THE LAND ROUTE TO CALIFORNIA. (Continued from page 191.) "July 15.-About eight miles from our last encampment we struck and forded Green River, the head of the Colorado or Red River of the West, which empties into the Gulf of California. The river at the ford is between fifty and one hundred yards in breadth, and the water in the channel is about two and a half feet in depth. The bed of the channel is composed of small round stones. The stream runs with a clear rapid current. Cottonwood and small willows border its banks as far as we travelled upon it. These, with some green islands, afford an agreeable and picturesque contrast to the brown scenery of hill and plain on either side. Continuing down the river, we halted at noon to rest our animals under the shade of some large cotton-wood trees. There was but little grass around us. A dark cloud, across which there were incessant flashes of lightning, rose in the west soon after we halted. It is scarcely possible to conceive a scene of more forbid ding dreariness and desolation than was presented to our view on all sides. Precipitous and impending cliffs of rock and concrete, sand and clay, deep ravines and chasms, ploughed out by the torrents of water or by the fierce tornadoes which rage with unrestrained force and fury over this desert, with a few straggling and stunted sage-shrubs struggling for an existence in the sandy and gravelly soil, were the prominent objects that saluted our vision. Far to the left of us the Utah mountains lift their summits, covered with perpetual snows, presenting to the eye a wintry scene in the middle of July. While travelling onward at a slow pace, being some hundred yards in advance of the main party, (the storm having in some degree subsided,) with skins thoroughly wet, and in no very cheerful mood, one of the party behind struck up in a sonorous voice the serio-comic elegy of Lord Lovell and Lady Nancy. Shouts of merry laughter succeeded the rehearsal of each stanza, and the whole party, from being in a most gloomy and savage state of mind, were restored to the best possible humour. The strong contrast between the sublime which they had seen and felt, and the ridiculous which they heard, operated upon them something like a shock of galvanism on a dead body. smoke from the camp-fires is curling upwards, morning, noon, and evening. Another "July 20.-We resumed our march, taking, in accordance with our previous determination, the new route already referred to. Our party consisted of nine persons. Mr. Hudspeth, and three young men from the emigrant parties, will accompany us as far as the Salt Plain. We ascended from the valley in which Fort Bridger is situated, on the left of a high and rather remarkable butte, which overlooks the fertile bottom from the west. There is no trail, and we are guided in our course and route by the direction in which the Salt Lake is known to lie. The face of the upland country, after leaving Fort Bridger, although broken, presents a more cheerful aspect than the scenery we have been passing through for several days. The wild sage continues to be the principal growth, but we have marched over two or three smooth plains covered with good grass. The sides of the hills and mountains have also in many places presented a bright green herbage, and clumps of the aspen poplar frequently ornament the hollows near the bases of the hills. "We crossed a large and fresh Indian trail, made probably by the Snakes. Many of their lodge-poles were scattered along it, and occasionally a skin, showing that they were travelling in great haste. As usual for several days past, a cloud rose in the south-west about three o'clock, P.M., and discharged sufficient rain to wet us. The atmosphere during the shower had a wintry feel. On the high mountains in sight of us to the left, we could see, after the clouds broke away, that it had been snowing. "July 21.-Our buffalo-robes and the grass of the valley were white with frost. Ice of the thickness of window-glass congealed in our buckets. Notwithstanding this coldness of the temperature, we experienced no inconvenience from it, and the morning air is delightfully pleasant and invigorating. Ascending the hills on the western side of our camp, and passing over a narrow ridge, we entered another grassy valley, which we followed up in a south-west course, between ranges of low sloping hills, three or four miles. Leaving the valley near its upper end, or where the ranges of hills close together, we ascended a gradual slope to the summit of an elevated ridge, the descent on the western side of which is abrupt and precipitous, and is covered with gnarled and stunted cedars, twisted by the winds into many fantastic shapes. Descending with some difficulty this steep mountain-side, we found ourselves in a narrow hollow, inclosed on either side by high elevations, the bottom of which is covered with rank grass, and gay with the bloom of the wild geranium and a shrub richly ornamented with a bright of red and yellow argillaceous earth. In the ravines there are a few aspen poplars of small size, and higher up some dwarfish cedars bowed by winds and snows. "Fort Bridger,' as it is called, is a small trading-post, established and now occupied by Messrs. Bridger and Vasquez. The buildings are two or three miserable log-cabins, rudely constructed, and bearing but a faint resemblance to habitable houses. Its position is in a handsome and fertile bottom of the small stream on which we are encamped, about two miles south of the point where the old wagon trail, via Fort Hall, makes an angle, and takes a north-westerly course. The bottom produces the finest qualities of grass, and in great abundance. The water of the stream is cold and pure, and abounds in spotted mountain trout, and a variety of other small fish. Clumps of cotton-wood trees are scattered through the valley and along the banks of the stream. Fort Bridger is distant from the Pacific Spring, by our estimate, 133 miles. "About five hundred Snake Indians were encamped near the trading post this morning, but on hearing the news respecting the movements of the Sioux, which we communicated to them, most of them left immediately, for the purpose, I suppose, of organizing elsewhere a war-party to resist the threatened invasion. There are a number of traders here from the neigh-yellow blossom. The hills or mountains inclosing this hollow are composed bourhood of Taos, and the head-waters of the Arkansas, who have brought with them dressed buckskins, buckskin shirts, pantaloons, and mocassins, to trade with the emigrants. The emigrant trade is a very important one to the mountain merchants and trappers. The countenances and bearing of these men, who have made the wilderness their home, are generally expressive of a cool, cautious, but determined intrepidity. In a trade, they have no consciences, taking all the advantages;' but in a matter of hospitality or generosity they are open-handed-ready, many of them, to divide with the needy what they possess. I was introduced to-day to Captain Walker, of Jackson county, Missouri, who is much celebrated for his explorations and knowledge of the North American continent, between the frontier settlements of the United States and the Pacific. Captain W. is now on his return from the settlements of California, having been out with Captain Fremont in the capacity of guide or pilot. He is driving some four or five hundred Californian horses, which he intends to dispose of in the United States. They appear to be high-spirited animals, of medium size, handsome figures, and in good condition. It is possible that the trade in horses, and even cattle, between California and the United States, may at no distant day become of considerable importance. Captain W. communicated to me some facts in reference to recent occurrences in California of considerable interest. He spoke discouragingly of the new route via the south end of the Salt Lake. "Several emigrant parties have arrived here during the day, and others have left, taking the old route, viâ Fort Hall. Another cloud, rising from behind the mountains to the south, discharged sufficient rain to moisten the ground, about three o'clock, P.M. After the rain had ceased falling, the clouds broke away, some of them sinking below and others rising above the summits of the mountains, which were glittering in the rays of the sun with snowy whiteness. While raining in the valley, it had been snowing on the mountains. During the shower the thermometer fell, in fifteen minutes, from 82° to 44°. "July 18.-We determined this morning to take the new route, via the south end of the great Salt Lake. Mr. Hudspeth-who, with a small party, on Monday, will start in advance of the emigrant companies which intend travelling by this route, for the purpose of making further explorations-has volunteered to guide us as far as the Salt Plain, a day's journey west of the Lake. Although such was my own determination, I wrote several letters to my friends among the emigrant parties in the rear, advising them not to take this route, but to keep on the old trail, via Fort Hall. Our situation was different from theirs. We were mounted on mules, had no families, and could afford to hazard experiments, and make explorations. They could not. During the day I visited several of the emigrant corrals. Many of the trappers and hunters now collected here were lounging about, making small trades for sugar, coffee, flour, and whisky. I heard of an instance of a pint of miserable whisky being sold for a pair of buckskin pantaloons, valued at ten dollars. I saw two dollars in money paid for half a pint. Several Indians visited our camp, in parties of three or four at a time. An old man and two boys sat down near the door of our tent this morning, and there remained without speaking, but watchful of every movement, for three or four hours. When dinner was over, we gave them some bread and meat, and they departed without uttering a word. Messrs. Curry and Holder left us to-day, having determined to go to Oregon instead of California. Circles of white-tented wagons may now be seen in every direction, and the 'Returning to camp, Miller, who had employed his leisure in angling, exhibited a piscatory spectacle worthy the admiration of the most epicurean ichthyophagist. He had taken with his hook about a dozen salmon-trout, from eight to eighteen inches in length; and the longest weighing four or five pounds. A delicacy such as this, and so abundant, we determined to enjoy, and, from the results of Miller's sport, we feasted this evening upon a viand which epicures would give much to obtain. Fishing apparatus was in great demand this morning; and most of the party, as soon as breakfast was over, were enjoying the Waltonian sport, in angling for the delicious salmon-trout with which the stream abounds. Our bait is the large insect resembling the cricket, heretofore described, myraids of which are creeping and hopping among the grass, and other vegetation of the valley. Every angler was more or less successful, according to his luck or skill. A quantity of fish, weighing each from two to five pounds, were taken,-more than sufficient for our wants, although our appetites at this time are not easily satisfied. Some of the party went into the hills to gather service-berries. (I do not know that this orthography is correct. It is in accordance with the orthoepy.) The service-berry is produced by a shrub, generally from four to six feet in height. It is of a dark colour, larger than the whortle-berry, and not very unlike it in flavour. This fruit is abundant here. "Resuming our march, we took a south course over the low hills bordering the valley in which we have been encamped; thence along the base of a range of elevated mountains which slope down to the marshy plain of the lake. This plain varies in width from fifteen to two miles, becoming narrower as we approach what is called the Utah Outlet,' the channel through which the Utah Lake empties its waters into the Salt Lake. The Great Salt Lake has never been accurately surveyed. It is situated between 40 and 42 degrees of north latitude, and between 35 and 36 degrees of longitude west from Washington. Its length is variously stated by the hunters and trappers who have travelled along its shores at from one hundred and fifty to one hundred and eighty miles. But, in this estimate, the numerous large bays and other irregularities are included. Its extreme length in a straight line is probably one hundred miles, and its extreme breadth between forty and sixty miles. At this season the shore, as we pass along it, is white with a crust of the muriate and carbonate of soda combined. The muriate of soda predominates, but the alkali combined with it is sufficient to render the salt bitter and unfit for use in its natural state. When the wind blows from the lake, the stench arising from the stagnant water next to the shore is highly offensive to the smell. The surface of the lake does not present that rippling and sparkling appearance, when the sudden breeze passes over it, so frequently seen on fresh-water lakes and on the ocean. waters undoubtedly are thoroughly saturated with saline matter, and hence, from their weight, when they move at all, it is with a lazy and sluggish undulatory motion. It is stated that no fish exist in the lake. I have already mentioned that there are numerous mountainous islands in the lake. There are also several large bays indenting its shores. The plain or valley along which we have travelled to-day is in some places argillaceous, in others sandy and gravelly. (To be continued.) The EMIGRATION TO AUSTRALIA ON AN ECONO- WARRANTED to sail from WAR London on the 30th April, and from Plymouth the 10th May, for PORT PHILIP and SYDNEY, the remarkably fine, fastsailing, first-class ship "JOHN MUNN," 637 Tons Register, Coppered and Copper-fastened, lying in the London Docks. This splendid ship has a spacious poop, and upwards of 7 feet in the 'tween decks. She will be fitted up expressly for Passengers, who will be taken for 20 Guineas each, the ship finding excellent provisions, bedding, and all requisite mess utensils for the voyage. An experienced Surgeon will proceed in the ship. Early application necessary for choice of berths. For further particulars apply at the Emigration Office, 4, Barge Yard, Bucklersbury; or THOMAS WOOLLEY, 2, Cullum Street, Fenchurch Street; or J. W. GULL, 4, Brabant Court, Philpot Lane. Parties proceding by this ship will be afforded every information, gratis, by Gentlemen long resident in the Colonies. C. D. Bruce, Esq. Henry Buckle, Esq. W. S. Davidson, Esq. Hon. J. T. Leslie Melville. J. H. Ravenshaw, Esq. Stewart Marjoribanks, Esq. G. S. Thornton, Esq. The Australian Agricultural Company, after having for the last 20 years confined its operations to cultivating and grazing estates (comprising 1,000,000 acres), which were selected with great care in New South Wales, has determined on offering for sale or lease all that portion containing 500,000 acres situated near the excellent harbour of Port Stephen (100 miles from Sydney, and its 50,000 inhabitants). This estate is bounded by the river Manning, intersected by other streams, and provided with roads and bridges, which have been constructed by the Company at a cost of many thousand pounds. Also churches and schools. A resident clergyman, schoolmaster, and surgeon are paid by the Company, for the benefit of their servants. Farms and vineyards, which have been long in cultivation, with excellent homesteads attached, will be offered for sale on easy terms. The uncultivated land will be sold in lots of 50 acres and upwards, at £1 per acre; each £50 paid in England entitling the purchaser to a choice, and a free passage, in one of the Company's ships, to Port Stephen. Purchasers will have the right of pasturage for stock on adjoining land at a low poll-tax. The Company are willing to lease land for 10 years, with a right of purchase at £1 per acre during that term. They are also able to offer live stock of the finest breeds at a cheap rate. Further information may be obtained on application to the Secretary, GEORGE ENGSTROM, Esq., 12, King's Arms Yard, London. MIGRATION to AUSTRALIA.Notice is hereby given, that the VAN DIEMEN'S LAND AGRICULTURAL COMPANY are now able to SELL their FREEHOLD LANDS in any quantity, and that every purchaser of not less than Eighty Acres will be entitled to a Free Passage to the Colony. The peculiar advantages enjoyed by Settlers on the Company's Lands are fully detailed in a printed Prospectus, which may be obtained at the Company's Offices, 6, Great Winchester Street, London. COLONIAL LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY. EDINBURGH, 1, George Street. LoN- The Right Hon. The EARL OF MINTO, Chairman. The Colonial Company affords to residents in India and the British Colonies generally, advantages fully equal to those given by similar Societies whose operations are confined to Europe. Parties proceeding to the Australian, or New Zealand London, 4A, Lothbury. OUTFITS FOR ALL CLASSES. THE ADVANTAGES of EMIGRATION being materially increased by the comforts of a SUITABLE OUTFIT, E. J. MONNERY and CO., 165, FENCHURCH STREET, CITY, having had many years' experience in that line, feel confidence in calling the attention of all classes to their Outfitting Warehouse, where a large assortment of shirts, clothing, hosiery, &c., &c., is kept ready for immediate use, at unusually low prices. Sea mattresses, bedding, cabin, and camp furniture of every description.-Lists, with prices affixed, forwarded by post. "Intending Emigrants.-Those of our readers about departing to the Canadas, Australia, New Zealand, &c., would save much money, time, and trouble, by consulting Messrs. Monnery and Co., 165, Fenchurch Street; whose long experience, as Colonial Outfitters, enables them to furnish the most suitable equipments for all climates."-The Emigrant Newspaper. TINION BANK of AUSTRALIA, 38, Old Broad-street.-This Bank GRANTS BILLS at Thirty Days, and LETTERS of CREDIT on its branches in the Australian Colonies and New Zealand, at a charge of Two per Cent, on sums above 10. Approved bills are negotiated on the Colonies, the terms for which may be learned at the offices of the Bank. London, July 20, 1848. SAMUEL JACKSON, Sec. Now ready, and may be had at all the Libraries, THE EMIGRANT FAMILY; or the Story of an Australian Settler. IMPORTANT TO EMIGRANTS. FREDERIC BARNES, 3, UNION Row, TowER All kinds of Repairs attended to with despatch. GUN AND PISTOL MANUFACTURER, I. THE HORSE; its History, Table and Tea Spoon, which can be supplied as above, Breeds, and Management. By WILLIAM YOUATT. TO *** A Supplement, extending considerably the Veterinary Practice of this work, with other improvements, has been undertaken by MR. W. C. SPOONER, the eminent Veterinary Surgeon of Southampton. It will be sold separately, to accommodate the very numerous pur. chasers of the original edition of the "Horse." II. CATTLE; their Breeds, Management, and Diseases. By WILLIAM YOUATT. With beautiful Cuts of the Various Breeds, Anatomical Illustrations, &c. In 8vo, price, in cloth, 8s. III. SHEEP; their Breeds, Management, and Diseases. By WILLIAM YOUATT. Illustrated like the volume on Cattle, together with Microscopical Examinations of the various Wools; to which is appended, the "Mountain Shepherd's Manual." In 8vo, price, in cloth, &s. ex IV. BRITISH HUSBANDRY, hibiting the Farming Practice in various parts of the United Kingdom. By JOHN FRENCH BURKE, Esq. Illustrated with numerous Cuts. In two Volumes, 8vo, price, complete with Mr. Cuthbert Johnson's Supplement, bound in cloth, 16s. **Since these volumes were published, a very con- V. A MISCELLANEOUS 1. REPORTS OF SELECT FARMS in various parts of England, sold separate, in boards, for 3s. 6d. 2. OUTLINES OF FLEMISH HUSBANDRY, by the Rev. W. L. RHAM, separately bound, 18. 6d. 3. USEFUL AND ORNAMENTAL PLANTING, by Mr. GEORGE SINCLAIR, separately bound, 2s. 6d. 4. THE COTTAGER'S MANUAL OF HUSBANDRY, Architecture, Domestic Economy, and Gardening, by J. C. LOUDON, F.L.S., &c., separate, 18. 5. A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE BEST MODE OF MAKING AND REPAIRING ROADS, by CHARLES PENFOLD, Surveyor, a New Edition, enlarged, 18. The Volume in cloth boards, 88. These six volumes bring within the reach of a very large proportion of all persons employed in Agriculture more and better information than can otherwise be procured, except at a prodigiously greater expense. The "Horse" in particular is now the principal manual on the subject; the Volumes on Cattle and on Sheep are quite unequalled for the information as well as the amusement they afford; and the "Husbandry" comprises a mass of knowledge which could not be expected in so condensed a form. It may be interesting to the Public to know that no portion of the "Farmer's Series" was put to press without the careful revision and approbation of the late Earl Spencer, then Lord Althorpe." THE ART OF BREWING strony bound together, 18. LIV 18 Numbers, 6s.; or bound, 78., London: ROBERT BALDWIN, Paternoster Row. EMIGRANTS.-No one should Tleave empar without first providing himself and family with a good Stock of GUTTA PERCHA SOLES and SOLUTION. From the ease with which these soles can be applied to Boots and Shoes in countries where no shoemaker can be found for miles-their power of keeping the feet perfectly dry, when wading in either fresh or sea water, and thus preserving the body from coughs, colds, and consumption, in lands where medical advice cannot be easily had-added to their great durability and cheapness, render them most essential to the comfort and security of all who purpose sailing to distant countries. In CALIFORNIA they are invaluable. Gutta Percha Trays, Bowls, Cups, Bottles, Inkstands, Dishes, Plates, Ear Trumpets, &c., are admirably suited for shipboard and emigrants, as they will not break by being even violently thrown down upon the floor. Any person taking a stock across the seas will find it afford a profitable speculation. Manufactured by the Gutta Percha Company, Patentees, Wharf Road, City Road, London; and sold by their wholesale dealers in Town and Country. BANK OF AUSTRALASIA (incorpo rated by Royal Charter, 1835), 8, Austin Friars, London. The COURT of DIRECTORS grant Bills and Letters of Credit on the undermentioned Branches, viz., Sydney, Maitland, Melbourne, Geelong, Hobart Town, Launceston, and Adelaide, on terms which may be learnt on application, either at their offices, or at their Bankers, Messrs. Smith, Payne, and Smiths. By order of the Court, WILLIAM MILLIKEN, Secretary. DENT'S IMPROVED WATCHES and CLOCKS.-E. J. DENT, Watch and Clock Maker by distinct appointment to the Queen, H. R. H. Prince Albert, and I. I. M. the Emperor of Russia, most respectfully solicits from the public an inspection of his extensive STOCK of WATCHES and CLOCKS, embracing all the late modern improvements, at the most economical charges. Ladies' Gold Watches, with Gold Dials, jewelled in four holes, Eight Guineas. Gentlemen's, with Enamelled Dials, Ten Guineas. Youths" Silver Watches, Four Guineas. Warranted substantial and accurate going Lever Watches, jewelled in four holes, Six Guineas. E. J. DENT, 82, Strand, 33, Cockspur Street, and 34, Royal Exchange (Clock Tower Area). CAPTAINS, VOYAGERS, and EMI GRANTS will find CORDING'S WATERPROOF GARMENTS the best they can purchase, and indispensable to persons about to push their way where exposure to the elements is the order of the day. A waterproof suit adds vastly to comfort, and is a great saving in the end. As imitations that will not stand hot and cold climates are being offered, observe (for security) the name and address, J. C. CORDING, 231, Strand, five doors west of Temple Bar, and 3, Royal Exchange, facing Cornhill. EIGHTH THOUSAND.-Price 18.; 18. Gd. by Post, SIDNEY'S AUSTRALIAN HAND BOOK: HOW to SETTLE and SUCCEED in AUSTRALIA; with a new Chapter on the fallacies of the Wakefield System. By a BUSHMAN. SELECTIONS FROM "OPINIONS OF THE PRESS." "This is one of the most useful and interesting books that has ever been published on emigration. The author has set down his experience in a blunt, straightforward manner; so methodically arranged that a labourer, small or large capitalist, may easily learn whether he would like the colony at all; and, if he would, what part and what pursuit to choose. Every detail is given, from selecting a ship and an outfit, down to purchasing a flock of sheep, and building a hut in the woods."-Era, Aug. 19. This little book is written by one who, to much strong natural sense, and a fearlessness in letting out rough truths, adds a personal knowledge of all that he writes about."-Gardener's Chronicle, Sept. 12. "This is a little book, but an exceedingly smart and intelligent one. The bushman, in short, does not beat about the bush, but is direct in his statements and decisive in his opinions."-Literary Gazette. "A capital little book, full of practical suggestions, the result of several years' experience in the bush."— Economist, Sept. 12. "Mr. Sidney is an amusing writer, and at the same time thoroughly a man of business.”—The Tablet, Sept. 2. W. S. ORR & Co., Amen Corner, and 147, Strand; and all Booksellers in Town or Country. Printed by HENRY DICK WOODFALL, of No. 14, Great Dean's Yard, in the City and Liberties of Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, Printer, at No. 11, Angel Court, Skinner Street, in the Parish of Saint Sepulchre, in the City of London, in the said County. Published by WILLIAM SOMERVILLE ORR, 2, Amen Corner, Thursday, 22nd March, 1949. EMIGRANTS CONDUCTED BY SAMUEL AND JOHN SIDNEY, AUTHORS OF "A VOICE FROM AUSTRALIA," "AUSTRALIAN HAND-BOOK," VOL. I.-No. 26.] "RAILWAYS AND AGRICULTURE," &c., &c. THURSDAY, 29TH MARCH, 1849. Haydon, Reviewed. Natal Climate of Texas.. 205 206 206 Information for Emigrants.......... 207 CONTENTS. Miscellaneous: Upper Canada College-Patchwork Population-ColonialNewspapers -Education in New York-London and New York Transit Society. Advertisements PRICE 2D. STAMPED 3D. cial or a natural point of view, than the construction of the Halifax and Quebec Railway. It would open up to enterprise mil lions of valuable, now valueless, acres, and secure a large share of the traffic, not only of our own dependencies, but of the Western States of the Union. It is not, however, necessary for us to enter into any such undertaking; a guarantee of interest, which will be, in fact, nominal, is all that is needed to raise capital and complete 208 the work. While, however, steam navigation has done so much for intercourse with America, and steam land locomotion is likely to do so much for the British Provinces, our Australian Colonies are compelled to be content with hope deferred, until it becomes almost despair. The Americans organised a service of Postal War Steamers to the Pacific before the discovery of Californian gold, in order to develop and protect newly conquered, almost unpeopled regions; and we have not yet decided on giving steam communication to those of our dependencies which, requiring the least expense for defence, have, within themselves, the richest elements of increase in wealth and in population. A STEAM POST BY LAND AND SEA FOR THE COLONIES. IT has been one of the projects of Elihu Burritt, the American Preacher of Peace and Temperance, to establish a Penny Postage between England and America. It is a project that has more of common sense in it than many proceeding from the amiable euphuistic school which delights in transcendental language and impossible Utopias. Burritt believes, and gives good reasons for his belief, that the rapid exchange of correspondence, of information, of friendly professions and commerce, resulting from an Ocean Penny Postage, would, in fact, rivet "the chains of national friendship through British and American Posts." "Out of sight out of mind" is a sound old English proverb. While travelling and emigrating was confined to the wealthy, or while the wealthy only were objects of legislation, a shilling more or less for postage was not considered a matter of any consequence. Now it is different; we all daily send and receive many letters that would never have been penned were it not for the temptation of the Penny Post. Emigration is rapidly becoming one of the regular commercial operations of the country. People will soon cease to be led by speculators, or to be driven by unexpected calamity;-they will, when they once understand the true uses of emigration, and learn the peculiar capabilities of each emigration field, retreat annually in numbers proportionate to the excess over the demand for labour in any particular trade. We refer particularly to skilled handicraft employments, in all which, without some artificial regulations, either by way of restraint or emigration, periodical over competition, tempted by high wages, will inevitably take place. In the United States, journeyman printing is a worse trade than in England. Emigration is one of the easiest and least painful remedies, and this we believe the Associated Trades of England are beginning to see. It is, above all, important that a close connection should be kept up between the emigrants and the home country; that not only correct information of the resources of the various Emigration Fields, the advantages to be obtained, the difficulties to be encountered, should be communicated, but that the virtuous sympathies and manly feelings of the old English stock should be nourished by constant communication with the mother country. Now it is self-evident that nothing can promote communication more than cheap and rapid post conveyance. The postal arrangements between England and both British and Republican America leave nothing to be desired for rapidity and certainty, as far as the sea voyage is concerned; and the cost is not immoderate. At the same time, without expecting it to be reduced to a Penny, it certainly is worth the consideration of our postal officials whether, remembering the amazing and increasing emigration of the poorer classes, it would not pay to reduce the cost of single letters; and whether, also, for sums under a certain amount, it would be possible to establish a system of money registration. At present, great losses are sustained by the miscarriage of letters containing remittances from immigrants to their friends in the old world. Our postal and commercial intercourse with America will be incomplete, and the resources of our Colonies of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward's Island, New Brunswick and Canada will never be developed, until we complete the work we have so successfully begun, by adding steam carriages as an adjunct to Cunard's steam fleet. In another column, we publish extracts from the Report on the Halifax and Quebec Railway, prepared under the direction of the Canadian Government, which exhibits in a favourable light the importance and the certain, practical, profitable, results of that project. Distracted by the multitude of Britain's dependencies, it is not until we examine local documents, as carefully prepared as this, that we learn the real value of many of our Colonies. We are quite certain that Government could not enter into a safer and wiser undertaking, whether considered in a commer We have never favoured plans for fitting out ships of war, and loading them with emigrants, feeling sure that it would soon degenerate into a job, besides being a more expensive mode of conveyance than by contract, and a sure mode of raising freight against our Colonial producers. But with Steam Power it is a different affair. We must be ready to take a powerful steam fleet into every sea, at any time; and a few frigates employed in keeping up a rapid, certain, communication between the Australian Colonies and the Home Country would do more toward forwarding the prosperity of both countries than all the ingenious devices ever invented by Colonizing Philosophers, and shaped by Colonial officials. There is also, in addition to the uncertainty in the packet service, not sufficient facility for the poorer classes to remit savings from Australia to the Home Country. Lord Grey promised that the Colonial Government should take charge of the funds of immigrants desirous of paying the passage of relatives to the Colony. We hear from the Colony that nothing has been done. After all, if he does not take care, this nobleman will quit office, leaving no other memorial behind him than despatches entombed in Blue Books, displaying more talent for controversy than construction. Lord Grey should take warning from his own teacher and now reviler, Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who talks beautifully, argues so ingeniously, and fails in everything he tries to do. We shall return to the subject of immigrants' remittances from Australia. WAKEFIELD'S ART OF COLONIZATION. Having traced in figures the rise and fall of the land-sales and emigration fund in the old settlement of New South Wales, let us take a brief retrospective view of the effects of Mr. Wakefield's influence on that Colony. The system of sales at 5s. an acre, instead of grants, imitated from the United States, worked well; the fund was steadily rising, free emigration was flowing in, and convict labour was most usefully employed. The raising the price of land, and the sudden cessation of convict labour, put a stop to this prosperity. Both these steps are due to Mr. Wakefield. The constant abuse, the exaggerated pictures of "the felonry of New South Wales," to use a Wakefieldite phrase, brought about a state public feeling in England which rendered the continuance of the assignment system impossible, and, through the efforts of mistaken and mock philanthrophists, that was suddenly, which ought to have been gradually, brought to a close. He now, with his usual hypocrisy, professes to blame what his trumpeter M.P's, his band of pamphleteers, and his organs in the press, did their utmost to bring to a conclusion. The South Australian fox having lost his tail, great exertions were made, and successfully to decaudelise the fox of New South Wales. The assignment system stopped, and the price of land raised, there was one more effort to be made, and that was to fix a high minimum price by Act of Parliament. In effecting this "job," the South Australian clique obtained unexpected assistance from Walker and Co., a band of Sydney speculators, who hoped, by raising the price of crown lands, to obtain better prices for their own grants and purchases at 5s. an acre. The act of Parliament described in the extract from Mr. Wakefield's letter of 1841 be came law; almost all that he had asked was granted. The fixed minimum price of 17. an acre, the appropriation of a fixed proportion of the expended funds for emigration, the separate emigration board. Seven years have elapsed, the price of land in New South Wales is virtually a fixed price of 11. an acre; for, as there are no purchasers at auction (except for a few very choice lots), there is always plenty of land to be had at that price in large lots. These, in fact, were all the requirements of the Wakefield system, a fixed price, and labourers excluded from the possession of land. But where are the promised benefits? Where the large sales that attended the 58. an acre system? Where the promised emigration fund? Where the crowds of willing labourers? Where are the capitalists, who were to have crowded into the Colony ? Universal insolvency, beggary, discontent, and disaffection; high wages, small profits, an injurious stimulus to trade, and to squatting, a great discouragement to a middle-class land-cultivating yeomanry-these are the patent results of Mr. Wakefield's landjobbing schemes and legislative experiments. Mr. John Stuart Mill, with an ignorance which is quite inexcusable, points to Port Philip as a successful result of the Wakefield system. If that be success which was founded on the ruin of every land-purchasing capitalist, and the pauperism of a large body of labourers, it would seem that the Wakefield theory, like the Roman epicure's mullet, requires to be fed on living victims. Port Philip rose on her pastures, on her port, and on the little cottier farmers, the only class of men who have ever succeeded as agriculturists in modern free colonies; and right it is that those, whose lot is so hard in the old world, should find compensation for their adventures in the new. How fortunate it is that theories and acts of parliament cannot be applied to merinoes' fleece and bullocks' tallow; if they could, the squatters of Australia had been ruined outright. Tested by the history of the last eighteen years-tested by facts, figures, and evidence to be found in official documents-tested by the universal consent of colonists of all ranks, from the shepherd and mechanic to capitalists like Mr. Cunninghame, experienced officials like Sir Thomas Mitchell, practical philanthropists like Mrs. Chisholm, popular and learned representatives like Mr. Robert Lowe-all the influence of the Wakefield school, after distorting the simple low-priced American land system, has been baneful to New South Wales. The "True was not new, and the New was not true." In declaring that his system has not had a fair trial, he only imitates the baffled somnambulists, the disappointed patentees of perpetual motion, the inventors of infallible tricks for breaking a rouge-et-noir Bank. If you will only find the funds, there are people at Baden Baden always ready to try an infallible Martingale. But we will approach nearer, and try this unsparing critic of colonial misdoings in the character of a masked Colonial Administrator. Mr. Wakefield founded the colony of South Australia; the Committee, the Directors, and the Commissioners were his puppets. He now disowns this child of his youth and folly, turns his back on his convert Torrens, disowns Hutt and his self-supporting theory, and cuts his republican universal-suffrage friends in favour of High Church and a Fifty Pound Property qualification. He was once very proud of it. The most complete history of the colony of South Australia will be found in the Report of a Select Committee of the House of Commons in 1841, a thick blue book, which Mr. Wakefield must consider either unreadable or out of print, or he would not so often calumniate Colonel Gawler, the unhappy scape-goat for his follies. For the benefit of the proposed Canterbury Colonists, and particularly of Sir William Molesworth, one of Mr. Wakefield's speaking-trumpets, we will sketch the history of the first grand land job in which enthusiasts and simpletons sacrificed themselves for the benefit of unprincipled speculators and ambitious politicians. The purist, Sir William, while hurling the carefully prepared thunders of his indignation against the doings of the Colonial Office, carefully eschewed all mention of the grossest mismanagement and jobbing in which he and his political friends bore art and part in South Australia and New Zealand. The South Australian Settlement was projected by Mr. Wakefield as a model colony, which should avoid "the disasters which have befallen all new colonies planted in an extensive country by emigrants from a civilized state." The first plan contemplated a chartered colony, to be self-governed on the principle of universal suffrage, open to all nations, and subject to neither the Custom or the Navigation Laws, nor, indeed, any imperial control. Minimum price of land, 5s. an acre. This was in 1831. In the days of Reform Bills, Anti-Church, and Anti-Peerages, Lord Goderich refused to sanction a republic and land-selling irresponsible corporation within British Dominions. The correspondence is very amusing, and worth reading. The chairman offered to modify the plan in any way; and Lord Goderich answers rather smartly, that it could have been but ill-considered if he was so ready to modify it. Mr. Wakefield claims the credit of having directed the negotiations, written the books, pamphlets, resolutions, advertisements, and all the documents which, in 1835, resulted in the first South Australian Act. Under that Act, certain Commissioners, including Colonel Torrens, his convert disciple, and faithful witness and advocate, Mr. Hutt, to whom the "Art of Colonization" is dedicated, and others, were appointed Commissioners to manage the colonization. Mr. Wakefield now treats these gentlemen very contemptuously; he would have preferred others, it seems; but it is Mr. Wakefield's peculiarity, in common with other false prophets, not to find fault until his prophecies have been falsified. These Commissioners selected their own governor, their own treasurer, and their own surveyor, with other officers. They tried to sell 35,000l. worth of land at 17., and failed; at 12s. they succeeded. Then commenced what may be called the incidents of the Wakefield System of Colonization. When Port Philip was settled, the firste olonists, spreading themselves over the country with their flocks and herds, began at once to follow their proper occupation, and thought nothing of founding towns, publishing pamphlets, or holding puffing public meetings; the consequence was that, when Melbourne was founded, the very best site for a capital had been ascertained, and, the settlers having a distinct pursuit in grazing from the first, the material prosperity of the colony remained unaffected by after land speculations. But the model colony of South Australia was inaugurated by a gigantic system of puffery, which the New Zealand Company have improved and enlarged to the ruin of thousands. Journals were established for the express purpose of expounding the "New Principle," praising South Australia, the "Great South Land," abusing Port Philip as a "fitting receptacle for the semibarbarous squatter and his felon dependents," and New South Wales and all other colonies. Public meetings, public dinners, speeches in parliament, all were lavished on the favoured spot. The extravagance of the expenditure on publicity may be judged from one item,-"177. for advertising the breakfast given to Governor Hindmarsh." Next came the plan of the city of Adelaide, with parks, squares, boulevards, complete for 50,000 inhabitants, the puffery and coloured plans being all devised to catch purchasers. Mr. Wakefield now repudiates all this, but, as usual, it is ex post facto repudiation. No time was given for surveys, for which twelve months, or even two years, would have been not too much, considering that the site of the colony and the city was to be found, as well as the ground for each farmer. But these anxieties did not trouble Mr. Wakefield's disciples; their great object was to push off the first band from these shores, and get the scheme into the money market. They succeeded; Governor Hindmarsh landed in 1836; the city was fixed by the surveyor seven miles from the port. It cost the colonists thousands of pounds for the haulage of their goods from the ships to dry ground. Dissensions broke out between the officials. The colonists were busy gambling with each other for corner "lots and double frontages in a town ten times too large for any probable population. It is one of the features of Wakefield's hot-house system of colonization that a town is planned and sold in England, not with reference to the convenience of the Colony, but according to the fancy of the surveyor and avidity of the purchasers. A Cheshire farmer who had laid out his capital in a town acre at Birkenhead would have been thought mad; in Adelaide, Wellington, Nelson, and Otago, every purchaser was presented with a town section and a suburban section. Great capitalists were tempted with the idea of founding new towns. In fact, the people were founding cities when they should have been growing corn. This they call concentration. In 1838 Governer Hindmarsh was recalled, and Colonel Gawler, who was also selected by the Commissioners, not by the Colonial office, succeeded him. It is now the cue of the Wakefield school to throw the failure of the Colony on Colonel Gawler. The following is the state in which he found the colony on his arrival, in October, 1838. "The accounts had fallen into confusion, the salaries were in arrear, the surveys could not be proceeded with at the rate required, the treasury was exhausted, and bills on the Commissioners for the whole of the year had been drawn during the first six months." The calculations of expense by the Commissioners were deficient to the extent of 40,000l. a year. Instead of having to rule over 4000 inhabitants, on a territory about ten miles square, he found 16,000 spread over a tract of 100 miles by 40 broad. Under his charge, 5000 of these were congregated in the so-called city of Adelaide; finding it, as the Governor naïvely expresses it, more profitable to employ their capital in building houses and importing provisions for sale to new immigrants, than to grow wool and beef and corn, like the Port Philip settlers, "who had no towns." In the midst of all this bustle of external prosperity, 100 emigrants were dependent on the Governor for sustenance, an expensive hospital had to be kept up for the sick of the scurvy, and ship disease, and an expensive police to guard against smugglers, bush-rangers, and natives. In a word, the colony was, from first to last, a bubble. The first-fruit of systematic colonization was "rotten before it was ripe." The ignorance of the projectors, including Mr. Wakefield, and the site, seven miles from the port through a Mangrove swamp, doomed the first settlers past all redemption. A pair of bullocks earned 60l. a week in hauling emigrants' Inggage, and this was quoted by the Australian Company's agent at Chichester as a proff of prosperity. During all this time, and until the bubble burst, the press and orators of the Wakefield school never ceased to proclaim the success of the self-supporting colony. When it failed, Colonel Gawler was made the scape-goat. South Australia was ruined by the spirit of speculation bred in the fermentation of capitalists crowded together. It was revived by copper mines, cottier farmers, and squatters; the first a piece of luck, the last against the system. The result of the failure was twofold-in England a Parliamentary Committee, in Australia the dispersion of the settlers. HALIFAX AND QUEBEC RAILWAY. We have been fortunate enough to procure the "Blue Book," published by the The total distance from Halifax to Quebec will be about 635 miles. £4,445,000 £4,889,500 and the United States. In the year 1846, New Brunswick paid to the latter, for provisions alone, 216,000l. sterling, whilst in return the United States only took from them 11,000l. in coal and fish. Of Nova Scotia the great staples are timber and the products of the fisheries. The inhabitants import provisions also largely. Canada is an exporting country, and capable of supplying the demands of both. In the winter of 1847-8 the price of flour at Halifax and St. John was at 40s. per barrel, and it was being imported from the chief ports in the United States, even from as far as New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico. At the same time at Quebec the price of flour was only 25s. per barrel. A very great difference, which, had the railroad been in existence, would not have occurred. Another great source of revenue likely to be developed by the railway is that of coals, to be derived from the Great Cumberland Field. Quebec and the upper country would no doubt take large quantities for their own consumption. Halifax the same for itself, and also for exportation to the United States. Considerable returns would arise from the fisheries and from the products of the forest lying contiguous to the line, which would find their way by it to the shipping ports. The country through which the road will pass possesses, therefore, in itself elements which, when fully developed, cannot fail to realise large receipts. But there are, exclusive of these, other and highly important sources for productive revenue. Halifax may be considered to be the nearest great seaport to Europe. Passengers travelling between England and the Canadas would adopt this railway, as the shortest and best line which they could take. Emigrants would do the same. The mails, troops, munitions of war, commissariat supplies, and all public stores would naturally pass by it, as the safest, speediest, and cheapest means of conveyance. If a straight line be drawn from Cape Clear in Ireland, to New York, it will cut through or pass close to Halifax. The latter is therefore on the direct route; and, as the sea voyage across the Atlantic to New York may be shortened by three days nearly, in steamers, it is not improbable that, on that account, when the branch railroad to St. John is completed, and other lines to connect on with those in the United States, the whole or the greatest portion of the passenger traffic between the Old and New World would pass through Halifax, and over a great section of the proposed railroad. But the great object for the lity to pay the interest of the capital expended would be undoubted, is to supersede the long and dangerous passage to Quebec by the Gulf of St. Lawrence. To make two voyages in a season vessels are obliged to leave England earlier, and encounter the dangers of the ice in the gulf much sooner than it is safe or prudent for them to do. The loss of life and property which has occurred from this cause, and returning late in the autumn, has been enormous. It cannot be ascertained, but probably it would have more than paid for the railway. The direct communication between the two termini, Halifax and Quebec, is of a very limited nature. By land, it is confined almost to the convey ance of the mails. Passengers proceed generally by way of the United States. By sea, in 1847, the communication was by seventeen vessels, which arrived at Quebec, having a tonnage of 1257, and eighteen departed from that port for Halifax whose tonnage amounted to 1386 tons. This amount of intercourse does not at the first view appear encouraging to expected receipts, but, when it is made to appear that this limited intercourse arises entirely from the want of good means of intercommunication such as would be afforded by the proposed railway, it becomes a strong argument in favour of making the line rather than against it. The communication of the provinces with each other is cramped and restricted beyond measure by the same want. The chief elements which enter into, and upon which depends, the success of every railway enterprise are population, agriculture, and commerce. At the extremities of the line, and for some miles along the St. Lawrence, there is an abundant population. External commerce there is in an eminent degree. In that of agriculture its deficiency is great at present; but, as there are millions of acres of good productive land only waiting for the hands necessary to cultivate them, and the means of access to which will be afforded by the rail-railway to attain, and which, if it should be able to accomplish, its capabiway, this very circumstance may be made to conduce to the advantage of the line, and pay a large portion of the expense of its construction. The population of Halifax (the Atlantic terminus) is estimated at 25,000 souls. It is the capital of the province, the seat of government, and its commerce extensive. The value of its imports and exports is estimated at 2,500,000. The city of Quebec, the other terminus, according to the census of 1844, contained (including the county which is not given separately) 45,000 persons. But this city derives additional importance from its being the one great shipping port and outlet for all Canada. By its port passes the whole trade of that province. It may be regarded as the focus of commerce for a million and a half of souls. The value of the imports and exports together may be estimated at 5,500,000l. sterling, giving employment to a very great amount of shipping. This immense trade is of necessity crowded into six months, the navigation of the St. Lawrence being closed for the remainder of the year. An opinion may, however, be formed of it from the rates of insurance, which in the spring and autumn are as high as ten per cent-a much higher rate than to any other part of the world. The navigation of the St. Lawrence is closed for about six months of every year. During the whole of this period all the produce of the country is locked up, and necessarily lies unproductive on the hands of the holders. The surplus agricultural produce of the year cannot be got ready to be shipped in the season it is produced. In the winter of 1846-7 it has been stated, on good authority, that 500,000 barrels of flour were detained in Montreal at the time when famine was raging in Ireland. As soon as the season opened, there was a demand for shipping to carry provisions, that the ordinary cost of the timber trade was deranged by it. All this would have been prevented had the railway been then in existence. For six months in the year, then, the St. Lawrence would cease to be a competitor with the railway, and large quantities of produce would be certain to be forwarded by it. For the other six months of the year it would have also the following strong claims to preference;-rapidity of transport; the saving of heavy insurance; cheaper rate of freight from Halifax; vessels engaged in the Canadian trade could made three voyages to Halifax for two to Quebec. trade which is now crowded into six months, to the great inconvenience of every one concerned, rendering large stocks necessary to be kept on hand, would be diffused equally over the whole year. It is most probable that these advantages will be found so great that only the bulky and weighty articles of commerce, such as very heavy timber and a few other goods, will continue to be sent round by the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The In addition to these two great termini there are lying on each side of the line two most important tributaries, viz., the city of St. John and Prince Edward's Island; the former with a population in city and county together of nearly 44,000 persons, with a commerce of the value of 1,800,000. in exports and imports, giving employment also to a great amount of shipping; the latter with a population of 50,000 engaged principally in agriculture and the fisheries. The exports and imports of this island are about 200,0007. annually. Between the city of Quebec and the River Metis there are settled, along the south bank of the St. Lawrence, 75,000 inhabitants all engaged in agriculture. These people are French Canadians, and almost every family has a small farm and homestead. A striking peculiarity of these farms is their elongated shape, the length being generally thirty times that of the breadth; oftentimes a greater disproportion exists. The houses and farm-buildings are always built at one extremity, that which adjoins the road dividing one set of concessions from another. There are generally three or four lines of houses and roads running thus along the St. Lawrence. The effects produced by this manner of parcelling out the land and building has been to form what can only be compared to one long and continued village for 200 miles. For the first 100 miles out of Quebec, as far nearly UPPER CANADA COLLEGE.-There are now 160 boys in course of education as the Rivière du Loup, the proposed line of railway will run through the of whom about 60 are boarders: the latter pay only 241. per annum for board centre of this extended village, and, with a train of moderate length, the last lodging, and education; the day boys, 77. 10s. There is an excellent staff carriage will scarcely have cleared the door of one house before the engine of masters, as must indeed be the case where the emoluments are so good: will be opposite another. For the second 100 miles it will leave these con- they get 300l. per annum, and a house each. The four principal masters, cessions and farms a little on one side, but still within reach. A more fa- M.A.'s of Cambridge, and the head master, a member of Trinity College, Dubvourable disposition of a population (comprised of small farmers) for contri-lin, where he was, I believe, distinguished. The course of study is framed upon buting to the way traffic of a railroad could scarcely have been devised. In the model of Eton, except that the study of French is absolutely required, the country lying between the Restigouch River and Halifax, the inhabitants (this is very useful here, from its facilitating intercourse with the French Cawho will be near to the railroad will amount to about 100,000; making the nadians), and also an attendance upon lectures in mechanics. There is, howpopulation either upon or near to the line, including the two termini, ever, an exception made in compliance with the utilitarian tendency of a new 250,000 persons. But if the total population be taken within the area, country, which I think objectionable in theory, though Dr. M'Caul tells me which will be benefited by, and become contributors to the line, then it may that in practice it does but little harm, as hardly any avail themselves of it: be estimated at not less than 400,000 souls. this consists in the existence of what they call a "partial class," where those boys whose parents wish it are instructed, not in the regular routine of the school education, but in those practical branches only which the parents may think likely to be useful (in the material sense of the word) to the boys in after-life, such as mathematics, surveying, mechanics, &c. -Godley. In a report of the Directors, made upon the New York and Erie Railroad in 1843, when the question of proceeding with that line was under consideration, one of the data upon which its future receipts was calculated, was derived from population and relative distance; and, using the data obtained from the working of one portion which had been completed and was in operation, it was calculated that 531,000 persons on a line of 425 miles in length, would return in net earnings to the railway 1,343,500 dollars, or 2 dollars nearly per head, equivalent to 10s. sterling. As the railroad is not yet completed, the true result cannot yet be seen. The net earnings of the railroads in Massachusetts for the year 1847 were 2,290,000 dollars. The population of that State, over whose area railways are everywhere extended, and the whole of which may therefore be considered as tributary to them, being at the time about 800,000. This gives 23 dollars per head, equivalent to 11s., or the same result nearly. Applying the same ratio (of 10s. per head) to the 400,000 inhabitants who are within the area and likely to become tributaries to the Quebec and Halifax Railway, it would give 200,000l. as its probable PATCHWORK POPULATION. There is a curious feature about Upper Canada which strikes a stranger very much, and that is, the exceedingly heterogeneous and exotic character of its population; it is much more remarkable here than in the States, because the country has not been settled long enough for a generation born in it to have sprung up to any extent; so that there appears to be no groundwork of native population at all: everybody is a foreigner here; and "home," in their mouths, invariably means another country. Then you have the provincial peculiarities of every part of the British Islands contrasted with those of European and American foreigners. One man addresses you in a rich Cork brogue, the next in broad Scotch, and a third in undeniable Yorkshire. The Yankee may be known by his broad-brimmed hat, lank figure, and nasal drawl: then you have the French Canadian, chattering patois, in his red cap, blue shirt, sash, and moThe great staple trade of New Brunswick is its timber. For this all-cassins; the German, with his blue blouse, and black belt; and the Italian, absorbing pursuit the inhabitants neglect agriculture, and, instead of raising following the usual trades of his country, image-making and confectionary, their own supplies, they import provisions in large quantities from Canada and as easily distinguishable as at home.—Ibid. revenue. |