A GLIMPSE AT CANADA.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 3948, 13 January 1900, Page 3

A GLIMPSE AT CANADA.

>y A LAND OF CAREFULNESS AND “ l THRIFT, a __ 1 MR G. F. SMITH INTERVIEWED. 3y Mr G. F. Smith, who bas come back a from Canada to take charge of the ade* ministrative department ot the Harbour Hoard in the temporary absence of Mr W. Ferguson, the secretary—who is about to visit the Old Country on Harbour ■ )t Board business—was interviewed by a ?’ “ Times ” reporter yesterday. Mr Smith 1S is a Canadian by oirth, and he has had rs the advantage of residence for a consi- •° derable period in this colony. Being :e asked it he could furnish any comparative data as to the two countries likely to E interest New Zealand readers, he said ■” it was hard to draw comparisons between two countries in which conditions generally were so essentially different. y For instance, wnereas in New Zealand ° the land for settlement was in a large 2 degree restricted, in Canada it was vir- £ - tualiy unlimited; and wnereas in New ° Zealand the population was increasing gradually and almost imperceptibly, in Canada it was growing wuth leaps and 0 bounds, mainly because ot the encouragement given to it by the Canadian Goe vernment in the form ot assisted immi- “ gration. For instance, for the five years t preceding Mr Smith’s recent visit to 11 Ottawa the average of immigration nad been 37,UUU a year. A warm welcome is given to the people of all nations whose desire is to go upon v the land, a typical instance coming under i- Mr Smith’s observation being the arrival k at Ottawa of 3000 Doukhobours, repreil sentatives of a religious sect in Russia, il who had left that country because of the 1, persecution to which they had been suo- ., jected owing to then - abhorrence of mano slaughter and consequent reiusal to serve t in tne national army. The system in a vogue seems to be tnat a certain area ot - land is given to each bona fide settler, who a may atcerwards purchase an extended 0 area to suit his needs. People of all s lands are welcomed, whatever their lanf guage or creed, and the result is that s men, women and children from all parts b of Europe are Hocking in, and giving the ~ land of their adoption the benefit of e tneir industry and thrift. For the most r part they seem to cultivate their selecr tions to the best advantage, and it is s the almost universal experience that before many years have elapsed these thrift ty and hard-working people are able e to boast a little surplus which may be J devoted to the extension of their acre--1 age or the betterment of their surroundb iijejs. Of course, the material comfort of - ' tuese setuers is not so great as that of s those in a country like New Zealand. The a climate is severe—below zero in winter, . and extremely hot in midsummer —the . conditions of life are harder, luxuries are _ almost unknown, and owing to the vast areas dividing settlement tram settlement, and, often, neighbour from neighbour, numbers of the settlers may ’ be described as “ out of civilisation.” But notwithstanding the severities of 3 the climate, Mr Smith prefers it on the s whole to that of New Zealand —at any rate, it suits him better. Hot or cold, I it is ailry climate, and a healthy. There * is little or no dampness in the atmot sphere, and influenza and like complaints are little known. The heat is great, 7 but it is not moist and distressing. The ‘ cold does not drive damp into the bones, t for, when the snow falls it falls dry and ’ crisp. ’ Not only the imported foreigners, but ’ the people generally seem to do with c fewer luxuries'than are expected by the ’ labouring classes in the Australias. Al- ; most universally they live plainly, work * hard, and are very saving in their habits. 1 In sympatny the country, is run on eco- ’ nomical and self-reliant lines, and the ’ indebtedness per 'head is small. Yet ‘ there is a whole-souled spirit of public 5 and private enterprise which abhors makeshifts and insists on the well-doing 1 of all large undertakings. , This is ex-' s hibited by the large use which is being c made of natural agencies in the creation I and utilisation of electrical energy. The | country abounds in waterfalls and swift- ’ flowing rivers. Everywhere syndicates * are acquiring these water-rights. Even 3 in unoccupied tracts they are being purchased by combines, who are looking ahead to the time when' settlement will render them valuable. Or, if necessary, ; these enterprising people take steps to i induce population.' They build factories i on the verge of these waterfalls; they I run a line of railway to the factory; i they convey the raw material along the 3 railway and handle it at the waterfall r end. Population’springs up, the lands b are settled, and a thriving settlement Is r established, to the material advantage 3 of tli© promoters. . , They seem to be a long way in advance I of New Zealand in the matter of fire { prevention. Ottawa, which is about the - size of Wellington, but which has a great a many more brick buildings, has ten or , eleven fire stations, built on latest prins ciples, fitted with up-to-date plaut work--3 ed by permanent firemen. The streets i of Ottawa are being paved with asphalt, - and tae wheel-tire by-law is strictly eni forced. _ Tree-planting in the streets is ? done with a view to the most picturesque y effect; and the practice is almost unib versally in vogue of creating open lawns , in front of the houses, whjch is an ady mirabfe system of open spaces and a y great bar to the accumulation of dust, r The loyalty of the population is most r marked, and Mr Smith came across not s one solitary pro-Boer. On the coni’ trary, the war enthusiasm was universal,, i and cases were numerous of officers reI signing their commissions to take service - in the ranks.