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 i,4-f^Jy€£-^-:iC'<'l'''- 
 
 ZMK^k AS A KATIOK. 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHxM GEO. BOURINOT. 
 
 i\ 
 
 In the early part of last November there appeared in the news- 
 papers of America and Europe a brief announcement that the 
 Canadian Pacific Railway had commenced to run its trains from 
 the city of Montreal on the St. Lawrence River as far as the 
 shores of the Pacific Ocean. Upon the majority of persons the 
 mere mention of this fact probably made little impression at the 
 time, but to every one who has an interest in the progress of the 
 new Dominion it must have afforded the most conclusive evidence 
 of the remarkable energy and enterprise of a country whose total 
 population does not yet exceed five million souls. If any one 
 wishes to appreciate the full significance of this item of news, 
 placed very likely in some cases in an obscure corner of a Euro- 
 pean newspaper, let him take up a map of North America and 
 carefully trace out the route of the new railway from the province 
 of Quebec to British Columbia, and he will soon obtain some idea 
 of the magnitude of the task which Canada has achieved within a 
 decade of years. This great road runs through about three thousand 
 miles of country, the greater part of which is still a wilderness. 
 By its connections at Montreal — the North Shore, the Grand 
 Trunk and the Intercolonial Railways — Canada now possesses 
 an uninterrupted line of rail communication between the Atlantic 
 and Pacific Oceans of three thousand eight hundred miles. This 
 great system of railways has been completed within eighteen years 
 — since the commencement of Confederation — by the unaided 
 efforts of the Canadian people. The present Governor-General of 
 Canada, the Marquess of Lansdowne, has very truly said that when 
 wo consider "the physical difficulties which had to be overcome, 
 
 13 
 
178 
 
 »the shortness of the time in which the work has been carried 
 »out, and the small numerical strength of the nation for whom 
 »the work has been done, the construction of this road — imperial 
 »in its conception and results — is without a parallel in the history 
 »of similar undertakings." \~^^>,. j.. /. . . '* t' 
 
 That my readers may fully appreciate the ejt4ck* of t^rritorv- 
 which Canada now possesses, I would ask them to follow me for 
 a few minutes as I take them through the countries over which 
 her great lines of railway pass. Starting from the East, we see 
 the maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince 
 Edward Island — Newfoundland still remaining isolated from the rest 
 of British America — with an aggregate population of nearly a million 
 souls, with coasts surrounded by the most valuable fisheries of the 
 world, long the object of the envy of their American neighbours. 
 These provinces possess rich mines of coal and other minerals, 
 while their shipping industry is larger than that of all the New 
 England States. They are indented by noble harbours and by 
 rivers which enable their people to have communication with the 
 seacoast in every direction. Proceeding northward through New 
 Brunswick with its picturesque hills and valleys, and its rivers 
 teeming with salmon, we come to the country watered by the 
 St. Lawrence. First, we pass through the historic province of 
 Quebec, the home of a million and a quarter of people, who are 
 descended from those courageous Frenchmen who followed Cham- 
 plain into the wilderness more than two centuries and a half ago. A 
 range of mountains, coeval with the earliest ages of the world, 
 stretches from North to South, and dips its slopes in the waters 
 of the great river. A large farming population, chiefly French- 
 Canadian, cultivate these Laurentian slopes, and the fertile lands 
 which extend to the southward of the river as far as the American 
 frontier. Valuable mines of iron and phosphate are found in the 
 hills, which add so much to the picturesque beauty of a province 
 famous for its rugged scenery, its rapid rivers, its wide lakes, and 
 its impetuous cataracts. Large forests of pine still rise in gloomy 
 grandeur on the heights overlooking the upper waters of the 
 St. Maurice and Ottawa Rivers, and give employment to the many 
 thousands engaged in one of the most profitable industries of 
 Canada. Leaving Quebec we travel on to the premier province of 
 Ontario, which claims a territory extending from the River Ottawa, 
 tjlie western boundary of Quebec, to beyond the head of I t. 
 Superior, the largest of the inland waters of the Dominion. ' • 
 greater part of this province illustrates the energy and enL?» c 
 
 4- 
 
17l> 
 
 ot the two million people by its prosperous cities and towns, its 
 teeming granaries, its well cultivated farms, its busy factories. This 
 is a country producing a large surplus crop of wheat and other 
 agricultural products, besides fruits of every kind that can grow 
 in a temperate climate. Then passing from this wealthy country, 
 we find ourselves in that illimitable region which is generally 
 known as the North West Territorx', and which in the early days 
 of the Dominion was an entire wilderness aptly stj'led the Great 
 Lone Land! Here within fifteen years has been established the 
 prosperous province of Manitoba, with a population of pro- 
 bably eighty thousand souls, and one city of thirty thousand at 
 least. This is the region of the prairie with its tall grasses and 
 purple flowers, stretching for miles without a break until the very 
 sameness of the scene becomes wear}- to the eye, and the traveller 
 longs for the bold hills and green forests of the East. Rivers of 
 great length wind through the prairie lands, and aftbrd facilities 
 for navigation to steam and other craft of small draught of water. 
 As we proceed West we gradually leave the fine prairie lands 
 and find ourselves in the rolling country that lies to the east of 
 the Rocky mountains. Wheat and other agricultural products are 
 grown in the prairie region of a quality not surpassed on any 
 other part of the continent. On the large tracts of rich grazing 
 land that lie at the feet of the Rocky mountains thousands of cattle 
 can thrive at a relatively small cost. A considerable area of 
 country is of carboniferous formation, and promises to yield abun- 
 dant fuel of excellent quality — a great boon to the people who 
 are to settle a region without the maple and hardwood forests of 
 the old provinces. Passing through one of the natural gateways 
 of the Rockies we descend to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. 
 The dark waters of the Fraser River pursue their devious way 
 through a country surpassing other sections of the Dominion in 
 mountains whose lofty peaks are ever lost amid the clouds. As 
 on the Atlantic coast the island of Cape Breton with its great coal 
 fields and spacious harbours, guards the Eastern approaches to 
 the Dominion, ^o on the Pacific shores the island of Vancouver, 
 with its rich deposits of coal, stands like a sentinel at the Western 
 terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Large tracts of land 
 in this beautiful province are suitable for farming purposes; its 
 rivers and coasts abound in salmon and other fish, and its mountains 
 in gold. 
 
 We have now traversed a territory of nearly four thousand 
 miles in length, and may briefly refer to its climatic eharacteristics. 
 
 1 
 
180 
 
 On the whole, the climate of this vast rej^ioii is extremely healthy 
 and well adapted to the growth of food, hi the maritime provinces 
 the fall of snow is very heavy at times, especially in the interior, 
 but as a rule the cold of winter and the heat of summer are con- 
 siderably modified by the influences of the ocean. The seasons 
 resemble in some respects those of Scotland, the advantage being 
 in summer on the side of the maritime provinces. In Quebec the 
 winters are long and the cold and the heat intense at times in 
 their respective seasons, but the climate after all is about the 
 same as that of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, the home 
 of the bone and sinew of New England. Ontario possesses the 
 mildest winters of the older section of the Dominion, and the 
 hottest summers, which enable the peach and grape to ripen as in 
 the most favoured localities of the Northern States. The North West 
 has a climate more rigorous than that of the eastern provinces, 
 but all those who have lived any time in the country concur in 
 saying that the air is more bracing and invigorating than in any 
 other i)a;t of Canada. In I^ritish Columbia there are none of the 
 extremes of heat and cold, jjeculiar to the country east of the 
 Rocky Mountains, but the climate is as balmy and equable for 
 the greater part of the year as in that much favoured state of 
 the American Union, golden California. In short all the climatic 
 conditions of the Dominion are calculated to develope the energy 
 and endeavour of men. 
 
 .\t present the population of Canada may be estimated at live 
 million souls. The history of the French Canadian province is 
 contemporaneous with that of the New England States. The colo^ 
 nies of Plymouth and of Massachusetts Hay were established during 
 the first \'ears of the seventeentli century when Champlain and his 
 compatriots were laying the foundations of a New France on the 
 banks of the St. Lawrence For a century and a half French Canada 
 struggled under an illiberal system of government which centralized 
 all authority in the King and his representatives, and never permitted 
 the establishment of local self government as it e.\isted in New 
 England. The energies of the people were wasted in the wars 
 between ICngland and France for the supremacy on the continent 
 of America, and by the time the Treaty of Paris was signed in 
 1763 there were not more than sixty or seventy thousand people 
 in all h'rench Canada. Some forty thousand intelligent, industrious 
 people, known as United Empire Loyalists came into the* country 
 rather than remain in the United States when they became inde- 
 pendent of Great 13ritain, and first settled the provinces of New 
 
 i 
 
181 
 
 Hrunswick and Ontario. By the beginning- of the [)resent century 
 there were in all Canada only one hundred and eighty thousand 
 souls, the majority of whom were French Canadians. Representative 
 institutions were now conceded to the provinces, and a conside- 
 rable commerce grew up in the most populous centres: but never- 
 theless the growth of the pofjulation for forty years was small 
 when compared with that of the United States. The political diffi- 
 culties of the country, especially in Lower Canada, and the general 
 poverty of the mass of the people, then without any large markets 
 or speedy means of inter-communication, prevented anything like 
 a t-onsiderable immigration. Nevertheless the population of Canada 
 reached at least a million and a quarter by 1840, which was the 
 turning point in the history of the political as well as the material 
 development of the provinces. By f86o the total population of 
 Canada had nearly trebled, as there was a large influx of immi- 
 grants from Ireland and Great Britain between 1845 and i860. 
 IMie same ratio of increase has not been kept up since that time, 
 chiefly on account of the preference given b}- European emi- 
 grants to the United States, and the exodus of many Canadians 
 year after year to the manufacturing towns of that country. Of 
 late this Canadian migration appears to have been diminishing, 
 and with the prospects of settlement in the North West, the Census 
 of 1S90 is likely to present figures calculated to encourage Cana- 
 dians in the future of their country. 
 
 The ancestors of the French Canadian race which now forms so 
 large a proportion of the population of Canada, and exercises so 
 much influence on its political and social conditions, came chiefly 
 from Normandy and Brittany. These people are very sociable in 
 their habits and fairly industrious, although slow to adopt impro- 
 vements and adapt themselves to the new order of things. A great 
 many of them are employed in the lumber and manufacturing in- 
 dustries of the country. Preferring such occupations to agricultural 
 pursuits, large numbers have for many years sought employment 
 in the manufactories of New England, especially in the cities of 
 Fall River, Holyoke anc^owell. They are devout Roman Catholics, 
 and in no other country of the world do the priests exercise greater 
 influence than in the province of Quebec. The humblest village is 
 built around a large stone church, and wherever you go you see 
 the evidences of the religious devotion of the people in the names 
 of the settlements, and in the fine conventual and other institutions, 
 controlled by the priests and religious orders. Under an ordinary 
 condition of things the French Canadians are a well disposed, 
 
 \ 
 
 / 
 
182 
 
 .'imiable people, but once let a ciuestioii arise that appears to affect 
 their race or religion, they become easily excited. Happily for 
 the peace and prosperity of Canada, whenever questions have come 
 up during the last fifty years, likely to precipitate a conflict of 
 races, the sound sense and intelligence of the people of French 
 and English Canada have at last obtained the supremacy. Canada 
 already owes much to those able men among the French 
 Canadians who, rising superior to national prejudices, have looked 
 only to the ends of justice and the good government of the 
 country. 
 
 The remaining three and a half millions of whom at least two 
 millions live in Ontario, are made up, in about the same propor- 
 tions of people of I'^nglish. Scotch and Irish origin; the German 
 and other foreign nationalities forming but a small element of the 
 population. The descendants of the loyalists who founded the most 
 prosperous sections of the Dominion have always exercised much 
 influence on the political development of the country. The Scotch 
 have brought into Canada those characteristics of thrift and energy 
 which have given them the superiority, in every country o which 
 they migrate, and we find the "canny Scot" consequently not only 
 among the leaders of political parties but at the head of all great 
 commercial and financial enterprises which are doing so much to 
 make the country wealthy and j^rosperous. The Irish are on the 
 whole a contented and successful class, who fully appreciate the 
 liberal system of self-government which Canada gives them in 
 common with people of all nationalities. It is also important and 
 interesting to note in this connection that while the population of 
 Canada is divided by the Census Returns into four large classes as 
 respects its origin — French, English, Scotch and Irish — the 
 great majority are native born. In consequence of the small immi- 
 gration that has come into Canada compared with the millions 
 who have poured into the United States, the native Canadians now 
 form the principal element of the population. The fact that there 
 are over four million people born in Canada is important inasmuch 
 as it gives some explanation why there exists in Canada above 
 all other dependencies of the Empire, a strong national sentiment 
 — a pride in Canada and her successes — and an earnest 
 desire to place her in the van of the British communities of the 
 world. 
 
 Let us now consider some of the results which have 
 been achieved by these five millions of people who occupy 
 a country of greater area than the United States. The 
 
 i 
 
183 
 
 W 
 
 J 
 
 wealth of the Dominion is now derived chiefly from its forests, 
 its agriculture, its fisheries and its mines. The export trade 
 with foreign countries annually reaches, taking the average for the 
 past ten years, some t 30.000.ooo sterling, of which amount the 
 forest contributes £ 5,000.000; the farms t 7.000.000; the fisheries 
 .C 1.500.000, and the mines £ 700.000. Canada is able to export 
 annually smne £ <Soo.ooo worth of manufactured goods, leaving 
 out of the calculation, the large quantity of sawn lumber she 
 sends to the United States and other countries. Of these I'2xports 
 £ 9.000.000 worth finds its way to Great liritain, and about the 
 same amount to the United States, nearly £ r. 000.000 to the West 
 Indies and South America, the trade with other countries being 
 comparatively insignificant. The imports of Canada are valued at 
 k. 24.000.000 a year, and are distributed as follows : From Great 
 Britain, £. 9.000.000; the United States, £ 10.000.000; the West 
 Indies and South America, over £ i. 000.000; Germany £ 400.000; 
 France £ 350.000; Spain. £ 350.000. Canada still buys large quan- 
 tities of tea, cotton, linen, silk, spirituous liquors, and various luxuries 
 from Great Britain, but there is no doubt that the effect of the Na- 
 tional Policy is to reduce the trade with the parent state in certain 
 classes of manufactures which the Doii^inion is now commencing 
 to produce easily and cheaply. We cannot have any very satisfac- 
 tory statistics of the condition of the manufacturing industries of 
 the country until the next Census, five years hence, but sufficient 
 facts have been already collected to show that certain classes of 
 goods have been largely manufactured since the adoption of a 
 commercial policy some years ago with the avowed object of stimu- 
 lating Canadian enterprise. A considerable business has deen deve- 
 loped in refined sugars, cottons, woollens, furniture, boots and 
 shoes, ironware, and other staple manufactures. From the figures 
 at hand, we may put down the number of large cotton mills at 21, 
 and the value of their annual productions at £ 2.500.000 sterling. 
 The value of the annual production of woollen manufactures of 
 all kinds is estimated at £ 3.000.000. At the present time there 
 are throughout Canada probably, between 3000 and 4000 mills 
 and factories, small and large, engaged in manufacturing industries 
 of all kinds; representing a capital of some £ 15.000.000; em- 
 ploying upwards of 90.000 persons; paying wages to the amount 
 of £ 6.000.000 and producing goods to the value of £ 20.000.000. 
 Whatever doubts the political economists of the old world may 
 have of the soundness of the policy, there is reason for thinking 
 that it has been successful in making Canada in certain respects 
 
1.S4 
 
 independent of other countries, in s>^''"S employment to capital 
 and people, in teaching Canadians the benefits of self-reliance, and 
 in helping to create a national feeling. 
 
 The maritime industry of the Dominion continues to add largely 
 
 [ to the wealth of the people. The fisheries of Ikitish North Ame- 
 rica, from the earliest period of which we have an\' historical 
 record, have been the resort of the vessels of the great maritime 
 powers. Soon after the discovery of the continent of America 
 Basque and Breton fishermen cast their lines on the bar.!cs of New- 
 foundland, and from that time to this a large fl'^ot of French 
 
 j fishermen annually finds its way to the coast of Newfoundland. 
 
 j where l*" ranee still clings to the little islands of St. Pierre and 
 
 I Miquclon, as indispensable to the successful prosecution of those 
 fisheries which she has always prized so highly. The value of the 
 annual catch of the Canadian fisheries has increased from two 
 million pounds sterling in 1875 to over three million and a half 
 at the present time. The deep sea fishery is now carried on in a 
 better and larger class of vessel than formerly, and the crews are 
 
 1 consequently able to comjiete successfully with the enterprising 
 
 • fishermen of Gloucester and other ports of New England. The 
 , question of the fisheries has again been reopened by the repeal of 
 \ those clauses of the Washington Treaty of 1871 which allowed 
 \ the Americans access to the fishing grounds of Canada in return 
 
 for the free importation of Canadian fish into the American market, 
 and for a money compensation of five million and a half of dol- 
 lars awarded the Dominion by a Commission appointed under that 
 , Treatv. The historv of the Fisheries proves conclusivelv that the 
 \ people of New England have always cast an envious eye on the 
 5 mackerel, herring and other inshore fisheries of Canada, and now 
 I that the controversy has been revived we may be sure there will 
 I be a determined effort on their part to gain access to these valuable 
 
 * waters on terms as little favourable as possible to the Dominion. 
 The Canadians, however, knowing the increasing value of their 
 fisheries are not disposed to surrender their rights without receiving 
 adequate return. They are quite prepared, as in 1854. to enter 
 into a fair arrangement of reciprocal trade in certain products of 
 both countries; but it is also quite evident that they will not make 
 any treaty v/'th their neighbours which will in any way interfere 
 with the success of the National Policy, or make Canadians de- 
 pendent on the United States. 
 
 The old provinces of Canada possess natural features eminently 
 favourable to the development of a great marine. In the first place 
 
■i 
 
 185 
 
 the carriafjc to forcij^n markets of their principal natural products, 
 of the mine, of the fisheries and of the forest — has ahvavs "iven 
 a great stimulus to the construction of vessels of all sizes, from 
 the full rifj<^e(l ship which sails round the world, to the little schoo- 
 ner which plies about the coast. The maritime section t>f Canada 
 possesses harbours not surpassed in depth and security by 
 those of an\' other country in the world. The St. Lawrence con- 
 nects the rich country surrounding^ the Western Lakes with the 
 ports of Montreal and Quebec. Under these circumstances Canada 
 has been forced to build a large commercial marine for the pur- 
 poses of her domestic and foreign commerce. The lakes and rivers 
 of the upper provinces maintain a considerable fleet of steamers 
 .. d other craft, necessary for the prosecution of her inland trade, 
 while the large ships of Halif.ix, St. John, Yarmouth and other 
 ports on the sea board carr\' her exports to all parts of the world. 
 Canada now owns a fleet of between six and seven thousand ves- 
 sels, with an aggregate tonnage of over a million and a quarter 
 of tons, valued at over six million pounds sterling. As a maritime 
 power the Dominion already ranks above France, Italy and Ger- 
 many, and is exceeded in tonnage only by England, the United 
 States and Norway. The United .States with fifty five million people 
 or more, own only one million more tons than the Dominion of 
 Canada with one eleventh of the population. 
 
 The forests of Canada annualls' produce some two hundred 
 million cubic feet of timber of all kinds, of which one half consists 
 of white pine; but in the old provinces this source of wealth must 
 greatly diminish in value a few years hence. The pine woods of 
 the Ottawa and the St. Maurice country are rapidly disappearing 
 before the axe of the lumberman and the fires of the careless settler 
 or hunter, and the time must come when the principal timber 
 supply of the Dominion will be found on the hillsides of British 
 Columbia. Hut while the forests are decreasing in value, the agri- 
 cultural industry of the whole of Canada continues to be developed 
 every year on a greater srale. In the older provinces there is 
 relatively a small area of fertile land now open to settlement 
 except in the province of Ontario where new lines of railway have 
 given easy access to large tracts which offer considerable attraction 
 to industrious immigrants. In every province, however, there is 
 room for the settlement of a class of people, with a little means 
 of their own to enable them to buy cultivated lands which are 
 always in the market for from four to six pounds an acre according 
 to the location. All the provinces, but especially Ontario, grow 
 
1 S(; 
 
 a ^reat variety of agricultural products. When the last Census 
 was taken in iS8i the Dominion raised some thirty two million 
 bushels of wheat, seventy one million bushels of oats, tlfty five 
 million bushels of potatoes, and eighteen million bushels of barley. 
 The people owned eight millit)n head of stogk, including one 
 million horses, as well as three and a half million animals intended 
 exclusively for food. The total value of farm products of all kinds 
 may be roughly estimated at £ 30.000.000 sterling. The stock owned 
 by the best farmers is generally of the higher grades, imported at 
 a consider 'hie cost from J^ngland and other countries. In the 
 English or iCastern Townships of the province of Ouebec, and in 
 Ontario, there are stock farms with herds of Jersey and other 
 cattle which it would be difficult to ec[ual on the great estates of 
 the old world, l^ut the farmers of Ontario do not conllne them- 
 selves to wheat and other grains, for they now raise a large 
 quantity of apples, peaches, plums and grapes. The annual pro- 
 duction of a[)ples alone is now some fifteen million bushels, of which 
 a considerable (luaiitity is exported to the l^nglish market from 
 the vallex's of old Acadia, the scenes of LongfcUows immortal 
 poem, Iwangeline. The grape is not only raised for the table but 
 also for the making of very fair red and white wines, which resemble 
 in appearance and flavour the cheaper Sauternes and Clarets of 
 France. This is an industry which must increase in value according 
 as the people better understand the niceties of such a manufacture, 
 and as the temperance advocates, now so formidable in Canada, 
 begin to understand that as the taste for these wines increases the 
 cause they have at heart will be greatly promoted. 
 
 It is in Ihe (ireat West of the Dominion that we must hence- 
 forth look for the most remarkable results of agricultural industry. 
 This region should in the course of years be divided into probably 
 some eight provinces as large as Minnesota, which was admitted 
 into the American Union only a quarter of a century ago, and has 
 now a po[)ulation of probably a million [)ersons, and jjroduces 
 annually thirtj'^ five million bushels of wheat. Now that the Cana- 
 dian Pacific Railway is completed, and branch lines are running 
 or will soon run through the country, Canada naturally looks 
 forward to considerable influx of settlers during the coming years, 
 according as the value of the lands Js better appreciated and the 
 ignorance that still exists as to their capabilities dispelled by the 
 evidence of unprejudiced witnesses. There can be no doubt, how- 
 ever, that no other country in the world has the same area of 
 rich agricultural land to offer to the hardy, industrious peoples 
 
 4 
 
 r 
 
 '^ 
 
S7 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 of the Northern countries of Furope. On this point we have the 
 testimony of an imperial observer Hke the Martjuess of Lansdowne, 
 the present Governor-(-renerai — a nobleman not given to enthu- 
 siasm or rash assertions — who has recently passed over this 
 rcL^ion and made himself chisely acquainted with its resources. In 
 an admirable speech which he delivered at Winnipeg in October 
 last he stated that he had seen in the course of his travels «a 
 » greater extent of Hrst rate agricultural land than it had ever been 
 «his good fortune to look u[)on before — a great deal of it of 
 '<extraordinary richness". With regard to the reports so frequently 
 heard as to the injury done to the crops by the frosts he had 
 come to the conclusion that this obstacle w.is not going to be 
 «fatal to the cultivation of wheat." Me pointed out what every 
 C'anadian knows, that while the best lands of the United States 
 now under the most f.ivourable circumstances annually produce 
 some twelve bushels to the acre, and there is not in that country 
 a large area (^f valuable land open to settlement, the prairies of 
 the Canadian North West easily produce twenty bushels to the acre, 
 and are of illimitable extent. «With abundance of fertile soil," 
 continued His ICxcellency, «vvith every scientific appliance for its 
 «cultivation, and with cas)' access by railway to the great centres 
 «of distribution, the farmers of Manitoba appear to be well provided 
 «with the conditions of success, and he would be surprised if, before 
 «ten years are over, the terrors of low prices and early frosts do 
 «;not become things of the past." 
 
 During the past ".sumfm^r the settlement of the country has been 
 retarded by the unfortunate rismg of the Half-breeds and Indians, 
 led by a reckless man who has paid the penalty on the scaffold. 
 It has always been a matter of surprise to many Americans that 
 Canada has had hitherto so little trouble with the Indian tribes 
 antl their etpially unsettled cousins, the half breeds or Mcitis, 
 whose favourite means of livelihood have been gradually desappear- 
 ing with the cultivation of the country and the progress of railways. 
 The half breed does not yet appear better able to settle down 
 to the patient plodding industry of the farm than his Indian ally. 
 He cultivates his lot in a half hearted manner, and still loves the 
 chase above all other pursuits. Like the French Canadian from 
 whom he is descended he is easily aroused by appeals of dangerous 
 leaders. The policy of the Canadian (iovernment, irrespective of / 
 party, has been always to treat the Indian in a spirit of justice 
 and generosity. It may not be the wisest in all respects, but it is 
 certainly the most generous and liberal that our experience has*/ 
 
1S8 
 
 so far enabled us to devise. Not only are large sums of public 
 money annually paid out for the support of Indians, but they have 
 the benefit of the assistance of farm and other instructors, whose 
 duty it is to teach them the industrious habits of the whites. 
 Whatever may have been the grievances of the half breeds, they 
 would have been probably remedied in due course of time, and 
 it is very unfortunate that they should have been induced by in- 
 I discreet leaders to take up arms. The rising, however, will not be 
 without some useful results. The blood that has been shed so early 
 \ in our history has probably saved a great waste of life and property 
 i in the future. It was inevitable that a struggle should come sooner 
 or later between civilization and savagery in the West. The peace 
 of the territories is now practically assured by the intrepedity of 
 the militia forces of Canada last spring when they rallied so bravely 
 ; to the call of duty and proved that their country can always depend 
 I on them in everv great national crisis. The Indian and half Breed 
 I must alike bow to the inevitable law of their destiny and fall into 
 ■ the ranks of patient industry if they wish to hold their own in the 
 race of progress. The Indians certainly have been tought the lesson 
 that the strong arm of the Canadian Government can reach them 
 at all times and seasons, and that their security and livelihood 
 depend on the good faith with which they observe their obligations 
 to the Dominion which has always shown its desire to assist Ihem 
 in the unfortunate circumstances in which they are placed, 
 i A study of the public debt and expenditures of Canada shows 
 very clearly the energy which has long characterized the conduct 
 of public affairs, and the determination of all governments to leave 
 no means untried to give facilities to capital and enterprise in the 
 development of the large resources of the country. The public debt 
 of Canada may now be placed at something like ^ 50.000,000 ster- 
 ling; the annual revenue at £ 6.000,000, and the yearly expenditure 
 at about the same amount except for the last year when there was 
 an increase to an abnormal amount in consequence of the unhappy 
 rising in the North West. Large as is this debt, it is less than that 
 incurred by the Australasian colonies with a smaller population in 
 the aggregate; but in any case it is represented by great public 
 works in every section of the Dominion. The natural features of 
 Canada are such as to require a large yearly expenditure to ensure 
 the safety of commerce, and to promote the development of the 
 resources of the whole country. On the sea coast and on the banks of 
 the great routes of inland navigation are found numerous light houses, 
 and all the appliances essential to the preservation of life and 
 
 t 
 
189 
 
 ^^ 
 
 1 
 
 property. The immense extent of territory has rendered absolutely / 
 necessary the construction of numerous lines of railway, some of / 
 them as I have already shown of national importance. The natural 
 obstructions that impede the free navigation of the St. Lawrence 
 route have been removed by the building of a system of canals 
 which enables commerce to flow without interruption from Lake 
 Superior to tidewater. My readers will probably better understand 
 how the debt of Canada has grown when 1 show them that there 
 have been already expended on Canals, £ 10.000,000 sterling, on 
 Public Buildings, £ 3.000,000; on Harbours and Breakwaters, 
 £2.000,000; on Light Houses and Beacons, £ 600,000; on Roads 
 and Bridges, £ 1.700,000; on Slides and Booms (necessary for the 
 safe passage of timber down the rapids and cataracts), £ 500,000; 
 on Telegraph and Signal Service, £ 200,000; on Dominion Rail- 
 ways alone, £ 20.000,000. These are certainly the most valuable 
 assets a young country can possess. Every year a large sum is 
 expended for the same useful purposes. It must also be remem- 
 bered that Canada pays annually, in accordance with the terms of 
 Union, large sums to the several provinces in order to provide them 
 with the means of meeting their provincial expenses and carry on 
 their respective governments. It is not surprising that under these 
 circumstances Canada is frequently a borrower in the money market 
 of the world, to enable her to meet the heavy obligations entailed, 
 not by the extravagance of her rulers, not by the disasters of war, 
 but as a necessary consequence of her endeavours to develope her 
 wealth, and assert her people in keeping pace with the prosperous and 
 progressive country on her borders. The fact that Canada can 
 always borrow in the English money market on the most favour- 
 able terms is the most conclusive proof of the confidence of 
 Englishmen in her industrial progress, and in her ability to meet 
 her obligations at all times. 
 
 The best evidence of the enterprise of the people of Canada is 
 found in the history of her railway undertakings. In 1867 there 
 were in all Canada only between two and three thousand miles of 
 railway in operation ; and now there are over eleven thousand miles 
 completed through the length and breadth of the country. The 
 Intercolonial Railway which connects the upper with the maritime 
 provinces has a total length of 686 miles; the Grand Trunk and 
 connecting lines of 2. Syr miles; the Canadian Pacific road and its 
 leased lines of nearly 3600 miles. Branch railways connect with 
 these three principal avenues of trade, and enable the people of 
 almost every important district in the old provinces to bring their 
 
VM) 
 
 ^ 
 
 I commodities to market at the lowest rates. Towards the construe- 
 tion of these various railways, the Government and municipalities 
 of Canada have directly contributed nearly £ 40.000,000 sterling, 
 of which the government of the province of Quebec alone has given 
 £ 3.000,000 and consequently for a time crippled its provincial reve- 
 nues. The average value of the receipts of these roads is now 
 about £ 6.700,000, and since 1876 the capital stock has increased 
 from £ 67.000,000 to £ 112.000,000 in 1885. Canada has now a 
 railway system whose total mileage doubles that of Spain and is 
 greater than that of all the South American countries which she 
 founded in the da3^s when she was supreme in the new world. France 
 who established a colony on the banks of the St. Lawrence with 
 the hope of building up a Great Empire in North America sees 
 that her dream has been realized by her ancient rival and that the 
 child of her bosom has under British auspices literally solved the 
 problem of finding a new route to the riches of Cathay. With 
 all her wealth and enterprise France has only some seven thousand 
 more miles of railway than the Dominion of Canada. The Great 
 Empire of Russia which in extent of territory may be compared 
 with Canada has only five thousand more miles in operation. The 
 mileage of Canada is double that of Italy, and nearly equal to that 
 of Austria-Hungary. These are decidedly remarkable results to 
 have been achieved by a country which was, a few years ago, 
 simply a geographical expression, almost unknown to European 
 nations outside of France and England. They have been achieved, 
 however, through the necessities of her position. Without such 
 facilities for trade and intercourse, a country of the great length of 
 Canada would soon find itself left behind in the race of competition 
 on this continent. 
 
 Anyone who travels over Canada will see abundant signs of the 
 prosperity of the people. Though there is not in the Dominion 
 the greath wealth of the United States — though there are no 
 Vanderbilts, no Goulds, no Mackays or California millionaires, the 
 people generally enjoy a fair amount of comfort and have in man}' 
 cases become moderately rich. Nowhere do we come across those 
 scenes of poverty which are the saddest spectacles which a Cana- 
 dian or American can witness in his visits to the crowded commu- 
 nities of the old world. If a man cannot make a comfortable home 
 for himself and family in Canada, it is because he is idle or dissi- 
 pated or is one of those unluckly, s-hiftless people who never get 
 along in the world. In Canada there is a tendency as in the United 
 States, especially among the Irish, to congregate in the large towns 
 
191 
 
 i 
 
 ^ 
 
 and cities when the same class could lead more contented and 
 prosperous lives were they to settle on the public lands or obtain 
 employment on the farms. The happiest class in Canada ought 
 certainly to be the farmers, especially in Ontario. You may travel 
 for days through that province and admire the well cultivated fields, 
 and comfortable homesteads in every direction; many of these 
 latter being built of brick or stone in the place of the rude log 
 cabin in which the pioneer toiled for years in the early times of 
 the country settlement. With the increase in the population of the 
 towns and cities, the demand from abroad for grain and cattle, and 
 the construction of railways, the agriculturists of Canada have abun- 
 dant opportunities for becoming wealthy. 
 
 The monetary institutions of Canada are generally conducted 
 on a sound basis, and the failures have been few during the past 
 forty years compared with those in the United States. At the present 
 time the chartered Banks of the Dominion have a paid up capital 
 of twelve million pounds sterling, and the latest returns show that 
 they have on deposit £20.000,000, one half of which amount is payable 
 only after a fixed day or after notice. The rate of interest has 
 been veiy low in the banks for some time, and it is only in the 
 Government Savings-banks — which do not receive deposits beyond 
 £ 200 — that the people can get four percent, for their savings. 
 They have now to their credit in these institutions at least ten 
 million pounds sterling, which represent, for the most part, the 
 accumulations of the relatively poor and industrial classes. 
 
 The mental outfit of the people is now quite worthy of a 
 country enjoying a fair measure of wealth and prosperity, and 
 exhibiting such laudable energy in all matters of commercial and 
 national enterprise. Although it is to the premier province of 
 Ontario that we must look for the most perfect school system, yet 
 in all the provinces the children of rich and poor can obtain a 
 good education which will fit them for the ordinary occupations 
 of life. The labourer may pay little or nothing towards the support 
 of education, and yet his child is on as good a footing in the 
 public schools as the child of the merchant or lawyer or doctor 
 who contributes largely towards this object. The State long ago 
 recognized its obligations to take the initiative in the establishment 
 of a thorough system of free education for the people, and conse- 
 quently a large sum of money is annually expended by the govern- 
 ments of all the provinces to supplement the taxes raised by the 
 municipalities. At present there are in all Canada some twenty 
 Colleges, many of them having university powers, and offering a 
 
 I 
 
192 
 
 lar^c and excellent curriculum to the ambitious student; over fourteen 
 thousand common and other schools, and eight normal school^, in 
 which teachers are trained. The total amount annually expended 
 by the governments and people of all the i)rovinces amounts to 
 £ 1.600,000, of which Ontario contributes at least one half. The 
 same province has spent during thirty years some ^ 12.000,000 
 sterling for the building of school houses, and other educational 
 objects; and the results of its liberality is the possession of buildings 
 which for size and convenience cannot be surpassed by the New 
 England States where education, from the earliest times ii eir 
 history, has been the most important feature of their sociai .ind 
 political system. The public schools of Canada, however, do not 
 go very far back in the history of the country. In 1S39 there were 
 in all the schools of British North America only some 92.000 
 children out of a population of 1.400,000 souls, or one to fifteen, 
 but now the proportion is given as one to four. The majority of 
 the schools in the province of Quebec are controlled by the priests 
 and religious orders. Separate Schools, however, exist in Quebec 
 and other provinces for Protestants and Roman Catholics ; and in 
 fact they arc specially protected by the terms of the Act of Union. 
 
 The higher educational institutions of. Canada, for jnstance, Mc. 
 Gill University in Montreal, Toronto Uiiivei-jsit'y, Queen's College 
 in Kingston, and Laval University in Quebec — have connected 
 with them a large class of professors, many of whom, like Sir 
 William Dawson and Dr. Daniel Wilson, have won for themselves 
 a high reputation in the world of science and literature. In accord 
 with the spirit of the day, these large institutions have their courses 
 of technical, geological, medical and legal studies. A young man can 
 in Ontario commence with the common school, in due course of 
 time pass through tlie academy or collegiate institute, and then 
 complete his studies ni' the Universitjf, at the minimum of expense. 
 Indeed if he is clever and industrious, he can take enough scho- 
 larships to meet nearly all his necessary expenses whilst passing 
 his university course. 
 
 The people of Canada have been so much occupied in building 
 cities and towns, in opening the mine, in clearing the forest, in 
 developing all the varied resources of their country that one would 
 naturally suppose they have had little time for the pursuit of Art, 
 Literature and Science. The Geological and other Sciences have, 
 however, from an early period engaged the attention of many able 
 men who have found abundant opportunities for the exercise of 
 their tr' ts in the very fertile field of investigation and study 
 
193 
 
 which the natural formation and the mineral deposits of Canada 
 offer to the student. The results of their researches have attracted 
 the attention of the world of Science in luirope, and brought 
 many of them both fame and distinctions. In general literature 
 also Canadians have made marked progress of late years. The 
 French Canadians who possess an exceedingly interesting history 
 have produced not a few poets of merit, one of whom not long 
 since won the Monthyon prize at the Institute of France. English 
 Canada has given birth to several writers whose historical and 
 constitutional works are of undoubted value. The press of Canada 
 i^' conducted with signal ability and energy, though the party 
 papers sometimes display an amount of bitterness which weakens 
 their influence with the intelligence of the community. The large 
 number of pamphlets and works on Canadian subjects that are issued 
 from year to year clearly shows the stimulus that has been given 
 to mental activity by the larger field of thought that the union of 
 the Canadian provinces has opened up to students and thinking 
 men. Canada has hitherto possessed only one large Library — 
 that belonging to the Parliament of Ottawa — which is housed in 
 a building remarkable for its architectural beauty. All the leading 
 educational institutions, the law societies, and scientific associations 
 have their special libraries, but it is only now that an effort is 
 being made to establish free libraries in the principal cities and 
 towns. The province of Ontario has placed on its Statute book a 
 law which enables every municipality to tax itself for the support 
 of such an institution and already the city of Toronto possesses 
 a library which promises to be extremely valuable. The Art 
 Schools which now exist in several cities owe their origin to the 
 exertions of Her Royal Highness the Princess Louise and the Mar- 
 quess of Lome. The Royal Society of Canada which comprises the 
 leading scientific and literary men of the Dominion, something on 
 the basis of the French Institute, was founded by the nobleman, 
 just named, who, above all previous Governors-General, endeavoured 
 to encourage a taste for science and literature in the country in 
 whose future he takes so deep an interest. The soil of Canada is 
 still new, and we cannot yet expect the rich fruition of the old 
 countries of P2urope where every inch of ground has its traditions 
 and associations to evoke the genius of history, poetry and romance. 
 The Canadian people, however, inheriting as they do the mental 
 characteristics of the two great nations, which have produced those 
 literary treasures from which the world is every day drawing inspi- 
 ration are not likely to prove false to their ancestry, but must 
 
 U 
 
 / 
 
11»4 
 
 I sootier or later contribute to the democracy of letters and science 
 works that can fairly take their place among the masterpieces 
 which constitute the chief glory of England and France. 
 
 The literary history of Canada must resemble in many respects 
 that of the United States. We find that in the early days of that 
 country, when the people were laying the foundations of tlieir 
 government, ver)' able writers devoted themselves to the study of 
 political and constitutional questions. No greater literary monument 
 is possessed by any country than that series of essays written by 
 Hamilton, Madison and Jay, but principally by the former, on 
 the federal constitution adopted in 1787 after considerable doubt 
 and hesitation on the part of statesmen and people. For breadth 
 of constitutional learning, vigour of style, and acuteness of reason- 
 ing, Hamilton's papers stand in the front rank of this class of 
 literature. In their press, in their state papers, and in the debates 
 of their legislatures for many years we find the most interesting 
 evidence of the culture of the leading minds of the country. The 
 necessities of the Union at that time forced the talent of the 
 Republic into a groove of thought where it would be of the greatest 
 public value, and attract the most attention. The same has happened 
 in a measure in Canada. The political changes that have taken 
 place in the course of a century have engaged the attention of 
 the best minds, and have originated a large number of invaluable 
 pamphlets, essays and works — in some cases of an elaborate 
 character — which favourably compare with the ablest productions 
 of a similar class in other countries. The statesmen and publicists 
 of Canada have displayed a breadth of knowledge and an amount 
 of acumen in reducing theory to practice which affords abundant 
 evidence of their descent from the races most capable of governing 
 large communities on liberal constitutional principles. 
 
 The political institutions of Canada are the results of the labours 
 and struggles of her public men during the century which has 
 nearly elapsed since a representative system was established in the 
 provinces of British North America. Home Rule exists in the 
 full significance of the phrase. If we begin at the village councils 
 which lie at the basis of the political structure, we find that the 
 people are represented in some shape or other, and able to exercise 
 a direct influence on the administration of public affairs in every 
 sphere of political action. It was not so, however, in the days of 
 the French regime. Then there existed an autocratic illiberal 
 system of government which effectually crushed every expression 
 of public sentiment. No meetings for the discussion of the most 
 
I or, 
 
 "S 
 
 LS 
 
 le 
 le 
 Is 
 
 lal 
 
 )n 
 
 trivial local matters were permitted under the rule of the French 
 Kings. Whilst the people of New England were discussing their 
 affairs in the fullest manner in their township meeting, the French 
 Canadian was ignorant of the very meaning of the great heritage 
 of local government peculiar to the Teutonic races. An incomplete 
 system of parliamentary government was conceded in 1792 to 
 Canada, and then commenced the struggle which practically lasted 
 until 1854 for the establishmcMit of responsible government which 
 would give to the people the fullest control over their local affairs 
 with as little interference as possible from the parent State. In 
 1840 the British government relaxed its parental authority and 
 adopted a policy which eventually gave the people complete 
 jurisdiction over all matters except those which affected Imperial 
 interests and obligations. In 1867 the Imperial authorities cheer- 
 fully responded to the aspirations of the people for a larger sphere 
 of political activity, and passed the constitution which now unites 
 the provinces in a federal union, which combines many of the best 
 features of the i^meiican system with those principles of British 
 constitutional government which seem well adapted to their poli- 
 tical condition. Canada now possesses political institu*'!ons which 
 allow abundant scope to the capacity of the people for self-govern- 
 ment. At the base of these institutions lies the municipal system 
 which enables the owners and occupants of property in every 
 district defined by law to tax themselves for the support of schools, 
 roads, and public improvements of every kind. Many abuses have 
 at times arisen in some of the large centres of population on account 
 of unsuitable persons obtaining positions in the municipal councils, 
 but the remedy always rests with the people themselves at the 
 polls. On the whole the system works satisfactorily and enables 
 the people to make all necessary local improvements. Then going 
 a step higher we find the people represented in provincial assem- 
 blies whose duties and functions are defined and limited by the 
 Constitutional Act. 
 
 Tbe provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward 
 Island, Quebe ,, Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia are 
 governed by a lieutenant governor, appointed by the Governor- 
 General of Canada in Council ; an Executive Council holding office 
 as long as it retains the confidence of a majority in the peoples' 
 house; a legislature consisting of a Legislative Council and an Assembly 
 in four, and of an Assembly only in three provinces. This provin- 
 cial Government has control of certain enumerated matters affecting 
 civil rights and property, education, local works, and such other 
 
VM\ 
 
 m.'itters as arc of a provincial or municipal character. This <ro- 
 vcrnnient, is, however, supreme in all those matters over which 
 it has been given an exclusive jurisdiction by the constitution, 
 and not expressly or by clear implication given to the dominion 
 or central authority which presides over the "vhole of the united 
 provinces. This central authority consists of a Governor-General, 
 representing the Queen; of a privy council, responsible to the 
 peoples' representatives, and of a parliament of two Houses; a 
 Senate or Upper Chamber, appointed by the Crown for life, and 
 a House of Commons elected by the people of the whole Dominion, 
 in their respective provinces. This government has jurisdiction over 
 militia and defence, ail customs and excise duties, fisheries, marine, 
 hospitals, navigation and shipping, light houses, dominion railwa\'s, 
 and all matters of national importance. The constitution is essen- 
 tually limited. In the lirst place, the powers of the general govern- 
 ment are restricted in as much as they can pass no acts which 
 are in (Conflict with Imperial rights and interests, or infringe on 
 the clearly defined jurisdiction of the local governments. These 
 latter, on the other hand, are restrained to legislation on such 
 subjects as are expressly set forth in the Constitutional Act. .\s 
 must be the case with every written constitution, conflicts of juris- 
 diction arise from time to time in consequence of the doubtful con- 
 struction, of certain parts of the British North American Act; but 
 these doubts are being gradually set at rest, by the decisions of 
 the judicial tribunals of the Dominion and of the Judicial Committee 
 of the Privy Council of luigland as the court of last resort for 
 the whole Empire. The highest Court of Canada is the Supreme 
 Court in which the majority of such controversies are decided, 
 as appeals to the Privy Council are limited in practice and only 
 necessary under exceptionally important circumstances. The people 
 have, very justly, great confidence in their courts; for it is a matter 
 of pride with Canada that her judiciary has been on the whole 
 composed of men of integrity and learning. The judges of all the 
 courts are appointed by the dominion government and are, as in 
 iMigland, only removable by the Governor-General in Council on 
 an address from the two Houses of Parliament. 
 
 The people are able to e.xercise an immediate influence on the 
 administration of public afl*airs by means of the liberal franchise 
 which exists throughout the Dominion. In the cities, towns and rural 
 districts practically every tax payer is able to vote for the wardens, 
 mayors, reeves, aldermen, and municipal councillors generally. 
 Each province has a franchise for the Assembly extremely liberal 
 
1!»7 
 
 ral 
 
 ill its provisions. Tlic owners or occupants of houses, farmers and 
 their sons, mechanics, clerks and others who receive a certain in 
 come, can in Ontario exercise the francliise; and indeed in Prince 
 lulward Island the performance of statute labour, or the payment 
 of a few shillings in lieu thereof, entitles a man to vote and in eftect 
 establishes universal sufifrage. yntil recenth* the members of the 
 House of Commons were elected b}' the same constituency which 
 returns representatives to the Assemblies, but during the last session 
 of Parliament it was thought advisable by the government to ar- 
 range uniform franchise for the Dominion. This measure met with 
 a great deal of opposition at the time, ostensibly on the ground 
 that it was unnecessary to interfere with the previous practice which 
 had worked quite satisfactoril)' on the whole; but without going 
 into the political question as to the necessity for this change of 
 policy, there is no doubt that the new franchise is extremely wide, 
 and that every man of intelligence and respectability who is able 
 to make an honest livelihood in any vocation of life will now be 
 able to exercise the privilege of voting for the most influential 
 legislative body of CiUiada. Whilst the people annually vote for 
 municipal officers, they choose representatives to the Assemblies 
 every four years and to the Dominion Parliament every five years. 
 Although the period of five years is fixed for the latter body, the 
 exigencies of party government give the people an opportunit}' of 
 choosing new representatives every four years, if not less, on an 
 average. In this way they are able to criticize the acts of their 
 representatives at sufficiently short intervals of time, and to exercise a 
 large control over the management of public afifairs. In every coun- 
 try enjoying a system of representative government it is absolutely 
 essential there should be abundant room for the expression of pu- 
 blic opinion without at the same time keeping the public mind in 
 a state of turmoil and agitation by a frequency of elections. The 
 Canadians believe that their system is in this respect an improve- 
 ment on that of the United States where the frequent occurrence 
 of elections — for country and state officers, for representatives to 
 Congress and the State legislatures, and for the Presidency — seems 
 calculated to disturb business and give an opportunity to demagogues 
 and partisans which may prove, sooner or later, injurious to the 
 public interests. In one respect, however, the people of Canada 
 might well follow the example of their neighbours, and that is with 
 regard to the meetings of their provincial legislative assemblies. The 
 practice of holding biennial sessions of the Legislatures is gaining 
 ground throughout the United States, and is very materially lessening 
 
r 
 
 ill 
 
 I 
 
 IMS 
 
 the expenses of lej^islation without in ;iny \v'a\' jeopiirclisiiifr the public 
 interests. In Canada the Hritish practice of votinLj supplies every 
 year is of course one reason why the provincial assemblies meet 
 every year, but that is a difficulty which can be removed by le- 
 ;^islation. Another objection is the belief it would increase the 
 chances of a weak government continuing; in office since the people's 
 representatives would have fewer opportunities of expressing their 
 opinions and voting on questions affecting that government. This 
 appears to be the objection which has heretofore prevailed against 
 the adoption of a practice which is becoming general in the United 
 States where it must be remembered, the people as a rule vote every 
 year for their state officers including the governor, and the vote of 
 l)arties does not depend on their strength in the legislatures. 
 
 The only evidences now of Hritish sovereignty in the Dominion 
 are the appointment of a Governor-General every five or six years; 
 the disallowance at rare intervals of such Acts as conflict with 
 Imperial legislation or Imperial treaties; the privilege v/hich the 
 people possess of appeal to the Privy Council from their own 
 judicial tribunals ; and the necessity that exists for conducting all 
 commercial negotiations with foreign nations through the Imperial 
 authorities. That Canada is no longer a burthen upon the Empire 
 is clearly proved by recent events in her history. Whilst as a part 
 of the Imperial dominions she must always have a claim to the 
 support of England in case of foreign aggression, she is able to 
 preserve peace within her own borders, even under extraordinary 
 circumstances, as the record of the recent rising in the North West 
 has abundantly shown. The presence of a few troops and men of 
 war at Halifax is now the only perceptible evidence of British 
 s^ipremacy, that exists from Sydney to Victoria, 
 j Canada now occupies a position without a parallel in the past 
 history of the world. Although still a dependency she has assumed 
 the proportions of an Empire and can exercise many of the attri- 
 butes of sovereignty. Whilst the head of the executive authority 
 is still th-i Queen of Great Britain, who has delegated her powers 
 to a Governor-General, whilst Canada still occupies a position of 
 dependence with respect to treaties and other matters of a directly 
 Imperial character, she models her commercial policy without 
 reference to the parent state, appoints and dismisses lieutenant- 
 governors, establishes new provinces in her territories, supports a 
 large and efficient militia force on which she depends for domestic 
 peace and security, and builds at her own expense public works 
 of Imperial value. All this she has achieved within less than a 
 
 X;:^ 
 
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 (luarter of a century; for it cannot be denied that it is the fedcal 
 
 I union whicli has enabled the provinces to assume a position of 
 
 so much importance among communities. Such facts prove that 
 
 her people have hitherto been animated by a national spirit which 
 
 .must carry them still further on the path of national development.^ 
 
 /_ The ipiestion will now naturally occur to every reader of tlnr?e^ 
 
 paj^es. — What is the future destiny of a country which is making 
 
 such rapid strides towards national greatness? The interest that 
 
 is now taken w tire p^roposed Federation t>(" the Empire proves 
 
 that tlK' foregoing question is already attracting the attention of 
 
 iMiglishmen. ,Xho growth and prosperity of Canada and the other 
 
 colonial dependencies for a tjuarter of a century have naturally 
 
 interested British statesmen, and showed them how unfortuniite 
 
 r"*^ ^ it would be for l^Lngland were communities of such undoubted 
 j J promise to be allowed to drift away from the Empire without an 
 effort to continue the connection on terms compatible with their 
 self-interest and self respect. This is, however, a subject of too great 
 importance to be discussed at the conclusion of a paper like this. 
 So far in Canada the discussion has not come within the limits 
 of jjractical politics. ^ It is quite certain tiiat at present neither 
 Independence nor Annexation is among the questions of the day, 
 although they may be incidentally discussed when Canadians review 
 the facts of their progress, and consider their position in the Em- 
 pire. It is quite certain, however, tiiat tiiere are no large number 
 of persons disposed towards a political connection with the great 
 ^ country to the south of the Dominion. The people who stood 
 '^ true to iXngland during the War <jf Independence who suffered 
 y severely during the War of 1812 — 14, who never raised the flag 
 of Annexation even in the days of the greatest depression in trade 
 y and industry, are not likely to seek absorption into the ranks of the 
 "^ American Union when they have already achieved a position among 
 political and commercial communities, which is the best earnest of 
 \ their national ambitimi, and of their ability to hold their own on 
 
 ^v/ this broad continent. A-; respects the question of Independence, it 
 may bie said that the various progressive steps in the political career 
 of Canada seem to point towards the establishment in a later period 
 of her history of a distinct nation. Such aspirations may be fairly 
 considered the natural heritage of a British people, but while they 
 may animate the hearts of the races that inhabit the Dominion, 
 and may obtain still greater force in the days when Canada be- 
 comes a country of twenty or thirty million people dwelling in an 
 unbroken line of provinces from the Atlantic to the Pacific, I 
 
 
 
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 believe for one thiit their desires do not run in the direction of 
 entire separation from the parenjt state, but that they r.ither look 
 forward to such a modification of the relations between the depen- 
 dencies and England, as will give the former larger influence in the 
 Imperial Councils, and at the same time enable the latter to retain 
 that prestige which she has always enjoyed as the governing power 
 of a great Colonial Empire. However this is a question which, in 
 the ordinary course of events Canadians can hardly be called upon 
 to consider from a practical point of view for years to come. Their 
 energies must be directed for sometime towards the consolidation 
 and development of their widely extended provinces. 
 
 As a people Canadians hnve a great deal to be thankful for. 
 Under the protection of Great Britain they have been able to reach 
 a position which may well be envied by many communities of 
 the old world. Those questions which have long kept the countries 
 of Europe in a state of constant agitation do not exist to disturb 
 the tranquillity of the Dominion. No great landlords occupy the 
 largest portion of the territorial domains of Canada, but every man 
 of industrious habits can win for himself a comfortable home, and 
 become a landed proprietor without any of those difficulties of 
 transfer which gladden the hearts of English lawyers. The only 
 land question th^t ever occupied the attention of Canadian states- 
 men was the old system of Seigniorial Tenure — a relic of the 
 fe ial times of France — but it was soon settled on principles 
 tha were fair to both Seignior and tenant. Primogeniture was 
 abolished very many years ago in Canada and property is now 
 generally divided among the children of a family. All respectable 
 and industrious men can exercise the privilege of voting under a 
 franchise which is on the very borders of universal suffrage. \o 
 connection exists between Church and State, but all denominations 
 depend on the voluntary contributions of their respective members. 
 Of course Canada must have her difficulties to face in the future. 
 Her statesmen are called upon to legislate for the interests of five 
 million people — soon to double in numbers — inhabiting pro- 
 vinces with diverse interests. They have assumed heavy financial 
 obligations v/hich it will require all the resources of the country 
 to meet without heavily burthening the people. The preservation of 
 peace and order in the vast North West region must require the 
 watchful care ot the government for years until railways and settle- 
 ment bring the whole territory within the limits of civilization. 
 The political agitation which has commenced among a portion of 
 the French Canadian people since the execution of Riel has a 
 
201 
 
 certain significance whirh every intelligent, thoughtful man of either 
 the French or the English race cannot well overlook. In the old 
 troublous times of Canada, before the concession by the Imperial 
 authorities of a liberal system of popular government, the province 
 of Quebec then known as Lower Canada was torn asunder by 
 political conflicts, and commerce and industry were constantly para- 
 lyzed. Lord Durham who was sent out to restore order to the 
 distracted country after the Rebellion of 1837-8, confessed in his 
 Report that he "found two nations waving in the bosom of a 
 "single State; a struggle not of principles but of races". Since 
 those unhappy times the country has enjoyed a long period of 
 comparative freedom from dangerous contests between the two 
 great national elements of the population. At intervals certainly 
 there have been political crises, and the country has been much 
 agitated. In 1849 there was an explosion of British sentiment, 
 which culminated in the burning of the Parliament House at 
 Montreal, in consequence of the payment of French Canadians for 
 losses sustained by them during the Rebellion. 
 
 Much political excitement also existed up to 1865 on account 
 of the claims of the Western or English province, for additional 
 representation in proportion to its population, then considerably 
 greater than that of the T^astern or French section; but these 
 difficulties were peaceably settled by the Federal Union under 
 which each province has control of the administration of its local 
 affairs, and a representation in Parliament which gives full consi- 
 deration to population. In the absence of race conflicts, and in 
 the presence of the new spirit of energy and enterprise brought 
 in^o every sphere of political and commercial life by the Confede- 
 ration, Canada has prospered and her people have been hitherto 
 happy and contented. To the confederation the French Canadians 
 have always given an unqualified adhesion inasmuch as it affords 
 every necessary protection to their peculiar interests. It has prac- 
 tically made of Quebec a French province and at the same time 
 enabled its representatives in the Dominion Parliament to exercise 
 a large, sometimes a controlling influence, over the administration 
 ot the day. Under no other system of government would it be 
 possible for them to possess the same weight they do now in the 
 federal councils. Unfortunately sometimes for the best interests of 
 that province, the people exhibit the impulsive, excitable tempera- 
 ment which is the natural heritage of a French race. They are 
 at times very susceptible to declamatory appeals not always founded 
 on grounds of sense or justice- If it were possible to believe that 
 
 /. 
 
^ 
 
 202 
 
 ii 
 
 a 
 
 intelligence and reason could be ever finally lost in a storm of 
 passion, it would be unfortunate for Canada and we might well 
 despair of her future. The true interests of French Canada lies, 
 not in keeping aloof from, but in identifying itself with all other 
 nationalities for the security and peace of the whole country, 
 irrespective of provincial boundaries or race considerations. The 
 success of confederation up to the present has been based on this 
 spirit of Canadian unity. 
 
 Those who have visited the interesting village of St. Anne's at 
 the junction of the rivers Ottawa and St. Lawrence — a spot made 
 famous by the poet Moore — may have noticed an interesting natural 
 phenomenon. The waters of the Ottawa are distinctly blue whilst 
 those of the St. Lawrence are perfectly green. Where these rivers 
 join, we can easily distinguish their respective hues for some dis- 
 tance, but at last these dififerences disappear and the Otta va and 
 St. Lawrence form one magnificent stream bearing on its bosom 
 the traffic and wealth of half a continent. So it should be with the 
 French and British peoples of Canada. They may to a certain 
 point preserve their national characteristics, but whenever it beco- 
 mes a question involving the peace, happiness and unity of the 
 Dominion, let-~us hope that all dififerences of race wHl disappear, 
 and the French Canadian will be found working energetically and 
 harmoniously with the English Canadian in all matters afifecting the 
 best interests of the Confederation which owes its origin to their 
 
 common efiforts.^ ] 
 
 ! ( 
 
 /louse of Cmrimons, Oitaiva, ■ 
 
 1st December 1885. \ 
 
 
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