At present, as in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, “hired men” sometimes find

it difficult to obtain employment during the winter, and the farmers

find it equally difficult (despite harvest excursions from the east) to

get anything like the number of men they desire in the brief, hurried

harvest. The more general adoption of intensive farming would greatly

help to solve the labour problem. In the meantime the progressive farmer

employs all the labour-saving machinery he can—in some cases, on the

smaller farms, more than he can well afford.

About three-fifths of the self-supporting population of Alberta find

employment in agriculture, leaving two-fifths to work in the factories,

the mines, the shops, the transportation service, and in the several

learned professions, and in all these lines of human energy there are

opportunities awaiting the man who knows how to take advantage of them.

New lines are being built by each of the three great railway

companies—the Canadian Pacific, the Canadian Northern, and the Grand

Trunk Pacific—and the province, which thus will soon have two new

gateways to the Western Ocean, is speculating eagerly on the probable

effects of the opening of the Panama Canal.

Much labour is being expended (with excellent result on business and

social conditions) on the provision of other means of transport and

communication—roads and bridges, telegraphs and telephones. Many of the

latter are rural, and are an especial boon to the women dwelling in the

lonely little houses on the great farms. Some of these women, tied to

their homes by the small children, whom they can neither leave nor take

for long drives in cold weather, may not see another woman’s face for

weeks together; and in such cases it is a great thing to hear a friendly

voice, and to know that, in case of emergency, doctor or nurse or other

aid is within call.

As for the schools and churches, conditions are much the same (except

where the smaller “ready-made farms” give more chance of social life) as

those in Saskatchewan; but in Alberta a school district may be formed

for the benefit of eight instead of twelve children. Primary education

is free and compulsory, but there is difficulty in obtaining a

sufficient supply of teachers, and many of those now teaching have come

from Eastern Canada, Great Britain, and the United States. The salaries

paid are generally good, and the work of teaching a very small school is

not arduous, unless, as sometimes happens, the children understand

little or no English. Even in such a case, however, the children pick up

the new language surprisingly quickly.

The University of Alberta, at Edmonton, has begun its work with the

faculty of arts and applied science, but other departments will be

added.

Alberta appears to be peculiarly rich in combustible materials beneath

the soil. Coal of all grades, from lignite to anthracite, is found, and

is mined at Bankhead and Canmore in the Rocky Mountains, at the Crow’s

Nest Pass, at Lethbridge, at Medicine Hat and near Edmonton. In 1911,

one hundred and twenty collieries, with an output of three million tons,

were in operation, employing about seven thousand workers. Coal may be

bought at a very cheap rate at the pit’s mouth, which is a great boon to

settlers within reach of the mines. Natural gas and petroleum are also

abundant in different parts of the province, from Medicine Hat to the

Pelican river, far north of Edmonton. Once upon a time a “paying

quantity” of gold used to be obtained from the Saskatchewan at Edmonton

and other places, but, with the exception of coal, the chief mineral

products at present being turned to account are its building stones and

clay, which is being manufactured into brick at Calgary, Edmonton, and

some smaller centres.

Calgary, with a population of considerably over sixty thousand, is the

largest of Alberta’s five cities; but Edmonton, in a more central

position, is the capital, and now comes a good second in population,

having recently absorbed the town of Strathcona, on the opposite side of

the Saskatchewan. Much might be written of the numerous smaller towns

and villages, which are nothing if not “progressive,” but we must pass

on, only stopping to remark that Alberta may also claim the epithet of

“progressive”—especially from a political point of view—for the

principles of co-operation, of public ownership of public utilities, and

of taxing the land—not improvements—to prevent speculators holding it

in idleness are in this province practised as well as preached.

[Illustration: 1. MAKING A STREET, PRINCE RUPERT, BRITISH COLUMBIA.

2. MIRROR, ALBERTA—A PRAIRIE TOWN IN ITS FIRST SUMMER.

3. SCHOOL HOUSE IN PRINCE RUPERT.]

[Illustration: HOT SULPHUR SPRING, BANFF, ALBERTA.]

XIV

BRITISH COLUMBIA, THE PACIFIC PROVINCE

THIS most westerly province of the Dominion makes a strong appeal to

the imagination. Until the recent extension of Quebec and Ontario,

British Columbia was the largest of the provinces, with its area of

395,000 square miles, or more than that of the British Isles, Italy,

Denmark and Switzerland taken together. Of its sea of mountains, two

hundred thousand square miles in extent, might be made twenty-four

Switzerlands, but those who know the far-famed land of the European

mountaineers are impressed with the fact that as yet man has gained no

such hold upon the Rockies and the Selkirks and the Coast Ranges as upon

the Alps. There are no picturesque châlets clinging to the sides of

these Canadian mountains, and for the most part the snow-capped monarchs

of the ranges lift up their heads from a land that seems almost as much

outside the dominion of man as the blue heavens themselves.

On every hand “unconquered peaks” challenge the daring climber; and,

hidden away amongst their recesses, lie lakes which seem the very acme

of loneliness. The hunter, the scientist, the recluse, the seeker for

adventure, can each strike out a trail for himself in British Columbia,

or, if he so desires it, can shut himself up apart from other men in the

wilderness of mountains; and sometimes stern necessity compels wild

journeys through the unexplored maze of height and precipice and canyon.

Not long ago I heard of two men sent by a railway company across a

mountain range to find—if they could—a possible pathway for the “iron

horse” of civilization. For a hundred miles or more of unknown country

their journey had to be performed on foot, with no hope of shelter or

food save what they could carry with them. The former was represented by

a frail tent of silk which could be thrust into a pocket, and the latter

chiefly by beans sewn into narrow bags slung across their shoulders; for

the food value of beans is high, and they dared not burden themselves

with one ounce of superfluous comfort.

Romance is with us still, and, as Kipling suggests, may be found in

“dock and deep and mine and mill”; nor does it need a poet to find it in

the building of a railway, which here climbs by a corkscrew road up a

forbidding mountain side, there plunges downward to the western ocean

through a cut with which a tumultuous torrent has been busy for

thousands of years.

It is just a hundred and twenty years since Alexander Mackenzie, one of

the indomitable Scots who took up fur trading and exploring as their

life-work, crossed the mountains from the east, and so with his party

was the first to reach the Canadian Pacific coast overland. Others of

his contemporaries and successors made memorable journeys down the

furious rivers of the Pacific slope, and little by little gleaned some

knowledge of the interior of the province, as, a few years earlier, Cook

and Vancouver had begun to explore the inlets and the straits between

the islands that for most of the way along the coast make a mighty

breakwater against the ocean surges.

In natural beauty British Columbia is the most richly endowed of the

provinces, for she possesses glorious forests and a picturesque

sea-coast, in addition to the magnificent peaks and mountain lakes of

gem-like colour and translucence, which she shares with her fair

neighbour, Alberta. Her coast views are indeed the lovelier for the

green heights springing from the water’s edge, and for many a ghostly

white peak gleaming in the distance, whilst in this province much of the

“forest primeval” consists of Douglas firs, some towering up three

hundred feet, and giant red cedars, with a girth at the butt of twenty

or thirty feet, or even more. It was of these cedars, by the way, that

the coast Indians made their huge, strangely-carved war-canoes, or

dug-outs.

The climate of British Columbia, though having considerable variety in

different districts, may appeal to some intending immigrants who dread

cold. “The Coast,” as Canadians of the prairie provinces often call it,

gets the full benefit of the warm “Japanese current,” and there winter

comes chiefly in the guise of additional rain, while snow, if it does

fall, does not lie long on the ground. British Columbia is, as was

suggested in an earlier chapter, a land where roses of the types

cultivated in English gardens bloom for many months in the year. In the

uncleared woods, the undergrowth is a luxuriant tangle of shrubs and

ferns and wild flowers; and gardens, if but a little neglected, run riot

too. It is a wonderful thing, when travelling westward after crossing

the prairies, where Nature appears to be rather insisting on the one

idea of broad simplicity, and after plunging through the mountains,

where she seems to invite your special attention to the magnificence of

her backgrounds (though she herself has energy to spare for details

too), to come down to this paradise of growing things, ranging from

trees that tower to heaven to blossoms that climb on the houses, peep

over grey walls and swing from the porches, bent apparently on breaking

all bounds.

All the way up the coast of British Columbia and its adjacent islands

the climate is “mild and moist”; and as far north as the new Grand Trunk

Pacific port of Prince Rupert, which is indeed only in about the same

latitude as Liverpool, severe cold need not be expected. Victoria, the

capital, situated on Vancouver island, has a drier climate than the city

of Vancouver, its younger and busier and more commercial rival on the

mainland. But not all of the mainland has a damp climate. Behind the

shelter of the coast range, which intercepts the warm moisture-laden

winds from the West, lies a “dry belt,” and between the coast mountains

is many a pleasant sheltered valley rich in soil, mild, warm and

prolific of fruit and other heat-loving crops.

During summer, in the Kootenay district, which lies in the south-east of

the province, the temperature sometimes reaches eighty or ninety degrees

in the shade, and in winter occasionally falls below zero, and the

rainfall is usually sufficient to secure good crops of various

descriptions; but much of the southern part of the interior of British

Columbia consists of an elevated region, which, though deeply cut into

by lakes and rivers, is described as a plateau, lying between mountain

ranges on the east and west. It has an average altitude of three

thousand five hundred feet, and here the rainfall is not superabundant.

Indeed, in some districts irrigation is resorted to, with the result of

great improvement in the crops. Altogether, however, there are many good

farming and fruit districts in the valleys.

The Cariboo country, west and north of the Kootenay, has a more severe

climate; but still further north lies the famous Peace River valley,

partly in British Columbia and partly in Alberta, for which such great

things are now being prophesied in agriculture. This region, though far

north of Winnipeg, has a milder autumn and a shorter winter than

Manitoba; and experts say that generally in the northern part of the

province the clearing of the forests, which now prevent evaporation,

will result in rendering milder the climate of this land of marsh and

swamp and rigorous winter, which seems to resemble what the now

progressive Germany was in the days of the Romans.

British Columbia has many rivers navigable in parts of their course,

some of which, like the Columbia in the Kootenay, broaden into lakes,

upon which ply quaint-looking, stern-paddle steamers drawing very little

water. The Fraser, which rises in the Rocky Mountains and is navigable,

though not uninterruptedly, for about six hundred miles, is the largest

river, whose course is wholly within the province. It is a stream which

every traveller on the Canadian Pacific Railway must remember, for the

trains journey, for one hundred and thirty miles, with the rushing

waters down the terrific, sharply-cut canyons, till, almost within sight

of salt water, the river broadens into calm and the railway turns aside

to reach Vancouver.

Far north, near Prince Rupert, the Skeena River, which is navigable for

about seven months each year for two hundred miles from its mouth,

enters the sea. It is the second in size of wholly British Columbian

rivers, and is destined before long to become almost as well-known to

travellers and tourists as the Fraser itself, for the Grand Trunk

Pacific has taken advantage of the way it has cut through the mountains

to gain the sea. Other notable rivers are the Thompson, the Naas and the

Kootenay, within the province; and the Columbia, the Peace, the Stikine,

and the Laird, which rise and flow within it for considerable distances,

but pass beyond its boundaries before reaching the sea.

The rivers of British Columbia are swarming with fish, and so are the

waters which wash the mainland coasts—some seven thousand miles in

length, if the shores of inlets and bays are taken into account. In

1911-12 the value of the catch, amounting to over thirteen and a half

million dollars, exceeded that of the preceding year by four and a half

millions, and for the first time British Columbia was the leading

province of the Dominion in the fisheries. She owes her supremacy in

this respect to salmon, though vast numbers of halibut, herring,

sturgeon and other varieties of fish are taken in her waters. Amongst

these are the oolachan or candle fish, a small oily fish from which the

Indians make a substitute for butter.

Much of British Columbia’s catch of herrings goes to China, and some of

her sturgeon are sent, strange to say, to her great rival in the

fisheries, Nova Scotia. As for her salmon, when canned it goes all over

the world. Chinamen do much work in the salmon canneries and a machine

recently introduced is known as “the Iron Chink,” from the fact that it

does the work of many Chinamen in cleaning and cutting the fish.

Lobsters are not found in British Columbian waters, but crabs and

shrimps and prawns are plentiful. The Japanese do much fishing along the

coasts, and from Vancouver many of their gasoline launches go out. A

whaling company which uses fast steamers and machine guns has several

stations on Vancouver Island; and parts of the monsters, taken chiefly

for the sake of the whalebone and oil, are exported as food to Japan.

I have, however, begun to discuss the great groups of industries at the

wrong end. Important and rapidly increasing as are the fisheries of this

ocean-washed province, the value of their annual product is at present

far surpassed by that of the mines, then of the forests, and thirdly, by

that of the farms and orchards taken together.

The discovery of gold played a great part in the making of the province.

In the earlier decades of the nineteenth century British Columbia was

occupied only by the Indians and by the traders of the Hudson Bay

Company, with posts scattered at wide intervals through the wilderness.

About 1839 a few Scotch and Canadian farmers were brought out to supply

the traders with some of the necessaries that had hitherto been brought

round by Cape Horn from England.

Meanwhile, the United States was casting envious eyes on the country;

but after noisy demands on the part of some Americans for the whole

coast as far north as the Alaskan boundary, it was agreed by the Treaty

of Oregon in 1846 that the 49th parallel of north latitude should be the

mainland boundary, and that the whole of the island of Vancouver should

remain under the British flag.

In 1849 that great island was granted to the Hudson Bay Company, on

condition that they should bring in settlers. The conditions were not

fulfilled, and as late as 1854 there were scarcely five hundred white

people on the island, including the traders; but in 1857 it became known

that gold had been discovered along some of the rivers of the mainland

(New Caledonia, as it was then called), and in the following spring

thousands of prospectors arrived at Victoria. The little town was soon

surrounded by an encampment of rude huts and tents, and the newcomers

swarmed across to the new “Eldorado” in all kinds of craft, some paying

for their temerity with their lives.

The rush of gold seekers caused the government to try to open roads to

the mining country, and the traveller on the railway through the

Thompson and Fraser valleys catches many a glimpse of the old “Cariboo

road,” sometimes clinging to the cliff as much as a thousand feet above

the water. This road has been practically abandoned since the opening of

the railway; but now government is again occupied with the project of a

highway from Alberta to the Pacific coast.

In the first decade, after the rush to the “diggings” began, about fifty

million dollars’ worth of the precious metal was obtained in the Cariboo

and Cassiar country, and still gold is being obtained there by more

scientific methods of working. There are also valuable deposits of

silver, lead, copper, zinc, coal, building stone and brick clay, all of

which are worked more or less; and the different mining camps employ a

large number of men. The value of the mining output for 1912 was about

thirty-two and a half million dollars.

This was followed pretty closely by the value of the lumber of the year,

which equalled $28,000,000 (£5,600,000). The forest area, including that

covered by small trees, has been estimated at over one hundred and

eighty-two million acres. Along the coast and up the river valleys of

the mainland and on Vancouver island are many magnificent trees. The

most valuable commercially are Douglas fir, cypress, red cedar, white

spruce and western hemlock. On the coast the trees are larger than

further inland; and it is said that the climate is so favourable to

their growth that they increase in size very much more rapidly than in

most other parts of America. British Columbia, like other provinces, has

begun to realize the immense value of its forests, and is taking steps

to preserve them, but about a third of the “cut” of the Dominion comes

from this province, and thousands of men find employment in the woods

and the saw mills.

Not many years ago the agricultural possibilities of this region were

scarcely regarded seriously, but it has a splendid home market for all

the products of the farm; and last year the value of the agricultural

produce (including fruit, of which British Columbia is beginning to make

a specialty) was equal to more than three-quarters of the lumber output.

But this is only a beginning. A recent estimate gives the area of known

cultivable land at twenty-four million acres, of which about ten

millions is in the Peace River country, but hardly one-eighth of this

land is at present in use, and much of the interior of the country is

practically unexplored. There are districts in the Kootenay, about the

Okanagan lake, in the neighbourhood of New Westminster, upon Vancouver

island and in some other regions, which are fairly well settled, and in

these is grown a vast quantity of beautiful apples and other fruit. In

fact, fruit is the greatest agricultural product of British Columbia,

and last year the yield of the orchards and fruit “ranches” was

estimated at $14,000,000, or about equal to that of the fisheries. This

is the only farm product which at present goes out of the province; but

the estimated value of cereals, beef, dairy produce and all the other

miscellaneous yield of the farms accounted only for another eight

million dollars. Government is making efforts in various ways to

stimulate agriculture. For instance, it aids the establishment of

co-operative creameries; but millions of dollars are spent annually

outside the province for meat, cheese, butter, poultry, eggs and

articles of food, which might well be supplied from the prolific soil of

British Columbia were there only more hands to work it.

At present, however, this province is in the somewhat peculiar and

unsatisfactory position of having a mere fraction of its people

(one-quarter) living on the land. The population was put down in the

last census year as 392,480 (of whom the males were in excess of the

females by nearly one hundred and eleven thousand), and of this number

the two cities of Vancouver and Victoria accounted for over one hundred

and fifty thousand. Now these cities, with their suburbs, are said to

have a population of two hundred thousand, or nearly half the total for

the province.

Both Vancouver and Victoria are already extremely important ports, and

expect much additional ocean trade when the Panama Canal is opened. The

northern port of Prince Rupert is also busy, although the railway, of

which it is the terminal, is not yet completed. There are many other

ports and inland towns; mining, railway construction, and lumbering

camps all needing supplies; and the man who understands dairying or

market-gardening or fruit growing has a choice of opportunities in

British Columbia.

In the Peace River district is a block of Dominion lands which may be

taken up by homesteaders on the same terms as the free grants in the

other western provinces. (See Appendix, pg. 297, Note B.) A strip of

land twenty miles wide on each side of the Canadian Pacific Railway main

line belongs to the crown, and until December, 1911, was administered by

the Minister of the Interior at Ottawa, but is now under the management

of the provincial government.

Provincial crown lands are offered for sale at from $5 (£1) to $10 (£2)

the acre, or for lease for cutting hay or other purposes. They may be

pre-empted by settlers—in which case there are conditions of

improvement and residence, in addition to the payment of $1 (4_s._

2_d._) per acre in four equal annual instalments. Pre-emptions are

limited to one hundred and sixty acres of agricultural lands, and no one

may hold more than one claim at a time; nor can an alien obtain title

deeds for a pre-emption; but anyone desiring full and reliable

information as to how to obtain provincial land should write to the

Chief Commissioner of Lands, Victoria, British Columbia.

The Canadian Pacific Railway and other companies and private persons

also offer unimproved or improved agricultural lands for sale at prices

ranging from $5 (£1) the acre up to $500 (£100) for irrigated land in a

good situation, while bearing orchards may cost as much as from $1,000

(£200) to $12,000 (£2,400) an acre.

By clauses recently added to the land regulations of British Columbia it

is provided that any self-supporting woman over eighteen years of age

(except a wife living with her husband) may pre-empt one hundred and

sixty acres of agricultural land on the same conditions as men; and this

provision is made applicable to deserted wives, and women whose husbands

have not contributed to their support for two years, as well as to

spinsters and widows.

It is most important, however, that it should be understood that the

agricultural lands available for pre-emption or purchase direct from the

government are situated almost entirely in districts difficult of access

and ill-provided with roads and bridges, whilst a considerable amount of

capital is necessary for the purchase of good land in well-settled

districts.

The government of British Columbia reserves one-quarter of all town

sites and of lands divided into small lots (of one acre or less), and

these are usually sold by public auction.

It seems very natural that along the coast and amongst the mountains the

population should be gathered into centres, larger or smaller, where

they can enjoy some of the comforts of civilized life unattainable by

isolated settlers, and the practice certainly has its advantages with

regard to social and church life, and the education of the young. In

British Columbia, by the way, free government schools are established

where twenty children between the ages of six and sixteen can be brought

together. In 1912 there were 538 schools in operation, including

twenty-three high schools. At Vancouver there is a provincial Normal

School; also a number of private schools and colleges; while the

Vancouver and Victoria colleges are in affiliation with McGill

University, Montreal, and provision has been made for the endowment of a

university of British Columbia, by the setting apart of two million

acres of public lands.

Men of small capital are strongly advised to go in for “intensive”

culture of a small farm, rather than to attempt to take a large piece of

land or to devote themselves solely to fruit culture, for orchards in

bearing are expensive, and to wait for returns till a newly-planted

orchard becomes productive is also costly; but quick returns can be

obtained from the keeping of poultry and pigs, and the growing of early

vegetables for a town or mining camp.

Small holdings simplify the labour problem, which is acute in British

Columbia, and complicated by the difficulties attendant on Oriental

labour. This is much employed, in spite of the feeling that, for the

sake of Canada’s future, the unrestricted admission of Orientals would

be a grave mistake. That is a question, however, which it does not

belong to the purpose of this book to discuss.

[Illustration: PARLIAMENT HOUSE, VICTORIA.]

[Illustration: LUMBERING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA.]

XV

THE YUKON AND NORTH-WEST TERRITORIES

NORTH of British Columbia lies the Yukon territory, which about

sixteen years ago suddenly became interesting to the world on account of

the discoveries of gold on two streams flowing into the Klondyke. This

is itself a tributary of the Yukon river, which is navigable for over

sixteen hundred miles in its course from White Horse, through the

territory bearing its own name and through Alaska, to the Behring Sea.

There is no need to write of the stampede to the Klondyke in the late

nineties. The production of gold in the Yukon gradually declined after

1901, but mining is still its chief industry, and the introduction of

more elaborate methods of mining are now again increasing the output.

The territory is rich also in copper and coal, both of which are being

mined with success. There is a good local market for coal at Dawson,

which, founded in 1896, had at one time a population of twenty thousand.

This had fallen by 1911 to four thousand, however.

The climate is very severe in winter, especially during January and

February, and in the northern part of the district the ground never

thaws for more than a foot in depth; but the surface thaws, and only a

few miles south of the Arctic Circle the summer climate is said to be

pleasant, and hardy vegetables such as turnips and cabbages can be

grown.

Just beyond the borders of the Yukon district, on the banks of the

Mackenzie river, stands the most northerly of the Hudson Bay Company’s

posts—Fort McPherson. It has been described as “truly an Arctic

village. The sun never sets for about six weeks in summer, and is

constantly below the horizon for the same time in winter.” It is visited

by the Eskimos of the shores of the Arctic Ocean and by the whalers,

chiefly from San Francisco.

Several years ago the whole whaling fleet was entrapped by the ice, and

its crews obliged to go into winter quarters at Herschel Island. Here

there is a detachment of the Mounted Police, who have to face all kinds

of difficulty and danger in keeping order and doing their duty—often of

a humanitarian character—in the northern wildernesses. Usually they

carry through their undertakings with marked success, but occasionally

they are the victims, or the heroes of a tragedy.

In winter a small body of the police make a regular patrol from Dawson

to Fort McPherson and back; but in 1911 the patrol did not return, when

expected, and its four members, having “failed to make the pass over the

mountains,” were found dead in the snow, but one day’s march from

safety.

Amongst the resources of this wild north land, besides its mineral

wealth, of which no doubt a very small proportion is yet discovered, is

its excellent fish—white fish, Arctic trout, the “inconnu” (peculiar to

the Mackenzie river, and so named by Mackenzie’s party), and salmon of

numerous varieties. It is also likely to remain for generations to come

the hunting ground of the fur trader, for wild animals, large and small,

abound; and if the land proves of value for little else, its fur-bearing

animals—especially if some measures should be taken to preserve and

protect them—will be an increasing source of wealth to the Dominion.

As for the inhabitants of the land, there are several tribes of Indians

and Eskimos speaking different tongues, whilst the white race—apart

from the miners and business men of the Yukon—is represented chiefly by

traders and missionaries. For several generations the Roman Catholic and

Anglican missionaries have been doing brave work in the frozen north,

and a large proportion of the Indians have embraced Christianity in one

form or the other.

But we must pass on, for this portion of Canada cannot be said to offer

large opportunity as a field for British immigration, though it has been

a field where Britons, as explorers or heralds of the Cross, have again

and again proved their kinship to the Norse heroes of older days.

XVI

THE MAN WHOM CANADA NEEDS

HITHERTO, in our progress through the Dominion and its provinces, I

have been trying to show what Canada has to offer to the newcomer; and

if I were asked to sum it up in one word—it would be that word which

has been already used so frequently in the pages of this

book—“opportunity!” But I wish to devote the remainder of this volume

to the immigrant himself (or herself), first discussing the type Canada

needs and desires; and secondly, making a few suggestions which, I hope

(with vivid recollections of what it means even under favourable

conditions to be a new arrival in a strange land), may be of real help

to the immigrant.

To the self-respecting man or woman there is probably nothing more

attractive about the Dominion as a field for immigration than the fact

that this great promising young nation does _need_ immigrants. What can

be more depressing to anyone than the sense of being a superfluous

member of the human family—a person whom no one really wants—a worker

regarded chiefly in the light of an occupier of a position keenly

desired by someone else?

But Canada absolutely needs more human beings, and, above all, she needs

workers. Let no one mistake, however. She does not need, and if by the

most careful sifting of the newcomers she can prevent it, she will not

have drones in her hive—unless, indeed, they come well-provided with

the honey prepared by the workers. In other words, of course, the man

who has more or less capital finds it easy enough to gain admittance to

the Dominion, and may even continue to live in idleness therein. This is

a fact accomplished to the scorn of his neighbours, by many a

“remittance-man” in east or west, who has had the ill-luck to be

provided with just money enough to enable him to evade the Scriptural

dictum: “If any man will not work, neither shall he eat;” but, of

course, the overwhelmingly large number of Canada’s immigrants are not

burdened with any superfluity of worldly gear.

The much-talked-of “opportunity,” moreover, is not (is it necessary to

state the fact?) opportunity to pick up gold in the streets, or to win a

fortune without labour. In isolated cases, men have gained wealth with

surprising rapidity by some piece of luck, or special business

astuteness, but opportunity for the ordinary man means a

probability—amounting almost to a certainty—that good, honest,

intelligent work in any one of a wide range of different lines will

receive its due reward. It means also that for the man with a little

more than the average energy and ability and insight there are in this

new land, with its frequent changes of conditions, its constant opening

out of new regions and of hitherto unused natural resources, many more

chances of “making good” than under the more stereotyped conditions of

older countries.

[Illustration: THE FISH MARKET, VANCOUVER.]

The man whom Canada needs is strong and healthy, preferably young enough

to be readily adaptable to new conditions, sound in mind and well

taught, trained and educated. The man she desires most of all is one of

the good blood of the British Isles, imbued with love for the old flag

of the Empire, and for the ancient traditions of his race; one who will

help in the building up of Canada on the same lines as those on which

the work has been begun—as a free British nation within the Empire;

one, in short, who is adapted by heredity, education and previous

history to understand this ideal of nationhood, and to take his place in

the furtherance of it.

Good British immigrants are the more needed—to aid in leavening the

whole lump—because to-day Canada is the goal for people of many races

and languages, who, in most instances, have everything to learn of the

institutions and the ideals of the nation, which (according to laws

perhaps too speedily allowing to foreign men a voice in the affairs of

the country) they will soon be helping to mould. That the problem is

serious will be seen from the fact that, according to the figures of

1911-12, and apart from the English-speaking immigrants from the United

States, more than one immigrant in each four that year was a foreigner

in birth and speech, and in some years the proportion of foreigners has

been higher. The immigration of the afore-mentioned year represented no

less than sixty-five nationalities in all, including Ruthenians,

Bulgarians, Chinese, Hebrews, Italians, Finns, Scandinavians—literally

by the thousand.

There are whole districts in the West largely settled by groups of

foreigners. For instance, in Saskatchewan, between Saskatoon and Prince

Albert, the Canadian Northern Railway runs through a region which,

though colonized in part by English-speaking people, is dotted with

foreign settlements. Amongst these are the quaint community villages,

built of mud, of that Quaker-like Russian sect, the Doukhobors. Some of

their number gave at one time considerable trouble to the authorities,

and endangered their own lives by going on strange pilgrimages in the

depths of a Saskatchewan winter to seek for Christ, Whom they believed

to have returned to earth; but in general they are a quiet, inoffensive,

cleanly, honest people. In the same district are many Galicians, less

remarkable for cleanliness and sobriety of demeanour than the

Doukhobors, and often living in small mud huts thatched with straw,

which, though of picturesque exterior, are often ill-ventilated and

ill-kept within.

The schools, however, are rapidly making “Canadians” of the younger

generation—in speech, and perhaps to a certain extent in ideas.

The prairies have also their Icelandic and Norwegian and Swedish

settlers, who are generally credited with being of an excellent type.

Then in the cities and in the railway construction camps are Italians,

somewhat quarrelsome and ready to use their knives amongst themselves,

but excellent workers in all the digging and delving necessary for the

making of a railway line or preparing for the foundations of some great

new building. It is said to be the ambition of many an Italian to become

the owner of a fruit store, and to judge by the numbers of such little

shops in every city—over whose treasures of apples and oranges and

bananas a dark-eyed woman or child is keeping guard—it must be an

ambition often fulfilled.

It is odd, indeed, how the different nationalities seem to have such

strong predilections for particular trades. Every considerable centre of

population in Canada must surely have its Chinese laundries, very

numerous in the large towns. The Chinese, too, go into business as

restaurant keepers, or keepers of tea and curiosity shops; and in the

West they enter domestic service in private houses or hotels. But one

never sees a Chinaman engaged in the rag-and-bottle-collecting business,

for instance. Indeed, that occupation seems to be left wholly to the

Jews; while the porters on the Pullman cars are nearly always negroes,

with an occasional Jap on the western lines.

It is often said that much of the hardest and heaviest work in city and

mine and railway making is done by foreigners. In that respect alone the

country owes them a real debt; but there is no doubt that the bar of

differing language and customs prevents Canada getting the best

contributions to her total strength from the little-understood and

often-misunderstood foreigners. As time goes on the Canadians may be

more successful than hitherto in bridging the gulf that separates them

from the newcomers of alien speech, but at present the tendency is for

the foreigners to cluster together in certain districts in the

country—certain quarters in the cities—where it is difficult to reach

them with Canadianizing influences. In unskilled labour and in some more

skilled trades they are formidable competitors to the newcomer from the

British Isles. But in a measure—because of their coming in such

numbers—the Briton is all the more the man Canada wants; and it is

satisfactory that the proportion of British-born to the whole number of

immigrants has of late tended to rise. During the decade ending March,

1912, the British immigrants outnumbered the foreign-born by nearly

300,000. This is leaving the newcomers from the United States out of

account; but they also outnumbered the foreigners.

As has been stated already, the man wanted most of all is the man

willing to go on the land. Every province, from Nova Scotia in the east

to British Columbia in the west, has land waiting for the farmer, the

market gardener and the fruit grower.

In this connection it may be mentioned, that it is not necessary for any

one to pay a premium for a youth to “learn farming” in Canada. If he is

willing to work and of at least ordinary intelligence, however

inexperienced he may be, a lad can earn his board and lodging and at

least a few dollars during the busy months; and the money spent on the

premium had far better be laid by to help the boy in starting for

himself later. Usually the promised instruction in farming is given in

much the same fashion as when a big boy begins to teach a little one to

swim, by pushing him somewhat violently into the water. The farm pupil

is plunged into any work at which he can be made useful, the farmer

trusting to his learning the business by practising it; and usually he

does learn much in this way. If possible, however, it is well for a boy

thinking of farming in Canada to learn how to milk, and to attend to a

horse before coming out. Milking is an especially useful accomplishment,

and may very much aid him in getting a good situation and fair wages.

If the newcomer is young, even though he may already be possessed of

some capital, it is often a good plan for him to take a situation for a

short time as “a hired man,” in the region where he proposes to settle,

with a view to getting into the ways of the country; learning how best

to adapt himself to prevalent conditions, including those of climate;

and also how to estimate properly the values of land and stock in that

particular district.

A man does not need to fear that he will lose socially by working for a

farmer, for, in the country, little attention is paid to the arbitrary

social distinctions of older lands, and in most farmhouses a willing,

obliging, courteous, adaptable “hired man” is trusted much like one of

the family. Sometimes, indeed, it is difficult for him to fit happily

into his strange environment; and there are cases (the facts must be

faced) where a mean master endeavours to take advantage of the

newcomer’s ignorance. In general, however, a man who is willing to work,

is of good manners and character, and is not ashamed to learn will be

treated with respect and kindness. In fact, his value will be speedily

recognized, for there are two sides to this question, and the ideal

“hired man” is perhaps as rare as the ideal employer.

In the towns, especially in the older provinces, social conditions are

more similar to those of England, and it is often asked what a man does

and who his father was as well as what he is. Even in the centres of

population, however, the way of a young man of character to a position

of influence and comfort is more easily found than “at home.” No doubt

the free educational system of Canada is a check on the snobbish spirit;

for in their school days, at least, the children of the village magnate

and of the most prosperous farmer of the neighbourhood meet on equal

terms with those of the hired man, the mechanic, or the doer of odd

jobs.

In after life this early lesson, that quality in muscle or brain or

moral character does not depend upon class or length of purse, can never

be quite forgotten; and it may often happen that the clever, industrious

son of some poor man may climb to a position in the community to which

his former school mates, though sons of the richest man in the village,

can only look up. And, if the poor man’s son never climbs, he comforts

himself with the reflection that “Jack is as good as his master,” which

is an assertion sometimes open to question.

However, the practical application of all this to the immigrant, even

though he may belong to the class which prides itself on good birth and

good breeding, is that in Canada, especially in the country, no honest

work will injure his position in the eyes of his neighbours. The point

that counts for or against him is—will he work? or does he think it

more “gentlemanly” to waste his time and strength and money with other

idle young men of kindred spirit? The fact is, that while the

Mother-isles have sent of their best to Canada, they have sent also many

a useless scamp. It has been well suggested that the friends of such

ne’er-do-wells ought not to imagine that transplanting “a poor stick” to

“the colonies” will necessarily change its nature. If the young man’s

misfortune is lack of ability or character, he stands more chance in

Canada of disgracing the name of Englishman than of doing anything else;

but if his lack is merely the wherewithal to start in farming, or

business, or to obtain a college education in England, it is well worth

while to try sending him to Canada.

I know men, some British, some Canadians, who have had the force to work

their way through every difficulty to satisfactory positions; and what

one has done another may do. For instance, the ranks of the ministry in

all the churches, though in some cases they may obtain help from

bursaries in the theological colleges, are largely recruited from those

who have had their own way to make; and have been obliged to earn the

money to pay for their college expenses. Sometimes, indeed, the student

may have had to stop midway in his course to make money enough to finish

it. It is the same with all the learned professions—many men “put

themselves through” the university and are probably none the worse for

the battle.

Now here, I believe, is a chance for some of the lads who come out from

the “Old Country” in early youth, either alone or with their parents.

Amongst the men whom Canada needs are earnest, Christian ministers to

work in her wide land amongst all the scattered peoples—foreigners,

British immigrants and native Canadians; but perhaps it is scarcely

necessary to say that this is not an avenue to wealth; and the man who

adopts the ministry as a profession must be actuated by a higher motive

than ambition. She needs, too, men who will make a life-work of

teaching, a profession which in Canada is largely left to women, in

spite of (or it may be partly because of) the fact that men are paid

about twice as much as women of the same standing and for the same work.

Rates of wages are, of course, much higher in town than country; but

rents and living are high in proportion. For example, take the case of a

married man with a family. If willing to work on a farm, he may get an

engagement by the year at from $20 (£4) to $30 (£6) the month (the wages

varying considerably in different parts of the country), whilst the

unskilled worker in the city will get probably from $1·50 (6_s._) to

$2·50 (10_s._) for a ten-hour day; but the former may count on steady

work and a free house with a garden, and also on some such extras as

milk, vegetables or apples; while the townsman may frequently lose some

days’ pay on account of bad weather and have to disburse a very high

proportion of his earnings as rent. Moreover, if there are children to

consider, the advantages of the country compared to the town are great

both with regard to health of body and of mind.

There are other possibilities in the country besides work on the farms.

For instance, there is a demand for skilled workers in cheese factories,

creameries, and so forth; and it seems to me that there would be a good

opening in many a village for a man who had in his fingers some such

trade as that of a shoemaker or harness maker. Often the country people

have to take articles that need repairing to a distant town because

there is no capable workman in the village where they go for their

“mail” or groceries. If such a man had a taste for country life, he

could often get a small house and a good garden cheap; and in the

farmer’s busy seasons could, if he chose, add to his income by doing

outdoor work at good wages. In this way he might soon be able to own his

own house, paying for it in instalments; but, indeed, in some of the

cities—Toronto, for instance—a thrifty working man often speedily

saves enough to make the small first payment necessary to buy a house,

and then gradually works off the remainder of the debt. Others buy lots

on the outskirts of the town and put up for themselves small “shacks,”

which they transform bit by bit into comfortable little houses.

But there are numerous evidences that in other lines than farming the

British immigrant is needed, and can, under ordinarily fortunate

circumstances, with industry and thrift, prove himself to be of value to

Canada. For instance, it is noticeable that the first of the Imperial

Home Reunion Associations was founded in Winnipeg by business men who

believed that it would be for the advantage of the Dominion if the

numerous British workmen employed in the cities and towns could

immediately have their wives and children with them, instead of having

to send money over to the “Old Country” for their support. This step

would not have been taken had not the workmen in question proved their

value. Another evidence is that of one’s senses. Alike in the far West,

and in centrally-situated Toronto, one cannot enter a store or a street

car without hearing voices that one recognizes as those of comparatively

recent arrivals from Britain. These have obtained situations in a great

variety of occupations; and if one sends for a gardener, a plumber, or a

paperhanger to work about one’s house, it seems that every other man in

such trades is English.

The Dominion government confines its direct invitations to immigrants to

“farmers, farm labourers and domestic servants,” all of whom belong to

classes singularly little troubled by fear of competition; but the

Provincial governments sometimes venture to give a broader invitation.

For instance, in a letter recently received from Mr. Arthur S.

Barnstead, Secretary of the Department of Industries and Immigration of

the province of Nova Scotia, it is stated that “the industrial expansion

upon which Nova Scotia has entered has created a strong demand for

industrial workers. Many of our plants have been unable to secure the

necessary number of native workers, and thus have been compelled to

engage British and foreign labour. Miners have been imported for our

coal mines, iron workers for our steel works, as well as textile and

other tradespeople. Last year, in the occupations taken up by the

English-speaking newcomers to Nova Scotia, mining came first

(numerically), though farming followed closely; and the list of 2,736

persons includes, besides “housewives” and children, craftsmen,

tradesmen, clerks, professional men, soldiers, and others.”

Rapid industrial expansion is proceeding in other provinces, with a

consequent demand for workers of all classes, and altogether, I am sure

that the British immigrant of the right stamp—used to work and not

expecting to get “good money” without giving a due equivalent for

it—may find many an opening in Canada—in the cultivation of the soil,

or in some other of the numerous occupations which civilized man has

devised for himself. But there comes from British Columbia the warning,

which may apply to other provinces also, that “the man without a trade,

the clerk, the accountant and the semi-professional” has not a good

chance for employment, unless he will do manual work in an emergency, or

has means of support “for six months in a year while seeking a

situation.”

XVII

THE WOMAN CANADA NEEDS

JUDGING by statistics, it may be averred that Canada needs women in

general, especially in some districts, even more than men. At any rate,

according to the census taken in 1911 there was, in a total population

of a little over seven millions, an excess of males over females of four

hundred and thirty-seven thousand, and as each year the immigration

returns show the arrival of more men than women (the figures for 1911

were 211,266 males and 82,922 females), the disproportion between the

sexes is growing continually greater; but it cannot be said that at

present the Dominion makes the same effort to attract women as men. For

instance, the bonus given to booking agents is less on a woman than a

man, and the only way in which a woman can acquire a free grant of

Dominion crown lands is in the character of a widowed mother of a child,

or children, under eighteen years of age.

Possibly this inequality of opportunity has arisen from the notion that

a woman is not suited for doing homestead duties—and many women are

not—but as a matter of fact the wife of a struggling newcomer is often

left alone for weeks at a time on the homestead, while her husband

“hires himself out” to a farmer, or works on a new railway. In British

Columbia, as already mentioned, a woman may take up a pre-emption, which

is practically the same—so far as the obligations of residence and

cultivation are concerned—as the Dominion free grants.

It must, I think, be frankly admitted that the isolation of the life in

many instances either on a homestead or on a great Western farm is hard

for the woman. Some little time since I met a bright young woman, with

one small girl of four or five, who was thankfully travelling south to

Vancouver from an island in the neighbourhood of Prince Rupert, where

for a considerable part of two years she had been living on a

pre-emption whilst her husband had been away working on the new railway.

She told me that, with the exception of one solitary young man—a

neighbouring homesteader—she had had no neighbour nearer than three

miles away, and that there had been days during the two years when she

had been so ill that she could not leave her bed to give bread to the

little one, who, scarcely out of babyhood, had had to be sent herself to

the “bread box” to get something to eat. Such a story seems suggestive

of possible tragedy, but the woman did not dwell on what might have

been, but rejoiced simply in the fact that the hard task was over, and

that, largely through her effort, they had the patent for the land,

which now they would be able to sell if they could find a purchaser.

I could not help thinking that one quality of the woman that Western

Canada needs is courage, and another is resourcefulness; and perhaps if

I repeat here the story told me by the wife of a successful pioneer

farmer in Saskatchewan, it may help, more than any generalities, to give

an idea of a woman’s lot on a prairie farm. Mrs. Smith—as I will call

her—had gone as a bride to a little house of one lower room (fourteen

feet by sixteen) and a half storey upstairs. She, by the way, had spent

her girlhood in the West, and perhaps knew from experience how to manage

under circumstances which would have sorely tried an Englishwoman of her

class.

[Illustration: THE SASKATCHEWAN RIVER AT EDMONTON.]

The tiny dwelling, lined with building paper and thin boards, was not

plastered for a year or two and at first the one room was kitchen,

dining-room and washhouse. The house was a full mile from the next one,

and stood in the centre of a great field of wheat, which sometimes, when

the babies (who soon arrived) began to toddle, seemed to the young

mother to grow perilously high, for she had heard stories of little ones

wandering off into the tall wheat and being lost.

The coming of the little ones to a pioneer woman is often a terrible

test of courage and endurance, for it is hard to get either doctor or

experienced nurse at the right time. Sometimes the prospective mother

goes into town to a hospital or to some friend; but generally she stays

at home. The neighbours do the best they can, and often all goes

well—and sometimes it does not. In such a case and in many another

emergency the rural telephone is a wonderful boon and comfort—and may

be even counted a life-saving agency. Incidentally, I may mention that

women, competent to take care of mother and infant or to help in case of

sickness, who would be willing to take charge also of the domestic

arrangements of a little house, while its mistress was incapacitated,

would not be likely to lack work in the West. Many people, who could

hardly meet the high charges for a regularly trained nurse, would be

glad to pay well for such services. Mrs. Smith told me, however, that it

was practically impossible to get help, and that a neighbour had driven

hither and thither for a week in a vain search for someone to take care

of his wife, at last getting an old woman from the immigrant shed in a

somewhat distant town. My informant’s impression was that there was “a

great chance” for “hired girls” in these prairie communities, for on the

farms they are treated like “one of the family.” Nevertheless they

generally prefer to stay in the towns.

Gradually things improve as the neighbourhoods get settled, though the

great farms of the exclusively wheat-growing districts “make few

neighbours.” The more so, because many a Western farmer develops a

passion for adding field to field—or “quarter-section to

quarter-section.” The Smith farm, for instance, grew to be “seven miles”

round; and the husband was often working a mile away from home, but

after the first few years he managed to get a man and his wife to live

on the farm. Despite the isolation, Mrs. Smith did not regard the life

as a hard one. She “liked the farm very much,” she said, and thought the

women in the West had “easier times” than those in the East, for the

regular “hired men” lived in the bunk-house, though they came to the

house for their meals, and after the first two years she did not have to

cook for the harvesters and threshers, whose meals were provided from “a

cook car.” She was, however, fortunate in having a husband who was both

considerate and capable.

As to the social aspects of life, she had been used in her girlhood,

though that, too, was spent on a prairie farm—near Regina—to go out a

great deal in the evenings “with her musical brothers” to meet other

young people, and no doubt she felt the change to the new district,

where, of the few women who could be counted neighbours, some were very

rough. But soon there were alleviations. From the first there was a

church only five miles away, and later there were services in the

school-house, which, by the way, in that section at least was very much

of a social centre.

Mrs. Smith usually boarded the lady who taught there, and the section

had “fine teachers,” who brought on the little flocks of from sixteen to

twenty-six children most successfully, lent books to the readers of the

community and got up the summer picnics in connection with the

school—the more enjoyed, perhaps, because other entertainments were so

few and far between. These consisted of a Sunday school Christmas tree,

an occasional concert, or a public dance to which “nice women” did not

go—at least, in that particular district—as it was open to everyone

who could pay, and was attended by men of the rougher sort, who thought

it impossible to enjoy themselves without much whiskey.

By the help of the neighbours, the mail was usually brought from the

post office, ten miles distant, three times a week, and the Smiths

subscribed for several magazines and newspapers. The telephone, when it

came, was “a great help”; but, when “the children began to want to see

people” and to need somewhat better education than could be gained in

the little country school, this family moved into one of the gay,

bustling little prairie towns. Mrs. Smith’s experience, it must be

remembered, was that of a pioneer, and there are districts in the

provinces where that kind of life is becoming a thing of the past,

though pioneers are still plentiful.

In the particular town to which the Smiths moved (and I have reason to

believe it not exceptional) there is a high proportion of young people

in the population and brides are often numerous, whose trousseaux are,

perhaps, accountable for setting the pace in a style of dressing which

is costly, and which seems almost incongruously handsome in comparison

with the tiny houses in which many of the young couples dwell. But money

is easily earned and quickly spent by the eager optimistic Westerner;

and, doubtless, if domestic servants were easier to get and to keep,

more well-to-do folk would turn their attention to building larger

houses.

In the rural districts of the older provinces there are plenty of

somewhat isolated farmhouses; but there are also many farming

communities where the families are close enough together to enjoy a good

deal of social life; and where this is the case the country life is a

delightful one, for young folk especially. The boys and girls on the

farms learn early to do the work of men and women; but it is work which,

if not overdone in amount, is healthful for mind and body; and the

informal country merry-makings have a charm of their own.

A sleigh ride of several miles, on a moonlight night, through a lovely

snow-covered landscape of hill and woods and valley, does not detract

from the enjoyment of an informal carpet dance, especially when the

vehicle is a big box sleigh, filled with a dozen lively lads and lasses,

whose songs and laughter ring out above the jingling bells. A wedding

feast or a barn-raising bee, a church social, or a school concert, a

“strawberry festival” or a “Christmas tree”—country folk know how to

enjoy all these things; as they enjoy chance meetings in the store or at

the church door—and now there are in most provinces Farmers’ Clubs and

Women’s Institutes to aid in the good work of drawing together country

neighbours of all the different denominations. Above all, the country is

the place for the little ones, where they may spend their first years

amongst the animals and birds and flowers, which the normal child loves,

leading a simple, outdoor life.

But one of the needs of Canada is more women (she has some already) who

shall appreciate the country and know how to make the best of it for

themselves, their families and their neighbours. She wants women of any

race, British or foreign, who are strong enough and wise enough to

discover ways of developing the fine possibilities of country life, and

counteracting any tendency towards its degeneration into dulness and

stagnation. To-day the trend of the population of this new and

supposedly agricultural country citywards is a fact which is at once

remarkable and rather disquieting. Perhaps it is due in part to “the

earth hunger” that besets many a farmer, and inclines him to sacrifice

to it the comfort of his family and the possibilities of congenial

society. Whatever its cause, women may, perhaps, do quite as much as men

to stem the current and make country life what it ought to be.

The woman Canada asks for, by the official voice of the Dominion

Immigration Department, is the domestic servant, and when necessary the

government assists the girl with a loan of £4 for her passage money. Now

there is no question that from coast to coast there is a demand for the

woman who will help with domestic work. A healthy, intelligent,

industrious girl, if she has had any experience in general housework,

can command wages of from $10 (£2) to $16 (£8 4_s._) a month in the East

up to $80 in the West, in both cases with room and board included,

whilst a housekeeper or a competent cook gets $30 (£6) or $35 (£7) or

even more. For domestic servants the demand is practically unlimited

both in town and country. The wages are not quite so high in the rural

districts, but in many cases the girl in farm and country houses is

treated like a member of the family, so far at least as having her meals

with her employers; and not infrequently a good girl is actually treated

like a daughter of the house, taking her share in whatever little

festivities there may be.

Perhaps, however, an “Old-Country” girl, brought up amongst the

servant-keeping instead of the service-giving class, and coming to

Canada to act as “home-help” or “lady-help,” is sometimes deceived into

expecting too much by the phrase of “being treated like one of the

family.” In the first place, if, as sometimes happens, the mistress, who

unreservedly treats her domestic help as “one of the family,” is herself

not a highly-educated woman, the “lady-help” too frequently assumes a

condescending attitude towards her employer, and the connection

naturally proves unsatisfactory. In the second place, a “young lady”

from England often hardly understands what hard work really means, and

she is too apt to feel that she ought—in virtue of her education—to be

excused from various necessary household duties. But if a girl intends

to take a “home-help’s” position in Canada she should make up her mind

not to think any task beneath her dignity which some woman of the house

must do. No one really wants a “lady-help” for an ornament, though a

lonely woman here and there may desire to have one partly for the sake

of companionship. When, indeed, the “help” really makes it her business

to “help,” the relationship may be very satisfactory; and when she has

proved both her usefulness and her refinement she will usually be able

to get a situation which ought to satisfy her. Often, however, this will

be where the mistress is elderly, or invalided or widowed, for there is

not much demand for this kind of assistance in families consisting

largely of lively young people. If a lady desires a position as

“home-help,” I believe it would be well for her to obtain introductions,

if possible, to ladies in the province where she is going, as friends

often know of each other’s needs in such a case, and will gladly assist

in bringing the would-be “help” and prospective employer together.

There is a generally good though rather intermittent demand for

charwomen and occasional helpers in towns, cities, and the settled rural

districts; and the wife of a man who has obtained employment on a farm

may often add considerably to the family resources by washing and doing

other work for the farmer’s wife or neighbours. The wages in the East

range from about $1 (4_s._) a day in the country, to $1·25 (5_s._),

always with meals, in the cities. Some little time ago an enterprising

party of young Scotch women, who had come to Toronto to be ordinary

servants, clubbed together, took a room or two, and went out working by

the day, with the result that they earned more money and had their

evenings and Sundays to themselves. They had no difficulty in obtaining

as much work as they desired; and their experiment points towards one

probable solution of the domestic help problem; but, of course, there

are great risks for unprotected girls in every city; and in most

Canadian cities the rent of rooms and the cost of living is very high.

Apart from housework, in any form, immense numbers of immigrant girls

find employment in shops and factories, and not a few as typists. In

Toronto, a typist coming out through the colonization department gets an

initial wage of $10 (£2) a week, and one who is also a stenographer gets

from $11 (£2 4_s._) to $15 (£3) the week. In Winnipeg (where there are

said to be “ten thousand lady stenographers and book-keepers”) “the

wages run from $35 (£7) to $75 (£15), or even $100 (£20) per month.” The

saleswomen in shops do not receive nearly so much, and good wages are

very necessary in the towns if a girl is to live under proper and

healthful conditions. Women’s work is not as yet much organized in

Canada, though in Montreal and other cities there are a few women’s

labour unions.

There is perhaps nearly as much demand for competent dressmakers as for

domestic servants, either to make dresses at home or to go out by the

day. This demand comes not only from the cities, such as Toronto, where,

for example, good dressmakers can earn, in addition to their meals, from

$1·50 to $2 (6_s._ to 8_s._) the day, or Winnipeg, where their charge is

$2 or $2·50 (8_s._ to 10_s._) the day; but from country towns and rural

districts. In the latter they can earn $1 or $1·25 (4_s._ to 5_s._),

with board and lodging, for the time of their engagement; and I think it

would be well worth while for girls who understand dressmaking to try

their fortune in some village in a good farming country. I know that

there is a large demand for their services in such places, and though

they would not receive city prices for their work, neither would they

have to pay city prices for the rooms which they would need as

headquarters. In a good village two sisters or friends might very well

make the experiment together; or a girl understanding dressmaking, whose

parents were coming to the country, might easily work up a good business

connection. I should not forget to say that the farmers’ wives are quite

willing to send a “buggy” or carriage a considerable distance for the

dressmaker.

There is a great demand in Canada for teachers, and a father who comes

out with a family of young people might well endeavour to get some of

them (if they show any aptitude for the work) trained for teachers. It

is desirable that the students should finish their preparation and pass

the necessary examinations in the province where they intend to teach,

as professional teachers’ certificates only hold good in the province

where they are granted, though temporary “permits” to teach may be given

in other provinces.

The rate of salaries varies somewhat in different parts of the Dominion,

the salaries given in the West being generally higher than those in the

East. There are not many openings for private governesses, though a few

find employment in ladies’ schools, and there is a small demand in the

households of the rich for nursery governesses for very little children.

Girls coming out with the intention of entering any occupation (except

that of domestic servants) should have a little money in hand to support

them whilst looking for employment; but for women, as for men, there are

numerous opportunities in Canada for the alert, intelligent girl—“on

the spot”—who knows how to work.

With regard to the acquirement of land, opportunities in Canada are by

no means as favourable for women as for men. In a general way women can

only obtain land by purchase, and are shut out from the advantage of

homesteading; but, as already mentioned, they are permitted in British

Columbia to take up pre-emptions on practically the same terms as men.

The laws, by the way, concerning the civil rights of women vary in

different provinces; but from the women’s point of view Canada lags

behind some of the States of the Union, in the fact that not one of the

nine provinces of the Dominion has, as yet, accorded parliamentary

representation to women. Even the people most strongly averse from the

change are, however, beginning to prophesy dolefully that “it has got to

come.”

In educational facilities, the women of Canada are treated liberally. In

the public and high schools co-education is general, and usually the

universities admit women on the same terms as men. The medical

profession is open to women; and in some provinces that of the law also.

There are many women journalists and writers who are banded together

into an organization for the Dominion—“The Canadian Women’s Press

Club.”

A very active and comprehensive organization in Canada is the “National

Council of Women,” with which many other women’s associations are

affiliated. Among these may be named the Women’s Institutes (which, in

Ontario alone, have over twenty thousand members), the Women’s Art

Association, the Girls’ Friendly Society, the Victorian Order of Nurses,

the Canadian Suffrage Association, the National Historical Society, the

Peace and Arbitrations Society, etc., etc. There are many other

extremely important women’s organizations, such as the Missionary

Societies (called by different names) of the several churches, which,

besides supporting foreign missions, make an especial effort to aid

religious work in the newer sections of the Dominion. There is also the

Women’s Christian Temperance Union, which has for long been engaged in

effective work against the liquor traffic.

It may be asked what has all this to do with “the woman Canada needs,”

and with opportunities for women? My answer is that such a list (which

might be much lengthened) shows what the women of Canada are thinking

about and working for; that what has been done, may be done again; what

is being done now, may be multiplied enormously with the advent of more

workers. That these organizations are flourishing suggests the need and

the opportunity there is for the work of public-spirited, true-hearted

women in Canada—in helping to refine the rough, to smooth down the

rugged, to hold up the higher ideals of life in this new land; to fill

its towns with pleasant, beautiful homes, and to make its solitary

places blossom like the rose.

Canada has scope for the employment of the energies of all of the best

types of women, and we have got beyond the notion that there is only one

noble type of woman; but if one goes back to that severely practical

document, the Census Report, it really looks as if the woman which

Canada needs above all is the wife and mother, who is awaiting in the

Old Land the chance to rejoin her immigrant husband; and the

“marriageable girl.” “The Imperial Home Reunion Associations” already

mentioned are doing good work in bringing out the former, with her

children; but it is a more delicate matter to settle the latter in

regions where her best opportunity lies. In the early French times, the

authorities managed this matter with business-like frankness, shipping

out consignments of girls and marrying them in haste on their arrival in

the colony. Such a method is distinctly out-of-date, but more might be

done to encourage the immigration of families and of young women (under

proper conditions and safeguards), for in the West especially, behind

the opportunities for girls as workers in household service and shops

and factories and offices, many of them find the opportunity of taking

up the _rôle_ of the wife, the mother and the “home-maker.”

Unfortunately it is a common assertion, that a considerable proportion

of girls “in business” are so occupied with the probabilities of “having

homes” of their own, that they regard their work at the typewriter or in

the office as a mere stop-gap, to be performed perfunctorily. Let us

hope this is a slander; and at any rate some business men testify that

the girl clerk is, as a rule, quite as conscientious, steady-going and

dependable as the boy clerk, if not more so. However that may be, the

fact remains that there is a need for the coming out to Canada of a good

type of girls, more in proportion than at present to the numbers of the

male immigrants, if the Dominion is to be, in accord with the best

Anglo-Saxon ideals, a nation of homes.

XVIII

HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS

IN the foregoing pages, I have tried not to be led by my real belief

in the country into over-statement of the advantages of Canada and to

under-statement of difficulties and disadvantages. I know that when all

possible care is taken, it is difficult to convey to anyone exact

impressions of an unknown country, for the reader or listener naturally

translates what is said in terms of his own experience. Now I should

like here, before bidding farewell to any reader who has some notion of

making a home in Canada, to add one or two suggestions which may save

him (or her) some discomfort.

The first is an awkward matter to mention, but I will venture to speak

plainly, only reminding the reader that if my remarks are offensive,

Canada cannot be held responsible for them, for I am myself an

Englishwoman.

I have said, and I firmly believe, that the immigration of people from

the British Isles is much desired in Canada; but an individual may not

always get that impression, and I should like to ask him to consider

whether it may not sometimes be his own fault? It is, unfortunately, a

fact that many new arrivals from England (by no means all, of course)

have a way of stroking the Canadians the wrong way, if one may use the

phrase. Sometimes I wonder whether the phrase in our old school

books—the “British Possessions”—has anything to do with the

condescending frame of mind in which many a British immigrant lands in

the Dominion, and begins cheerfully setting affairs right on his first

walk through the seaport town which receives him. Again and again it has

been a fine thing in British history that the English people have a way

of identifying themselves with their national institutions, but if a

Briton will persist on feeling, and making it known, that he is a kind

of pocket edition of all that the great British Empire stands for, while

the Dominion is “one of our colonies,” and the Canadians are just

“colonists,” he will probably get into trouble in a week with the men

whom he undertakes to work for or amongst. He ought to try to realize

that, in the main, Canadians are Britons like himself, and that, being

“chips of the old block,” colonists have many characteristics in common

with the stay-at-home Britons—amongst them, a rooted objection to a

treatment which seems to imply that they are a nation of inferiors.

Perhaps there is something in the invigorating air of this young country

which gets into the heads of newcomers, and makes them “apt to teach” if

they never were so in their lives before; but many an immigrant would

find his first few months here much smoother, if he could resist the

temptation to put into words his wonder “at the way they do things here.

Why, in England——” etc., etc. Of course, if he is an intelligent man,

he has his contribution to make to the common stock of knowledge and

wisdom, and the time may come when it will be welcome in Canada. In many

instances, however, the newcomer does not wait to ascertain whether or

not there may be a sound reason, in some peculiarity of climate or

circumstances, to account for the practice he condemns, but at once

jumps to the conclusion that it is un-English and therefore wrong, and

proclaims aloud his discovery at the top of his voice. The “canny Scot”

is much less prone to hasty, outspoken criticism, and consequently

settles down a little more easily than do Englishmen of a certain type.

It may be said that this blunder on the part of English people is so

rare and so limited to the wholly uneducated as to be unworthy of

serious attention. But I believe it is common. I know I have heard

Englishmen criticizing the shortcomings of “the Canadians” in Canadian

houses, where they were guests, with a freedom that accounts for a good

deal of prejudice against the new arrivals. Others perpetually grumble

during their first months in the country.

Happily this kind of thing soon wears off in all but the very worst

subjects, and those usually end by returning home, and continuing their

criticism of matters Canadian where they cannot be easily answered.

Happily, also, some English immigrants, blessed with a little

imagination and the sympathetic power of seeing how things will affect

other minds, are free from the disease. It has been suggested that a

good and practical rule for an Englishman would be to make up his mind

to refrain, for at least a year after his landing, from criticism of the

things in Canada that displease him, whether these happen to be manners

or methods, municipal regulations or country roads.

Later, when he has got his bearings, if he chooses to attempt to lead a

reformation, he will find plenty of native-born Canadians to back him;

for, however it may appear in the heat of argument, in nine cases out of

ten, they are just as convinced as the newcomer that neither the country

nor themselves are anywhere within sight of perfection. In twelve months

he may be beginning to feel that he has some part and lot in the

Dominion, and the honest criticism of one who is anxious to improve

conditions which he has tested and believes to be capable of improvement

is a very different matter from the superior and comprehensive

grumblings either of “a fish out of water,” or a mere “bird of passage.”

For convenience I have used the masculine pronoun, but the

woman-immigrant is not free from this sin of rash and ill-mannered

criticism.

Now, in all this I would by no means be understood to be reflecting on

the newcomer, who, having suffered from failure on the part of some

official or private person to carry out his engagements, or having other

real cause of complaint concerning the way in which he has been treated,

demands an investigation into his grievance. Of course, the new arrival

has his rights as much as the native-born, and if he is at any time

ill-used or treated with serious neglect, he will be doing a public

service in calling attention to the wrong-doing. This is very different

from the mere purposeless grumbling and captious criticism to which I

referred above; and while the Dominion and Provincial governments do

their utmost to protect the newcomer against misrepresentation and fraud

and extortion, there are persons in Canada, as elsewhere, on the watch

to take advantage of the inexperienced.

It is best for the immigrant who is without friends in the country to go

in the first place for information and advice to the accredited

immigration officials. (See Appendix, Note A, pg. 295.) There are

different methods in vogue in the different provinces, but all endeavour

to look to some extent after the immigrants, who, indeed, are regarded

as of great potential value to the nation; and far-sighted people

recognize that every measure which aids the immigrant to succeed is of

advantage to the public generally, and is a necessary corollary of the

fact that the Canadian government maintains fifteen hundred agents in

the towns and villages of Great Britain and Ireland, and pays a bonus on

each of the immigrants obtained, of certain classes.

In Nova Scotia, in order to prevent newcomers being drawn into the

purchase of “farm properties unsuitable to their requirements,” a farm

inspector has been appointed to the staff of the Bureau of Industries

and Immigration, which has been in existence since 1907, and any _bonâ

fide_ settler can avail himself of his services free of cost. An

agricultural settler is met on his arrival, and a list of available

farms likely to suit him is prepared for him, and, after he has seen

them, but before he buys, the farm inspector visits the property and

gives him “a disinterested opinion on the intrinsic value of the place.”

This plan has been found to work well, insuring for the newcomer good

value for his money, and saving him much time and expense in the search

for a suitable farm. Moreover, if the new arrival desires it, the

inspector will continue his visits at intervals to give expert advice

respecting the best local markets and the methods of agriculture best

adapted to the land purchased.

In a great many central places, the Dominion government has built

Immigration Halls, where free accommodation is provided during two or

three days, while the head of the family makes arrangements to go to

work or to a homestead, as the case may be; but the immigrants are

required to provide their own food. In Toronto, the “British Welcome

League” also provides beds for British immigrants on their arrival, and

in addition gives a free meal, besides trying in other ways to make the

strangers feel at home. (See Appendix, Note F, pg. 301.)

Young women and girls coming to Canada need especially to be on their

guard against persons of both sexes, masquerading as benevolent and

disinterested, who are seeking to entrap the unwary into the terrible

life of the “white slave.” If ever at a loss where to go, they should

accept advice only from uniformed officers of the Immigration

Department, from one of the deaconesses or ladies wearing the

“Travellers’ Aid” badge, or from an officer of the Salvation Army, which

also looks after immigrants. A safe place to make inquiry for lodgings

and employment is, of course, any branch of the Young Women’s Christian

Association, of which there are many in the Dominion. (See Appendix,

Note F, pg. 301, for list.) In summer, a secretary of the Y.W.C.A. meets

the steamers at Quebec, and will do her best to help girls on their way.

The Presbyterians, the Methodists and the Church of England in Canada

have chaplains who meet the immigrant ships at the ports of Halifax and

St. John in winter, and at Quebec in summer. There are also agents of

the Y.M.C.A. at these ports to assist newcomers in every way possible.

If the immigrant can find time on landing to speak either to a chaplain

or to an agent of one of the societies named above, it may prove very

helpful in finding friends in the place to which he or she is going, for

these secretaries will give addresses of clergymen or others anxious to

befriend the newcomer; and it is a great advantage to have someone to

refer to in a strange place, even if it is only for the sake of being

able to obtain disinterested and reliable information. For instance,

suppose a girl comes out intending to try dressmaking in a country place

(as suggested previously), if she has a card of introduction to a

Y.W.C.A. secretary or to a minister, though they might not be able to

tell her offhand of a district where she could hope to be successful,

either would certainly be able to put her into communication with

another secretary, or clergyman’s wife, or secretary of a Woman’s

Institute, who would give the information needed.

It is a good thing for the immigrant who has at home belonged to a

church, or Sunday school, or social organization, to bring from the

clergyman or minister or teacher a letter of introduction to a minister

in the place to which he or she is bound, or to someone living in the

district. To give an actual, though perhaps unnecessary, instance of the

usefulness of letters of introduction—my father, who, though quite

inexperienced in agriculture, had decided to farm in Canada, came out

armed with letters of introduction, kindly given by friends (some of

whom had hazy ideas of the size of the Dominion) to persons living

anywhere from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Many of these were, of

course, useless, but one led to another introduction to two excellent

Scotch farmers, who, when the time came to make choice of a farm, kindly

did for us the work which the Government expert now does for immigrants

going to Nova Scotia. They looked over the farm and gave a careful

opinion as to its value. No newcomer, however anxious to be independent,

however unwilling to “impose upon good nature,” need be afraid or

ashamed to ask advice in matters where he cannot be supposed to be on a

par with those who have had experience of the country.

Years ago it was sometimes suggested that Canada was a good country for

persons of small fixed incomes. I doubt whether many of this class ever

did come; and now, at any rate, the cost of living and the wages of

servants are so high that it is not a good country for such people.

Moreover, unless they should come out with their families, elderly men

or women would rarely be wise to risk the change of climate and

environment.

In this connection, it is very satisfactory that such a large proportion

of the children sent out by the various orphanages and “homes” of the

British Isles grow up good citizens of the Dominion. Only a very small

proportion of these children turn out criminals or ne’er-do-wells, but

the rare cases when any of them are convicted of crime are usually

followed by a great outcry against bringing them. There is, however, a

very practical evidence that they are most welcome, for five to ten

applications are received for every child to be placed. There is an

advantage in sending them out in early life, for “the sooner they get

into the Canadian atmosphere the better it is for Canada and for them.”

Many of the children fill useful positions, as they grow old enough, as

“hired” boys and girls; and not a few are adopted, and well provided

for, by childless people. The annual report of the “Chief Inspector of

British Immigrant Children and Receiving and Distributing Homes” is a

most interesting document. During the eleven years from 1900 to 1911,

nearly twenty-four thousand child-immigrants were brought to Canada by

various societies and agents, of whom almost half were from Dr.

Barnardo’s homes.

The immigration of families consisting of parents and children is still

more satisfactory from the Canadian point of view, for this, in ordinary

cases, means that the children, brought up under normal conditions, will

be assimilating in their early years Canadian customs, methods of work,

and habits of thought. This is a process that all immigrants, young or

old, must go through to a certain extent, if they are really to “settle”

in the country. Speaking broadly, adaptation to new conditions is much

more difficult for the young man than for the child, and for the old

person than the young, unless in the case of those exceptional people

who seem to have discovered the secret of perpetual youth, and are

alert, ready to learn, adaptable, and intensely interested in life and

their surroundings to old age.

In many instances the process is not only difficult but painful; and I

should like to speak a word of encouragement to the immigrant in his

first year or two, when the exciting novelty of the change has worn off,

and he has not yet become thoroughly acclimatized either to the physical

or mental atmosphere of the new country. In some cases he passes through

a period of miserable homesickness, when everything seems disappointing.

Then, even such minor ills as unfamiliar kinds of implements to work

with (for instance, in the case of a woman, stoves in place of the

accustomed open fires) seem to add sorely to the hardships of life. I

can remember very well the general depression of spirits in our family

when we were trying in vain to keep ourselves warm and to cook in bitter

wintry weather with green basswood, foisted upon us by our next-door

neighbour, who in some other little ways showed himself very ready to

“turn an honest (?) penny” out of our inexperience.

But discouragement passes; soon the newcomer learns how to take care of

himself, and, looking back, wonders how his “mole-hills” ever came to be

such mountains. A good stock of patience and some small sense of humour

ought to make part of the equipment of every immigrant, for there is

nothing like the power of seeing the funny side of things to help one

over the minor trials of life, and it is good not to take oneself too

seriously.

Nevertheless, an immigrant should not make himself unnecessarily funny

in the eyes of others. For example, unless the young Englishman is bound

for the backwoods, it really is not necessary for him to attire himself

in the strange and shaggy garments which the town-bred English tailor

thinks appropriate for “the colonies.” In most towns and settled country

districts he will need much the same kind of clothing as he would use in

such places in England. Often, during the first winter, the Englishman

does not feel the need of much warmer clothing than he was accustomed to

wear at home; but he should have a good heavy overcoat, and, if he is

bound for the West, a fur coat or one lined with sheepskin will be a

great comfort. He should also have a warm cap which he can pull down

over his ears when driving, for the ears are peculiarly liable to get

frost-bitten, and one or two stout pairs of woollen or warmly-lined

leather gloves will be found useful, for here men do not work in the

winter months with uncovered hands, except perhaps west of the Rocky

Mountains. In the case of a family, every member of it, from the father

to the little tots, should be provided with woollen gloves or mittens,

warm caps or hoods, and warm underclothing. All these things, and some

wraps and rugs in addition, may prove very useful on the voyage at any

time of year; and they will usually be needed on the first arrival in

Canada, for most immigrants come in the early spring, when the weather

is still cold.

Ordinarily, the trains are sufficiently heated, but there is often a

good deal of waiting at wharves or stations. There may be a long drive

from the railway to the final destination, and it is best to be well

provided for such contingencies. Soon after the arrival of the spring

immigrant, however, cool, light clothing for the hot months of the

Canadian summer will be required, and it is well for a woman to bring,

if possible, some supply of cotton blouses and dresses. The woven,

porous kind of cotton underclothing is cheap and suitable for the

climate. In their first year, Englishwomen often make the mistake of

overloading themselves and their children with heavy garments. I

remember, on a hot July day, seeing a poor little English year-old baby

swathed in one layer of flannel above another, with the perspiration

running down its face, while its sisters, old enough, I suppose, to

rebel at such treatment, looked comparatively cool and comfortable in

light cotton dresses.

Upon the whole, clothing is dearer in Canada than in England, but the

extra cost of the various articles is in a measure neutralized by the

fact that a cheaper class of goods—that is, cotton and muslin—can be

worn, at least in the inland parts, for a longer period in the year. If

possible, it is well to bring out a good supply of boots and shoes and

clothing, but not too many of such outer garments, which a change of

fashion may render conspicuously out-of-date within a year or two, for

Canadians of all classes pay a good deal of attention to dress.

It is good to bring some blankets, and wadded quilts and table-linen,

which are all more expensive in Canada than in the “Old Country.” On the

other hand, it is not well for the newcomer of little capital to put too

much of his small stock of money into such provision for the future, for

often the articles bought far in advance do not seem quite what would be

bought after some experience in the new home; and it is most desirable

to keep a few pounds—or dollars—on hand against a possible emergency.

In fact, the government requires that every adult immigrant—except farm

labourers and domestic servants—should have some money in his or her

possession when landing (See Appendix, Note C, pg. 298); and half as

much is required for children under eighteen. This rule is strictly

kept, and during the last ten years no less than 1,471 immigrants (of

course, by no means all British) were sent back on their arrival on

account of lack of funds; and a considerable number of British and other

immigrants are not allowed to land, or are deported within two years, on

account of insanity, tuberculosis, or other diseases of mind or body.

Others have been rejected on account of criminality or bad character; or

because there was reason to believe that they would be, or had actually

become, public charges.

With regard to the question of admittance, it is most desirable that

anyone thinking of coming to Canada, and having a suspicion of some

defect or disease in himself or any member of his family, should be very

careful to make sure before starting whether or not he and the rest of

his party would be admitted. In case of doubt, he would be wise to write

to the Assistant Superintendent of Emigration, 11 and 12, Charing Cross,

London, giving full particulars, for it is worse than useless for anyone

to have the trouble and expenses of the sea voyage only to be sent back.

It is much better not to start at all.

For information concerning the cost of passage, the amount of baggage

allowed, and so forth. (See Appendix, Notes D, pg. 299 and E, pg. 300.)

Where distances are so great as in Canada, it is often necessary for the

immigrants to pass several nights on the train. There are three classes

of sleeping cars in use on the Canadian railways. In the “colonist

sleeping cars,” which are free to second-class passengers on the

Canadian lines, berths are provided, but they are not upholstered, and

the occupants may use such bedding and rugs as they have with them, or

the whole outfit of mattress, pillow, blanket, and a pair of curtains

can be purchased for the sum of $2·90 (about 12_s._), or the separate

articles in proportion.

When it can be afforded, however, the immigrant would be wise to pay the

additional price for a berth in a “tourist sleeper” (which is about half

that of the “standard sleepers”). In the tourist cars the accommodation

is excellent, bedding is provided, and each car has its attendant

porter. The travellers in these cars may either take their meals on the

dining-car (when there is one on the train, and when the question of

minor expense is not a very important one), or may carry their food with

them, making tea for themselves, heating food for a baby, etc., in a

little kitchen at the end of the car. These cars are much used, for the

sake of convenience, by persons travelling with children who could well

afford to travel in the first-class sleepers.

Before buying tickets for Canada, however, the intending emigrant might

do well to write to Commissioner D. C. Lamb, of the Salvation Army,

which makes arrangements for emigrants (of whom it is said less than 20

per cent. belong to the Army) to obtain tickets from England to certain

points in Canada, “including the cost of bed and food on rail.” (See

Appendix, Note D, pg. 299.) The Army also arranges for “reserved

carriages and special rail accommodation, chiefly for women,” who “are

accompanied by experienced conductresses from the beginning to the end

of their journey.” (See Appendix, Note F, pg. 301.)

We will now suppose our British immigrant to have reached his

destination, in East or West or Central Canada; and our final word to

him, perhaps, should be not to be in too much hurry to commit himself to

some irrevocable step. If he has capital, it is often wise for him to

let it lie for a little while at interest while he gets to know the

country, possibly working on wages for someone else. If the newcomer has

little money, then it is best to accept for a time almost any honest

work that offers, especially work in which something may be learnt of

the country; and to change to something more desirable when the chance

comes—as it will come—to the alert and thrifty and industrious. For,

after all, the newcomer must learn for himself the things he most needs

to know. Many of these things cannot be put into a book, for books must

deal largely with generalities, while each immigrant brings his own

idiosyncrasies to the problem of fitting into a peculiar environment.

Finally, it is good that the newcomer should realize and remember that

“immigration” has two sides to it—that the new country deserves

consideration as well as the new arrival, and that this “land of

opportunities” only yields its best to the man or woman prepared to give

as well as to get.

[Illustration: PAUL, A BLACKFOOT INDIAN.]