Prospects of the Emigrant in Canada--Caution against Ardent Spirits
and excessive Smoking--Militia of Canada--Population--The mass of the
Canadians soundly British--Rapidly increasing prosperity of the North
American Colonies, compared with the United States--Kingston--Its
commercial importance--Conclusion.
It is time to take leave of the reader, and to say again some few
parting words about the prospects which an emigrant will have before
him in leaving the sacred homes of Britain, hallowed by the memories
of ages, for a world and a country so new as Western Canada.
If the well-educated emigrant is determined to try his fortunes in
Canada, let him choose either the eastern townships, in Lower Canada,
or almost any portions of Canada West. I premise that he must have a
little money at command; and, if possible, that either he, or some
member of his family, have an annual income of at least fifty pounds,
and that the young are healthy, and determined not to drink whiskey.
Drink not ardent spirits, for it is not necessary to strengthen or
cheer you in labouring in the Bush. I am not an advocate for an
educated man joining Temperance Societies, and look upon them as very
great humbugs in many instances; but, with the uneducated, it is
another affair altogether. If an educated man has not sufficient
confidence in himself, and wishes to reduce himself to the degraded
condition of an habitual drunkard, all the temperance pledges and
sanctimonious tea-parties in the world will not eventually prevent him
from wallowing in the mire. Father Matthew deserves canonizing for his
bringing the Irish peasantry into the condition of a temperate people,
but there religion is the vehicle; with Protestants such a vehicle
should never be attempted, unless the clergy once more are the
directors of conscience and of action, and could conscientiously
absolve the taker of the pledge, should he fail. With the diversity
of sects now existing in Protestantism, this would be obviously
impracticable, and the attempt lead to a result one can hardly imagine
without horror. No oath ought to be administered to a Protestant on
such a subject; as, if a believer of that class of Christians should
voluntarily take one and then break it, how much greater would his sin
be than the sin of one who really and truly is convinced that a human
being could pardon him, should he perjure himself!
The effects of drinking spirits in Canada are beyond anything I had
imagined, until the report of the census of the Lower province for
1843, and that of Dr. Rees upon the lunatic asylum at Toronto, in the
Upper, were published. The population of Lower Canada was 693,649, of
which there were--
Males. Females. Total.
Deaf and dumb 447 278 725
Blind 273 250 523
Idiots 478 472 950
Lunatics 156 152 308
---- ---- ----
Total 1354 1152 2506
The proportion of deaf and dumb to the whole population is as 1 to
about 957: a greater proportion than prevails throughout all Europe (1
to 1537), United States (1 in 2000), or the whole world throughout (1
in 1556.)
The census of Upper Canada, taken a year before, gives the total
population as 506,505. Of these there were--
Males. Females. Total.
Deaf and dumb 222 132 354
Blind 114 89 203
Idiots 221 178 393
Lunatics 241 478 719
---- ---- ----
Total 798 877 1669
Thus, of a total population of 1,200,154, in 1833, there were 1027
persons confined in the provincial lunatic asylums, and perhaps a
great many more out of them, as they have only just come into
operation, and are still very inefficient. The idiots, it will appear,
amounted to 1349.
In the whole North American continent, Canada is only exceeded by the
States of New Hampshire and Connecticut, in the lists of insanity;
and, to show that intemperance as well as climate has something to do
with this melancholy result, I shall only state, without entering into
details, that a well-informed resident has calculated that, when the
province contained the above number of inhabitants, the consumption of
alcoholic liquors, chiefly whiskey, was, excluding children under
fifteen years of age, five gallons a year for every inhabitant;
whilst, in 1843, in England and Wales, where the most accurate returns
of the Excise prove the fact, it is only 0.69 of a gallon; in
Scotland, 2.16; in Ireland, 0.64; and the total consumed by each
individual, not excluding those under fifteen, is only 0.82 per annum
for the three kingdoms. If the children under fifteen in Canada are to
be included, still the consumption of spirit is awful, being 2-3/4
gallons for each; but it must be much higher, since the Excise is not
regulated as at home.
That such excessive drinking prevails in Canada may be attributed
partly to the cheapness of a vile mixture, called Canadian whiskey,
and partly to climate, with a thermometer ranging to 120°, and with
such rapid alternations. In Canada, also, man really conquers the
earth by the sweat of his brow; for there is no harder labour than the
preparation of timber, and the subduing of a primeval forest in a
country of lakes and swamps.
I have an instance of the effect of excessive drinking daily before my
door, in the person of a man of respectable family and of excellent
talents, who, after habitually indulging himself with at last the
moderate quantum of _sixty_ glasses of spirits and water a day, now
roams the streets a confirmed idiot, but, strange to say, never
touches the cause of his malady. Are, therefore, not idiocy, madness,
and perhaps two-thirds of the dreadful calamities to which human
nature is subject here, owing to whiskey? I have seen an Irish
labourer on the works take off at a draught a tumbler of raw whiskey,
made from Indian corn or oats, to refresh himself; this would kill
most men unaccustomed to it; but a corroded stomach it only
stimulates.
Canada is a fine place for drunkards; it is their paradise--"Get drunk
for a penny; clean straw for nothing" there. Think, my dear reader, of
whiskey at tenpence a gallon--cheaper than water from the New River in
London. Father Matthew, your principles are much wanted on this side
of Great Britain.
Then, smoking to excess is another source of immense evil in the
Backwoods. A man accustomed only to a cigar gets at last accustomed to
the lowest and vilest of tobacco. I used to laugh at some of my
friends in Seymour, when I saw them with a broken tobacco-pipe stuck
in the ribbon of their straw hats. These were men who had paraded in
their day the shady side of Pall Mall. They found a pipe a solace, and
cigars were not to be had for love or money. "Why do you not put your
pipe at least out of sight?" said I.
"It is the Seymour Arms' crest," responded my good-natured gentlemen
farmers, "and we wear it accordingly."
Smoking all day, from the hour of rising, is, I actually believe, more
injurious to the nerves than hard drinking. It paralyzes exertion. I
never saw an Irish labourer, with his hod and his pipe, mounting a
ladder, but I was sure to discover that he was an idler. I never had a
groom that smoked much who took proper care of my horses; and I never
knew a gentleman seriously addicted to smoking, who cared much for any
thing beyond self. A Father Matthew pledge against the excessive use
of tobacco would be of much more benefit among the labouring Irish
than King James his Counterblast proved among the English.
The emigrant of education will naturally inquire, if, in case of war,
he will be under the necessity of leaving his farm for the defence of
the country.
The militia laws are now undergoing revision, in order to create an
efficient force.
The militia of Western Canada are well composed, and have become a
most formidable body of 80,000 men,[1] and are not to be classed with
rude and undisciplined masses. In 1837, they rushed to the defence of
their soil; and, so eager were they to attain a knowledge of the
duties of a soldier, that, in the course of four months, many
divisions were able to go through field-days with the regulars; and
the embodied regiments, being clothed in scarlet, were always supposed
by American visitors to be of the line.
There is a military spirit in this people, which only requires
development and a good system of officer and sub-officer to make it
shine. Any attempt to create partizan officers must be repressed, and
merit and stake in the country alone attended to.
The population of the British provinces cannot now be less than nearly
two millions; and it only requires judgment to bring forward the
Canadian French to insure their acting against an enemy daring to
invade the country, as they so nobly did in 1812. I subjoin the latest
correct census, 1844, of the Franco-Canadian race, as it will now be
interesting in a high degree to the reader in Europe.
[Footnote 1: Eastern and Western Canada comprise an able-bodied
militia of 160,000.]
It is taken from a French Canadian journal of talent and resources,
and agrees with the published authorities on this subject.
_Population of Lower Canada in 1831 and 1844._--The following table of
the comparative population of Lower Canada at the periods
above-mentioned first appeared in the _Canadien_.
1831. 1844.
Saguenay 8,385 13,445
Montmorency (1) 8,089 8,434
Quebec 36,173 45,676
Portneuf 13,656 15,922
Champlain 6,991 10,404
St. Maurice 16,909 20,594
Berthier 20,225 26,700
Leinster (2) 22,122 25,300
Terrebonne 16,623 20,646
Deux Montagnes 20,905 26,835
Outaouais 4,786 11,340
Montreal 43,773 64,306
Vaudreuil 13,111 16,616
Beauharnois 16,859 28,580
Huntingdon (3) 29,916 36,204
Rouville 18,115 20,098
Chambly 15,483 17,171
Vercheres 12,819 12,968
Richelieu 16,146 20,983
St. Hyacinthe 13,366 21,734
Shefford 5,087 9,996
Missisqoui 8,801 10,875
Stanstead 10,306 11,846
Sherbrooke 7,104 13,302
Drummond 3,566 9,374
Vamaska 9,495 11,645
Nicolet 12,509 16,280
Lothiniere 9,191 13,697
Megantic 2,283 6,730
Dorchester (4) 23,816 34,826
Bellechasse 13,529 14,540
L'Islet 13,518 16,990
Kamouraska 14,557 17,465
Rimouski 10,061 17,577
Gaspé 5,003 7,458
Bonaventure 8,109 8,230
_______ _______
Total 511,919 678,590
In 1844 678,590
In 1831 511,919
_______
Augmentation in 13 years 166,671
The increase during the interval between the years cited is about
32-1/2 per cent. It would no doubt have been more considerable but
for the cholera, which in 1832 and 1834 decimated the population. The
troubles of 1837-8 likewise contributed to check any increase; as, at
those periods, numbers emigrated from this province to the United
States, and the usual immigration from Europe hither was also
materially interfered with.
Assuming 1,500,000 as the present actual population of the Canadas, we
shall examine the strength of British North America from published
returns in 1845, or the best authorities.
CHIEF CITIES. POPULATION
POPULATION, 1845. OF 1845.
Canada 1,500,000 {Montreal 60,000
{Quebec 30,000
{Kingston 12,000
{Toronto 20,000
New Brunswick 200,000 {Fredericton 6,000
{St. John 31,000
Nova Scotia,} 250,000 {Halifax 16,000
including} {Sydney ------
Cape Breton}
Newfoundland 100,000 St. John's 20,000
Prince Edward's}
Island and the} 45,000 Charlotte Town ------
Magdalen Isles}
---------
Total Population 2,095,000.
A serviceable militia of 80,000 young men may, therefore, without
distressing the population, be easily raised in British North America,
with a reserve sufficient to keep an army of 40,000 able-bodied
soldiers in Canada always in the field; and, if necessary, 100,000
could be assembled at any point, for any given purpose.
The Great Gustavus said that he would not desire a larger military
force for defensive purposes than 40,000 men fit for actual service,
to accomplish any military object, as such a force would always enable
him to choose his positions. Two such armies of effective men could be
easily maintained in the two Canadas, and concentrated rapidly and
with certainty upon any given point, notwithstanding the extent of
frontier; and the Canadians are much more essentially soldiers than
the people of the United States, without any reference to valour or
contempt of danger: whilst they would be fighting for everything dear
to them, and the aggressors for mere extension of territory, and to
accomplish the fixed object of destroying all monarchical
institutions.
I have already said that there is no sympathy of the Irish settlers in
Canada with the native Americans, and the best proof of this is the
public demonstrations upon St. Patrick's day at Montreal, Kingston,
and Toronto, where the two parties, Protestant and Catholic, exhibited
no party emblems, no flags but loyal ones, and where the ancient
enmity between the rival houses of Capulet and Montague, the Green and
the Orange, appeared to have vanished before the approaching arrogant
demands of a newly-erected Imperium.
Independence may exist to a great extent in Canada. Gourlay figured
it, twenty years ago, by placing the word in capitals on the arch
formed by the prismatic hues of the cloud-spray of Niagara. He could
get no better ground than a fog-bank to hoist his flag upon, and the
vision and the visionary have alike been swallowed up in oblivion.
Canada does not hate democracy so very totally and unequivocally as my
excellent friend, Sir Francis Head, so tersely observed, but Canada
repudiates annexation.
That a great portion of the population of this rapidly advancing
colony feel a vast pride in imagining themselves about to become
ranked among the nations of the world, I entertain not the shadow of a
doubt; but that the physical and moral strength of Canada desire
immediate separation from England, or annexation to the republic
presided over by President Polk, is about as absurd a chimera as that
of Gourlay and the spray of Niagara. The rainbow there, splendid as it
is, owes its colours to the sun.
The mass in Canada is soundly British; and, having weighed the
relative advantages and disadvantages of British principles and laws
with those of the United States, the beam of the latter has mounted
into the thin air of Mr. Gourlay's vision. The greatest absurdity at
present discoverable is in the ideas of unfortunate individuals, who
imagine themselves placed near the pivot desired by the philosopher,
and that they possess the lever which is to move the solid globe to
any position into which it may suit them to upheave it.
A poor man by origin, and with some talent, suddenly becomes the Sir
Oracle of his village; and, because the Governor-General does not
advance his _protégé_ or connexions, or because he does not imagine
that the welfare of the province hinges upon his support, turns sulky,
and obtaining, by very easy means, a seat in the Assembly, becomes all
at once an ultra on the opposite side of the question.
In all new countries ambition gets the better of discretion, but
fortunately soon finds its natural level: the violent ultra-tory, and
the violent ultra-demagogue sink alike, after a few years of
excitement, into the moth-eaten receptacle of newspaper renown, alike
unheeded, and alike forgotten, by a newer and more enlightened
generation, who find that, to the cost of the real interest of the
people, the mouthing orator, the agitator, the exciter, is not the
patriot.
Canada, although emphatically a new country, is rapidly becoming a
most important one, and increasing with a vigour not contemplated in
England. It is proved, by ample statistical details, that the United
States is behind-hand, _ceteris paribus_, in the race.
The thirteen colonies declared their independence in 1783, now only
sixty-three years, and amply within the memory of men. The following
data for 1784 may be compared to 1836:--
1784.
Imports. Exports. Population. Shipping
Tons.
Nova Scotia }
Cape Breton }
St. John's } £75,000 £3,500 32,000 12,000
Prince Edward's }
Island }
Canada 500,000 150,000 113,000 95,000
Newfoundland 80,000 70,000 20,000 20,000
-------- -------- ------- -------
Total £655,000 £223,500 165,000 127,000
1836.
_Or just before the disturbances in Canada, and before the Union._
Imports. Exports. Population. Shipping
Tons.
Nova Scotia £1,245,000 £935,000 150,000 374,000
Canada 2,580,000 1,321,750 1,200,000 348,000
Newfoundland 632,576 850,344 70,000 98,000
Cape Breton 80,000 90,000 35,000 70,000
Prince Edward's
Island 46,000 90,000 32,000 23,800
New Brunswick 250,000 700,000 164,000 347,000
--------- ---------- --------- ---------
Total £4,833,576 £3,987,094 1,651,000 1,260,800
THE UNITED STATES.
Imports. Exports. Population. Shipping
Tons.
1784 £4,250,000 £1,000,000 3,000,000 500,000
1836 162,000,000 121,000,000 15,000,000 2,000,000
Thus the increase in shipping alone to the North American colonies,
compared with the United States, was as _ten_ to _four_, and the
increase of population as _ten_ to _three_.
In imports, the United States, compared with the colonies in that
period, increased as 40 to 9, exports 120 to 19; but then the
Americans had the whole world for customers, and the colonies Great
Britain only, until very lately, and then, even in the West India
trade, they could scarcely compete with their rivals; whereas the
Americans started with four times the shipping, nearly double the
population, six times the import, and four times the export trade, and
the people of the republic had already occupied at least ten great
commercial ports, whilst Quebec, Halifax, and St. John, were yet in
infancy as mercantile _entrepôts_.
Passing over all but Western Canada, we shall examine the state of
that province after the rebellion of 1839, when Lord Durham informed
us that
The population was 513,000,
Value of fixed and } }An increase of two
assessed property } £5,043,253 }millions and a
}quarter
}in ten years.
Cultivated acres 1,738,500
Grist-mills 678
Saw-mills 933
Cattle 400,000
and yet Upper Canada was only a howling wilderness in 1784.
It is now supposed, upon competent authority, that the British
possessions north of New York contain not fewer than two millions and
a quarter of inhabitants, a fixed and floating capital of seventy-five
million pounds, a public revenue of a million and a quarter, with a
tonnage of not less than two millions and a quarter, manned, including
the lake craft, steam-boats, and fishing-vessels, by one hundred and
fifty thousand sailors; and this Western Britain consumes annually
seven millions of pounds sterling of British goods.
The Inspector-General of Revenue for Canada alone gives us the
following data:--
1845.
Revenue of Canada £524,637
Expenditure 500,839.
Now let us see what the Standing Army and Militia of the United States
are in 1845:
Standing Army--7,590 officers and men, including all ranks.
Militia--627 Generals, 2,670 Staff-officers, 13,813 Field-officers,
44,938 Company-officers, and 1,385,645 men.
Naval Force--11 ships of the line, 14 first-class frigates, 17
sloops-of-war, 8 brigs, 9 schooners, 6 steamers: with 67 captains,
94 commanders, 324 lieutenants, 133 passed midshipmen, 416
midshipmen, and 31 masters.
The crews being formed of European sailors chiefly, no estimate is
given of sufficient authenticity to depend upon as to the native
citizens employed afloat in the services of the State.
The Militia appears a fearful Xerxian force, but it is really of no
consequence whatever except as a protective one for the purposes of
invasion, being quite met by the militia of the British provinces, as
no larger army than 20,000 men can be effectually moved or subsisted
on such an extensive frontier as Canada, and that only by an immense
sacrifice of money.
Having thus given a glimpse at the state of affairs, I must leave my
readers for the present, after a little talk about the city of
Kingston.
Kingston, instead of suffering, as predicted, by the removal of the
seat of government, having been thrown on her own resources, is rising
fast.
Her naval and commercial harbours are being strongly fortified. The
public buildings are important and handsome.
The Town Hall is probably the finest edifice of the kind on the
continent of America, and cost £30,000, containing two splendid rooms
of vast size, Post-office, Custom-house, Commercial Newsroom, shops,
and a complete Market Place, with Mayor's Court and Policeoffice, and
a lofty cupola, commanding a view of immense extent.
There are three English churches, built of stone, a Scots church of
the same material, several dissenting places of worship, and a
magnificent cathedral, almost equal in size to that at Montreal, for
Roman Catholics, with a smaller church attached, a seminary for
educating the priests, a nunnery, and an Hotel Dieu, conducted by
Sisters of Charity; also an immense building for a public hospital,
extensive barracks for troops, and several private houses of inferior
importance, with four banks.
There are ten daily first-class steamers running to and from Kingston,
and about thirty smaller steamers and propellers, with a fleet of two
hundred schooners and sailing barges. The navigation is open from the
1st of April until late in November.
To show the trade of this rising city, now containing near twelve
thousand inhabitants, I append a table of its Exports and Imports, for
1845.
IMPORTS AND DUTIES, AT KINGSTON, FOR 1845.
-----------------------+----------+---------------+--------------+--------------
Articles Imported. | Number | Value at the | Amount of | Remarks.
| or | place of | all Duties, |
| quantity.| importation, | Currency. |
| | Currency. | |
-----------------------+----------+---------------+--------------+--------------
| | £ s. d.| £ s. d.|
Animals--Cows and | | | |
Heifers No.| 12 | 54 10 0 | 14 12 0 |
Horses, Mares, } " | | | |
Geldings, } " | 13 | 231 5 0 | 23 14 6 |
Colts, Fillies &} " | | | |
Foals } | 21 | 222 10 0 | . . . |Of travellers.
Lambs " | 70 | 16 0 0 | 3 5 2 |
Oxen, Bulls, Steers | 262 | 1,514 0 0 | 406 19 6 |
Pigs (sucking) " | 1 | 0 5 0 | 0 0 7 |
Swine and Hogs " | 1,212 | 3,474 10 2 | 368 13 0 |
Sheep " | 337 | 90 8 9 | 41 0 0 |
Anchovies and Sardines,| | | |
in oil | . | 3 0 6 | 0 7 10 |
Ashes barrels| 67 | 279 7 9 | 13 9 8 |
Bark | . | 99 16 0 | 4 17 8 |
Berries, Nuts, | | | |
Vegetables, for dying | . | 156 16 5 | 12 13 9 |
Biscuit and Crackers | . | 111 11 10 | 10 4 5 |
Books | . | 1,329 6 1 | 150 12 9 |Private
Do. | . | 20 0 0 | . . . | library
Candles--Sperm lb.| 3,770 | 310 6 10 | 84 13 3 | from Europe.
Wax " | 3,457 | 163 11 10 | 28 19 3 |Bonded for
Other kinds " | 13,800 | 856 11 3 | . . . | lower ports.
Carriages, Vehicles No.| 28 | 220 0 0 | 18 13 5 |Of travellers.
Do. | 20 | 256 5 0 | . . . |
Clocks and Watches | . | 1,046 7 1 | 167 7 2 |
Coals tons.| 373 0 76| 514 12 11 | 23 17 1 |
Cocoa cwt.| 1 20| 1 16 0 | 0 2 11 |
Coffee--Green cwt.{| 288 8 1| 625 17 10 | 247 2 4 |Remov'd under
{| 27 1 9| 66 0 0 | . . . | bond to
Roasted " | 13 1 1| 30 10 10 | 19 1 11 | Hamilton.
Ground " | 8 0 20| 15 19 9 | 21 1 8 |
Coin and Bullion | . |22,500 0 0 | . . . |
Cordage " | 193 0 13| 535 6 8 | 61 16 1 |
Corks gross| 1086 | 80 11 8 | 9 6 0 |
Cotton Manufactures | . | 1,728 16 1 | 200 1 0 |
Cotton Wool | . | 236 0 0 | 11 16 0 |
Drugs | . | 327 13 6 | 17 0 10 |
Extracts, Essences and | | | |
Perfumery | . | 92 1 3 | 12 0 0 |
Fanning and Bark Mills | 10 | 33 16 6 | 4 18 11 |
Fins and Skins, the | | | |
produce of creatures | | | |
living in the sea | . | 33 13 9 | 7 11 0 |
Fish--Fresh, not | | | |
described | . | 260 11 3 | 6 11 7 |
Oysters, Lobsters and | | | |
Turtles | . | 1,100 14 9 | 7 11 0 |
Salted or dried cwt.| 154 0 19| 127 4 0 | 20 1 4 |
Pickled barls.| 30 | 54 11 4 | 7 16 11 |
Flour, Wheat, {| 8,396-1/2| 9,296 18 3 |1,276 16 9 |Supplied
barrels {| 204 | 224 8 0 | 6 4 1 | H. M.
of 196 lb. {| 44,151 |54,919 7 6 | . . . | Commissariat.
Fruit, Almonds " | 15,115 | 137 17 6 | 31 8 7 |
Apples bushels|13,966-1/2| 1,300 3 7 | 424 16 7 |
Do. Dried " | 163 | 36 14 7 | 11 7 4 |
Currants cwt.| 47 3 2 4| 105 10 9 | 18 2 1 |
Figs " | 20 2 20 | 53 7 2 | 8 8 1 |
Nuts lb.{| 9,421 | 140 17 1 | 29 10 4 |
{| 610 | 6 2 0 | . . . |Bonded for
Pears bushels| 421-3/4| 59 12 8 | 25 12 6 | removal to
Prunes lb.| 543 | 20 12 6 | 3 11 6 | Hamilton.
Raisins in boxes " | 34,411 | 788 9 8 | 205 19 6 |
Do., otherwise than | | | |
in boxes lb.| 7,990 | 127 6 6 | 25 7 10 |
Unenumerated " | . | 999 12 7 | 95 18 9 |
Fur Skins, or Peltries,| | | |
undressed | . | 22 16 6 | 1 2 5 |
Glass Manufactures | . | 860 3 11 | 168 0 1 |
Grain, &c.--Barley qrs.| 373-3/4| 369 4 9 | 68 4 2 |
Maize, or Ind. Corn, | | | |
quarters, 480 lb. | 2,617-1/2| 2,717 13 9 | 477 15 9 |
Oats quarters| 87-1/2| 43 13 9 | 10 12 11-1/2|
Rye " | 69-3/4| 51 19 7 | 12 13 6-1/2|
Beans " | 2 | 4 8 0 | 0 7 3 |
Meal of the above grs.| | | |
and of Wheat not | | | |
bolted, per 196 lb. | 10-1/2| 4 10 0 | . 15 6 |
Wheat quarters| 2,597-1/4| 4,647 17 4 | 474 0 0 |
Bran & Shorts cwt.| 4 0 0| 3 7 3 | 0 1 3 |
Gums and Resins | . | 181 1 5 | 9 3 3 |
Hardware | . | 3,883 2 10 | 466 11 4 |
Hay tons| 34-1/2| 56 1 3 | 12 11 10 |
Hemp, Flax, & Tow {|4,879 1 18| 2,188 12 7 | 21 17 9 |
cwt.{|1,540 2 0| 838 10 0 | . . . |Bonded for
Hides, Raw No.| 755 | 338 3 9 | 3 7 8 | lower ports.
Hops lb.| 936 | 26 0 6 | 15 5 6 |
India Rubber Boots & | | | |
Shoes pairs| 1,197 | 218 1 7 | 45 6 6 |
Leather--Goat Skins, | | | |
tanned, or in any | | | |
way dressed doz.| 4 | 6 12 0 | 1 9 7 |
Lamb and Sheep | | | |
Skins doz.| 172 | 117 9 10 | 30 19 8 |
Calf Skins, do. lb.| 857-1/4| 90 18 5 | 29 13 10 |
Kid Skins, do. " | 1,024 | 92 18 9 | 10 6 11 |
Harness Leather " |12,641-1/2| 347 1 0 | 141 18 3 |
Upper Leather " | 4,109-3/4| 271 7 11 | 51 9 3 |
Sole Leather " |74,931 | 2,561 5 3 | 672 4 6 |
Leather not described | | 334 16 5 | 28 17 6 |
Leather Manufactures | | | |
Boots, Shoes, Calashes | | | |
Women's Boots, | | | |
Shoes, & Calashes | | | |
of Leather doz. prs. | 52-1/2| 116 1 3 | 29 12 9 |
Girls' Boots, Shoes, | | | |
and Calashes, under | | | |
7 in. in length. | | | |
of Leather doz. prs. | 38 | 38 12 3 | 8 14 6 |
Girls' Boots & Shoes | | | |
of Silk, Satin, Jean | | | |
or other stuff, Kid, | | | |
Morocco doz. prs. | 14 | 20 14 7 | 3 12 2 |
Men's Boots of Leather| | | |
pairs| 2,047 | 494 15 7 | 109 14 6 |
Men's Shoes, do. " | 161 | 29 7 1 | 11 18 2 |
Boys' Boots under 8 | | | |
inches long pairs| 38 | 7 0 0 | 3 6 3 |
Boys' Shoes, do. " | 28 | 5 8 7 | 1 13 1 |
Leather Manufactures | | | |
not described | | 330 19 2 | 38 4 6 |
Linen Manufactures | | 82 6 0 | 9 9 11 |
Liquids--Cider and | | | |
Perry gallons | 5,679 | 61 15 5 | 32 1 7 |
Vinegar " | 2,670 | 87 2 2 | 44 4 0 |
Maccaroni and | | | |
Vermicelli lb. | 493 | 13 18 2 | 3 1 1 |
Machinery | | 1,478 14 7 | 225 11 0 |
Mahogany and Hardwood, | | | |
unmanufactured | | | |
for Furniture | | 144 19 5 | 1 9 2 |
Manures of all kinds | | 29 12 6 | 0 1 0 |
Medicines | | 642 1 6 | 55 6 4 |
Molasses & Treacle cwt | 193 2 8 | 141 10 6 | 47 1 7 |
Oakum " | 0 22 | 1 4 9 | 0 1 9 |
Oils--Olive, in casks | | | |
gallons | 700 | 142 9 0 | 19 17 11 |
Do. in jars and | | | |
bottles gallons | 56-1/2| 24 2 1 | 4 8 1 |
Lard " | 690 | 130 9 4 | 19 4 2 |
Linseed, raw or | | | |
boiled " | 2,367 | 329 2 5 | 37 3 4 |
Oils, Vegetable, | | | |
Volatile, Chemical, | | | |
and essential gallons| 131 | 58 18 3 | 6 9 9 |
Palm " | 150 | 23 6 6 | 1 2 11 |
The produce of Fish | | | |
and creatures living | | | |
in the sea gals.| 8,196-1/2| 1,941 12 7 | 309 16 2 |
Unenumerated " | 2,957-1/4| 460 7 2 | 52 16 6 |
Paper Manufactures, | | | |
other than Books & | | | |
Playing Cards | . | 892 12 2 | 101 19 2 |
Pickles and Sauces | . | 12 8 10 | 1 12 4 |
Playing Cards packs| . | 8 7 7 | 1 7 0 |
Potatoes bushels| 172-1/2| 12 5 3 | 2 12 6 |
Poultry and Game, live | . | 9 1 0 | 0 18 1 |
Ditto, dead | . | 63 2 4 | 8 9 9 |
Provisions--Butter cwt.| 3 3 9| 13 1 3 | 2 16 11 |
Cheese | 248 2 22| 400 9 3 | 113 9 3 |
Eggs dozen| 236 | 5 18 0 | 0 16 6 |
Lard cwt.| 40 1 18| 80 18 0 | 3 19 5 |
Meats--Bacon and | | | |
Hams cwt.| 47 2 17| 78 18 13 | 23 2 8-1/2|
Ditto, other Meats, | | | |
salted, &c. cwt. |14,035 2 3|25,137 11 6 |4,274 9 7 |
Ditto " |4,237 2 20| 5,656 0 0 | . . . |
Ditto, Fresh " | 261 3 15| 264 14 9 | 63 14 0 |Bonded-for
Rice " | 282 2 0| 350 17 4 | 17 9 2 |lower ports
Salt barls of 280 lb.| 975 | 255 14 2 | 148 5 8 |
Sausages & Puddings | . | 0 3 4 | 0 0 6 |
Seeds cwt.| . | 123 15 3 | 10 10 1 |
Silk Manufactures | . | 136 9 10 | 26 13 4 |
Soap cwt.| 36 2 25| 131 5 9 | 14 15 7 |
Spices--Cassia lb.| 305-1/2| 17 9 0 | 3 15 9 |
Cinnamon " | 160 | 9 18 6 | 2 0 3 |
Cloves " | 46 | 3 11 10 | 0 11 9 |
Nutmegs " | 2 | 0 13 9 | 0 1 4 |
Pepper of all kinds " | 1,254 | 34 1 4 | 4 10 9 |
Spirits and cordials, | | | |
except Rum-- | | | |
Not exceeding proof, | | | |
gallons| 32 | 4 10 0 | 4 7 7 |
Over proof " | 16 | 2 5 0 | 2 3 9 |
Sweetened or mixed | 7 | 10 17 6 | 1 5 6 |
Sugar--Refined cwt.|55 2 6-1/2| 164 3 9 | 95 18 3 |
Unrefined & Bastard |2,520 0 16| 3,698 0 8 |2,199 4 6 |
Syrups | 137 | 45 4 6 | 7 9 2 |Do.
Stearine lb.| 3,681 | 184 1 0 | . . . |
Tallow cwt.|3,086 1 6-1/2 5,385 17 6| 53 1 3 |
Tea lb.|196,268 |18,110 9 8 |1,999 16 8 |
Tobacco | | | |
--Unmanufactured " | 1,923 | 222 18 9 | . . . |
Do. | 357 | 13 2 2 | 2 7 2 |
Manufactured " |202,508-1/2 4,291 13 0 |1,205 8 11 |
Segars " | 1,627 | 550 12 10 | 235 12 11 |
Snuff " | 1,981 | 87 19 7 | 46 6 8 |
Trees, Shrubs, Plants, | | | |
and Roots | . | 222 0 11 | 8 17 6 |
Settlers' Goods lots| 3 | 26 5 0 | . . . |
Vegetables, except | | | |
potatoes, fresh | . | 334 6 6 | 36 13 4 |
Wines doz. gallons|1,162-1/4 | 419 4 9 | 112 16 11 |
Wood, except Saw Logs | | | |
& Mahogany. Pine, | | | |
White cubic feet| 11,750 | 147 12 7 | 17 17 3 |
Oak " | 1,497 | 25 0 0 | 5 0 5 |
Staves, Puncheon, or | | | |
W. I. Standard| | | |
std. M. " | 57 | 609 13 5 | 86 7 0 |
White Oak " | 435 | 1,442 3 2 | 263 0 1 |
Handspikes doz.| 5 | 1 17 6 | 0 1 6 |
Oars pairs| 17 | 3 14 3 | 0 5 5 |
Planks, Boards, sawed | | | |
Lumber feet| 48,475 | 89 4 0 | 17 13 0 |
Woollen Manufactures | . | 1,097 12 10 | 124 7 7 |
Wood. Firewood, cords| 397-1/2 | 66 12 3 | 3 6 0 |
All other articles not | | | |
included under any of | | | |
the foregoing heads | . | 6,502 12 3 | 555 7 1 |
| +---------------+--------------+--------------
Totals, Currency | |211,705 0 11 |19,917 17 0 |
[Amount of duty on Imports bonded for lower ports - £8036 0 8]
Below, we give a return of the amount and value of goods imported at
this Port through the United States, for the benefit of drawback. The
importations under this law have not been large, but the return shows
that a material saving has been effected under this operation. For the
return we are indebted to the politeness of the late collector, Mr.
Kirkpatrick.
AGGREGATE OF IMPORTS INTO KINGSTON FOR BENEFIT
OF DRAWBACK.
--------------+------------------------+-------------+-------------+------------
Articles. |Quantity in Weight, &c. | Value. | Duties. | Drawback.
--------------+------------------------+-------------+-------------+------------
| | £ s. d.| £ s. d.| Dollars.
Cigars | 1,281 lbs. | 404 8 4 | 184 3 3 | 502 43
Almonds | 5,964 " | 101 19 4 | 41 1 3 | 159 75
Currants | 5,259 " | 105 10 9 | 18 12 1 | 120 81
Raisins |39,216 " | 844 11 4 | 217 18 1 | 1,059 86
Molasses | 147 cwt. 3 qr. 4 lb. | 109 3 0 | 35 19 18 | 72 66
Olive Oil | 700 gallons | 142 9 0 | 19 17 10 | 136 50
Linseed Oil | 2,100 " | 282 19 6 | 32 12 2 | 511 88
Raw Sugar | 2,168 cwt. 2 qr. 8 lb. | 3,169 6 3 | 1,889 13 10 | 5,899 74
Refined Sugar | 6,020 lbs. | 157 5 6 | 92 9 9 | 205 44
Wine | 400 gallons | 240 7 0 | 54 17 11 | 245 81
| | | +------------
| | | | 8,914 91
| +-------------+-------------+------------
| | 5,558 0 0 | 2,587 5 10 |£2,228 14 6
We have also been favoured with a return of the shipping, which,
during the season of 1845, has entered this port. The reports to the
Custom House embrace 388,788. This return includes the steamers
employed on the Bay and Lake, when carrying merchandize; but, as the
law requiring vessels to report only came into force several weeks
after the opening of the navigation, and as it has not in all
instances been obeyed, the return is not quite as full as it might
have been under other circumstances. As much as 15,000 or 20,000 tons
have in this way entered without reporting. The amount of tonnage for
1845, stated above, is likewise exclusive of all that engaged n trade
on the canal and river, and which is very nearly equal in amount.
The Provincial Revenue returns for 1845 are said to exceed those of
1844 by £55,000.
Kingston is, in fact, the key of the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence and
the Rideau Canal being their outlets for commerce; but, unless
railroads are established between the Atlantic at Halifax and these
Lakes, the prosperity of this and many other inland towns will be
materially affected, as by the enlargement of the Rideau branches at
Grenville, &c. and the La Chine Canal to the required ship navigation
size, Kingston must no longer hope for the unshipment of bulky goods
and the forwarding trade on which she so mainly depends; a glance at
the forwarding business done by the Erie Canal to New York on the
American side, and that by the Welland, St. Lawrence, and Rideau on
the Canadian, being quite sufficient to prove that all the energies of
the Canadians are required to compete with their rivals. And for this
purpose I cite an extract from a circular put forth by the Free Trade
Association of Montreal, which contains a good deal of sound reasoning
on this subject, amidst, of course, much party feeling on the Free
Trade principle.
"We now proceed, in the development of our plan, to show the
incalculable advantages that will result to Canadian commerce and the
carrying trade, by removing all duties and restrictions from American
produce.
"First, we shall show the amount of produce collected annually on the
shores of our great island waters, and brought to this city for
distribution to the various markets of consumption; next, the vast
quantity that passes through the Erie Canal, seeking a market at New
York and other American ports; and, lastly, we shall show that it is
in the power of Canada to divert a large share of this latter trade
through her own waters, if her people and legislature will promptly
give effect to the liberal and enlarged policy which it is the object
of this Association to advocate and urge.
"NO. 1.--SHOWING THE QUANTITY OF PRODUCE BROUGHT BY THE ST. LAWRENCE
TO THE CITY OF MONTREAL, IN THE YEAR 1845:--
"Pork, 6,109 barrels; beef, 723 barrels; lard, 460 kegs; flour,
590,305 barrels; wheat, 450,209 bushels; other grain, 40,781
bushels; ashes, 33,000 barrels; butter, 8,112 kegs.
"NO. 2.--SHOWING THE QUANTITY OF PRODUCE CARRIED THROUGH THE ERIE
CANAL IN THE YEAR 1844:--
"Pork, 63,646 barrels; beef, 7,699 barrels; lard, 3,064,800 lbs.;
flour, 2,517,250 barrels; wheat, 1,620,033 bushels; corn, 35,803
bushels; flax-seed, 8,303,960 lbs.; ashes, 80,646 barrels.
"From the foregoing statements it will be seen that the quantity
carried through the latter channel is enormous as compared with the
former. It becomes then a question of vital importance whether a
portion of this trade can be attracted through the St. Lawrence. We
believe that it can, because the cheapest conveyance to the seaboard
and to the manufacturing districts of New England must win the prize;
and who will deny that the securing of this prize is not worth both
our best and united exertions?
"The cheapening of the means of transit is the great object to be
obtained; and our best practical authorities are firmly of opinion
that the St. Lawrence will be made the cheapest route, as soon as our
chain of inland improvements is rendered complete. They affirm that
the cost of transporting a barrel of flour from Detroit to Montreal
will not exceed 1s. 6d. to 1s. 9d. The difficulty will then be
to secure a port of constant access to the sea, and that difficulty
will be overcome by the early completion of the projected Portland
railway: a road that will place us within a day's journey of that
city, the harbour of which may be made the safest and cheapest on the
continent of America. By that route we shall avoid the occasional
dangers and inconveniencies of the St. Lawrence, from Montreal
outwards, practically secure a long season for trade in the fall of
the year, and safely reckon on freights to Liverpool as low as those
from New York. But what is equally important to the transit trade to
England is this: that by rendering our charges cheaper than those
through the Erie Canal to Boston, we shall secure the transit trade to
that great city, and all other eastern markets, as well as the
supplying of our sister colonies, commonly known as the Lower Ports.
This picture may appear too flattering to those who have not
investigated the subject; but to such we say, examination will
convince them that, with the St. Lawrence as a highway, and Portland
as an outlet to the sea, we shall be enabled, successfully, to
struggle for the mighty trade of the West, and bid defiance to
competition on the more artificial route of the Erie Canal. But there
is no time for slumbering; inactivity, at this crisis, would be fatal
to our hopes; even the very produce of Western Canada may be carried,
in spite of us, through American channels, unless we immediately carry
out the completion of our own.
"We may here also remind the Canadian farmer, at whatever place he may
be situated, that every saving effected in the means of bringing his
produce to market adds in the same degree to the value of his wheat
and every other marketable product of the soil he cultivates.--And
here it may not be out of place to add that, repudiating all sectional
proceedings, we seek no advantage for classes, no peculiar advantage
for Montreal over other parts of the province; we advocate, on the
contrary, the general interests of producers and consumers--the
general welfare of the community."
People of enlarged views in Canada do not, however, fancy, with the
anti-free-traders, that Sir Robert Peel's measures will prove so very
destructive to colonial interests; on the contrary, they clearly see
that new energies will be called into operation, and that Canada will
be opened by railroads, and no longer monopolized by extensive
landholders of waste and unprofitable forests.
Having now arrived at the termination of this volume, I have only to
add that, if a war is forced upon Great Britain by the United States,
the British dominion here will be sustained without flinching; and
that the old English aspiration of the militia will be
FOR THE HONOUR AND GLORY OF BRITAIN,
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!
THE END.
F. Shoberl, Jun., Printer to His Royal Highness Prince Albert,
51, Rupert Street, Haymarket.