HOW THEY ENCOURAGE EMIGRATION IN CANADA.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XIII, Issue 974, 28 October 1856, Page 2

HOW THEY ENCOURAGE EMIGRATION IN CANADA.

To the Editor of the Southern Croat. > Sir,— Having received a voluminous supply of Canadian papers by the last mail, I have had the pleasure of placing the same on the table of the Young Men's "Christian Association of this City. Beliering, however, that your are not "well up" in the sayings and doings of the American section of the British Empire, wiu you permit me to detail a few of the most marked facts that »re presented by them. One ot the most prominent features discussed by thobe papers, is the best means of increasing the tide of emigration to Canada. The Canadian government and Canadian people are alike convinced, that the unexamph d prosperity of their country is mainly dependent upon he rapid increase of its inhabitants. Hence every effort is made to induce emigrants to flock to tnei * shores, and every reisonable ipeans employed to find, them a home, and keep them at settlers,

In the first place agents are employed in England and elsewhere to lecture upon the advantage of emigration Enormous daguerreotype Tiews of all the remarkablt places in the country, are taken and sent to England, to attract the attention of the public. Large sums of money are offered, as prizes, for the best written pamphlets on Canada; cren his Excellency, Lord Elgin, does not disdain the task ; in these pamphlets the advantages presented to the capitalist and labourer are alike set forth in glowing colours ; they show the fortunes that have been made by industrious settlers ; they tell of the hundreds of men, paupers in every sense of the word but in the indomitable spirit with which they made war upon the wilderness, who are now ■worth" thouiands of dollars, simply by the labour of their own hands and the rapid increase of the population. If he had been ever so industrious, but for this rapid increase of population around him, the isolated settler wonld have had no market for his produceshut up alone in the inte-minable forest he could make hut little progress ;— such, I see, is too often the case in New Zealand. In Canada, after the first man takes up his location, three or four years commonly suffice to make sV settled country of 'his vicinity ; the new comen^furnish a ready market for all his superfluous Coductions ; they also insure him an abundance of bor in exchange for these superfluities. Many a poor loan, w^io has. purchased his farm at a credit of ten or fifteen yean, works for him to obtain provisions until he has cleared sufficient of his own land to supply the wants of his family. It so happens that every increase of the population augments his wealth, and increases the importance of his neighbourhood. In the backwoods the same necessities still exist, and the same advantages are presented, but in a vastly increased ratio. Hence every effort is made to increase the number of emigrants,' -and these amount to nearly one hundred thousand annually, an enormous element of rapid progress. By these means Canada is quickly settled, notwithstanding vhe possesses a disperately severe, and untractable clnnatg, and' is covered with ' forest of such density that it requires no ordinary labour to clear it. Still she goes a head ; while New Zealand, with abundance of 1 land that might be cleared, almost without labour, and possessed of one of the most equable and delicious climates under the sun, languishes for want of settlers, nay, is fast going to ruin, because no reasonable encouragement is given to emigration. Freely offer to every poor industrious man a home, and the tide of emigration will soon return to New Zealand, bringing wealth and prosperity in its train. With a rapid increase of population, equal nearly to 100,000 a year, the Province of Canada West, is filling up with unexampled expedition. All the available land situated to the North of the St. Lawrence, and in the peninsula formed by the junction of the grea t Lakes is already taken up. Without doubt these portions, for the most part placed on the Silurean andCambrian deposits, (speak ing geologically) are the garden of the North American continent — they have already become the granary of Britain, and, when fully developed, will easily produce breadstuff* sufficient to supply her 30,000,000 of people. The great increase of the population now taking place in Canada, demands extreme exertions on the part of the Government, to open up and survey land fast enough to satisfy the demand of the masses now seeking a home in British North America. Every nerve is strained to accommodate them. Science is enlisted in the cause, and no niggard hand withholds the means required in its pursuit ; hence a geological survey has progressed for years. If any one will take a map of British America and contemplate the size of that vast region, they will see that the ■'occupied land follows the line of the St. Lawrence river and the Lakes. This remarkably fertile region is surrounded on the South-east by lake Ontario, on the South •by lake Erie, and on the West by lake Huron and the Detroit rivet The line of the British possession now takes a course far to the North, some four or five degrees - hence the' climate will be far more rigorous than that of "Ihe country bordering on lake Erie ; still it is by no means uninhabitable from this cause, as may be shown by the great ana thriving settlements on the banks of the Ottawa river, stretching far to the Northward, even to lake Tamiskamang, the source of that river being in the 48th degree of North latitude. Besides this disadvantage of climate, another difficulty presents itself- in the character of the country ; for the land, far from being of that even and fertile character which always marks the Silurean deposits in all parts of the world, i* here a granitic formation. The country, under these circumstances, for the most part consists of rounded granite hills . and: elevations, with numerous valleys, in the intervals. In such case the up-lands are generally covered with comparatively little soil, and the trees and herbage are small and stunted ; but where sufficient soil does exist, disintegrated granite is peculiarly fertile, so that when washed into the valleys and spread out as an alluvial deposit, the soil becomes remarkably fitted for agricultural purposes. This granitic region extends from the Eastern shores of L«ke Huron to far beyond Lake Superior, corrtituting the height of land between the waters of the St. Lawrence, which fall into the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Eastward, and the waters of the Saskdchawan river and lake Winnepeg, that empty themselves into Hudson Bay, a distance of some thousand miles to tht Westward. This vast and unpropitious region is the next in order of settlement in British North America. Doubtless all its available points will, in a few years, be teaming with a large and industrious population. Under any circumstances, the settlements must necessarily he for more isolated in character than they have heretofore been, as the proportions of the good and available land must be more distant Without doubt these are vast difficulties, but the noble spirit of enterprise manifested by our Canadian brethren, aided by the light of science, will soon overcome them. Oh that we could have as good hopes for New Zealand rnterprize. To remedy these disadvantages, the Canadian Government have made a geological survey of the country. This arduous undertaking was entrusted to a Canadian, Mr. Wm. Logan, and carried on by money voted by the Canadian Parliament ; and we see by the last papers that «o-well has he performed the task, that Her Majesty has conferred the honour of kighthood on Sir William, and the Canadian House of Assembly have voted £5000 more to continue the survey. i Already the geological survey has been a means of discovering great deposits of the most valuable ores. 'In this neighbourhood, copper, silver, and iron abound, while innumerable forests of white and red pine are to be found in it These facts alone offer sufficient inducement for the settlement of a large industrial population ; and they will soon form a market for the agricultural productions of the valleys. So far so good ; but unless the Government displayed some energy in directing the particular settlements, the progress would be slow, and possibly not judicious ; hence, a Mr. Salter has been sent to this region, to make a survey of the country, and report upon the best points at which to commence new settlements. He decided that sixty new townships (as they are called), of an area of thirty-six miles square, might immediately be surveyed and given out for actual settlement, at various points along the coasts of Lake Huron and Lake Superior. We are fully convinced that if similar steps were taken in New Zealand, settlements might be formed, with marked advantage, all along the coast, benefical alike to the white man and the Maori. Indeed, we have reason to believe that the Maories themselves would be ready to adopt this very plan, so obvious are its results ; (to give away land for actual settlement, to enable them to sell other portions at a high price) ; were it not for the obstructive influence and absurd laws of the New Zealand Constitution. The communication with these settlements might be readily maintained, at all periods of the year, by means of an open sea ; but such cannot be the case upon the shores .of the Huron and Superior, as they are frozen up the six months of winter. Besides which, the 'formation of .-such: settlements along the Coast of New Zealand, if surveyed and given away, would so enhance the value of the land in the neighbourhood that it might readily be sold at a high price ; but unless something of the sort is done, will lie idle for generations yet to come. Mr. Salter recommends the surveys of these new townships to be made after the following manner, and as I think the plan particularly applicable to isolated settlements in New Zealand, I have extracted it from his report to the Canadian Goverment :— 11 First, with,regard to the method of surrey, I would respectfully recommend the plan adopted in the United Stat s. "The principal recommendation of this system is, I think, its simplicity, and to that portion of our country under consideration, I consider it peculiarly applicable. "In commencing the survey of a new tract of country, two principal lines are run from such points as may be deemed the most convenient ; the one called • The Principal Meridian' is due North and South, and the other at right angles to it, or East and West, called the ' The Base Line.' " Correction lines, parallel to the base, are run at the end of every ten townships, and form bases for all townships north of them. This is done to correct the error which would arise from the convergency of meridians. All these lines are ruu astronomically, and careful observations are taken at the end of every mile, oftener if necessary, to detect or prevent error. "Upon the principal meridian, at the end of every mile, section corners are established, and at every sixth mile, a township corner. From these corners, on the base line, range lines are run parallel to the principal meridian, on which section and quarter section corners are established, and at the end of the sixth mile a temporary pott is set, but at the end of the sixth mile on' the most easterly range line of the tract to be surveyed, a township corner is established. From this corner a

line is run due West to intersect the temporary posts set on the range lines previously run, and exactly in the intersection of the range lines ; whether it be at the temporary pbsta or not, the corners of the several town•hips tfre established. "Each township is then divided into thirty-six sec tions, each containing six hundred and forty acres, which are Again subdivided into quarter sections, or one hundred and sixty acres. Any further sub- division required, is made at the expense of the purchaser or proprietor. " No allowance is made for roads in the survey, but they are established by Municipal law. Where practicable, the township and section lines are always taken for the public roads ; and should there be natural obstructions which would render a divergency from these lines necessary, it is done by the Municipality ; the proprietors of the property through which such road may be formed, other than the General Government, claiming damages irom the Municipality, provided they can prove that the injury done their property is greater than the benefit they derive from the construction of such road." Besides this extreme anxiety to find room for the emigrants in Canada, the papers t<re canvassing the iniquity of allowing the Northwest Company to monopolize all the fine country beyond Lake Superior, keeping great and fertile region simply as a hunting grouAd to obtain furs. Petitions have been presented to the Canadian Parliament, and it appears likely that, bpforfe long, this fine and extensive prairie country, extending from Lake Superior to the Roctcy Mountains — a distance of nearly one thousand miles — will be opened for settlement. At present, it is a closed country to any but the attaches, of the Hudson's Bay Company ; a land of darkness,— as it is called,— only equalled in intensity by the interior of New Zealand : peculiarly fit for settlement, but not likely soon to be inhabited- Let us hope that the Government and people of [Zealand will soon awake from their,Jeth«rgy. , Rest assured, that where there is a will there is a way to make this fertile New Zealand land quickly teem with a Christian population ; and it is a culpable sin not to adopt it. What a feather it would prove in the cap of our good Governor if it could be said, in after times, that under his patronage New Zealand made her first great step in the right direction ; that a rapidly increasing population, with its industry and wealth, date from the rule of Col. T. G. Browne. Fearing that I am engrossing too much of your valuable space, I shall only further remark, that the Canadian Parliament have formally invited Her Majesty to pay that part of her dominions a usit ; that a Church of England Synod has been held in Toronto ,- that the petrified bodies of two Indians have been found in a railway cutting, and have excited great curiosity among the learned. I remain, Sir, Your obedient servant, S. J. Stratford. Auckland, 24th October, 1856. | j """" '

i To the Editor of the Southern Cross. Dear Sir,— Observing in Saturday's ' New Zealander' a few editorial remarks on my letter to the Electors, with which I do not altogether agree, I pray you will permit irie to reply to them briefly. In the first place he {i.e. the edjfor) says I devote five paragraphs to the laudation of Mr.tiilfillan. Now. Sir, this is, to call' it by no worse name, " a mistake," — for I only made use of five sentences to express my opinion of that gentleman, and his fitness for the office of Superintendent. He next says that Mr. Gilfillan's nationality is nationally proclaimed. But this, again, is a manifest absurdity ; for how can anything be nationally, proclaimed that is not proclaimed by or with the consent of a whole nation ? He then makes use of the following false argument, viz. : — *• That a certain thing being affirmed of one country is as much as to say that certain opposite things are intended to be affirmed of other countries " It is needless to say that this worthless argument will not stand the test of criticism. The writer's object in using it will be evident to, and meet with the disapprobation of, every one who reads it. He next says that Mr. Gilfillan's friends resort "to the old clannish rallying cry." H.e says well, for there are few sounds more pleasant to a Briton than " Freedom, Honour, and Duty." He omitted, however, to add that their aim and their motto still is •* Excelsior." I am, dear Sir, Yours respectfully, 1 A Conscientious Elector.