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Having reached the most western part
of the Dominion, and not having the time to devote to a trip to
Japan, or to Australia, by the line of steamers which have, in
effect, carried the termini of the Canadian Pacific Railway to
Yokohama and Shanghai, as well as to Sydney, there was nothing to do
but to return eastward by the “Queen’s highway,” on, and in the
neighbourhood of which we had passed some weeks very pleasantly. The
journey from Vancouver is, naturally, very much like the journey to
Vancouver, but one is apt to see the magnificent scenery of the
Rocky Mountains in different moods and in different weathers, and
this experience happened to us. On our way Westward there was little
sunshine, and any quantity of mist and rain; but on our return there
was brilliant sunshine by day and moonlight by night, so that we saw
the beauties of the scenery in all their varying aspects.
On the return journey the only
stoppage we made was at Winnipeg, and after spending a few days
there very pleasantly we took the train to Toronto via North Bay.
Toronto is, of course, well known as the capital of the Province of
Ontario, and is situated on the western end of the lake of that
name. It has a population of about 200,000, but is not quite so
largo as Montreal: its inhabitants are chiefly of British
extraction, and it is, therefore, much more like an English city
than the commercial capital of the Province of Quebec. It is a busy
hive, with a wholesome bustle of commercial and industrial activity,
and the streets are full of people; while the shops, which are very
good, display all the luxuries of Eastern as well as Western
civilisation. Toronto is only one of several important cities in the
principal Province of the Dominion. Reference must be made to
Hamilton, called the Birmingham of Canada; London, which is situated
on the Thames, with many of its neighbourhoods named after the
larger London in which The Colonies and India is published;
Kingston, a more or less important place ever since the time of the
French regime; Brantford, and others too numerous to mention in a
letter of this kind. Ontario, as everybody knows, also includes the
wonderful Falls of Niagara, which can be easily reached from either
Toronto or Hamilton. In fact, Ontario is easily the premier Province
of Canada, not only by its population, but by the extent of its
commercial and industrial interests; and, notwithstanding the
development of the western country, the agricultural industry of
Ontario is still the backbone of the Dominion. When one considers
how brief the life of Canada has been, how comparatively recently it
has been developed by railway communication, and how most of the
farms had to be cut out of the forest, it is little short of
marvellous that so much progress should have been made. It is
Ontario which supplies most of the cattle that is sent to the
British markets; most of the cheese and other dairy produce comes
from there also; and tho same thing may be said of the wheat and
other cereals which find their way to Great Britain in such large
quantities from the Dominion. Free-grant land may still be obtained
by hardy settlers, who are willing to how their farms out of the
forest; and improved farms may be purchased by those who are
prepared to pay from 21. or 31. up to 201. per acre, according to
location, the extent of buildings, &c. A good deal is said from time
to time about the rigour of the Canadian climate, but it is not
generally known that a good many of the Canadian apples, which have
obtained so great a reputation, come from Ontario; that peaches grow
in Ontario in such quantities that they are frequently fed to the
pigs; that grapes and other delicate fruits ripen in the open air;
and that the Province is the seat of a not unimportant wine-making
industry.
A series of letters about Canada
would be incomplete without some references to the Maritime
Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
As a rule, they are not much visited by persons who take the trip
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, so that the beautiful scenery they
contain, their natural resources, and tho advantages they offer,
both to tourists and to settlers, are not as much appreciated or
known as they deserve to be. They have abundant mineral and forest
wealth, a temperate climate and a fertile soil, which can produce
all the products that are grown in such latitudes; and the county
is, besides, admirably suited for cattle raising and for dairying,
which industries are now receiving greater attention than they have
hitherto done. Then, again, the fisheries around the coast are
abundant, and form a great source of wealth to the inhabitants,
while the position the Provinces occupy, as being the nearest part
of the American continent to Europe, should give them great
advantages in the export trade— advantages which so far have not
been utilised to the extent they deserve. The Maritime Provinces are
probably better known to Army and Navy men than to other classes of
the community. Halifax has always been a favourite station with both
services, and many officers and men have returned to that part of
Canada after having finished their active work. Living is cheap,
beautiful scenery is everywhere found, even in other places besides
the district which Longfellow’s poems have made famous, and any
quantity of fishing and shooting in all their varieties can be
obtained by the sportsman. regarded from any point of view, the
Maritime Provinces are really one of the most favoured parts of
Canada, and if in the past they have not progressed as rapidly as
might be desired, they have been advancing steadily both in wealth
and in population, and must, before very long, take up the position
to which they are entitled in view of the many advantages they
possess. |
