OUR CANADIAN LETTER,

Otago Witness, Issue 2720, 2 May 1906, Page 11

OUR CANADIAN LETTER,

♦ (Fkok Ou* Owh Corbesfondent.) OTTAWA, February 28. The unusually mild character of the Winter has' been sustained during the pa&t month. .There were good grounds for the expectation that we should feel something of familiar severity as the month of January was disappearing; but the experience lasted for but three or four days. •Within 24 hours, however, there was a fall in the temperature of 60deg — from 40 above to 18 below zero. Then mild weather followed, every vestige of sleighing was thawed away, and rains fell instead of the accustomed snow. Our people for many reasons ptefer clear and cold weather; but, apart from considerations of taste and comfort, it will be a serious matter for our lumbering industries unless considerable snow falls between now and the break-up at the end of March. In a northern country everything is thrown out of gear by the absence of northern conditions. The importance of our forest interests may be gathered from the fact that for seven months of the current fiscal year our exports of that class agregatcd £+,600,000, showing large gains over the came period last year. Without genuine winter conditions this industry will be imperilled." The volume of snow provides the water in the spring ,by means of which the logs are carried a.ong on turbulent streams into the rivers. Thence they are borne in many instances hundreds of miles to the sawmills, where they are cut up into merchantable form. As civilisation is pushed back into the wilderness we are losing the picturesque novelty of the lumber camps of long ago, which had their own trad tions, -their own laws, their peculiar amusements, their romances, and their tragedies. The most distant camp nowadays cannot be many miles from a railway, although far from the mills. At this moment there are many thousands of hardy fellows in the forest awaiting the spring to bring them back to their homes. The lumber industry, however, has been no less prosperous than other branches of our foreign trade. For the seven months referred to there was a betterment of £9,000,000 as compared with last year. That is equal to the best showing ever made in' a fojll year, and indicates the surprising advances being scored by the Dominion. At this _ rate we shall pass well beyond the £100,000,000 mark by June 20 next, and realise a gain of considerably more than 100 per cent, within a decade. The principal increase for the current year has been in exports, which have exceeded the imports by a. substantial margin. We may not take any stock in the balance 'of trade view, but we like -to see it in our favour, all the same. It ,is probable that higher values account- for the main result a 6 much as volume of trade within the past year or - two. - We are certainly getting good prices in foreign markets, particularly for our farm products, aud~~.it is impossible to say "how long these will keep ..up. A large factor in our prospects is the settlement of the Western provinces. Just now the outlook for a large immigration is most encouraging." Shiploads of settlers have already arrived, many more are on the way, and the movement for the year must be regarded as having mere'y begun. The homestead entries in the west for . January were muoh the largest on recordj and it is apparent that a scramble for desirable land will probably soon ensue. The railways hold upwards of 30 milfion acres, and the Dominion has probably 70 millions more to give away. The railway lands are selling at 10s to £3 per acre, wJiich prices will inevitably be increased as settlement takes place. . Nevertheless, there is room in those western provinces for a population of many millions. On this capacity rests our hope for the future. Already we have had to adjust our nationalplans to a new and -vastly enlarg-ed scale. We have more territory suitable for settlement than is to be found in the "Western States, and it is not unnatural that we should our possibilities by what has been accomplished across the ■border. As an integral part of the Empire we shall be able to demonstrate our colonial strength with effective force when we have a self-contained population of 20 millions, and a production of surplus foodstuffs sufficient to meet the full demands of the United Kingdom. If we do not realise this within two fcore of years we at least believe we shall, and in the meantime like to talk »l>ou.t it. W-i are n*ak:in^ satisfactory progress toward that end. and, at the same time, are grappling intelligently and heroically with the problems created by our rapid expansion. We mean to borrow from and be helped by the experience of the other colonies in nation building. In this connection it is worths' of note that we are exchanging military officers this yeer with India and Australia. Our commercial agents are pushing tHeir efforts in many directions, and are sending- Home valuable and helpful reports. If there is anything in your methods in New Zealand which is likely to be of assistance to us, we are taking steps- to find it out, and if there aie any Canadian products we can 6ell you incidentally, so_much the better. Trade is whet we are looking for, and we are not dependent upon immediate profits for the maintenance of our efforts. On the other hand, our growing markets are open to the people of other countries, fellowcolonists preferred. See to it that New Zealand gets a fair share. At opposite «ides of the Dominion a fight for the rights of women has taken place during the month. In a previous letter reference was made to the capricious way in which the Supreme Court of New Bruswick refused to permit Mi«s Mabel French to practice at the bar. Tho narrow view of these judges was not allowed to prevail for any serious length of time : for a week or so ago the legislature of the province passed an act giving- to women all the freedom that might be desired with respect to the learned professions. Out in British Columbia, however, a feebler spirit of chivalry seems to prevail, for a bill, aiming to confer on the women of the province the rig-lit to vote was rejected. Public sentiment in Canada does not appear to be ripe for the consideiation of this question, and the situation is apparently controlled by a general feeling of apathy. Our women are themselves either indifferent or opposed to larger political responsibilities being cast "upon them. Women are funny creatures, anyway. The other day a rather prepossessing young Swedish girl was convicted in the Montreal Police Court of having stolen some wearing apparel from her mistress. As sentence

was about to be passed a young man named Brown, a respectable and industrious mechanic, stepped forward a-nd offered to pay any fine that might be imposed.

" Are you in love with the young woman " asked the magistrate. " I am smitten to the very heart with her at first sight, and I do not want to see her go to prison, ' was the quick reply. "Do you really love the girl?" persisted the magistrate. " I love her with all my heart,"' was the answer.

"Would you marry the young lady?" ' " I would marry her on "the spot, if you would liberate her."

The young woman was willing, and after an adjournment of a few hours she and the smitten young Canadian were solemnly married in the courtroom.

Less satisfactory, but tinged with the same colour of romance, was a wedding which took place about the same time in connection with Police Court proceedings at Winnipeg. The parties were Russians, and under circumstances connected with the old, old story of imprudent love, Demytro Tchyo'if was given a. chance to marry Marie Wowko or go to gaol. He selected marriage. Under the watchful eye of a detective a marriage license was secured, and the couple adjourned to the Church of St. Nicholas. Here, according to the ancient custom, both the contracting parties were asked if they were satisfied with their choice. This question is always asked at the church door, and both parties replied in the affirmative. The marriage was then solemnised, and the twain pronounced man and wife. While the woman^on her knees was offering up prayers Demytro did some more hard thinking. He nad obeyed the mandates of the courts, and feared them no more, therefore he made a bold bid for freedom, and rushed from the church at top speed, and made good his escape. Both these incidents give point to the social conditions iust now prevailing in the weotern pro\mce?. Men are naturally and instinctively the pion r ers of a new land, and women follow slowly. Thus it comes about that there is a lamentable dearth of marriageable young women in the recently -settled districts. Ihis situation is illustrated by the letter of a pastor in the Edmonton countiy, in .which he says: —

"The Grand Trunk Pacific survey runs through our township, bringing favourable prospects for the future. At present nothing is lacking but a carload of young ladies, and if there should also be a few widows among them we are in a. position to plaoo such." The Sahation Army is trying to meet this need, but, unfortunately, the supply is not equal to the demand. This situation is all the more regrettable when it is realised that in the East there are tens of thousands of eligible young women, whose piosjjects of wedlock are discounted by a steadily declining marriage rate.

The lot of those younc women who elect teaching as a means of livelihood is, however, improving. In rural districts they are still poorly mid ; but this is offset by the fact that the cost of living is low, and the calls upon the teachers' means few and inexpensive. In cities and towns there is a general movement toward better salaries. In Toronto, for example, the minimum salary of a lady teacher has been fixed at £80, with annual increases of £10 until she reaches a maximum of £170. Male teachers receive a minimum of £140, and pass up to £200; while principals may reach a maximum of £400. Inspectors are even much better paid, and in some instances attain to £800. Of course in farming districts the conditions are not so favourable, although the relative view should not be lost sight of. Speaking of women, we have at least one heroine filling a large place in public admiration just now. In connection with the wreck of the American steamer Valencia off the eoa't of British Columbia last month, which resulted in the loss of 133 lives under circumstances of the most tragic and distres-iug character, Mrs Patterson displayed an unselfish devotion to duty which places her name for ever on the scroll ->f honour. She was the telegraph operator at the nearest port, and wishing to do all in her power *to help the lifetaving measures being undertaken — for there were scores adrift on rafts, and many more huddled on desolate shore points, — she remained on duty for seventy hours without cessation. This service included brave and strenuous work on the beach as well as at the key. She will be rewarded by Government — as far as such conduct can be rewarded.

In connection with this wreck, a heartbreaking" incident Has just come to lig-Wt It appears that the two handsome daughters of Mr H. L. Rowland— Mabel Edith and Luler May, — of Los Angelos, together with Roy Hazard and Edward Hammond, all young people under 22 years of age, and children of well-to-do people, formed a double elopement party. Their destination Wis Vancouver, where they were to he married. They travelled under assumed names. No hint as to their whereabouts came to those in Los Angelos puzzling over their mysterious disappearance until Hazard's father received a letter early this month in which his dead son made full confession of the elopement plans, and stated that " by the time this reaches you we shall be on the Valencia and on our way to British Columbia." The letter was left by young Hazard with a friend at the San Francisco dock to be stamped and mailed. This friend forgot his commisiion, and the letter was not mailed till alter tre Valencia had crashed on the Vancouver Island rocks.

Owing to the political system under which our magistrate is appointed, we do not always have the law administered by men of technical qualification. Up in the Abittibi country, through which the new trans-continental railway will pass, the representative of a Montreal fur house was found with 775 beaver skins in his possession, contrary to the game laws of the province. The offender was taken before a magistrate, who reasoned that the possession of each skin was a separate offence. Iherefore, on Ihe basis of £4 per skin, he imposed a fine of £3100. This the culprit refused to pay. The alternative fixed by law being three months' imprisonment for each offence, this marvellous magistrate then solemnly sentenced the guilty party to 185 years in gaol ! When the facts were known in Montreal an appeal to the Supreme Court was heard, and the sentence was reduced to a fine of £4.

This story from the backwoods brings to mind the fact that in the very neighbourhood where this magistrate imposed his 185 rears' sentence, a plague of wolves is being experienced this year. The animals are so numerous that an Indian cannot be got to travel after dark. Recently a redman was kept in a tree all night by a

pack of wolves. The Government pays a bounty of £3 for every wolfskin brought in, but this does not seem to improve the situation. The extraordinary number of wolves is said to be the result of deer being unusually plentiful.

A serious situation developed in the city of Belleville, Ontario, two weeks ago. A gas main was discovered t9 be leaking 20,000 cubic feet per day into the sjwer, and for some time the ieak could not be located. In the meantime the citizens were greatly alaimed. The ignition and explosion of such a volume of gas would be sufficient to cause immense damage. After days of searching the point of escape was revealed, although not until several <>f th^s searchers had all but lost their lives by suffocation.

A sensational robbery took place in Vancouver on the 10th of the month. During a heavy fog a thief threw a brick through a jeweller's window, snatched up £4000 worth of diamonds and other gems, and made off. He was seen by a number of pedestrians, but they were so surprised by the audacity of the act that the man was swallowed up by the fog 'Before they made any attempt to interfere. No one has thus far been arrested, and it would appear that the daring thief has got safely away.

A farmer named Kelly, living near Buckingham, in the Province of Quebec, has been committed to stand his trial for causing the death by cruelty and neglect of a lad placed in his care by the Catholic Immigration Society. The whole story is one of base inhumanity. Happily, such instances are rare in a country where hun-

dreds of immigrant boys and girls are annually given homes among our farmers

The abounding prosperity of the Dominion has led to the rapid multiplication of joint stock companies. The fees for incorporation papers, as issued by the department of the Secretary *of State, amounted to £1000 10 years ago. Last year they reached £24,000, or more than enough to pay all the fixed expenses of the entire department.

The campaign against patent med-icines was given a fillip by the Governor-General in a recent speech at Montreal. Earl Grey said that he had sent some of these noetrums to a chemist — notably Peruna, — and the analysis revealed 40 per cent, of proof spirits as the -principal ingredient. His Excellency spoke strongly and warningly on the subject.

Tenders for upwards of 1000 miles of the new trans-continental railway have been called, and work will be proceeded with at once.

Queensland wants our seed wheat. An order for 500 bushels was recently received, and will be filled by the selection of the beat varieties grown in Manitoba. It will be interesting to observe how our grains behave in a tropical country. Insanity is on the increase in. Ontario. The province now has 6213 patients in asylums, showing an increase of 632 for the > year. There were actually 1130 admissions in 1905, which is at once a painful and startling fact. A vigorous, but useless, discussion has been provoked by the recent evangelistic j meetings of the Rev. Dr Torrey in Toronto. |

Dr Torrey preached a material hell and £ personal devil. Other clergymen have differed from his views.

Parliament meets the Bth inst. Next" year, owing to the changing of the fiscal year, the session will begin in November.