The Upper Lakes, The St. Lawrence, The Ottawa, And The
Saguenay, Besides Many Rivers Of Lesser Note, Are So Many Natural Highways
For The Conveyance Of Produce Of Every Description From The Most Distant
Parts Of The Interior To The Atlantic Ocean.
Without these natural
facilities Canada could never have progressed to the extraordinary extent
which she has already done.
Great as these adventitious advantages are, they have been further
increased by British energy and enterprise. By means of ship-canals,
formed to avoid the obstructions to navigation caused by the rapids of the
St. Lawrence, Niagara, and the Sault Sainte Marie, small vessels can load
at Liverpool and discharge their cargoes on the most distant shores of
Lake Superior. On the Welland canal alone, which connects Lake Erie with
Lake Ontario, the tolls taken in 1853 amounted to more than 65,000l. In
the same year 19,631 passengers and 1,075,218 tons of shipping passed
through it: the traffic on the other canals is in like proportion, and is
monthly on the increase. But an extensive railway system, to facilitate
direct communication with the Atlantic at all seasons of the year, is
paving the way for a further and rapid development of the resources of
Canada, and for a vast increase in her material prosperity. Already the
Great Western Company has formed a line from Windsor, opposite Detroit, U.
S., to Toronto, passing through the important towns of Hamilton, London,
and Woodstock: a branch also connects Toronto with Lake Simcoe, opening up
the very fertile tract of land in that direction. Another railway extends
from Fort Erie, opposite Buffalo, to Goderich on Lake Huron, a distance of
158 miles. A portion of the Grand Trunk Railway has recently been opened,
and trains now regularly run between Quebec and Montreal, a distance of
186 miles. When this magnificent railway is completed it will connect the
cities of Quebec, Montreal, and Toronto, where, joining the Great Western
scheme, the whole of Upper and Lower Canada will be connected with the
great lakes and the western States of the neighbouring republic. The main
line will cross the St. Lawrence at Montreal by a tubular bridge two miles
in length. The Grand Trunk Railway will have its eastern terminus at
Portland, in the State of Maine, between which city and Liverpool there
will be regular weekly communication. This railway is, however,
embarrassed by certain financial difficulties, which may retard for a time
the completion of the gigantic undertaking.
Another railway connects the important city of Ottawa with Prescott, on
the river St. Lawrence, and has its terminus opposite to the Ogdensburgh
station of the Boston railway. Besides these there are numerous branches,
completed or in course of construction, which will open up the industry of
the whole of the interior. Some of these lines, particularly the Great
Western, have a large traffic already, and promise to be very successful
speculations.
The facilities for communication, and for the transit of produce, are
among the most important of the advantages which Canada holds out to
emigrants, but there are others which must not be overlooked. The
healthiness of the climate has been already remarked upon, but it is an
important consideration, as the bracing atmosphere and freedom from
diseases allow to the hardy adventurer the free exercise of his vigour and
strength.
Communication with England is becoming increasingly regular. During the
summer months screw-steamers and sailing vessels ply between Liverpool and
Quebec, from whence there is cheap and easy water communication with the
districts bordering on the great lakes. From Quebec to Windsor, a distance
of nearly 1000 miles, passengers are conveyed for the sum of 31s., and
have the advantage of having their baggage under their eyes during the
whole journey. The demand for labour in all parts of Canada West is great
and increasing. The wages of farm-servants are 4l. per month with board:
day-labourers earn from 4s. to 5s. per diem, and in harvest 10s.,
without board. The wages of carpenters and other skilled workmen vary
according to their abilities; but they range between 7s. and 12s.
6d. per diem, taking these as the highest and lowest prices.
The cost of living is considerably below that in this country; for
crockery, cutlery, &c., 50 per cent. advance on home retail prices is
paid, and for clothing 50 to 75 per cent. addition on old country prices,
if the articles are not of Canadian manufacture. The cost of a comfortable
log-house with two floors, 16 feet by 24, is about 18l.; but it must be
borne in mind that very little expenditure is needed on the part of the
settler; his house and barns are generally built by himself, with the
assistance of his neighbours; and a man with the slightest ingenuity or
powers of imitation can also fabricate at a most trifling expense the few
articles of household furniture needed at first. I have been in several
log-houses where the bedsteads, tables, and chairs were all the work of
the settlers themselves, at a cost probably of a few shillings; and though
the workmanship was rough, yet the articles answer perfectly well for all
practical purposes. Persons of sober, industrious habits, going out as
workmen to Canada, speedily acquire comfort and independence. I have seen
settlers who went out within the last eight years as day-labourers, now
the owners of substantial homesteads, with the requisite quantity of
farming-stock.
Canada West is also a most desirable locality for persons of intelligence
who are possessed of a small capital. Along the great lakes and in the
interior there are large tracts of land yet unoccupied. The price of wild
land varies from 10s. to 10l. per acre, according to the locality.
Cleared farms, with good buildings, in the best townships, are worth from
10l. to 15l. an acre: these prices refer to the lands belonging to the
Canada Land Company; the crown lands sell at prices varying from 4s. to
7s. 6d. per acre, but the localities of these lands are not so
desirable in most instances.
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