Life and property, the means for
education and religious worship, and all the accessories of a high state
of civilization, which are advantages brought into every locality almost
simultaneously with the clearing of the land. Yet it is very apparent,
even to the casual visitor, that the progress of Canada West has only just
begun. No limits can be assigned to its future prosperity, and, as its
capabilities become more known, increasing numbers of stout hearts and
strong arms will be attracted towards it.
The immense resources of the soil under cultivation have not yet been
developed; the settlers are prodigal of land, and a great portion of the
occupied territory, destined to bear the most luxuriant crops, is still in
bush. The magnificent districts adjoining Lake Huron, the Georgian Bay,
and Lake Simcoe, are only just being brought into notice; and of the
fertile valley of the Ottawa, which it is estimated would support a
population of nine millions, very little is known. Every circumstance that
can be brought forward combines to show that Upper Canada is destined to
become a great, a wealthy, and a prosperous country.
The census gives some interesting tables relating to the origins of the
inhabitants of Canada. I wish that I had space to present my readers with
the whole, instead of with this brief extract: -
Canadians, French origin 695,000
Canadians, English origin 651,000
England and Wales 93,000
Scotland 90,000
Ireland 227,000
United States 56,000
Germany 10,000
Besides these there are 8000 coloured persons and 14,000 Indians in
Canada, and emigrants from every civilised country in the world.
As far as regards the Church of England, Canada is divided into three
dioceses - Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec - with a prospect of the creation
of a fourth, that of Kingston. The clergy, whose duties are very arduous
and ill-requited, have been paid by the Society for Propagating the
Gospel, and out of the proceeds of the clergy reserves. The Society has,
in great measure, withdrawn its support, and recent legislative enactments
have a tendency to place the Church of England in Canada, to some extent,
on the voluntary system. The inhabitants of Canada are fully able to
support any form of worship to which they may choose to attach themselves.
Trinity College, at Toronto, is in close connexion with the Church of
England.
The Roman Catholics have enormous endowments, including a great part of
the island of Montreal, and several valuable seigneuries. Very large sums
are also received by them from those who enter the convents, and for
baptisms, burials, and masses for the dead. The enslaving, enervating, and
retarding effects of Roman Catholicism are nowhere better seen than in
Lower Canada, where the priests exercise despotic authority.
