powers left the colonists at liberty to avail themselves of all the advantages of their situation, and avoided encumbering themselves with the government of extensive territories 3,000 miles distant. Fortunately, however, a new æra has begun-Novus sæclorum nascitur ordo! The monopoly of the trade of America is destroyed, and her independence achieved. From Canada to Cape Horn, every port is ready to receive adventurers from Europe; and a boundless field has, in consequence, been opened for the reception of our surplus population, and for the advantageous employment of European arts, capital, and skill. The few remains of the old colonial system which still exist, cannot be of long duration. Their mischievous operation is no longer doubtful, and they will disappear according as the knowledge of sound commercial principles is more generally diffused. The colonisation of Australia will also contribute in no ordinary degree to extend the blessings of civilisation; and there can be no doubt that this newly discovered quarter of the globe, the native inhabitants of which were still fewer in number and more barbarous than those of America, is destined, at no very remote period, to be the seat of flourishing communities: and while they preserve the language and literature, it is to be hoped that they may also pursue the mild, liberal, and tolerant policy, of the illustrious people from whom it should ever be their proudest boast to have descended. (3.) Slavery. Since the publication of the first edition of this work, a vast change has been effected in the condition of society in our West India colonies and the Mauritius, by the abolition of slavery, under the provisions of the act 3 & 4 Will. 4. cap. 73. (See art. SLAVES AND SLAVE TRADE.) In the second edition of this work, published soon after the act for the abolition of slavery had been passed, and before its provisions had been carried into effect, we ventured to speculate as follows on its probable results : "Nothing but vague conjectures can, of course, be indulged in as to the future working of this measure in the colonies. We believe, however, that those who have contended that it will not be productive of any falling off in the industry of the blacks will be found to have taken a very erroneous view of the matter. Field labour in the West Indies has hitherto been always associated with slavery and degradation, and been enforced by the lash. The fair inference, consequently, is, that when the fetters are struck off the slave, and he is left to follow his own inclinations, he will be desirous of escaping from what he cannot fail to consider an ignominious occupation. Necessity, no doubt, will prevent him from becoming altogether indolent; but the effect will in this, as in other instances, be proportioned to its cause: and necessity in the West Indies is very different from necessity in Europe. Most articles that are here deemed indispensable, would there be positive incumbrances; and those essential to subsistence may be procured with less, certainly, than half the labour hitherto exacted from the slaves. At some future period, perhaps, when the recollection of their degradation has begun to fade, and a taste for conveniences and gratifications has been introduced amongst them, they may become more industrious; but this is a distant and a very uncertain prospect. We therefore look, at first, for a very considerable decline in the industry of the slaves, and a proportional falling off in the exports from the islands." It will be seen, from the returns given in a subsequent part of this article, that these anticipations have been more than realised, and that there has been a most extraordinary falling off in the imports from the colonies. We confess, also, that we are a good deal more sceptical than formerly in our anticipations of their future increase. Industry, when carried on by free labourers, is prosecuted only as a means by which they may acquire an adequate supply of necessàries and conveniences. And it is all but contradictory and absurd to suppose that a population with few wants, occupying a soil of great natural fertility, lying under a burning sun which unfits for exertion, should voluntarily engage in severe, and, to them, useless labour. We believe, indeed, that it will be found wholly impossible, except under peculiar circumstances, to carry on the culture of sugar on its present plan, in tropical countries, by the agency of really free labourers. Hayti, formerly the most important and productive of all the sugar colonies, does not now produce a single cwt. of sugar. Mexico is, also, fast relapsing into the most deplorable barbarism (see Geog. Dict., art. Mexico); and experience seems to show that some sort of modified slavery, or, which is the same thing, of compulsory labour, is indispensable to the successful prosecution of industry in tropical countries. It is to this that the extraordinary increase of produce in Java is to be ascribed; and, how much soever we may cry out against the slavery of the U. States, there cannot, we apprehend, be a doubt that its existence, how objectionable soever in many respects, is necessary to the advantageous cultivation of the Southern states. It is the same in Cuba and Brazil. Were their slaves emancipated, may it not be fairly presumed that they would gradually, and not very slowly, sink into the state of Mexico and Hayti? and that instead of an extensive culture of sugar and other articles for foreign demand, the bulk of the population would be satisfied if they supplied themselves with those necessary for their subsistence? We need not, therefore, wonder that the projects for slave emancipation should make but little progress among the Americans, Brazilians, and Cubans. Whether the West India colonies cease to produce sugar and cotton is a matter of excessively little importance to the people of Britain; but it is a matter of the very last importance to the white people of the Southern states of America, of Brazil, and of Cuba; and they will be much to blame if they do not exercise extreme caution in legislating upon this most delicate matter. Perhaps the better policy will be for them gradually to relax the rigours of servitude, and to endeavour to improve the character and condition of the slaves, so as to fit them the better for emancipation, which may, probably, in the end be forced upon them: but the should carefully eschew all rash or precipitate measures. III. MAGNITUDE, POPULATION, TRADE, ETC. OF THE BRITISH COLONIES. Notwithstanding the loss of the U. States, the colonies of Great Britain, exclusive of India, exceed in number, extent, and value, those of every other country. Previously, indeed, to the breaking out of the late contests, the colonial dominions of Spain far exceeded in extent and importance those of any other power. But Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippine Islands are now all that remain to her. These, indeed, are very valuable possessions, though inferior to those of England. (1.) North American Colonies. In N. America we possess the provinces of Lower and Upper, or of East and West Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward's Island, and their dependencies. The situation and boundaries of these provinces will be more easily learned from the inspection of the accompanying map, than they could be from any description. The shores of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are washed by the Atlantic Ocean; and the noble river St. Lawrence, by its communication with the great American lakes, gives to Canada all the benefits of a most extensive inland navigation, and forms a natural outlet for her surplus produce, as well as for the surplus produce of that part of the U. States which is washed by the lakes. There is every variety in the soil and climate of these regions. In Lower Canada, the winter is very severe. The surface of the country is covered with snow for nearly half the year. From the beginning of December to the middle of April, the St. Lawrence is frozen over, and affords a smooth and convenient passage for the sledges by which it is then covered. But though severe, the climate is far from being unhealthy or disagreeable. The weather is generally clear and bracing; and the labour of artizans, at their out-door employments, is rarely suspended for many days in succession. On the breaking up of the ice in the latter end of April, or the beginning of May, the powers of vegetation almost immediately resume their activity, and bring on the fine season with a rapidity that is astonishing to a stranger. The highest temperature in Lower Canada varies from 96° to 102° of Fahrenheit; but the purity of the atmosphere abates the oppressive heat that is felt in most countries where the mercury ranges so high; and the weather is, on the whole, decidedly pleasant. That part of the province of Upper or West Canada, which stretches from Lake Simcoe and the rivers Trent and Severn, westward to Lake Huron and the St. Clair River, and southward to Lake Erie, and part of Lake Ontario, has a soil of extraordinary fertility, capable of producing luxuriant crops of wheat, and every sort of grain. "The climate," says Mr. Bouchette, late surveyor-general of Lower Canada, "is so particularly salubrious, that epidemic diseases, either among men or cattle, are almost entirely unknown. Its influence on the fertility of the soil is more generally perceptible than it is in Lower Canada, and is supposed to be congenial to vegetation in a much superior degree. The winters are shorter, and not always marked with such rigour as in the latter. The duration of frost is always accompanied with a fine clear sky and a dry atmosphere. The spring opens, and the resumption of agricultural labours takes place, from 6 weeks to 2 months earlier than in the neighbourhood of Quebec. The summer heats rarely prevail to excess, and the autumns are usually very friendly to the harvests, and favourable for securing all the late crops."--(Bouchette's Topographical Description of Canada, p. 593.) The ground on the shores of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, as far west as the junction of the Thames with the St. Clair Lake, is laid out in townships, and partly settled. But the population is still very thin. To the north of the river Thames, along the banks of the St. Clair, and the shores of Lake Huron, round to the River Severn, and thence to the river that joins Lake Nippissing and Lake Huron, is a boundless extent of country that is almost entirely unoccupied. The interior of this space has hitherto been but imperfectly explored; but the banks of the St. Clair and the shores of Lake Huron afford the finest situations for settlements. The soil is in many places of the greatest fertility, the river and lake teem with fish, and every variety of the best timber is found in the greatest profusion. The winters in the provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward's Island, and New Brunswick are more severe than in Upper Canada, and they are a good deal infested with fogs and mists. But their proximity to England, and their favourable situation for the fishing business, give them considerable advantages. In addition to the above, we possess the Hudson's Bay territory, a tract of vast extent, but situated in an inhospitable climate, and worth very little except as hunting grounds. We also possess the large islands of Newfoundland and Cape Breton, the latter being a dependency of Nova Scotia; but their soil is barren, and the climate severe and foggy; so that they are valuable principally as fishing stations. The following table exhibits the population of the different N. American colonies at the under-mentioned epochs : Of the inhabitants of Lower Canada in 1844 no fewer than 518,565 were of French extraction, forming what is called the Nation Canadienne. In Upper Canada, on the other hand, the population is almost wholly of British origin. Number of Emigrants. There emigrated to the British Colonies in N. America in Of these the great majority have been destined for Upper Canada. -(For the total emigration from the Information for Emigrants to British North America. In January, 1840, a board of "Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners" was appointed. It consists of 3 commissioners, whose proceedings are guided by instructions from the secretary of state for the colonies, and their practical duties may be divided under 3 heads, viz. the sale of colonial lands; the superintendence of emigration; and the diffusion of information in respect of the colonies. 1. The functions of the commissioners under the first head do not extend to the North American colonies. The crown having placed the revenue derived from the sale of their waste lands at the disposal of the local legislatures, these lands are, of course, disposed of by the authorities on the spot. 2. The board endeavours, in as far as possible, to protect poor emigrants from imposition, and from the effects of improvident arrangements on their parts, and takes care that the provisions of the Passengers' Acts are duly carried out and enforced. 3. The board publishes from time to time such authentic information as they may receive on matters connected with the settlement of waste lands in the colonies, the prices of the principal articles of colonial produce, the wages of labour, and such other matters as may appear to be useful to persons who propose to settle in the colonies. They likewise answer all applications from individuals, and afford them, so far as may be in their power, such information as may be adapted to their particular cases. * No pecuniary assistance is afforded by government to parties desirous of proceeding to the N. American colonies; and emigrants after their arrival no longer receive grants of land, that being now wholly disposed of in the way stated below. But though government makes no gifts at the public expense to emigrants to N. America, it maintains agents at the principal colonial ports, whose business is to protect emigrants from imposition upon their first landing, to acquaint them with the demand for labour in different districts, to point out the most advantageous routes, and to furnish them with useful advice upon the objects which they have had in view in emigrating, without making any charge for the same. Persons newly arrived should not omit to consult these agents, and should avoid detention in the ports, where they are exposed to all kinds of imposition, and pretences for keeping them at taverns till any money they may possess has been expended. We subjoin a Table, extracted from the Colonisation Circular of the Emigration Commissioners, Issued July, 1848, showing the cost of a passage to the different colonies. Cost of Passage to the principal British Colonies, in private Ships, from some of the principal Ports of the U. Kingdom. These are the prices when the passengers are victualled according to the ordinary Diet Scale of the ship. Passage. Emigrants intending to settle in Canada will find it in all respects more advantageous to proceed by Quebec. The best months for leaving England are March and April; the later emigrants do not find employment so abundant, and have less time in the colony before the commencement of winter. For information respecting the cost of passage and probable opportunities of sailing, application should be made to the government emigration agents at the various ports at which they are stationed; but no party need apply who does not intend to pay his own passage. The following are the ports at which agents are established: - London, Liverpool, Leith, Greenock, Belfast, Londonderry, Sligo, Limerick, and Cork. The following notification was put forth in 1843 by Messrs. Carter and Bonus, eminent shipping agents: "Ships will be despatched from London to Quebec and Montreal at short intervals during the ensuing season, by For each person 14 years of age and For each child of 1 and under 14 "The passengers must provide themselves with bedding, small casks or metal bottles for containing water, knives and forks, and spoons. The office of the commissioners is at No. 9. Park Street, Westminster.- Secretary, Stephen Walcott, Esq. "Luggage will be taken free of charge in the proportion of 10 cubic feet for each adult, and 5 cubic feet for cach child be. tween 1 and 14 years old; and any further quantity will be subject to a charge of 6d. per cubic foot for freight. Half passage money is required to be paid when berths are eng ged, and the remainder at or before embarkation, and parties who engage passage for themselves or others, who shall fail to embark on the day appointed, will be required to forfeit and pay half the passage money, whether their places shall be filled by others or not. "A properly qualified surgeon will be appointed to each ship carrying passengers equal to 100 adults or upwards. "Ships will be sent to any good and safe outports at which sufficient numbers of emigrants may be collected. "These ships will be despatched on fixed days, with STRICT PUNCTUALITY. Scale of Allowance of Provisions for each Person, Male and Female, above 14 Years of Age. potatoes TE - 1 - 1 lb. heef or pork. -1 do. do. do. do. bread. bread or flour. do. do. - 1 - 1 "N.B. Passengers have the option of agreeing upon the above terms, or of being supplied by the ship with those provisions only which are required by the Passengers' Act, viz. for each adult, 7 pounds of bread, biscuit, flour, oatmeal, or rice per week, of which at least one half must be bread or biscuit, and potatoes may be employed for the remainder, in the proportion of 5 pounds of potatoes to 1 pound of the other articles enumerated. Half allowance for each child between 1 and 14 years old. The charge in this case, including water as above, medicines, medical comforts, sleeping berths, cooking-hearth, fuel, and emigrant tax, is 34. 15. to Quebec, and 1. 28. 6d. to Montres, for each adult, and half price for children between 1 and 14 years of age. Such passengers are allowed to take any reasonable quantity of provisions for their own use in addition to the bread stuffs above stated, but no person will be permitted on any account to bring intoxicating liquors on board." The conveyance of passengers to foreign parts is regulated by the acts 5 & 6 Vic. c. 107, 10 & 11 Vic. c. 103, and 11 & 12 Vic c. 6. They, however, apply only to such ships as carry more than 1 passenger to every 25 tons of their registered burden. Cabin passengers are, in all cases, exempted from the operation of the law. We subjoin an abstract of the principal provisions in these acts, prepared by the Emigration Commissioners. 2. All the provisions of the acts extend to foreign as well as British vessels, except those which relate to the rules to be prescribed by Orders in Council for preserving order and for securing cleanliness and ventilation on board. These rules are only binding upon British ships proceeding to North America. 3. The length of the voyage to North America is, for the purposes of the law, to be computed at ten weeks. 4. Parties contracting to provide emigrants with passages to North America are bound to give contract tickets in a prescribed form, containing an acknowledgment for the money received, under a penalty not exceeding 104., and the forfeiture of his licence in the case of a passage broker. 5. Any persons inducing passengers to part with or destroy their contract tickets during the existence of the contract are liable to a penalty not exceeding 54, in each case. 6. No vessel proceeding to North America is to carry more than 1 passenger to every 2 tons of the registered tonnage of the ship; nor, whatever be the tonnage, more than 1 passen. ger to every 12 clear superficial feet of deck on which the passengers live, and 1 passenger for every 30 superficial feet on the orlop deck. The master is liable to a penalty not exceeding 51. for every person in excess. 7. In computing these proportions, 2 children between the ages of 1 and 14 are to count as 1 person. Children under 1 year are, in no case, to be reckoned. 8. All ships carrying 100 or more passengers are to carry a duly-qualified surgeon, or if a surgeon be not carried, the space allotted to each passenger is to be increased from 12 to 14 clear superficial feet, and every child above 1 year old is to count as a passenger. 9. The lower deck of the ship must be not less than 1 inch in thickness, and properly secured to the hold beams. 10. The height between decks is to be 6 feet at least. 11. There must not be more than 2 tiers of berths, and the bottom of the lower tier must be 6 inches above the deck. The bertus are not to be less than after the rate of 6 feet in length and 19 inches in width for each passenger, and to be securely constructed. 12. All vessels coming within the acts are to be surveyed by two or more competent surveyors, to be approved either by the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners, or by the Commissioners of Customs, and are to be reported seaworthy, and In all respects fit for the intended voyage. 13. Sufficient boats are to be taken in the ship according to the following scale: Boats When the tonnage is more than 150, but less than 250 6 8 21 14. No ship is to be allowed to clear out until properly manned with a full complement of men. 15. At least 3 quarts of water are to be issued daily to each passenger, and a supply of provisions, not less often than twice a week, at the rate of seven pounds of bread, biscuit, flour, oatmeal, or rice per week, half at least to be bread or biscuit, the other half may be potatoes, at the rate of five pounds of potatoes for one pound of such bread stuffs. The Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners, acting under the autho rity of the Secretary of State, may substitute for any of these articles of food such other articles of food as they may think fit. 16. The food and water for the use of the passengers are required to be provided and put on board at the expense of the owner or charterer of the ship, and are to be of a quality to be approved by the emigration officer or his assistant at the port of clearance; if there is no such officer, then by the officer of customs. 17. No gunpowder, vitriol, or green hides are to be taken as cargo. 18. Vessels carrying 100 or more passengers must, under a penalty not exceeding 501., be provided with a ship's cook cnKaged for the passengers, a proper cooking-apparatus, and a convenient place set apart for cooking. The whole to be subject to the approval of the governinent authorities at the port. 19. A proper supply of medicines is to be provided for the voyage, and no ship is to proceed until the medicine chest and passengers have been inspected by a medical practitioner, and a certificate granted by him that the medicines, &c., are sufficient, and the passengers free from infectious disease. 20. All passengers who may be discovered to be affected with any infectious disease, either at the original pert of embarkation, or at any port in the U. Kingdom into which the vessel may subsequently put, may be re-landed, with those members of their families, if any, who may be dependent on them, or unwilling to be separated from them. 21. Passengers re-landed are entitled to receive back their passage money, which may be recovered from the party to whom it was paid, or from the owner, charterer, or master of the ship, by summary process, before 2 or more justices of the peace. 22. Any persons failing to obtain a passage in the terms of their contract ticket, are entitled to be provided with a passage by some equally eligible ship, within a reasonable time, and in the mean time to be maintained at the contractor's expense. In default of this, they may recover from the contractor or from the owner, charterer, or, in case of any accident or default after the voyage has begun, from the master of the ship, any passage money they may have paid, together with compensation for the inconvenience they may have incurred. In case this breach of contract shall arise from any accident happening to the ship on her voyage, the compensation is limited to 51.; in other cases it is not to exceed 16. 23. If the ship does not sail on the day named in the contract ticket, the passengers are entitled to be victualled on board, in the same manner as if the voyage had commenced. But if the detention (except caused by wind or weather) exceed two clear working days, the passengers are to have the option of receiving, instead, 18. per diem. 21. Ships that, after sailing, may put into any port of the U. Kingdom, must have their provisions and water replenished before they can be allowed again to sail, under a penalty not exceeding 1001. 25. Passengers are at all times during the voyage (weather permitting) to have free access to and from the between decks by each hatchway situate over the space appropriated to their use. 26. Such regulations as may be prescribed by order of the Queen in Council, are to be enforced by the surgeon, or, in the absence of a surgeon, by the master. Any person neglecting or refusing to obey them will be liable to a penalty of ; and any person obstructing the master or surgeon in the execution of any duty imposed on him by the Order in Council will be liable to the same penalty, and moreover, to 2 months' imprisonment at the end of the voyage. 27. The sale of spirits on board to the passengers is prohibited, under a penalty not exceeding 1007. 28. Two copies of the acts, with such abstracts of them, and of any Order in Council relating to them, as the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners may prepare, are to be delivered to the master, who is bound, under a penalty not exceeding 40s. per diem, to keep copies of such abstract posted up in at least two conspicuous places between the decks, so long as any passengers are entitled to remain on board. Any person displacing or defacing this abstract is hable to a penalty not exceeding 10. 29. Passengers are not to be landed against their consent, at any place other than the one contracted for. 30. Passengers are to be maintained on board for forty. eight hours after arrival, unless the ship, in the prosecution of her voyage, quits the port sooner. 31. All penalties imposed by the three acts are to be recovered before 2 or more justices of the peace to the use of Her Majesty. They can only be so recovered in the U. Kingdom by the emigration officers, or by the officers of Her Majesty's customs; and, in the British possessions abroad, t those officers, or any other person duly authorised for the purpose by the Governor of the colony. 32. Passengers themselves, however, or the emigration off!cers on their behalf, may recover by a similar process any sum of money made recoverable by the acts, to their own use as return of passage money, subsistence money, or compensation; and, in such cases, the complainants are not to be deemed incompetent witnesses. 3. The right of passengers to proceed at law for any breach of contract is reserved. Besides the sea voyage from England, persons proceeding to Canada should be provided with the means of paying for the journey which they may have to make after their arrival at Quebec. The cost of this journey must, of course, depend upon the situation of the place where the individual may find employment, or where he may have previously formed a wish to settle. The Emigration Commissioners have published the following Hints to Emigrants to the N. American colonies: Hints to Emigrants to the North American Provinces. 1. Caution to keep Contract Tickets. - Emigrants ought to Reep possession of their contract tickets, as otherwise, in the event of the ship being prevented by any accident from reaching her destination, or of the passengers, for any other reason, not being landed at the place named in the tickets, they may have a difficulty in obtaining a return of their passage money, to which in that case they would by law be entitled. 2. Caution to provide means for subsistence and transport after arrival. Many emigrants having latterly been found to rely on public funds for their assistance in the colonies, they are hereby warned that they have no claim of right on such fund, and that they should provide themselves with sufficient means of their own for their subsistence and conveyance into the interior from the port where they land. 3. Tools. It is not generally considered desirable that agricultural labourers should take out implements of husbandry, as these can be easily procured in the colonies; but artisans are recommended to take such tools as they may possess, if not very bulky. 4. Time to arrive in the Colony. The best period is early in May, so as to be in time to take advantage of the spring and summer werk, and to get settled before the winter sets in. 5. Average Length of Passage : By the Passengers' Act (5 & 6 Vic. c. 107) provisions are, however, required to be laid in for 70 days, to which period passages are sometimes protracted. 6. Maintenance on arrival, &c. - Passengers are entitled by law to be maintained on board, in the same manner as during the passage, for 48 hours after arrival, unless within that time the ship should quit the port in the prosecution of her voyage. The water of the river St. Lawrence is stated to have a strong tendency to produce bowel complaints in strangers. It should at first, therefore, be drunk as sparingly as possible. 7. Colonial Tax on Emigrants: Canada. By an Act of the Colonial Legislature, passed 23rd March, 1848, and to be in force until the end of the first session of the provincial parliament after the 31st December, 1849, a capitation tax of 10s. currency (about 88. 4d. sterling) Is to be levied for every emigrant, of whatever age, arriving by sea. The rate is increased to 20s. if the emigrant arrive after the 10th of September, and to 30s. if after the 30th of September. An additional charge of 2s. 6d. is also levied for each emigrant on board for every three days during which the ship may be detained in quarantine, unless for observation by the medical authorities, or the cleansing of the vessel or pas sengers; but the whole additional rate thus imposed is not to exeed 20s, on each emigrant. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. By recent Acts of the Colonial Legislatures, to be in force for a limited period, a tax of 10s. is levied for each emigrant in ships reported by the master to the colonial authorities on arrival between the 1st of April and 1st of September in any year. If the report of arrival be made between the 1st of September and 1st of October, the tax is increased to 15s. a-head, and if between the 1st of October and the 1st of the ensuing April, to 20s. An additional rate is charged, as in the case of Canada, for emigrants on board ships placed in quarantine, except for purposes of cleaning or observation: this rate is 58. a-head; and if the ship be detained in quarantine more than 10 days, a further sum of 5. Prince Edward's Island. The tax, according to the latest information, is 1 dollar, or 58. currency (equal to about 4s. 2d. sterling), on each adult coming from the U. K., reckoning every person above 14, and 2 children between 7 and 14, and 3 children under 7 years of age, as an adult. No charge is made on children under 1 year of age. In each of the colonies the tax is made payable by the master of the ship. 8. Caution not to refuse good wages. Until emigrants become acquainted with the labour of the country, their services are of comparatively small value to their employers. They should therefore be careful not to fall into the common error of refusing reasonable wages on their first arrival. 9. Route for Emigrants to Canada, Emigrants intending to settle in Canada will find it in all respects more advantageous to proceed by Quebec. As there is some competition among the steam-boat com. panies at Quebec and the forwarding companies at Montreal, emigrants should exercise a little caution before agreeing for their passage, and they should avoid those persons who crowd on board ships and steam-boats, offering their service to get passages, &c. Emigrants destined for Upper Canada are advised not to pause at Quebec of Montreal, but to proceed at once on their Journey. If, however, they require advice or direction, they should apply only to the government agents, who will furnish gratuitously all r. quisite information. The following is the usual route for emigrants from Quebec, as far as Hamilton: On Steamers leave Quebec for Montreal every afternoon at 5 o'clock (Sundays excepted), calling at Three Rivers, Port St. Francis, and Sorel, and arrive early the next morning. reaching Montreal, emigrants proceeding further west should go at once to the emigrants' sheds at the entrance of the Lachine Canal, where shelter and medical advice, if required, may be obtained gratis. Barges, towed by steam, proceed from Montreal every afternoon (Sundays excepted) for Bytown, and thence, through the Rideau Canal, to Kingston, reaching the latter place in about 6 days. The fare to any of the intermediate places on the Rideau Canal is the same as to Kingston. From Kingston there are steamers daily for Toronto, calling at Cobourg and Port Hope. From Toronto they ply daily to Niagara (35 miles), and to Hamilton, at the head of Lake Ontario, the landing-place for all emigrants proceeding to Dundas, Guelph, Goderich, Oxford, London, and the Western District. In no case are emigrants furnished with food on the route. The probable expense of provisions may be taken at 18. per day; thus making the total expense of travelling from Quebec to Hamilton about 17. 173. currency per adult. Emigran's will, on application to the government agents at Montreal, Kingston, and Toronto, obtain permission to stop in the emigrant sheds, and thus avoid the expense of lodging, which is from 4d, to 6d. per night. From Kingston to Darlington, Whitby, or Bond Head, Ss. 9d., Oakville, 12s. 6d. To Niagara or Queenston, 13s. 9. and to Ports Burwell and Stanley, on Lake Erie, by schooners through the Welland Canal, 7s. 6d. to 10. Land carriage from Id. to 2d. per mile. The rates here given are for adults or persons above 12 years; for children between 12 and 3 years of age, half price is charged, and children under 3 years go free. One cwt. of luggage is allowed to each passenger. It must be observed, that the prices of conveyance are necessarily fluctuating, and that the foregoing account is only presented as sufficiently accurate for purposes of information in this country, leaving it to the government agent at Quebec to supply emigrants with more exact particulars, according to the circumstances of the time at which they may arrive. During the year 1846, owing to the completion of the Beauharnois and St. Lawrence Canals, a shorter route was opened from Montreal to Kingston, and steamers now perform the distance regularly in about 28 hours, without any increase in the charge for passage. The whole distance from Quebec to Hamilton by this route appears to be 571 miles, and is performed in from 72 to 80 hours, a less time than required to go from Montreal to Kingston by the Rideau Canal route. The cost of passage is 30s. currency, or 24s, sterling for each adult. |
