i CANADA £ ftprtratnt of auk $npt Works. The present pamphlet, prepared under the direction of the Government of the Province of Ontario, is designed for the information of intending emigrants, as to the advantages which the Province presents as a field for industry and enterprise. The present edition is the third. The work has been carefully revised and partly re-written, and has been brought down to the latest dates. The immigration of the past season has been a decided success. All who have come to the Province and who on their arrival were willing to accept such employment as immediately offered, have been provided for and are now doing well. In the spring of the year, circulars are prepared and distributed to the heads of all the Municipalities in the Province, nearly 400 in number, requesting information as to hew many, and what kind of la- bourers, mechanics, &c. are needed, and the average wages paid. The returns to these circulars enable the Immigration Agents to direct emi- grants, on their arrival, to places were employment awaits them. The agents of the Canadian Government in Great Britain and Ireland, and on the Continent of Europe (a list of whom is given on the cover at the end of the pamphlet), will afford information to all persons desiring it, in relation to the Province, its resources, and the classes of emigrants most likely to succeed. Intending emigrants would act wisely in not paying their passage in Britain to any point beyond Toronto, unless they have friends in the country to whom they purpose going. On their arrival at Quebec they will receive directions from the Immigration Agent, as to their future course, which may greatly pro- mote their interests. Persons with small capital, preparing to purchase partially cleared farms in Ontario, are advised against concluding arrangements for pur- chase before leaving Britain. They will find Immigration Agents in the Province (a list of whom is also given on the cover at the end of the V b 3 11 pamphlet), ready to afford to them assistance in making a suitable pur- chase. There is no class to which Ontario offers a better field for settlement than to the tenant farmers of Great Britain and Ireland, who, having saved some money, are anxious to change their position to that of landowners. There is a constant demand in the country for farm labourers ; for me- chanics, such as carpenters, stone-masons, bricklayers, shoemakers, and tailors ; and for good female servants. Besides this, the unsettled parts, where Free Grants of Land are to be obtained, will absorb a large influx of emigrants, especially of the Agricultural class. These Grants are offered to all settlers over eighteen years of age, without distinction of sex, on terms which are explained in the pamphlet. The map indi- cates the Free Grant Townships, and the highways of communication therewith ; the railways and the gravel roads, &c., &c. Particulars regarding the route from the United Kingdom to Canada, and the cost of passage by steamer, are given on the cover, at the end of the pamphlet. The Government of Ontario is fully alive to the importance of getting the newly surveyed districts of the Province filled up, by a good, class of emigrants, as rapidly as possible, and is desirous of promoting by every means which can reasonably be employed, a healthy Emigration. JOHN CARLING, Commissioner. Toronto, February, 187L CONTENTS. The Dominion of Canada. 1 The Province of Ontario 3 Citie8 and Towns 5 Climate * 6 The Public Lands other than Free Grants 7 The Free Grant Lands and Homestead Exemption 9 Agricultural capabilities of the soil. 12 Roughing it in the bush 13 The Farm in good order 15 The Farming interest 15 The Agricultural progress of Ontario as compared with that of the United States 18 Agricultural Department 21 Trade and Commerce 23 Manufactures 23 Mines and Minerals 23 Religion 25 Laws 25 Education 26 Postal System 29 Telegraphs 30 Newspapers 30 Railways, Canals, Roads 30 Public Works 31 Taxation 32 Banks and Currency 32 Wages 33 Cost of Living 34 Money Table.... 36 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/emigrationtocana00onta_0 EMIG-RA-TIOlSr f TO THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. THE DOMINION OF CANADA. The Dominion of Canada extends from the Atlantic, on the east, to the Rocky Mountains, on the west ; and from the United States boundary, on the south, to the Arctic Ocean, on the north. It contains an area of over three millions of square miles. It includes the five Provinces, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Manitoba, and the great North- West, or Hudson’s Bay Territory. It is anticipated that at no distant day Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and the Pacific Colonies, British Columbia and Vancouver’s Island, will be united to it. When this takes place, the Dominion will be co-extensive with British North America, and will contain an area of about 3,400,000 square miles ; not far short of that of the whole Continent of Europe. The present population of the Dominion is estimated at about; 4,400,000. The largest city which it contains is Mon- treal, which has a population of about 130,000. The following are the statistics in detail, with the names and populations of the capital cities of the different Provinces : Provinces. Area in Sq. Miles. : Population by Census, 1861. Estimated present Pop- ulation, Jan- uary, 1S71. Capitals. Estimated present pop- ulation of Capitals. Ontario Quebec Nova Scotia New Brunswick. ... Manitoba The North-West ... 121,260 210,020 18,660 27,105 14,340 2,750,000 1,396,091 1,111,566 330, S57 252,047 10,000? i 90,000? 2,136,308 1,422,546 396,449 327,800 12,000 100,000 Toronto Quebec Halifax Fredericton. Fort Garry. 60,000 70.000 40.000 6,000 2,000 3,141,385 ! 3,190,561 4,395,103 2 EMIGRATION -TO 'THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. The political institutions^ the Dominion are based upon the British prin* ciple of responsible government. For the Dominion there is a Privy Coun- cil, responsible to Parliament ; a Senate, composed of life members, appoint- • ed by the Crown ; and a House of Commons, the members of which are elected by the people every five years. This Parliament is charged with legislation on all matters of commerce or defence, and on all other subjects of general or common interest. Ottawa is the seat of Government. Each of the Provinces has a Government and Legislature of its own, charged with the con- trol of all matters of local interest. The franchise is exceedingly liberal, as, practically, every householder has a vote. The taxes are levied through cus- toms and excise duties, the latter being chiefly on spirituous and malt liquors and tobacco. There is no direct taxation, except for municipal purposes, such as the making and repairing of roads, the maintenance of the Free School system, &c. The Municipal Institutions of the Dominion are an admirable illustration of the advantages of local self-government. The Province of Ontario is divided into forty-two counties ; these being subdivided into township, town and village municipalities, the cities being separate and distinct for municipal purposes. The cities are governed by a Board of Aldermen, who are elected annually at the beginning of the year. The incorporated towns have a Mayor and Town Council, elected in a similar manner, while townships and villages are governed by a council of five, one of whom is the Peeve, who are elected annually. The Peeves of the different municipalities in a county form the County Council, which has control of all boundary roads between townships, and other matters of general interest. Each township and each village has one Reeve. Where the number of rate-payers is over five hun- dred, a Deputy Peeve is appointed, instead of one of the four councillors ; where 'over a thousand, a second Deputy, instead of a councillor, and so on — one for eachfive hundred rate-payers. These Municipal bodies levy by direct taxa- tion such moneys as may be required for local improvements, such as roads, bridges, drainage, police, &c., and, at the requisition of the Boards of School Trustees, for the maintenance of the free school system. For purposes of taxation an assessment of the municipality is made each year, the right of appeal against the assessment being allowed to each rate-payer, to the Coun- cil, sitting as a Court of Revision, and from them to the County Judge. These Municipal Councils are generally well and economically managed. The taxation for municipal purposes does not usually exceed about £2 stg. per hundred acres ; and Municipal Councils are restrained by law from incurring any debt which, with all other charges, would raise the taxation to above two per cent, of the assessed value of the property of the Municipality. This system has infused a fine spirit of self- reliance in the people, and excited in them a lively interest in all public THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. 3 questions ; and from the ranks of the Municipal Councillors, who re- ceive a practical training in the smaller arena, are, to a great extent, recruited our members of Parliament. THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. The Province of Ontario is situate to the North of the River St. Lawrence, and of the great lakes, Ontario, Erie, Huron, and Superior. The River Ottawa, a noble stream, divides it from the Province of Quebec. Its northerly and westerly boundaries are by no means well defined, so that its area can be given only approximately. However, it may be safely assumed at about 121,260 square miles, equal to 77,606,400 acres, or almost exactly the same as that of Great Britain and Ireland. The population of that Kingdom is upwards of 30 millions. It would therefore appear that after making duo allowance for difference of climate and soil, Ontario could well sustain a population of at least 10 millions. Its actual population at different periods will appear from the following table : — 1830 210,437 by census. 1841 465,357 do 1852 952,004 do 3861 1,396,091 do 1871 2,136,308 estimated. It will be seen from the above figures that its present population is about ten times what it was 40 years ago, a rate of increase considerably greater than that of the United States during the same time. The figures also show that its present population of over 2,000,000 is only a fifth of that which it is probably capable of supporting, so that there is still ample room for a large immigration. The natural advantages of Ontario are very great. The soil of the country varies in different localities, but a very large proportion is of the very best description for agricultural purposes ; its water communication by means of the great lakes, is unsurpassed; in mineral wealth (excluding the one article, coal) it has been pronounced by competent authorities equal to any part of the world, abounding as it does in iron, copper, lead, silver, marble, petroleum, salt, &c. , &c. Its immense forests of pine timber are too well known to need any description. The great lakes abound with fish, and the forests with game. No portion of the Dominion offers greater inducements to emigrants than does the Province of Ontario. Two facts may be prominently mentioned,, as indicating in a comprehensive way the class of people to which Ontario affords a good field for emigrating to. These facts are ; that Ontario is a new 4 EMIGRATION TO THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. country, and that (at present, at all events,) it is essentially an agricultural one. The producing class then is that which the country needs. Men to clear the forest lands, to cultivate the soil, to raise live stock, to make clothes, to build houses, to make the ordinary household goods, and to open up communication from one part of the country to another, by the con- struction of roads and railways. The classes most needed, consequently, are farmers ; agricultural labourers ; day labourers, who will turn their hands to anything, whether it be sawing and chopping firewood, working on the roads and railways, or loading and unloading vessels ; building mechanics, such as bricklayers, stonemasons, carpenters, plumbers, painters and glaziers ; other mechanics, as cabinet makers, tinsmiths, blacksmiths ; also tailors and shoe- makers. Men to whom wages of four or five shillings a day are an object, — and there are hundreds of thousands of such in the United Kingdom, — will find Ontario just the place for them, because such wages can always be obtained as agricultural or day labourers by those who are able and willing to work for them. It cannot be too strongly impressed upon the intending emigrant that of professional men, and of book-keepers, clerks, and others not directly engaged in the arts of production, Ontario has already enough and to spare. Of the female sex the class most in demand are house- hold servants. These are always sure of immediate employment, at wages of from twenty to twenty-nine shillings a month, according to ability. There is also a considerable demand for dressmakers, milliners, seamstresses and bonnet makers, all of whom can obtain much better wages than they can at home. Farmers possessing moderate means can readily purchase or lease suitable farms of from one to two hundred acres, more or less cleared and improved ; and by ordinary discretion and industry, can scarcely fail, if blessed with health and strength, very materially to improve their condition in a few years, and to afford their children, as they grow up, a favorable start in life. The price of land varies according to the situation and the improvements. Wild (that is uncleared, or forest) land varies in price from 2s. to 40s. an acre, according to situation and soil. Cleared and improved farms can be had at prices ranging from £4 to £10 an acre. Of course the price will range much higher than this where buildings of an expensive character are on the land. The money can nearly always be paid in instalments, covering several years. The leasing of farms is an exception to the general rule, as most men desire to own the land they cultivate. In good localities, rents range from eight to twelve shillings an acre for cleared land. As a rule, emigrants possessing means would do well not to be in a hurry to purchase, bur to get some ex- perience before taking so important a step. Agricultural labourers would study their own iiiterest by accepting employment as it may be offered on their arrival, and they will soon learn how to improve permanently their CITIES AND TOWNS. 5 condition. Persons accustomed to the use of mechanical tools, who intend turning their hands to farming, will often find such an acquisition of great convenience and value. There is a prospect of the price of all kinds of labour being maintained, and even increased, as the Province becomes settled, and its population and wealth increase. Men commencing as labourers, without any capital but strong arms and willing minds, seldom keep in that condition very long, but after a period of more or less duration they can, and do very generally, be- come employers of labour themselves. By far the greater number of our new well-to-do farmers commenced life with little or no capital. It is this moral certainty of rising in the social scale, when the proper means are employed, that brightens the hopes and stimulates the exertions of the needy settler. When the extent and resources of Ontario (some of which are only begin- ning to be developed) are considered, with the salubrity of the climate, and the fact that i,t is within ten or twelve days’ journey of the mother country, the greatly increased attention which it is now receiving as a promising field for emigration, is perfectly natural ; and in proportion as correct information regarding its capabilities, and the substantial inducements it holds out to in- dustrious settlers is disseminated and understood, will be the amount of emigration to its shores. In coming to Ontario, old country people will feel not much greater change thaft in going from one part of the United Kingdom to another. In the older settled districts they will find themselves surrounded by appliances of comfort and civilization similar to those which they left in the old land ; the means of educating their children universally diffused; religious privileges almest identically the same ; the old national feeling for the land of their fathers loyally cherished ; and an easy means of intercourse, both by steam and telegraph, with the central heart of the great British Empire, of which Canadians are proud to boast that their country forms an integral and no in- considerable part. CITIES AND TOWNS. There are many fine cities and towns scattered over the country. The largest, and in every respect the most important, is Toronto, the capital of the Province. This city now numbers a population of over 60,000; it is well situated on Lake Ontario, is very handsomely built, containing as large a number of fine buildings as almost any city of the same size in the world; among them may be mentioned the Parliament Buildings, the Lieutenant- Governor’s residence, the University, Osgoode Hall, containing the law courts . offices > Anglican and Homan Catholic Cathedrals, the Normal School, 6 EMIGRATION TO THE PROYINCE OF ONTARIO. Trinity College, the Mechanics’ Institute, the Lunatic Asylum, the Hospital,) Gaol, and a number of other fine buildings, public and private. No better evidence is needed to attest the enterprise and prosperity of its inhabitants. Ottawa is the capital of the Dominion, and is beautifully situated on the river of the same name. It contains the Parliament Buildings, one of the noblest structures on the American continent. Kingston is a well-built andj strongly fortified city, beautifully situated at the outlet of Lake Ontario. Hamilton is a fine commercial city, at the head of navigation on Lake Ontario. London is a handsome inland city, in the Western peninsula, in the centre of an^extremely rich agricultural district. The annexed table contains a list of the cities and towns which, at the last census, in 1861, had a population of upwards of 3,000. The population by the census of 1852 is also given, so that the rapid increase of every one of them can be seen at a glance. 1841. 1852. 1861. Toronto 14,249 30,775 44,821 Hamilton 1836 2,846 14,111 19,096 Ottawa 7,760 14,669 Kii^gston 1841 6,292 11,585 13,743 London 1841 5,124 7,035 11,555 St. Catherines 4,368 6,284 Belleville 1841 3,500 4,569 6,277 Brantford 3,877 6,251 Guelph 1844 700 1,860 5,076 Cobourg 3,871 4,975 Chatham 2,070 4,466 Port Hope 2,476 4,162 Brockville 3.246 4,112 Peterborough 2,191 3,979 Woodstock 2,112 3,353 Goderich 1,329 3,227 Galt 1846 1,000 2,248 3,069 Total 105,483 159,115 CLIMATE. Very incorrect ideas prevail abroad as to the climate of this country. Our winters are supposed to be arctic in their duration and severity ; and our summers, in like manner, arctic in their brevity and coldness, — the rigours of a Canadian climate having almost become proverbial. The truth is, however, that Ontario has one of the most pleasant and healthful climates in the world. Comparing it with that of the United King- CLIMATE. 7 dom, it is, as to heat and cold, far more changeable, but as to rain and sun- shine, far less so. The atmosphere is purer and clearer, fogs being almost unknown. The sky is rarely clouded over for longer than 24 hours at a time, and consequently it seldom rains for two days in succession. The amount of rain which falls in the year is about the same as in England, but the number -of rainy days are far fewer. Spring commences about the beginning of April, and lasts till the encl of May, by which time the trees are all in full leaf. Summer is hotter than at home, especially in July and August. Autumn, or u the fall,” as it is called, lasts through September, October and November, the two latter months be- ing very changeable ; raw, chilly weather being interspersed with lovely warm Indian summer days. Fires begin to be necessary about the middle of Octo- ber, and by the end of November the trees are denuded of their leaves, and there is a gradual progress to winter, which, however, does not usually set in with severity till the latter part of December. The winter lasts till the end of March, the extreme cold, however, usually being over by the end of February. With regard to the character of the winter, there is a good deal of misconception. It is probably neither so long nor so severe as that of European Russia, a country which now boasts a population of over seventy millions. It is certainly not much longer nor more severe than in Boston or New York, nor so tedious, cold, and tempestuous as in some of the Western States — Wisconsin and Minnesota, for example. The season, though confessedly severe, is exhilarating : for it has its ameliorations in a bright sun; clear, frosty air; skating, and the pleasant jingle and fleet gliding of the sleigh ; together with almost entire exemption from damp and mud, two most disagreeable accompaniments of winter in milder climes. The agricultural products of the country are an unerring indication as to its climate, and an inspection of the list on pp. 16 and 17 ought to satisfy the most sceptical on this point. It may, however, be remarked here, that throughout the Province, maize and tomatoes ripen well, and that in the southern parts peach trees and grapes come to perfection in the open air. As to health, in the absence of any reliable registration returns, we have no data from which to arrive at the death rate of the Province. Such figures as we have, however, tend to shew that it is extremely probable that Ontario is one of the healthiest countries in the world. THE PUBLIC LANDS, OTHER THAN FREE GRANTS. Large tracts of uncleared land are still in the hands of the Government of Ontario, awaiting the advent of the settler. In the natural course of things, the best locations are taken up first ; nevertheless there are large quantities 8 EMIGRATION TO THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. 'of wild land inviting the labour of the backwoodsman, which, when cleared •"and improved, will be quite equal to many of the older settlements. There •are in Ontario the following numbers of acres : — 'Total area. Total surveyed. Total granted and sold. 77/60(5,400 | 25,297,480 | 21,879,048 It will thus be seen that there are some three millions and a half acres of surveyed Government lands not yet taken up, and more than fifty millions of acres not yet surveyed. The greater part of the lands not yet taken up lie in the region bounded on the east by the Ottawa River, on the west by the Georgian Bay, and on the south by the more northerly of what we are accus- tomed to call the front townships, and which are more or less settled. When it was asserted, years ago, that the good lands of Canada were mostly sold, settlement had about reached the rocky ridge which runs along the north of these townships. Roads made in this region showed its unin- viting character. But settlement was meantime turning the flanks of the- ridge. First, from the west, from near Lake Simeoe, people found the Mus- koka and the Parry Sound districts not uninviting. Then, from the east, the men of Lanark and of Renfrew moved up the Madawaska and the Petewawa rivers. Then the Crown Lands Surveyors, and, better still, the employees of the lumberers, went further back. It was then discovered that inside the rocky barrier, best approached by the Northern Railroad and Lake Simeoe on the one hand, and from the Upper Ottawa river on the other, there is, in the basin of Lake Nipissing and the watershed of the Ottawa, both in Onta- rio and Quebec, a most extensive tract of excellent land, nearly as large as the peninsula of Ontario, much of it deep-soiled as the basin of the St. Law- rence, timbered with a heavy growth of mixed white pine and hardwood, much of it as level as the St. Lawrence valley, and some as even as a prairie. It lies, moreover, near waters which either are or can be easily made navi- gable. A market for its farm products exists already in the lumberers’ camps, which are even now breaking its solitudes, and but few years will elapse before its forests ring with the settler’s axe, before the shores of Lake Nipissing echo to the whistle of the steamboat, or even before a railway runs across it by the shortest route from Montreal towards Chicago. In this re- gion are the Free Grant lands, respecting which full particulars are given in the next section. The price of such Government lands as are for sale varies with the situa- tion. In the Algoma District it is ten pence per acre, but that is a somewhat remote region. The usual price for the more accessible tracts is from 2s. to 15s. per acre. The regulations, under which the lands are sold, vary con- siderably according as they are of ordinary character, or specially valuable for their timber or minerals. The usual settlement duties required before a patent is issued for the lands occupied are, the building of a “habitable THE FREE GRANT LANDS AND HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION. 9 house,” and 20 acres on a 200 acre lot to be cleared and under crop. In 1868 and 1869, the Government of Ontario sold 93,203 acres of public lands for the sum of $214,404, equal to £44,055, or at about 9s. 6d. per acre. Besides which, in 1868, 1869 and 1870, there were 287,957 acres of Free Grant lands taken up by 2,277 heads of families and other locatees over 18 years of age, the figures for 1870 being 155,427 acres and 1,200 locatees. THE FREE GRANT LANDS AND HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION. The Free Grant lands of Ontario are worthy the attention alike of the im- migrant and of residents in the country who are desirous of possessing free- hold farms, but whose means are limited. Anxious to promote the settle- ment of the yet uncleared districts, the Provincial Government has thrown open, upon the most liberal terms, a large tract of land, including 53 town- ships, and about three millions of acres, where persons may go and select for themselves the site of a future home. Every head of a family can obtain, gratis, two hundred acres of land, and any person arrived at the age of 18 may obtain one hundred acres, in the Free Grant districts. This offer is made by the Government to all persons without distinction of sex, so that a large family, having several children in it at or past 18 years of age, may take up°a large tract, and become, in a few years, when the land is cleared and im- proved, joint possessors of a valuable and beautiful estate. The settlement duties are : to have 15 acres on each grant of 100 acres cleared and under crop, of which at least two acres are to be cleared and cultivated annually for five years ; to build a habitable house, at least 16 by 20 feet in size ; and to reside on the land at least six months in each year. The Free Grant lands are marked in the map by being shaded with fine black lines. Fifty three townships, each containing from 50 to 60 thousand acres, have been set apart ; they may be divided into the following eight districts or agencies. 1. The Parry Sound District.— This contains seven townships, McDougal] Foley, Humphrey, Cardwell, Christie, McKellar, and Fergusson. In sum- mer the best route is from Toronto to Collingwood by the Nftthern Railway and from Collingwood to Parry Sound by steamer. In winter the route IS from Toronto to Barrie, by the Northern Railway; and from Barrie to Parry Sound by stage. JohnD. Beatty, Esq., is the Government Agent Doulair t0 '™ Ship3 ! hiS ° ffiCe “ at Parry Sound > in ihe township of Mc- 2. The Muskoka District.—' This contains eleven townships, Muskoka, Dra- per, Monck, Macaulay, McLean, Watt, Stephenson, Brunei, Stisted, Chaffey and Medora. In summer the route is from Toronto to Barrie or Bell Ewart 10 EMIGRATION TO THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. by the Northern Railway ; thence to Washago, at the head of Lake Couchou- cliing by steamer ; from Washago to Gravenhurst at the foot of Lake Musko- ka, by stage : and from Gravenhurst to Bracebridge, by steamer or by stage. In winter the route is from Toronto to Barrie by the Northern Railway, and from Barrie to Bracebridge by stage. C. W. Lount, Esq. , is the Gov- ernment Agent for these townships ; his office is at Bracebridge, in the Township of Macaulay. 3. The Bohcaygeon Road District. — This contains six townships, Anson, Hindon, Minden, Stanhope, Snowdon, and Glamorgan. The route is from Port Hope to Lindsay, by the Midland Railway ; and thence to Bobcaygeon by steamer or stage. Joseph Graham, Esq., is the Government Agent for these townships ; his office is at Bobcaygeon, in the township of Yerulam. 4. The Burleigh Road District. — This contains four townships, Anstruther, Chandos, Monmouth, and Cardiff. The route is from Port Hope to Lake- field by the Midland Railway; and thence to Paudash by stage. D. Ander- son, Esq., is the Government Agent for these townships ; his office is at Paudash, in the township of Cardiff. 5. The Hastings Road District. — This contains six townships, Dungannon, Mayo, Herschel, Monteagel, Carlow, and Wicklow. The route is from. Belleville, along the Hastings Road, to L’Amable by stage. J. R. Tait, Esq., is the Government Agent for these townships ; his office is at L’Amable, in the township of Dungannon. 6. The Mississippi Road District. — This contains five townships, Claren- don, Palmerston, Miller, Abinger, and Denbigh. The route is from Brock- ville to Perth, by the Brockville and Ottawa Railway ; and thence to Gem- ley by stage. E. Playfair, Esq., is the Government Agent for these town- ships ; his office is at Geinley, in the township of Clarendon. 7. The Ottawa and Opeongo Road District. — This contains six townships, Grattan, Wilberforce, South Algona, Hagarty, Richards, and Sherwood. The route is from Brockville to Arnprior, by the Brockville and Ottawa Railway ; and thence to Eganville by stage. S. G. Lynn, Esq., is the Gov- ernment Agent for these townships; his office is at Eganville, in the town- ship of Grattan. 8. The Pembroke and Mattawan Road District. — This contains eight town- ships, Alice, Fraser, Petewawa, McKay, Buchanan, Wylie, Rolph, and Head. The route is from Brockville to Arnprior by the Brockville and Ottawa Rail- way ; and thence to Pembroke by stage. J. P. Moffatt, Esq. , is the Gov- ernment Agent for these townships ; his office is at Pembroke, in the township of Pembroke. It is the intention of the Government to lay off other townships for Free Grant purposes as fast as they may be required in the course of settlement and improvement. Indeed, the probability is that most of the wild lands, as THE FREE GRANT LANDS AND HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION. 11 yet unsurveyed between the Ottawa River and the Georgian Bay, will be thus disposed of. The Free Grant Lands are open for settlement under the authority of the Free Grant and Homestead Act, which became law Feb 28th, 1868. The following is a summary of this Act, as amended : — It authorizes the Lieutenant-Governor in Council to appropriate lands, not being mineral lands or pine timber lands, as free grants to actual settlers, under regulations to be made for that purpose ; but such grants are confined to the lands in the Algoma and Nipissing Districts, and the lands between the Ottawa ltiver and Georgian Bay, to the west of a line drawn from a point opposite tho south- east angle of the township of Palmerston, north-westerly along the western boundary line of other townships to the Ottawa River, and north of the northern boundaries of Oso, Olden, Kennebec, Kalador, Elzevir, Madoc, Marmora, Belmont, Dummer, Smith, Ennismore, Somerville, Laxton, Car- den, Rama, and the River Severn. ISTo such grant is to be made to a person under 18, or for more than 200 acres. Failure to perform the settlement duties, which are detailed above, forfeits the location. The mines and minerals are reserved to the Crown. The settler may not cut any pine timber, except for. fencing, building, or other farm purposes, and in clearing for cultivation, until the issue of the patent ; or if it be cut the settler must pay timber dues to the Crown. The object of this reservation of timber is to protect the bond fi u de settler, and to ensure the actual settlement of the land. It is to prevent persons going upon it, under pretence of settlement, but in reality for the purpose of stripping it of the timber, which is very valuable. It does not in any way interfere with the man who settles upon the land in good faith, as he is authorised to clear it as rapidly as his industry or means may permit ; and after the patent issues, all pine trees remaining on the land become his property absolutely. The reader’s attention is directed to the Orders in Council, published on the front cover of this pamphlet. On the death of the locatee, the land vests in his widow during her widowhood, unless she pre- fers to accept her dower in it v The land cannot be alienated, except by will, nor mortgaged until the patent issues, nor within 20 years of the location, without consent of the wife, if living. Nor will it at any time be liable to be sold under execution for any debt contracted before or during the 20 years after the location, except for a mortagage or pledge given after the issue of the patent. It may be sold for taxes. In order to make a succesful settlement upon a free grant, the settler ehould have at the least from £40 to £50 after reaching his location. But it would be an act of wisdom in all such persons, on their arrival in the country, to deposit their money in a Savings Bank, where it would draw from 4 to 5 per cent, interest, and go out for a year as agricultural labourers. The experience thus acquired will far more than compensate for the time lost. 12 EMIGRATION TO THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. The settlers are always willing to help new comers. A house, such as is re- quired by the Act, could be erected by contract for from £5 to £8 ; but with the assistance which the settler would certainly receive from his neigh- bours, it might be erected for even less. Should it be desired to clear the land by hired labour or by contract, in order to bring it more rapidly into cultivation, the cost would be about £3 stg. per acre. The best season of the year to go on to a free grant is the month of September, after harvest work in the old settlements is over. There is time to put up a house, and get comfortably settled before the winter sets in ; and during the winter, the work of chopping and clearing can go on. In this way, a crop can be got in during the first spring. The operation of putting in the first crop is a very simple one. Ploughing is at once impracticable and unnecessary. The land is light and rich. All it needs is a little scratching on the surface to cover the seed. This is done with a drag or harrow, which may either be a very rough primitive implement — a natural crotch with a few teeth in it — or it may be carefully made and well-finished. AGRICULTURAL CAPABILITIES OF THE SOIL. The agricultural statistics collected at the censuses in 1852 and 1861, which will be found on pp. 16 and 17 will afford reliable evidence as to the capabilities of the soil of the Province. Of course much depends on the character of the farming. In some of the river valleys of Ontario, wheat has been grown after wheat for twenty years ; the first crops yielded 40 bushels and upwards an acre, but under this thoughtless system of husbandry the yield diminished to 12 or 15 bushels ; and in consequence a more rational system has been introduced, the effect of which has been to restore the natural fertility of the soil. During the last three years — 1868, 1869 and 1870 — the average yield of wheat throughout the Province, taking the good and bad soils, and the good and bad farming together, has been about 18 bushels to the acre, or about the same as it was in 1861 when the census showed the average yield to be 17f bushels. This, of course, is much less than the yield in England, but it must be borne in mind that the farming in Ontario, though much better than it used to be, and better than in the United States, is still of a rough and ready description and far inferior to what it is in the old country. Where compar- atively good farming prevails 25 and 30 bushels an acre are commonly got, and occasionally even 40 bushels and upwards. With regard to quality, the white wheat of Ontario is probably equal if not superior to any in the world. In proof of this it may be stated that it won the first prize at the Paris Ex- hibition in 1867. The table on pp. 16 and 17 will, after making due allowance for the great progress of the country in the last ten years, giye a fair idea of the character THE FARM IN GOOD ORDER. 13 and quantity of the crops which a farmer may confidently expect. Especi- ally in the three articles, barley, flax, and hops, the increase during the last few years has been very great. With regard to flax, there are at present some forty scutch mills in the Province doing a profitable business. Prices of fibre, prepared and ready for the market, will range from £40 to £50 per ton of 2,000 lbs., and seed from 8s. to 10s. per bushel of 66 lbs. The produce of the latter will average from 8 to 12 bushels per acre. Of white clean scutched flax of good quality, the average will be from 200 to 300 lbs. per acre. Hemp, tobacco, and sugar beet are also profitable crops. As to vegetables; potatoes, carrots, turnips, mangel-wurzel, peas, beans, cucumbers, onions, cauliflowers, tomatoes, artichokes, asparagus, and celery, all thrive well and yield abundant crops. The five last mentioned are far more common and grow to greater perfection than in England, the soil and climate seeming to be better adapted to them. The crop of tomatoes is enormous, it being, during the months of August, September, October, and November, the staple vegetable, next to the potato. With regard to fruits, all the following thrive well : apples, pears, cur- rants, strawberries, raspberries, plums, greengages, cherries, quinces, goose- berries, and melons ; and in the southern counties, grapes and peaches. Of late years more attention has been paid to pasture lands, which, though inferior to those of the old country, are rapidly improving under improved treatment. As a consequence dairy products such as cheese and butter have greatly increased in quantity and improved in quality. Cheese-making on what is termed “the Factory system,”— that is, a number of farmers in the same neighbourhood co-operating to support a common dairy — has been ex- pensively carried out in many parts of the Province with very satisfactory results ; one result being that Canadian cheese is acquiring considerable reputation in, and is being largely exported to, foreign markets. ROUGHING IT IN THE BUSH. Th& accompanying illustration gives a view of the rough beginnings of a 14 EMIGRATION TO THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. home in the backwoods of Canada. Here are shown the first clearing, and the rude yet not uncomfortable log-house. Having inspected his estate, and selected the most advantageous site for his future residence, our settler plies his axe, and by felling a few of the trees, lets in the long excluded daylight. His dwelling is to be constructed of materials that are close at hand. Ha need not haul the log3 that form its massive frame-work many yards from where they grew, unless, indeed, there be low land not far distant, with cedar, tamarack, or black ash, and he prefers to build his house of lighter, straighter, and more uniform logs than are already on the spot. A well-built log-house is by no means to be despised. There is a fitness about it that cannot fail to impress every observant mind. The wonder is that better and more perma- nent log-houses are not erected. Below is given an illustration, showing how a little skilful exercise of taste will make a log- building attractive and or- namental. Other styles might be adopted, equally, if not more tasteful. One evil usually com- mitted in putting up the settler’s first habitation, is neglecting the foundation. A moderately level spot of ground is pitched upon ; the biggest logs are chosen for the bottom course; they are hastily bedded ; and the work proceeds. More pains ought to be taken with the bottom tier. It would be unreasonable, perhaps, to expect the laying of a stone foundation, though it would be a wise policy ; but good solid blocks, on end, might be let into the ground, in order to prevent that chronic evil in log-houses, settling. In travelling through the newer sections of this country, one observes a great difference in the log structures. Some are contracted in size ; com- posed of rough, crooked, gnarled logs ; the ends wretchedly hacked, and projecting irregularly ; the ceilings low ; windows very small ; bark roofs ; and earth, or as they are more appropriately called sometimes, “dirt” floors. Others are spacious ; made of straight logs, gradually decreasing in size to- ward the eaves ; the ends cut smoothly, and the corners finished true and square ; the ceilings high ; windows of good size ; roofs neatly shingled with either short or long shingles ; and inside, a good floor of sawed, and, perhaps, planed lumber. It may be urged that many settlers have neither the means THE FARMING INTEREST. 15 nor the skill to manage all that is desirable ; but, generally speaking, by arranging an exchange of work with some skilful neighbour, the most im- portant points may be secured. Elbow and head room, airiness, neatness, and workman-like appearance, might be achieved from the outset. Even though a bark roof and a “dirt” floor must be borne with at first, they might soon be exchanged for shingles and planks. Sawing and planing are not needed about the exterior of a log-house ; with the axe alone a good wood- cutter will make very smooth, neat, work. THE FARM IN GOOD ORDER. Gradually but surely the work of improving a new farm goes forward, un- til it is astonishing what a change is brought about in a few years. The wilderness is transformed into a fruitful field. One by one the stumps have rotted out, and the plough has free scope to work. Inequalities in the sur- face of the land have become smoothed down, and almost the only evidence that the country is new, is furnished by the rail fences. The log-buildings have given place to structures of frame or stone. A garden has been laid out and stocked. An orchard has been planted, and brought into bearing. The front fences have ceased to be of rails; a neat, ornamental paling or hedge skirts the road, and a tasteful bit of shrubbery environs the house and out- buildings. THE FARMING INTEREST. The official census returns for Ontario for the years 1851 and 1860 furnish reliable data for ascertaining the agricultural condition and progress of the Province ; and the annual reports of the Department of Agriculture and Arts for Ontario, for 1868, 1869 and 1870, provide some returns for those years. From these returns, it appears that the. number of persons in actual occu- pation of land in Ontario, and the area of land occupied (cultivated and un- cultivated), were as follows : — Occupiers of land Land under cultivation (acres) Land not under cultivation “ Total land occupied “ Average to each occupant “ Cash value of farms (dollars)... do of farm implements “ 1851. 99,906 3,702,783 6,123,132 9,825,915 98 146,683,560 1860. 131,983 6,051,619 7,303,288 13,354,907 102 295,162,315 11,280,347 16 EMIGRATION TO THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. With regard to the size of the holdings, the following figures will give an idea : — 1851. 1860. Persons holding 10 acres and under... 9,746 4,424 it 10 to 20 acres 2,671 2,675 it 20 to 50 a 19,143 26,630 it 50 to 100 a 47,427 64,891 it 100 to 200 a 17,515 28,336 it over 200 a 3,404 5,027 Total occupiers 99,906 131,983 It thus appears that, ten years ago, there were, out of a total population of about 400,000 male adults, not less than 131,983 who cultivated their own land. If the number of farm labourers, blacksmiths, waggonmakers, &c., be added, it will be seen at once how large a proportion of the people are di- rectly or indirectly employed in the cultivation of the soil. The farm produce in the two years was as follows : — 1851. 1860. Wheat ..Acres sown 798,275 1,386,366 do ..Produce in bushels 12,682,550 24,620,425 do ..Bushels per acre 16} I7f Barley ..Acres sown 30,129 118,940 do ..Produce in bushels C25,452 2,821,962 do ..Bushels per acre 20| 23} Bye . .Acres sown 39,066 70,376 do ..Produce in bushels 472,4*29 973,181 do ..Bushels per acre 12 13f Peas ..Acres sown 186,643 460,595 do ..Produce in bushels 3,127,681 9,601,396 do . .Bushels per acre 16f 20f Oats ..Acres sown 413,058 678,337 do ..Produce in bushels . 11,391,867 21,220,874 do ..Bushels per acre 27} 31} Buckwheat.... ..Acres sown 44,264 74,565 do ...Produce in bushels 579,935 1,248,637 do ...Bushels per acre 13 16? Indian corn... ...Acres sown 72,047 79,918 do ...Produce in bushels 1,688,805 2,256,290 do . .Bushels per acre 23} 28} Potatoes . . .Acres sown 77,966 137,266 do ...Produce in bushels. . . . 4,982,186 15,325,920 do . .Bushels per acre 64 111} THE FARMING INTEREST. 17 - 1851. 1860. Turnips .Acres sown 17,048 73,409 do .Produce in bushels 3,110,318 18,206,959 do .Bushels per acre M oo to 248 Mangel-Wurzel, Acres sown 1,523 do .Produce in bushels 54,206 546,971 do .Bushels per acre 359£ Grass seed, clover, &c... Bushels 39,029 61,818 Carrots do 174,686 1,905,598 Beans 18,309 49,143 Hops lbs 113,527 247,052 Hay 693,727 871,844 Flax and hemp lbs 59,680 1,225,934 Tobacco 777,426 Maple sugar.... do 3,669,874 6,970,605 Cider 742,840 1,567,831 Wool 2,619,434 3,659,766 Butter do [16,064,532 26,828,264 Cheese 2,292,600 2,687,172 These figures show that in 1860 the production of wheat, rye, oats, buck- wheat, hops, and cider, was twice as great as in 1851 ; of peas and potatoes, three times ; of barley, four times ; of turnips, six times ; of mangel-wurzel and carrots, ten times ; and of flax, not less than twenty times. The value of the above farm produce in 1851 was over £6,000,000, and in 1860 over £16,000,000 ; the latter sum being at the rate of £12 for every man, woman and child in the Province. More conclusive evidence of the wonderfully rapid progress of the Province could not be required. With regard to live stock the figures were : — 1851. 1860. Bulls, oxen, and steers 192,140 99,605 Milch cows 297,070 451,640 Calves and Heifers 255,249 464,083 Horses of all kinds 201,670 377,681 Sheep 1,170,225 Pigs 776,001 Total head 3,339,235 The total value of the live stock in 1860 was $53,227,486, equal to over £10,600.000 sterling. Making a total of the whole, we find that the cash value of farms, farm produce, and live stock was : — 18 EMIGRATION TO THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO, 1851. 1860. Farms £30,000,000 £60,000,000 Farm produce 6,000,000 16,000,000 Live stock 8,200,000 10,600,000 Total £44,200,000 £86,600,000 And this, be it remembered, is exclusive of the large crops of apples, pears, melons, peaches, plums, strawberries, raspberries, currants, grapes, and other fruits ; and of tomatoes, parsnips, beets, artichokes, and other vegetables, not included in the above tables. And then, in 1860 the work was hardly more than begun. In that year fche total area under cultivation was only 6,051,619 acres out of 77,606,400 which the Province contains ; being less than one-twelfth part of the whole. THE AGRICULTURAL PROGRESS OF ONTARIO AS COMPARED WITH THAT OF THE UNITED STATES. The maxim “comparisons are odious” is not always true. Without doubt they may sometimes be very properly instituted. In such cases they should, of course, be conducted with scrupulous fairness. When thus made between parties engaged in honourable competition, and only asking from one another “ a fair field and no favour,” the results can hardly fail to be of an encourag- ing and stimulating character. Taking as the basis of calculation the official volume which contains the agricultural results of the last census of the United States, and the similar census returns for Canada, referring to nearly the same period, it can be de- monstrated that Canada, and Ontario especially, instead of lagging behind the United States in every element of progress, as some people are constantly telling us, can put the tabular statements of her products and her progress side by side with those of the Great Republic on her borders, and not suffer one whit from the comparison, but that, on the contrary, she is shown to be considerably ahead of the United States in many important indications of a skilled and productive agriculture, and a rapid general advancement. The following is a summary of the results obtained by a comparison of the official statistics above mentioned, as regards Ontario. In nine years she added 46.65 per cent, to her population, while the United States in ten years added only 35.58 per cent, to theirs. She maintained a decennial rate of increase greater by one-half than that of the wholo of the United States and territories ; more than double that of all the United States, excluding the Western States, and only falling short of the increase in the Western States and territories by 7 per cent. In THE AGRICULTURAL PROGRESS OF ONTARIO. 19 nine years to their ten, she passed four States of the Union which in 1850 had a population exceeding hers, Indiana, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Kentucky; leaving at the date of the last census only five States which exceeded her in population. In nine years she added nearly 64 culti- vated acres to every hundred acres in cultivation in 1851, while the United States and territories in ten years added only a little over 44 acres to every hundred acres under cultivation at the date of the previous census. She subdued her wild lands more rapidly than even the growth of her popu- lation, and at a rate almost double that in the United States ; the proportion being as 17.10 to 8.72. The cash value of farms in 1860, per head of the population, was greater in Ontario than in the United States, being $211 42 in Ontario, and $211 33 in the United States. Their value per acre was greater in Ontario than in the United States by nearly $6, being $22 10 per acre in Ontario, and $16 32 'per acre in the United States. The capital invested in agricultural implements was greater in Ontario than in the United States in proportion to the breadth of land cultivated, being $186 for every hundred acres of cultivated land in Ontario, and $150 for every hundred acres of cultivated land in the United States. The value of agricultural imple- ments manufactured in Ontario did not fall very much behind the value of agricultural implements manufactured in the United States, in proportion to population; being $0 41 per head of the population in Ontario, and $0 55 per head of the population in the United States. She grew more wheat in 1860 than any State in the Union. In proportion to population, she produced in that year more than three times as much wheat as the United States, raising 17.64 bushels for each inhabitant, while the United States raised only 5.50 bushels for each inhabitant. She was greatly ahead even of the Western States as a wheat-producing country, the average pro- duction of wheat in the whole of the Western States being only 10 bushels for each inhabitant. Of the nine leading staples of agriculture, common to both countries — wheat, indian corn, rye, barley, oats, buckwheat, peas, beans, and potatoes — she produced 55.95 bushels for each inhabitant, while of the same articles the United States produced only 43.42 bushels for each inhabitant. Excluding Indian corn from the list, she produced of the remaining articles, 54.34 bushels for each inhabitant, against 16.74 bushels for each in- habitant, produced in the United States. In proportion to population, she had more capital invested in live stock than the United States, the value of live stock owned in Ontario being $38.13 per head of the population, while in the United States it was $34.64 per head of the population. For every hundred of the population, Ontario owned 27 horses, and the United States only 20. For every hundred inhabitants, Ontario owned 32 milch cows, and the United States, only 27. For every hundred inhabitants Ontario owned 84 sheep, and the United States only 71 ; of live stock, 20 EMIGRATION TO THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. in the number of pigs only was she exceeded by the United States, in. proportion to population. In 1860 she produced 19.22 pounds of butter for every inhabitant, while the United States produced only 14.62 pounds. In the same year she produced 2.62 pounds of wool for each inhabitant, while the United States produced only 1.92 pounds. In the nine years from 1851 to 1&60, she increased her annual production of butter by 67 per cent., while inthe United States, in ten years from 1850 to 1860, the increase in the production of butter was only 46 1 per-cent. And in nine years she increased her production of wool 40 per cent., while in ten years the United .States increased their production of wool only 15 per cent. These facts need no comment. They speak for themselves and exhibit a jmost gratifying progress in Ontario, both absolutely and relatively, as com- ipared with the United States. Perhaps however it would be more satis- factory to select, for comparison with Ontario, a single State, somewhat similar as regards size and situation. For this purpose the State of New York is perhaps the best. It is large and populous, is one of the best in the Union as regards agriculture, and as to climate is in much the same position as Ontario. In short it amply deserves its designation, “the Empire State. ” Its agricultural statistics given below are for the year 1864, three years after ours were taken, and yet in many particulars we completely take the lead. The following are the principal agricultural returns of each country ; those of Ontario being for the year 1861, and those of New York, for 1864 : — Ontario. New York State. Population 4,554,204 Acres of improved lands 6,051,619 14,828,216 Acres unimproved 7,303,288 10,412,534 Cash value of farms $295,162,315 $923,881,381 Value of implements $21,184,324 Acres of fall wheat 434,729 406,591 Bushels do 7,537,651 5,432,282 Acres of spring wheat 951,637 104,996 Bushels do Acres of barley 189,035 Bushels do 3,075,170 Acres of rye 233,219 Bushels do 2,575,438 Acres of peas 40,491 Bushels do 580,827 Acres of oats 1,109,565 Bushels do 19,052,833 Acres of Indian corn 632,235 AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. 21 Ontario. New York State. Bushels do 2,256,290 17,983,888 Acres of potatoes 137,266 235,073 Bushels do 15,325,920 23,237,762 Acres of turnips 73,409 8,124 Bushels do 18,206,959 1,282,388 The contrast between New York State and Ontario as afforded by these lstatistics, is very favourable to us. With far less population, less improved and, and less value of implements, our farmers turned out far more fall wheat, spring wheat, peas, oats, and turnips. In Indian corn, rye, and potatoes, the New Yorkers rather take the lead, and they are also set down as doing so in barley. But the barley crop has had an immense increase in Ontario since 1861, and we have little doubt that our next census will show that we n«w raise more barley than New York does. As to quality, it is freely admitted by the Americans themselves, that we raise the best barley to be had on the Continent. The higher price paid for it fully attests this fact. One of the most gratif ying features of the above comparison, is the fact that our lands yield more per acre than those of New York State. Of fall wheat, New York sowed within some 28,000 acres of the breadth sown in Ontario, but we reaped over 2,000,000 bushels more than they did. The average quantity of oats raised by us in 1861 was more than 31 bushels per acre ; but New York averaged only 17 bushels per acre. As will be seen by reference to the table, New York reaped 19,052,853 bushels of oats from 1,109,565 acres sown, whilst our farmers, from 678,337 acres, took off no less than 21,220,874 bushels. This fact, of itself, speaks volumes for the fertility of the soil of Ontario. The small quantity of turnips raised in New York ap- pears singular ; our returns being 18,206,950 bushels as against 1,282,388. Taking the returns as a whole, they indicate pretty clearly that our farmers have nothing to envy in the Empire State and that either as regards excel- lent soil or good farming, we can compare favourably with our neighbours. AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. In the Government of Ontario there is a Commissioner of Agriculture and Arts, who has also the charge of Immigration and Public Works. His func- tions are, to receive the reports of all societies connected with the Depart- ment, to pay the Government grant, and to embody in a report, presented annually to the Legislature, the state and progress of the various societies and industries comprised within his sphere. 22 EMIGRATION TO THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. The Provincial Agricultural Association was commenced in 1846, and from a very small beginning it has, for some years past, assumed a magnitude of great importance. Its main object is the encouragement of agriculture, horticulture, manufactures, and the mechanical and fine arts, by holding an annual Provincial exhibition, and by such other means as it thinks advisa- ble. The number of articles entered in the various departments has of late been from five to upwards of seven thousand, and from ten to more than, twelve thousand dollars have been annually awarded in prizes. The Associ- ation is governed by a Council, chosen by the County Societies throughout the Province. The Legislature gives an annual grant of ten thousand dol- lars to this body to assist it in the prosecution of its important objects. The subjoined table indicates the progress of the Provincial Exhibition from its commencement to the present time : — Place and Yeab. Total amount of- fered in Prizes. Total No. of entries. Toronto, 1846 $ cts. 1600 00 1150 Hamilton, 1847 | 3000 00 1600 Cobourg, 1848 3100 00 1500 Kingston, 1849 5600 00 1429 Niagara, 1850 Brockville, 1851 5106 00 1638 5017 85 1466 Toronto, 1852 5916 95 3048 Hamilton, 1853 6410 15 2820 London, 1854 7176 10 2933 Cobourg, 1855 9216 30 3077 Kingston, 1856 9238 50 3791 Brantford, 1857 10,071 40 4337 Toronto, 1858 10,700 50 5572 Kingston, 1859 10,513 00 4830 Hamilton, 1860 15,015 50 7532 London, 1861 12,031 00 6242 Toronto, 1862 12,036 50 6319 Kingston, 1863 11,866 00 12,559 50 4756 Hamilton, 1864 6392 London, 1865 13,434 00 7221 Toronto, 1866 12,712 00 6279 Kingston, 1867 12,731 00 4825 Hamilton, 1868 13,304 50 6620 London, 1869 13,428 00 7649 Toronto, 1870 13,641 50 i 6897 Total amount awarded. $ cts. 1100 00 2400 00 2300 00 2800 00 3400 00 3223 75 4913 00 5293 25 5427 50 6941 70 6799 50 8186 00 9215 00 8067 50 12,940 00 10,188 50 10,722 00 9,166 00 10,304 25 11 036 75 10.288 50 9,311 50 11,120 00 11,459 50 12.289 50 There are in Ontario upwards of three hundred Societies organized accord- ing to law, for the promotion of agriculture, horticulture, and the mechanical arts, principally by holding annual exhibitions for public competition, in their respective localities. In addition to the large sums raised by members’ sub- scriptions, the Government encourages their efforts by an annual grant TRADE AND COMMERCE. 23 amounting, on the whole, to nearly seventy thousand dollars. This large sum is given to the different Societies in proportion to the amount which each raises, respectively. The stimulus thus given to agricultural improve- ment generally, has induced, of late years, several enterprising farmers to im- port from Britain pure bred animals of the Short-horn, Hereford, Devon, and other breeds, at great expense ; and this may be said also of horses, sheep, and swine, so that the Province now contains a large amount of breeding stock of the highest character and value. The high position which Ontario occupies, both in the Dominion of Canada, and as compared with the United States, in relation to agricultural and in dustrial progress generally, is largely to be ascribed to the very liberal man. ner in which public aid has been brought to second individual and voluntary effort. TRADE AND COMMERCE. The trade and commerce of Ontario have made as rapid strides as the other branches of industry, the amount having trebled in the last twenty years. For the fiscal year ending 30th June, 1870, the total value of the exports and imports of the Province was over £10,000,000. During the same time, the number of arrivals of vessels engaged in the lake trade between the United States and the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec (principally the former), was 17,866, with a total freight of 3,189,606 tons ; the departures being 18,804, with a freight of 3,143,391 tons. MANUFACTURES. The almost unlimited supply of water power throughout Ontario affords unusual facilities for manufactures to which that power is adapted, and in consequence various descriptions of industry are springing up in all direc- tions. Steam power is also used to a large extent. The principal articles manufactured are cloth, linen, clothing, leather, furniture, sawn timber, flax, iron and hardware, paper, soap, cotton and woollen goods, steam engines and iocomotives, wooden ware of all descriptions, agricultural implements, &c. MINES AND MINERALS. The mineral wealth of the country is not surpassed by any other in variety and richness. It has not yet, however, received anything like the attention it deserves, and may be said to be almost entirely undeveloped. To men- 24 EMIGRATION TO THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. tion some of the principal articles ; we have iron in large quantities a shori distance back from Lake Ontario, in the country between the Georgian Bay and the Ottawa ; also, in the same region, copper, lead, plumbago, antimony, arsenic, manganese, heavy spar, calc spar, gypsum or plaster of Paris, marble pronounced by good judges as fully equal to Carrara, or that obtained in Vermont, and building stone, all of them in large quantities near the sur- face. Gold has also been found in the same region, but not as yet in quan- tities sufficient to pay well. Mica is also found in considerable quantities, and is very profitably worked. On the north shore of Lake Huron are the celebrated Bruce mines of cop- per, from which ore and metal to the value of £50,000 are exported annually* Silver is found on the shores of Lake Superior, particularly in the neighbour- hood of Thunder Bay. Silver Islet, a small island in this bay, contains one of the richest veins of this metal ever discovered. An American com- pany, last summer, took out £2,000 worth of ore in two days, and soon after £12,000 worth in four days. There are other veins on the mainland almost,, if not quite, as rich. Petroleum is got in the westerly part of the Province in immense and ap- parently inexhaustible quantities. The first wells were struck at Oil Springs, County of Lambton, in 1862, and by March, 1863, over four millions of gal- lons had been obtained. Other regions have yielded this valuable mineral in large quantities ; Bothwell, in the County of Kent, and Petrolea, in Lamb- ton, being the principal. The last-mentioned place is now the largest pro- ducing district. In 1867, 130 wells were sunk with great success, 120,000 barrels being shipped, and 200,000 tanked for future U3e. In 1868, the pro- duce was about 4,000 barrels weekly, equal to 200,000 in the year. In 1869 the produce had increased to between 800 and 900 barrels a day, equal to over 300,000 ip the year. Canada requires for home consumption only about 150,000 barrels, so that there is ample surplus for export. The difficulty in getting the Canadian oil into European markets was its odour. American oil has been readily deodorized, and consequently kept Canadian out of the market. Some time ago, however, a process was invented by which the Can- adian article can be perfectly deodorized, and as this oil is superior to Ameri- can, in having greater illuminating power, and being less explosive, a large export trade is being rapidly developed. Large refineries have been con- structed at immense expense, for preparing the oil according to the new pro- cess, 47 of them being in operation in 1869. From 1866 to 3870, the quan- tity of this article entered at the excise for home consumption was 1,011,267 gallons, and for export 6,936,456 gallons. Salt is obtained at Goderich and the neighbourhood, in the shape of brine, from wells sunk to a great depth below the surface. The article is obtained by evaporating the brine, and is exceedingly good for all purposes, having been RELIGION. 25 found upon chemical analysis to be of almost perfect purity. As evidence of its quality, it may be mentioned that it received a gold medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1807, and the first prize at the New York State Fair for the same year. Although the manufacture has been earned on for only three or four years, there is now produced far more salt than is needed by the Pro- vince of Ontario, and large quantities will probably be exported. In No- vember, 1866, the manufacture was 45 barrels a day ; in August, 1867, it was 90 ; in August, 1868, 190 ; and now, February 1871, it is probably up- wards of 900 barrels a day. Over £20,000 have been expended ; 13 wella are now sunk, and about 200 kettles are in operation. Large peat beds exist in many parts of the Province, and the manufac- ture of peat for fuel is now being carried on by two companies, the Anglo- American and the Ontario. The above is not intended as a complete list, but is merely submitted to show what Ontario may be expected to become in future in respect of its mineral wealth. RELIGION. The following are the numbers of the religious denominations, according to the census of 1861, given in the order of number : — Church of England •. 311,565 Presbyterians 303,384 Roman Catholics 258,141 Wesleyan Methodists 218,427 Other Methodists 1 23,125 Baptists 61,559 Lutherans 24,299 Congregationalists 9,357 Miscellaneous creeds 60,718 Of no religion 17,373 No creed stated 8,123 Total 1,396,091 After a long-continued agitation on the subject, the union between Church and State was severed many years ago, so that now there is no Established Church under the especial protection and patronage of the Government, but there is perfect religious equality in the eye of the law. LAWS. The laws and the mode of administering them are mainly the same as in' England ; the practice, however, is simpler, and far less expensive. Though the laws are mainly the same as those of England, there are nevertheless- 26 EMIGRATION TO THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. many very important differences. Among the most striking of these may be mentioned the following : — The law of primogeniture has been abolished, lands descending to all children, male and female, in equal shares. Married women hold their own property free from the debts and control of the hus- band. Trial by jury in civil cases is optional, being dispensed with unless either party desire it. The Courts are the Queen’s Bench, Common Pleas, and Chancery, which are called the Superior Courts, each presided over by three judges, whose acknowledged ability and impartiality give weight to their decisions, which are consequently received with the greatest respect. Then there are the County Courts, one in each county or union of counties, presided over by the County Judge. These are courts of inferior jurisdic- tion, only taking cognizance, as a general thing, of claims of less than £80, and more than £20. Below these in each county are the Division Courts, presided over by the County Judge, who goes circuit within his county. These are for the disposal of claims of £20 or less, which they do with re- markable cheapness and efficiency. The Judges of the Superior Courts (Queen’s Bench, Common Pleas, and Chancery), go circuit to each county throughout the Province twice a year, in the spring and autumn, to hold assizes for the trial of civil and criminal cases. The County Judges hold Courts twice a year, in the summer and winter, alternately with the Superior Court Judges. The Judges are all appointed by the Dominion Government, not being elective as in the United States. The legal profession is greatly overstocked, owing the large number of young men who have taken to it of late years. EDUCATION. THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. The Public School System of Ontario was originally introduced in 1816, but may be said to have been reconstructed, remodelled, and placed on its present efficient footing by the Rev. Dr. Ryerson, the head of the On- tario Education Department. Its principal features were borrowed from New York and Massachusetts, Ireland and Germany, all so modified and blended as to suit the temper and condition of the country, and differing in several particulars from other public school systems on this continent. These points of difference are chiefly as follows : 1. It declares that “ every child from the age of seven to twelve years inclusive shall have the right to attend some school, or be otherwise educated.” 2. It provides that any parent or guardian who does not provide that any such child under his care shall attend some school, or be otherwise educated, shall be subject to certain penalties. 3. It provides for religious instruction. 4. The head of the department is aper- manent, and not a political officer. 5. Taxation for its support is compulsory on the part of the municipality. 6. No foreign books in the English branches of instruction are permitted. 7. Maps, school apparatus, prize and library EDUCATION. 27 books are directly supplied by the department, and 100 per cent on all local appropriations for a similar purpose is likewise granted. 8. Superannuated and worn out teachers are pensioned. 9. Provision i3 made for recording meteorological observations at ten of the County High Schools. In order to work this system, each township is divided into school sec- tions of a suitable extent for one school, and in each of these sections, three trustees are elected to manage its school affairs. The rate-payers may, how- ever, elect a township Board of Trustees instead of Section Trustees. In cities, towns, and villages, Boards of Trustees, elected by the rate-payers, supervise the management and expenditure. The same general dispositions apply to the Roman Catholic Separate Schools. In 1869, under the Public Scho.ol System there were 4,524 schools in operation, and 5,054 teachers employed, 2,775 of whom were males, and 2,279 females. Attending these there were 432,430 scholars, of whom 229,685 were boys, and 202,745 were girls. The Superintendent, in his report, states that “ a larger number of girls than boys attend private schools, and that he deeply regrets to observe that the number of children reported as not attending any schools is 34,660.” The highest salary paid in a county to a teacher was $635 ; the lowest $80. The highest salary paid in a city was $1,300 ; the lowest $300. The highest in a town, $700 ; the lowest $300. The highest in a village, $600 ; the lowest, $240. The average salaries of male teachers in counties, without board was $259 ; of female, teachers, $188 ; in cities, of male teachers, $602 ; of female teachers, $229 ; in towns, of male teachers, $478 ; of female teach- ers, $226 ; in villages, of male teachers, $420 ; of female teachers, $192. A small increase on the preceding year in the average salaries of teachers. Of the 4,524 Public Schools in question, not less than 4,131 were entirely free, and in the remaining 393 the highest fee charged was 25 cents (one shilling sterling) a month. By the Act passed at the Session of the Legisla- ture just closed, however, it is provided that henceforth all Public Schools shall be free. History is taught in 2,155, of these schools, Book-keeping in 1,552, Alge- bra in 1,749, and Geometry in 1,330. The number of schools in which the daily exercises were opened and closed with prayer is further stated to have been 3,127, and the number of schools in which the Bible and Testament were read, 3,002. These religious readings are purely voluntary with Trus- tees and teachers ; and no child can be compelled to be present if its parents •or guardians object. ROMAN CATHOLIC SEPARATE SCHOOLS. The Ontario School Law also provides for the establishment and main- tenance of Roman Catholic Separate Schools, of which, in 1869, there were 28 EMIGRATION TO THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. 165, with 228 teachers (104 of whom were males), and 20,684 pupils ; the- average attendance being 8,331. HIGH SCHOOLS. The High Schools are the next most important feature in the Ontario' School System, being the intermediate link between the Public School and the University. They were established in 1807. The whole number of schools reported in 1869 was 101, with 6608 pupils. The pupils of the High Schools are grounded in Latin, French and Greek, Arithmetic, Algebra, and Euclid, the Ancient and most of the Mod- em Histories commonly taught in schools; the Elements of Natural His- tory, Natural Philosophy, Geology, Physiology, Chemistry, Agriculture,. Book-keeping, Drawing and Vocal Music. It is provided by law that the head master of each senior county High School shall take meteorological observations, and under this provision the Governor-Gener- al has authorized the establishment of meteorological stations at the following High Schools ; Windsor, Goderich, Stratford, Simcoe, Hamilton, Barrie-, Peterborough, Belleville, Cornwall, and Pembroke, which establishments have been provided with instruments by Messrs. Negretti & Zambra, and Casella, of London, and forward monthly reports of their observations to the Education Office. . NORMAL AND MODEL SCHOOLS. Normal and Model Schools are also provided, in order, as the Pev. Dr. Byerson says, “to do for the teacher, what an apprenticeship does for the mechanic, the artist, the. physician, the lawyer — to teach him theoretically and practically how to do the work of his profession.” No inducements are consequently presented to any one to apply for admission to the Normal School ; nor is any one admitted except those who declare in writing their intention to pursue the profession of teaching, and that their object in coming to the Normal School is better to qualify themselves for their profession. Nor is any candidate admitted without passing an entrance examination equal to whatsis required for an ordinary second class teacher’s certificate by a county board. The great majority of candidates, it need scarcely be added, are those who have been teachers and possess county board certificates of quali. fication. The Normal School of the Province is at Toronto, and was erected in 1851-52, at a cost of upwards of $100,000. Two Model Schools are attached to it, in which the scholar-teachers of the Normal School are taught to give practical effect to the instruction they have acquired in that institu- tion, under the direction of teachers previously trained in it. The average number of admissions to the Normal School is about 300, nearly every one of whom duly receive Provincial certificates. POSTAL SYSTEM. 29 UNIVERSITIES, COLLEGES, SEMINARIES, ETC. Notwithstanding their number and importance the Common and Gram- mar Schools of Ontario may, nevertheless, be looked upon as only a part, of her educational agencies. The private schools, academies, and col- leges must also be considered, in order to form a correct idea of the state and progress cf education in the country. The two former number 279, and con- tain 352 teachers and 6,392 pupils, the income amounting to $81,315. The colleges are 16 in number. They had 1,930 students in 1869, and an income from various sources of $159,000. They also received a further sum of $53,000 dollars in fees. They are as follows : — The University of Toronto ; University College, Toronto; Upper Canada College and Royal Grammar School, in connection with the University of Toronto ; University of Victoria College (Wesleyan Methodist), Cobourg ; University of Queen's College (Presbyterian), Kingston ; University of Trinity College (Church of England), Toronto ; University of Regiopolis College (Roman Catholic), Kingston ; Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Seminary and University, Ottawa; St. Michael’s College (Roman Catholic), Toronto ; Knox’s College (Free Church), Toronto ; Huron Theological College (Church of England), London ; Albert University (Methodist Episcopal), Belleville ; Canadian Literary Institute (Baptist), Woodstock ; Wesleyan Female College, Hamilton ; Bishop Strachan School for Ladies (Church of England), Toronto ; Alexandra College for Ladies, Belleville ; Hellmuth College [modelled after the great English Schools] (Church of England), London ; Hellmuth Ladies’ College, London; Trinity College School (Church of England), Port Hope ; Church of England Grammar School, Weston ; Ontario College (Church of England), Picton ; and Friend’s Seminary, Picton. POSTAL SYSTEM. The postal system is admirably arranged, so as to secure the great requi- sites, punctuality, despatch, and cheapness. The price of postage on letters carried within the Dominion is 3 cents per half ounce, equal to 1\ pence sterling, if pre-paid ; if not pre-paid, the charge is 5 cents, or 2\ pence ster- ling. The charge on letters to the United States is 6 cents, or 3 pence. Money orders are given out for a large proportion of post offices within the Dominion, and in exchange with the United States and Great Britain. There is also a parcel and book post in connection with the general post, by which parcels, books, &c. , are sent at reasonable rates. Some idea may be formed of the extent and rapid development of the system from the following figures for the Dominion : In 1857, the number of 30 EMIGRATION TO THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. letters sent by post was 10,280,012, while in 1867 it rose to 17,545,458. In 1857, money orders were issued to the amount of $1,432,104 ; in 1867, the amount was $2,682,206. Savings banks have been established in connection with the post office, similar to those in operation in Great Britain. The system was commenced on the 1st of April, 1868, and already, on the 1st of February, 1871, $2,050,000 remained on deposit in the hands of the Receiver-General, the monthly increase being about $50,000. The yearly deposit by any one person is limited to $300, and the large sum above mentioned has been de- posited almost exclusively by mechanics and labourers out of their weekly savings. Interest is allowed on deposits at 4 and 5 per cent, per annum. TELEGRAPHS. The Electric Telegraph is made use of in Canada to a far greater extent in proportion to population than in Great Britain. There are now two com- panies in existence in Ontario, the Montreal and the Dominion ; the latter has but recently started into existence. The rate throughout the Dominion is 25 cents, equal to a shilling sterling, for the first ten words, and one cent (e