CANADIAN LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2686, 6 September 1905, Page 85

CANADIAN LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY.

•By Henbt J. Morgan and Lawrence J. Bttkveb. With 28 Illustrations. London: George Newnes (Limited). 3s 6d. (Rbvmwkd bt Dinoknis.) This book is one of a series designed to oonvey accurate, comprehensive, and readable impressions of life, not alone in the great colonial' outgrowths of the British Empire, but in all the «>urjtries of the •world. Just how~ many are published I have no means' of telling, but the wrapper advertisement list makes mention of all the great and small lands of importance in Europe except the British Isles. The Idea is, in fact, to furnish a, useful andi easily readable series of handy books dealing with the intellectual life of the various peoples, their sociaT divisions and distinctions, their manners and customs, wealth and poverty, their armies and systems of aiational defence, their industrial life, rural iife, lipine life, religious life, amusements, and loial' governments. ' The present' volum©* is to .trc followed! - hj : others upon India, Australia, and New Zealand. The, two' last-named should command : a good deal of interest here, especi- - ally in view of the fact that Mr, Seddon . las jusfc ,- imported a "literary gent" for tie purpose of writing up New Zealand. I avow ' that if he does as well by" his subject as the auuuois of "Canada" have done by theirs' he will have done well ; but he will have to /be very smart at bis work to do that much. „ It .is only natural, I suppose, that ihe enterprising publisher should select for such tasks as these writers likely to give good account ,of the more, attractive aspects of colonial life. A certain, amount of bias is justifiable in. this connection, akd it wilTbe admitted by 'those who, like myself, know both thatr the great colonies can, as' abiding places, give "points to tho Homelands. That ' statement applies, at least, to the average individual, and, most of us, I daresay, within that category. Those who are already in some degree conversant with the history of panada will, however, be the readiest to ; admit that, compared with the Great Dominion, ire have not in Australasia tike material from which" to construct a successful competitor with this compact and attractive irork. The authors are unknown to me, •unkEiawn 'to fame, 'perhaps, outside of Canada/lbut they are evidently very keenly an touch with tha subject matter of their ■ .joint epitome. They have had assistance in ..plenty-' from the best authorities updn • all r departments of Canadian "itational existence, past'- and 'present. ' A series of 28 , full-page -photo-engravings on art-paper t insets ,beautify and add artistic interest "to a' " feook that;-' is * exceedingly 'interesting in ' itself. It is not, of course, to be expected that all of its , chapters could prove of equal interest to the'meie reader. Those descriptive^ of the "land-, as] it is; and of the historical ' vicissitudes and ga-adiial evolution of "the New Dominion, the FrenchCafiadian," the Canadian woman, the Indians, etc., are replete with exceedingly fcright, instructive, and pleasantly readable matter. - Those which treat of political and judicial systems, of trade and commerce, religious thought, and ■so on, •though far from' dry asdust, are, necessarily, anore practical and less picturesque. The commingling of races in Canada has brought about some queer results. In other parts of the -Empire, where English, Scotch, and Irish predominate, other nationalities become absorbed, and all speak English. But in older Canada at- the present day somethuig'"mudh more' striking may be experienced. -Any traveller who visits the Canadian villages on the Lower St. Lawrence will find scores of men, bearing good old Scottish names, Mac-This and MacThat, who cannot speak a word of any language but French ! In a footnote it is mentioned that in prosecuting a censiis for the Presbyterian Church in Montreal, in November, 1904, the Rev. Dr Campbell found scores, of French families there with names fairly redolent of the heather, who spoke scarcely a_ -word of English. "It is somewhat startling," said the reverend gentleman in question, "to walk confidently np to the home of a Hugh Ross or a Donald M'Lellan, and find your first/ question met with an expressive shoulder-shrug, and an •"Excuse ! • Parlez vous Francais ?" '?he material resources of Canada are enormous— coal and iron in fabulous quantities, besides other minerals of value, gold included. Timber, in virgin forests covering thousands of square miles, enough to keepthe world going in lumber and paper pulp" for centuries to come. Above all. land ! Millions upon millions of acres of prairie and free from stumps and stones, ready for the plough, and giving a rich crop of wheat in immediate return. Not without reason do the Canadians claim that their land is the granary to be of the .(Empire, mayhap of the world. Already, frith but an infinitesimal portion of their -country under tillage, more wheat is handled annually at Winnipeg than at its American rivals, Chicago and Duluth. iWlien the great transportation schemes already in progress, and suggested, come to actual- operation, Canada will be on the highway towards becoming the premier Qiome of the British race. The idea that Canada •will -ultimately amalgamate with the United States is strongly discounted by the joint authors. •They have strong faith in the greatness of its future _as the central home of the British people. "You own a country," said Earl Grey, Governor-General of Canada, •recently, "greater in area than the United States : you possess vast stretches of a more fertile soil ; you enjoy a climate which produces a more vigorous race of men; you ihave no Black Problem to disturb you ; your lumber, your minerals, your fisheries, your water-power all give you exceptional advantages ; and I do not hesitate to say that if, in course of time, you do not give 4k© lead, to the United States i it will be

' entirely your own fault." Upon perusal I of this book one way well agree with the i patriotic Earl. If Canada fails to achieve greatness only Canadians will be to blame. j The things which constitute its great past "> and vigorous present, as well as those which forecast its splendid future, are well described in this bright little book. ;