March 1883. 



Tlie Progress of tlie Xcw Dominion. 



3-19 



liiiuself 

 ho liad, 

 valueless 

 V. That 

 loiuos to 

 If of the 

 amount 

 ss which 

 1(1 in old 

 travel for 

 oMs and 

 nei>leotO(i 

 and his 

 has e.\- 



e found- 



tern and 



Doiiiinioi) 



.'s of the- 



separate 



nd Asia. 



of this 



V to anv 



intense 



von fierce 



— British 

 equable 

 winters, 



le rest of 

 Though 

 times, at 

 healthy ; ■ 



or weeks, \ 

 rapidity ' 



ts which 



luxury of 



3s of the 



eir char- 

 may be 



divisions, 

 charac- 



the mar- 



i Scotia, 

 Edward 

 coast — 



rge bays 



maritime 

 are fine 



ig hardy 



specially 



3 there is 



; whilst 



ind even 



gold, are mined in various places. 

 It is a peculiar feature of these 

 provinces, especially of New Bruns- 

 wick, that rivers run for maiiv 

 miles from the interior, and prsic- 

 tically give all sections connection 

 with the sea. Adjoining these 

 provinces is (,)uebec, which may 

 be also described as a largely mari- 

 time division, since it has a con- 

 siderable coast on the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence, whilst the river of the 

 same name is navigable for ocean 

 vessels as far as the city of Mon- 

 treal. The Laurenti;:n hills stretch 

 across the northern section of the 

 province, and give a picturesque 

 I'uggodness to the landscape not 

 found in Ontario. The province 

 of (Quebec possesses minerals and 

 timber in abundance, whilst large 

 tracts of valuable farming land are 

 found close to the St. Lawrence 

 and other rivers which water this 

 section in all directions. All the 

 cereals and roots are grown in pro- 

 fusion, as well as apples, pears, and 

 grapes in favoured localities. Next 

 comes the premier province of On- 

 tario, whose prosperity rests mainly 

 on its agricultural wealth, though 

 it, too, in a certain sense, has its 

 maritime interest, since its internal 

 commerce needs the employment of 

 a considerable tleet of steamers and 

 other craft on the great fresh-wa- 

 ter seas, which touch its southern 

 shores. Then we leave the country, 

 watered by the St. Lawrence and 

 the lakes for. a distance of over 2000 

 miles, and reach that remarkable 

 territory which stretches from 

 Lake Superior to the base of the 

 llocky Mountains, and which 

 is generally known as the north- 

 west of Canada — an illimitable 

 region of lakes and rivers, and 

 vast stretches of prairie and pasture 

 lands, the great wlieat-granary of 

 the future, and the grazing-grounds 

 of niMlions of cattle. Crossing the 

 Rocky Mountains, we come to 

 British Columbia, with its pictur- 



esque hills and tal)le-Iands — this, 

 too. a maritime [irovince, indented 

 with bays and ports. Away to the 

 northward of these several coun- 

 tries, comprising an area nearly as 

 large as Europe, are the Arctic Seas, 

 imposing an insurmountable bar- 

 rier to enterprise and settlement; 

 while to the south stretches the 

 territory of the I'nitcd States, with 

 its varied climate and unbounded 

 natural resources. Hut great as 

 are the resources of her progressive 

 neighbour, Cnna<la need not fear 

 the future if she is given a fair 

 opportunity of developing the mari- 

 time, mineral, and agricultural ca- 

 pabilities of her extensive terri- 

 tory. We may have an idea of 

 that future by briefly reviewing 

 some features of the progress which 

 Canada has already made, with the 

 assistance of a relatively small 

 population and limited capital. 

 ""Living on the threshold of the i 

 most j)roductive fisheries of tlie / • 

 world, the people of the maritime 

 provinces have necessarily, from 

 the earliest date in their history, 

 drawn a large portion of their 

 wealth fiom the sea. Bascpie and ; 

 Breton fishermen have frequented 

 these prolific waters for centuries, 

 and a small island on the coast of 

 Newfoundland still bears the name 

 of " Baccalaos," or Basque for 

 "cod." Even in these days, by vir- 

 tue of the Treaty of Utrecht— that 

 much-maligned emaTiation of the 

 statesmanship of IJarley and St. 

 John — a large French fleet fishes 

 on the banks of Newfoundland, 

 and finds refuge at need in the 

 port of St. Pierre, one of a group of 

 islets still owned by France. The 

 Americans have also access, under \ 

 the recent Treaty of Washington, 

 to the Canadian fisheries; and con- , 

 sequently, year by year, the fishing- 

 craft of New Englar.d, with their } 

 trim hulls and wlute sails, frequent 

 in large numbers the waters of Bay 

 Chaleurs, and other fishing-grounds I 



