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quences must result therefrom to
Great Britain herself, and especially
to her shipowners. We have at pre-
sent going on from this country, and
from Europe, viâ British ports, an
emigration which takes off upwards of
a thousand persons per day to people
the soil of the United States and Brit-
ish America, yet of this vast number
a mere fraction only proceed direct
in British ships to British American
ports. We have shown above that a
large portion of our shipping enters
those ports in ballast, thus enhancing
the cost of their homeward cargoes of
timber, bread-stuffs, and other pro-
duce. By-and-by the advantages
afforded by the St Lawrence route,
not only to Canada, but also to the
western territory of the United States,
will become more extensively appre
ciated; and the British and colonial
shipowner will be enabled to compete
successfully in a trade from which the
Americans, during the past ten years,
have been profiting extensively, and
almost exclusively. The diversion of
the passenger-carrying traffic to Brit-
ish American ports will at the same
time exercise an important influence
in improving the model and build of
our colonial ships. A considerable
improvement has been effected in this
direction within the past few years,
and especially since emigration has in-
creased so rapidly to the gold districts of
Australia. The builders in the ports of
St John, N.B., and Quebec have of late
been producing ships whose perform-
ances at sea have not been surpassed
by those either of the mother country
or of the United States, which pride
themselves upon the qualities of their
clipper vessels. Some of the fastest
vessels in our Australian merchant
fleet are of colonial build; and this
branch of industry promises to become
one in which a far greater amount of
labour and capital will be employed,
than was the case when the colonial
builders studied only to secure great
carrying capacity at the lowest possible
cost of construction.

We must, however, withdraw our observation now from Upper Canada, and direct it to what are commonly called the Lower Provinces of British America, the recent development of which has been very rapid, and which afford most profitable fields for the ex

ercise of British enterprise and energy. And in noticing these we shall glance first at the province of New Brunswick. With respect to this province, the following remarks are contained in a Report recently made by a Railway Commission to the British Legisla

ture:

"Of the climate, soil, and capabilities of New Brunswick, it is impossible to speak too highly. There is not a country in the world so beautifully wooded and watered. An inspection of the map will show that there is scarcely a section of it without its streams, from the running brook to the navigable river. Two-thirds of its boundary are washed by the sea; the remainder is embraced by the large rivers, the St John and the Restigouche. The beauty and richness of scenery of this latter river and its branches are rarely surpassed by anything on this continent.

"The lakes of New Brunswick are numerous and most beautiful; the surface is undulating-hill and dale, varying up to mountain and valley. It is everywhere, except a few peaks of the highest mountains, covered with a dense forest of the finest growth. The country can everywhere be penetrated by its streams. In some parts of the interior, by a portage of three or four miles only, a canoe can float away either to the Bay of Chaleur or the Gulf of St Lawrence, or down to St John's and the Bay of Fundy. Its agricultural capabilities and climate are described by Bouchette, Martin, and other authors. The country is by them-and most deservedly so-highly praised. For any great plan of emigration or colonisation there is not another British colony which presents such a favourable field for trial as

New Brunswick. On the surface is an abundant stock of the finest timber, which, in the markets of England, realises large sums annually, and affords an unlimited supply of fuel to the settler. If the forests should ever become exhausted, there are the coal-fields underneath."

The growth of the province in cultivation and population, although it falls much short of that of Upper Canada, has been very rapid for a country whose soil has to be cleared by the axe. In 1840, the quantity of land improved and under cultivation was 426,611 acres. In 1851, the quantity was 643,954 acres, showing an increase of 50 per cent. The population, in 1834, was 119,477; in 1840, 156,162; and in 1851, 193,800, although a portion of territory, con

taining, in 1840, 2162 souls' had been ceded to the United States by the Ashburton Treaty. These figures, however, form a very imperfect basis for estimating the probable future growth of the province. The extension of the railway system to New Brunswick is only a question of time; and when this is done, the route both to Upper and Lower Canada by the port of St John in the Bay of Fundy must become a favourite one. The harbour of St John's is described as spacious, with sufficient depth of water for vessels of the largest class, with a tide-fall of from twenty-one to twenty-five feet, which effectually prevents its being frozen over or impeded by ice during the winter. When connected by railway with the Canadian and United States lines, and with the navigation of the great lakes, we shall see a much larger amount of tonnage entering New Brunswick direct from British ports,

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with cargo, than at present; and the means will thus be provided for diverting to the province a larger portion of the tide of emigration from this country and from Europe. As an illustration of the existing state of things, we may state that, whereas out of 489,150 tons of shipping, the total entered at St John's in 1851, only 113,665 tons went direct from Great Britain, the remaining portion being driven to take outward cargoes to the West Indies, the States, and other countries, previously to going to that port for cargo. The clearances direct to British ports were in the same year 347,757 tons, out of a total of 538,528 tons. To show the importance to this country of the development of the great resources possessed by New Brunswick, we give the following statement of the quantities and values of the timber floated down the river St John in,

the season of 1852:

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Pine boards,

Cedar and pine shingles, Clapboards,

Total value,

The total imports of New Brunswick were, in 1849, 3,467,835 dollars, and in 1850, 4,077,655 dollars. Of these amounts the colony took from Great Britain direct, in 1849, 1,507,340 dollars, and in 1850, 1,988,195 dollars. The exports were, to all countries, in 1849, 3,007,310, and in 1850, 3,290,090 dollars. To the amount of exports, however, we have to add the value of the ships built in the colony, and sold principally in Great Britain. This branch of business is largely increasing in the province, the St John's builders, especially, having recently furnished us with some of our finest clipper ships, and now possessing a deservedly high reputation. More attention is being paid to the finish of their productions than formerly; whilst the excellent timber which they

1,945,000 dollars.

Or, £405,208 sterling.

possess enables them to secure superior strength and durability. The following was the number and tonnage of ships built in the province in 1851 :St John's, 60 ships, 28,628 tons. Miramichi, St Andrew's,

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Total, 87 ships, 34,350 tons. Being an average of nearly 400 tons to each vessel.

There is no portion of our North American colonies, as we have already stated, which affords a finer field for the British emigrant than New Brunswick, unless, perhaps, we except the valley of the river Ottawa in Lower Canada. To the sturdy labourer, not possessed of capital, it offers a home and an independent settlement as a landholder in return

* A species of larch much valued for ship-building both in the colonies and the United States. Ships built of this wood rate first-class for seven years, whilst those built of spruce or pine are only first-class for four years.

for his labour. The best woodmen are found to be the Irish. After a year or two of location in this or any other portion of North America, the native of Ireland is found to be a most valuable settler. Change of diet increases his physical powers; and change of scene and occupation transforms him into a totally different being from what he was whilst vegetating upon the soil of his birth. His bearing is more manly, and more worthy of his physical formation. He may cling to his Roman Catholicism, but he is no longer the bigoted slave of his religious priesthood. Parties who have visited British America report emphatically upon the change in the Celtic character. It cannot be conceived that the Scotsman is inferior to the Irishman in adaptation to the business of a backwoodsman. He is generally found, however, to betake himself at once, on arrival, to purely agricultural pursuits. The great fishing-stations of New Brunswick are located on the islands of Grand Manan, Campobello, and West Isles, in St John's harbour, and in Cumberland Bay. On these stations an aggregate of five hundred vessels are found fishing during the season; and there are reared in the pursuit some of the hardiest seamen to be found in the world. Upon the subject of the fisheries, the Commissioners' Report, from which we have already quoted, remarks :

"The rivers, lakes, and sea-coast abound with fish. Along the bay of the Chaleur it is so abundant that the land smells of it. It is used as a manure; and while the olfactory senses of the traveller are offended by it on the land, he sees out at sea immense shoals darkening the surface of the water."

A rapidly-increasing internal trade is carried on by means of the rivers St John, Peticodiac, Richibucto, Miramichi, and some lesser streams, which are navigable for a considerable distance from their respective harbours on the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of St Lawrence. The St John, which is four hundred and fifty miles in length from its mouth, will accommodate ships of one hundred tons and large steamers for ninety miles, to Fredericton, the seat of government; and small steamers ply farther upward for

sixty miles, to the thriving town of Woodstock. On all these rivers there is an abundant fall of water, the value of which is incalulable to the colonist. Every few miles along their banks small communities are being formed, availing themselves of this power for manufacturing and other purposes. First in order generally rises a sawmill, to aid the operations of the lumberman. A flour, or, as it is termed in the colonies, a grist mill, rises next in order; then a store-wooden in general-a few dwellings, and, when a small body of population has been drawn together, a church or chapel and a school-house. From the census of 1851, we find that there had been established in this way throughout the entire province,

Establishments. Number. Hands employed.
Saw-mills,
Grist-mills,

584

4302

261

366

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The difficulties and hardships of a settler's life, the fear of which deters so many from trying their fortune in our colonies, are very materially smoothed down by the rapid formation of these small communities in every eligible site, wherever the forest has fallen before the woodman's axe, and the soil been brought under cultivation. The formation of railway routes from St John's and Miramichi, by the aid of which the tide of emigration may flow direct to the province, must, within a very few years, render New Brunswick one of the most flourishing colonies belonging to the British crown.

The province of Nova Scotia next claims our attention, by the rapidity of its recent growth in commerce and population, the latter of which is extensively Scottish, both in origin and in religion. In 1817 the population of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton amounted to 91,913. Its subsequent growth has been as follows:

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from 1838 to 1851. Excluding Cape Breton, whose population decreased during these years, Nova Scotia has added to its inhabitants nearly 40 per cent. Its principal religious denominations, from which we gather a fair idea of the origin of the population, were, in 1851,

Church of England,

Roman Catholics,
Presbyterians,-

Kirk of Scotland,
Presbytery of Nova Scotia,
Free Church of Scotland,

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Persons.

richest and most prolific portion of British North America. Nothing can ex

ceed their enduring fertility and fruitfulness, to which there seems no reasonable limit."

These marshes are said to contain an area of upwards of 40,000 acres, valued at about 60 dollars per acre. The improved land was about 800,000 36,482 acres in 1851. Nova Scotia, however, 69,634 although as yet behindhand in its agriculture, is rich in its fisheries, and 18,867 in the possession of minerals. In 1851, 28,767 the number of vessels employed in 25,280 the fisheries was 812, with a burthen Baptists, 42,243 of 43,333 tons, manned by 3681 men. Methodists, 23,596 The number of boats engaged was The progress of the province, both 5161, manned by 6713 men. The in population and in wealth, has been total value of the products of the fish materially aided by its chief port, and oil was estimated as greatly exHalifax, being adopted as a calling ceeding a million of dollars. The coalstation for the Cunard line of mail mines of the province are situated at steamers between this country and Pictou, on the Gulf of St Lawrence, the United States; and this progress in Cape Breton, and at the head of must be materially aided when the the Bay of Fundy. The main seam railway communications projected from at Pictou is thirty-three feet in thickits Atlantic seaboard, to join those ness, with twenty-four feet of good which are in progress from Lower coal, of which thirteen feet are fit for Canada to the westward, are carried exportation, and the remainder valuout. This must eventually be done, able for furnaces and forges. The as the splendid harbours which Nova principal exportation is to ports in Scotia possesses point her out as des- Massachusetts and Rhode Island, tined to provide a route for a large with a small quantity to New York. portion of the traffic, both passenger The quality is bituminous; and the and merchandise, between the Atlan- amount shipped to the United States tic and the Far West. It is stated alone was estimated, by the Hon. S. on reliable authority that, between Cunard, the general agent for the Halifax and Cape Canso, there are mines, to have been, in 1850, 62,954 twelve ports capable of receiving chaldrons of coarse, and 8518 chalships of the line, and fourteen others drons of slack. Cape Breton is also of sufficient depth for merchantmen. rich in minerals and in its fisheries. Unlike most other portions of British America, the province has not as yet developed a large amount of agricultural resources. Some of its high lands are rocky and sterile; but even these, when the surface is cleared away, are found to possess an undersoil of great fertility. The portion best adapted for cultivation is its north-eastern section, which is thus described:

"Its most valuable portion is upon the Bay of Fundy, where there are deep and extensive deposits of rich alluvial matter, thrown down by the action of the extraordinary tides of this extensive bay. These deposits have been reclaimed from the sea by means of dikes; and the 'diked marshes,' as they are termed, are the

It contains a noble sea-water lake—
the Bras d'Or-considered to have
been formed by some volcanic erup-
tion, upon which fisheries of every
kind are carried on with great suc-
cess. It has two entrances from the
sea, one of which is twenty-three
miles long, and the other twenty-
five miles. The shores of these en-
trances, we are informed, "are settled
by Scotch Highlanders and emigrants
from the Hebrides, who prosecute the
fisheries in boats with much success."
In several of the large bays con-
nected with the Bras d'Or, large
timber ships from England receive
their cargoes at a distance of forty to
The coal
sixty miles from the sea.
deposits of Cape Breton extend over

about 120 square miles, containing good working seams of bituminous coal of the best quality.

Nova Scotia, including Cape Breton, has also made great progress in the number and extent of its manufacturing establishments. In 1851 it possessed 1153 saw-mills, employing 1786 hands; 398 grist-mills, employing 437 hands; 237 tanneries, employing 374 hands; 81 weaving and carding shops, employing 119 hands, and containing 11,096 looms, with other manufacturing establishments of a miscellaneous character. The increase of its imports and exports has been very striking during the past few years, the total having been, in 1849, 7,728,925 dollars; 8,637,495 dollars in 1850; and 9,069,950 in 1851.

One of our most singular colonies, to a European, is the island colony of Newfoundland. Viewed from the sea, it has a wild and sterile appearance, covered with three different kinds of vegetation, the districts containing which are classed as "woods," "marshes," and "barrens." The trees of Newfoundland consist principally of the pine, spruce, fir, larch (or Hackmatac), and birch. Some lighter woods are also found in the colony. The timber is generally of small growth. In the valley and the low lands are found open tracts or marshes. These are very fertile. The "barrens" occupy the summits of the high lands, and produce little beyond shrubs and herbs of various kinds. One of the most remarkable features of the country is the abundance of lakes or ponds, which cover its surface, and are to be found even upon its highest hills. The island contains no river, and scarcely any streams. Its area is estimated at 23,040,000 acres.

The great staple of Newfoundland is its codfish, the pursuit of which is either undertaken in large vessels in the open sea, upon the Grand Bank of Newfoundland, or else in boats near the coast of the island. The Grand Bank is thus described in the report of Mr Andrews:

"The Grand Bank is the most extensive submarine elevation yet discovered. It is about six hundred miles in length, and in some places five degrees, or two hun

dred miles, in breadth. The soundings on it are from twenty-five to ninety-five fathoms. The bottom is generally covered with shell-fish. It is frequented by immense shoals of small fish, most of which serve as food for the cod. Where the bottom is principally of sand, and the depth of water about thirty fathoms, cod is found in greatest plenty; on a muddy bottom cod are not numerous. The best fishing-grounds on the Grand Bank are between latitudes 42° and 46° north."

The deep-sea fishery is prosecuted on this bank in vessels of considerable size; but the shore fishery is carried on by the humbler portion of the inhabitants, in boats, or vessels of a size corresponding with the means of those who use them. The shore fishery is the most productive, both of fish and oil. Herrings frequent the coasts in vast shoals, but are not regarded as worth taking, except for bait. The most profitable fishery is that for seals, which has been increasing during the past few years, and employs a considerable amount of tonnage. In 1851 there were engaged in the seal fishery throughout the island of Newfoundland 323 vessels,, with an aggregate tonnage of 29,545 tons, manned by 11,377 men. population, by the census of 1845, was 96,295 souls. On the 1st of January 1852, it was estimated at 125,000, of whom 30,000 were engaged directly in the fisheries. The produce of these, including oil, was estimated in 1851 at over £900,000 sterling. The coast of Labrador, north of Newfoundland, is also the resort of a large amount of tonnage and fishermen, chiefly from Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. The value of the quantity of seals and fish caught is variously estimated at from £600,000 to £800,000 sterling per annum.

The

When we come to regard British America as a whole, there are some considerations with respect to its future which forcibly strike the mind. Throughout the various provinces there was in 1851 a population of close upon two millions five hundred souls, owing allegiance to the British crown, extensive consumers of British products, and employing a large amount of British capital and shipping, which promises an amazing increase, when, in the course of a few

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