In addition to the large number of
emigrants who have arrived by way of Quebec, it has received a
considerable accession of population from the United States; 7000 persons
crossed the frontier in 1854.
The increase of its wealth is far more than
commensurate with that of its population. The first returns of the
assessable property of Upper Canada were taken in 1825, and its amount was
estimated at 1,854,965l. In 1845 it was estimated at 6,393,630l; but
in seven years after this, in 1852, it presents the astonishing amount of
37,695,931l.! The wheat crop of Upper Canada in 1841 was 3,221,991
bushels, and in 1851 it was 12,692,852; but the present year, 1855, will
show a startling and almost incredible increase. In addition to the wealth
gained in the cultivation of the soil, the settlers are seizing upon the
vast water-power which the country affords, and are turning it to the most
profitable purposes. Saw-mills, grist-mills, and woollen-mills start up in
every direction, in addition to tool and machinery factories, iron-
foundries, asheries, and tanneries.
Towns are everywhere springing up as if by magic along the new lines of
railway and canal, and the very villages of Upper Canada are connected by
the electric telegraph. The value of land is everywhere increasing as new
lines of communication are formed. The town of London, in Upper Canada,
presents a very remarkable instance of rapid growth. It is surrounded by a
very rich agricultural district, and the Great Western Railway passes
through it. Seven years ago this place was a miserable-looking village of
between two and three thousand inhabitants; now it is a flourishing town,
alive with business, and has a population of 13,000 souls. The increase in
the value of property in its vicinity will appear almost incredible to
English readers, but it is stated on the best authority: a building-site
sold in September, 1855, for 150l. per foot, which ten years ago could
have been bought for that price per acre, and ten years earlier for as
many pence.
In Upper Canada there appears to be at the present time very little of
that state of society which is marked by hard struggles and lawless
excesses. In every part of my travels west of Toronto I found a high
degree of social comfort, security to 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. They have
numerous and wealthy conventual establishments, both at Quebec and
Montreal, and several Jesuit and other seminaries. The Irish emigrants
constitute the great body of Romanists in Upper Canada; in the Lower
Province there are more than 746,000 adherents to this faith.
The Presbyterians are a very respectable, influential, and important body
in Canada, bound firmly together by their uniformity of worship and
doctrine. Though an Episcopalian form of church government and a form of
worship are as obnoxious to them as at home, their opposition seldom
amounts to hostility. Generally speaking, they are very friendly in their
intercourse with the zealous and hard-working clergy of the Church of
England; and, indeed, the comparative absence of sectarian feeling, and
the way in which the ministers of all denominations act in harmonious
combination for the general good, is one of the most pleasing features
connected with religion in Canada.
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