512 REVIEWS — THE CANADIAN ALMANAC. 



arose from being pressed for payment at an inconvenient time. Her surplus pro- 

 ductions on wbich she relied to meet her engagements had not only depreciated in 

 value, but owing to the loss of banking facilities could not be brought to market- 

 Under these circumstances it need not be ■wondered that the general business of the 

 country -was seriously interrupted. Three-fourths of the people of Upper Canada 

 are engaged in agricultural pursuits, and the others are mainly dependent upon 

 these. The fall in the price of Avheat was clearly the great cause of our embar- 

 rassment. This article is the main element of the prosperity of Upper Canada. 

 Its fall was not caused by the crisis, but "was rather the cause of the crisis itself. 

 England, through the fail development of her mnnufacturing industry, is not so 

 entirely dependent upon agriculture. The United States in their mines and manu- 

 factures have also sources of wealth apart from the products of the soil. Hence 

 we see these countries speedily recover from the effects of the crisis. In Canada 

 it is otherwise. The causes of our difiSculties remain. Debts contracted in June, 

 1857, required double the quantity of produce to discharge them in June, 1858. 

 The evil is incurred by our purchases being principally from abroad. The large 

 importations send the gold out of the country and contract the Bank circulation. 

 The scarcity of money prostrates internal trade, and the farmer's home market is 

 destroyed. His returns are diminished on every side, while his liabilities remain the 

 same. The purchase of an extra hundred acres of land, which under ordinary 

 circumstances he could have easily met, becomes a source of embarrassment, and 

 he is regarded as a speculator in real estate. The mechanic who in the bright day 

 of prosperity had purchased a village lot, is thrown out of employment : he cannot 

 meet his instalments and the savings of years fall into the hands of the sheriff- 

 The suspension of home industry necessitates large importations of foreign goods,, 

 and the evil is increased. To show the disastrous results to Canada arising from 

 the fall in the price of wheat and other causes ; we have only to state the total 

 exports from Canada for the last three years : 



EXPORTS. 



1855. 1856, ISSY. 



Products of Agriculture £3,656,395 4,384,08S 2,747,516 



" the Forest 1,986,980 2,504,970 2,932,616 



Other Products 587,486 562,979 682,492 



It thus appears that the value of our exports of agricultural products fell nearly 

 one-half between 1856 and 1857." 



[Following out the ideas thus indicated, the writer next analyses 

 our Canadian imports, and shows by carefully prepared tables, that 

 we have paid away, in 1857, ^6649, 370 for imports, of which, consider- 

 ably more than one-half, viz., £339,823, was paid for the items termed 

 " Aniinals" and " Meats,''^ while the remainder is chiefly taken up by 

 such items as Cheese, Butter, Foultry, Mggs, Lard, and Tallow. 

 For unmanufactured tobacco we payed last year £30,033 ; and for 

 " vegetables" £16,477 ; and what seems still stranger, iov firewood 

 — which we should have fancied we were more likely to export than 



