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( WITIf A MAP.) ft.«. ^: ,\ The Parliament of the Dominion of Canada has granted the 'following Charter, which received the Royal assent 5th October, 1896 : . \^AN ACT TO INCORPORATE THE HUDSON'S BAY ^ * AND PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY. • Whereas a petition has been presented praying for the incorporation of i>r«mbi. a'Company to construct and operate a railway as hereinafter set Vth^and U IS expedient to grant the prayer of the said petition Therefore Her C^^l'^f^r^ ''a^ the advice and consent of the Senate and Housfof Commons of Canada, declares and enacts as follows : ^Jw, l\ •' ? Harris, and John Weston, all of London, England. lames Re,d Stewart and James Reid, both of Glasgow, Scotland, G H Massy wli^^'Ti'.?"'"?,"^' ^J"'^ °^ Montreal, John 'i^oss. of Niagara Fa Is Eh^ Fletcher Orr, of Calgary, and Simon J. Dawson, of P^rt Arthur Snor Ji? t"*=\P«'-s«ns as become shareholders in the company- hereby "r^HSn^K "'''^p°"'^''"4''^.^ ^""^y ^"^P''^^'^ ""der the name o'f •Com^a"y? ^^ "'^"^ ^^''"^^ Company," hereinafter ca.led " the Corpora.. N,™.. bySai "^ directors from time to time determine by ^^^ 1 Line of railway ilescribc I, 4. The Company may lay out, construct and operate by electricity or steam power, or both, a railway, of the gauge of four feet eight and one-half inches, fiom a point at or near Port Churchill on Hudson's Bav, through the territory north of the Chin chill river 10 deep water at or near Fond du Lie, on Lake Athabasca, aiul from I'ort Churchill aforesaid, on Hudson's tiay, through the territory 11 1 th of the Nelson river, to a point at or near the north-we!.t end of Lake Winnipeg; thence through the teiritory of Sas- katchewan to Prince Albert in the said territory, thence coi.tinuing through the said territory and the teriitory of Alberta by the most practicable route to Calgary in the last mentioned territory ; and may also lay out, construct and operate a branch line from a point on the said railway near Manitou Jake in the territory of Saskatchewan to Edmonton in the territory of Alberta. Steamers, Elevators, docks, etc. Steam and water power for electricity. 5. The Company may construct, purchase, or otherwise acquire, charter, control, navigate and keep in repair steamers and other vessels to ply between ports on its line of railway, and between such ports and pons outside of Canada, and carry and convey passengers atvdfreight, and carry on a general transportation service in connection *iih the said railway, and mays. II or otherwise dispose of such vessels, and may for such purposes construct, acquire by agreement, take on lease or hire, or contract for the use of eleva- tors, warehouses, wharfs, quays and docks. 6. The Company may acquire and utilize water and steam power for the purpose of generating electricity for lighting and motor pui poses, in connection with its railway or its bridges, docks, wharfs, elevators and ware- houses. Telegraph .ind telephone lines. Company may enter oi public roads, etc. Erect poles. Stretch wire!i. Break up road». Tr vel not to be obstr.ictoj 7. The Company may construct, equip, work and maintain a telegraph line and telephone lines along the whole length of its railway and branches, and may establish offices for the transmission of messages for the public, antl collect tolls for so doing ; and for the purposes of erecting and working such telegraph and telephone lines, the Company may enter into a contract with any other company, oc may lease the lines of such company or any portion thereof. 8. With the consent of the municipal council or other authoriy having jiirisdiction over the roads and streets of any city, town, municipality or district, the Company may, by its servants, agents or workmen, enter upon any public road, highway, street, bridge, wat.rcoursp, navigible or non- navigable water or other such places, in any city, incorporated town, village, county, municipality, district, or other pi ice, for the purpose of constructing, erecting, equipping, working and maintaining its lines of telegraph and tele- phone, and lines for the conveyance of electric power upon, along, across, over and under the same ; and may erect, equip, and maintain such and so many poles or other works and devices as ihe Company deems necessary for making, completing and supporting, using, working and maintaining the system of communication by telegraph and telephone and for supplying power ; and may stretch wires and other electrical contrivances thereon ; and, as often as the Company, its agents, officers or workmen think proper, may break up and open any part whatsoever of the said public road«, high- ways, streets, oridges, watercourses, navigable and non-navigable waters and other like places, subject, however, to the following provisions, that is to say : — (a.) The Company shall not in the construction or operation of its telegraph or telephone lines interfere with the public right of travelling on or using such public roads, highways, streets, bridges or watercourses, and :tricity or I one-fialf rougli ddu on's Bay^ near the '^' f of Sas- ; through ble ruute construct Manitou rritory of ;, charter, f between )utside of a general sy sill or :onstruct, of eleva- )ower fof poses, in ind ware- ttlegraph aranches, e public, working Contract y or any y having ipality or ter upon or uon- I, village, itructing, and tele- , across, h and so lecessary ining the supplying thereon ; c proper, d-, high- iters and that is to )n of its elling on rses, and other like place--, and shall not do any unnecessary damit-^., ..,.; u. ..riv v,-.-n erecf^H^ilfh-""'''"? '" ^"^ '*°°' "' S^''^'^^' °^ ^■"^ =^"^^^ 'o any building erected in the vicinity ; " th.,/f■2J!'^^°"!P''"yu'''''" "°' "*" '-if^y telegraph or telephone wire less H.lgh.ofwir.. h.n twenty-two ftec above the surface of the street or road, nor, without ""*"°''"'"- the consent ot the municip.il council having jurisdiction over tiie roads or or "road"- '^"""^'P^'"y' erect more than one line of poles :.long any street (c.) In all nuinicipaliiies the poles shall be as nearly as possible siraicht v,„h r , bve ifwTf th""'''"' ^r^ shall,in';i.ie.,be painted, if L re'quiS by a'ny ^'"'' °^ ■""- oye-Mw 01 the council ; ^ j j th^ /r!:Lryi!'?"^''7' '"" '-■^'*' of fire it becomes necessary, for its extinction or ,n!iL i! " of property that the poles or wires should be cut, the cuttii.g nder such crcumstances of the poles or any of the wires of the Companjs inder the direction of the chief engineer or other ofificer in charge of the inn fnr^^nv 'i "°^t""'i*' ^^^ Company to demand or to claim compensa- tion for any damage thereby mcurred ; Cutting poles or wires inca>e of fira. serva maint (e.) The Company shall be responsible for all damage which its agents , ■ wv, , Imai^in'. Tn'"''";'? '"r to individuals or property in carrying oTo ^:^.'" intaining any of its said wo-ks ; ^ e. i. orna!iintIu'rcer^^"^ '''^" "°' '"' '^'"'" °' "'"'"*"' """^ '^^'^'' '"'"'' "' ^™'- n.lJ^nr fnr .',' "'.""•';|P''l'*'es the Opening up of streets for the erection of Approval of poles, or for carrying the wires underground, ^hall be subject to the super- mrmicipai,ty. vision of such ei. ;ineer or other person as the council appoints for that purpose, and shall be done in such manner as ihe council direc s .he ^rTt^H '"^'' 'i'° ''"■?'•* ^"'' d«ig"«te the places where the poles are to be , ,. , be vPsfor'^H ".'A"'""'''P''-Kr ' ^"'^ '}'^ '"'■^^^^ °f '^^ ''''''' «li=^" in all eases ^T.l"°" °' of the Company^r' ^ '° "' *"" *^°"'^''''^"' ^V ^"^ at the expense (k.) No act of Parliament requiring the Company, in case efficient means r surh ::!rn/"'' 'T^'u^ '''^«^^"P^ ''' ^^'^P'^*'"^ wireJ'undergro!S!"o^doJt '.T.^-r^d^T such means, and abrogating the right given by this section to continue carry wir.s carrying lines on poles through cities, towns or incorporated villages, shall ""''"«-"■"'• f-nr^n^ ^^1 '"f""g«'"ent of the privilegts granted by this Act, and the Company shall not be entitled to damages therefor ; (*.) No person shall labour upon the work of erecting or repairing anv w i, rhisXtT'"rf ''^f ^"'"P""^'^'''^''"' '^^^''"g conspicuousirattfrhed ^Z'Z",:. to h,s dress a medal or bad^e on which shall be leiiblv inscribed the name of the Company and the number by which he can readily be identified T (j.) Nothing in this section contained shall be deemed to authorirp th.. p • . u neZTr't'he 'n ""'"'^' "°^''"'^" "^ ^^-'^' '« enter u^lany^'Se pro "" perty for the purpose of erecting, maintaining or repairing any of its wires "me°beln| f'""" "''""' ^'^ "'^ °""^'' °' °""P^"' -^^^^ p'operly f^r the nf .ifiilini" "'*' '''^"'°'"'' °^ buildings or in the exercise of the public right ^ of travelling on or using any public road, highway or street it becomes temporary necessarv that thu c-iirl umVoo „_ „~i u . ° ., ■' ^"tci, n. uci-uiiicb removal of met nthprwuZ ir cVii. K .u i °'' P.° f* ^^ temporarily removed by cutting or i" certain ca,e.. otherwise, it shall be the du.y of the Company, at its cnvn expense, upon E 2 Notice ti tompany. Agreements with other companies. Pro¥i«iional directors. Capital stock ann calls. Annual meeting. Number of dirtctors. Amount of bonds, etc., limited. reasonable notice in writing fronrj any person requiring the same, to remove such wires or poles, and in default of the company so doing, it shall be lawful for any such person to remove the same at the expense of the company, doing no unnecessary damage thereby ; and such notice may be given either at the office of the company or to any agent or offijer of the company in the municipality wherein such wires or poles are required to be removed, or in the case of a municipality wherein there is no such agent or officer of the company, then either at the head office or to any agent or officer of the company in the nearest or any adjoining municipality to that in which such wires or poles require to be removed, 9. The Company may enter into arrangements with any other telegraph or telephone company for the exchange and transmission of messages, or for the working in whole or in part of the lines of the Company. la The persons mentioned by name in the first section of this Act are hereby constituted provisional directors of the company, n. The capital stock of the Company shall be eight millions of dollars may be called up by the directors from time to time as they deem and necessary, but no one call shall exceed ten per cent, on the shares subscribed. 12. The annual general meeting of the shareholders shall be held on the third Wednesday in September in each year. 13. At such meetings the subscribers for the capital stock assembled, who have paid all calls due on their shares, shall choose nine persons to be directors of the Company, one or more of whom may be paid directors of the Company. 14. The Company may issue bonds, debentures and other securities to the extent of twenty thousand dollars per mile of the railway and branches, and sucli bonds, debentures or other securities may be issued only iii proportion to the length of railway constructed or under contract to be constnicted. SAV;[NG IN DISTANCE. The Hudson's Bay and I'acific Railway will effect a saving of three (^) days between the United Kingdom and Vancouver, San Francisco, Japan, China, India, and Australasia. One may study the following table to advantage : — Liverpool to Port Churchill Port Churchill vid Edmonton to Calgary Calgary to Vancouver vid Canadian Pacific Railway, Liverpool to Montreal Montreal to Vancouver vid Canadian Pacific Railway Saving in distance viA Port Churchill Liverpool to Mission Junction vid Port Churchill Mission Junction to San Francisco Liverpool to Mission Junction vid Montreal and Canadian Pacific Railway Mission Junction to San Francisco ,„ Miles. 2,926 1,000 642 4568 2,99.o73 S.599 5,854 >,o73 6,927 1,328 1,031 SAVING IN FREIGHT AND OTHER CHARGES. It is also estimated there will be a saving of ^3 ia £a, a head on immi-; grants, ^3 to ^4 a head on cattle, £1 a ton on wheat and other cereals, Ml I on all other products -merchandise, etc.— from thirty to forty per cent. EXTENT AMD RESOURCES OF THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORIES OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA. The country at present under local government comprises the Province of Manitoba, covering an area of 64,000 square miles, with Winnipeg as its capital, and the three territories of Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, covering an ar( : of 303,000 scjuare miles, with Regina as their capital. The whole of this vast region, extending from about twenty-tive miles West from Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountains, a distance of 1,350 miles, and from the forty-ninth parallel of latitude North, to the water-shed of the Saskatchewan River, an average distance of 350 miles, embraces an area of 462,500 square miles, or 269,000,000 acres, two-thirds of which has been proved to be capable of producing the finest wheat, and the rest admirably adapted for stock raising and dairy farming. The whole of this region, including a great portion of the States of Minnesota and North Dakota, in the United Siatos, is drained by the lakes and tributary streams of the Nelson River, into Hudson's Ray, in la'itude 53 North. It comprises the richest and most extensive undeveloped wheat-producing lands in the world, and access to which, from the United Kingdom, by ordinary steamers via Hudson Bay can be reached within eight davs. Dominion Government Returns of 1895 give these figures for the Province of Manitoba : — P.-oduct Wheat Oats Barley Potatoes ... Pe^ise Flax Rye Mr. Rut ai, engineer to the City of Winnipeg, in a recent publication, estimates hat— "The construction of (the Hud.son's Bay and Pacific Railway) will comm.md the carriage of passengers, and the bulk of the enormous traffic, to ind from the North-West Territories, San Francisco and the Pacific." The (lovernment Report states — "That during 1892 there was imported into the United Kingdom from Canada 101,426 heads of cattle, besides a large number of horses and sheep, and, including grain and dairy produce, was valued at 10,000,000 sterling. The shipment of cattle bred on the ranches of Alberta to (ireat Britain continues to increase, and the superior quality of these animals has excited the most favourable comments of buyers in England, and more than two-thirds of the total increase in the shipment of live stock took place from the North-W^est Territories, " During 1891 there were under cultivation in the Province of Manitoba, and the three territories of Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, 1,300,000 acres, which produced twenty-five million bushels of wheat and thirty million bushels of bailey and oats, whilst the number of cattle was estimated at about 600,000 head." Acrcige Bushels Average yield 1,140.276 31,775,038 27-8 bushels 482,658 22,555.733 467 ,. 153,839 5.645,036 •• yyi „ 16,716 4,042,562 •• 243-5 „ -- 28,229 82,668 1,781,354 .. — . - 81,082 — The present cost of transporting wheat to the seapo [•, , t Moiinrul Boston, or New York, from the centre of this region is alioiit thirty live cents per bushtl, whilst the same charj;e per tnile to Port Chun hill would not exceed fifteen cents, and the saving m the carriage of live stoc k, as stated by Admiral M.irkham, would be fully e anmially, and all the railway material and the bulk of the manufactured goods imported into the North-West Territory, including through traffic to Japan, China, India, and the Australasian colonies. The exports will consist of grain, live stock, dairy produce, hay, salmon and other fish, and furs of the Hudson's. Bay Comi)any and other fur traders. In addiiion to this, the line, with its great .saving of time and distance, will command the c irriage of a portion of the mails and through passengers to and from the Pacific. The carriage of one half of the present produce of the North-West Territories, 7iti Port Churchill, will be sufficrent to tax the proposed railway to its fullest capacity. Mr. Ruttan also estimates that : " Within the next decade, this Province (Manitobii), and the territories, will be producing 200 million bushels of wheat annually, and that everv cent, per bushel saved in the cost of trans- jiortation would mean two million dollars annually to the farmers of the North-West ; that 200 mi'lion bushels of wheat means six million tons of merchandise; to get that quantity to a port of export would recjuire 15,000 trains of 20 cars each, or over 40 trains jier day all the year round, including Sundays, and would then rccjuire .-5.000 vessels o*" 2,000 tons each for further transportation." PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, OCTOBER, 1 88 1. Ofi the Commmia! Importance of Budson's Bay, with Remarks on Recent Surreys and Investigations, f>v Ribert Bell, M.D., F.G.S. Assistant Director of the Geological Sun/ey of Cana. '■>.. I beg leave to otTer to the Royal Geographical Society a few remarks on the great Mediterranean Sea of North America, in regard to which there appears to be a general wMiit of correct information. Before proceeding to do so, it may be proper for me to state that I have considerable personal knowledge of Hud.son Bay and the surrounding regions. As an officer of the Geological Survey of Canada, I have spent six seasons since 1869 in explorations around the bay itself or in its vicinity, while the remaining summers of tliis interval have been devoied mostly to surveying and ex plorint! portif^ns of t!.c Hudson's liay territory al grtaicr or less distances inland. In the course of my geologi'al investigations, I have made surv -^ of the principal rivers, together with their larger branches, which tlow fron> the west and south into Hudson's Bay, including the Clreat and Little Churchill, the Nelson, Hayes, Hill, Severn, Albany, Kenaganu, Moose, Missinabe, Mattagami, and Ai)ittil)i. On account of its great geological mterest, 1 made a topographical survey in 1877 of about 300 miles of the Enstmain ('oast, from Cape Jones northward. Some of the maps showing these surveys have been already published with the annual reports of the Ceologicnl Department, and those repiesenting the remainder will soon be forthcoming. During the past autumn, in coming to Kngland in one of the ships fron> the bay, I happened to enjoy unusually good opportunities of seeing both sides of Hudson's Strait, and of acijuiring much valuable information in reference to its navigation. In the pojjular mind, Hudson's Ray is apt to be associated with the polar regions, yet no part of it conies within the Arctic circle, and the southern extremity is south of the latitude of London. Few people have any adequate ((mception of the extent of this great American sea. Including its southern prolongation, James's Bay, it measures about 1,000 miles in length, and it is more than 600 miles in width at its northern part. Its total area is appioxi- mately 500,000 s(|uare miles, or u|)war)nstitutes a sort of outlier of the region more immediately under notice sint.c the waters drain into it from north, south, east, and west, and discharge themselves by one great trunk, the Nelson River, into Hudson's Bav. The southernmost part of this basin, namely, the source of the Red River, extends down nearly to latitude 45'. The head waters of the southern rivers of James's Bay are not far to the north of Lake Huron, while one of the branches of the Albany rises within 25 miles of lire north shore of Lake Superior. Including the Winnipeg s)stem, the basin of Hudson's Bay has a width of about 2, 100 miles from east to west, and a length of about 1,500 miles from north to south, and its dimensions approach the enormous area of 3,000,000 square miles. Over a great part of this vast reg'on there is a temperate climate, and although niuch of the surface is comparatively barren, yet large tracts possess a very fertile soil. The numerous large rivers and lakes embraced within these limits will prove of great value in the setdement of the country. Both the bay and straits are remarkably free fiom rocks and shoals which might interfere with their free navigation. The groups of islands near the east side of the bay are surrounded by deep water, and a wide channel leads up the centre of James's Bay. Forturately the main body of the bay, which is the portion likely to be hereafter frequent k1 by shipi)ing, is entirely without shoals, reefs, or islands. The depth is very jniform over most of the Lay, and 10 nowhere does it i)refent any great irregularities. It averages about 70 fithoms throughout, deepenuig to 100 and upwards in approaching the outlet of Hudson's Strait ; while in the strait itself the soundings along the centre vary from about 150 to upwards of 300 fathoms. 'I'he bottom appears to consist abnost everywhere nf boulder clay and mud. Near the shores a stiff clay affording good holding ground for anchors, is almost invariably met with on both sides. James's Bay begins at Cape Jones on the east side, and Cape Henrietta Mana on the west, and runs south ai)out 350 miles, with an average breadth of about 150 miles. The eist side of Hudson's Kay, including its southern prolongation, is known as the Eastmain Coast. Between Cape Jones and Cape iJufferin on the Portland Promontory, and again in approaching Cape Wolstenholme, at the northern termination of this coast, the land is high and bold, some pans attaining an elevation of nearly 1,000 feet above the sea The country on the south-west side of the main bay, as well as that lying to the west of James's Bay, is low and generally level, with shallow water extending a long distance out from shore. Both sides of Hudson's Strait are high and rocky, but the northern is less precipitous than the southern. Of the numerous rivers which run into Hudson's Bay from all sides about thirty are of considerable magnitude. All those which enter on the Eastmain Coast appear to flow with a uniform course directly west or parallel to one another, and as the height of land in the centre of the Labrador peninsula is furdiest inland towards the south the rivers which fall into the southern part of this coast are the largest, and the remainder become progressively smaller as we go north. Numerous .streams converge to the head of James's B ly from all points southward of an east and west line passing through its southern extremity. The Moose, about a mile wide is the principal of these. On the western side the Albany and the Churchill are the longest, but the Nelson, with a course of only about 400 miles, discharges the greatest body of water into the sea. Indeed, this great artery of the Winnipeg system may be considered as one of the first-class rivers of the world. Few of the rivers of Hudson's Bay afford uninterrupted navigation for large vessels to any great distance from the coast. During the season of high water, shallow-draft steamers might ascend the Moose rivtr and two of Its branches for upwards of 100 miles. Hayes river and two of its branches might apparently be navigated by such craft in the spring to points about 140 miles inland, and the Albany for nearly 250 miles ; while large steamers might ascend the Nelson for seventy or eighty miles from the open sea The Nelson is the only muddy-water river entering Hudson's Bay. Most of the others have a slightly brownish tinge, but their waters are perfectly wholesome and contain only very small quantities of foreign matter. The Churchill which is the second largest river of Hudson's Bav, is a beautiful clear-water stream, somewhat larger than the Rhine. It is remarkable for having at its mouth a splendid harbour with deep water and every natural convenience for the purposes of modern commerce. The only harbours on the west side of Hudson's Bay are those formed by the mouths of rivers, but none of them, with the exception of Churchill Harbour, can be entered by vessels drawing more than ten or eleven feet and obly at high water even by these. The Churchill is unlike all the other rivers in having a deep, rock\', and comparatively narrow mouth, which can be entered with ease and safety by the largest ships at all stages of the tide. On the point at the west side at the entrance of the harbour stands the old Fort II Prince of Wales, which is probably the largest ruin in Norili America. Ahhough occupying a commanding posliion and moanting about forty large guns,it was surrendered, without firing a shot,to the French Admiral, La Perouse, who destroyed it in 1782. Along the west coast the rise and fall at spring tides amounts to about eleven or twelve feet on an average, and is pretty uniform, diminishing somewhat towards the south. It is greatest at the mouth of the Nelson river, where it amounts to about fifteen feet. The tides are lower all along the cast side of the bay. In Hudson's Strait there is a very good tide, amounting to 38J feet at Fort Chimo, according to the reports ive have received of Acting Statf-Commander J. G. Boulton's reconnaissance during the past summer. (Jeologitally the basin of Hudson's Bay, excluding the western or AVinnipeg division, lies within the great Laurentian area of the Dominion. Silurian rocks, resting almost horizontally upon these, form an irregular border along the south-western side of the bay, and in the valleys of some of the rivers they extend inland from 100 to 200 miles. To the south and west of James's Pay, the Silurian are overlaid by Devonian rocks, wliich here occupy a considerable area. The long chains of islar . which fringe the east coast for nearly 300 miles to the northward of Cu^ Jones, and also the mainland in the vicinity of Richmond Gulf, are composed of igneous and almost unaltered sedimentary rocks, resembling the Nipigon series of the Lak» Superior region, which may be of Cambrian age. On the western side of the bay, from Churchill northwards, quartzites and other rocks, which may also belong to the Cambrian system, appear to be largely developed. Valuable minerals may be looked for on this part of the coast. The extensive level region around the south-western side of the bay is overspread with a great sheet of boulder clay, which is generally covered by the modified drift. The rocks of the outlying, or Winnipeg, division of the basin comprise an extensive series, ranging from the Laurentian to the Tertiary. The resources of Hudson's Bay and the country immediately around it are varied and numerous, although as yet few of them are at al! developed. The fur trade is the principal and best known business which has hitherto been carried on in these regions, but a large amount of oil, derived from the larger whales, the porpoises, walruses, white bears, and the various species of seals which frequent the northern parts of the bay, has been carried to New England, and small quantities, principally of porpoise and seal oil, have from time been brought to London by the Hudson's Bay Company. The other exports from the bay have been as yet but trifling. They embrace whalebone, feathers, quills, ca^torum, lead ore, sawn lumber, ivory, tallow, isinglass, and skins of heals and porpoises. The fisheries proper, speaking of Hudson's Bay, have not yet been investigated. Both the Indians and Eskimo find a variety of fish for their own use, and fine .salmon abound in the rivers of Hudson's Strait ; and from one or two of them a considerable number of barrel^, in a salted condition, are exported every year. Waterfowl are very numerous on both sides of the bay, and larger game on the " barren grounds " in the northern parts, so that the natives, with prudence, may always have a plentiful supply of food. But perhaps the most important of the undeveloped resources of the country around the bay are its soil, timber, and minerals. To the south and west of James's Bay, in the latitude of Devonshire and Cornwall, there is a large tract, in which much of the land in good and the climate sufficiently 12 favourable for the successful prosecution of stock and dairy farming A s.np of country along the east side of James's Bay may also prove available for these purposes. To the south-west of the wide part of the bav the country is well wooded, and although little or no rock comes to the siirface over an mimense area, still neither (he soil nor the climate is suitable for carrymg on agriculture as a principal occupation until we have passed over more than halt the distance to Lake Winnipeg. This region, however, offers no engineering d*hculties to the construction of a railway from the sea-coast t<:) the better cc.u.,.ry beyond, and this, at present, is the most important point in reference to it. Some of the tirober found in the country which sends its waters into James s Bay, may prove to be of value for export. Amons the kinds which It produces may be mentioned white, red, and pitch pine black and white spruce, balsam, larch, white cedar, and white birch. The numerous rivers converging towards the head of James's Bay offer facilities of vessds"^ "" ^"^ ''°'"*^ ""' ''''"''^ " '"'■'^ ^^ shipped by sea-going Minerals may, however, become in the future the greatest of the resources of Hudson's Bay Little direct search has as yet been made for the valuable mmerals of these regions. I have, however, found a large deposit of rich ironstone on the Mottagami river, inexhaustible supplies of good tnanganiferous iron ore on the islands near the Eastmain coast and promising quantities of galena around Richmond Gulf and also rear I.ittle Whale River, where a small amount had previously been known to exist have likewise noted traces of gold, silver, molybdenum, and copper" Ligmte IS met with on the Missina )e, gypsum on the Moose, and petroleum- bearing limestone on the Abittibi river. Small quantities of anthracite and various ornamental stones, and rare minerals, have been met with in the course of my explorations. Soapstone is abundant not far from Mosquito Bay, on the east side, and iron pyrites between Churchill and Marble Island on the west. Good building stones, clays, and limestones exist on both sides of the bay. A cargo of mica is said to have been taken from Chester- field Inlet to New York, and valuable deposits of plumbago are reported to occur on the north side of Hudson's Strait. Some capitalists have applied to the Canadian Government for mining rights in the latter region Situated m the heart of North America, and possessing a seaport in the very centre of the continent, 1,500 miles nearer than Quebec to the fertile lands of the North- West Perritories, Hudson's Bay now begins to possess a now interest, not only to the Canadians, but also to the people of Great Britain, from the fact that the future highway between tiie great North- West of the Dominion and Europe may pass through it. The possibility of this route being adopted for trade is not a new idea, and it has frequently been suggested by far-seeing men in past years, and occasionally referred to in the newspapers. In 1848, the then Lieutenant M. H. Synge, in his work on Canada, wrote : " A ship annually arrives at Fort York, for the service of the Hudson s Bay Company; who can tell how manv may eventually do so?" In 1869, and subsequently, I frequently discussed' the matter with the late « 1^" •'o'^"Jo""g- Mr. Keefer, Professor Armstrong, and others: and in 1876, Mr. SeKvyn brought the subject unofficially before members of the Canadian Government, and recommended that surveys be made of Hudson's Bay and Strait. The Right Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald, Minister of the Interior, and his deputy, Colonel J. S. Dennis, have all along taken a deep interest in this question, and in 1878 the latter gentleman published a work «J accompanied l)v Minister of tiie a valuable maj), in relation to it. The report of the Interior for 1878 contains an appendix by myself on the practicability of building a railway from Lake Winnipeg to Hudson's In the session of 1878-79, and again the following year, the Hon. Bay. Thomas Ryan, a gentleman of great enter])rise, has brought the matter under notice of the Dominion Senate. In 1880 the Parliament of Canada granted charters to two companies for constructing railways, and otherwise opening a route of commerce, from the North-West 'I'erritories to Europe wa Hudson's Bay ; and during the past sum- mer one of them, the Nelson Valley Company, caused a survey to be made of part of the distance between Lake Winnij)eg and the harbour of Churchill. The chief engineer has reported the route to be an easy and inexpensive one for a railway. This company had also the power of connecting with the Canadian Pacific Railway; but the main line will form a connecting link between the great system of inland navigation, with centres in Lake Winnipeg, and the sea. When constructed, the Nelson Valley Railway may carry to the seaboard not only the surplus grain and cattle of our own Nonh-West, but also those of Minne.sota and Dakota. Sir J. H. Lefroy, President of the Geographical Section of the British Association, in the able address which he delivered at the Swansea meeting (i88o), said : " Hudson's Bay itself cannot fail at no distant day to challenge more attention. Dr. Bell reports that the land is rising at the rate of live to ten feet in a century, that is, possibly, an inch a year. Not, however, on this account will the hydrograj^her notice it ; but because the natural seaports of that vast interior, now thrown open to settlement, Keewatm, Manitoba, and other provinces unborn, must be sought there. York Factory, which is nearer Liverpool than New York, has been happily called by Professor H. Y. Hind the Archangel of the West. The mouth of the Churchill, however, although somewhat further north, offers far superior natural advantages, and may more fitly challenge the title. It will, undoubtedly, be the future shipping port for the agricultural products of the vast North- West Territory, and the route by which emigrants will enter the country." Sir Henry Lefroy knows whereof he writes, being jiersonally well acquainted with Hudson's Bay and the North- West Territories. It has been shown that the Canadian North- West Territories, embracing hundreds of millions of acres of fine land, are capable of becoming the greatesf wheatfield in the world. The centre of this immense agricultural region lies to the north of the Saskatchewan. If we look at the map of the northern hemisjihere we shall see at a glance that the shortest route between these territories and England is through Hudson's Bay. Mr. Lindsay Russell, the Surveyor-General of Canada, has recently made a clo.se calculation of relative distances, and found that even the city of Winnipeg, which is near the south- eastern extremity of these territories, is at least 800 miles nearer to Liverpool by the Hudson's Bay route than by the St. Lawrence, while tlie difference in favour of the former will be increased continually as we advance northward into the interior. Now let us consider the relative progress of two persons travelling to Liverpool from the centre of this vast region, the one going by Winnipeg and the valley of the St. Lawrence, and the other by the Nelson valley and the Churchill Harbour. In about the same time which the former requires to reach the city of Winnipeg, the latter arrives at the sea coast at Churchill. From Winnipeg our first traveller has still to go 1,291 miles by the Lake Superior route, or 1,698 miles if he prefers the all-rail journey through American territory, via Chicago, before he reaches Montreal, where ■r<-i'- » 14 lie will be still abjut as far from Liverpool as our other traveller when he has reached Churchill. In other words, the route from the North-West Territories to England, vta Hudson's Bav, saves the whole distance between Winnipeg and Montredl. The distance to Liverpool by way of New York is still greater The advantages of this short route over all others are so numerous that only a few of them can be referred to in this short paper. The great saving in distance represents an important economy in time and money, or in freight and passenger rates. If the grain, cattle, and other productions of the North- West rerritories could reach an European market, only through Ontario and Quebec, or by way of New York, a large proportion of their value would necessarily be consumed by the long land carr age ; whereas, if they find an outlet at Churchill, there will be an average saving of 1,291 miles as compared with Montreal, and of upwards of 1,700 miles as compared with New York and this without any increase in the length of the sea voyage. In effect this will place a great part of the farming lands of our North-West Territories in as good a position in regard to a seaport as are those of Ontario, west of loronto; and conseciuenily will greatly increa.se the value of every description of farm produce, and, therefore, of the farms themselves Some kinds which could not be sent out of the country at all by the longer land route, may be I)rofitably exported by the shorter one. For the transportation of both grain and fresh meat, as Colonel Dennis has pointed out, the northern route, besides the shortening of the distance, would have great advantages over all those to the south, owing to its cojler and more uniform temperature. Heavy or bulky goods of all kinds would, of course, be imported into the North-West by the shortest land route. In regard to the export and .mport of live stock this independent route will possess a great importance to these territories' Hitherto, cattle, horses, hogs, and sheep have there enjoyed an immunity from almost all forms of contagious diseases, and, owing to the healthy nature of the climate for these animals, it is hoped this state of things will continue 1 he domestic animals in the United States and the older Canadian provinces being occasionally afflicted with contagious diseases, it becomes necessary for European countries to impose restrictions on their importation. In the event of an epidemic of this nature existing in some part of these regions, but not m the North-West Territories, there need be no objection to exporting live stock from the latter by way of Hudson's Bay. As a route for emigrants from Europe, that by Hudson's Bay possesses not only the advantage of the short land journey, but the still more important one to us, of entirely avoiding the United States and the populous parts of Canada, in both of which, it is well known, a verv serious percentage of the immigrants destined for our North-West lands are every year enticed away to .set^tle in the great republic. An inlet by Hudson's Bay is the only thoroughly independent channel which can ever be established betwee.i the British Islands and our great and valuable territories in the interior nf North America • and It IS very desirable, on national grounds, that it should be opened un' Troops have hitherto been sent to the Red River Fettlement on more than one occasion by way of Hudson's Bay, while the intervening country was as It IS yet, in a state of nature. Were a short railway built through this tract It would at once become, for military purposes, an easy connecting link with the mother country. An impression has long prevailed that Hudson's Bay and Strait could not be navigated for the ordinary purposes of commerce on account of ice but this idea is probably destined to prove chimerical. The occasion for { »s testing the point has not hitherto arisen, and the fact that these waters have been successfully navigated by ordinary sailing vessels for 200 years, in order to secu-e what littJe trade the country afforded, indicates what may be expected from properly equipped steamships, so soon as the larger business of the future mav require their services in this direction. The conditions of the sea-borne conimeice of the North-West, in relation to Hudson's Bay, will probably turn out to be similar to those of the rest of Canada with reference to the Gulf of St Lawrence. In both cases, everything must be done during the summer. Yet Hudson's Bay is, of course, open all the year round. No one would be likely to suppose that a sea of such extent, in the latitude of the British Islands, would ever freeze across. 'J'he Lower St. Lawrence is also partly open even in the middle of winter. But the difficulty in both cases i*; the impossibility of getting into harbours. A harbour such as that of Churchill on Hudson's Bay would have the advantage over Quebec or Montreal of communicating directly wth the open sea, and hence in the autumn vessels would not be liable to be frozen in, as occasionally happens in the St. Lawrence— as for example in the autumn just passed ; and also in the autumn of 1870, when the outward-bound shipping got frozen in below Quebec, occasioning a loss, it was said, of over a million dollars. Again, in the spring there would probably be less uncertainty about entering liom the sea than in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where vexatious delays are not uncommon after the open season is supposed to have arrived. 'Ihere has been some discussion as to the length of time during whidi Hudson's Strait and Bay might be navigated each year, but there docs not seem to be much evidence that the stiait, any more than the bay, is closed at any season. Its gre^t width, depth, and strength of the tides probably keep it open all winter. My own experience, and that of many others lead me to believe that the climate generally of Hudson's Bay is much better than some writers have represented it to be. From all that I could learn or observe, it appears that the strait and bay may be navigated arid the land approached by steamers during an average of four and a half months each year, or from the middle of June to the end of October. 'I he strait and bay could probably be navigated by steam-vesseh earlier ihan the middle of June, but nothing would be gained, except perhaps by whalers, in going in before an open harbour can be reached. Much has been recorded in favour of the above " opinion from the days of the Danish Captain, John Munck- -who wintered at Churchill in 1619-20— to the present time ; and other evidence^ which is not ' to be found in the books, leads me to the same conclusions. Churchill Harbour does not freeze up until November, and the sea is open ci^^.se to it during the whole winter. I have a record of the principal phenomena of the seasons at Martin's Falls, on the Albany, extending through a period of fifty years, and from it I find that the river is open there on an average for six months of the year. I have also a record of dates of the opening and closing of Hayes River at York Factory, extending over more than fifty years, from which it appears to enjoy an average of fully six months of open water. The Nelson River is open for a longer period. I think, with these facts before us, we need not despair of successfully navigating Hudson's Bay. as far as the length of the season is concerned. Even were the time of open navigation shorter than it is known to be, the very great benefits which the North-West and Canada generally would deri\e from possessing an outlet in that direction are sillicient tO make it well worth an effort to open it. The freedom of i6 Hudson's Strait and Bay from rocks shmk on,i ^.u • j. navigation will e,e„„„ veLk in haPqutw^he Mc 'ZZT '° .0 a ;o^:i!;rLT,:t^t^SVo^:e;^E^a!rL"d^„ts^"'.'•'"" GEORGE A. BAYNE (now deceased), Ov:V En^uucr, Winnipe^^, Season 1884. Class ocean ports. I took careful soundings, and find a distanr.- nf VL V \ tides the river rises at least i^ feet so tha ft w^M J ti ^' «!"•'"« s:rs,'i;°if/i-,-cl:v?rs^^^^ bay, and overlapping that on 'the ca^ ''' '"^^ '^'""^'"^ '"'° '^e Froni reliable information I learned the following facts viz • /r^ ti Bay and Harbour of Churchill are open for navigation f?om he Jfh IV t ^ o 20th October for ordinary sailing vessels, such as noHrade to^hl ^""f (2) That sometimes the ice does not take fast in fhrLrK ";"s P"""'" Derpmhpr I ■,\ TKof tt • ■ .. '" 1"^ harbour until the ist Cl,„rSXs tniTd tSe'lin'L'cu^d'E.Hll''^™'" /" ," "« ""'"'" »■ C. N. BELL and Dr. BELL . Mr. Charles N. Bell, in his " Northern Waters," i88j savs ■ " If ic r a on investigation that fully 750 vessels have passed hrough ^Hudson's W and tins does not cover, it is known, the whole numbed The Sil^T' (some oS?""' '"''^'"^ "^^'^ "^^ ^^^^^'^ °f Te' English ^nd Sch (some of them carrying 74 guns), as well as ships bound on vova^« nSL »7 covery, trade and whaling. As early as 1619, Capt. John Miinck was sent by the King of Denmark, and he wintered at Cmirchill, a brass gun of his being taken out of the river some time about the date of the appearance of Fox in that harbour." I)r. Robert ]{ell obtained from the company's offices, in London, a record, which, prmted in his report, shows the date 6( arriving and sailing of their vessels at York Factory for 93 years, and at Moose Fart for 147 yeais. 'I hese lists show that in some years several vessels were sent in charge of British men- of-war, and there have been almost every year during the past two centuries ships of various classes and sites, navigating the strait without loss, and it seems almost incredible that such a number of voyages could be made, ex. tending over 374 years, without the loss of over one, or, as is claimed by some writers, two small sailing vessels. REPORT Of the SKr,ECT Committeu of the House op Commons to inquire INTO the Navigation ok Hudson's Bav. Mouse of Commons, Ottawa^ Committee Room, April 8, 1 884. The Committee appointed to inquire into the question of the Navigation of Hudson's Bay beg to submit the following report : — Hudson's Bay, situated betwe:?n 51° and 63° of north latitude, is a vast sheet of salt water, measuring 1,300 miles in length, with an average width of about 600 miles. It occupies the centre of British North America, and drains a territory over three millions of square miles in superficial extent. From Labrador in the east, and from the Rocky Mountains in the west, numerous large rivers How through provinces, districts great as provinces, and vast solitudes into this inland sea ; towards the south the extremity of its basin reaches to the sources of the Mississippi. The average depth of this Mediter- ranean of Canada is 70 fathoms, as stated by Lieut. Chappelle, R.N., and such is the uniformity of the bottom that Dr. Bell, of the Geological Survey, does not hesitate to assert that, if through any convulsion of nature the water were to retire, we should see an immense plateau similar to the prairies of die West. There are no rocks or dangerous places to impede navigation ; the western shore is low, and affords but one well-sheltered, spacious, and per- fectly safe harbour, Churchill, situated 200 miles from York Factory. The temperature of the waters of Hudson's Bay in summer is some 14° higher than that of the waters of l^ke Superior. Storms are very rare, and by no means formidable, and no icebergs are ever to be met with ; fogs are of rare occurrence and short duration. The tide is first felt on the west shore ; it runs down towards the south, and then up by the south, and then up by the east shore. Certain winds are, it is asserted by many persons periodical. ' Towards the south a deep opening of the land forms James's Bay, a kind of prolongation of Hudson's Bay, situated 281 miles irom Lake Superior. lS Its greatest extent from nortli to south measures 360 miles ; its average breadtii is about 150 miles. The <.ast coast is woody, ami the west low and swani] y. 'Ihe country east of Hudson's Fiay is extremely rich in iron ore, according to Dr. liell. Anihraciie is alsj fnuid there, and lignite in abundance en James's liay. ^ The waters of Hudson's Bay re.ich the Atlantic by way of Hudson's .Strait, an arm ol the sea 500 miles in length, and with an average (jreadlh of 100 miles. The chief outlet of the strait is only forty-five miles wide between Resolution Island and Button Island on the north coast of Labrador, i'jie depth of the water is over 340 fathoms in the strait. The current is very ra[)id, and runs as high as six miles an hour. 'I'he tide rises from thirty to forty feet. 'I'he coast is very high and bold, especially towirds the north ; the land in many places, as seen by navigators, attaining from ,i,ooo to 2,000 feet in height. Were it not for the i)resence of the Polar ice, which comes down from the Arctic seas by way of Fox's Strait during the months of April, May, June and July, Hudson's Strait would, it is admitted by all, be exceptionally safe, owing to the uniform great dei)th of water and the entire absence of reefs or dangerous islands. These masses of ice when emerging from the strait meet the icebergs from DaviVs Strait and Baffin's Bay, and are thus retarded on their way to the ocean, and are the chief if not the only obstacle which impedes the navigation of the bay and greatly curtails its duration. The Circumpolar charts, published by the' Hvdrographical Office of the United States Navy Department, show the existence of a current which passes roundGreenland andshows itself tothe eastof Davis's Strait, running towards Baffin's Bay, and then down the direction of Labrador, coming in contact, m its course, with the rush of wate.-s of Hudson's Strait. The Bay of Ungava, a sharp indentation of the Labrador coast, lies at the eastern side of Hudson's Strait. Salmon abound in all the estuaries, and It is known that the Hudson's Bay Company yearly export large quantities of frozen salmon to the English markets. The same company have a fort. Fort Chinio, where they carry on a porpoise fishery on a small scale. The seas we have just described have never ceased to be fretiuented since they were discovered in 1610 by Henry Hudson. When in search of a passage to China, Champlain, the illustrious founder of the City of Quebec set out that same year (1610) and ascended the St. Maurice, in pursuit of the same end, but he was forced to turn back. He had no better success in a fresh attempt in 1613. Hudson was more highly favoured, and was the first to reach the bay, and gave his name to this Great North Sea of the old charts. In 1612 Button visited these same latitudes, and gave his name to the group of islands off the entrance of Hudson's Strait. In i6y Fox made his way further towards the North. West, and entered one of 'the numerous arms of the sea which form the outlet jof the Arctic waters. It is now known as Fox s Strait. The following year James ventured as far as the head of Hudson s Bay, and discovered the bay which bears his name. All these renowned navigators were searching for a North- West pas.sage leading towards the Pacffic Ocean and the Western lands, about which so many marvellous tales were told. After the period of discoveries comes the history of the attempts made at vario IS times by the merchants of England and of France to explore and take possession of the riches which were believed to be hidden in these new lands In i652 Desgroseillers is said to have sailed into these waters ; Countare and '9 Dequet took possession the following year in the name of the King of France ; in 1668 Raddisson, a Kn.'nchnian.anddiliani.an Englishman, from New Kngluul built a tradmg fort ; and lastly, in 1670, came the first estaljiislmu-nt of the Hudson's JJay Company. From this date until the Treaty of Utrecht, in 171.3, tiie bay became the theatre of sanguinary conllicts. Many a hero there won fame for deeds renowned in story ; the navies of England and Prance met m the field of many a tight, and the forts on the shore were time and agnin taken and retaken, so that Iberville, writing to the King, said to nim, '^Sire, je suis las de conciuerir la Haie." This obstinate struggle between two great nations for the i)ossession of Hudson's Bay and the adjoining countries, of which the future value w.w niore than problematical, seems strange to us now. However, the 'I'reaty o Utrecht confirmed England in possession ot Hudson's Hay and the adjoining countries, and a gloomy silence fell once more upon those lands buried beneath the snows and ice of their long winters. The Hudson's Bay Company, armed with exclusive privdeges, did not remain inactive, for we find that m 1749 the jealousy of the English merchants cau.sed an inquiry by the House ot Commons into the condition of the territories watered by Hudson's Bay and into the trade there carried on. A special committee was appomted, which sat, examined several witnesses, and made a report which has continued to be a matter of lively interest even up to our clay. With the ostensible object of inquiring as to the means of civilising those countries, the end, even then, sought was the abolition of the monopoly hel.l by the powerful company. The latter was compelled to lay before the committee a statement of its affairs, which showed it to be in a most flourishin.' condition. The most striking result which seems to have followed thil inquiry was the assistance given by the company to all the hardy explorers who strove then and since to discover the mysterious and undiscoverable Norlh-West pas.sage. As regards the ol>ject in which we are now interested, that inquiry furnishes us valuable information regarding the navigation of Hudson's Bay. Thus the company state that in 17 19 and 1748 they had sent out two, three, and even four vessels a year ; und yet there is no mention made of a single disaster or the slightest accident. It would be curious to compare the inquiry, made nearly a century and a half ago, with some of the evidence collected at the present time by your committee. It would be observed, among other things, that the navigation of these unknown seas was then characterised as safe and comparatively easy. Now 1 his facility of approach and this safety are confirmed in our time. And if the number of vessels sent by the company is less in our time. It is because since the establishment of a railway, in the south of Manitoba^ it costs them less to export by the route a portion of the goods they formerly despatched by way of Moose and York Factory. Besides, it is shown by the evidence annexed to this report that Hudson's Bay has for several years not been frequented only by vessels belonging to the company. The hardy sailors of New England periodically betake themselves to the north part of the bay to carry on the whale fisheiy, usually wintering on Marble Island, and sailing back the following season with their vessels laden with rich booty. Mention is, in Let, made of an American who has established a port on Hudson's Strait. Fishermen from Dundee, Scotland, also visit Hudson's Bay. It is well known that the question of navigating Hudson's R.-iy has c 2 so. suddi'iily acquired :i new imjjortanre. It is ever tlic proWem of flndin" a Northwest i)iissage, not this lime in order to reach the China Sea, hut" to gam access to the in niense harvests of wheat which await in the prairies of the West tlie European l)U)er«, Let us suppose, says one witness, the possihiiity of establishing a h'ne of steamships between I-iver|)ool and Hudson's Hay port, which wouk! carry freight at the same rate as the steamships between Montreal and l,iveri)ool. Now the distance between Winni[)eg and Montreal is about 1,400 miles while It IS more than 700 miles to York Factory. It costs i^ cents jier ton per iTule to (orward grain from St. Paul's to New York, which anplies to the distance to be traversed between Winni|)eg and Montreal to York Factory, say the half. If, now, the ton is reckoned equal to 33 bushels, the difference m freight in favour of the Hudson's Bay route would be a saving of 32 cents per bushel, or, in other words, an additional profit of 6 49 dels, per acre, yielding an average of 20 bushels. Other calculations made a saving one- third the present cost of transport realised by the farmer of the West ujjon the opening of a channel of exportation by the Hudson's Bay. A large j)roportion of importation from Europe would take this road ; the immigrants proceeding westward would see that they could shorten the annoyances, the delays, and the cost of a journey across the Continent by some 8co to 900 ni'les. The export of butchers' meat would alone furnish a considerable portion of the lading of Hudson's Bay steamers ; and niiny persons are of opinion that this route would command a considerable portion of the imi)ort and export trade of the North-Western States of the Union. We speak merely incidentally of the Hudson's Bay fisheries, and of the workings of the minerals, almost inexhaustible in their richness, which are to be found there. To sum u|) the whole, Hudson's Bay appears to us to be destined to perform the same service for the vast territories of the North-West which the Culf of St. Lawrence does for the vast and fertile valley bearing the same name. Churchill IS 2,926 miles from Liverpool, Montreal 2,990, 7'/d Cape Race and New York 3,040. There is, therefore, a ditTerence of 64 miles over the route of Montreal, and 114 miles over that by New York, in favour of Churchill. It we sum up the evidence gathered by the committee as to the present condition of the navigation of Hudson's Bay and Strait, we find that the great majority of those who have been here, and consequently who know, reckon the duration of the navigation in these waters at three and four moi s. For more than 250 years sailors have counted upon having an uninterrupted navi- gation of two months and one-half to three months, and this without marine charts, without an accurate knowledge of these waters, without lighthouses, without a system of telegraphic communication, and without aid of steam 1 1 is not then an unwarranted belief that, with all the appliances now at the disposal of nautical science, this navigation will be iirolon^ed some weeks. ° In 1716 Captain Vaunton wrote that of all known countries the navition of navigating Hudson's Hay when the railways become sufficient to move tne trafhc of the North-West, appears to us to be an erroneous view to take of the matter. What we have to do is to promote i)roduction by ofTerinc 10 it more favourable conditions. ° 'I'here are also results, gathered from the evidence gathered by your committee, a necessity for the (Jovernment to examine a great number of questions intimately connected with the navigation of Hudson's \k\\ and Strait. ' Without the intervention of the State this n.-.vigation will remain what it IS at the present moment, uncertain, of short duration, without any att.action for capitalists. Jn this direction several have set forth their opinions as to the nature of the e.xaminatioh which the Government might have made, and as to the organisation and character of a proposed surveying and eKplorintr ex|)edition. 1 & They almost all agree in .stating that these observations should cover a period of at least three years, and should be conducted by means ot observa- tories, erected on the shores of the strait as well as on certain places on the coast of Hudson's Hay. Cape Wolstanholme, Nottingham Island, the neighbourhood of North Bay, Cape Hope, Resolution Lland, and one of the Button Islands have been pointed out as localities which might be selected. '("he meteorological and astronomical phenomena, the currents, the temperature of the waters, the tides, the movement and nature of the ice masses, some hydrographical bearings, etc., such would be, or nearly so, the wor.i entrusted to the head men of the stations. The Government would succeed in this way in establishing^ a knowledge upon a number of essential Ijoints relating to the navigation of those unknown waters, and would prei)are the \\\iy for capitalists desirous of essaying the opening of this grand load to the North- West. I'he breaking up of these waters which fall into Hudson's Bay, as well as the date of the formation of the ice upon these rivers ujjon the beach of the bay, are, of course, the important facts which it is necessary to take into account, in order to determine the duration of navigation. From the tables given to the Government by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1880, it appears that the breaking up of Hayes River at York Factory for a period of 53 years took place on the average isth of May. The mean of the formation of ice gives the 20th of Noveml;er, which would give an average of about five months or thereabouts of navigation. We know that the 1st of May is the usual date of the opening of Montreal Harbour, and the 25th November of Its clo.sing. The iioint would be lo ascertain for certain this fact, not only as to York factory, but Churchill Harbour, and va.bus other places on the shores of Hudson's Bay. The informatioti hitherto collected only applies to a \i:vy small numb^T of ports. *9 ■^ "II' '" -V '"o ^" si'l^niit with this uport all the cvidetve taketi in the co(ir.-.e ol ini»c«ipation, some ol wliich will be ioiind of a most trifcrcsting character. In toni i 1 j, tiu this report, your coninmu • helieve it to be their duty to remark upon lU, ^l/'f'iliitely imp.irtal char.w ter ul their lal. .urs. Undertaken without refereiu, ,.- feivcd opinions, the intjuiry K Heen conducted in a manner well c.ilcuL.mJ u throw the greatest possible amount of lij^ht upon liie conditions and character of the navigation of this intrtion of our Marine l)ominion. The information obtained cannot be said to complete the examination of the question ; but your committee are satisfied if they have been able, I)y their efforts, to contribute to the critical examination and solution of a iiroblem which will assure to Canada an in-mensc develojjment of its marine the monopoly of the traffic of the North-VVest, and a fresh pledge of prosperity and grandeur. The whole of which is resi>ectfully submitted. (Signed) J. ROYAL, Chairman. Legislature Province ok Manitoba, Session 1884. The Hon. Mr JJrown, I'rom the Committee on the Hudson s Bay Inquiry, in 1884, presented their Sixth Report, which was read as follows :-- Your committee beg leave to report that they have met eleven times, and have taken the evidence of the following witnesses, viz. : — Mr. John Moves, Winnipeg, Mr. C. N. IJell, Winnipeg. Mr. H. JoHNsroN, Winnipeg. Capt. W. Kennedy, Winnipeg. Capt. J. Hackiani), Headingly. Mi. W Stephenson, Headingly. Ciij '. Colin Sinclair, St. Andrews. Mr. D. MacArthur, Winnipeg. Capt. \\. Robinson, Winnipeg. Mr. W. Archibald, Winnipeg. Mr. W. Dickson, Lake P'rancis. Mr. |no. Hargraves, High Bluff. Mr. C. S. Drummonu, Winnipeg. Yen. Archdeacon Cowley, J)ynevor. Mr. L\MES Ward, St. Anne's. M'. Gpo, a. Bavne, C.E., Winnipeg. And have received \rri, t'^sfmiony from many others. Many of the gentlei'-»ii . n jd' have had personal and extended expe:ience as officers and se'i..i •• c/ th : Hudson'^ Bay Company at their posts on Ihiilson's aiul Ungav.i Hays and (lie rivers cMUPtyiiw into those liays. No evidfftce has been i^heii iluit f^cts to prove Huit Hiuhon's Stniit and Pay proper tier /rcre over, or that Ihe in- met with in those watirs is sufficient to prevent navi^atinn at any time of the year. TlKit, consciiiiciuly, the period of navigat on is defined hv the time during winch tlic ports, harhonrs, or roadsteads on the shores of the l)ay lan be entered ijy vessels of a suitable description for such navigation. 'I'hat, from the evidence adduced, it appears that such ports or harbours are open on an .ivoiage, from four and a half to five m )nihs in each year to ordinary ve.isitls Th ■ Hudions .-ay and Strait apjiear, from all evidence taken, to be singularly free from obstruction to navigation in the shape of shoals or reefs ; and, duiiiijr 1 1 1 period of open water, from storms or foiis. 'i'hat, while in the opinion of yjur committee, sufficient evidence exists tn pi,>ve the inacticability of a route of coinuiunication wuh this province rv-i Hudson's Bay. your committee is glad to jjcrccive that it is the intention of tne Oominion CJovernment to send an expeuilion to examine into the general ipiestion ()f the navigation of Hudson's Hay anfl Strait, and to oiitam such inlormaiion as will enable correct charts of the coasts and harbours to be constructed. 'I'liat. considering the paramount importance to this Province of such an investigation, your committee advise that steps be taken by your Honourable House to secure a proper representation of this I'rovince upon such ex- pedition. Your committee has also examined many jiersons familiar with the country between this Province and Hudson's Biy, and has examined the reports of engineers ami others, charged with the duty of making technical explorations of such country, and are of the opinion that no engineering difficulties exist which will prevent the construction of a line or lines from thii Province to the shores of Hudson's ]{.iy. Your committee beg to draw the attention of your Honourable House to the immense commercial importance to this Province of the proposed route of communication, whether by rail and water, or by rail alone. They find that the area under cultivation in the states of Minnesota and Dakota, and in this Province in 1882-3, nggregited nearly 9,000,000 of acres, which produced a crop of all kinds of grain amounting to u|)wards of 80,000,000 bushels. One railway alone (the St. Paul, Minn., Manitoba R.R.) carried .southward 13,087,120 bushels of wheat, 3'/0,oio barrels of Hour during the year ending June 30, 1883, and it is safe to assume that had the outlet zw Hudson's Bay existed, at least one-half of this produce would have followed that channel to the seaboard. Your committee feel justified in assuming that this route would be ■■ tMisively availed of by the shippers of this country and the neighjjouring States of America in consequence of the fact that the'distance from Winnipeg to Liverpool -via Hudson's Hay is 570 miles less than from Winnipeg to laveriKJol Z7(i Montreal and the Straits of Helle Isle, and 770 miles nearer than j'id Montreal and Cap- Race, while it is 1,051 miles near than by way of New York. Hy sea, Churchill Harbour is 64 miles nearer to Liverpool than is Montreal, and 114 milts nearer than New Yo:k. Not only is all the rail route much shorter than by anv other line, b it Nature has provided water ways from tiie head of navigation of the Red 24 River to ±c foot of f ake Winnipeg, which can be utih.seci for over six months tn each year, tliu.s redncmg the length of railway hre to be traversed to within 4CO mile:;, or a less distance than from Winnipeg to Port Arthur Your committee has, therclore, no reason to doubt that a raihvav from thence to Hud.son's Bay will prove a successful and remunerative undertak r am are satisfied thn such an outlet will do more to stimulate production i^ this Province and the North-West generally than any other enterprise ^our committee has embodied in the appendix to this report such economic and commercial statistics as are available, as proofs of thi nric .Va Ss^s Bar'""' "' ^•^'^'^'^'^'"S communications iith thb Province S Ordered.— That the report be no\y received. PROCEEDINGS OF- THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY. Hudson's Bay and Hudson's Strait as a Navigable Channel. By Commodore (Admirai.) A. H. Markham, R N. Read at the Evening Meeting, June nth, 1888. The question of the practicability of navigating Hudson's Strait in safetv Sfo'tS'tlE"? "' ''' ^"" '^^ '^''^ '^^-''' --h interest on bS i a question tSi; n/ '''' T' T" ^'"^ f "g'^^Phy- At the same time it hP n^ If IS ofrconsiderable geographical interest in connection with nart of X wo id V-"d'"^*■'^''""• T*^.^ '^"T'^^^'^ ' ^ave acquired of That part ot the wor id is due to a careful study of the writings of our old avigators, and also of more recent reports, and this has been^uppIemenS Mud"r.'r'stSTo \^Tf .'"™^ V"^^^^ °" "^"-d *he aS^'Z^I I have thought that a paper containing a condensed narrative of former ^oy.ges from the time of Sebastian Cabot, and an accoun of my own obscry-itions, woul( be useful to the Fellows of this Society for "efe^ence f p hhshed .11 our ''Proceedings." I therefore prepared a morgm ^of this kind, which has been^accepted by the Council for printing, butSh would be too long for reading at one of our evening meetings. What I now prooo e to submit to the meeting is a condensed version of parts of the hfstS sectim, of my ,.aper, followed by a fuller narrative of nly own experiences Seao"t;;rASnca"?'S'" '''\'''T '-P^'y ^ermeJ, the M^editerranean .^ca o .\oith America, is a large inland .^ea, situated between the parallels of ■nnJ^ L .u ^^ ^5 W. long. It is about 900 miles in len-th from noith to south, and some 600 wide, covering an area of son ethin^ S 5oo,oco square miles. ^ f.ometniiig fiKe 'I 25 Hudson's Bay is reported to be remarkably free from rocks and shoals and .t has an average depth of about seventy fathoms. So unifo m are Jhe Su"r;?vTf'r 'r''"''°™'^'''''^'?.^^^°^''^'^'Dr- Bel, of the GeographiS October ,88? n'7h^ P"''"' ^'"f'^- ^'' ^^'""^""•cated to our Societv in Uc ober, 1881, on the commercial importance of Hudson's Bav, had no hesitation in saying that if, through any convulsion of nature, this vast basin re\;ral;tfoTttu4lr"^^' ^^ ''-'' ^"^ - '--"- P'--" -»'" "^ shou7d°"lt! til?' f*"" m'"^ "^ ^'^ authorities on this subject whose opinions should be received with greater respect than those of Dr. Bell who has devoted many years of his life to the exploration of Hudson's Bay 'and who' e Satio?t^nf^th^"''M'"'' '^S^fl^S the physical geography and geology of mat part ot the world are so well known. e b/ monni'^f '''"!f f :"''°!;'iy ^f-'^^^s that storms in the bay are very rare and by no means formidable that icebergs are never seen, and that fogs, the mos° dreaded enemy with which a sailor has to contend, are of rare om.rrenceand of but short duration. The climate of the shore; of Hudson's Bay cUiri^g the summer months, is mild and genial, nnd many European vegetables iich as potatoes, lettuce, beetroot, and onions, are grJwn in^he opS a r ' The winters are, however, very severe. ' ^ ' '" "P^u air. 1 ne less tMn f!o7''? ^^^l the temperature of the water in Hudson's Bay is no less than 14 higher than the water of Lake Superior, and in support of this assertion Lieutenant Gordon (who was sent by\he Canadian Goiernmen in command of the recent expeditions despatched to Hudson's Bay for tie ^S reporting on Its feasibility as a commercial route) wrifes.Tnhs first official despatc.i that "Hudson's Bay may therefore be regarded a^a va t basin o comparatively warm water, the effect of which must b^e to ameliorate the winter climate to the south and east of it." ameliorate The principle, and, so far as we know at present, the only practicable ^E'l 1° »"d^«"\«''^y in a ship is through Hudson's Strata deep channel about 500 miles in length, which separates Labrador from the islands of Arctic America. The Strait has an average breadth of abou 100 miles but the width in the narrowest part of the channel is no more than forty-five miles. The soundings in the strait vary from 150 to 300 ?I'homs and It IS wonderfully free from shoals and rocks, or any other obstacles that TngeroTs' '° "'''^ '" '"^'^^'•'" '' ' "'^^^«^^ channelUoTe'Ihan tdLdf; h.. Jl^^f/^countsof early voyages to Hudson's Strait are important to us because they form cumulative evidence respecting its navigabil ty in the months when such voyages were undertaken. John Davis,^vhen he was eturning from the extreme northern point he reached in 1587 passed across he mouth of the strait on the 1st August, and thus remarked U3on it : ' " h s inlet ogulfe was passed over ; where, to our great admiration, we saw the sea fallmg down into the gulfe with a mighty overfal and roa-ing, and w th divers circular motions ike whirlpooles, in such sort as forcible stre^ames pa e thorow the arches of bridges." On the Molyneux Clobe of 1593 (now the property 01 the Benchers of the Middle Temple, and which was lent to this Society for the Exhibition of Educational Appliances) the very word Ove^?all ■'"■' ""■'""' '' '''" '''''''''' °^ "'"'^""'^ Strait, namely, ""^p-urfous This is one out of several proofs that Davis had a hand in the con- struction c.{ that famous globe. In 160. Captain Waymouth, during a voyage 36 Eame\llitudl^ ^"'^'' ^'"™1^'''">'' ^^P^^'^^' '^^^^ '^^ entered an inlet in Hence it is that Captain Luke Fox, who subsequently made a voyage nto Hudson sl^iy, recorded the very true and apposite remark that "these 7, ?r.?o"H '^^^^'/P""''>-^l'd. I conceive, light JIudsun into his straits." with f ^y ""'''?" ''^'' despatched in the little n/sc-o7rrj, of 55 tons. d scove77lw n '"'"' '^ '"^ the North- West Passage by way of.he opening Snl^ ; ^°"''' °^ '?"'^'°" •^°'"*^ "^'^ '^"'t, and he deserves a high place among our early geographers. His name is never lik ely to be forgotten • tt IS borne by the stra.t and by the great bay to which it lead^s. It is intc bed on the vast territory between that bay and (he Pacific Ocean It is Xction- o tlir "b'utlnf '^ ^'-'i-f'-ds of happy families now^fving oi tfe b nks ?fu H ? nver, Which he found scantily inhabited b; savage tribes. Itwa Hudson who opened to h.s own countrymen the fisheries of .SpU/.berge o New YorL h"'.? '" °7' '''^'''\ .^^^terwards became the English colony tLn\Z In Lt ?' ' ''"m 1"'' '° '^""'^'"' ^ ^^' "'"••*-" enduring^iionument Sd n t '■'"'' "^""''^ ''^^'-^ '-anticipated. His successes mav well be jltZl • ^"^tiragement to those who, like him, labour earnestly and steadfastly in some great cau.se which may seem almost hopeless. ^ Tune ,n ^!\ ?f "' '^t ''''''' ^^'^"^'^ ''^•'^'•^ '"« "'-^""^ '" the end of June, 1610, and was at first much troubled bv the amount of ice he encoun- tered. Por some time he experienced difficulty in making his way to he under lilh"" K "' 'f""? "^^ ''^'^''''^'^ of a storm, he anchored under the si elter of three rocky islands to which he gave the name of •' The me more, some less), but in this freet " (as he calls the strait), " you seldom have any bigger than a great church, and most thereof lesse." This description, of course, has reference to the icebergs met with at the entrance and in the eastern part of Hudson's Strait. He then describes the flow or pack ice as follovys : "The other kind is smaller, and is what we call masht or fleacht ice. Of this you shall there have numbers infinite, some of the quantity of a roode, some a perch, some an acre or two acres. But the most is small and about a foot or two above water, and eight or ten under water, and ihese are they which do enclose you ; so as in much wind, from the topmast head, you shall hardly see any water for them. But while you lay amongst them it is so smooth as you shall not feel the ship stirre." It would not be possible to give a more accurate account of the conditions of the ice in Hudson's Strait at the present day than is furnished by this description written by Captain Luke Fox more than 250 years ago. It exactly describes the peculiar nature of the ice that is usually met with during the navigable season in this channel, and which 1 have not observed in any other part of the northern regions! Fox found little difficulty in passing through the strait, and was in Hudson's Bay by the 2 ist of July. His return voyage during October was still more easy, for he encountered no obstacle whatever, and was off Resolution Island on the 31st October. Captain James, whose voyage was undertaken in the same year, 1631, reached the entrance of Hudson's Strait on the 24th of June, but was delayed in consequence of striking on a rock,, and did not complete the passage of the strait until the middle of (uly. James wintered in the southern extremity of Hudson's Bay, and in 1632 he again passed through the strait, on liis way home, without any difficulty whatever. 38 then sent out VfTnLZf /i , t^ Captain Gillam, in the A^b^suc-A, was estTbl shed ; set?em?n nea S:-.""'^r"'' ""''''' "'"^""' ^Jifficulty and Charles. He r"turTe7tL" fdli^4^;:;"^" '^""'"■^' ^''^'^ '^'^ ^■^"^'* ^-^ any ddingfof them r„S;ece^^^^^^^ '" 1' V^.' ^"M*^^^^, ^-^^^^ '^'''^P'^ '^ without from ChSrchi 1 in earc i of thl ^ '""'u '""^"'^^ "^^ /'^/W^/w/^ was sent Captain Moor in 1 746. Midd eton' nasld H.! ^ u^? ^^ ''''°'^'" ""^'^'■ difficulty; and although Moo was baffled ^^ ?L ""'^f " ^'''\' ^""^""^ contrary winds and calms ^^ ^^ '"' ''^'''' ^'"'°"Sli he was delayed by or ,he ships wer ° S. OnYof ^"5.^:1^ '?Jr° '"" ''^'"Se. and few Ue now come to the expeditions of Sir Edward Parrv in ,s,, „ Captain Lyon in 1824, and of Sir George Back in is/rt ThJ ^ f memoiable vm-na^^ or» ..,.,1 ,.. ". _ ^ , "^ '" .'^.36. 1 he evenis of th - of these memoiable voyages are well known nnH T' , ' ^^ ^^'^"'^ ""^ '^'^'^ Parry encounteU much ke at the entrance of '"'t^' , """'^':« ^^ history. calms as by the ice. On July 21st ]' ^ss=s£mi^smm ag nnd on tlie J7th and 28th "ice in great quantities, but the i,ieces so loose as easily to allow the passage of a ship with a free wind. This ice was so honeycombed and rotten that it appeared in a fair way of being entirely ^nTJ'v? h" J ' "T"' ' u \!''' ''"'^'■" ^'''^'^ ''^^ '" all probability ice that had drifted down through Fox's Channel. The weather was, on the whole hne and clear, only four fcggy days being recorded during the month of lulv During the return voyage, in September, 1823, Parry was only five days passing through the strait, during which time no ice whatever was to be seen ^^ regarding the best time for navigating the strait. Sir Edward Parry says • Long experience has brought those who frequent this navigation to the conclusion that in most seasons no advantage is to be gained bv attempting to enter Hudson s btrait earlier than the first week in July. The annual disruption of the ice which occupies the upper and middle parts of the strait IS supposed r.ot to take place till about this time. In the course of one sin<.le year .s experience in these parts, we have seen nothing to recommend a prac- Com .an''''"' "' ""^ ^''^'^"' ''"'''"^'' ^'^ '^^^ '*"'''' "^ ^'"'^ Hudson's Bay I heartily concur with every word in this quotation, for it exactly corre- sponds with my own experience. But the fact must not be overlooked, that this advice is addressed to those who attempt the navigation of the strait in sailing ships. Steam has made a great revolution in ice navigation. A well- found steamer IS able to make her way with ease through the ice in Hudson's Strait in June and July, when a sailing ship would be hopelessly beset, and incapabk of pushing on. With regard to the practice pursued by the ships of the Hudson s Bay Company, alluded to by Sir Edward Parry, it stands to reason that the captains of those ships would naturally delay their nassace across the Atlantic, so as not to reach the strait before July or August ■' for they were well axyare that every extra day spent on the passage was a day nearer the disruption of the ice. 'Jheir experience told them that a policy of waiting was tlie wisest, when the chances would be more in their favour of getting through without hindrance from the ice. In 1824 Captain Lyon, in the Gri/>fr, passed through the strait in fourteen dajs, namely, from the 6th to the 20th of August. He sighted some loose heavy ice off Resolution Island, but otherwise experienced no difficulty in getting through. On his homeward voy.ge no ice whatever was seen in the strait, and he averaged, in his dull old bluff-bowed sailing ship, i eo knots a day, as he passed through, from Cape Wolstenholme to Resolution Island During Sir George Back's memorable and eventful voyage in the Terror in 1836, he encountered muc', ice -n the strait. But this appears to have been an exceptionally bad ice year. Still he was not more than a fortnight in getting through, namely from the ist August, when he was off Resolution Island, to the 14th, when he passed Nottingham Island. His course was then directed up Fox's Channel, where his ship was closely beset by heavy ice, in which, helplessly drifting at the mercy of the winds and currents he was compelled to pass the winter. During a period of six months the ship drilled 234 miles in a generally south-east direction. It is al'no.st impossible for us to conceive, much less to describe the anxiety that must have been experienced on board the Terror during those long dark months when officers and crew were, it may truly be said, momentarily expecting the destruction of their floating »^ome. She was most miraculously preserved, in spite of the terrible injuric:, inflicted on her by the ice, and she succeeded in making one of the mo=t marvellous voyages on record across 30 the Atlantic. The objects of Sir George Hack's voyage were unforlunitplu thrilli'ni''x;'^''*'""f *"" "'f ^'"'"'''' '''y'"'^^ '^""'^ embraces one of tlie most CO rf When JrV^'"'"'.-'''-' '^'' \''' *"'■'' ^'^'''«'^'^J '•'« readers of "; nN^^ l^A- 7'-*^".^'l hopes 01 savmg the ship and the hves of the crew hid ^n Cl Swi :'" succeeded >n running the Terror on shore off Jh.nc ana," in Lough bw illy | he men were harrassed and nearly worn out bv the r exert.ons m keepmg the ship afloat ; and the vessel her'e leak ng like n .eve from the mjur.es she had received in the ice, was on y Id ,o' ftler Iv This was the last Government expedition, having geographical research solely for, s object, that entered Hudson's Hay. But its wa^e ?ha e 1 ee navigated by the ships of the Hudson's Bay Conmany year a^er -ear TluJ^ vesses were annually despatched from England fovS and M.Jse Factories sometimes two, and even three, being sent in a year. Thej rarely failed to reach their destinations, rbr, arranging as they usimlly did, to reach Hdsoi'" Strait, on their outwaro voyage, in about the fir.(t week of Augur theJ experienced but little difficulty from the ice. On their return Voyages in September and October, they always found the strait conlpSJei; r.r J u^l '" |"y,Possession an official record of the voyages out and home of the Hudson's Bay Company's ship. Prince Rupert, for a period of eleven consecutive years, namely from ,835 10 1846 inclusive I fiiu d at he av™ time o getting through the strait on the outward voyages dur ng this pe iod (and It must not be forgotten that the strait is 500 miles n length w sixteen t,.'ne ran I that ha; ever'crJssf 'tl,;?vaSs of EonTllaf '^^" ''' "^^^^ ^'^-" --■' On the return of the N,Mm,y fr. Woi-- ^^" to secure the despatch of a ve d to nf^^'T''''^ immediately taken for the purpose of visiting and rdLSni Vk • ^''■''"' '" "^^ following year, In order to assist thtr.n'T^ 'f,^ ^^^''""s established there. endeavours to obUiT r ble am";™;"""?' '" -"^"^'^ praiseworthy navigation of the strait, the EnS, r '"formation regarding the vessel which had already gafnedTo he^self'T?'"' '^'''■•-^^' ""^^'S' ^'^'^ (a at their disposal. She wL offiSrelind .mnneTh'''',"" ]" ^'^''^ ^"^^-"ch) ment, sailed from Halifax, and reache?! t;T. ^^ "^' Canadian (Jovern- the i6th of June, .885. But tlS^ ^^o^^^^^^^^ '"^ Hudson's Strait on experience in ice navigation 1 he par J tr"''"^^''"''"'' ""' "■'^"f «f entrusted with the char|e of the shins p 15 11 ^. '"'"'^ '^^''^ occasionally No advantage appears to have been Hken of he l?''"^ '° ^^ ^'''^' ^^ '^^ ^'^ In fact, the reverse seems to hav^been the case foTn"?.''^!-'''^ ^""'''''''^ '^^••• voyage we read that, instea.l of utilising th/n.^' k '"'^ °'^''''''' ''^1'°" "f this release her frx^m I>er imprisonmen tl fv " b Xi ?u'' T "' '^''' ^^'^^'^^ ^o c^rec^lln. o^ i^o,'^^^:^^.^^^:^^- ^^^ tH?^^ ^^ ''I '^^ ^^^^^ he stem of the ship was so serous viniuredh,/- '^''^' '""""'y afterwards ice that it was considered notTn y .Sfbfc.r'"^ '"^ the southward, and they put into St Tohn'l m r "^f^^sary to return to the the necessary repairs The renJrs wei ^ "'"^'""''^ '" °'^^^^ '° ^ff^*^' executed, and by the first week nTliTt ?h. ^/''J""' "^^''^ '"^"^ ^P^^dily Strait. The next few davs were emn S '^^ ."^/'.''^ ^^'^ again in Hudson's during the previotis yeaTwhich 4 'done w Ih?'/'"^ the stations established 3. St of the same month he ^i/reached Port nr"'^?'?'"''^' ^"^ °" 'he days at each station. When her dmfes were """j"^!' ^^^'"^ ^P*^"' a few n^eeting no ice whatever during the eum ,0 ref.^f ''?'"'^ '""•• ""''''''' before she was clear of the strait ionmcy, although it was October 7 The r=p„„3 „b,ai„., r,o„ difcen. „a,i„„, „g„ai„g ,l,e „.„„„ „„d 33 of ,,;.^°"'*'d«;'^J '"yst-lf very fortunate in having the onportunity afrorde-l me of do ng so for .t had long been my wish to visit Hudson's LSrhTH mLt r ,'"'' "",""» ."g-'diiS tlie p,aclical,ili,y „r 110,0^,5 a rom SoJo?&v4rsr= ■" ^""■"^"" -•™- «'--•»"= h.-„^ ""-^'V °''f "^ that I was quite ignorant of the controversy that had sS?;"^'' °" ^"'■•^r^' '""^ H^'^*^^" '^"^'^ ^''° ^--^ in favour of^udson's Mrait as a commercial route and those who were opposed to it I wis there "'uVder'the?""°" '" '°™ ^ P"'^^">' •'">-"''^' ^^^ -biassed opinion herfroSat'po" rjTnf;^^^^^ the ^A.. at Halifax and sli.ed in H.f,;?."^ i"'^ ^ "'^ 'r^'^^'^ ^''^ entrance of Hudson's Strait, where we were detamed for some days, partly by thick weather and partly by loose treams of .ce; but the latter were never packed s«fficientl} cloL to prevent e^^^^^ a slow steamer like the A/e.t from making fairly good progress The ice tha^ we encountered was of a soft brashy consistencyfthe grcS part o i be n^ SS^'whiUt 'r '"t? °V'" T''' '-^"^ '» an'advanSd^Ige ote h™ f ■■'"' '^^'^y^'^ ^' ^^^ ^"•""'^e of the strait, we observed by S Sv Bck'Tnrt'r "' '" "•^'" ^"'^' '^^^'^ '-- commented on 1 593 the I Sous Over^air [."'''^"l"''- ^'''' ^^^"^^ "' °" '^''^ g'""^*^ °f 'iy3. me I urious Uvertall. It is not easy to account for these turbulent eddymgs an.l overfalls. We frer,uently observed com,,arativel7 ar 'e p eces JerVcl^^'A^l^X''^^^^ '" ."'^'"^''^ ''"-'--• a'tkougl!"t'he; nfri^nf vt^i ^^ir:;.! .i^'Sderilr^;:: w-iS-^{;,rf discover, the fiood-or west-going tide-caused the ice to slacken whilst ?. s" n '^'''■''^'''"■'^ '° ^' ^^'^^'^'^^d «" i' '^y the eb!) Frl July q to II scarcely any ice was seen, and a distance of over 20c miles Jas accJm pl.shed in about th.rtysix hours. This fact alone, withoutT.r her evidence' IS in Itself sultcient to show how free the eastern part ot he strait wi^fS In houn""'^'"'- "'"^"^ '' '"^ '■"" «P-d, could'^3nly steam aS; /.'krZ Early on the morning of the nth of July we arrived off the station on the north side of the strait, ..nd anchored^i/a snug luSe baycalkd Asi.e 34 Inlet. The observers w,-re found f, be in perfect health, and they had suent a l-leasaiu wmter hr.ving been wdl supplie,! with re ndeer meat l,v The Ksicimos. Ihey inforned us that the ice did not form in the striit uJl^ December, and that the channel was perfectly free f^ia ig To d ini th^ entire mon h of November. G .mc appeared to be plentiful in the neiJh bourhood of the station. Numerous herds of rein Jee we re met w th d Tine he wmter and hares were reported as abundant on an adjacenTI irn IwhiUt bears, seals, and walrus wjre frecjuently seen ' .^.h^H^l i'"^''"^' ^"^^ ^"''''' '^^ '^'"'' '^""tinued her passage through the strait, but her progress was so retarded by ice that it took her nine days to accomplish a distance o 300 miles. This slow progress was mZly caused by the absence of sufficient stean power to enable h.r to thread herTav flirougn the loose ice, and also by want of vigilance in taking advantage of the various movements of th. ice. A knowledge of ice navSon hke eye ything else, cannot be acquired at once, Practical exoerience i nre\. n^ vigilance, and a happy knack'of doing the nght th ^ .at ^ rS moS „,^,.^'^H rr'" l*"^' we encountered in the western part of the strait was some- what different, and heavier than the ice we passed at the eastern entrrce It was composed of small pieces, packed loosely, appearing as if the floes S.in r"h '■*"'•'" «f'""*^ 'hen drifted together. This peculiar feature of the icein Hudsorjs Scrau is one that I never observed in other northern seas and It IS worthy of consideration when the question of the practicability of navigating the strait is under examination. For it is these innSme able maH pieces that, in a great measure, deprive the pack of the forcrneJe LT?o the serious injury of any vessel that is beset in it. When thereTs a nip the small pieces, being comp ,sed of soft brashy ice, act as a cushion betwee'^' he ship and the larger floes thus protecting her from violent pressure 1 he greater part of the ice was, in my opinion, formed in Fox's Channel whence It drifted down to the strait after (he disruption of the ice in The sum- mer Occasionally a few large floes were seen, some of whSfeti mated To be about half a mile in length, but a floe o.' this size was quite exceptionaT r'otitrnTra^tro^vtg.''^^ '^^ ^^' "'"^ ^-^' ^"^ '^ ^^ ^" "^ """s A circumstance worthy of note in connection with the heavier and larcer A°n'f^VT"ffl^'"^r^'^ '^^ irregularity and unevenness of t leir u^^^^^^^^ A perfectly level floe of any extent, having a flat surface, was rarely seen Thev were usuilly crowned with a succession of excresences resembling sShillocks^ l.his gave me the impression that the floes were composed of many sma U pieces of ice which, having survived the preceding summer's thaw had b^en cemented together into one large mass by the snow and fro o thr'succeed ng winter. Many of these floes were discoloured by dirt an.l debris and "a few of them I noticed thick mud adhering, shewing that they we e formed in the immediate vicinity of land. The heavier ice we encounteLrhL probabK N . rh. ■" ^'°'' Channel where large thick floes are known CxS^ No icebergs were seen to the westward of the Savage Islands, which seem to show that all those we passed to the eastward and ft the entrance of the strait had floated down from Davis's Strait, or at any rate were the produce of glaciers north of Resolution Island. During the 1 Se that we were in the strait the weather was generally fine, the average tTmr^eatuTe being about 35' Fahr.. although on some days' the hermomeSr wouTris to 35 5o° The prevailing wind was from the westward, Init from wlatever direc When wi'T' '' "''■"■■"'-■^ '° ^'''' ^''' ""'*^ '"''' °" 'h--- movemenfof ife ce btrait, Jurther light will in :dl i^robabihty be thrown on the moveinerts of the After being in the ice for upwards of eight day?, the ///'^""^ ^^^^^ ^'^i^"'^^ has ^ince Ind wi?h ln.L 'a '" ^^^'^ ^^>"' ^'^'^'"^^ ^'^h greater ease and cel.rity. and with more assured certainty, as much as was accomplished by Hudsorl D 3 ilyialrf"' ''^ """"" •"" '"''■ '■""• '" "'^■'' ^"^'^ ''"^' poorly-cuippcd .l^lic vessel, however, i„ l,e e.i)|)l..yc(I „n such a scrvue. sho.ihl he .spcaly .„„s.nu(c-.l to resist or.hnary iec I-ressure, an.l s e .rovKicd With power to he ahlo to steam fro.n ,i to ,. k.u.ts at leait We in t K Akr were Iroinently .letainc.l f..r many . ...iseeutive hours at a time for want of power to propel the ship throuoh loose streams of ice v ich" n orchnary steamer would have ha.l no d.ltieuity n, penetraiin^,. 1, iV.leeessarv ha. al vessds employed m iee navigation should be strengthened, especially in the hows, not so much (or the purpose of resisting the pressure of he ire .f beset as to repel the severe blows whieh must occasional ye ili ted bJ a'S";:!;' ol'iee ' """"""' "'"'^ '''"''^' """^' "'^"''^"'^ "'^'^ wiy tlmn-gj; The ease then, can be very briefly stated. If sailing ships have annually aken the furs, and other merchandise of the Hudson' Bay fom„ nv tlirough the stra.t for the last two centuries, ,\ fortiori n may be looke on as < er am that powerful stean.ers w.ll be able to do the same for tl e , olucc brought to the west coast of Hudson's Hay by a railway from Winnipe'r Ihe establishment ol new routes for commerce is al.vays a Jin to the s( .enee of geography. In son,e cases new regions have to be- disco "red and ex,.lore,l. in others, the physical aspects of an already known regwm m^ he more carefully studied, and n,any points of interest relating to t^ie act on ot rlunate, or c,. wmds and currents, may be ascertained. The ,m,no ed NN .nmpeg and Hudson's Hay railroad is a striking instance. The c. mirns of opponents to the route have l,ad to be cardully examined. Al iSme expenence had been c:ollecte.l, maturely considered and passed h revie^ i.se va.ones had to be established at several points, to make certain wie he; the historical records actudly coincided with physical fac ts as they now exS 1 he rcjute usel had to be sailed over and ex|.lore.l. All th'^^se varS lv;r^n".'r '"'" "' K'-^-'-^'" g^^i" t« geography as to commerce. They ave enr-ched our science w.th a fresh stock of information, have revise-c^ revious conceptions, and confirmed or rejected, as the case may be Jhe heones and views wh.cli may have been put forward. From thi.s^pornt of .ew, and from this point of view alone, can commercial or political .mestion receive consi.leration here. The study of the Hud.son's Hay route in olves a problem for which physical geography alone can furnish a solution and on he mlSn^ ^^?'.''^' ^ have ventured to submit it for the consideration of ^e meeting. My labours will be more than rewarded if I have succeeded in my endeavour to give a new point of interest to a region whicV though ,17 KKI'ORT •)► MMc Stiicr CoMM,n,K ..K mr. Sfnai.- „k rm-: Dominion or (..ANAI.A, ON n,K. RksoURCI , Ok .,,K CkKAI MaCKEN/.K HaSIN. AW/xv/ iKSK. in.r'.'h^i'''' Cominitteo apnointo,! hy your llun„ural,l,. H„u.se to inn„irc t- Klcn..c rccvccl up to this date, an, I A ^^ ^"?'^"' °* ^^""^h Columbia, may be aided by then ^ithout great danger ol their demoralization, and with a reasonable hope tt" as in the case of the Indians mentioned, their condition may be imorived Your Committee desiring to refer briefly to the evidence upon vvhicli thev have based these conclusions, may explain that, very eTrly in t lefr investigations, .hey became convinced thu^ very little inore was kLn JZ northern and eastern portion ot the area committed to them for invesdgatio^, han was known of the interior of Africa or Australia. Arctic explorers had ndc^d traversed Its coast line, and descended two of the rivers which, east of the Mackenzie flow into the Arctic Sea, but th. object sought by them was one which had no relatio, to that of the present inquiry, and itTonlv mc.dentally that the records a-e now valuable. The knowledge of mission W« and oftcers of the Hudson's Bay Company is chiefly Sned to he v^ar north^f^Gre^Xe^ lit: ''"'' "'^"""^ exp.oration^as not as yel e^xtSd of great use to the Hudson's Bay Company, who ha^e always ued the water ways even when circuitous and difficult, rather than resort to land carnage and their inland posts to as far north as the Arctic circle are now supphed from heir central depot at Fort Garry, with only 114 miles of land carriage foiir of this being by tramway at the Great Rapids of the Saskatchewan, itfety miles of wagon transport from Edmonton to Athabasca Landing, thence bv steamer and flatboat, to Fort Smith on the Great Slave River, where twenty 1 fles of wagon road connects the shallow with deep water navigation, anX s earner l^n^ey distributes them to the various posts, down to the mouth of The Mackenzie just above Us estuary, where the river is said to be six mdes wide and up Peel River, which joins the Mackenzie near that poinT to For[ Marpherson on that goid-beanng stream. The great lakes, whkh recSve the . r.nnage o. this vast region and give an equal flow to f.e Macken Je, alTha e std'ierilh-Sr"''^"''''^"'^^' '^''^ of the Lurentian fornutioi^are The most southern source of the Great Mackenzie River is a stream fed bv t e ,dac,ers of Mounts Hooker and Brown, two of the higliest of the Rocky A...untain cham. in latitude 52^ 30', and this soon becomes a navigable stre ,n, preserving that character except at the breaks mentioned, dudnf tl e nearly 2,500 mil.s of its course, to the Polar Sea. As alread^ mentfo. ed these western affluents will form valuable links, as a means of tS In m.,chmerv and mining supplies, to the upper waters of the Peace and M Rivers, which are now inacc, .sible for heavy nuchinery from the we f coas and the cost of taking in provisions makes in mining and prospecting efforts' a serious desideratum. The navigation upon the Liard River also\^ll be ^r 4» A reference to the valuable evidence obtained by vour Committee will show hat navigation from Behring Straits to the mouth of the MaTen L and probably as far east as Wollaston Land, may be had for three months fn each Sic sla'rr '7' ^"'" °" ''r ^""""'"'^y C^-^ «f 'hat portLn of he Arctic Sea reveahng an average depth of about 20 fathoms, which is a con- Hr .n '1 'r'^K'^'"' '" ^^''\ '' ''"°^^" '" ^' g^"^^'^"/ ^ -shallow sW, '1 he western branch of the estuary of the Mackenzie is said to be the outlet which has the w.rr.h *n '"' '"'^ l^ '' respectfully submitted that much good mght ace ue o v^rdsV^eTAiZ ^ZTT r'^' "°- -^"^-g i'« 4 from fhe Yukon towards Feel River, and the Mackenzie, to descend either these streams and examine the western and other branches of the estuary of the MackeS' 1 o convey to your Honourable House the distances which separate the navigable waters of the Mackenzie Basin from the eastern and western sea coasts and from navigable rivers and railways to the south andTouth east he following table ot distances has been taken up from the evidence The lengths are in straight lines as follows — eviaence. ihe From the head of Great Slave Lake to head of Chesterfield Inlet ^20 miles ; from the head of Athabasca Lake to the harbour of Chu chill AthaSo' ' It ^\T ^I-M"rray, at the junction of the Sarwa er w h tt Athabasca below the 70 miles of questionable navigation, to the folownJ places on the Saskatchewan : Prince Albert, 300 milef ; Fort Pit 220 mHes^ P c Srk^K't? 'AH'r"'°?' ''J -*'- 'f™- ^'-'g-y. on th'e^L'dran racinc Kailway to Athabasca Landing, on the Athabasca River 2<;o mileoison,- which is strychn a of the most powerful kind, in the capture of such animals as the fox or wo t* He deprecates its use, hrst on account of the danger to those using it, and from the fact that It causes useless destruction, inasmuch as the foLs and wolves that swallow the frozen bait have time to run and 1 e far beyond where they imy be found, and in the case of other animals, for which it is not intended, it destroys directly by eating the bait, and indir;ctly by tie eating of the animals which have been poisoned by it. ^ Again, there is great danger of some species of fur-bearing animals becoming estinct by the greater ease in their capture, such as the beaver which many years ago became almost extinct in the United States when fashion necessitatec' the exclusive use of its fur in felt and other hats, and more recently the same prospect of extirpation threatened the mink which now threaens the south sea or fur seal; these considerations pointing to the r'r'''mirhv\t 1 ' .^°^7""^^"t making a measure of protection a fource c' oVctn!inynd. ofSrs!""""" '" '"^"^'^ '""^ ^ ^'™"''^"°" '' '^ ^'- "^^^ Of the fresh water food fishes of the region. Back's " grayling," an excel- lent specks not prevalent elsewhere, seems to be found everywhere In ks rivers, and eveu vest o' the Rocky Mountains, but the staple product of its lakes and krge rivers seems to be whitefish ot great weight and excellent flavour, and trout, often reaching forty pounds in weight; and evidence goes to show th.u the «ai the. north the greater the yield of fish, til^hequantTy becomes enormous A. an illustration, the following is given from tl e eviaence of Prol, Macou who quotes Sir John Richardson to the effect tha? one of the early overland ^nanklin expeditions took fifty thousand whi.e fish on a north..a3tcrn nnn of Great Bear lake, and Sir John Richard on alo ?cates that tl.e great iake trout swarm in all the northern great lakes In regard to the salmon fisheries, it would appear from the evidence th-.t salmon are abundant in the nvers and along the coast of the north-w-es? iVJe of Hudson s Bay. as we 1 as in the rivers of the northern shores of the Continent. Your Committee consider it advisable that means should be adopted to ascertain more accurately the extent and value of the sal^ion fisheries of these regions, with a view to utilising them for the purposes of coaimerce, ana for the revenue which they may afford The seas adjoining the great territory which your Committee has had under investigation, are frequented by whales of different species, walruses na whals, and a variety of seals. All these animals are valuable for the r o" ' but the large species of whales have heretofore been most souaht for Onlv a few years ago these animals had a much more extensive ra°nge than at the present time. Owing to improvements in navigation and methods of capture hey have, of late years, fallen an easy prey' to their pursuers an J Sken shelter in the less frequented seas of the northern coasts of Canada Now they are being pursued to their last retreat by foreign whalers, and some species are threatened with complete extinction in a few years if this condition continues. It is to be borne in mind .hat whales are long lived and slow breeding anumls. ihe American whalers attack them with harnoonr explosive bombs and Unces, fired from large swivel-guns carried on steam launches, instead of the old-fashioned weapons thrown by hand from row be 43 boats. These methods not only destroy the whales with greater facility but inspire the survivors with such terror that they seek the most distant and inaccessible parts of the northern seas, and have entirely disappeared from the waters in which they lived only a few years ago. Your Committee are informed that the Russian Government claim juris- diction over the whale fisheries of the White Sea, and e.vact a heavy licence Irom each vessel engaged in the fishing, and that the Alaska Fur Company assert a similar authority over the seal fisheries of Behiing Sea, both of which are open to the ocean, while Hudson's Bay, Boothia Bay^ and other bays and channels in the northern part of the Dominion, which are resorted to by loreign whalers, may be considered as closed seas, being almost completely surrounded by our own territory. Your Committee would, therefore, recom- mend that some measures maybe adopted with a view to protecting the whale fishenes of our northern waters, and at the same time of deriving a revenue therefrom. Should this not be done, then, as soon as the larger whales shall have become extinct, the slaughter of our smaller oil-producing mimmals will commence, and as these creatures live in shallow water or neirer shore, further encroachments on our rights will probably result The evidence submitted to your Committee points to the existence in the Athal)asca and Mackenzie Valleys of the most extensive petroleum field in America, if not in the world. The uses of petroleum, and consequently the demand for it by all nations, are increasing at such a rapid ratio that it is probable this great petroleum field will assume an enormous value in the near future, and will rank among the chief assets comprised in the Crown domain ot the Dominion. For this reason your Committee would suggest that a tract of about 40,000 square miles be, for the present, reserved from sale, and that as soon as poi^hle its value may be more accurately ascertained by exploration and practical tests ; the said reserve to be bounded as follows • Easterly by a line drawn due north from the foot of the Cascade Rapids on Clearwater River to the south shore of Athabasca Lake; northerly, by the said lake shore and the Quatre Fourche and Peace Rivers : westerly, by Peace River, and a straight line from Peace River Landing to the western extremity of Lesser Slave Lake ; and southerly, by said lake and the river discharging it to Athabasca River and Clearwater River as far up as the place of beginning. ^ Your Committee regret that they have made so long a report, but trust that an excuse will be found in the fact that on a map of similar projection and scale the region in question occupies an area greater than the Australian Continent or two-thirds of Europe, covering parts of the British Islands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria, and a part of France and Russia. „ Your Committee have reason to believe that a comparison of the capabilities of this extent of country in our own Continent exceeds in extent of navigation, area of arable and pastoral lands, valuable fresh water fisheries, forests and mines, and in capacity to support population, the coniinental part of Europe to which we have referred. Many important points have, therefore, been omitted from this report, for information upon which your Committee beg to refer your Honourable House to the evidence itself; they have, however, accompanied this report, as being a necessary adjunct, with four maps, of a size suitable to form two pages of this report carefiilly prepared by Robert Bell, Esq., M.D., LL.IX, Assistant director of the Geological Survey ; the first showing upon it in colours the 44 remdeer, ,l,e northern range of the wolv„in"o°c leaver black be,? an,! i:d'tt^^c°:^;"„at.s'd%rr' °''^= ''-'• '"^-"^ »--- country upoa the resources of Cana.la's Great Reser've ' ^ ' °' "'" AU of which u respectfully submitted. JOHN SCHULTZ, Chairman. THE NORTH-WEST OF CANADA. GREAT CORN, CATTLE, AND MINERAL COUNTRY OF THE FUTURE. W&st minster Review, March, 1893. Wlien^ Lord Palnierston introduced the Bill to thp Hnnco r.( n .n.February. ,858, for the transfer of the Govenmen of hidia fL ZT": India Company to the Crown, referring to the Hudson's HuT ^'^ which a Select Committee of the Hous? had akfn evidence aLrl"'':^'."" the previous Session, he said: "One couW eSriAm^^^^^^^^^^^ m the northern part of America, where nothing HvfLcep J ^S animals and a kyf wild Indians but little removed from t',. il. ^ might be confined to a company whose chief funcdo^so Id b oSrTp'tTe running animals of their furs and to keep the bipeds sober '' ^ the Gr:a^rtnVest:r"urg\h\Tam^^^^^^^^^ f ''' ^"'"- °^ motion of Mr. John Anhur RoLb^uct •-n;:t1t;;i Jf r^^Hi^^^^^^^^^ Bav Company, about to expire, ought not to be re lewecir" said '< 'niefe^s . large portion of the surface of the earth with regard to th^ character of whth we have been systematically kept in darkness, L those who had •fomS iJhlY"" ^^r ''''^ '" T'''' ^''^'^'^y °PP°^^d to imparting it Now he truth s beyond question that a great part of this country is hiel Iv va u'abl^ for colonisation purposes, and it is impossible to state in too s ro2 hn n?.i the proposition that the Hudson's Bay Company irbyi s^ery ex S n f 3 Its character, the enemy of colonisation." ' ^ ' ^ => very existence and . 45 The opinions so forcibly expressed by Mr. Gladstone have been confirmed in a manner far surpassing what was ever supposed at that period. In 1867 the Dominion Act of Canada was passed, and in 1870 the Government came into possession of the immense region formerly governed by the Hudson's Bay Company. Since that period a railway has been constructed from Halifax on the Atlantic Ocean to Vancouver on the Pacific a distance of 3,711 miles, entirely through British territory, and a line of British mail steamers established, second to none in the world, running between Vancouver, Yokohama, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, conveying a portion of the Britisli mails and troops to and from the United Kingdom and India whilst an uninteirupted lake and river navigation, suitable for ocean-going vessels, has been almost perfected from the Guif of St. Lawrence to the head of Lake Superior. Fort Garry, which in 1870 contained 250 inhabitants, has now become the handsome city of Winnipeg, with a population of over 30,000, and adorned with many buildings which would do credit to London. It is the centre of a magnificent railway system, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, with many hundreds of miles of branch lines running north and south 1 iiere is not probably in the history of the world such a rapid physical and permanent development. The capability to produce all the food that the United Kingdom requires in the form of corn and cattle by the North West of the Dominion of Canada is limited only by the supply of labour and improved transit to the seaboard. To fully appreciate the magnitude and importance of the Dominion of Canada is to compare it with Russia in Europe. The Dominion comprises an area of 3,400,000 square miles, whilst European Russia is only 2,095 000 1 hey he mainly within the same degrees of latitude. The great inland sea of Hudson's Bay is in the same latitude and is twice the size of the Baltic Ihe great lakes and the St. Lawrence navigation are not equalled in Russia and the Nelson River, with its lakes and tributary streams, drains a larger fertile area than the Volga, or the Don and Dneiper combined ; and the Mackenzie River, with its lakes and tributarv streams, is equal to the Dwina and the mouth of the White Sea. In fact, according to the most authentic Government reports, the fertile area of the Dominion is fully equal in climate and capability of producing cereals and cattle to the whole of Russia in Europe. Port Churchill on Hudson's Bay, the very centre of the North-West IS much nearer to London than the Russian ports of the Black Sea. There are 14,000 miles of railway in the Dominion as compared with 18.500 in Russia, 15,000 miles of internal navigation, and the whole country under the dominion of the British Crown, where life and property and ' liberty are absolutely secure, and yet Russia in Europe has a population of ninety-five millions, whilst the Dominion of Canada has only about five millions. The great fertile Belt of the North-West extends from the city of Winni- peg, the capital of the province of Manitoba, on the east, to the foot of the hills of the Rocky Mountains, a distance of about 920 miles, and from the forty-ninth parallel of latitude north to the watershed of the North Saskatche- wan, an average distance of 350 miles, embracing an area of 322,000 square miles, or 206,080,000 acres, two-thirds of which have been proved to be capable of producing the finest wheat in the world, and the rest is admirably adapted for stock raising and dairy farming. The whole country is well watered with long and numerous rivers and smaller streams, a moderate growth of wood, and extensive coal deposits. The soil is generally of a deep 46 rich loam, requiring ro manure, and the cHmate is described by long residents .n the country as one of the most invigorating and heahhv in Ihe wodd Land can be acquired m various ways, from free grants of i6o acres to any male adult settler over eighteen years of age, up to loy. to 40s. an acre w h easy means of payment and near a good market , H'rT^T T^^' c".l''j;'^tion in ,891 about 900,000 acres, which produced a surplus of wheat available for export of 25,000,000 bushels, on an average of 25 bushels to the acre and 350,000 acres in oats and barley, prociucing 20,000000 bushels. In addition to this, the cattle ranches number a herd of about 600,000. Dairy farming is also carried on with ^ood profit 1 he harvest last year was again very good, and more especially as to quality; and, although the price of wheat rules low, the farmers are high y Fosperous and contented. A large number of farmers are leaving the North- West States of the Union and purchasing lands and settling in the fertile belt ot the Dominion. The country at present under local government comprises the Province of Manitoba, covering an area of 64,000 square miles, with Winnipeii as its capital, and the three territories of Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta T."!!f V ""'^w ^°\°°u ''^" m'^ J"''^'' '"'"> ^^S'"-^ 3s their canital. r' J,t u ^°"'?-^y,'^^t. of 'he fertile belt lies the territory of Athaba.sca and the Great Mackenzie Basin, on the resources of which a Committee of the Senate of the Dominion was appointed m 1887 to take evidence and report, and in which amongst other thmgs, they say, "That within the scope of the Committee s inquiry there is a possible area of 650,000 son v o X K r V'' «^'" --^^lunciant i^opulatio.is^ which God andSu e S ; se" asi 1 n ^^ "' '^"'^'^ '.' "^' "'^'•'''^ ^■^•'^"'^S'^ h- assigned to theu/lui^^sSS^lortloLTn^throld--'" "^^^^ ""^'^ '"^ COMMERCIAL PRACTICABILITY. EXPERT OPINIONS. establishing a $«em^fT™™S onlXdlrm^ ES'?''''\''f evidence of a number of mpn urifh , fj, """""" s iiay. Alter taking the subject, theysa;rL?r"po;t ^Lnvo^^^^^^^^ "^""^^'^^g- °' the had personal and extended exnenVn.fnr^ffi gentlemen examined have Bay Company a, STX'ZS^^l^^^ZT.tTuT'l' It™'' and are satisfied thai Lh a„7„U°t wm dtm™^ r,""'?'''' ""^""'''"8^ .his p,ov,„ce and the North-Wetg™:;!.' ,'.°,hT„'aS X merS"'°" '" realised" b;',S*at'eTo?'?he SS ^ ■"" *= f '"\"' ~'' "^ ""'P"" tion by the Hudson^ LTjlT'^'T ''''"'^""S o( a channel of exporla. w»uid'.a.e .his-s, ^^^r^^ ':s:z:^3-z 49 tlieycoiikl shortL-n the annoyances the dehv.> .nrl .»,„ . r • across the Continent hv sonu- Xnofl? °^'''> ^"^ /"^ ^^^''^ o^i journey meats wonld alone " ,r fsl a cons^.l 11''°° '"•'^'^ J the export of hutchers' l«..y steamers, and „ n ,?son r ", J"?^""" ^^ "''^ '^'din^ of Hudson's '-and a consder I,rnurto.?.f n °I>'-"'«'\ '^at this route wouhl com- Western States of he mon r ""'T)/ '"' ^''''''"^' '"'''^ "^ "'« '^-r"'- bcarin^^thcuvuen.Z'' ""'" "^'^ ■^"' ""' '''"' "«'^ >^^//^ valley INDIVIDUAL EVIDENCE. Sivtr !--^"^^- ^-^°"' ^•^- -^e^r^t^^ts^oJ^irSd!:;! ^^^tL^;.X'^:L^^^:± ^ ,"- 'hree expeditions, as late as Deceml)er. ^ -^ ""^ ''"'^ ^''" certainly come out inchJIge'Iffhe•'Nonh^ast"S1ST.t°'•^r'^^ Observatory, the officer '885, says he La.t arrnavi^ihV f^n 1 r.f "*''"'\'^^'<' '"^ September, to the class of ship "^^'B^L-e from 4^ to 6^ months, varying according period'ofSv^atSrSfd^^Sl^^ '" '"^ ^^^' ^ ^^P^^'^'^' P'^- the " From V^e to'ltS^b^r.'- "^ ""^"^ "'" — P--d the three expedit ions : ^^^^^^r:;^l^^i:Zil^^^;g^ expeditions of of fafoSet'idtn":'""' ^'' "-'""'""^ ^'^° ^^'^^ ■" -filing the volume year^'^ Stalls tlSt^r'- ^^^Z""'?"'^ '^^^ f"-P-^'^ --''- for 39 at any time." ' ' "° ''^'^'°" ^'^^ steamships should not navigate captahrK\L°'s:rv^s'r;h:"H:;i5riS'^°"''""' ^^"^-v^^^^' °^-^ -<^ voyages from London and Stroi^ess o Sidso^'s rJ' ^^ ^'''° '"''^^'^ ^*-^^"^" " There is no reason uhy steanX!s shouH no mi f. ^ ''^""'^ y^^^^' ^'-^^^ = early as June , and coie outt^^^^^'art^^n'^S^teS^'^^^ ^'^^''^ select con™ !n;/'"'Th;;:i";' '" ''"^ ^T'^^"^'^ ^^^^^^^' ^'-'ed before the and a great body of the B v p Z ra?e"n? ^"''T ''"/i "^^ ""^^°"'^ Straits and afford no difr.cult "ro 01^^. av g^^^^^^^^ '^ '" "''^'"^ °' ^'^ >'-^' 5^ not fSw'.'r''' "",Vf'"'' '^°> -''",'" «he Company's service, says : "I '^' ^-^^-p^icai Bay and Pacific Railway/ It cove?sXIZnH^ °" "'" '"'"''"^'^'^ ^^"''««"'« and not ovenlrawn, ami is slmpo teH testimony. The entemril LrZ.^ . f ^'.{ '"dependent and trustworthy to :he re;.irementsS'S^::j^S iX^XO^:"^::^''' "^^^^^"^ Saiisbt;T?i?e%'SrEi received from : The Manp.is of John ling. M.KTiid' Sorge nSlVn^'^ii"^ Ranlcin Esc,., M.l''. ; Sir Admiral Coiomb;Lo'd\VoIsS-S?r AiSh f^T' ^''. """"^'^^ Farcjuhar ; of Ottawa ; John Penn. ^:tp'::i':^^:^^,X' ^"'"""' ''''" a speech'^detldTJvi^ '^ ^'--'^ '" I-ndon, in Conservative Association aSStn hf7^"' "^V^""°>'^ ^^™^'"^'"' career as a public man he had S a ,n m".l /^^^f ' /^'^ •• I" ^" '^'s depended to a very great extent u on th . ^ " "'^ ^"'"'"'^ "^ ^^''"^^^^ North-West. One oHhe gSt factors ■ Th. f.7 °'"?"",^"'^ ^''""S'''' ^^ ^''^ Canada would be an on t lef to »uZJ » "V"*" '''^^'^'oP">'--"' of Western- Prairies of the great \? to Grit Aif^' V" "''"'"'l'. ^'''^'''^y f^°'" '^^ that the prosperity of the VVestStlS^^ '' ''"' 1? """ ^""^•^•''°" construction 'of the road to the ", "'°" ' -'"^ ^°'' '''" ''^"'^'^^ arrangements had been made whi, i, '^^'.m' ^ \-' '^°" *^' ^^^"""^ them that .1- -.i.«y .0 the satLSr K;4rr„irb'„°s,;?r,,;^;«r;;i^^ PRESS COMMENTS. - --='■-- '" tne natica! property oi Hudson's E 2 5* Kay ns the yeomen of the S.iskatthewan. We cannot, tlietefore, afford to have our national assets rust in idleness. 'I'hese are meant to contribute to the universal prosperity ot the Dominion. Ic is a mistake to sugj^est that the Hudson s J% r,jute cannot benefit the Maritimes. Not a sod is turned west of the Rocky Mountams, not a fur-bearing animal trapped in thecircum-arctic zone of timber without the effort, the stride of development which such implies, reacting to the e.xpress benefit of the Maritime Provinces of Canada. How much more then will the opening of this great gate of the North American Continent by this giant nation benefit us? Ine.xpressiblyand much ' Upon this occasion it v,m11 help us to listen to the.voice of the West ' Hud-' son s Bay is a route which will soon be made use of as an outlet for grain and cat le, and whose importance in the future is incalculable as a base of supplv and an impregnable military highway between (ireat Britain and the Dominion. By this route S iskatchewan and Assiniboia are as near tidewater as Ontario ; San Francisco is 900 miles nearer the seaboard than by the way of Chicago-a saving in distance, too, effected in land carriage, whose cost as compared with ocean transport, is as fifteen to one ; Santa Fe, in New Mexico, IS 300 miles nearer Churchill, on Hudson's Bay, than to N;w York, and by It the va.st European trade of the Pacific seaboard down to the Gulf o California, and west of the Sierra Madre Range, is destined to find an outlet. These are economic facts whose triumph is only a question of time. ^n^Lf T^ ? "'" North-West, .loubts. have been cast by jealous l^.ZT.fT''^ ' ''«'"•"■ ^^'■""ndless impression prevails that the navi- f ^'ri'..^^^^^-'.^" ^ S^™f« '-lid Bay is attended with extreme difficultv and peril. This IS one way of putting it. The following boldly lays down the [>nncipk that a new Canadian port be created at Ch-irchill : " The build- !"r^,i° i" ^"uf°" ??y ^^'■^"''^y ■' ^ ^""^i^"^ of ^''tal importance to the whole kndof 1 f I^'ntorie.s. Port Churchill is the best harbour for ar^^ kind of vessel, the water being deeper and the channel safer. Here, then, is the great front ^^or to this country. When the ships from all par s of he wor d are invited by us to cast their anchors in Churchill Harbour a large northern commercial city will arise at Port Churchill, a citv exactly a degree and a quarter further south than St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Lmpire. By the revenue that will be collected at Churchill we will not then be a source of exjiense to the Dominion. We will not then require to send immigration agems abroad for the purpose of peopling our North-West. ilf S ""™'g'-''^''°^' "■••' flow directly into our province. Our farmers vil find a ready marke'. for their products. The price o^ grain will be as high in S-ka chewan .^.s in Chicago or Montreal. This is our destiny »- I the new British route to the Pacific It is Ih^"^ !f w "II '"•^'"'•^ y°r '2'"^ P^'-ti'^ulars of the extent and resources of he North-Wes^t territories of the Dominion of Canada, and the three terri- tories of Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, covering an area of 303,000 square miles, with Regina as their capital. The whole of this vast region . extending from about 250 miles west of Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountains a distance of 1,350 miles, and from the forty-ninth parallel of latitude No "h to the watershed of the Saskatchewan river, an averLge distance of w mi es embraces an area of 462,500 s<)uare miles, or 269,000,000 acres, fwo-thirds of which has been proved to be capable of producing the finest wbea and the rest admirably adapted for stock raising and d.-ry farming tcomprfse the richest and most extensive undeveloped wheat-produdng lands in the Hu1^:T '° "^'v''^' ^'T ?' ^u"''"^. ^'^'«^°'"' by ordinary steamers, vTd Hudson s Bay, can be reached withm eight days. During 1891 there was under cultivation in the Province of Manitoba and the three territories of Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, 1,300 000 acres which produced twenty million bushels of wheat and thirty million bushels ot barley and oats, whilst the heads of cattle wei. estimated at abou" Mr. Ruttan, engineer to the city of Winnipeg, in a recent nublirition estimates that :--" Within the ne.xt de'cade, this fro^^ince (ManTtob'a), and S ternror.es, will be producing 200 million bushels of wheat annually, and that evvry cent per bushel saved ,n the cost of transportation would mean two ni .011 dollars annually to the farmers of the North-West ; that 2,0 million l.ashels of wheat means six million tons of merchandise ; to get that quantity to a port of export would require 15,000 trains of 20 cars each, or over 40 trains i^er day all the year round, includin.^ Sundays, and would then require 3,000 vessels of 2,000 tons each for further transportation." The present cost of transporting wheat to the seaports at Montreil Boston, or New York, from the centre of this region, is about t'hirty-five cents per buKhel, whilst the same charge per mile to Port Churchill would not exceed fifteen cents., and the saving in the carriage of live stock would be fuliv ef|u:il to ^^3 per head. One of the most important (luestions of tne day is the importation of live stock into the United Kingdom. Here is a country capab e of raiding m lions of heads of can e absolutely free from every kind of disease, ow ng o the remarkable healthfulness of the climate ; but the present export is pro l.ibited, owing to their having to pass for more than 1,000 miles through the Lasiein portion of Canada to a port of shipment. The opening of the 55 marvellous richness of 1^5011 rd^hehJm''rT'' ^T'l"^^' "'" "^« this great region In ah o J? ' L ^^^'"^'^'-'In'^ss of the climate of November a?, Mr RudJard Kinlir'"^"''^ p'^ the Tiw.. on the ...rd o begun to discover a ,^act c^led'ivfffTol sTin°"'?''H "' '""'''^ "^'^ J"«' peg. In a little time thev will know L^fl'^^''' ''^ ' ^''y' ^'*^^^ °»' ^^"'"n'" Montreal, and it is abnrthTt lin.Th \ ''"n'?°'' ""' ^ ^^^'^ '•'^^'-• <''-'^'» too, whea wil be groSr the Fn.H , ""Z"^ '"" ^' ,"^^'^"- ^" "'"^^ days, fields on the west^ide and BriSh r i'"'k'' ^°°, "^''"-^ "^"""^ "^ "^^^ P^^^^n the world, excep New Zr'aland will f.^'l! "' ''"'r"''' ^'^" '°^^"^«' '^"d in to Australia, and the BHt'sUn^el^^r will n.l ""'" ''?' ""^ ^'°°° ^°" ^^«^"^"« Toda 1^; n : Hh^e :iide:;;SsTs tT '''r.''^ ^^^- '^- - on the maj as Hudson's Bay posts wflfbec^ °^ '^""'t P^'''' '^"^^^"^^d to make people understlnrS" "ctLnv S^fd?^^^^^ empire of which Canad^i .c nni.V o "• ^"^ ^"<^ indeed we do possess an scratched." ' °"'y ^ ''""'°"' ''^ ^"^I'"-*^ 'hat has not yet been ina as early north of the Clre t Shvlr inl^ ? '^e^" """^ trees appear- Minneapoll Kingl^or'ott'awl;;,^,!^, ta^?^ Liard and Peel Rive" there are n;^ ^o . '/^' ^'"^^ '""'" "'^ ^'^^^ ^'^'^^e, may be considered Sriferou? ThTt tlTT- ? '°°'T '•'l""''" '^"'^■^' ^^''^■'-•'^ mittee points to the ex ' e Tee nn h. ah k '"'^""^ submitted to the Com- liar, tJ liNsS.' •^'"■"-'"''' " «'">'' °'l'" ""«l>«ra po:l o( H„dsoa'; CLIMATE. lM,t .h^„i;i™'",rl ZT'",^''". '"«!"■'"". -1 oft™ very war,„ .euner, 56 FISHERIES. of s J c;sl„tdS„'Yo 'tri;:/LLf'or ^r"' """ 't ">■'- number of t(rand rivers co-iti . 1,!^ .o f ^^'°''° ^'l"^""^ "^''es, and a 1891 was v'lu d at :.a4;o"o ifr"and^f° '''..'^'''. Salmon alone in 20,000,000 lbs. were cannS and . Vf ^'"""V^he Phaser River over running into Hudson's C.rl ' ^ .'^^fe'^. "^^rs m the Great North- West, undist.SVbed^foI'iant"? Sn^'f^^^ne^e'!' """°" ^"' ^^°"^' ^^^'^"^ ^^ MINES. said ;^'^;sSt;^ss;s Sh'^rt^:^J■"s'^^•^-^^ ^- were raised. These dei'otits cover anmmfn. '" '^' 't-' "^ ^1,824,364 Basin it is said there arriVo 000 ^nnar. nT r '"'''•r' ''"'^ '" 'f^^ Mackenzie rivers are now being success°ffvworkeH ?n M .^"f e-'e^s l^^'l^ and several And west of the Rocl^^ Mmm ains a me^IlliS '" '^' North-West territory." yielding rocks, thirteen hund d miL ,' 1 ""^ex'Ss' 'h"""^'"^' '' S"'^' breadth of four to five hundred miL= u ^.^'^^s, having an average abundance. '^^ '"''^'' '""^^ '^o^^' ^"d other minerals in RAILWAYS. Th ere are 15,000 miles in operation, and others are being constructed. EDUCATION. Education is free from the Village SrhnnI t« tu^ tt • there were x6,659 pubhc schools, havi:g';o4 5V5 p^^^""""''^^^ '" '^^4 RELIGION. Uk.,„„r™„ Liverpool .hrolh HudL'-rSau'rc'ChiS^^Lo^r':'; In 57 statement »ili .how the inimense vaKe of t°.e short m,S h" "'7'" you o.er the route, I will now give vol Lmcts from^l,^ „? ""T'^ "'^'" n,=n, reports of Government Co,.Z^^'Sj;:^^:P^f^-'> EVIDENCE AS TO THE COMMERCIAL PRACTICABILITY OF THE NAVIGATION OF THE STRAITS AND HUDSON'S BAY. exper-.nce. First w/ have ^he mS^ °''' mvest-gation and practical of the English and French Tsomeo fK''^''' '"'"'^'■^"^ '^'P'' '^'^^ ^^s.els bound on'voyages ordTcovlrtrade, -d wS^g' '^ '""^ ^^ ^^^" ^^ ^^'^^ Geological Survey of Canada an em>nm« ^.r 7- u '' '^"^^ctor of the Royal Geographfcal Society In SsTd B lit ho h?/ ''"' ''^'"''^ ''^^ since 1869 in e-plorations /rmmH ^kI 1 -l ir ' ! '^^'^ ^P^"' ^'^ seasons things, sa.?s:_..Th:To a, a^ohC^^ enclosed by land on all sides except the mLh, v. ^ '°°° ^'^'"'"' ™''«S' by several channels wi h the onte, nr.i ,^°"'^:East, where it communicates straits being aboS cTo m es ir/en^Tr ^"""P'' °'" '^•'^^ '^"°*^" ^^ ^'^^^^ The basin l{ HulS B -'h 3, tJlt^cVl^o^7^' ""^"^ "' '«° -''"-• length of i,SoonulesfromCl?o so h andits 'i-. '"'' '° ^"S^"^ ^ enormous number of 3,000,000 smiirrmilJl n ^""^"^"^"^ approach the =cr.tL^i;:s"sr""""-— ^ " 58 The Nelson River, with its tiibutaries, may be considered one of the first- class rivers of the world. The shores and islands of the bay are rich in minerals, especially in iron ore of a high grade, which lies exposed in inexhaustible quantities. The Canadian North-West Territories, embracing hundreds of millions of acres of flne land, are capable of becoming the greatest wheat field in the world. The centre of this immense agricultural region probably lies to the north of the Saskatchewan. If we look at a map we shall see at a glance that the shortest route between these territories and England is through Hudson's Bay. Even the city of Winnipeg, which is near the South-Eastern extremity of these territories, is at least 800 miles nearer to Liverpool by Hudson's Bay than by the St. Lawrence rcute. Now, let us consider the relative progress of two persons travelling to Liverpool, from the centre of this vast region, the one going to Winnipeg and the Valley of the St. Lawrence, and the other by Nelson Valley and Churchill Harbour. At about the same time the former re(|uires to reach the citj f Winnipeg the latter arrives at Churchill. P'rom Winnipeg our traveller has still to go 1,291 miles by tie Lake Superior route, or 1,698 if he prefer the whole rail journey through American territory via Chicago, before he reaches Montreal, where he will still be about as far from Liverpool as our traveller when he reached Churchill. In other words, the route from the North-West Territories to England via Hudson's Bay saves the wliole distance between Wmnipeg and Montreal. The great saving in distance represents an important economy in time and money, or in freight and passenger rates. If the grain, cattle and other productions of the North-West Territories could reach a European market only through Ontario and Quebec, or by way of New York, a large proportion of their value would necessarily be consumed by 1 long land carriage ; whereas, if they can find an outlet at Churchill Harbour there will bean average saving of 1,291 miles, as compared with Montreal, and upwards of 1,700 as compared with New York, and this without any increase in the length of the sea voyage. In effect, this will place a great part of the farming land:; of the North-West Territories in as good a position with regard to '^ seaport as are those of Ontario, west of Toronto, and will consequently increase the value of every description of farm produce, and therefore of the farms themselves. Some kinds which could not possibly be sent out of the country at all by the longer land route may be profitably exported by the shorter one. For the transportation of both grain and fresh meat, as Colonel Dennis has pointed out, the northern route, besides the shortening of distance, would have greater advantages over all those to the south, owing to its cooler and more uniform temperature. Heavy or bulky goods of all kinds would, of course, be imported to the North-West by the shortest land route. In regard to the export and import of live stock, this independent route will possess a great importance to these territories. Hitherto, cattle, horses, hogs and shf-ep have there enjoyed an immunity from almost all forms of contagious diseases, and, owing to the healthy nature of the climate for these animals, it is hoped this state of things will' continue. The domestic animals in the United States and the older Canadian Provinces being occasionally afflicted with contagious dise.ises, it becomes dangerous for European countries on their importation. In the event of an epidemic of this nature existing in some parts of these regions, but not in the North-West Territories, there need be no objection to exporting live stock from the latter by way of Hudson's Bay. "Asa, route for emigrants from Europe, that by Hudson's ^ay possesses 59 not only the advantage of the short la)id journey, but the still more important one to us of entirely avoiding the United States and the populous parts of Canada, in both of which it is well known a very serious percentage of the immigrants destined for our North-West lands are every year enticed away to settle in the great Republic. An inlet by Hudson's Bay is the only thoroughly independent channel which can ever be established between the British Islands and our great and valuable territories in the interior of North America ; and it is very desirable on national grounds that it should be opened up. Troops have hitherto been sent to the Red River Settlement on more than one occasion by way of Hudson's Bay, while the intervening country was, as it is yet, in a state of nature. Were a short railway built through this tract it would at once become for military purposes an easy connecting link with our Pacific Colonies and the Mother Country. "An irnpression has long prevailed that Hudson's Bay and Strait could not be navigated for the ordinary purposes of commerce on account of ice, but this idea is probably destined lo prove chimerical. The fact that tiiese waters have been successfully navigated by ordinary sailing vessels for 200 years, in order to secure what little trade the country afforded, indicates what may be expected from properly equipped steamships so soon as the larger business of the future may require their services in this direction. The con- ditions of the seaborne commerce of the North-West in relation to Hudson's Bay will probably turn out to be similar to those of the rest of Canada with reference to the Gulf of St. Lawence. In both cases everything must be done during the summer. Yet Hudson's Ray is open all the year round. No one would be likely to suppose that a sea of such extent in the latitude of the British Islands would ever be frozen across. The lower St. Lawrence is also partly open, even in the middle of winter, but the difficulty in both cases is the impossibility of getting into harbours. A harbour such as that of Churchill, on Hudson's Bay, would have the advantage over Quebec or Montreal of connectinc; directly with the open sea, and here in the autumn vessels would not be liable to be frozen in, as occasionally happens in the St. Lawrence. There has been some discussion as to the length of time during which Hudson's Strait and Bay might be navigated each year. There does not appear to be much evidence that the Straits any more than the Bay is closed at any season. Its greut width, depth, and strength of the tides probably keep it open all the winter. My own experience, and that of many others, leads me to believe that the climate generally of Hudson's Bay is much better than some writers have represented it to be. From all that I could learn or observe, it appears that the Straits and Bay may be navigated and the land approached by steamers during an average of four-and-a-half months each year, or from the middle of June to the end of October. Churchill Harbour does not freeze up until November, and the sea is open close to it the whole winter." In order to obtain full and accurate information on tliis important question a Select Committee of the Parliament of Canada was appointed in 1884, which took evidence and reported on the Hudson's Bay route to England, wherein they say : " Let us suppose the possibility of establishing a line of steamships between Liverpool and Hudson's Bay ports, which would carry freight at the same rates as the steamships between Montreal and Liverpool. Now the distance between Winnipeg and Montreal is about 1,400 m.iles, while it is not more than 700 to York Factory (on Hudson's Bay). 6o Vnr?"l- l''^"*1'!f *°u ^^J "'"^ ^° '■"'■^^'■d grain from St. Paul to New York which, applied to the distance to be traversed between Winnipeg and Montreal, would give a charge of 21 dollars per ton, or of 10 dollJrs o1:em from Winnipeg to York Factory-say the half. If now the ton is reckoned ^s TZrn'!P ''"^^''? ""^ ^'■''^■"' '^' ^''^^^'^"•^^ '" f^^^'ght in favour of the Hi°3son's Bay route would be a saving of 32 cents per bushel, or, in other wo ds an busE" cZr' ° 'm°'"'' 'I'T' P^^ ^"'' y'^'^'"g an average of 'o lr.Z,\ ^^^^'fl^'^^^^^'ons make the saving one-third the present cost of transport realised by the farmers of the West upon the opening of a channel FuZT"''^^^l ^•^^""dson's Bay. A large Foportion'^o ".fpotation from tha ttr I "^' '?" T'' ' '^' emigrants proceeding westward wodd see that they could shorten the annoyances, the delays, and the cost of a io irnev across the continent by from 800 to 900 miles. The export oTbuShe Wat vvould alone furnKsh a considerable portion of the lading of Son's ikv steamers, and many persons are of opinion that this route would com land^ considerable portion of the import and export trade of the North Western States of the Urion. We speak merely incidentally of the Hudson's Bav riSf """u- f "'' T^r^ ^J "^^ •"•"^'•^'^' '-^''"o^t inexhausTible^n thHr richness, which are to be found there. To sum up the whole Hudson's H,v appears to us to be destined to perform the same service's fir tTe Jt,^ S"S °M'' f'°''"^ ^^t' ^'"' ^'^^ ^"'f °f St. I.awre™oe ?or he a but fertile valley bearing the same name." Admiral Markham, R.N. accompanied an expedition in 1886 and in in address read before the Royal Geographical Societ'y on the 1 . th of Tune 888 amongst other things, said : c 1 iiuui june, i»»s, ■ -/'.^^ ^T fo-^'^nate . accident I was enabled to avail myself of an invitation I had received to take passage on the ^/.r/ during tl is cru.se. I considered myself very fortunate in having the oZmui'v The offer, therefore, of going in the.^.o., which would enable me"onn7e the passage ot the straits as well as of the bay, was too good toTe refused and I eagerly availed myself of it. I was thus enabled to form mv oS judgment of the state and condition of the ice in Hudson's Stra^ drUa^ least one season of the year, while my observations, comb ned vv h a comprehensive study of all that had been written on he uK would enable me to form my own views regarding the practicability of the route as a comniercia highway. I was also able to form a bettere.timate re at ve to the duration of the navigable season. reiauve to the " I might observe that I was quite ignorant of the controversy that had been carried on for.some timebetween those who were in favour of de Audson's Straits as a commercial route, and those who were opposed to it I was th^erefore, m a better position to form a perfectly im'pLrtial ai^ unbiassed herf;^tr,!:rt%tr:X;^ Ha.ifax,andsai.ed in "On the 5th of July we reached the entrance of Hudson's Straits where we were detained for some days, partly by thick weather, and par ly by loose streams of ice; bu the latter was never packed sufficiently close to r™t ^r^V "^"^u V ■"'• '■ "^' ']'' '^"'' '^''^'^'"g '■^•^'y g««d progress fVom die qth to the I ith of J H.J, scarcely any ice was seen, and a distance of 200 mi les was 6i arcomplished in about 36 hours. This fact alone, without further evidence, is in itself sufficient to show how free the eastern part of the straits was from ice ; for the Alert, if driven at her full speed, could only steam about six knots an hour. "Steam has now effected a complete revolution in ice navigation, and the most advantageous time for pushing on is when the ice is loose. Under similar circumstances, a sailing ship would be utterly hopeless. It is, therefore, only reasonable to infer that what has been performed regularly, and year after year, by sailing ships, can be accomplished with greater regularity and certainty by well-built steamers, specially constructed for ice navigation, and provided with jwerful machinery. " The nature and consistency of the ice in Hudson's Straits are such that, with an efficient steamer, the jiassage could be accomplished with very little delay or difficulty. This being the case, it is not surprising to hear that the people of the North-West are anxious to have a seajiort on the- shores of Hudson's Bay, and to secure the construction of a railroad to connect such port with Winnipeg, or some equally convenient depot on the newlv- established line of the Canadian Pacific Railway. " The achievement of such an undertaking would result in shortening the distance that the produce of the country destined for exportation would havd to be transported by one-half. As the cost of transport by rail is governed by the distance to be conveyed per mile, it will at once be understood that if the mileage is reduced by one-half, the cost of conveyance will be diminished m the same proportion. It has been estimated that the result of the con- struction of a railroad from Winnipeg to Hudson's Bay would be a clear gain to the farmers and producers of the North-West of about £1 per head of all cattle exported and ss. upon every quarter of grain sent for shipment. " In conclusion, we must again call to mind the fact that the vessels employed on the Hudson's Bay service have hitherto been sailing ships. Steam has now robbed ice navigation of many of its difficulties and "dangers, and it is only fair for us to assume that, with the appliances that science has since revenled to us, we can in these days achieve with greater ease and celerity, and with more assured certainty, as much as was accomplished by Hudson and Baffin, by Button and Luke Fox, in their rude and poorly- equipped fly-boats. " The case, then, can be briefly stated. If sailing ships have annually taken the furs and other merchandise of the Hudson's Bay Company through the Straits for the last two centuries, a fortiori it may be looked upon as certain that powerful steamers will be able to do the same for the i)roduce brought to the West Coast of Hudson's Bay by a railway from Winnipeg." The Legislature of the Province of Manitoba appointed a Select Com- mittee in 1884 to procure evidence and report upon the practicability of establishing a system of communication via Hudson's Bay. After taking the evidence of a number of men with a thorough practical knowledge of the subject, they say in their report: " Many of the gentlemen examined have had personal and extended experience as officers and servants of the Hudson's Ray Company at their ports on Hudson's and Ungava's Bays and the rivers entering into those bays. No evidence has been given that goes to prove that Hudson s Straits and Bay proper ever freeze over, or that the ice met with in those waters is suf/icient to prevent navigation at any time of the year. That 6a vessels of a su(t.,l.^^::^^:i;^^^^;j^ «^^ -" ^^ --red l,y tioJ^'rro'Ji^^^^ ^^^"^-•^^ accompanied the three expedi- Bay s;.;^;^:^ M^^Kr^s^/^ri^^sr " '^^ "-^--'^ navigate at any time ' '°" ''''>' ^'^amships should not for tlK^ same timTaTthl'STslu^^^^^^^^^^^ '"' ""' "- •^'™t i-pe" BritiS\2SiJnf^°J' l!irlSss''at''5 Geographical Section of the Churchill Harbour sa"d"l7S I, ^7''"ffS'" '^^°' ^P^^^^ing of ].ort for the agr.'uur^f p.du s ^f tl^ tf ffih Wes^T '"T^ ''TI!' :oute by wh.ch emigrant., will enter the country/^ '""°'^' ""^ ''^^ Socie?>;;"sSd: "The ChSll'Ri''^ '^'^'''' !° ^'^^ ^°y^' Geographical a splendid harbour w^hS^er'and /^"^^^'^'''b'^ f'^"" having at ifs mouth purposes of modern comSe I r^n T^"'"'^'^' ^ 'o^ ''^e the largest ships atT;, staTsTihe t de OnT'^ ^'l'^ ''''. ^"^ ^^^^'^ ^^^ harbour stands the old fort ' Pr nL nf%v i . ^, ^u'"' ^' ^'^^ ^^^' ^'^e of ruin in North America/' ^'^'' '^''"^'^ '' probably the largest ComSte^;T^^h^L?glSv?ilsSrS' t'h "j^ ^^'^^"^^ ^^^°- ^'^ Select been engaged on the s'utroftlXT^^^^^^ at Churchi is one of the finp«f T i,,.,^ ' "Jroour, said : Ihe harbour for it, in the way of otecSn L? sI^rmTn^f tH" /T'.^^' ^""'' ^° "^"^^^ further improvements t1 fined ^ uke rank - *"« V"'"'"' ^'^"^ ^'''^«"' I took cai^ful soundings and foi^nd rh.fr. !i ?"^ first-class ocean ports, water mark along Zlhore^tiZlif^^^^^^^ to fifty feet. These soundTntrf tfl, i ^'^"•ty-^'ght feet, deepening suddenly and harbour are oSn T naviLlfon fro^"T^' '^''''"^^ '°^ ''^^^ ^^e bay sailing vessels. Son"eS,es tC Tee T-^'Z V u" ?''"'?^^ ^° ^""^ "^^inary December i. The ice is never SliH^^.K ^^r^ ^^'' '" ^'^^ '^^^bour till the shore than half a mile This can be reL y/""" ^ ^''^'" ^'^'^"^^ f™'" as now practised by the Ru«ifn f". removed by means of an ice-breaker, Arctic Circle, Sdth is 1 able toZhT' '" T"'. ^"'^ ^'^^'"^ "'''"" the there will be found I u?e difficul v that evn '" "^ ^V'"''^ -""^ '''^'^ «° ^hat comedo prevent the ^^ S^^^^^^::!^-:^ ^L^ ^^ ^3 safety by the largest ships at all stages of the tide, and is destined some day to be the main commercial point of this inland sea, and, what is of the greatest importance, an inlet by Hudson's Bay is the only thoroughly independent channel which can ever be established between (ireat Britain and her North American p(jssessions." THE DIRFXTION OF THE RAILWAY. It is proposed to divide the lines into three sections. The first from Port Churchill to Seafalls, 350 miles, where it would be joined bj the line at present under construction from Winnipeg, thus givin,^ a connection on the south with the city of Winnipeg, and with the North-V estern States of the Union. This section will be first constructed. It has been surveyed by a competent engineer, Mr. Bayne, the levels taken, and j^resents no difficulty to the construction of a good line of railway at a moderate price, 'limber and stone are in abundance for all recjuirements, the climate is said to be more favourable, and the rain less, than at Winnipeg, and that work can be carried on during the whole of the winter. The completion of this section will place Fort Churchill in direct railway communication with the navigation of Lake Winnipeg and the Red River, passing the city of Winnipeg, and extendmg fiir into Minnesota and Dakota and the Great Saskatchewan River, forming together a south and westward navigation for steamers for a distance of about 1,800 miles. Section two, from Seafalls to Prince Albert, about 300 miles, runs through some of the richest wheat land in the North- West, aivj will form a connection with Prince Albert with the Regina branch of the Canadian Pacific. The country is exceedingly favourable for the cheap construction of the railway. The third section from Prince Albert, via Battleford to Calgary, about 350 miles, runs through a fine prairie country, unequalled in North America for the raising of cattle and dairy produce, and will he a surface line, easy and cheap in the course of construction. At Calgary the railway will form a junction with the Canadian Pacific Railway, and by passing ovci- that line to Vancouver effect enormous saving from ocean to ocean, as compared with the route wa Montreal, of 1,32* miles. It will also connect with the present branch line to Edmonton, and form the shortest route between the United Kingdom and the Athabasca River and Great Mackenzie Basin, which comprises the greatest petroleum deposit in America, and the rich agricultural and auriferous valleys of the Peace, Liard, and other rivers. Having proceeded so far in regard to the commercial benefits resulting from the proposed new British route to the Pacific, I would here remark that Churchill will be a great city and the great gate of the North American Conti- nent, which will be an outlet for grain and cattle, and the importance of which city in the future is incalculable as a base of supply and an impregnable mili- tary highway between Great Britain and the Colonies in the Pacific, and the principal link in the chain binding our Colonies to our glorious Mother Country. 64 Situated atotirown door, it is the br Snl '".''''''"'^"'''Je ^o^'^ ^o'" Canada? of Kngla.ul. Shoul.l we not foster fSZtr'' "''""r*^ «""' '" "»-" '^^«^» IS able and willing to supply ourneS? 7f ^^^^^^ of our Ennpire which granary an.l lanler of Eng .nd w thout ,,. . ?'i ^"^ '"'^''^ '"'» "^^ foreign nation in th Un.e of war/ Th?s , ' / f'S ° l''''^'^' """" '''">' lias been stated th.. we have only at nresenr n u ^'VT''^"""' 'H'estiun. It of food, and, as an object lesson £ ^sSrV^^?'"'^ '^''^ "'"""^'' ^"W'X and French war. The in! ub nin't of Par ! '? ''"!: "''"'''' '^' ^'^^"^•■>" of rats at two fran. s an.l cat "three f. " ''^'''^'^'^ '^e purchasing And now contemplate a famine nSiI'^r' ?'u' "? '^' '""''"^ '"'^^ket"^ results attending \hereto--^o wo kfol^n'*'"? '^' ''°''™'''' ''^'^'^ '""Hh'f"' for bread and none to give tTen and m 2 "? •''' °' "''''"'■' '^''"^^^" ' '•yi"*? possible under present c rcumstances InTT '^'T' r'" "^'''^"'^^^- ^" "^'s "'^ new British rM.'te to the Sc ' '^ ^'"'''"'' "'^'^'^''^i'y of the We will now examine the nrfcpnf ^ ^ .. Pacific, firstly by sea, oc'pyfnr^^^^^^^^ °l'r '"'"'^^ PO'^'essions in the Canal; thirdly V the Ca^J^dU ,t fie S,t"v'' Tr"fi V^ '" ^'^"^"'- depended upon for a sufllrient <;n.mlJ^ /, railway. The first cannot be nation. The second would be stopped to S"' ""'n ^""^ ^^'' "^"''^ "^ ^'^^ Pacific Railway, is unfort„na^ly'rrmWlo4Tfh. / '^^h'?' "^^ P"''"^''^" for 1,000 miles, which could be ea^s"l7di trnvLd bv ^ ^'"''' ^°.""^''*^>' the Clan-na-Gael, or other evil-disnoJd ^i^ T .^^"''"^ns or members of a doubt but that \heGoveml1roTtuSd' Stat ""''^' !^^ "^"r' ''^ power to prevent such a calamitv hnf ^ i^h i^ t^^^l^ '^°"''* "^^ a" their doubt the^ommunication'^^.^be de^^r''^ ^' °^"° ^^^"' ^"^ ^"^out peopi^l^^j^c::;^^;^::^;;?:^;;?^^;:!^^^' ''' ""'^^^ -- °^ ^-^^ will be practically safe, but naval vfctoneswiln^ff T, "''^^y- ""''' '^O'^merce therefore I hope that a Food I S Jue wi 1 iJf ^^"^ ^'^^ ''^'^'"*< '^^ home ; of food. Ou^ present Pr?me tfniste I ord'sl'lil'^ Tf t '''''''' ^"'^"'x forward the food question in a i^vefi speech u's^^ 1^"?'^ ''J'^ ^"^'y P^' i3th of June, ,893. His far-seiing ews '^JS Velt Hi ^°"'^""' "" ^''^ unbounded confidence placed in Hm bv Se tJL r ^■^'-^'■""^ent, and the I trust, cause hmi to favourably coiTicler both Z ""' '""?* ^™P''^^ ^^i"' necessity of the construction o^ tSe ew Br si Rnr"'"'"'L *'"'' ^"^P^"^' may he henceforth be known as the \Vatchmnn '^^ ^'^'^"'fi^' «"<« And our wonderfully lifted Colon al Se™. °'"'u'''^ ^""^'» Empire, mind to the project having a beaHr,^pon £ 7' '"'^ ^' '"^" '^"'^ P^^<^tical «^f Imperial Federation, an^cl so drLw^ S^^^^^ , ^'"g ""^ ^Jhis great desire our Colonies to the Mother Countrv ind in^r '^'^"g\hen the bonds binding pa,l,,bul still the might, col, n,„ ™t?„t"Hi':'''i. "'"''"''= ■•'f'P»"«'' and crosses all, impelled by force a roSi'= ??. ™'T""''' »''•«<''«. rietades ,„ thei, cot„se. B„'t o„ thl yesirralt-^rltr^rc^JS '^il 6s time-long journey shall at last bedont.-; here in the Ckeat North-West of Canada the race shall rcarh its final homo. Here have been grouped, as nowhere else m all the world, mountain and valley and plain, river an 1 .ke and sea Here has been stored illimitable wealth in mine and forest, se.t and soil, and to these broad foundations for a sure prosperitr th.re has bet'n added a chmate which embraces exactly those conditions which are best a< bpte t ' produce the highest possible development of the individual ,:„d the race Here genia surnmer suns shall woo the fruits from fertile fields, and wintei^^ stinging cold shal tend alike to physical and moral health. Here 1^, r a century to come shall they who hunger for a home be satisfied, and all the needs of myriads of men be well supplied." Imperiat Institi'ti OF THE United Kingdom, the Colonies and India, Imperial Institute Road, London, S.W. igt/i February, \Si)6. His Royal Highness the President and the Executive Council of the imperial Institute have much pleasure in conveying to Colonel JosiAH Harris, F.R.G.S., F.R. C.Inst., the expression of their cordial thanks for his kindness in favouring the Fellows of the Institute and their friends with an illustrated lecture on February ijih, 1896, entitled " The New British Route to the Pacific.'^ ^ [Signed] HEllSCHELL, Chairman of Ihe Governing Body. 8 Union Court, Old Broad Street, E.C.