A LETTER FROM CANADA.

Wanganui Chronicle, Issue 12848, 26 January 1912, Page 6

A LETTER FROM CANADA.

The following interesting letter, written by Mr R. "E; Carpenter, son of,the Into Mr J. H. M. Carpenter, of Remiiora, and nephew of Mr C. A. Ewen, formerly of the Bank of New Zealand at Wa-ip-awa, to a relative in Niapier. The letter is da-ted November 18th, and »is ivrittei'. from "Kerroberi-, Saskatchewan:— ■. ■*

"The winter set in here on November Bth with a snowstorm amd a temperature <>n'+he 10th of SOdeg. below zero. It was earlier than -usual, and much suffering was caused by farmers feeing caught unprepared. About one-third of tho Saskatchewan crops is out. in the stook not yet threshed, and if this weather koepa up it must stay out all winter. Not that it will be much loss, as far ,as the wheat is concerned, as it was badly frozen this year, iamd much of it is selling at 35 cents, that is, Is 6d a bushel. If we could have carried Tecti■procity we would got a living price for ifc, but the duty of 25 cents into the States .takes away our only market for feed wheat of this kind. * Perhaps you are-right in thinking that reciprocity would lead to annexation; but here <m Saskatchewan we voted solidly for it, find it was a great set-back to the country for the Liberals to- be defeated; I mean to the country districts, where we raise farm produce. It was,, no doubt, good for the cities, with their highly-protected manufacturing- . industries Living is going up in Canada hy the manufacturers combining and the C.P.It, freight rates being too high. Wo wanted reciprocity as a check to this increased cost of fivervthing. Kerrobert is going ahead.' The C.P.R. talk of -grading., another branch line from hero south. All my neighbours north and west of town, and one south, have sold to land companies; that is, five farms out the eight adjoining town have bean sold. Three are .already surveyed into town lots, and are being sold to-speculators by real estate agents, in Calgary. No houses are yet ibuilt outsido the original C.P.R. town site. We have a brick school now that cast 30,000 dollars, towards which I have the mi&> fort uno to be a taxpayer, and I have to contribute 30s a year to it. I am ab present working for the C.P.R. on my own homestead, getting 10s a day. Wo aro digging another well, the present ono being too small to supply the engine. i The town also contemplates digging a well on my place. We have a gravel pit on my place now. All the gravel used lately in the town has come from hero. Enclosed is the back of my i town taxes envelope, which will give you some idea of the way these towns hrvMii ,t,hem«olvos. All Ker.robert town letters go out in these envelopes, though the Town Council knows not half of tho railways marked on it are surveyed to Kerrobert. Tho Grand Trunk is graded already 12 miles south, going to Calgary, though probably the C.P.R. will have' trains coming in here from fivo different ways in two years. The town bui.lt an enormous skating rink this summer at a cost of 8000 dollars, and now 'they have no water to fill it with, having depended on the railroad for a water supply and been turned down yesterday. We .are to have a great coal shortage th^s winter on the prairies, as tho big mines were out on strike since April, and not settled yet. Consequently, "though the C.P.R. brought in States coal, there; will be many farmers frozen on their homesteads this winter, the same as happened four years ago. Coal is 11 dollars a ton in Kerrobert. How would Auckland peoplo like.paying £2 4s for coal? But 'it .is wonderfully cheap at 11 dollars iust tho same, seeing it was brought nil the way from Pennsylvania.' I hope Now Zealand will come out of the elections with some live Government that will go to work and open up the Maori "1.-viuls for settlement, so New Zealanders all over tho world will have a chance to go back and settle on the land."