1 6 Air. William Hiinter on From Montreal to Victoria. 



number nearly 500,000 came from Great Britain. The main 

 cause of the recent tide of emigration had been the opening up of 

 hitherto unknown immense provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, 

 and British Columbia by the plucky pioneers of the Canadian 

 Pacific Railway. It was the great West that was receiving most of 

 the emigrants, and what was once a desolate wilderness was already 

 dotted over, especially nearly the railway line, with comfortable 

 farm houses and some considerable towns. The Government 

 had surveyed the whole lands, and had staked out and fenced 

 public roads intersecting the whole prairie. Canada was no doubt 

 a land of opportunity for the young and strong. Farmers and 

 farm labourers, if they w^orked hard, were certain to succeed. 

 Tradesmen and young men with a business training and a little 

 capital who emigrated to some of the prairie towns which are 

 growing up like mushrooms were almost sure of success. Pio- 

 ceeding, the lecturer referred to what the Government was doing 

 in assisting to develop the great national resources of the country, 

 and to the provision made for a system of national education, 

 while he also alluded to the agricultural colleges and experimental 

 farms. A variety of views were shown of the different points of 

 interest in a journey from Belfast to the Pacific Coast. The tour 

 embraced the towns of Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Fort William; 

 Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, and Victoria, while 

 interesting reference was made to the Thousand Islands, the great 

 lakes, the great plains, the Rocky Mountains, and Arrowhead 

 Lake. The lecturer alluded to the progress which had been 

 evidenced by the growth within recent years of the bigger centres 

 of civilisation in Canada, and the views supplied a pictorial 

 account of the methods adopted in farming on a large scale, and 

 of the means provided for the transit of the produce to the public 

 markets. 



On the motion of Mr. J. M. Finnegan, B.Sc, seconded by 

 by Mr. T. F. Shillington, J. P., a hearty vote of thanks was 

 accorded the lecturer, and the proceedings terminated. 



