same 
 day, at Ho" ; and 40" in the evening. 
 
 The interest which at present attaches to 
 British Columbia being chiefly centred in 
 its gold -fields, we shall describe, as bricHy us 
 till.' subject will admit, the character of these 
 deposits. The Australian gold regions are 
 so' peculiar that they cannot be brought into 
 com[>arison with any in the American con- 
 tinent. There is undoubtedly a large extent 
 of country in Australia rich in superficial 
 gold, but in the most productive districts the 
 earth must be penetrated many hundred feet 
 before the precious metal is reached, and 
 then it is found in patches, or ' gutters,' as 
 they are provincially called, sometimes of 
 wonderful productiveness. No deposits of 
 this character have been hitherto discovered 
 either in California or IJritish Columbia. 
 The geological 'eatures of the valley of the 
 Frazer Kiver, am! its tributaries, where the 
 eold is chiefiy found, are interesting. The 
 stream runs through a rocky channel, and is 
 bounded by high, and occasionally very pre- 
 cipitous banks; but above these banks are 
 several teriaces, or ' benches,' as they are 
 termed, parallel in their direction to the 
 course of the river, but rising one above an- 
 other like steps, and receding from the river 
 in proportion to their height. These 
 'benches,' doubtless, indicate former levels 
 of the F'razer, and have been formed by re- 
 mote geological disturbances. These raised 
 teriaces have been compared to the parallel 
 mountain roads which are seen in the Gram- 
 pians, and which are explained on the sup- 
 position of the whole space between the 
 boundary ranges having been originally a 
 vast lake, and by successive upheavals of the 
 country. In accordance with this theory, it 
 is not merely the existing bed of the Frazer 
 liiver that ought to be auriferous, but the 
 successive ' benches,' rising one above the 
 other, ought to be equally, or even in i\- 
 greater degree, iinpregnated with gold. This 
 hypothesis has been remarkably verifietl by 
 experience. The river in its earlier course 
 has brought dowji with it a rich alluvial 
 gold detritus, just as the present river is con- 
 stantly enriching with the disintegrated gold 
 (piartz suspended in its stream the ' placers' 
 
1861. 
 
 British Columbia and Vancouver Island. 
 
 »S 
 
 wlii(;Ii it deposits alone its banks. Tho pre- 
 soiit kid of the river pays for tlie wiiolo dis- 
 tiuico wliicli it has been explored, from 5 to 
 100 dolhirs per liand jier day; but the 
 ' belli lit ,' which extend along the whole 
 lenglli of the Frazer's course, and whieh vary 
 from one to five or six miles in letiifth, have 
 been recently proved to be higlily j)roduc- 
 tive. ' Every spadeful of the soil,' says a 
 recent explorer,'! believe to be auriferous. 
 I am convinced that the " dry <ligji'ings" on 
 the banks of the Frazer are on a most enor- 
 mous scale.'* The only impediment to the 
 almost nidimited production of gold is the 
 want of water ; but as soon as the remunera- 
 tive character of the work is conclusively 
 established, liydraulic machinery of great 
 power will, it is said, be immediately ap- 
 plied. 
 
 The gold of British Columbia is not limit- 
 ed to one region. There are valleys sepa- 
 rated from the Frazer by mountains which 
 preclude the possibility of the same river 
 having fiow(;d through them, and these val- 
 leys are, in many places, highly auriferous. 
 Alluvial diggings of extraordinary richness 
 have been discovered on (^uesnel Kiver, 
 a tributary of the Frazer. 'Last year,' 
 writes the Governor in confirmation of the 
 general opinion entertained of the wide ex- 
 tent of the gold region, 'an impression was 
 generally entertained by the miners that the 
 gold deposits had been made maiidy by the 
 Frazer, and that the gold was brought down 
 by the stream from a soui'ce existing some- 
 where in the range. of the Kooky Mountains; 
 but they have since discovered that not oidy 
 the bed, but also the higher banks of the 
 F'razer, which rise terrace-like one above an- 
 other as they recede towards the hills on 1 
 either side, are composed of auriferous earth 
 and beds of water-worn gravel, — a circum- | 
 stance that has led them n^t illogically to 
 the conclusion that the river occi. )ied' at 
 some former period a much higher level 
 tlian its former bed, and that the water has 
 been drained off by its gradual deepening, 
 thiough the natural process of attrition, or 
 by volcanic agency ;' and Mr. Douglas states, 
 as a proof of the richness of the gold depo- 
 sits, that he had been informed by a respect- 
 able merchant residing at Fort Yale, that he 
 saw 71 ounces of gold dust taken out of one 
 mining claim at Boston Bar by three men in 
 twenty-four hours, and that the same claim 
 yielded regularly from 48 to 50 ounces of 
 gold a-day for about four weeks, when the 
 holders were driven out by a sudden rise in 
 the river, the claim being onlv accessible at 
 
 * Report of the Chief Justice of British Colum- 
 bia to the Governor. 
 
 extreme low water for about four weeks in 
 the year.* 
 
 CaliforniM. does not jtossoss any gold depo- 
 sits that resemtile those on the raiscl benches 
 and elevated table lands of British Coluirdua. 
 The gold of California is derived principally 
 from the great existing mountain ranges, but 
 the geological disturbances have been tiiere 
 wanting tifht raised the river beds in Colum- 
 bia. Californian gold is found chiefiy on the 
 banks of existing streams; and, gnuind finer 
 and finer as it is carried forward, year after 
 year, by torrents, it is at last depositeil as 
 'dust of gold' in the ooze or sand of tho 
 broad and traiujuil rivers. There is, tliere,- 
 fere, considerable reason to believe that the 
 productive gold-fields of California will be 
 exhausted in a com])aratively short period; 
 and although the gold is derived from 
 mountains yet rich in the precious metal, 
 ages must elapse before they will again im- 
 pregnate the beds and banks of the Califor- 
 nian rivers with the golden particles which 
 are diffused througliout the quartz of the 
 Sierra Nevada. 
 
 The wide distribution of gold in British 
 Columbia is unquestionable : the Frazer tra- 
 versing the country diagonally from north to 
 south everywhere passes through a gold 
 region. The same may be said of Thomson 
 Kiver and of the Columbia, the upper portion 
 of which, north of the 49th parallel, is in 
 British teriitory. The aggregate length of 
 these rivers is more thaii a thousand miles. 
 As a rule, the gold is found in much snuiller 
 particles, and less in quantity, near the 
 mouths of the streams ; and it increases both 
 in size and quantity as their sources are ap- 
 proached. Instances of great success are 
 numerous ; and miners have been known to 
 realize L.400 or L.500 each in ?. season. In 
 1858, the greatest monthly shipment of gold 
 was 235,000 dollars, and the smallest was 
 GOOO ; and the total i)roduce of the mines 
 was estimated at 1,495,211 dollars, and in 
 the following year at 2,000,000. The yield 
 of the Californian mines has been ascertained, 
 with tolerable accuracy, to be 50,000,000 
 dollars, or L.10,000,00d annually, while the 
 average earning of each minef is estimated 
 at only L.50 ; the mining population is <^n- 
 sequently always ready on the vaguest ru- 
 mour, to rush to neighbouring and even dis- 
 tant countries, at the prospect of a higher 
 remuneration. The surface ijold of Califor- 
 nia is now believed to be much dimini^-hed. 
 The early miners collected what nature 
 nad been quietly hoarding through count- 
 less thousands of years. By the action of 
 
 * Despatch from Governor Douglas, C.B., to his 
 Grafie the Duke of Newcastle. Dec. 1869. 
 
British Columbia nnd Vancouver Inland.] 
 
 Ang. 
 
 frost nnd of fiip, of air nnd water, slio luis 
 bc'on slowly wcariiifj down tliu jtriniitive 
 tnomitaiiis in wliicli the jirerions metal wns 
 orii,'iiially formed, was.liiii^ away tlie ligliter 
 matter, and condensing;; tlieffold tlins derived 
 from cubic miles of (granite and (i\iartz with- 
 in a few feet of sand at the bottom of the 
 water-courses. A miner may thus take from 
 a river bed in one day nn amoifnt of gold 
 whi(di ho conld not have extracted from the 
 rocks in a year. 
 
 While the mines of (,'alifornia will pro- 
 bably diminish in prodi'.ctiveness from year 
 to year, there is e\ery reason to expect 
 ^hat those of British Columbia will increase; 
 since the jieculiar formations to which we 
 have adverted give a geological character 
 of permanence to the workings. The Ciii- 
 nese immigration lias recently set in, and 
 the movement is a strong corroboration of 
 the nnncral wealth of i>ritish (.'olumbia. 
 That sagacious peop o, as is WliI known, do 
 not emigrate in large nund)ers, without hav- 
 ing first ascertained that they will improve 
 their position by the change. Their agents 
 Iiav'j carefully investigated the mining dis- 
 tricts, and have reported on them most fa- 
 vourably ; and Jlritish Columbia is found a 
 far more attractive field for the emigrants 
 from the Celestial Empire than Caliibrnia, 
 where thev have lonfj been treated with 
 La'slincss and illibcrality. In the British 
 colony tlicy receive the same protection as 
 other settlers ; and the existing poj)ulation 
 hail their arrival with satisfaction, labour 
 of all descriptions being greatly in demand. 
 
 The colony is yet destitute of one indis- 
 pensable element of progress. There is no 
 productive class, the population consisting 
 entirely of miners and persons employed in 
 the Government departments. Tlie miner 
 is an unceasing consumer ; and the fair face 
 of nature is scarred by marks of his devas- 
 tations. The merchant may be allured to 
 the most remote of the British colonies by 
 the hope of gain ; but the substantial wcltii 
 of the country can only be derived trom 
 the cultivation of its soil. Without agri- 
 culture, British Columbia must be depen- 
 dent on other countries for its daily food. 
 A jjfirming population forms the solid basis 
 of every prosperous State. It is as much 
 the interest as it is the duty of Govern- 
 ment, on the first establishment of a colony, 
 to open up the country as speedily as pos- 
 sible for the reception of such a class. 
 Koads, tlierefure, are the first necessity in 
 a new colony ; without them, indeed, there 
 can bo no real progress, ajid the most fer- 
 tile soils are as valueless as sandy deserts. 
 
 As British Columbia has been only par- 
 tially surveyed, it is impossible to state, with 
 
 anv decree of accuracy, the quantity of land 
 wliich is available for (cultivation, or to deter- 
 mine its agricultural value; but wherever 
 explorations have been made, they have rc- 
 fiidted in the discovery of tracts of rich land, 
 even in places where tiiey were least expected. 
 There is, therefore, no ]irobability tiiat a set- 
 ler will experience any ditliculty in selecting 
 a good location. There is an abundant 
 supply of timber for fencing, buildings, and 
 fuel ; and the produce of the forest ir ly be 
 made a source of immediate jn-otit in the ex- 
 port of its valuable woods; and the produc- 
 tion of potash, which linds a ready market, 
 will j>artly pay the cost of clearance.* The 
 flora and vegetation of the country are in a 
 very high degree luxuriant. The richness 
 of the soil in the neighbourhood of the gold- 
 bearing rocks is, Mr. I'emberton says, most 
 remarkable, as shown in the production of 
 ijigantic roots and vegetables, '''uriiips as 
 arge as hassocks, raddishes as large as man- 
 golds, and a bushel of potatoes from a single 
 stalk, are, he says, far from uncommon. 
 This exuberant fertility of soil is common to 
 almost tlie coast of the I'acific as far south 
 as San Francisco, where, at agricultural exhi- 
 bitions, ]iinn)king weighing from 1200 lbs. to 
 250 lbs. have been displryed, and jiears are 
 produced, 'to eat one of which retjuires tlic 
 united efi'orts of five guests.'f ' An acre of 
 land,' says the Surveyor-General of the colony, 
 'planted with apple trees, would, at the end 
 of three years, on a minute calculation, have 
 cost the proprietor from L.30 to L.40; and 
 their, lowest selling pri^'e would then bo 
 Ii.'200.' Hops succeed admirably. Native 
 hemp, (piite equal to the best Russian, grows 
 freely, and is found in a wild state near every 
 Indian hut. The general agricultural advan- 
 tages of the country are thus stated by Mr. 
 I'emberton : — 
 
 ' C)pen grass lands can, of course, be 
 ploughed up at once, and a crop obtained. 
 Fern lands require to be ploughed in the 
 heat of summer, in order, by fermentation, to 
 kill the fern, and to destroy by exposure 
 liulbous roots, such as crocuses, kamass, etc., 
 for which purpose pigs make admirable pio- 
 neers. To clear pine lands is not very diffi- 
 cult : being very resinous, they burn \ip 
 readilv, and are easilv overturned, as the 
 roots do not descend but creep along the 
 ground ; in wdiieli respect these trees stand 
 like pawns upon a chess-board. Oak is more 
 difficult to eradicate, as the loots go straight 
 down. Marsh lands are usually easily drain- 
 
 * In Canada, two acres and a half of wood will 
 produce a barrel of jiotash, wortli, after payint^ all 
 e.xpenses, about L.7, 1< rf. 
 
 \ Tliis is stated, it must be observed, ou the au- 
 thority of au Eiiglisliman, not of an An erican. 
 
 I ' 
 
1861. 
 
 liritlnh Columbia and Vancouver Inland, 
 
 91 
 
 Cfl, fiml reclfiiincti liv lirniinc; them up in 
 KiimiMcr; tliesc laiuls jit'tcrwiinls proihu'c the 
 best rriii)s. The cost of chjiiriiii; hii acre of 
 tiinbertMl hind inav be 'aken at L.H ; aii<l 
 other descriptions loss, varyiiii; witii tlie 
 locality. An twri of land prodnccs from 20 
 to 40 bnshels of wheat, or a eorrespondiny; 
 (]nantity of onts or barh'V, and continues to 
 (io so fur some years, without manure, before 
 it is exhausted. Hitherto, wiieat has sold in 
 the colony at 8». the bushel, oats at Os. Hay 
 pays remarkably well, varyini^ in price dnrinjj 
 the year fr«im L.8 to L 1 0, or more- per ton.' 
 
 For meat and vcfjetables, the miners, and 
 the Uritish fleet, which is sui)plicd by public 
 contract, aflford a reaily market. The In- 
 dians everywliere grow potatoes and "arrots 
 as far nortli as tincen ('iiarlotte's Isia id ; 
 tiieir pbm is to rep(\at the crop until the 
 _s;roun'l is exhausted, and then to clear more. 
 Tile potatoes arc excellent ; and potatoes and 
 salmon is t'leir standinij disii. Meat in the 
 colony is dear — Is. to I.5d. per lb. — which 
 to the consumer, liowcver, is counterbalanceil 
 by the remarkably low prices of tea. wine, 
 and spirits, in consequence of Victoria beins; 
 a free port. There is probably no fairer field 
 for a small capitalist at the present time than 
 British Columbia. By taking; up 100 or 
 150 acres of land in a minini^ locality, Svhicli 
 lie may do without beinu; called upon to pay 
 any portion of the purchase money for the 
 first year, he can, accordiiiu; to the latest 
 return of prices, sell his milk for 4s. a gallon ; 
 his butter for 4s. a pound ; ep;ivs for 4s. a 
 dozen ; bacon for Is. 3d. to 3s. a jtound ; and 
 all other farm proiluce at corresp<>ndin<i; rat.es. 
 
 The salmon fisheries in British Columbia 
 mijjjlit be made the most productive and 
 valuable in the world. The fish ascend the 
 rivers in vast (juantities, and are so abundant 
 that they are captured with a iiook tied to a 
 sti(.'k ; tlie bears even secure with their paws, 
 from the bank, of the streams, as many as 
 they wish. ?None of the fish, it is said, ever 
 return, as the receding waters leave them in 
 the buslies, and the banks are often covered 
 with the dead. They are found of all weitjhts 
 up to "20 lbs., and in flavour the best kinds 
 are said to be quite eipial to any in Europe. 
 On the coast the Indians live on them, and 
 catch them in a great variety of ways, — in 
 weirs ingenionsly constructed, and in baskets 
 ada])ted to receive them when they leap. In 
 suitaltle .situations they spear them, in deep 
 streams cunningly decoy them to the surface, 
 and in shallow water they stone them, — a 
 whole trilie having been eeen thus engaged 
 on the banks of a river with great success. 
 The salmon fisheries may be said to be prac- 
 tically inexhaustible. 
 
 In a iiew colony, the most important con- 
 
 sideration for iiitondini; cniigrantf. is the 
 price of land, and the c(»nditions on which it 
 can be obtained, in British Columbia tho 
 terms are exceedingly liberal, and such as 
 nmst meet with a ready acceptance. Any 
 British subject may obtain IGO acres, in an- 
 ticipation of a survey, and acipiire an incho- 
 ate title simply by taking possession and by 
 the payment of a small *ee. As soon as the 
 land has been accurately surveyed, the pro- 
 prietor or his heirs can acquire a perfect title, 
 on payment of a sum not exceeding the rate 
 of 10s. ])er acre, but which it is expected will 
 soon be re<luccd to 5». In addition to 160 
 acres thus obtained, a settler can purchase 
 additional land, at a price not exceeding 10s. 
 per acre, of which os. is to be paid at tho 
 time, and tho remainder after a survey is 
 completed. The liberality of th's land law 
 mu.st prove attractive to a class of small capi- 
 talists whose profits are ins\ifficient for their 
 comfortable support at home. 
 
 There are two obstacles to the speedy co- 
 lonization of British Columbia, — namely, its 
 great distance from England, and the want 
 of roads into the interior. While '^anada, 
 the Caj)e, Australia, and New Zealand oiler 
 their lands on liberal terms, it is scarcely to 
 be expected that the Briti.sh emigrant, unless 
 under extraordinary inducements, will turn 
 his attention to tho youngest and most dis- 
 tant of the colonies, as a vovasre of five 
 months or an expcn.sive journey across tho 
 Isthmus, must be undertaken before ho can 
 reach the settlement. The distance of the 
 colony from the mother country counterba- 
 lances for the present its great attractions, 
 and will continue to do so until a road is 
 constructed across British North America. 
 This is a desideratum which we believe is now 
 seriously engaging the attention of scientific 
 men and of statesmen. Without it, not only 
 will liritish Columbia continue practically 
 inaccessible to the best class of en)igrants, 
 but a permanent barrier must continue to be 
 interposed to the colonization of a territory 
 not inferior in fertility to the best portions of 
 Canada. The basin of Lake Winnipeg and 
 the valley of the Saskatchewan Lave been 
 recently employed by order of the British 
 and Canadian Governments. Tlie quantity 
 of land in British North America fit for set- 
 tlement, and capable of cultivation, is esti- 
 mated at not less than 500,000 square miles. 
 The climate is no drawback, the heat of sum- 
 mer being sufficient to bring most of the ce- 
 reals to maturity over vast^racts of country 
 far north of the 49th parallel. The Red 
 River settlement is an example of the great 
 productiveness of this portion of the Ameri- 
 can continent ; and there are, it has bc^en iis- 
 certained, enormous areas, in the Saskatche- 
 
38 
 
 British CnlumUa and VancoHver Inland. 
 
 Aug. 
 
 wan nml Lako Wiimipcfj l>asinu, equally 
 suitnl lor aLTviciiItinv, ninl ri<'li in most ut'tln; 
 cluniciitrt lit' wi^altli. 'I'lie jiasst-s of tlir Ifoi'ky 
 MountaiiiH Imvu liccn oxainiiii'il, an<l tliose 
 i)X]u'illtiun.s limt! rt'swltdl in tlic iiisi'ovcry 
 that tliiTc exists no practical dillirnlty in tlie 
 conHtniction of a roail, ami t-vcn a railway, 
 from tlio .HJiorc'N of Lake Superior to tlie Fni- 
 zor River; ami as liritisli vessels ean m)\v 
 proei'eij tor 2()(>() miles into tlio Ainerii'an 
 continent Vty the St. Lawrence ami the (-ainil 
 an<l lake navii;ation of (Janatla, .1 roail torthe 
 rciniiimler of the distanee to r>riti>ii Colum- 
 bia <Mii;lit, consideriiii^ its iin])ortat.ee, to pnt- 
 sent aH few dinieulties in a fimincial as it does 
 in an enj^jiiicerintj point of view. 
 
 In tile colony itself the want of eoinmuni- 
 (Bfttion is severely felt. The force (les|)atche(l 
 to aid the Hrst colonists in road-makiiiix Inis 
 proved v.holly inadeipiate, and there are no 
 funds, in the [iresent undeveloped state of the 
 colony, available even for the nmst necessary 
 public works. I'ossessinj^ as yet little or no 
 export trade, and the j^old of the miners 
 passjn;.; over the boundary into the L'nited 
 States territory to evade the <luty on its ex- 
 port, the public resources ui the country are 
 restricted to such duties as can be levied on 
 imports; and these, in a somewhat unsettled 
 state of society, are not always easily col- 
 lected. Capital for making the first roads in 
 a new colony, might, we think, be judiciously 
 advanced by the Imperial (Jovernment. A 
 country would thus at once be eixlowed with 
 the elements of success ; immigration would 
 set in, and a rapidly increasing population 
 would soon enable the local government to 
 pay off the debt thus incurred, and the com- 
 merce of Great Jiritain could not but feel in 
 a short time the effect of so provident an out- 
 lay. Such is the course ad(jpted by the (Jo- 
 vernment of the United States in its new set- 
 tlements. Roads are the first necessities of 
 civilisation ; without them there can be nei- 
 ther trade, social progress, nor political de- 
 velopment. 
 
 At present tlie population of British Co- 
 himbia is almost wholl' fed and clothed from 
 he neighbourinfj states of Orefjon and Call- 
 foruia. The exports of the colony are insig- 
 nificant, and consist oidy of a few tuns of oil, 
 a little coal, and some barrels of crard>erries. 
 Some spars that were ordered from England 
 had to be purchased from a neighbouring 
 State, although the forests of British Colum- 
 bia abound with the finest timber in the 
 world. There w^re then in the colony tio 
 means of transporting them to the coast. 
 Uay, which sells at prices ranging from L.8 
 to L. 16 per ton, is imported from California, 
 as are buihling materials from Paget Sound 
 and Oregon. 4a our present state,' writes an 
 
 intelligent settler, ' wc arc oompelled to sit on 
 an American chair, wear an American hat, 
 read an Ann-rican book, and patmnisc an 
 American tailor ; in fact America ndgtis 
 snprenii', and this must be the chsc while wc 
 are driven of necessity to American imirkefs 
 to obtain oiir supplies, .\lmost all the ai'ti- 
 cles that we reipiire now fetch here three 
 times their cost in ivurland, and are, more- 
 over, of an inferior dcscri|ttion. A ready 
 and remiiiu'rative nuirket is a great boo.i to 
 the shipper; but we have more to offer, —wo 
 have good harbour's and a free port. Not 
 one iota of duty has to he paid on the goods 
 shipped to Victoria: there they can renmin 
 till they are sold ; and when sold, first class 
 paper on Kngland in payment is at tin? dis- 
 posal of the merchant.' These facts canm)t 
 be generally k?iown in England. Tin; im- 
 ports into British Columbia and Vancouver 
 Island amoimt to L7()(»,U()0 yearly, but the 
 gold of British Columbia, in conseipicnce of 
 the absence of trade with the nn)ther coun- 
 try, instead of finding its way to EnglamI, 
 goes to swell the exports of the precious 
 metal from California. 
 
 In one important respect Britisli (Columbia 
 presents greater attractions than many of our 
 (ither dependencies. No part of the worM is 
 better suited to the constitution of English- 
 men. The capital. New Westminster, pos- 
 sesses a climate milder than that of England, 
 although in a latitude a thousand miles fur- 
 ther north than liuebee. Snow falls in the 
 moutitains early in October, but seldom re- 
 mains for any length of time in the valleys. 
 The summer is dry, and the heat considerable. 
 (.)ne peculiarity of the climate it requires, 
 Mr. I'emherton says, an effort to reaii/e. 
 'Surrounded by snowy peaks, the air is often 
 not oidy warm, but sultry, Jl)ven at Victoria, 
 where snow sehlom exceeds a few inches in 
 depth, or at Langloy, we have evidence of 
 this every day. The snow itself is not of the 
 damp compact nature we are accustomed to; 
 it is light, dry, and drifting, and on this ac- 
 count, when it thaws it disappears with as- 
 tonishing rapidity,' The Rocky Mountains 
 have been crossed without difilcnity on the 
 2ist rf January, 
 
 This colony is unsurpassed in pictorial in- 
 terest. It is a land of broad lakes, foaming 
 rivers, thundering torrents, of mountains 
 piercing with their snowy pinnacles the blue 
 transparent sky, with valleys of enchanting 
 beauty, and forests of matchless magnificence. 
 ' Nothing,' says Governor Douglas, 'can sur- 
 pass the imposing grandeur of the mountain 
 masses and deafening cataracts of the two 
 districts, the Harrison's River and Lake, the 
 admiration of every lover of the sublime and 
 picturesque in scenery.' In other districts 
 
 -i* 
 
1801. 
 
 lirltfiik Culuinhla and Vancouver Island. 
 
 80 
 
 / \ 
 
 .»■> 
 
 Riiniljir gniiiil iuiil iinpuHinpf fciitiirLM present 
 tliotn-.elv('s. ' Ijookiiiii iiortli, noiitli, iiml 
 t'list,' wiiteH tlie Hiirveyiii!^ otfiier nf Mie^'i- 
 neei's, 'the view eiiihrfucil iiiimiitii' \ scenery 
 of a iles(;ri|)ti(iii rarely to l»e snr[)a-t<i'il. Ah 
 tar as tlio eye eoiiM reaeli, an I'lnlless sea ot' 
 inonntaiiis rolleil away into llie l>lne ilistanee, 
 tlieir sides clotlieil alnmst to tlieir snniniits 
 with an iMi|»eiU'traltle t'orest of ocry sjieeies 
 oi' |nne, and tlieir peaks hikI reecsses lit np 
 l>y tlie rays of tlie early sun too oarly yet to 
 liirliten tlie jj;looniy valley lieiow \is, Hi-ro 
 nnil lliero a riiiri;uil nakeil peak towereil np 
 in liold relief some I ODD teet or more aliove 
 tlie sn;niiiits of tlie adiaeeiit, ranircs, spotted 
 with occasioinil patelii!.* ^)f snow in ereviees 
 never perhaps pnuurated by the siiiiliLcht ; 
 and so eonipli'ti^ was the network of iiioiiii- 
 tains in wliieh we were enveloped, that the 
 (piestion iiow wo were to (jjet out of them, 
 appeared to bo somewhat ditlieiilt of solu- 
 tion.' 
 
 There has been some mi^apprchension re- 
 spectiiii,' tlie Indian tribes which inhabit Jiri- 
 tish Columbia, and tales of their savaif*' na- 
 ture, and of attacks made upon settlers, have 
 not been without their influence in checkini; 
 immi'^ration. Unlike the nations to the 
 eastward of the Ivocky Mountaiin;, of which 
 tho IJIackfoet have attained a bad pre-eini- 
 iience for their bloody dis|>osition and fre- 
 quent feuds, the ntces to the west of the 
 nioutitains are of a mild nature, anil have 
 shown an aptitude f)r civilisation. The inis- 
 sionarii^s exercise much inHuence over them, 
 althouifh their succ<,'ss in makitii^ converts 
 has not been hitherto threat. No persuasion 
 has been able to make them aijriculturists, 
 but they pursue huntiiii; and tishini; as the 
 sole and precarious resouices ai^ainst famine. 
 The moral ascendency of the chiefs over the 
 tribes is jrreater than has been often observed 
 in savajre life. ' These people,' says Mr. Kane, 
 speakini; of the Indians inhabitintj; a district 
 of British Columbia, ' are governed by two 
 chiefs, — the Chief of the Earth, and the Chief 
 of the Waters. The one exercises great 
 power over ihe tribe, except as ret^ards the 
 tisliiuLj, which is under tho exclusive control 
 of tlie Chief of the AV'ators. Jle dispenses 
 justice, strictly punishing any cheating or dis- 
 honesty among his subji-cts. lie opposes the 
 gambling propensities of his tribe to the ut- 
 most, even depriving tlie successful gamblers 
 of their share of the fish received annually 
 from tlie Chief of the Waters.' The latter 
 personage appears to be of great importance. 
 No one is allowed to catch fish without his 
 permission. His large fishing basket or trap 
 is put dosvi. a month earlier than any one is 
 allowed to fish for himself; and the Chief of 
 the Waters informed Mr. Kane, that ho had 
 
 taken as many as 1700 salmon, weiglijinj; on 
 an avera'.;e ;<0 lbs. each, in the conr>e of one 
 day. The daily avcrii'^e taken in the Chief's 
 basket was about 4do. |Io distributes tho 
 lish thus taken during; the season amoiiirst 
 his people, every one, even the smallest child, 
 getting an (Mpnil share. Inditlenmco to ago, 
 iiiori^ espi'cially to female age, is a disai;reo- 
 able ciiaracteri-<tic of the Indian tribe^ on 
 both Hides of tho Kocky .Mountains. Chil- 
 flren are a source of profitand strength to an 
 Indian parent; but the old of both sexes are 
 reganled as bunlens of the earth, and ar- 
 often left to perish from l|une:er and cold. 
 .Mr. Kane relates an incident whii'h stnniglv 
 brings out this peculiarity. 
 
 'Some Indians,' he' says, 'while liathiiig 
 near the shore, picked up a cask, and finding 
 upon examination that it was full of rum, 
 made up their minds to have a carouse. (M.o 
 of the [larty, however, suggested the possi- 
 bility that the white men had put poison in- 
 to it, to be revenged on them for having fired 
 on the inland brigade of boats going up tho 
 river the, yeai- before. This (h'teried them 
 from drinking until they had tested its ijiia- 
 lity. For this purpose they selected eight of 
 the oldest women in the camp to try tlie ex- 
 periment on. The women fell into the snare, 
 and, becoming int<)xieatod, commenced sing- 
 ing with great glee. But an ohl chief soon 
 j)iit an end to their potations, saying that it 
 was evident there could be no poison in it, 
 and that it was much too good to be thrown 
 away upon old women. The whole tribe 
 then set to, and were not long in draining 
 the cask.' 
 
 Mr, Kane, in his very interesting work, 
 sup|>lies some amusing details respecting tho 
 haliits, manners, and superstitions of the In- 
 dians of British j^Jolumbia, and those inhabit- 
 ing the district of the Uocky .Mountains; and 
 he arrives at the conclusion that, if fairly 
 treated, they will not give any trouble to 
 European settlers. Their disposition is rather 
 to exaggerate tho merits of tho Europeans 
 with whom tiiey come in contact, than to re- 
 pel their advances. Mr. Kane thus describes 
 the ofi'cct produced upon the Indians by a 
 travelling Scotch piper: — 
 
 'A lliiililandor, of tiie name of Colin Fra- 
 scr, joineil our party, lie was on his way to 
 a small fort, of which he had the charge, at 
 tho head of the Atliabaska Kiver, in the 
 Uocky Mountains, whore ho had resided for 
 the last eleven years, lie had been brought 
 to the country by Sir George Simpson, in tho 
 capacity of his piper, at the time when he ex- 
 plored tho Frasor Kiver, and made an exten- 
 sive voyage through a country hitherto littlo 
 known, and among Indians who had seen few* 
 or no white men. lie carried the pipes with 
 
■<() 
 
 liritith Colnmhin und I'liiironvi'r IMaiiil, 
 
 A "If. 
 
 Iiiiii, (Iri'HHCil ill IiIh lliixlil>iiiil I'lihiiitiic ; anil 
 wliiti slii](|iiiii;' lit loilh, or wlicii'MT lif IuiiikI 
 ImliiUis, tin- l>aj^|ii|)c.H wore put in rt'i|iiisitiiiii, 
 iiiiii'ii til till- ii>tniiisliiii('iit, lit' tilt' iialivcr*, will) 
 KU|i|iiiHi.'il liiiii to iiu a ifliilioii ol' till! <irt'at 
 Spirit, li(i\iiii.', lit" coiirni;, luiViT lioliclij mh ox- 
 ti';ii>iiliiiai'\ a lnnkiiii; iiihii, nr sinli a iiiiiMii'al 
 iii>lnitiii'iit, wliii'li a^ti>iiiHli('ii tliciii as innt'ii 
 as till- Muiiiicl proiiiji'cii. < )h<- of tliu IiiiiiniiH 
 a>ki"l liiiii to iiitciffih; with tlic (ileal Spirit 
 tor liiiii ; lint {''la^ur ri-iiiaikcii, tlic pctitioiic-r 
 littiu tliiiti^lit liosv iiiiiitoil Ills (Krasur'n) iii- 
 tiiicii(;e was in that ipiartcr.' 
 
 'riic opinion t'oiincil ot' tjii! native races* liy 
 till! .Imlifo ot llritisli Coliiniliia is liit,'li!y t'a- 
 vouralile. ' U'e t'oiinil,' Mr. liciiliie says, in 
 feportiii'j; tile results ot' a tour llirouo'li tlie 
 (•(iiiiitry, * everywhere tiie liniiaiis willing to 
 laliiuir hard lor wap's, ainl peil'eelly ac- 
 ipiainlcHl witii ^ohi <iiist, anil the iiiiinitc 
 weii^lits tor nieasiiriiii;' one or two ijoilais 
 with. 'I'lie aiiiount ol' wa^■es tor the iiio.sl 
 alijeet ilnnitjery to wliicli iiuniaii buiiiirs can 
 lie put liein^' 8s. ]ier. day and iirovisimis, 
 wiieiover we went, sliows ot' itself a very liiuli 
 rate of uveraLje prolh as the wa^'es of lahoiir 
 in British Cohinibia If this is the avt-iaiie 
 reiiimieration of the most iinskiiKid lalmur 
 wliiit oiiti'ht skilled lalmur, supported l>y capi- 
 tal, to earn ] It was the unitoriii practice of 
 storekeepers to entrust tlieso Indians with 
 their guilds. 'I'hefts were said to ho un- 
 known. My impression of the Indian 'po]>ii- 
 lation is, that tiiey liavo far more natural 
 iiitelli<;eiice, honesty, and li'ood manners than 
 till- lowest class, sa_\ the auricultural and 
 niiniiiir population, of any Eiuoiiean country 
 1 ever visited, Eiiy,land included.'* 
 
 \'ANroLVKU Island, recently erected into 
 a scjiaratc colony, promises in some respects 
 to hecoiiie even of more importance than 
 Uiitish Coliimliia. It jmssesscs the Uest har- 
 bour in tile whole line of the I'acitic coast, ail 
 the ports, w ith the exception of San Francisc(, 
 and Apaculpo, beiiiii, from the dilHculty of 
 their approach, the terror of navinators. Es- 
 quimaiilt, from its position and capabilities, 
 appears likely to be the em]>oriiim, not only 
 of N'aiK'ouver Island, but in a threat measure 
 of British Columbia. Altliouu;h not a tirst- 
 class harbour in point of size, it has ample 
 room for twelve ships of the line and many 
 smaller vessels; and the harbour of Victoria, 
 three miles from Escpiimault, if it cauiiut rival 
 the former as a naval station, jwssesses an 
 ample haven for lar^'c merchant shi|)s, and is 
 only separated from Escpiimault by a narrow 
 neck of land, a canal cut tliroui>'h which 
 
 * Report by Mr. Begbie to tbe Governor of 
 British Cohinil)ia, April, 18.59. Papera lielating to 
 British Columbia. Tart III., p. 17. 
 
 would connect the two liarboiirs N'ancoii- 
 ve.' Uhktid possesses coal, eX(;elli'iit ill ipialitv, 
 alMindant in ipiantity, and easily worki^l, a:Ml 
 vessels lire hIiIc to lie aloiiiLfside a wharf with- 
 in a lew yards of the pits. The lloii. \V. 
 Eit/.william, on his visit to \'i»ncouver islanij, 
 found a party workiii',' a seam of coal <i feel 
 thick, at a depth of 4n feet, and within 20 
 yards of the shorct.* The consumption of 
 coal on the J'acific lias been estimated at 
 •JOd.odO tons a year. San Krancisco alone, 
 in iMi")!!, imported 7!»,7'2'-' tons. 'I'lie I'acitic 
 coasts product! coal in many places, but they 
 are not able to supply more than oiie-teiitli 
 of the demand. .\ii e.xtt;nsive and valuable 
 coal-Hi'ld within Uritish territory is thercforo 
 an economical tad of the yreatest importance 
 with rel'ereiice to the fiilnrt' of our dependen- 
 cies in this ijuarter of the world. It is tho 
 opinion of practical miners who have visited 
 the locality, I'liit loal may be found every- 
 where within a distance of twd miles lioiii 
 Naiiaimo, where it is now worked at a depth 
 of .")() feet from the surface. 
 
 \'ancouver Island is about the size of Eng- 
 land, and formed a portion of territory go- 
 verned by the lludso'i's Jlay Conipaiiy until 
 it was erecteil into a Uritisli colony. It has 
 hitherto lieen very partially explored, Init is 
 believed to lie covered to a great extent with 
 forests of maijtniticent timber, and many val- 
 leys have been found of 'irreat fertility. Tho 
 soil is ilescribed as menerally productive, al- 
 thoui^li in places rocky. The country is di- 
 vided into woodland ami prairie. The prairies 
 are parkdike, and form extensive iilainsstrttch- 
 ing into the forests. Clover grows with lu.\- 
 uriaiice in several jilaees on the coast, and it 
 is supposeil to lia\e sprunu' originally from 
 seeds accidentally dropped from yiackatfes 
 brought from England, some of which were 
 made up in iiay. The tiin'ner of the interior 
 is described as very tine, and the w hole course 
 of a river (the Nimkisli), from an extensive 
 lake, as 'lined with splendid red pines, large 
 and long enough for the spars of tlie largest 
 men-of-war.' The Douglas pine is t'ound from 
 3 to '28 feet in circumference. Jiiit the 
 largest and most picturesijue tree of the tir 
 tribe in Vancouver Island is the Xobilis, 
 which is met with cliieHy in ridi alluvial 
 valleys, where they have been seen 250 feet 
 high, with a circumference of 42 feet at the 
 butt, anil with bark from 8 to 14 inches 
 thick. Two kinds of oak are found on the 
 island, but they do not grow to any consider- 
 able size, and are dwarfed into iiisigniticaiice 
 by the towering conifh-a by which they are 
 surrounded, (iold-bearing rocks have been 
 
 * Evidence of lion. C. W. W. Fitzwiliiam bi')r© 
 the Select Committee ou the Iludsou's Buy Cc .- 
 puny. P. 114. 
 
Aug. 
 
 1801. 
 
 liritlxh Columhlii ami \'<iHC(iii'er ItUtiul, 
 
 4t 
 
 '> 
 
 4)h-'jrvi'<l iti tilt' nioi.iitiiiiiK, (iml ilmilitlcHH 
 gold (li'tritim will W tliN'ovfU'ii wlu-n tliu 
 coiiiitrv in f'artlM'r t-xplnrtMl. 'riu- streams 
 nlioMiK.I ill HriliiKiii ami truiit. Many tlioiixaixl 
 liaircis of (Jrii'il fi>li arc aniiiiiilty scut fiMiii 
 \'icf(nia iH tlir llii.lxon Hay Ctmiiiany'H ih-- 
 |M'it at till- SainUvirJi I^iaii>i|; ainl an ciitcT- 
 prisiiiu' fUlii'riiiaii tVniii < hkiify, who had .h- 
 
 t«tal>li«lii'i| liiiiisclt" at IJi'i'i'lii-r l»uy, <>i t' tliu 
 
 inlets of the coast, put ii|) nnd PX|iortcd in 
 one \'car Mitd hands ot' sahiion, which lie 
 liad piirchaseil t'roin the Imliaiis and cured. 
 'Hie iicii,dil)ouriM^ ImvH are inexhiiUHtiblu in 
 their su|i|ilics. ' And to c_'i\c soiiki idea,' 
 Rays Mr. Kitzwilliaii), ' how prolific these seas 
 are, thf method cf eati'liiiii^ herriiiiis is tor 
 two Indians to i^o in a canoe, one itaddliiiiT in 
 the stern, and the other standing; in tiie how. 
 The Indiun in the how has a latl: ot' wooil 
 nhoiit H or '.» t'uet loii^ stndtled with nails. 
 He scoops down into the water and inipaicH 
 the fl>h on t!ie nails, and literally rakes them 
 into the canoe. In two or three hours they 
 get a load.'* The climate is extremely tine, 
 anil wheat, harley, and oats have hetoi raised 
 in perfection wherever it has l)ecn attum|)ted 
 to cultivate tliein, and potatoes are a 8ta|)lo 
 production. 
 
 Tills fertile and attractive island is nn- 
 doiihtedly the most valiiahle of the liritish 
 pi-issessioiis in the J'acitic, and will doiihtless 
 soon hecome the principal station of our na- 
 val sipnidroii in that sea. Althoiiirh New 
 "Westminster, the capital of British ('olumhia, 
 is in its infancy, Victoria, the capital of the 
 sister colony, has already jfrown to the pro- 
 portions of a considerahle town of hetween 
 30U0 and 4fi00 inliahitants. The site is re- 
 presented as all that could he ilesired, and 
 the views on every side are replete with picto- 
 rial attractions, the snow-capped mountains 
 of liritish ('ulumhia heinif visihle from almost 
 every street, and retiected in the hroad sheet 
 of water which forms the nohle harhour of 
 the rising capital. 
 
 It may he useful to specify the class of 
 tMnijjfrants to whom these colonies hold out 
 prospects of remunerative lahour or invest- 
 ment. First, then, to capitalists they present 
 many attractions. In a new colony the value 
 of money is always high. The rate of inte- 
 rest in Vancouver Island ranges from L.25 
 to Ij.'M) per cent, per annum, with unexccp- 
 tionahle security, and no ditliculty is found in 
 placing money out on those terms. To agri- 
 culturists, as soon as the necessary communi- 
 cations are made, high prices must ensure a 
 rapid prosperity. All professions are at pre- 
 sent overstocked hut that of a schoolmaster, 
 and governesses and private tutors would find 
 
 ♦ Loo. cit.., p, 114. 
 
 n ready demand for tlicii sersices, Shep. 
 herds, ploughmen, atnl gardeners ohtain the 
 InLtliest wages of skilled laliour, and mecha- 
 j nics are sure of ample remuneration. To 
 I those who mav he aitracteil hv the glittering 
 prizes in the lotterv of gold digging, we can 
 only say that hard work and uncertain gain 
 have hetMi the lot of the gold seeki'r in every 
 coiintrv and age, 'I'he pnxliice of the mines 
 of ISritish (,'oluinliia, compared with the popu- 
 lation at work on them, has heeii dotihlless 
 highly satisfactory; and the deposits are un- 
 (|uestionahly liir riidier than those of (,'alifor- 
 nia, .\ reimukiihle eah'iilation, liowe\er, ap- 
 peared in the .S''/;( /''raiiclKfu J/crii/d. in 1N.")1), 
 proving the great losses sustained hy the 
 (.'alifornia miners during their temporary re- 
 sidence on the l''ra/er iJiver. Ten thousand 
 of the hest .\inerican miners were induced 
 hy the favoiirahli- rc|iorts of the goM produc- 
 tion to ijuit ( 'alifornia for liiitm. olumhia. 
 lOstiniating the amount of gold ohtaiiieil at 
 .OO dollars t'or each miner t'or six nionths of 
 lahorioiis work, and the expenses t'or the saino 
 perit)d, including passage money and mainte- 
 nance, the conclusion is arrived at, that they 
 sustained a loss of 300 dollars each. Since 
 that period, however, the average ilaily yield 
 of the mines has greatly increased, ainl im- 
 migration lias again set in from Oregon and 
 California, with, we helieve, much hilter re- 
 sults, "'he greatest misap|>reliension exists 
 as to the exertion required for gi>ld washing. 
 To any enterprising clerk or artizan who may 
 he tempted hy golden visions to try his luck 
 in liritish ('ohmihia, we recommend the peru- 
 sal of the following pas-sage from Mr. Peni- 
 herton's work : — 
 
 ' Construct a " rocker," the materials of 
 which will not cost many shillings. Place 
 the rocker under the ]iump, and till the hox 
 that is on the top with gravel. Now, recol- 
 lecting that a few halt'pence worth of gold to 
 u pan of gravel pays the miner L,'i a day, 
 tile three lialfponnyworth from a half sove- 
 reign into tiie i)ox ; rock awt.y with one hand 
 and pump with the other, only sto]>ping to 
 shovel gravel into the hox as often as you 
 empty it : in this way you will he ahle not 
 only to ac<piire a good idea of the amount of 
 physical exertion rc<juired, but also to test 
 your skill in the art, before you iiave occa- 
 sion to practise it many thousand miles from 
 home. If, after counting the cost, you still 
 determine to try your fortune, I should say 
 the surface diggings of British Columbia, or 
 the gold deposited from disintegration that 
 has been going on for ages past, are as yet 
 unexhausted. Be early in the field, and may 
 success attend your adventure I' 
 
 The laborious nature of njining as a pur- 
 suit is too often lost sight of, although 
 
42 
 
 British Columbia and Vancouver Inland. 
 
 Aug. 
 
 sncli is the fitsci nation cxcrteil over tiio 
 masst's I)j' tlie liopc of sudden onriclimenf, 
 that multitudes will never tail to be attracted 
 to tliove countries wliicli otter the prospect of 
 a suddi-n transition from poverty to vvealtli. 
 In I'.ritish Colnnihia tliere is at present an 
 important element of expense to be taken 
 into cf>nsi(leration, in coiiseipienco of the 
 uncertaintv and cost of obtainini; supplies. 
 'Sometimes,' says Mr. Pcmberton, ' with the 
 trackinii: line passed over his shoulders, the 
 miner drains his boat or canoe ai^ainst a swift 
 current, wadinir tip to hv, waist in water. At 
 otlier times we meet liim loilinij up some 
 rufjijcd hill with a month's j>rovisioiis on his 
 back. And what has been the result ? Siijcc 
 niiniuir iie!j;an in Hritisli Columbia in 1858, 
 the miner's average carnini>s have not ex- 
 cecd(.'d L. 100 avear, while the cost of living; 
 is at least L.GO. An intendintj enii^rant 
 siiould dismiss from his mind any instances of 
 extraoi'ilinary success he may have hcar'd of. 
 Suj)p()so he became acquainted with an 
 authenticated case of a man making five or 
 ten times more than the average in such a 
 season, such an instance only argues o or 10 to 
 1 aijainst his (tiie intending emigrant) realiz- 
 ing anything.' Mr. Pembertoi) further states, 
 from (lata before him, the gold production of 
 1859 to have been about '.',00,000 dollars, 
 and the proiiuct of two years to have been 
 about 3,000,000 dollars, and that the number 
 of miners actiuilly at work at any time in the 
 country cannot have exceeded 3000, which 
 thus i^ives for th ^ miner's average animal 
 earning about L.IO*.. In California the ave- 
 rage aninnii earning is oidy half that sum ; 
 but the country is more accessible, and the 
 facilities for living are much greater. The 
 general result of the comparison between 
 Ijriiish Columbia and California is, that the 
 gold fields of British Columbia, although 
 labouring under certain temporary disadvan- 
 tages, are certainly twice as productive as 
 those of California. 
 
 In concluding the subject of the mineral 
 riches of British Columbia, we shall refer to 
 the latest discoveries which have rewarded 
 the researches of the various 'prospecting' 
 parties in the colony. Several localities have 
 been recently found rich in the precious 
 metal. In a district termed Kock Creek, 
 gold, coarse and heavy, in highly remunerat- 
 ing (pijintities, has been discovered by the 
 (Jovernment surveyors for a distance of 50 
 miles along the course of the stream, and the 
 average earnings of the miners are computed 
 at from 10 to 50 dollars a day, and no doubt 
 is entert:ained that every creek, gully, and 
 rivulet in the country is more or less auri- 
 ferous. Mountains, which were thought to 
 present impassable barriers to the operations 
 
 of the miner, liave been found more profit- 
 able than the ricliest 'placers' and most pro- 
 ductive river beds. Notwithstanding tlieir 
 repelling cliffs, they are like to become a 
 source of wealth, and the support of a large 
 mining population. Rich gold-beaiing q»artz 
 is there found in^bundance, but the greatest 
 expectations have just been raised by the 
 discovery of a silver lead of a very rich 
 quality. Cinnabar and copper Iiave also been 
 discovered with most promising indications, 
 and the whole country surrounding the Lower 
 I'lazer is described as ' teeming with mineral 
 wealth.' Considering how small a propor- 
 tion of the colony has been explored, traces 
 of such riches met with at so early a period, 
 certainly point to a very brilliant future. 
 Coal, too, has been recently found in British 
 Columbia, of a quality superior to that of 
 Vancouver Island. 
 
 IIow are tiiese promising and interesting 
 ilependencies to be rendered more accessible 
 to Jiritish industry and capital ? This is a 
 question worthy of occupying a portion of 
 the public attention. There are at present 
 several routes open to the emigrant besides 
 the passage round Cape Horn, but tlicy m- 
 volve transhipments and railway journeys, 
 and they are too expensive for the resources 
 of ordinary settlers. England, however, pos- 
 sesses a territory stretching continuously from 
 the shores of the Atlantic to the Pacific, and 
 it requires only a moderate degree of liberal- 
 ity on the part of the Imperial Goveriinu;nt 
 to insure the construction of a road acioss 
 British North America to the regions of the 
 North Pacific. The Unite<l States have 
 already connecte<l their eastern territories 
 with the Pacific by 8131 miles of mail-coach 
 road, opened and maintained by the nation 
 at a gross expenditure of more than 1,000,000 
 dollars per annum, and the population for 
 whose benefit this large outlay has been in- 
 curred does not exceed 650,000 ; and it has 
 been cftlculated that the Pacific States are 
 ))eopled at a cost to the Federal (jovcrmnent 
 of 17s. annually for each settler. The dis- 
 tricts which benefit by this expenditure form 
 undoubtedly an integral part of the ITnited 
 States territory ; but it has always been the 
 principle of England, on endowing a colony 
 with free institutions, to leave it to the }»eo- 
 ple themselves to develop its resources, to 
 make roads, and to execute all works of pub- 
 lic utility which the settlement may from 
 time to time require out of their own 
 resources. The American Government, on 
 the otlier hand, undertakes these works itself, 
 considering them essential to the growth of 
 an infant state, and holds the public lands 
 and revenue as securities until it has been 
 indemnified for outlay. 
 
 4 
 
Aug. 
 
 profit- 
 lost pro- 
 ng tlieir 
 jcoiuo a 
 a large 
 g q»artz 
 greatest 
 by the 
 cry rich 
 also been 
 Jicatioiis, 
 c Lower 
 mineral 
 propor- 
 etl, traces 
 a pciioil, 
 future. 
 II Britisli 
 o that of 
 
 
 1801. 
 
 British Columbia and Vancouver Inland. 
 
 43 
 
 It 
 
 nt cresting 
 accessible 
 Til is is a 
 portion of 
 it j)resciit 
 lilt bcsi<.les 
 lit they in- 
 journcys, 
 i resources 
 ivever, pos- 
 lously from 
 .'acitic, and 
 1 of liberal- 
 loverniiieiit 
 •oad across 
 ons of the 
 tatcs have 
 territories 
 mail-coach 
 the nation 
 1 1,000,000 
 miation for 
 IS been in- 
 and it has 
 States are 
 iovernnient 
 ; The dis- 
 diture form 
 the irnited 
 ys been the 
 iig a colony 
 to the i>eo- 
 isoiircos, to 
 )rks of pub- 
 may from 
 their own 
 rnnient, on 
 works itself, 
 e growth of 
 lublic lands 
 it has been 
 
 1 
 
 The policy of England in the treatment of 
 lier colonies, in this particular, was stated by 
 Sir ]>iilwer Lyttoii in a despatch to British 
 Columbia in 18o8 :— ' I cannot avoid remind- 
 ing you,' he says, 'that the las'ish pecuniary 
 expfiiditun^ of the mother country in found- 
 ing new colonics has been generally found to 
 discourage economy, by Ica<ling the minds of 
 men to rely on foreign aid instiad of their 
 own exertions: to interfere with the liealthv 
 action by which a new community provides 
 ste]i by ste]) for its own recpiiremeiits, and to 
 produce at last a general sense of discourage- 
 ment and dissatisfaction. For a colony to 
 thrive and develop itself with stedfast and 
 healthful progress, it should from the first, as 
 far as possible, be self-supporting.' No doubt 
 it iiiiiiht be more agreoabie to the pride of 
 the first founders of a colony which promistjs 
 to b(!Come so important, if we could at once 
 throw up public buildings and institute esta- 
 blishiiHMits on a scale adapted to the prospec- 
 tive gr;ind(!ur of the infant settlement, liut, 
 after all, it is on the character of the inhabi- 
 tants that we must rest our lioj)es for the 
 land we redeem from the wililerness; and it 
 is by self-exertion, and the noble spirit of self- 
 sacrifice which self-exertion engenders, that 
 communities advance through rough begin- 
 nings to permanent greatness.' 
 
 The despatch embodying these sentiments 
 may be a very able literary composition, but 
 we must be permitted to doubt the correct- 
 ness of its reasoning. Which of the arrange- 
 ments, the American or the Jlritish, is most 
 in accordance with good policy, there is little 
 reason, we think, to doubt. We believe it to 
 be bt)tli the interest and paramount iluty of 
 Great Britain to provide the funds reipiiied 
 in the first instance to make a colony habitu- 
 ble, controlling oi' course their expenditure, 
 and taking efiectual security for their repay- 
 ment. A[>plying this princijde to the expe- 
 diency of oi)eiiing a route between the Atlan- 
 tic and I'acific colonies of (ireat Britain, it 
 may be in(piired how this important object 
 can lie best attained. For half a century 
 England pursued with a consistent but unfor- 
 tunate perseverance the chimera of a noitli- 
 west passage to the Pacific, but the various 
 Arctic voyages have resulted in no advantage 
 to commerce, and contriimted little to science 
 beyond a trifiing addition to our geographical 
 knowledge, at the cost of a sum considerably 
 exceeding Ll, 000,000. The delusion is now 
 completely dispelled, and we are beginning 
 to discover that, instead of forcing a north- 
 west passage through tiie Arctic seas, there 
 is a practicable route to the other hemisphere, 
 a real 'north-west passage,' across the conti- 
 nent of North America. We have adverted 
 to the fact of the navigation being open from | 
 
 the ports of Great Britain to the northern 
 shores of Lake Superior. The .\tlantic can 
 now be crossed by the inferior class ol^' settlers 
 for 50s. per head, and for that trifiing sum, an 
 emigrant can be carrieil from Liverpool or 
 (ilasgow to (Quebec. A railway across Jiritish 
 North America is at present justly considered 
 as impracticable ; and to an emigrant, speed 
 in travelling is not so much an object :is cer- 
 tainty and economy. There exists alreaiiy a 
 practicable track from the Krazer liiver to 
 the lied Kiver settlement, and no difliculty is 
 anticipated in extending this road to l^ake 
 Superior. The existing track, as far as it 
 extends, might be easily conveitetl into a 
 wajrtron road, and continued to the Canailian 
 frontier. All the colonies of ]>ritish North 
 America would then be connected, the line 
 would from time to time be improved, and 
 ultimately converted into a railroad, as the 
 countries advance in prosperity and import- 
 ance. An emigrant, it has been calculated, 
 would, by this overland route, reach Victoria, 
 the capital of Vancouver Island, or the city 
 of New Westminster, sooner by a week than 
 he can now do by the (piickest available tran- 
 sit. 
 
 The interest of such an overland journey 
 to the Pacific would be unequalled. Enter- 
 ing the wide St. Lawrence — the pride of 
 the Canadian people — ascending Mie noble 
 stream, its banks studded for three hundred 
 miles witii thriving villages, picturcsijue ham- 
 lets, and stately cities, and backeiJ by distant 
 mountains and forests, the traveller would 
 pass into the great North American Lakes, 
 crowdeii with the ships of the second com- 
 mercial State in the world, and with those 
 of the prosperous colony of Canada, and re- 
 fiecting in their bright waters the blended 
 glories of nature and the pride of rising 
 towns ; and reaching the extremity of Lake 
 Superior, with its grand but desolate shores, 
 he would traverse a country oti minor lakes 
 and of pine woods ; he would see the great 
 Saskatcliewan, its banks crowded with herds 
 of biifl'alo ; he would pass over boundless 
 prairies, and catch occasional glimpses of the 
 wild hunter, as he pursues his gigantic game 
 over the plains, until he reach the Ilocky 
 Mountains, mysterious in their unexplored 
 seclusion, but beautiful in their outlines and 
 their forms; and threading their romantic 
 <iefiles, he would suddenly emerge into the 
 gold fields of British Columbia, wind among 
 valleys, the scenes of animated industry, and 
 skirt the banks of rivers broken by foaming 
 torrents and overhung with magnificent woods, 
 until from some eminence lie would sec the 
 blue Pacific looming in the distance, and be- 
 low him, in the dim horizon, the cities of 
 New Westminster and Victoria ; and arriving 
 
44 
 
 Slanlei/s Eastern Church. 
 
 Aug. 
 
 nt tlte capital of t)ie young and not tlie least 
 
 firospci'oiis of tlie rit'ty-two colonies of Great 
 iritiiin,lie would exult in the tliouf;lii, that 
 lie luis passed from the shores of EnirJand, 
 over an ocean of which she is the mistress, 
 and through a territory of which she is the 
 sovereign for upwards of four thousand miles, 
 and that the same Hag which Hoats over the 
 royal castles and fortrcssess of his native land, 
 still waves in the soft breeze?, of t'' ,. acific, 
 an 1 is hailed with pride as the sy.iiliol of au- 
 thority and protection by every dweller in 
 the immense region which he has traversed 
 in his lehLjtheiied route. 
 
 Art, W,— Lectures on the Histori/ of the 
 A'ltnlcrn Church ; with an Introduction on 
 the Stud;/ of Ecclesiastical Histonj. V>\ 
 AmiitJii Pkmuivn Stanley, D.D., Regius 
 Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the 
 University of Oxford, and Canon of Christ's 
 Church. London. 18G1. 
 
 This volume by T)r. Stanley is professedly an 
 instaliiu'iit of his ialion»'s as occupant of the 
 chair of Churcl) History in Oxford. Many 
 circumstances conspired to give \mnsual in- 
 terest to Dr. Stanley's appointment to that 
 chaiV, and to rais' liigh expectations of his 
 labour^ in an oflice so congenial to his tastes 
 and genius. Nor have such expectations 
 been disappointed. The three introductory 
 lectures which Dr. Staidey published imme- 
 diately after the commencement of his duties 
 as Professor, showetl how familiar he was 
 with the field on which he was entering, — 
 what a masterly and richly informed survey 
 he was ble to take of it, — -aiK. how thorough- 
 ly he had pondered its relations; how, from 
 the call of A4)raham, ' the first beginning of 
 a continuous growth,' to the Puseyite con- 
 troversy, — the most recent sucker iVom that 
 growth, — he could trace and bring into some 
 degree of proportion its wonderful ramifica- 
 tions. A certain ease, fullness, anil richness 
 of historical apprehension and allusion, com- 
 bined with an enlarged appreciation of the 
 capaeities of the subject, especially distin- 
 guishe<l these lectures, which reappear as an 
 introduction to the present volume. 
 
 The main part of the volume, as the title 
 imports, is devoted io the history of the 
 Eastern Church. The reader, however, must 
 not look for a complete and continuous his- 
 tory. So little is there of this, that to some, 
 we fear, the volume will prove a disappoint- 
 ment. In its separate parts it is interesting, 
 graphic, and f'dl of information ; it is marked 
 
 llironghout by Dr. Stanley's characteristic 
 qi\alities of fairness and pictorial vigour, and 
 constant arimation of style, and particularly 
 by \he vivid portraiture of characters, of 
 scenes and geographical features, in which 
 he so 'much delights; but it does not satisfy 
 the snggestions of the subject. It is too frag- 
 mentarjt and sectional for this, — a collection 
 of Lectures, and not a fully outlined narrative 
 or history. It does not, indeed, pretend to 
 be more than Lectures ; but, even in this 
 view, a w^nt of continuity and fulness of 
 treatment spikes the reader, and leaves him 
 dissatisfied. lie expects to learn more of the 
 Eastern ChuVch than the volnm>. teaches. 
 With the coTYipcioasness that its history was 
 very much a bfank in his mind, he had hop^d 
 to have the blank filled up; and when he finds 
 himself detained, during four lectures, on such 
 old ground as the Coimcil of Nica'a, and 
 finds two more lectures on x\thanasius and 
 the Emperor Cqnstantine, — these lectures 
 embracing more tlian half the volume, — he 
 feels as if the b6ok, failing to answer his 
 hopes, failed also to answer the occasion. 
 
 To a considerable extent this fragmentary 
 character of the volume is owing to the sub- 
 ject itself. Properly' speaking, as the author 
 remarks, ' the Eastefn Church has no his- 
 tory. It is marked out rather by tracts of 
 land and races of men, than by successive 
 epochs in the progress of events, of ideas, or 
 of characters. The nations which it em- 
 braces have been for the most part so sta- 
 tionary, and their life iso monotonous, that 
 they furnish few subjects of continuous nar- 
 ration.' Little remained; therefore, ftn* a lec- 
 turer, but the cl'.oice and treatment of certain 
 aspects of the subject. Still, many will think 
 that these aspects might li^ve been presented 
 so as to furnish a more consistent and j)ro- 
 gressive picture of Easte-n Christianity, both 
 in its theological spirit and in its external re- 
 lations. 
 
 With such qualifications, we must cx]iress 
 our obligations to Dr. Stanley for what he 
 has done ; and we feel especially bound to 
 say, that any want of completeness in the 
 contents of the volume by no 'means detracts 
 from its interest. From beginning to end, it 
 is most pleasant as well as instructive read- 
 ing. The gravity of the scene? and events is 
 everywhere relieved by the picturesque and 
 vivid force with which they are described. 
 The reader is made constantly aware, that he 
 is dealing with real life and churacter, how- 
 ever distant in time, and far removed from 
 anything in his own experience. No English 
 writer, so far as we know, has ever given 
 such o picture of the Council of Nicaja, — a 
 picture alive with strange and crowded 
 figures, and with the light of the old East, 
 
 I 
 
Aug. 
 
 ■actevistic 
 gour, and 
 ii'ticularly 
 rtctcrs, of 
 in which 
 lot satisfy 
 i too frag- 
 collcction 
 
 nanati>e 
 trotcnd to 
 !n in this 
 fiihiess of 
 eaves him 
 lore of the 
 L tcaclics. 
 listory was 
 had hopod 
 en he finds 
 es, oti such 
 Jica»a, and 
 nasius and 
 ,e lectures 
 >lumo, — he 
 answer his 
 icasion. 
 raguientary 
 to the sub- 
 thc author 
 lias no his- 
 by tiacts of 
 
 successive 
 of ideas, or 
 ich it em- 
 part so sta- 
 ;onous, tliat 
 tinuous iiar- 
 re, for a 1 ce- 
 nt of certaia 
 y will think 
 >n presented 
 nt and pro- 
 tianity, both 
 
 external re- 
 
 Tiust express 
 for what he 
 lly bound to 
 eness in the 
 sans detracts 
 iiig to enil, it 
 ruetive icad- 
 and events is 
 Airesque and 
 re described, 
 ware, that he 
 aracter, how- 
 enioved from 
 No English 
 IS ever given 
 of NicJBH, — a 
 md crowded 
 the old East, 
 
 I