IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) / m/. o ^ii. f/^ 1.0 I.I ^IM 2.5 1^ IM I 2.2 us IM 2.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 • ^ 6" — ► p /, s rf ^;. Lw > O 7 /A Photographic Sciences Corporation ^1> ^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^'A' CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical rnd Bibliographic Notas/Notas tachniquas at bibliographiquas Tha Instituta has attamptad to obtain tha bast original copy availabia for filming. Faaturas of thia copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua, which may altar any of tha images in tha reproduction, or which may significantly change tha usual method of filming, are checked below. l.'Institut a microfilm^ la mailleur exemplaire qu'il !ui a iti possible de se procurer. 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Lorsque ie document est trop grand pour itra reproduit en un seul cliche, ii est filmd d partir de I'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche ft droite, et de haut en baa, en prenant le non.bre d'imeges n^cessaira. Las diagrammes suivants illustrsnt ta mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 To .Iiiii.N Ak.ihii R"i;iii I'K. E.-ii.. M. 1'. Zb(» l'\.i; TiiK TiMKS.' Hamkax. Nova S''mtia, ^Ok. ±a. iMot;. My uttt'iitioii iiiis lioi'ii culK'il to a sjh'ci-Ii. lumk- liy vdii in tl;v lliui.si' of C'oiniiioiis on tlic lotli of Fi-liiiuii-y. uii;! icjiovtcd ill tile lionilon I'lipivs. Tliis sjx'< 'ii. LMjiiccivcd in an atrabilious sjiirit. and vcniarkalilc for notln'nijt liut ill-iiaturi'. Contains. Ix'sidcs uiidi'scwtd atiacks iijion tin- Ministers wlio were present, the most nnjfeneroiis and unjust asstuilw u|ion irentlen; wlio were not tliere to defend tliciUiAdves. I (|Uote from tlie report before me tliis passaire : " I want to kiKiv distinctly wlial weie llic Iii-tniilioiis jiivcn to ?ilr. ('rai;i|iton. It niiiy In- saiit that he was tohl iiol to hroak the law, but i want to know whcllicr he was tohl to culist men in tiic I'nitcd Siates, because to tell a man not to break the law, and in the next bicath to tell him to do somethinj; by which the law will bo tu'CACU, is nugatory. It is a farce — an idle direction, not worthy of any man who pretends to be a nnni of sense and hoh,,in'. Mr. Cranipton know the law, as is proved by Ins own written statements; he knew that to do certain acts was :o break tin; law, and lie laiil plans by which he fancied that law could be salely broken, lie was aided in this by two high I'nnctionaries — Sir liasj.ard Lc^ iMarchant and Sir Kdnnuiil Head, as well as by Sir Josciih Howe, a gentleman of some celebrity ir. Nova Scotia. S/'y Joseph Iloire was sent to the r lit! cd Slates ; hij his iiitercentioii people icre einjdnijed to break the law of the States, and bf/ his hands they uere paid fur S) doing. After spending about §1(1(1, (UMI begot fogither 'IW inrn, ivhcn he mif^ht hare had the same number of thousand.! for half the monnj. I may be a>ked what good 1 expect to derive from this mot! jii. (Ministerial cheers) I per- fectly «cll understand that cheer, l know whence it proceeds and what it means, and my an wer is, that I wish to olitain from the noble lord a distimt answer to this ipiestion — was 3Ir. C'ramiiton instiiicled, not simply iK)t to break the law, but not to do deeds liv which the law wciidd be bri)keii ? " I have ra'elv seen, in tli nc nnndier ot hnes. more ignorance, c eekless niis-stateniont. (display kle )h before ii deliberative Assembly. .Ttdiii Artimr Hoebtick nniy think liim.sel: privileged to take smdi liberties with the absent, but he shall take in) such libertioH with nie. I htivc seen him too often, redolent of jimndico — have measnreermit iimi to go uncorreeted or tint chastised when he gives himself fiteli license. 'I'll, speech to which I refer. Sir. should not have gone tincontriidicted an instant had 1 sliared the privilege wlii(di you (iijoy. Your lo-d lae Ijeforc I'limatie stvle should not long have given ciirrenev to nonsense, and the six littndre!y own countryinen. who know mc host, have elevated nu'. ste|) by step, to the highest jiositions and hone discovers that I liavi- done, iind ju'rliaps am eapidde of d(' in their gift. My So'oreign. w ever )nio id ju'rliaps am eapidde of doing ■ tiie Mate some serviee." may gratify them hy s' niiirk of l{oval favor : but, in the iiK'antinie. 1 value as liglitlv liono'arv distinctions conferrcil without warrant. I ilo I'arliamentary attacks whitdi have no foundation. Yju assert that I spi^nt about ,'|1()(I.U(J(I ! Js'(tw I declare, in the presence of all England, that y !i mis-stiitcment so gross tlnit I am astonished at your audacious inaecuraev. Hut ,>^S.(1(K> were ever entrusted to mv oil liave made ear e. or jiassed through my hands — about £l.(i()0 sterling. Ninety-two thmisand Jhillar s ai" cei tainl V an (ver- cSiarge of wliicii any gentleman pretending to speak evil of the absent ought to be ashamed. That more money was expended in tin' ser^ ice I do not deny, and that those who spent it c.in account for it to the ,'y Sir Uaspard LeMarchant. that ju.stifies tbe coarse language applied to him. As res[)ects tiie (jiovernor General, I can only say that I do not lielieve your aliegations. If Sir Edmiini' Head erred at all, in this matter, it was on tbe side of extreme caution lest offence sliouhl be given. Mr. Crampton lias l)een abu.sed iinsparingly in tbe United States. He might, however culpable, it appears to me, be spaied in the British Senate until his defence is complete, and until the peculiar difficulties and delicacy of bis position are rightly understood. In a letter which I addressed to the District Attorney of riiiladelphia, on tbe (ith of November, the conduct of Mr. Crampton. so far as it had come under my ob.servation, was successfully vindicated. Bead a single extract : " But all these witnesses have been suminnned to make out, if possible, a ea.sc against Mr. (,'nimpton. Now I have evidence to prove the (leliciiey and legality "f that geiitlcniiiii's ((■,i(iiu;t and designs at tins period, wortli " a cloud of witiiosscs" such as you have ronjured up 1 produce it without the possibility of any concert wit'i his Kxcellency, whom I have not seen f<>r nmnth.-, heeause I know that it will be weighed in the court to which I appeal against the cr. jiirle proceed- ings at IMiihuielpliia. iMr. Biiiglhal fixes the date of our joint infraction of \tnw neutrality laws on or about the " 10th or I'Jth of Mari:h." On the 11th of .^lal•ch I received a letter froi'i .Mr. Cianipto'i, which I give verliatiin. Let the worid at large judge whether the writer of it w at the time eonsp;ri;i.( witii aie to violate ihe neutrality laws of the Uiiitstl States. " Washington, March 11, 1815,'). JIv Dum; .Sir — I enclose, for your inforniation and guidance in the niiiller in which you are engaged, an opini(ni which, at my reritisii Uourt.s of Justice you were taught i > jire- sume tlie iniioL-i nee of persons, arraigned with all the formalities of law. until their guilt was proved. You reverse the rule. You assume the guilt of a British gentleman, who. for two n.ontlis. walked the streets in the uiidst of his ene- mies, md the enemies of his country, and whom they d...;;! not try; and of another, who when tried, was honorably acijuitted. The only extenuation that I can discover for such folly or injustice, is to suppose that the wretched Philadel- phia pamphlet, containing the trial of one Henry Heitz atul Emnnuid (,". Perkins, has mislead you. Had you known that four myed and tlieir fi)llowcrs enlisted. The only document \.hieli he sent into the United States, was }ii\ official public notice that men would be enlisted on certain teims a/ Hulijnx. Judge Kane decided that it was no violation of law to circulate this notice in the Uniteil States, itliis law be sound, then I challenge yoti to show one act done by Sir (.Jaspard LeMarch.int. that justifies the coarse language applied to him. As respects the (ioveruor General, I can only say that I do not believe your allegations. If Sir Edmmid Head erred at all, in this matter, it was on the side of extreme caution lest offence sliouhl be given. Mr. Crampton has been al'Vised unsparingly in the United States. He might, however culpable, it appea.s to me, be spared in the British Senate until his defence is coinplete, and until the peculiar difficulties and delicacy of his position are rightly understood. In a letter which I addressed to the District Attorney of Philadelphia, on the (llh of November, the conduct of Mr. Urampton, so far as it had come under my oh.servation, was suceeysfully vindicated. Head a single extract : "But all these witiieH!«!S have been summoned to iiiake out, if po.ssihle, a case aguin.st Mr. Crampton. Now I have evidence to prove the delieiicy and legality of that geiitletiian's (('.iduet and de.aigiis at this period, wortii " a cloud of witnesses ' .^ucli as you liave conjured up 1 produfe it without tho po.ssibiiily of any concert wit'i ids KxcelkMK-y, whom I have not s(hmi tor nioutli.-, because I know that it will be weiglx'd in the court to whiih I appeal against the ex pir/e proceed- ings at Philadelphia. Mv. Bingthal fixes the date of our joint intViietion of uiiu' neutrality laws m\ or about the " 10th or llith of March." On the 11th of March I received a leMer froin Mr. Cianipton, which I give verliatini. Lot the worKl at large judge whetlier the wiiter of it was at the time conspire i witli nie to violate the neutrality laws of the United States. " Washington, March 11, 185,'). My D>;\k Sn- — I enclose, for your information and guidance in the nniKer in wlii you are engaged, an opinion which, at my reques*, has been drawn up liy an eminent American Lawyer, in icg;ird to the hearing of the lUMitrality laws of the United States, upon the sul)ject. This gentlemen i.- also very well acquainted with the practical operation of the law in this country, influenced as it always is, more or less, by lln^ pnivalent feelings td' the day, and tlie action of t!ie press. I liaie entire confidence in the correctnest* of lii.i view.-. Vou will perceive that what can be (Umo in (he U. S. cither by agents of H. >|. tiovernnient directly, or by American citizens er residents, is reitricti^d within very narmw linii*,- ; and that great caution will be required to avoid even the least appearance of emtiloyuig any device for eluding the law. I liave entire confidence in your prudence and dis- cretion in this re.-ipoct, but I would beg of you to inculcate the iiimost cin umspectiou upon all those with whom you uiay havo to coinuumieato upon this important suhjc't : and to ex[)lain to tluni clearly the true bearings of the case. I am, my dear Sir, yours truly, J. F. Cu.\MPT0N." Having. I trust, sir. taught you a leason of accuracy and circumspection, I beg now to remind ycu that thee was a time when it was necessary to' send troops from England In British America— when American sympaihizcrs swarmed upon our frontiers with rifles in then-" hands, and when not $100,000 but £2,000,000 Sterling had to be expended to preserve these Colonies from the rapacity of the people whose slanders you so readily endorse — who.so cause yo. You are always liuflettii.g the billows of strife, and leaving ■x flavor of bitterness behind, Let me, in contdusion, iidvise you to cultivate hereafter a better opinion of your fellow-ereutures — to display a more generous and genial wpirit and not to siipintse that, even with the Atlantic between us, you can take imiirojier liberties with Your Obedient Servant, JOSEPH HOWE. 'M No. 4. Copy of a LETTER from Mr. Howe to Earl Grey. °" ' 5, Sloane Street, November 25, J 850 r^.i. a''''' t* *5\!°f«^ew with which I was honoured on the 18th instant received your Lordship's instructions to place before you in offirkl fo m f ^ ' arguments on which, as Representative from the SncHf Nova wS^'k my application for the guaraatee of the Imperii (To4mm^^^^^ fn »5' Kf^ pubic works projected % the Government rtLcoTony?TU^ oteSns.*" "" ^°"^ ^"'^^'"P'^ ^"^'^^'^ *° *•'« folJwingltlZntTnS when'^SrS mLfhtlaS I'wn^Stt^'JLt L" ""V'^'^ '""^^ counties east and west. No'vaSiatXt d™:!,^^!^ pSeTf the world before her, upon the measures to be adopted to secure for her peoole at the least expense, with the slightest risk, and in the she 4?t^e^ these S tllT ''' ™Provements. Her people have been a<;customed to fSe'ro d iloniVn tf '''''';" *J'^P^°^'"c«- Her roads, made at the puWic ex^^^^^^^^^ belong fo the country, and are emphatically the Queen's hiehwavs Fn thf f ' instances where she has deviated from this pohcv in Si/ to hi femes^ the cost and the inconveniences of monSpoT/have teTd ts vaLf " " «.=.n? , r^' ^1 ^''S^'^^s Of an improved construction tC are a.s essential to our advancement and prosperity now, m common roads wJreTn tl^ olden time. The service which the Government has performed for a h,nrl!iH nZ'\Tt'' *° 'if '^r"'^" ^°«^«' ^hich probably SurTs 500 mi?es we beheve it to be capable of performinL' in regard to railLvs Thf a^ — 1 '.- It our Government had means sufficient to build railroads and PR.rv t',« K^ .^''r ^'l''' f*^"' ""« ^™"ld be sound polSr If toHs Sbe charged, we know that these will be more moderate and fair ifr^ ! created, and speculators regulate the tolls only with reference toTie div idenr If there be risk or loss, we are contend to bear it Ff tI,P f^ffi "^^f.^'^'^^nds. T„ inZr/"'; "r 'f"' "" ™' PoP-lou^ and i,'„p„;ed. *■ ' """ „«■.„ ^ """-colonial railroad, m which the adjoining colonies feel an lnl..rp,t rSuUoTS 'r T ""• ''' r^'''^' reTu^Srabatoatd. '^^"^^ not \r' '' ^" ^^<^^^rid offers many advantages which one to Quebec does not. t w.ll cost only about half as much. It must run, nearly aU the vvav through a comparatively improvcl country. It would c^nrct Ha JU x 3 St. John (aud by the nver, with Frcdericton) and the larger towns of Now Brur..swick ; g,vn>g ,o all these, witii the villages and agricXral sS^^lem^nu lying botv^..e^ them most desiral.le facilities for internal tniffic '^"*^"'^"'^ li.e Portland Railroad would secure to Nova Scotia the advantages which atu, e dcs.gned he.; to enjoy : connecting her with all the lines runn nf throu' the Aniencan Continent, and making Halifax a common terminus f^Mle u al No Amoncan ste:i'ner, which did not touch at Halifax, could thoiceKrv^i thatiiS^SSSSr'' ''' '''-'''' 3ea-tine measures 3,100 miles. 3P From Halifax to Galway is Dublin to Holyhead Miles. 2,130 63 2,193 Holyhead to London , 263 Dublin to the South-West Coast of Ireland 120 Halifax to St, John's . 266 St. John's to Waterville. 200 Waterville to New York , 410 . 1,259 3,452 making the whole land and sea distance 152 miles more than the present sea passage. But the sea voyage, by the one route, would be 1107 miles shorter than by the other. To run these 1107 miles by steamboat, at 12 miles an hour, would reqmre 92 hours, ; to run them by rail, at 30 miles an hour, would require but 36 hours. This roiite would therefore save, in the communication between Europe and America, 56 hours to every individual, in all time to come, who passed between the two continents ; the sea-risks to life and property being diminished by one- third of the whole. The States lying east of New York will be benefited in a ratio corres- pondirji with their relative distances from that city. A merchant travelling from ( noon to Portland, not only wastes 56 hours in going to New York, but TO' ' ■ '■-■-■•'■ ■ rt :' '.r« )■!■ »f \ji 6 T'fnm'.! ;'-t * by H t . deahiig in and travel 400 miles on the route to Halifax besides, which will -.s more. • tb"n, thai when the line across Ireland is completed, and that ". ; aterville (from thence the lines are continuous all over the , this route may defy competition. No business man will travel .vnich leaves him 56 or 69 hours behind time, which gives to others the same articles, and entering the same markets with the same information, such very decided advantages. No person travelUng for pleasure will waste 56 hours, at some peril, on the ocean, where there is nothing to see, who can, in perfect security, run over the same distance by land, with cultivated country and a succession of towns and villages to relieve the eye. The Americans assembled at the Portland Convention pledged themselves to make this line through the territory of Maine. Capitalists and contractors in that country profess their readiness to complete the whole through the British provinces, provided acts ot incorporation are given to them with liberal grants of land and money in addition. For various reasons, the Government of Nova Scotia are reluctant to permit this to be done. They are unwilling to surrender that which must become for ever the great highway between the capital of Nova Scotia and her eastern counties, to the manugcnient and control of foreign capitalists. They believe it to be, my Lord, eciually sound provincial and sound national Ijolicy, that that portion of what must become a great highway of nations, which lies within the territories of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, should be kept under British control ; and they believe that the security and defence of the maritime provinces are involved in adherence to that policy. They believe that the honour of the Crown is concerned in this question, to an extent which calls upon them to pledge the entire credit and resources of the province, that it may not be tarnished. Having done this, they believe that the liajjerial Government ought to take at least sufficient interest in the ques- tion to enable them to enter the English money-market on the best terms, and effect a laigc saving in the expenditure required. Money is worth, in the United States and in the British provinces, 6 per cent. Suppose this railroad to be constructed by American or provincial capitalists, it is evident that our portion of it, which will cost 800,000/. sterling, must pay 48,000/. sterling, or 60,000/. euiTency, over and above its working expenses. 39 With the Imperial guarantee, we can obtain the funds required at 3j per cent., reducing the annual interest to 28,000i. sterling, or 35,000^'. cunency. The Government o( Nova Scotia believe, that if British capital, so much of which flows into foreign States, where it is always insecure, and in times ol trial is found to have invariably strengthened our enemies, can be safely invested in the Queen's dominions, the Imperial Government should take an interest in its legitimate employment; and they are quite prepared to invest an equal sum to that now required in l)uilding a line through the western counties of Nova Scotia, wherever the eastern pays its working expenses and interest on the sum expended. They believe tliat, even if the province could raise this amount of capital, to withdraw so large a sum from the ordinary channels of circulation, wliere it is beneficially employed, and earning interest and profit?, would cramp the trade of the country, and produoe, on a small scale, embarrassments similar in their nature to those experienced in the parent State. They believe that a low rate of interest would lead to the establishment of a low rate of fares, of which every Englishman passing over the line would feel the advantage. They are prepared to carry the British and American mails at reasonable rates, and to authorize the British Government to pay the amounts contracted for, to the credit of the interest on the loan. They believe that Her Majesty's Government legitimately employed their influence in securing, by the Nicaragua Treaty, a passage for British subjects and commerce to the East. They believe that to control the great highway to the West, and to secure to a British province the advantages of oceanic steam navigation, would be an equally legitimate object. They beUeve that if Her Majesty's Government takes the lead in these noble North American enterprises, they will make the Queen's name a tov.er of strength on that continent. They apprehend that if the colonists are driven to seek sympathyand assistance from the United States, in aid of their public works, to become large debtors to their capitalists, at extravagant interest, to employ their citizens habitually in the bosom oi' their country, a revulsion of feeUng, dangerous to British interests, will be created, which statesmen sliould foresee and avoid. Whether, my Lord, it was prudent in the Provincial Government to ask for the Imperial guarantee, I would respectfully suggest that it is now too late to consider. The refusal will wound the pride of every Nova Scotian, and strengthen the belief that England is indifferent to the industrial development of th3 maritime provinces : that she has no policy, by backing which their inhabitants can be elevated to fair competition with their Republican neigh- bours ; and that when they ask her countenance and co-operation in measures which are as essential to the national dignity and security, as they would be productive of internal improvement, the reply, though courteou??, shuts out hope. An impression prevails in the Lower Provinces, that either from the imme- diate presence in Canada of noblemen generally standing high in the confidence of the Ministry at home, or from the sensitive irritability with which all parties resort to open violence in tliat province, more weight is given to representations affecting her interest, than to those which concern the maritime colonies. Nova Scotians, compelled to sacrifice 22,000/. a-y.ar in the co^npletion of a national work, by the refusal of tb Imperial Government to guarantee to the capitalists of England the interest on mis loan, cannot fail to contrast the relative position in which they are placed by that refusal. That they may not copy the evil examples by which a larger share of fraternal consideration' will appear to them to have been secured, shall be my sincere and anxious prayer. TheCanadas, seeking Responsible Government in the French mode, resorted to armed insurrections, which it cost England 4 or 5,000,000/. to suppress. Immediately after the restoration of tranquiUity, the British Government lent theCanadas 1,. 500,000/. Had the maritime provinces participated in those rebellions, everv regiment that marched through tiiem in the winters of 1837 and 1831) would "have been cut ofi; They did not. They adhered to their allegiance, and denounced the rtbsls. _ Tiiey cheered the soldiers on their winter marches, and provided for their wivs and children. Yet Canada has been rewarded for bad faith and the waste cf national re.sources, by a bonus of a million and a half; and I know no 40 terms in which T can describe what my countrvmen will feel, if, with a surplus revenue already available to secure the parent State from risk, they are refused the guarantee for half that amount. In 1839, the State of Maine called out its militia to overrun the Province of New Brunswick. Nova Scotia, though not directly menaced, promptly tendered her entire pecuniary and physical resources in vindication of the national honour. She had no direct interest in the Boundary question. Not an acre of her soil was menaced ; yet she did not hesitate to tender her means, and to set an example of loyal unanimity, much wanted on the continent at that moment, and which, had war commenced, could not have failed to have drawn it into her bosom. Yet now, the people she would have fought tender their co- operation to make a great national highway across her soil ; and I submit, with all deference, my Lord, whether the Sovereign, whose honour she was prompt to vindicate, should be advised to refuse her aid, and view with unconcern the probable construction of such a work in our very midst, by foreign capital, to be subject to foreign influence and control. VVhen the storm blew from Maine we wrapped our loyalty around us. Who can tell what may happen, should the sun of prosperity shine from that quarter, and coldness and neglect appear on the other side ? Englano would not allow foreigners to control a great line of railway reachinir from Dover to Aberdeen. Should she permit them to control 3.00 miles of railway through Nova Scotia and New Brunswick 1 When the French propagandists menaced Belgium, the Belgian Govern- ment controlled the railways. The invaders were ambushed and overpowered ; and through all the convulsions of 1848 — 1850, Belgium has remained tranquil and secure. When the mob of Montreal seized upon the capital of Canada, the electric telegraph was in their hands. The wires were used to communicate with par- tisans above ?nd below, by which Lord Elgin was seriously compromised, his Government having no assurance that their secrets were kept or their mes.=age8 delivered. But, my Lord, it may be asked, why sliould foreign capitalists make and control tliis road ? Why may this not be done by the colonists themselves ? Because, — 1st. Capital is more abundant in the United States (most of which have borrowed largely from England) tium in the British provinces. 2iid. Experience of railway enterprises, and confldence, m them are more general in that country. 3rd. A body of railway engineers, contractors, and operatives, already formed in the different States, seek further employment, and will take much stock in payment, if employed. 4tli. The interest ct' most of the lines south and west would be promoted by extension. Not only would Europeans, now reaching the Central States r>y sea. travel by rail if this were laid, but the population of the provinces, who rarely go south or west, for want of facilities, would, by the aid of the European ami North American Railroad, be let in on the western and southern lines. 5th. The national importance of controlling tiiij ra>' oad will induce Americans to embark in it. The electric telegraph across Nova Scotia was no sooner completed, than American merchants and speculators in cotton and corn would have bought it at any price. In peace and war the command of the work now pioposed would give them great influence. No single association in the two provinces would wield so much. If they built the trunk-hne they would ultimately ''ontrol the branches. The constant employment of their own people would lead to the diffusion of Republican sentiments ; and no Nova Scotian, or irdiabitant of New Brunswick, would deem it worth his while to attempt to counteract tendencies to which the mother-country seemed indifferent, and which he saw must inevitably lead to but one result. Should it be objected, my Lord, that to comply with the request preferred by Nova Scotia, would be to delay or peril the completion of the great railway projected l>v Lord Durham, and which was designed to form a back-bone for the North AttKirican Provinces, and to open up large tracts of waste land to colonization ; we answer — Sliow ua that Her Majesty's Government seriously entertain that project ; that they are prepared to go down to Parliament and demand that it shall be 41 realized ; and Nova Scotia will at once honourably redeem the pledges which, in anticipation of what she conceived to be the Imperial policy, were recorded upon her statute-book. However the question may iiave changed its aspect, Nova Scotia will not swerve from any line of inter-colonial policy which the parent State regards as of paramount importance. But the question has changed its aspect. Whether Canada, with its railway lines, connecting Montreal and Quebec with the sea, vid Melbourne and Portland, and whinh will, by the completion of the line now proposed through the culti- vated parts of New Brunswick, unite both these gi'eat cities with Halifax, by distances severally of 825 and 8(J5 miles, will be disposed to embark funds in another, through a comparative wilderness, remams to be proved. Nova Scotia, whatever may be the predilections of the Imperial Govern- ment, or the determination of Canada, posacsses this advantage : The line which she proposes to construct through her territory, must be a common trunk- line for both the Portland and the Quebec Railroads, whenever these are completed. Nova Scotia cannot be wrong in constructing her 130 miles. If the Port- land Railroad only is buiit, she is content to share the fortunes of that enterprise. If the British Government prefer, and choose to aid the work originally pro- posed. Nova Scotia will either pay her contribution, already pledged, or she will make that portion of the common line to the St. Lawrence which passes through her territory. We hope to see both line? finished. One continuous railroad communica- tion with the great rivers and lakes of Canada, or with the principal cities of the United States, would give an impetus to the social and material prosperity of Nova Scotia, which her people anticipate, in confident reliance upon their ov/n resources and on the bounties of Providence. Give them both, and the trunk line through their country must become a source of prosperity to the province, and of revenue to its Government. — only to be paralleled, in the history of the New World, by the celebrated Erie Canal. But, my Lord, it may be urged that the parent State has many colonies, and that she may be embarrassed by other chims of a similar nature, if this is granted. Admitting the 3oundness of the objection, 1 respectfully submit that it comes too late. The British Government has already established the prece- dents of which Nova Scotia would claim the benefit. The grants to Canada Have been already referred to. In 1848, a law was passed by Pailiamcpt. guaranteeing the interest required on a loan for the public works of the West Indies and the Mauritius, including Railways. Rut we humbly conceive that no general rule of this kind ought to apply, even if the exceptions to which I have referred did not exist. The Government of England does not place a ligiitliouse on every headland, nor maintain a garri- son in every English town. It does not build a dockyard in every county, nor in every colony. The prominent points of the sea-coast are occupied for com- mercial security, and the most commanding positions for the preservation of internal tranquillity and national defence. Gibraltar is a barren rock, yet millions have been expended in its capture and, defence. Bermuda, in intrinsic value, is not worth a single county of New Brunswicl-, yet it commands the surrounding seas, and is therefore occupied for national objects. In like manner, I would respectfully submit, should the commanding position of Nova Scotia be appreciated, occupied, and rendered impregnable — not by the presence of fleets and armies — but by inspiring its people with full confidence in the justice, magnanimity and wisdom of the Imperial Government — by promptly securing to the province all the advantages arising from its proximity to Europe— from its containing within its bosom the high road, over which, in all time to come, the Anglo-Saxon race must pass in their social and commercial intercourse with each otiier. There are other views of this question, my Lord, which ought to have their weight with the Government and people of England. The position of the North- American Provinces is peculiar, and the temptations and dangers which suiTound them, trust me, my Lord, require, on the part of the Imperial Government, a policy at once conciliatory and energetic. The concessions already made, and the principles acknowledged by Her f.o 9 Majesty's Government, leave as nothing to desire, and Imperial statesmen little to do, in regard to the internal adminiscmtion of our affairs. But something more than this is required by the high-spirited race who inhabit British America. Placed between two mighty nations, we sometimes feel that we belong, in fact, to neither. Twenty millions of people live beside us, from wl>'>8e markets our staple productions are excluded, or in which they are burthened with high duties, because we -.re Britiph subjects. For the same reason, the higher paths of ambition, on every hand inviting the ardent spirits of the Union, are closed to us. From equil participation in common rights, from fair competition with them in the more elevated duties of Government and the distribution of its prizes, our British brethren, or. the other side, as carefully exclude us. The President of the United States is the son of a schoolmaster. There are more than 1000 schoolmasters teaching the rising youth of Nova Scotia, with the depressing con- viction upon their minds, that iic ^^ery elevated walks of ambition are open either to their pupils or their childrer.. Protection tc any species of industry in Nova Scotia we utteriy repudiate ; but year Lordship is Aell aware that many branches of industry, many delicate and many coarse manufactures, require an extended demand before they can be sustained in any country. This extended demand the citizens of the great Republic enjoy ; and it has done more tor them than even their high tariffs or tlieir peculiar institutions. The wooden nutmeg of Connecticut may flavour, untaxed, the rice of Carolina. ea- borne in a vessel which traverses two mighty oceans, the coarse cloths (assachusetts enter the Port of St. Francisco without fear of a custom -hou.t jr payment of duty. The staple exports of Nova Scotia cannot cross the Bay of Fundy witliout paying 30 per cent. ; and every species of colonial manufachire is excluded from Great Britiiin by the compara- tively low price of labour ;iere, and from the wide range of the Republic by prohibitory duties. The patience with which this state of things lias been bom- ; rh j industry and enterprise which Nova Scotia has exhibited, in facinf ^.^.^-^ difficulties, entitle her to some consideration. But a single century has passed away since the first permanent occupation of her soil by a British race. During all that time she has preserved her loyalty untarnished, and the property created upon her soil, or which floats under her flag upon the sea, ;s estimated at the value of 15,000,000/. She provides for her own civil Goven. ment,— guards her criminals, — lights her coast,— -maintains her ].oor,— and educates her people, from her own resources. Her surface is everywhere intersected with free roads, inferior to none in Ameriia ; and her hardy shoresmen noi only wrestle with the Republicans for the fisheries and commerce of the eurroundiug seas, but enter into successful competition with them in the carrying, trade of the v.orld. Such a country, your Lordship will readily pardon ni' for suggesting, even to my gracious Sovereign's confidential advisers, is worth a thought. Not to wound the feelings of its inhabitants, or even seem to disregard their interests, may be worih the small sacrifice she now re }uir''s. Nova Scotia has a claim upon the British Government and Parhanient, which no other colony has. The mineral treasures in her bosom are supposed to be as inexhaustible as the fisheries upon her coast or the riches of her soil. Nearly the whole have been bartered away i ^ a single company, for no adequate provincial or national object. A monopoly has thus been created, which wounds the pride, while it cramps the industry of the people. If Nova Scotia were a State of the American Jnion, this monopoly would not last an hour. If she now asked to have this lease cancelled or bought up, that her industry might be free, she would seek nothing unreasonable. The emancipation of our soil is perhaps as much an obligation i-esting upon tlie people of England, as was the emancipation of the slaves. No Government da,e create such a monopoly in England or in Scotland and bear with keen, as me our my Lord, w'len I pride as sensitive, assure your as those of Lordship that our feelings are .„ , „... ,.._. ^ o^.......^, c.c ^..y,^^ w. Englishmen or Scjichmen. Break up this monopoly, an:' capital would flow into our mines, and the mines would furnish not only emplo^'iaent for railroads, but give an impetus to our coasting and foreign trade. Nova Scotians have seen 20,000,000/. not lent, but given, to their fellow- colonists in the West Indies. Thev admired the sj-irit wlrch overlooked [pecuniary considerations in view of gi^at principles of national lior^ur and. C 10 I humanity. But by that very act *hey lost, for a time, more than would make this railroad. Their commerce with the West Indies was seriously 'leranged by the change, and the consumption of fish, their great staple, largely diminished. If money is no object wlien the national honour is at stake in the West Indies, why should it be in British America? If the emancipation of 800,000 Blacks is a moral obhgation. to be redeemed at the cost of 20,000,000/., surely a territory, which now contains double the number of Whites, attached British subjects, and which will ultimately contain ten times that number, is worth risking a million or two to preserve. The national bountie of France and America, my Lord, also place Nova Scotia in a false and unfovourable position. These bounties are not aimed at our industry, but at British naviil supremacy. Yet they subject us to an unfair competition upon the sea, as galling as is the mineral and metallic monopoly upon the land. For every quintal of tish a Frenchman catches, bis Government pays him 10 francs, or 8s. 4d. sterling, and every man and boy employed receives GO francs for each voyage besides. For every ton of sliipping an American employs in the fishery, his Government pays him 20s. per ton. Nova Scotia juts into the seas which the French and American fishermen, thus stimulated, occupy. If she were a French, province, or an American State, not only would she participate in those bounties, but she would tit out and own, in addition to her present fleet, at least 1000 fishing-craft, whicli now i,ome from foreign ports into the waters by which she is surrounded, and subject her people to a species of competition in which the advantages are all on one side. The manner in which Novia Scotia has extended her fisheries in the face of this competition ; the hardy race she has reared upon her sea-coast ; the value of craft employed and of export furnished, speak volumes for the enterprise and industry of her people. Yet every Nova Scotian fisherman toils with this conviction daily impressed upon his mind : " If I were a Frenchman, my profits would be secure. I would be in a position equal to that of an American ; far superior to that of a colonist. If I was an American, I would have a bounty suflicient to cover the risk of my outfit, and besides, have a boundless free market for the sale of my fish, extending from Maine to California, which is now half-closed to me by nearly prohibitory duties." The British Government could break down these bounties at once, by equalizing them. The mother-countiy owes it to her Northern Provinces to try the experiment, if they cannot be removed by negotiation. But suppose she does not ; suppose, that having done my best to draw attention to the claims of those I have the honour to represent, 1 return to them without hope, how long will high-spirited men endure a position in which their loyalty subjects tlieir mines to monopoly — their fisheiics to unnatural competition — and in which cold indifference to public improvement, or national security, is the only response they meet when they make to the Imperial authorities a proposition calculated to keep alive their national enthusiasm, while developing tlien* internal n^sources? The idea of a great inter-colonial railroad to unite tlic liritish American Provinces, originated with I^rd Dniliam. In the confident belief that this work was to be regarded as one of nationi.l importance. Nova Scotia paid towards the survey of the line nearly 8000/. The anticipation that the completion of this gi-eat work, in cunnexion with u sehcme of colonization, would redress many of the evils and inequalities under wliieh the provinces labour, for some time buoyed up the spirits of the people, and the disajjpointment is keenly felt in proportion as hopes were sanguine. If thon the British Government has abandoiu-d the policy to which, perhaps too hastily, we assumed that it was pledged ; if the empire will inaUe no roads thI()u^]l its territories (and the legions of Britain might be worse c-nployed) ; awwly it cannot be less than madness to pei'uiit Ibreigncrs to make them ; and ir must lie sound statemanship to aid the Colonial Covtrnments, whenever they will assume the responsibility of construct- ing :.nd (onti'olling the great highways, no less necessaiy for internal improve- ment than ft)!' national detenec. ll' the ri.ad across Nova >C()tia is commenced, the spirits of the colonists will revive. If extended first to l'i>rtland, it will "prepare the way," to employ Lordsliip'a own language, '• for the execution of the line tu (iucbee; aiul it VOUi' will contribute to the same end, naniely, that of rendering Halifax the great port of conuuunicution between the two continents of Europe and America." ii'^ 11 I have said that the railroad across Nova Scotia will be the common trunk for the Quebec and Portland lines, whenever these are made. The former cannot be constructed by the colonists, unless the British Government make liberal contributions. The Hne to Portland will be made either with British or American capital. If by the latter, then, my Lord, it is worth while to inquire in what position the British Government will stand, should they ever attempt to realize Lord Durham's magnificent conception, and find that the first link in the great chain of inter-colonial communication is already in possession of their enemies 1 The Americans at this moment are putting forth their utmost skill to compete witii our ocean steamers. When the railroad is constructed across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, then boats must start from and return lo HaHfax, or the competition will be at an end. A rivalry, honourable to both nations, may still continue ; but, however the odds may turn, at least we shall have the satisfaction to reflect, that the inevitable result of that competition is to build up a noble maritime city within Her Majesty's dominions. The British Government now pays, for the conveyance of the North American mails between England and New York, 145.000/. sterling per annum. By this aiTangement, 1107 miles of sea are traversed more than are necessary. The correspondence of all Europe with all America is delayed fifty-six hours beyond the time which will be actually required for its conveyance, when he railroads across Ireland and Nova Scotia are campleted. One set of these Ikitish mail-steamers pass by our own provinces, and, to the mortification of their inhabitants, carry their letters, and even the public despatches of their Government, to the United States, to be sent back some 800 miles, if they come by land; at least 500, if sent by sea. While the nearest land to Europe is Briti.?h territory, — while a harbour, almost matchless for security and capacity, invites Englishmen to build up within the empire a fitting rival to the great commercial cities which are rising beyond it, your Lordship will readily comprehend the depth and earnestness of our impatience to be rescued from a position which wounds our pride as British subjects, and is calculated rapidly to generate the belief, that the conmianding position of our country is either not understood, or our interests but lightly valued. My Lord, I ao not touch the question of Emigration and Colonization, because I have already trespassed largely upon your liordship's patience, and because I do not wish to encumber the suhjeet. There is another reason, my Lord. 1 do not desire to enter incidentally upon a field which has yielded so many crops of fallacies, but which, properly cultivated, nay yet bear noble fruit. I wish to examine what may have been recently said and written in England, on this impoilant subject, before expressing my opinion. This only I may say, that if the British Islands have surj)lus labour, there is room for it all in the North American Provinces ; and that the honour and the interests of England are deeply concerned in planting that labour in the right place. I am aware, my Lord, that it is the fashion, in certain (juarters, to speak of the liaternal t'eelings which, henceforward, are to mutually animate the popu- lation ( f (ii tat Britain and of the United States. I wish 1 could credit the reality of their existence ; but 1 must believe the evidence of my own senses. A few years ago I spent the 4th of July at Albany. The ceremonies of the day were imposing. In one of the largest public halls of the city, an immense body of persons were assembled. English, Irish, and Scotch faeee were neither few nor liir between. In the presence of that breathless audience, the old bill of indictment against England, the Declaration of Independence, was read ; and at every clause each yc^ung .American knit his brows, and every Briton hung his head with sliame. Then followed the oration of the day, in which every nation, eminent for arts, or anus, or civilization, received its meed of praisi>, hut England. Slie was held uj) as the universal opi)ressor and scourge of the whole earth, — whose passage down the stream of time was marked by blood and usurjjation. — whose certain wrcrl,, juuidst the troubled waves, was but the inevitable retribution attendant on a couise so ruthless. As the orator closed, the young Americans knit their brows again ; and the recent emigrants, 1 fear, carried away by the spirit of the scene, cast aside their allegiance to the land of their lathers, D 45 I. I 12 Had this scene, my Lord, occurred in a single town, it would have made but a slight impression ; but, on that very day, it was acted, with more or less of skill and exaggeration, in every town and village of the Republic. It has been repeated on every 4th of July since. It will be repeated every year to the end of time. And so long as that ceremony turns upon England, every twelve- month, the concentrated hrtred of Republican America, it cannot be a question of indifference, whether the emigrants who desire to leave the mother-country, should settle within or beyond the boundaries of the empire. There is, my Lord, another view of this question, that is pregnant with materials for 'reflection, and that should task the statesmanship of England, inde- pendently of it, though deserving to be glanced at in this connexion. 1 have said that the North American Provinces lie between two mighty nations, yet belong, in fact, to neither. This branch of the subject is wide, and may be variously illustrated. Perhaps, before leaving England, I may call your Lordship's attention to it again. For the present I confine myself to a single illustration. , . Whatever may be the decision of Her Majesty's Government upon this claim, which, on the part of the province I represent, I have endeavoured respectfully to press upon your Lordship's notice, I believe, and every one of my countrymen will believe, that if presented to the magnanimous and enlightened Assembly where we are not represented, by a few Nova Scotians, whose hearts were in the enterprise; whose knowledaje of the position and requirements of British America was minute and various; whose zeal for the integrity of the empire, and the honour of the Crown, could not be questioned, the House of Commons would not permit them to plead in vain. But, my Lord, we have no such privilege. We daily see our friends or acquaintance across the frontier, not only distinguishing tliemselves in the State Legislatures which guard their municipal interests, but enriching the national councils with the varied eloquence and knowledge drawn from every portion of the Union. From the national councils of his country, the British American is shut out. Every day he is beginning to feel the contrast more keenly. I was not at the recent Portland Convention, but the colonists who did attend, asto- nished the Americans by their general bearing, ability, and eloquence. But when these men sei)arat.^d, it was with the depressing conviction m the hearts of our people, that one set would be heard, perhaps, on the floors of Congress the week atkr, or be conveyed in national ships to foreign Embassies ; while the other could never litl their voices in the British ParHament, nor aspire to higher employment than their several provinces could bestow. Let us then, my Lord, at least feel, that if thus excluded, we have but to present a claim or a case worthy of consideration, to have it dealt with in a My and even generous spirit. The warrior of old, whose place was vacant in the pageant, was yet present in the hearts of the people. So let it be with us, my Lord. If the seats which many whom I have left behind me, could occupy with honour to themselves, and advantage to the empire, are still vacant in the national councils, let Nova Scotia at least be consoled by the reflection that her past history pleads tor her on everv lilting occasion. I have, &c. The Right Hon. Earl Grey, (Signed) JOSEi'H HOWE. &c.' &c. &c. No. 5. Copy of a LETPER from Mr. Howi, to Earl Ghey. j^y Lotto •'^' Sloane Street, January 10, 1851. In the Idler which I had the honour to address to your Lordship on the 2:)th Noveiuher, 1 argued the case of Nova Scotia on its own nurits, and ventured to claim the guurantce of the Imperial (Jovernment in aid of iier public works, upon grounds which aflectod her material interests, her |)ride, her enterprise, and stedfast loyalty to the British Crown. The iiniiicdiite consideration of that letter 1 did not desire, because, while preparing it, I was quite conscious that if the single isHue raised, were to be. ^h: 13 decided by Her Majesty's Government upon the merits or claims of Nova Scotia alone, the Cabinet would have but a very inadequate statement of the reasons which ought to secure, and the province I represent but a slender chance of obtaining, a favourable decision. The interest which the mother-country has in the elevation of North America, m the increase of her population, the development of her resources, the occupation of her wild lands, the extension of her commerce, and of her nieans of easy internal and external communication, I believe too far transcend the interest, great as that is, which the several provinces feel in these very important questions. Should the aid of the parent State be refused, the Northern Provinces would still, but with less rapidity, complete their public works. Though not an emigrant landed on their shores, the population they have would live in plenty, and double every twenty years. She -Id ihev change their political relations., the worst that could befal them, would be association with their Anglo-Saxon neighbours, or an independent position, moderately secure, and full of future promise. But England cannot afford to descend from the high position which she occupies among the nations of the earth. Having lost one-half of a mighty con- tinent, won by the valour and enterprise of a noble ancestry, she can as' little afford to confess, in the presence of all tlie world, her inability to wisely rule the other half, and preserve the attachment of its inhabitants. " Besides," there are within her own populous cities, and upon the surfa* 3 of her highly-cultivated rural districts, certain evils, disorders, and burthens, with which it behoves her, as a good economist, and as a wise, enterprising, and Christian nation, ener- getically to deal. For more than a month I have surveyed, with intense earnestness, the wide circle of her colonial dependencies, and studied in parliamentary and official papers, for some assured prospect of relief from these evils and disorders. I have examined with care the policy of the present and of past Governments, and the plans and suggestions of public writers and associations ; and have invariably turned to the North American Provinces with the conviction that they present, at this moment, the most available and diversified resources for the relief of England ; the noblest field for the further develop-nent of her industry, philanthropy and power. In offering suggestions to the Ministers of the Crown, I feel, my Lord, the distance which divides me, in rank and intelligence, from those I would presume to counsel ; and yet 1 am not without a iiope that thev will give some weight to the position I occupy and to the training which my mind has received. If I understand the questions to be apj)roached better than many persons of far higher attainments— if I feel more acutely their commanding importance, It IS because, being a native of North America, 1 have travelled much over the provinces, and mingled familiarly, and for manv vears, with all classes of their mhahit mts ; and being a member of Hor .Majcst'v's Council in the province I represent, 1 am bound by my oath to offer my advice, throu-h the channels estahhshed by the Constitution, to my Sovereign, in matters of State, which I believe to involve the lionour of the Crown and the integrity and nrosnerify of the empire. i i j To provide employment for her surplus capital and labour— to extend her home markets— to relieve her poor-rates- to empty her poor-houses— to reform her convicts—to diminish crime— to fill u|) the waste places of the empire, and to give the great mass of her population a share of n-al estate, and an interest in property, I believe to be pre .iiinentlv the mission and the duty of this ffieat country at the present time. Tlie jjcriod is favourable. The icinoval of im|)olitic; restrictions has lessened to some extent the pressure upon the public finmu'cs, and i,nven to f!ie people that measure of relief which allords time for reflection upon tlie means by which (ho still existing pressure upon industry may be further relieved. In a colonial point ot vicv-, the period is also !',v,n:rablo. Thanks to the policy which the present Cabinet have carried out. the North American Provinces arc relieved, so far as free countries evi>r can he, from internal dissensions. Invested with eontruul ever their own affairs and resources, they have now the leisuie, as tliey assuredly have a sincere desire, to consult with th-ir brethren on this side of tlic Atlantic on common measures of mutual advantage. I think I may sav D2 -^ ' 1 >•- U that while they anticipate great benefit from the co-oneration and aid of the mother-country in promoting their pubHc works, they are not unmindful cf their duty to consider the peculiar questions in which this country feels an interest ; and to take care that while availing themselves of the credit of England, no permanent addition is made to licr public burthens. The subjects of Coloni/atit)n and Emigration have been most elaborately discussed. I pass over the points in which writers and speakers differ ; in this they all agree, that the British Islands have an interest in these subjects, second to none that has ever been felt by any nation in ancient or modern times. The enumeration of a few facts will be sufficient to exhibit the grounds of this belief. The statistical returns of 1850 will, I have no doubt, show a state of things much more favourable, but still I fear not so favourable as to shake the genera conclusions at which I have anived. These are founded upon facts, as I fand them stated in official documents and works of ap])roved authority. In Ireland the lives of the population have for years been dependent upon the growth of a single vegetable. But when it grew, as was stated by the late Charles Buller, uncontradicted, in the House of Commons, on an average there vere 2,000,000 persons who, in that island, were unemployed for thirty weeks in the year. To what extent famine and emigration have since dnninished the numbers, I have no means of accurately judging; but it appeais that in 1848, besides the 10,000,000/. granted by Parliament for the rehef of Irish distress, and provisions sent from other countries, 1,216,679/. were raised in Ireland for the support of the poor, and that 1,457,194, or nearly 1 out of 5 of the entire population, received relief. In Scotland, where the population is only 2,620,000, a fiflh more than that of British America, 544,334/. were exi)ended for tlie relief of the poor in I848, more than was spent by the four British provinces 01 their civil government, roads, education, lights, interest on debts, and all other services put together ; 227,647 persons were relieved, tlu- amount expended on each being 21. 7s. dd.; a sum quite sufficient to have paid, in a regularly-appointed steamboat, the passage of each recipient to British America. in England, in the same year, 6,180,765/. were raised for the relief of the poor, or Is. lOrf. in the pound on 67,300,587/. The number aided was 1,876,541, or about 1 out of every 11 persons occupying this garden of the world. The sum paid for each was even higher than in Scotland, being 3/. 5s. lOd. per head, more than sufficient to have paid the passage to North America from Liverpool or Southampton. I turn to the workhouses of England, and find that in 1819 there were m the.se leceptacles, 30,158 boys and 26,165 girls, of whom 8,264 were tit for service. In Irelmd, under 18, there were 60,514 boys and 66,285 girls, the aggregate in the two countries being 185,122. Turning to the criminal calendar, it appears that in 184^ there were com- mitted for oflenees in England, .30,349; in Scotland, 4,900; ami in Ircjand. 38,522. making 73,771 In all; of whom 6,298 were transported, and 3/ ,3/ 3 imprisoned. I find that in 1849 you maintained in Ireland a constabulary ot 12,828 men, besides liorses, at' a cost, taking the preceding year as a guide, of 6r>2.50(i/. lO.v. In [<:nt,'land and Wales you employed 9.829 pohcemen (includmg the Lo'.don poiic), at a r'ost of 579,327/. 4s. 8f/. From Scotland I have no return. But taking tiie above ikets to guide us, it ai)pears tliat, for mere pur-_ poses of internal rejjrtssion, and the arrest of criminals, to sav nothing of beadles and innuinerahle parisii officers, you maintained, in additiim to your arinv, a civic force double in nutuher the entire army of the United Stitcs, at a coyt" (S'cotland not hein;; included) of 1,141,833/. 14,s'. 8(/. Think vou, my Lord, that when a Republican points exultingly to the retnrns, and'eoutrasts these statistics of poverty and crime with the comparative iibinid'.uue and innocence of liis own country, and which he attributes to his own peculiar institutions, that a British colonist does not turn, with astonish- ment at the apatliv of England, to the millions of scpiarc miles of fertile territory wliirh surround hi"m ; to the noble rivers, and lakes, and forests by wliich the scenery is divcr.sitied ; to the "exliaustless fisheries; and to the motive-powcr, rusliing from a thous.uid hills 'into the sea, and with which all the stoam-ongines of Britain cannot compete ? Driven to attribute to British and Irish statesmen a want of courage and 15 forecaste to make these gieat resources available to maintain our brethren and protect their morals, or to suspect the latter of being more idle, degraded, and criminal, than their conduct abroad would wairant, we gladly escape from the appreb.ension of doing general injustice, by laying the blame on our rulers. May it be the elevated determination of Her Majesty's Advisers to relieve u8 from the dilemma, by wiping out this national reproach. One set of economists propose to remedy this state of things by restraints upoa nature which are simply impossible, and would be wicked if they were not ; another large political party desire to feed the people by a return to pro- tection and the revival of class interests with all their delusions and hostilities ; a third look hopefully forward to the further development of domestic industry in accordance with the principles of free trade All my sympathies are with the latter ; but while hostile tariffs exist in most of the populous States of Europe and America, I would aid them by the creation of new markets within the Queen's dominions, by the judicious location of those who are a burden, upon the fertile lands of the empire, that they may become customers to those who remain at home. One writer, whose book I have read recently, objects to this, because he says that if any part of the population is displaced, young people will marry, and increase the numbers until the vacuum is filled up. The young ought certainly not to object to this, or the old either. If his theory be sound, it answers the objections of those who fear too great diminution of numbers, by emigration ; and colonization would still have this advantage, that it would strengthen the transatlantic provinces, and make more customers for Britain and Ireland, even should their population remain the same. But it may be said there is but one enlightened mode of colonization, and, under the patronage of tlie Government and of associated companies, that is beiiig very extensively trier' in our soutliern and eastern possessions. Of the Wakefield theory I would speak with all respect ; of the combined efforts of public-spirited individuals. I would be the last to disapprove ; the judicious arrangements made by the Government Commissioners, for the selection of emigrants, the ventilation and security of ships, and the distribution of labour, and which I have carefully examined, challenge in most of their details, my entire sanction. I do not wish to check the progress, in these valuable colonies, of associated enterprise ; I do not desire to restrict the growth of population within them, or to supersede the functions of the Board of Land and Emigration : I wish these rising communities God speed, and success to all those who ta';e an interest in them. But I turn from them to the North American field, perhaps because I know it best, but assuredly because 1 believe that to people and strengthen it will secure political advantages of the very highest importance, and bjcause 1 appre- iicnd tliat the Kastcrn Colonics, however they may prosper and improve, will ofibr but honiocpathic remedic s for the intcmid maladies of England. In twenty-two years, from 182') to 18-16 inclusive, only 124,272 persons wont from tlie United Kingdom to the Austnilian Cohmies and New Zealand. In the same period, 710,410 wont to the United States, to strengthen a foreign and a rival Power, to ontronch tliemselvos beliind a hostile tariff, and to become consumers of American rnanutiicturos, and of tbicign j)roduoti()ns, seaborne in Amerioati bottoms ; thty and the countless generation that has already sprung from their loins, unconscious of regard lor British interests and of allegiance to the Crown of England. In twenty-two years 124,272 settlers have gone to Australia and New Zealand ; about half the number on the poor-rate of Scotland in 1848, not a lentil part of the paujKMs relieved in Ireland, or ime in fourteen of those who were sujiported by Kngland's heavily-taxed industry in that single year ; not nuiro, 1 apprehend, than died of famine in a single county of Ii'cland from 1846 to 18.'J0 ; and less, by 60,001), than the number of the young people who were in the woiK houses of England and Ireland in 184i). Valuable as these l-astern Colonics may be, respectable as may have been the efforts to im|)rove them, it is manifest that whether we regard them as extensive fields for culoni/.ution, or as industrial aids for the removal of pressure on the resourecs (,1 the Umted Kmgdoin. the iieliet', however fondly indulged, is but a delusion and a snare. Were 1 to go into u calculation of the expense, to show I ! U i 16 what this emigration has cost the Government anH ■^nnr.u -.r p i ^ t , j prove this by pregnant illustrations. But two or three Sm,^ f"^. "'^' ^ T^"^ and lie upon the surface. ^^'^^ ^""1''^ ^^'^'^ ^''^ Patent, Australia and New Zealand are 14 nnn r„:uo ^ xl > .^ The British provinces of North Amen a 'but 2 500 Everv' F " r '. °'^"f'^'^?- man or Scotchman who embarks for the Eastern Cdonief^Lfh^ ""']"• ^Tt somebody for 120 or 1 ')0 divu ivl.il.. , .^'^f"' l-olonies, must be mamtamed by The average passi'e^f '?ortV^itr eVy^S t^^l^d'whert?" ''' ''' ments are complete to which I hope to have your Lonl^ht'^l '" ^"■''"^': support, emigrants embarking for the North Zntnn 7 •'''""*'"'""" ^"^ Nova Scofa and New Brunfwick in 8 oriO davT and rrT- 'TJ '%l^ expense of a passage to the E-ist i. to th n ' ' " Canada m 12. The the^apitalist. W.:mVc' bec^i^^ -'^-nt, or to West. .rely exceeds 3/. 1 0.., and may be reduced to 2/10,^^'''^^'" *^ the poor are employed. 't;uucea to ^i. lOs., if steam-ships for Irishman' SVXlt''rtt F IsS cf- '" T" "'P^'"' '^ ■" "^ish or 1 00 acres of land If1°e ™cs to H ■ Pn,,? '''t''' , """" W 001. sterling for In Western Can" da ,rcf„ J° ! S f '''f *f " ™™,' "? '"•"" P"? 300/. 4o;. 1 in Lower Canada ^r20/ „ N. if °" 1 ""1 '"""l '" ">= '"i"" «" declares more wheTt „° wn 1' t^e t^ B™"™'"^ (where Professor Johnston of New York) for li/ in V v "'"„" '" *'"= ''«' P""' of the State extent of Sra^°ri-rs,he",':i;^n-U°;:l,r'''' h'' '"'- r""'" f™'" "- and the facilities for and Si.iyZ'on^.iSr'la^V ■'"'''' "^ ">= ^^'-ries, capiti[rti'J■^t'rt1,j"r^^,??^?^r^^ofSe': •- fnT"-" ''■",^''^' forests of New BrZwick he can it .""'T '" ^^-n ^""''"^ ^'^*"^^« "'^ ^i'nber hia land. ^""•^^^'^I^. he can save as much as wdl pay
. avilization without which hnfi^ Tv.T^ ' ""* ^"^ >"»d alone, but for the schools, for re lus er o'r nd ^'«I"«.-for roads, bridges, churches, in North AineS to an ex ent an,] "'''"? "^ education. But all these cxis not visited the povin s 1 ave' am ill" T'-h"' "fjh'^^'^few persons who have divide the British p op e t^v n" T^f the /' f t.'>--^'liS-"« l^o'li^s which ever/C;^'! d^S :,::;!'-^--^ti''-^^^ - a B.hie in and cypher Thrsa e ma; be J 1 "'' ^T 7^ ^^''"^ '^'' ^•^^''- ^vite, <'l.arge nothiug for thTsed^ili.m,'"' f ""■""-" t '''^ '^*''^''- F"^'i"«es. We obeys the laws\ndpsLoi'^.rl"'r . "" ^'"'^™"t ^^ho co.ues in, a participation in U^ll^Z^ii^^'^^i 1^ ^^ '^'"'/l "^^?'"^ ^« collcctivciv in I«4fJbut' 12SVCSS.I % r'n I "'",'"'.•""'' ^'^"J'""' "^^"'^J American group, i.ch^i,;' CmrdtN^^r'^ V v""'«"* '^''^V'^' ''''''■ ''>''"^'» and Prir,ce"Ediard I la d^ oi .^Ji.f ^^'"""; n'.^ '^''^''f ^v.ck, Nowfotnxlhmd, tons ()f these NW^ Sn^r u ^''''"' "'' ' ^ ''''''"''' rncasurhi- 3!);}.S2'J than the othl^^ui;:^^^^^,::;:'::;^;^^--"'' »^'.^»^^. -^ - "un.ber mo. o M But it may be asserted that the climate of North America is rigorous and severe. The answer we North Americans give to this objection is simple Do me the honoui- to ghince my Lord, at the hemisphere which contains the three quarters of the Old World, and dividing the nortlicrn countries from the south the rigorous climate from the warm and enervating, satisfy yourself in which reside at thi^ moment the domestic virtues, the pith of manhood, the ceats of commerce, the centres of intelligence, the arts of peace, the discipline of war, the political power and dominion— assuredly in the northern half And yet it was not always so. Ihe southern and eastern portions, blessed with fertility, and con- taining the cradle of our race, filled up first, and ruled for a time the territories to the north. But as civilization and population advanced northwards, the bracing climate did its work, as it will ever do, and in physical radurance and intel- lectual energy, the north asserted the superiority which to this hour it maintains Look now, my Lord, at the map of America. A very common idea pre- vails in this country that nearly the whole Continent of North America was lost to bngland at the Revjlution, and that only a few insignificant and almost wortnless provinces remain. This is a great, and if the error extensively prevail, may be a fatal mistake. Great Britain, your Lordship is well aware, owns up to this moment one-half the continent, and, taking the example of Europe to guide us, I believe the best half. Not the best for slavery, or for growing cotton and tobacco, but the best for raising men and women ; the most congenial to the constitution of the northern European; the most provocative of steady industry ; and all things else being equal, the moat impregnable and secure. But they are not and never have been equal. The first British emigi-ation all went to the southern half of the .ontinent, the northern portion, for 150 years, being occupied by French hunters, traders, and Lidians. The British did not l^gin to settle m Nova Scotia till 1749, nor in ( anada till 1763. Prior to innnnr''Tr"°5 ^.f'f"l'?t"^ ^^^^ ^ population of 160,000, Connecticut 1 00,000 I he city of Philadelphia had 1 8,000 inhabitants before an Englishman had built a house m Hahfax; Maine had 2,4s5 enrolled miUtiamen before a British settlement was formed in the Province of New Brunswick. The other Mates were proportionally advanced, before Englishmen turned their attention to the Northern Provinces at all. The permanent occupation of Halifax, and the Lovalist emigi-ation from the older provinces, gave them their first impetus. But your Lordship will perceive that in the race of improvement, the old thirteen States had a long start. They had three i"s to »!■ «llmre mile. otixLrrA^ '•*''' ""','" !'"™' '»l»"'l». 4,000,000 Bn,ai„, .Measure but .7 «^V, A, i'm^'t^, ^L '■'""l'=' "'.■;'"•''%' G™t and reduce U,e ..^"L.^'-^^: l^ ' rr^'c^^^'ru"; ) 'J 19 woman, and child, in the United Kingdoms. Now suppose you spare us two millions of people, you will be relieved of that number, who now, driven by destitution to tlie xmions or to crime, swell the poor-rates and crowd the prisons. With that number we shall be enabled, with little or no assistance, to repel foreign ag;,'ression. We shall still have a stpiare mile, or 640 acres, tor every inhabitant, or 4,480 acres for every head of a faniily which British America will then contain. Is not this a country worth looking after, worth some application of Imperial credit, nay, even some expenditure of public funds, that it may be tilled with friends not enemies, customers not rivals, improved, organized, and retained ? The policy of the Republic is protection to home manufactures. Whose cottons, Imeiis, woollens, cutlery, iron ; whose salt, machinery, guns, and paper, do the 701,401 emij,n'ants who went to the United States between 1825 and 1846 now consume ? Whose have they consumed, after every successive vear of emigra- tion ? Whose will they and their descendants continue to consume ? Those not of the mother-country, but of the United States. This is a view of the question which should stir, to its centre, every manufacturing city in the kingdom. Suppose the Republic could extend her tariff over the other portion of the continent, she could then laugh at the Free Trade policy of England. But if we retain that policy, and the Colonies besides. British goods will flow over the fron- tier, and the Americans must defend their revenue by an army of officers extending ultiniately over a line of 3000 miles. The balance of power in h^urope is watched with in-- .se interest by British statesmen. The slightest movement in the smallest State, that is calculated to cause \ ibration, animates the Foreign Office, and often adds to its perplexities and labours. But is not the balance ot power in America worth retaining ? Suppose it lost, how would it afiect that of Europe ? Canning, without much retioction, bo:it;ted that he had redressed the balance of power in the Old, by calling the New World into existence. But, even if the vaunt were justifiable, it was a world beyond the limit of the Queen's dominions. We have a new woHd within them, at the very door of England, with boundaries defined, and, undeniably by any foreign Power, ubject to licr sceptre. Already it lives, and moves, and has its being ; full of hope and promise, and fond attachment to the mother-country. The new worid of which Canning spoke, when its debts to England are counted, will appear to have been a somewhat costly creation ; and yet, at this moment. Nova Scotia's little fleet of 2,583 sail could sweep every South American vessel from t\v 'Aicific and Atlantic Oceans. I am not an alarmist, my L,ord, but there appear to be many in England, and some of them holding high military and social positions, who consider these islands dccnceless from continental inviision by any first-rate European Power. Confident as I am in their resources, and hopeful of their destiny, I must confess that the niilituiy and naval power of France or Russia, aided by the steam fleet and navy of the United States, would make a contest doubtful for a time, however it might uRimalely terminate. But suppose the United States to extend to Hudson's Bay, with an extensicn over the other half of the continent, of the spirit which animates the Republic now; imagine Great Britain without a harbour on the Atlantic or the Pacific that she could call her own, without a ton of coal lor her steamers or a spar to repair a ship ; with the 5000 vessels which the N 01 1 hern Provinces even now own. with all their crews, and the fishermen who line their shores, added to the maritime strength of the enemv, whose arsenals and outposts would then be advanced 500 niiles nearer to Fngland ; even if Newfoundland and the West India Islands could be retained, which is e.\trt;rnely doubtful. The [)icture is too painful to be d'-'-'t on longer than to show how intimately interwoven arc the cpiestions to which 1 have ventured to cull your I^ordsliip's attention, with the foreign ailairs of the empire. I do not go into comparative illustrations, because 1 desire now to show how a judicious use of the resources of North America may not only avert the danger in time of war, but ri'lieve the i)ressure upon the Home Ciovcmmcnt in times of peace. There is no ])assion stronger, my Ford, than the desire to own some portion of the eaith's surface,— to call a piece of land, somewhere, our own. How few Er.glishmen, who boast that they rule t!ic sea, own a single acre of land. An Englishnu n calls his house his castle, and so perhaps it is, but it rarely stands E 20 upon Ills own soil Unv, e ^i «"! lowland pTSSn ^"""" '"Wl'landonf r„r „ tl ^^ '"^ ™Ployed in people in these thre^ki *''"""'■ «l««^fe Sr^^^^ ''"'"'•■'' " """y Is it not hard for th. . '*^'" Provision of political p iSe« r^'T • "' ^^'''^"t'«^- "Covers '''rr^'^y '^"^ ^'^^rv 800,000,006a o?Sd,t /l '''^''*' ^''^'^^ ^•'^'' all tl eir I S Uv""^ ^ development -otionsofSlitt'r'S."''''!^"-'^^^^^ keep them down for a tLe « f'"^'"" "'-'"y «nd the '/] 000 ^ Pf f«'n'nant naturally arises h^L ,, ^"t. even if thev cm M "^^ ''""^^^'^'^s may ^'««om oV En'^nd r^ta e-y '• '^^'"'^ ^-'' fou^t f" '?„f ' T'"' ^'^^ 'l^estion^ f o^^ii^r ^:;^;;:^:!- r '^5"Sr *^ -^^ of this "muskets at £dy Cre^k'li:" r '^'' ^"^'^-'""an w te kiXl" f'l.^''''^^ ^^ land their l.flv.... i ^'^f^^"' cimrircd the eneinv -.f n '''"dred chuhhed their «nd occupa on '^JS^^'f ^T' ^^ ^hen. I av ' t L^t tT^^'""' '"^^'^ ^ ^it of he conse,-vatC o? the ri'h?s"'f '" ^'""->- tl>e-u ov ^ stir^'"",-"'" ^^^"^-'"P ^o"lcl silence agStt^,P.T''>r P^'''"'anently^Se 1 H '''' "'7'^ ^' poor man, who saw hof T "'*' ""'^ ^n'arL^e the nu Ln f "' P^'^P^^- It ■^v -ode,;te iaC^^!. "- ^'^ P-pecU^f^^u^^'t ^LrPI'-^- The poor nun, ^h^^r^CE'llir^ enla.,e ti. ^^ , JV nioden.tc industry wo., '"'"'P"''^ of securini^ his lOfJ l7""rnr' '"« owed ,ts value to hi^ ^J^;!:; jTf.!-^; ^'^ ^-^^'X^toirvS S *"st restraint. l^L. •"'""'." '^■'' •-»" its endear nl s'ctT -'%^'"ywhere "'ore wealthv classes T 'T'' ^^'" ^^er attract amur !?"'', ^"'"'"^ *'>« '^<^'ence and nmchiie f i wi 'T^''^'^^ "Pon the la„ TcT" "^^ "^'^'^^- go on enlargip 'tl " /hi. f '"-'' ^'"'"'"^^rcial and mam" ,-"'"''^'-"'' ^"P'^L *'om the pressure of ;:-^"^^^P''t'o., J"st in j.^ikmC I'l"^' '™^'"'-''^' ^''"1' ^^v Yoik. and Pennsylvania, It 21 still enlarge their cities, and ^ow in wealth and population, though all the rich lands of the Republic invite their people to emigrate, and there is no ocean to cross. The natural laws which protect them would operate more powerfully here, where the attractions arc so much greater. But it is time, my Lord, that I should anticipate the questions that will naturally arise. Assuming the poHc) to be sound, what will it cost to carry it out? Let us tirst see what the present system, or mther the public establishments, without a system, cost now : Poor Rates. England Scotland Ireland Constabulary. England Ireland Convicts at home and abroad . Emigration, 1849 (exclusive of cabin passengers) Paid from Private or Parochial Funds Paid l.y Government £ 6,180,765 544,334 1,216,679 579,327 562,506 378,000 1,500,000 228,300 11,189,911 The cost of prisons, or that proportion of them which might be saved if the criminal calendar were less, might lairly be added to the amount. The prison at York cost 1200/. per head for each criminal, — a sum large enough, the inspector observes; " to build for each prisoner a separate mansion, stable, and coach-house." A large proportion of the cost of trials might also be added ; and as twelve jurymen must have been summoned to try most of the 43,671 persons convicted in 1848, the waste of valuable time would form no incon- siderable item, if it were. The loss of property stolen by those whom poverty first made criminal, no economist can estimate; and no human skill can calculate the value of lives and property destroyed in agrarian outrages, when wretchedness has deepened to despair. My plan of Colonization and Emigration is extremely simple. It embi'aces — Ocean Steamers for the poor as well as the rich ; The preparation of the Wild Lands of North America for settlement ; and Public Works to employ the people. I do not propose that the British (Government should pay the passage of anybody to America. I do not, thcrefoi-e, require to combat the argument upon this point with which the Commissioiicrs of Land and Emigi-ation usually meet crude schemes, pressed without much knowledge or reflection. The people must pay their own passages; but the Govcrnmeni, c some national association, or public company to be organized for that purpose, must protect them from the casualties that beset them now, and secure for them cheapness, speed, and certainty of departure and airival. If this is done, by the employment of steam-ships of proper construction, all the miseries of the long voyage, with its sure concomitants, — disease and death ; and all the waste of time and means, waiting for tba sailing of merchant-ships on this side of the Atlantic, and for friends and conveyances on the other, would be obviated by this simple pro- vision. A bounty to half the extent of that now given for canyirg the mails would provide the ocean-omnibuses for the poor Or, if Government, by direct aid to public works, or by the interposition of Imperial credit, to enable the colonies to construct them, were to create a labour market, and open lands for settlement along a railway line of es.") miles, these ships might be provided by private enterprise. By reference to the published Report of the Commissioners for 1847, your Lordsliip will perceive that in that year of famine and disease, 17,445 British subjects died on the passage to Canada and New Brunswick, in quarantine, or in the hospitals, to say nothing of those who perished by the contagion which was diffused over the 'provincial cities and settlements. An equal nundier, there is too much reason to apprehend, died on the |ja.ssageto or in the United States In ordinary seasons, the mortality will of course be much less, and in all may be E 2 23 diminished by the more stringent provisions since enforced by Parlian, nt. But bad harvests, commercial depressions, with their inevitable tendency to drive off large portions of adense popuhition, should be anticipated; and no ret^iihition can protect huge masses of emigrants, thrown into sea-ports, from delay, fraud, cupidity, and misdirection. No |)revious care can prevent disease from breaking out in crowded ships, that are forty or titty days at sea, to say nothing of the perils of collision and shipwreck. Mark the efiects produced upon the poorer classes of this country. Emi- gration is not to them what it miglit be made,— a cheerful excursion in search of land, employment, fortune, it is a forlorn hope, in which a very large proportion perish, in years of famine and distress, and verv considerable numbers in ordinary seasons, even with tiie best regulations that Parliament can provide. The remedy for all this — simple, sure, and not very expensive — is the ocean omnibus. Steam-ships may be constructed to carry at least 1000 passengers, with quite as much comfort as is now secured in a (irst-dass railway carriage, and with space enough for all the luggage besides. If these vessels left London, Southampton, Liverpool. Glasgow, Belfast, Cork, or Galway, alternately, or as there might be demand for them, on certain appointed days, emigrants would know Avhere and wlien to embark, and would be secured from the consequences of delay, fraud, -nd misdirection. The Conmiissioners report, that last year the sum spent in "the cost of extra provisions and conveyance to the ports of embarkation, and maintenance there, amounted to 340,000/." The cost of reaching the sca-norts caimot be economized, but the extra provisions and maintenance at the ports, of embarkation would be materially reduced. But how nmeh more would be saved ? The average sailing passage from London to Quebec is 52 days ; from Liverpool 45 ; from London to New York, 43 , tiom Liverpool, 35. The average passage, by steam, from any of the ports I have named, need not exceed — to Nova Scotia 10, to New Brunswick and Canaoa, 12 days; but assuming 43 days as the average sailing passage from England to America, and 13 to be the average by steam, let us see what the saving would be to the poor, even taking the present amount of emigration as a basis. 299,498 emiguints left Cireat Britain and Ireland for America, in 1849. A very great propo'tion of the Irish hud a journey and a voyage to make to some l>nglish sea-port, i.=!fore they embarked upon the Atlantic. But pass that over, and multiplying the number of emigrants by thirty, and we have the number of (lays that would have been saved to tliese poor people, if they had been carried out iiy steam. It is clear that they wasted 8,9s4,940 days at sea, in, to them, the most p^-ecious year of life, and the most valuable part of that year, which, estimating their labour at Is. a-dayin the countries to which they were repairing, would amount to 449,247/. The employment of ocean steam ships for the poor would save a!i this, and it would put an end to ship-lever, disease, and death. The Governuicnt of England expended in Canada and New Brunswick alone, in 1847, in nursing the sick and burying the dead, 124,7(J2/. steriing. The ocean omnibus, whether established by Government v,v by a private association, would save all this in future. Restrictive cjlonial laws would disappear; and frcm the moment that there was a certainty tliat em'grinfs wo;;!d arrive i;. health, however poor, the colonists would prepare their lauds and open their arms so receive them. The saving of expense and time on our side of the Atlantic would also be immense. Tliese ships couM run down the southern shores of the maritime provinces, and land emigrants wherever they were recpiired, from Sydney to St. Andrews ; passing through the (Jut of Canso, they could supjdy -ill the north^Tii coasts, including Prince Ivhvard Island. They could go direct to the St. Lawrence, landing the people wherever they were wanted, from Gasp^ to Quebec. Knowing exactly when to expect these vessels, our people would send to England, Ireland, and Tcotland, tor their friends, and be ready with their boats and waggons to convey them ofl", without cost or delay, the moment they arrived. We should thus have a healthy, almost self-sustaining Britisli emigration, to the full extent of the existing demand for labour, even if no public works were commenced. en wl foi W( an at of ot as tl t( d b o c But n>uch would soon be done still without ^^^^^^^^^J^^TSI a pound, to extend the labour market T'^^X'^n ^^^^^^^ counted upon emigrants, at convenient pomts and early m the «^*««"^^^^j ^^^.^ ^^^^^j, .itl? certainty, the P-vm^al G^^^^^^^^ They for settlement. advc»iismg them m vn the mui emigrant agents, would empower the deputy surveyors in each c"""ty t° "ct ^^^ b ^^ rd locatJthe people They -f^^^^^^l^^XS^c and desWip'tion at the autumn or wmter sessions. '^^ "•^^"''; /'" ^"'^, ,,^ .pHng, with the number "" "troS^toVs of large unimprc cJ .«,. would »n, by .imilar exertion and kindred ageneies, piepare them fur <><^<'''l'»;"'; ,,„„.si,ip» for tlie pool; and All this n,ay be done by t\,e ^'P'^'V"'™ ° ,,^^ ,e v^^^ without any cost thev, 1 am mnlidcnt, might be drawn no (^«' V^T, Zm would diminish the I ihe eount,T U '' l'^ "l")- '^„t,''„ but he eontrary, there wouhl demand for sadmg-vessels I answer no but ^^ ^^ ^: rr:Ler.T'^^ei'p™ereXn':;rt'l,rthis heaUhy emigration would 'nut,myLord,Iam anxious to -eethe^cl^^^^^^ that .hey m'ay bring Enghsh, "*■ "^f |^ £ " "'read the scenes whieh history time to time, baeli to the land of *«r lathm, to , ,„te the modern hallows, or revive the .■eeolleet.onso ear yte u^^ 1^.^^ those rf the triumphs and glones of tn?" »" »■ ast the^^^^^^^^ ^^ C^t^^rlf^^ dis^r i."*^-.5^*' «■■'- "> '■'■ "■= «"'"' ^"'"tStt'-passage to 10 ^^^ tit^^ tal^ wred^'orJlt S S 'b^th^rtorrt^ircXn tTrnderstand the policy of England, and to reverence I.er institutions. suRiiestcd nothing which So far. my Lord, you will perceive that ^ nave s b^ on the contrary. wouU. involve ^Her Majesty's Govemn^nt^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^,, ^ I heileve that even the cost of ^"^^^S/'f^fJ^;^^^^^^^^^ retrenchment of the cost ot either by a reduction of expense 7. f;^.^'^;\\;iSra heaUhv system of emigration lazarettoes and qu«mntme, or by the rtliet which a i ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ would at once give to some, if "ot aU U^ require but a sUght calculation to show now cost n,000,OOO^sterlmg. It would e^^^^^^^^^ b ^^^^^^ American that the planting of h'^lf ^ '">^^°". ?f nian^t^^^^^^^^^ from6i to 12^ per Provinces wbere the duty jB^^-h "— - ^^ ,5 ^,^ ,^0 per cent., would cent. ; and in the United Sta,tes, wheie « r, ,«._ rstablish these steamers, amount to more than the ^^ole sum w nt^^^^^ Taritf, of To illustrate this. I have made ^^/^f ^;ion troin ^^ embraces certain articles in which Br tish rnanufactu .^ ^^^^ g,,,,, British Manufactures which pay 1 5 per cent, in the VnvM States. Tow, hemp or flax, manufactured. Steel in bars, cast or shear. Tin plates, tin-foil, tin in sheets. Zinc or spelter. That pay 20 per cent. Acids of every description. Articles used in tanning or dyeing. Blankets. , , Blank books, bound or uncjumi. ^ovu shirts and Caps, gloves, leggmgs, mits, socks, stockm^s, wo drawers. Chocolate. Copperas and vitriol. 1,1 24 Copper rods, bolts, nails and spikes, copper bottoms, copper in sheets or plates. Dressed furs. Glue. Gunpowder. Hats, or hat bodies of wool. Oils used in painting. Lampbiack. Leather. Lead in pigs, bars, or sheets ; lead in pipes, and leaden shot. Linens of all kinds. Litharge. Malt. Manufactures of flax. Manufactures of hemp. Marble, unmanufactured. Mineral and bituminous substances. Medicinal drugs. Metals, unmanufactured; Musical instruments of all kinds. Needles of all kinds. Paints, dry or ground. Papei -hangings. Tiies and bricks. Periodicals. Putty. Quills. Saddlery. Salts. Sheathing-paper. Skins, tanned and dressed. Spermaceti candles and tapers. Steel. Stereotype-plates, type-metal, types. Tallow candles. Thread laces. Velvet. White and red lead. Window glass of all kinds. That pay 25 per cent. Buttons and button-moulds of all kinds Baizes, Hannels, floor-cloths. Cables and cordage. Cotton laces, insertings, and braids. Floss-silks. All manufactures of hair of coarse descriptions. Cotton manufactures. Manufactures of mohair, Silk manufactures. Manufactures of worsted. Mats and matting. Slates. Woollen and worsted yarn. k That pay 30 per cent. Ale, beer, and porter Manuftictures of Argentine or German silver. Articles worn by men, women, or children, of whatever material composed, made up in whole or in part by hand. Perfumes. Maniifiicturcs of grass, straw, or palm-leaf. Heads. 25 Hair manufactures of finer descriptions. India-rubber manufactures. Fur caps, hats, muffs, tippets. Carpets, carpetting, hearth-rugs. Carriages, and parts of carnages. Clothing of every description. Coach and harness furniture. Coal and coke. Combs. Confectionery. Corks. Cutlery of all kinds. Jewellery. Toys. Earthern, china, and stone-ware. Manufactures of gold. Artihcial feathers and flowers. Umbrella materials. Cabinet and household furniture. Stained glass. Glass and porcelain manufactures. Iron in bars or blooms, or other forms. Iron-castings. SslXJ- cotton, linen, Bilk, wool, or worsted, if embroidered. Marble manufactured. Manufactures of paper, or papier-mache. Manufactures of wood. Muskets, rifles, and other fire-arms. Ochres. Oil-cloths. Pliited and gilt-ware of all kmds. Playing-cards. Soap. That pay 40 per cent. Cut-glass. Manufactures of expensive woods, Tobacco manufactures, Alabastar and spar ornaments. Sweetmeats. _ . Preserved meats, fish, and fruits. That pay \00 per cent. Brandy, whiskey, and other spirits distilled from grain. A similar list might be made of East Indian and B"tish Colonial sta^k^ and prochi.tioa., with the endless variety ot «,nall manutactures ^vhlch they stimukite, and to which these high dutas apply. I pass now to the only remaining topic, the formation of Public Works or approved utility, as a means of stren:;thenin^ the '""'I'-'-^rT fJ,^'^P ^^^^^^^^^ rcsoiLCcs of the provinces, -and as an aid to more rapid and systematic ''"'"'ii^; my Lord, in my tbrmer letter, entered largely upon this branch oj the general sahjec't, I need not repeat what tuat paper ^'""l*^;'^- ,„'^;^! [^ ^"j^ hnvL tresii evic ences of the feverish Ionising and intense anxiety with ^v 1 cli al cl £ in ti.e provinces look forward to the e.ta' lishnient ot those great, In s o intcM-colonial and cnitinental comnui.ucut.on, which are not only to bincl us o t,u 1 d secure to the British Provinces Sf^^t comn.eiT.al advantages but whic-i would, with cheap steamboats, reduce the Atlantic to a British Uiannel : d ccmtinue' the Strand'in a tew years to Lake Huron. ^^^^^^ ,■ „„ ,.., ,..,,,i(!lv d(ieH til' wor d advance, to the 1 acinc v^cuuu. even in uur uuu time, no lapmiy «i<'" ^n- vs 26 The first 130 miles of this communication Nova Scotia will make, and amply secure the British Government from loss, should the advantage of its credit be given. We will do more — we will prepare our lands, collect retu'^ns, appoint an agent in each county, and repeal our taxes on emigrants ; otFering, on the best terms, a homo to" all who choose to come among us. If Her Majesty's Government have no objections to the employment of such portions of the troops as are not required to do garrison-duty, we will give them a fair addition to their pay, or land along the line, to which in war their discii)line would be a defence; thus saving to the British Government the expense of bringing these veterans back to England. The ability of Nova Scotia to fulfil any obligations she may incur to the Imperial Government, may be estimated by reference to her past progress and present financial condition. Montgomery Martin, in his late work, estimates the value of the province, in moveable and "immoveable properly, at 20,700,0001 Without counting wild lands and property upon which labour has not been expended, we rate it at 1 5,000,000/. This has been created in a century, by the industry of a few thousands of emigrants and loyalists, and their descendants. To the amount of shipping, as evidence of a prosperous commerce, I have already referred. Within the twenty years from 1826 to 1846, the population more than doubled, the tonnage rising, in the last ten years of this period, from 96,996 to 141,043 tons. The exports rose in the twenty years from 267,277/. to 831,071/. The revenue of Nova Scotia is chicuy raised from imports, the royalty on the mines, and the sale of Crown lands. There is no property-tax, income-tax, or assessed taxes, except poor and county rates raised by local assessments. Her tariff' is the lowest in North America. Her ad valorem duty on British goods is G^ per cent. ; that of Canada 12^. All the liabilities of the province amounted on the 3 1st December, 1819, to 105,643/. 13s. \d. The Receiver-General writes me that tlicre has been an increa.se of the revenue during the past year, of 15.000/., which will reduce t!ie liabilities to 90,643/. I3.s. Id. No part of this debt is due out of the province. Province notes, which circulate and are sustained by the demand for tiieni to pav duties, represent 59,864/. of the whole, which bears no interest. Of the balance, 40,000/. is due to depositors in the Savings Bank, who receive 4 per cent. 1 he holders of Stock certificates, covering the remainder, receive 5 per cent. The public property held by the Government in the city of Halifax alone, would pay the whole debt, which could be extinguished jy applying the surplus revenue to that object for two years. The income from all sources fluctuates between 90,000/. and 110,000/. The pei'manent charges on this revenue secured to Her Majesty by the Civil Li.>t Bill, arc -^ bllo(r . 'I'he balance is expended in luaintainiiig other branches of the Civil Government, in opening and repairing roads, and promoting education. \\'e s'.oidd make the interest of the loan we now require a first ciiare on this sur lus, in the event of tlu" railroad not yielding tolls sulficient, wliijii, judging by tiie e?{|)(.Tieiice of' our iieiglibours, we do not apprehend. Tiiis surphn must steadily increase, because, whiK' popuiation and revenue will pvohahlv double within the inxt twenty years, as it has done, almost wit'iout emi,u,ratiiin or mihoads, during' t!ie past twenty, the ex[)^nses of the Civil Govt-rnneut will be but very sli 'lly augmented. The revenue co'.:ld be," and if necessary would be, promptly increased, by raising teal vnlnrrm duty, re-iuljusting sp^'ciHc duties, or il even, thai were nec:'s;i y, lo sustain our credit with tlic mother-country, by a resort to a k\:',acy, inc me -.-r p opirly-tax. The (i.v.rnn"ient of Nova Scotia (exclusive of lands in Cape Bret mi still retains 3,. 8 ',1S8 acres of uu-ranted Crown lands. These, if recp.ireil, could also he pie li:i'd. or the net amount of sales of lands ahmg the hue cuuld be paid over from ti ue to time in liquidation of the loan. The whoh' amount req ured is 800,000/. The city of Halifax being pledged to th'! Proviif!' il G)vern:ueut to pay the interest on 10(),0()0/., the w! olea ,-. mnt thit w )>il.l tiK-refo -e b- cliiu-g,'.".l 1,' on all sources of provincial revenue, tlu; loila on tlu ruilroaJ included, would I e 24,500/. V f^o 7 27 Although having no authority to speak for the other colonies, I may observe, that tl^e Province of New Brunswick, vhich lies between Nova Scotia and Canada, has, in addition to her ordinary sources of revenue, 1 1,000,000 of acres of ungranted lands. She might pledge to Her Majesty's Government the proceeds of as many miUions of acres of these lands, along the lines to be opened, as might be necessaiy, in addition to the pledge of her public funds, to secure this country from loss. The troops might be employed, and settled m this province also. The lands pledged could be sold to emigrants ; the British mails and soldiers would be transported at ar prices, and the amounts might be carried to the credit of the loans. I believe that New Brunswick could, if moderately aided, ultimately make her great lines, absorb and provide farms for millions of emigrants ; increasing the liome marke'c for British goods by the . annual amount of their consumption ; and, in a very few years, pay any loan she may require to contract, without costing England a farthing. The resources of Canada are well known to your Lordship. Her interest in these great works cannot be exaggerated, and must be greatly enhanced by the approaching removal of the seat of Government to Quebec. They would bring her productions to the seaboard at all seasons of the year ; connect her by hnes of communication with all the other provinces, and with the mother-country ; preparing tlie way for a great industrial, if not a political union, of which the citadel of Quebec would ultimately form the centre. That her Government would second any policy by which this might be accomplished, there is no reason to doubt. My Lord, there is one topic of extreme delicacy, perhaps, and yet, so far as my own province is concerned, 1 will venture to touch it without hesitation. Some of the British colonies aspire to obtain notoriety, just now, by spurning from their bosoms the criminals of England, without modestly remembering that some of them, at least, owe their original prosperity to such emigrants, and that thousands are annually tempted or driven into crime in this country, by the absence of employment, and by the resistless pressure which the slightest derange- ment in this highly-artificial state of society creates. I believe that among the 43,000 i)ersons convicted in this country in 1848, some thousands were more to be pitied than condemned. U such persons, organized and dis- ciplined, were employed upon the public works of North America, as has been sugger.ted, I believe that they would ultimately he restored to society, and that the Government would be immediately lelieved trom serious embarrass- ment. I do not shrink from the responsibility of making this suggestion, nor will I shrink from my share of the responsibility of carrying it out. The people I represent, my Lord, arc generally a religious people ; who know that our Saviour had none of the sensitiveness manifested at the Cape. He found some virtue in the poor woman that all the world condemned ; and did not consider at least one of the lualefactors unworthy of Heaven who were hung beside him. , It has been suggested, that (convicts n)ii;ht be advantageously employed on a large scale, in North America, for the construction of a railroad to the Pacitic. I should like to see the experiment tried ujion a small scale first; and do ut)t believe that if a judicious selection were made of those whose offences were superinduced by poverty and extreme disti'css, or of those whose conduct in. some probationary course of punishment had been exemplary, the North American Colonies would object to suih a trial, if an appropriate choice were made ot some locality along a great line in which they leel an interest, and if the men employed were proi)erly officered and contiolled by stringent regulations. A corps of 500 miglit be formed, snbj(-ct to military oriianiziition and dis- cipline, with the usual prospect of proniiition to subordinate commands if they behaved well. Summary trial and imnislunent should be icjually certain if they misbehaved; solitary conlinement in the Colonial IVnitentiaries would be an appropriate punishment if they deserted or eommittcd any new otlenee. i» a portion of comparatively wilderness country were s.-lected for the experiment, the men might have sixpence j)er day carried to tl'.eir credit Ironi colonial tunds, while they laboured, to accumulate till it was suilieient to purchase a tract of land upon the line, wit!i seed and implements to enable them to get in a hrst crop when the |)eiiod of service had e.\|)ired. , 'i'hia experiment would, I believe, succeed. It would cost tho Impenal v,\ 28 Government nothing more than it now costs to maintain the people elsewhere. The colony where they were employed would get the difference between sixpence per day and the ordinary rate of wages, to compensate for any risk it might run. and would besides ultimately secure customers for wild lands, and many useful settlers. In conclusion, my Lord, permit me to crave your indulgence for the length of this communication, which would be an unpardonable intrusion upon your Lordship's time if the topics to be discussed were less numerous or important. I hflvc &c» The Right Hon. Earl Grey. (Signed) ' JOSEPH HOWE. &c. &c. &c. \f • f ^1^