“I shall tell you
A pretty tale; it may be, you have heard it;
But, since it serves my purpose, I will venture
To scale’t again.”
“The duty of Government is first to regulate the stream of Emigration,
so that if a man be determined on leaving the United Kingdom he may
settle in one of its Colonies.”—Montgomery Martin, 1843.
“At this moment, when renewed attention is turned to all the Routes
which, during ages past, have from time to time been talked about, as
best fitted for a link of communication between the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans,”—we call upon the people of Great Britain and her Government to
reflect, that—the best and shortest link of communication—the great
link required to unite all her dominions in one powerful chain—is now
in her own possession,—that—“it is in vain to inculcate feelings of
brotherhood among mankind by moral influence alone; a sense of community
of interest must be also established,”—that Great Britain can, in the
opening of the Route proposed, at the same time employ her own Children
at home and abroad, as well as her own continually increasing Capital.
That—“we have superabundance of Capital—a plethora of
Talent—Scientific and Commercial—they only want an outlet to be
beneficially employed.”—Morning Herald, 7th February, 1849.
That—“the Expansion of Capital would soon reach its ultimate boundary,
if that boundary itself did not continually increase.”
That—“what the Legislature should desire and promote is not a greater
saving, but a greater return to savings, either by improved cultivation,
or by access to more fertile lands in other quarters of the globe.”
That—“the Railway operations of the various nations of the world may be
looked upon as a sort of competition for the overflowing Capital of the
countries where Profits are low and Capital abundant.”—J. S. Mill,
Polit. Econ.
That—“each nation derives greater benefit from having an increasing
market in one of its own provinces, than in a foreign country.”
That—“the possession of remote territories, is the only thing which can
secure to the population of a country those advantages derived from an
easy outlet, or prospect of outlet, to those persons who may be ill
provided for at home.”—Lord Brougham.
That—“we have an immense Colonial Empire. To its resources and
exigencies we now seem for the first time to awaken.[see Note 46]
Hitherto we have been content to consider it as a
magnificent incumbrance, that testified to our greatness but had nothing
to do with our interests or the welfare of our population.”—The Times,
20th January, 1849.
And that—“it must be acknowledged as a principle, that the Colonies of
England are an integral part of this country.”—D’Israeli.
Again—“In certain parts of the Empire transportation was a very
valuable punishment, but there ought to be natural limits to it.
Transportation was very well in the infancy of a Colony, but as it
became more peopled and civilized, it was undesirable to deluge it with
a convict population. The subject of abolishing the penalty of
transportation was one of very great importance.”—Lord Brougham,
1849.
“But what mean I
To speak so true at first? My office is
To noise abroad....
I have the letter here; yes, here it is:”
“The time has come when the great American and Colonial route of
travelling must commence at Halifax.”
[2]
—Great Western Letter Bag.
Yes! and be carried on to Frazer’s River.
[3]
TO MY WORTHY AND MUCH ESTEEMED FRIEND,
THE AUTHOR OF “THE CLOCKMAKER.”
My Dear Friend,
Often have I looked back to the pleasant hours we passed on board the
good brig Tyrian, when, in the spring of 1838, we were quietly floating
over the waves of the broad Atlantic.[see Note 1] Never do I remember to
have crossed them so smoothly, and never certainly with more agreeable
companions. One of our party has long since departed for that country
from whose bourn no traveller returns. Poor Fairbanks! you knew him well
and valued his friendship—knew him to be a kind and a good man, and
that he loved his country well. Had he been as anxious to introduce
Railways into it as he was zealous about his Shubenacadie Canal, he
might perhaps have served it more effectually.[see Notes 2 and 37]
Another of our party, a true and hearty lover of his country, is still
amongst you; may his powerful mind so direct his great abilities as to
enable him to use them for his country’s good; for much may yet be done
for Nova Scotia. Both he and you, I know well, have a friendly feeling
towards me, and you may perhaps have sometimes regretted, though not so
warmly as I have done (living as you both have been for years in the
midst of political excitement), that we have been so completely
separated. With this short preface, as an excuse for introducing your
names, I will now proceed, by recalling that moment so full of
excitement at the time and never to be forgotten,—when, to our
astonishment, we first saw the great ship Syrius steaming down directly
in the wake of the Tyrian. She was the first steamer, I believe, that
ever crossed the Atlantic for New York, and was then on her way back to
England. You will, I dare say, recollect the prompt decision of
Commander Jennings to carry his mail bags on board the steamer, and our
equally prompt decision not to quit our sailing craft, commanded as she
was by so kind and so excellent an officer. You will, I dare say,
recollect how soon flew the question through the captain’s trumpet,
“Will you take charge of the mail?” “Yes, but be quick;” and the
trembling anxiety with which we watched mail bag after mail bag hoisted
up the deep waist of the Tyrian; then lowered into the small boat
below,—tossed about between the vessels, and finally all safely placed
on board the Syrius. It was a bold measure; for had one mail bag been
lost, our gallant commander would in all probability have been severely
censured, if it had not cost him his commission: as it was, I believe,
he received the thanks of the Admiralty. You will also, no doubt,
remember well the lively discussion the sight of this great steam ship
caused amongst us, and how earnestly I expressed my wish, that the
people of Halifax should bestir themselves, and not allow, without a
struggle, British mails and British passengers thus to be taken past
their very doors.[see Note 3] And now that we have lived to see
established what we then discussed (and about which the pen of the
Clockmaker’s companion was not idle),[see Note 4]
the great steam ship
road from and to Liverpool and Halifax, you will not perhaps be
astonished that (like the fly on the wheel) so humble an individual as
your old fellow passenger should
have fancied when steaming (as he has
since often done) over the waves of that same Atlantic, that he too[see
Note 5] had had something to say in creating all the smoke he saw rising
before him. Of one thing, however, he is certain—that his companions,
Fairbanks, Howe and Haliburton (no insignificant names), had determined,
before leaving the Tyrian, that as soon as they reached London they
would wait upon the Colonial minister—point out to him the necessity
and importance of a steam communication from the mother country to her
children in the west, and plead the cause of Halifax;[see Note 6]
and, if I am not mistaken, Fairbanks and Howe proceeded first to Liverpool to
make some inquiries about expense, &c. &c. Be this however as it may, it
is all now matter of no consequence—the great nautical high road
between England and her North American Colonies has long been
established beyond a question, and the enterprising Cunard has shown by
his splendid steam vessels, that it may be depended upon beyond a doubt,
as a regular, a safe and an easy communication.[see Note 38] To him,
therefore, are due the thanks of the public, and the credit of
accomplishing this much wished-for route.
“Whilst others bravely thought, he nobly dar’d.”
But, my dear friend, in an age like the present, shall such a victory
content us? most assuredly not! The time has come when our great
Colonial land route of travelling must reach from Halifax to Frazer’s
River, from the Atlantic to the Pacific—and there is still a grand and
a noble undertaking that must yet be accomplished—must be performed by
Great Britain and her colonies—an undertaking that will open a mine of
wealth to all concerned[see Note 7] (not the wealth of gold, but of
commerce and trade). But to proceed—and here again I must tax your
memory.
You will, no doubt, recollect, that after the King of Holland
had given his decision in the year 1831 as to our disputed boundary with
America, which had been referred to him, and that all eyes were fixed
upon that question,[see Note 65]
which had become very serious and
difficult to settle, his Grace the Duke of Wellington, in speaking on
the subject,[see Note 8] alluded to another very important boundary
question (then little thought of by the public),[see Note 9] and his
Grace pointed to the Oregon.[see Note 33]
The discussions and
difficulties that afterwards arose before the final disposal of that
dispute, most assuredly marked its importance, and proved that the
ever-watchful talent of the Duke had not been attracted to that spot,
without cause.
“We thank the gods
Our Rome has such a soldier!”
Montgomery Martin says, “But for the Hudson’s Bay Company, England would
probably have been shut out from the Pacific.” Be that as it may, we had
at all events, one statesman’s watchful eye upon that ocean, and the
very important question is now disposed of for ever, leaving open to
England another most valuable high road, with the making of which we
(again like the fly on the wheel) think we must have something to do; at
all events, we may discuss and talk about it,—as in the Tyrian we
formerly did about the great Steam Line from and to Liverpool and
Halifax. But to proceed seriously. Did his Grace, let it be asked, when
pointing to our North-Western boundary line, look forward at that time
to the shores of the Pacific as being “the end of the West and the
beginning of the East?” Did his Grace’s imagination picture to his
mind’s eye swarms of human beings from Halifax, from New Brunswick, from
Quebec, from Montreal, from Byetown, from Kingston, from Toronto, from
Hamilton, the Red River Settlement, &c. &c. &c., rushing across the
rocky mountains of Oregon with the produce of the West in exchange for
the riches of the East? Did his Grace imagine the Pacific Ocean alive
with all descriptions of vessels sailing and steaming from our
magnificent Colonies—New Zealand, Van Diemen’s Land, New South Wales,
New Holland, from Borneo and the West Coast of China, from the Sandwich
Islands, and a thousand other places, all carrying the rich productions
of the East, and landing them at the commencement of the West,—to be
forwarded and distributed throughout our North American provinces, and
to be delivered in Thirty Days at the ports of Great Britain? Did his
Grace foresee that steam would bring Halifax within ten days of
Liverpool? That a Railway would make Halifax only ten or fifteen days
distant from the north-west coast of North America, (and that the
Sandwich Islands would not be ten days further off?) whence steamers
might be despatched with the mails from England for Pekin, Canton,
Australia, New Zealand, &c. &c. &c.; and did his Grace look forward to
the rolling masses of treasure that would be sure to travel on such a
girdle line of communication as that? Did his Grace then weigh and
consider that “to the inventive genius of her sons England owes the
foundation of her commercial greatness. We will not go the length of
asserting that she retains her proud pre-eminence solely upon the
condition of keeping twenty years ahead of other nations in the practice
of mechanical arts. But there is no question, that a fearful proportion
of our fellow subjects hold their prosperity upon no other tenure, and
quite independently of what may be done by our rivals it is of vast
importance to our increasing population that the conquest over nature
should proceed unchecked?” [Quarterly Review, December, 1848.] And did
his Grace look forward and foresee that between the north-eastern and
north-western shores of America, and through our loyal, long-tried and
devoted North American colonies,[see Note 10] there might be undertaken
a great, a noble, and a most important work, that would give
remunerative employment to the population, to the wealth, and to the
inventive genius of England? Did his Grace, in short, look forward to a
grand National Railway from the Atlantic to the Pacific?[see Note 60]
If not, let his Grace do so now! Let the people of Great Britain do
so!—let her colonial minister. Startling as it may at first appear, a
little reflection will show that England and her children have the power
to make it; that it must be done; and will become valuable property—for
it would increase our commerce and trade to an extent not easy to
calculate.[see Note 11] But such a noble work must not be looked upon
merely as a money question,—although if only considered in that
light,—England must reflect that if she wishes and intends to retain
her high pre-eminence amongst the nations of the earth, she must most
assuredly pay for it. No country can have all the blessings and
advantages of England and have them for nothing, nor can she retain them
without great exertion. Her accumulated wealth cannot be allowed to
remain idle—nor will it.[see Note 12] No one will deny for a moment
that every economy that will make the poor man richer and happier ought
to be practised;[see Note 39]
but let us take care that we do not, from
too strong a desire to retain that wealth which Providence has thrown
into the lap of England[see Note 13] even in the midst of war,
[see Note 14]
deprive her labouring children of legitimate employment and just
remuneration, (all that the industrious classes of our fellow-countrymen
require.) But the undertaking proposed has even a higher claim to our
attention. It is the great link required to unite in one powerful chain
the whole English race.
Let then our Railway Kings, and our Iron
Kings, our princely merchants, and our lords millionnaires—let the
stirring and active spirits of the age—the great reformers and the
modern politicians, many of whom are now proclaiming through the land
that economy alone can save the country—[see Note 15]condescend for a
short time even, to consider the undertaking here proposed; and say, if
they can, that (even should it be executed at an immense expense) it
would not produce a great and beneficial forward movement, and be a
present happy employment, and a future perpetual source of wealth to
England and her children. Let them consider also that “the social
advancement which the modern improvement of Railways is calculated to
effect has added a new faculty to man in the facilities which it affords
of communication between province and province, and between nation and
nation. Nor does it seem too much to say, that it will be the means of
binding all the nations of the earth into one family, with mutual
interests, and with the mutual desire of promoting the prosperity of
their neighbours, in order that they may enhance their own, and forming
thereby the most powerful antagonistic principle to war that the earth
has ever known.” [Bradshaw’s Almanack, 1849.] Again, what says the
Quarterly: “We trust our readers of all politics will cordially join
with us in a desire, not inappropriate at the commencement of a new
year, that the wonderful discovery which it has pleased the Almighty to
impart to us, instead of becoming amongst us a subject of angry dispute,
may in every region of the globe bring the human family into friendly
communication; that it may dispel national prejudices; assuage
animosities—in short, that, by creating a feeling of universal
gratitude to the powers from which it has proceeded, it may produce on
earth peace and good-will towards men.” And where, let it be asked, can
this wonderful discovery, this great power of steam,[see Note 16] be
called into action so effectually and so usefully, not only for Great
Britain, but for mankind in general, than in that parallel of
latitude[see Note 17] in which (all barrier difficulties and all cause
for war being now removed) would naturally flow in full tide the
civilization, arts and sciences that invariably follow in the wake of
Englishmen? Then as to the difficulties of the undertaking, let us
recollect that an eminent engineer, previous to the construction of the
Liverpool and Manchester Line, said, “No man in his senses would attempt
a Railroad over Chat Moss:” his calculation was that it would cost
£270,000. Yet the genius of George Stephenson afterwards surmounted the
difficulty at a cost of £40,000, though the work was commenced when
engineering science was less understood than now. Let us also listen to
the Quarterly, “Steam as applied to locomotion by sea and land is the
great wonder-worker of the age. For many years we have been so startled
by such a succession of apparent miracles, we have so often seen results
which surpassed and falsified all the deductions of sober calculations,
and so brief an interval has elapsed between the day when certain
performances were classed by men of science as among impossibilities,
and that wherein those same performances had almost ceased to be
remarkable from their frequency, that we might almost be excused if we
regarded the cloud-compelling demon, with somewhat of the reverence
which the savage pays to his superior, when he worships as omnipotent
any power whose limits he cannot himself perceive.” With such a
power[see Note 18] (so eloquently described) at our command, and such
magnificent results to be obtained from it, shall England hesitate?
shall the expenditure of a few millions check such a noble work? shall
the Rocky Mountains be a barrier? mountains never yet properly explored,
and of which almost all we know is that (as my friend Colonel Bloomfield
observed) we nearly went to war to be allowed to cross them. And what
are the expenses of war? Between the years 1797 and 1815, 630 millions
of money were expended for carrying on war. Again, the very magnitude of
the undertaking and length of the Railway is in its favour, for—listen
again to the Quarterly: “We believe it may be affirmed without fear of
contradiction, that the working details of a Railway are invariably well
executed in proportion to their magnitude. A little Railway—like a
little war—is murderous to those engaged and ruinous to those who pay
for it.” Now if in England experience has taught all this,—shall the
good people of Halifax, New Brunswick, Quebec, Montreal, Toronto, &c.,
be allowed, perhaps encouraged, to go on slowly endeavouring (at an
immense expense and outlay for such young communities) to make a variety
of small Railways,[see Note 40] thus acknowledged to be ruinous, and the
mother country remain quietly looking on when she has now the power of
greatly assisting them, and to her own advantage, by planning and
arranging one grand route and system of Lines throughout the whole
country,[see Note 19] and under Providence the means of opening that
route in an incredible short space of time? Let then England, her North
American colonies, and the Hudson’s Bay Company, join heart and hand,
and with the great power of steam which it has pleased the Almighty to
place at the command of man, there will soon arise a work that will be
the wonder and admiration of the age—and such a mercantile and
colonizing road will be open to Great Britain, that at no future period,
(at least within the imagination of man,) will she ever again have to
complain of too great a population on her soil, and too small a market
for her labour.
Let us now then proceed, my dear friend, to consider how this great
work might be commenced, and its probable results when accomplished. In
the first place let us look a little to the immense annual cost to
England for her prisons and her convicts,[see Notes 47 and 50]—much of
that crime arising probably from the want of employment, and consequent
poverty.[see Note 20] Even at this moment five millions are spoken of as
a sum required to be expended in new prisons for a favourite system.[see
Note 41] In 1836 it was suggested “as well worthy of consideration,
whether it would not be advisable to cease transporting convicts at so
great a cost to distant settlements, and instead to send them to a
nearer place of exile, where their labour might be rendered in so great
a degree valuable, as speedily to return to the Mother Country the whole
of the charge incurred for their conveyance” [The Progress of the
Nation, by A. R. Porter, Esq.];[see Note 21] and where could England
better employ her convict labour, than on a work that would be of such
vast and lasting importance to herself, to her colonies, and to mankind
in general? It was also observed, by the same author, “If gangs of
convict labourers were placed a little beyond the verge of civilization,
and employed in clearing and enclosing lands, constructing roads,
building bridges, the land thus prepared and improved would meet with
ready purchasers at prices which would well repay the Government their
previous outlay.” It may be objected by some, that the expense of the
troops necessary to guard the convicts would be very great, and would be
a heavy burden to this country. To them I must use the words of the
“Times,” when suggesting the grant of colonial lands to be annexed to
the performance of military duties. “Subsidiary to and connected with
this arrangement
might be devised another, by which soldiers of good
character might be discharged after ten years service, and rewarded with
small freeholds in the colonies. They might be bound to appear on duty
at certain periods, and for a certain duration of time, as our
pensioners are at present.” And if soldiers of six or eight years
service were sent out in charge of the convicts, that unpleasant duty
would be of very short duration before they would meet with their
reward. Added to which, it has been suggested by my friend Captain Wood,
of the Hon. East India Company’s service, that the Indians might be very
usefully employed on this duty,[see Note 48] somewhat in the same manner
as the natives in India are encouraged to look after European soldiers
who desert their colours. In alluding to the pensioners of Great
Britain, it is only due to Lieut.-Col. Tulloch to render our honest
thanks to him, for the introduction through his indefatigable exertions
of this most important feature in a new military system. Not only has he
added to the respectability, comfort, and happiness of many a worn out
old soldier, but he has also provided a very imposing force of veterans
ready at any moment to support the laws of their country; and, should
unfortunately such an occasion ever arise, of opposing all feeling of
disloyalty to their beloved sovereign.
[see Note 42] Lieut.-Col. Tulloch
may well feel proud of the result of his labours. This system of
pensions alluded to by the “Times” would become extremely applicable to
the troops employed in guarding the convicts on the proposed Atlantic
and Pacific Railway, and small villages, and ultimately cities, would,
no doubt, arise from such a source: but even the first outlay caused by
the employment of the convicts on such a work cannot be considered as
any extra expense to government; for these convicts must be fed, must be
employed, and must be guarded somewhere: and it will be shown hereafter
that government will be reimbursed not only her expenditure on account
of the convicts, but also her expenditure on account of the troops
required to guard them. In making his suggestions for the employment of
the convicts in 1836, Mr. Porter says, “There is unhappily but too much
reason for believing that the whole number of labourers who could be
thus profitably employed might be furnished from the criminal population
of Great Britain.” And by a return given at the same time, it is shown
that the number of convicts from 1825 to 1833, both years inclusive, was
22,138, and that return did not include all the penal settlements. The
“Times” of the 18th January, 1848, in speaking of the expenditure of the
country, says, “Convicts at home and abroad have mounted from £111,306
to £378,000; certainly the law of increase is strongly marked on the
expense of crime.” “If any body will cut down this figure, he will earn
the gratitude of the nation.” This last expression of the Times has more
particular reference to the expense incurred for Ireland, but will no
doubt be acknowledged to be equally true as bearing upon the enormous
general increase of convict expenditure; and the more I reflect on this
subject, the more do I feel convinced that the employment of convict
labour in the Rocky Mountains,[see Note 22] and at several other points
of the Line of this proposed great National work, would produce a most
beneficial result, as a means of reducing the amount of crime, as even
an immediate saving of transport expense to England (unless indeed all
distant penal settlements are to be finally abandoned),[see Notes 21 and
45] and as an ultimate great advantage both to her own commerce, and to
that of her colonies; and here let it be recollected, that there is a
feeling abroad “to force upon government and the legislature a bold and
manly course in dealing with crime in general:” that the magnificent
prisons now built are considered “unjust to the labouring poor, whose
humble dwelling, with coarse and scanty food, is mocked by the grandeur
and beauty of the prison, as well as by the idle and comfortable
entertainment within its wall;” and it has been remarked by a public
journal in a warning voice, “to make prisons palaces is the way to turn
palaces into prisons.”[see Note 34] But enough has been said on this
subject at present, and we will now consider again the working out of
this great undertaking. We will suppose, in the first place, active,
intelligent, and scientific young men to be sent to the Rocky
Mountains,[see Note 49] to ascertain the best spot at which to cross
them, and the best port (if the mouth of Frazer’s River will not
answer), on the western shore of North America, within, of course, the
Hudson’s Bay Company’s territory, for a great commercial harbour and
railway terminus. Then let a grand line of Railway be marked out from
Halifax to that spot, and let all local towns or districts that have
sufficient capital and labour to undertake any part of that Line, have
the benefit of the profits of the whole Line, in proportion to the parts
they may finish. No convict labour need interfere with them. But in such
districts as are at present so thinly inhabited as to have no working
population, and no capital to expend, let the work be commenced by
England, by her capital, and her convicts;[see Note 23] and let
government encourage and facilitate the formation of a great Atlantic
and Pacific Railway Company, by obtaining from parliament a national
guarantee for the completion of the work;[see Note 51] first, of course,
having entered into arrangements with the Hudson’s Bay Company, and her
North American provinces, for the security of such sums of money as may
be advanced by way of loan from Great Britain.
To Englishmen we would say then, in the words of the Rev. C. G.
Nicolay, “We have at home a superabundant population,[see Note 24]
subject to a very rapid increase on any reduction of the price, if but
of the necessaries of life,—how can it be better employed than in
seeking, with its own advance in social position, and means of acquiring
its comforts, if not its luxuries, the spread of our free
institutions—equal laws—and holy religion. We desire an enlarged
sphere for commercial enterprise. New markets for our manufactures;
these every fresh colony supplies in its measure. If then the Oregon be
what it appears to be, if its climate, soil, agriculture, and commercial
capabilities be as represented, why leave its future destiny to time and
circumstances?” We would say to the Hudson’s Bay Company in the words of
Mr. James Edward Fitzgerald, “You have the power of becoming the
founders of a New State, perhaps of a new empire, or of arresting for a
time, for you cannot ultimately prevent, the march of mankind in their
career of victory over the desolate and uncultivated parts of the earth.
For now nearly two centuries your sway has extended over half a
continent, and as yet you have left nothing behind you in all that vast
country, to bear witness to your power and your riches. Now a new
destiny is before you; you may, if you will, place your names beside
those who have devoted themselves to the noble task of stimulating and
directing the enterprising genius of their fellow countrymen, who have
prolonged the existence of their nation by giving a new life to its
offspring.” And we would then call upon England, her North American
provinces, and the Hudson’s Bay Company, to employ their wealth and
power to unite in one great unbroken iron chain, the Mother Country with
her distant Children, and, in spite of Nature’s difficulties, carry
steam across the Rocky Mountains.[see Note 25]
From childhood I have been accustomed to look upon the power of England
as irresistible,—morally, physically,[see Note 35] and
intellectually,—she has now in this age the command of mind and matter
sufficient to enable her almost to move the earth, and shall the tunnel
under the Thames, the tube over the Conway, and the bridge over the
Menai, be our only wonders? How well do I remember the delight with
which I have listened to the anecdote told of Mr. Pitt, who, when he was
informed that it was impracticable to carry into effect some orders he
had given about heavy ordnance being sent to Portsmouth within a certain
time, “Not possible?” exclaimed Mr. Pitt, “then send them by the
Mail.”[see Note 26] With the same feeling of pride and delight have I
heard in later days of the artillery officer’s remark, when it was
whispered to him by another that it would not be possible to place their
guns in some wished for position; “My dear fellow,” said the commanding
officer, “I have the order in my pocket.” Let England only commence the
Railway from Halifax to the Pacific, with the order to cross the Rocky
Mountains in the pocket of her sons, and the accomplishment of the
undertaking will soon reward the labour, courage and skill which would
undoubtedly be exhibited. Sir Alexander Mackenzie inscribed in large
characters, with vermillion, this brief memorial, on the rocks of the
Pacific, “Alexander Mackenzie from Canada by land the 22nd of July,
1794.” Who will be the first engineer to inscribe upon the Rocky
Mountains “On this day engineer A. B. piloted the first locomotive
engine across the Rocky Mountains;” and what then will be the feeling of
Englishmen, when even now Steam is considered the “exclusive offspring
of British genius, fostered and sustained by British enterprise and
British capital!” We have seen that on the highest habitable spot of the
Mountains of the Alps stands a monument of war, placed there by the hand
of a powerful man in the pride of victory over his fellow-men, and in
honour of his companion in arms. We trust before long that on the
highest habitable spot of the Rocky Mountains will stand a monument of
peace, placed there by an enterprising nation in honour of the victory
of science over nature, and in memory of some enterprising son.
After all her wars, her victories and her revolutions, in what condition
is France?
What may not England expect to be with all her victories over
nature—her trade and commerce?[see Note 52] May she march forward in
her career of peace as bravely, as nobly, and as proudly as she did in
that of war; and may she now take as great an interest in, and make the
same exertions for, the welfare and happiness not only of her own
people, but of those of other nations in all quarters of the globe, as
she did in former days for their protection from a desolating foe.
What the ultimate consequences of such a link of connection would be,
are indeed far beyond the reach of the human mind to foresee; but its
immediate results stand out apparently to the most common observer. In
the first place, Cape Horn (the roughest point to weather in the whole
world) would be avoided. In the next, the long passage by the Cape of
Good Hope to innumerable places in the Pacific Ocean would become also
unnecessary. In both these cases a great amount of time (which in
commerce is money) would be saved. Again, it would be no longer
necessary to send goods by the route of the Hudson’s Bay[see Note 27] to
the territories of that Company; and thus a climate horrible in winter
and summer, would also be avoided.[see Note 44] Then one view of the
map of the world will show that the proposed terminus of the Atlantic
and Pacific Railway at Frazer’s River, taken as a centre, would bring
New Zealand, New South Wales, in fact, Australia, New Guinea, Borneo,
Canton, Pekin, all within fifty days’ sail of that point; and taking the
Sandwich Islands as a centre point, (where there is a fine harbour, and
where a depôt of coals might be established), which could be reached in
ten days, all the before-named places would be brought within twenty
days for steam navigation, other points, such as the Friendly Islands,
&c., might be selected for further depôts of coals. Again, from the
terminus of the proposed railway the mails from England could be
despatched to all the before-mentioned places, and the formation of a
great steam navigation company, with a grant from government in the same
way as a grant was made to the Atlantic Steam Navigation Company to
Halifax, would insure magnificent steamers for the conveyance of these
mails, and would secure also to the Hudson’s Bay Company an immense
consumption of their coal. Last, though not least of all, this Railway
route across the continent of North America would ensure to England at
all times a free communication with her East India possessions. It is
true that at present there is no difficulty in that respect, and the
indefatigable exertions of Lieutenant Waghorn and of other enterprising
people, amongst them my friend Major Head, have opened to the British
public and to the East India Company a quick and speedy communication
with India. But let the public reflect, and let the Government reflect,
that, in the event of a European war, we might be called upon to defend
and keep open that communication at an immense expenditure of life and
money, and indeed it might even be closed against us; whereas the
proposed Line across the continent of America would be within our own
dominions, and would not oblige us to interfere or meddle with any
continental wars to enjoy its free use. No time ought to be lost in the
commencement of this national undertaking.
If then Government took the initiative, it might obtain the consent of
Parliament, and proceed to appoint a Board of General Arrangement and
Control, consisting, say, of fifteen Commissioners: three on the part of
Great Britain, three to be named by the Hudson’s Bay Company, three to
be appointed by the Government of Nova Scotia, three by that of New
Brunswick, and three on the part of Canada; all these latter of course
with the approval of their respective Governors. It may appear that the
North American Provinces would thus have a greater proportion of
Commissioners; but as each of these Colonies have Governments
independent of each other, they may be considered as separate Companies,
although we take them as one when considered as the North American
Provinces. These fifteen gentlemen might be all Members of Parliament;
thus the system of representatives from the Colonies, so often suggested
and spoken of, could be commenced, and the Colonists thus made
practically aware that they are an integral part of this country.
These Commissioners could be authorized to make all the necessary
arrangements for the security of the monies proposed to be advanced by
the Government of Great Britain, and should be instructed to draw up the
general Articles of Agreement between the high contracting parties; and
Government might be authorized by Parliament to open an account with
these Commissioners, who as a Body might be called “The Atlantic and
Pacific Railway Board of Control,” and under its auspices a public
Company might be formed, refunding to the Government all previous
outlay.
Our North American provinces are close at hand, and during the
approaching summer all the necessary arrangements might be made for the
reception of a great number of convicts in different locations; and, in
the first instance, they might be sent to Halifax and Quebec,[see Note
53] where they
could be received immediately, not certainly in palaces,
but in very good wood huts; at both these places they could also be at
once set to work in unloading the vessels sent from England with the
necessary stores for the commencement of this great national work, and
in preparing and levelling the situations of the respective termini; for
of course at both these stations great government as well as private
wharfs would be established. Again: another portion could be sent at
once from New South Wales to the port fixed upon on the north-west coast
of North America, in the Hudson’s Bay Company’s territory:[see Note 67]
there they could be put to work in the same way—to unload vessels
bringing in stores, to cut down and prepare timber, level and get ready
the site of the terminus. And it appears very necessary that preparation
should be made for the reception of a large body at the Red River
Settlement, that point being a very important spot in the Line proposed.
Let us see what Montgomery Martin says about it.[see Note 28]
The Bishop of Montreal, in 1844, says, “The soil, which is alluvial, is
beyond example rich and productive, and withal so easily worked, that,
although it does not quite come up to the description of the Happy
Islands—reddit ubi cererem tellus inarata quot annis—there is an
instance, I was assured, of a farm in which the owner, with
comparatively light labour in the preparatory processes, had taken a
wheat crop out of the same land for eighteen successive years, never
changing the crop, never manuring the land, and never suffering it to
lie fallow, and that the crop was abundant to the last; and, with
respect to the pasture and hay, they are to be had ad libitum, as nature
gives them in the open plains.” Again, speaking of import goods: “All
these articles are brought across from Hudson’s Bay, a distance of
several hundred miles, in boats, and these boats are drawn across the
portages on rollers, or in some places carried upon waggons; hence those
articles which are of a heavy description are charged at a price
seemingly out of all proportion to that of many others which may be
obtained at a moderate price: a common grindstone is sold for
20s.”[see Note 29]
Now read again the description of Hudson’s Bay, discovered by John
Hudson in 1610,[see Note 27] then look upon that picture, and upon this;
look upon that country that will give eighteen successive crops of
wheat, and look upon the difficult, dangerous, and tedious navigation of
that bay, whose climate in summer and winter is horrible, and through
whose waters the stores of this fine country are obliged to travel; look
at that picture, then look at this,—the easy, safe, and rapid
communication of a Railway,—and say if the time, health and money that
would be saved by its construction is not worthy the consideration of
Englishmen, and would not repay the constructors, even if that was to be
its last terminus.[see Note 54]
But when it is considered that the Main Line of Railway, in passing
through our own colonies, would skirt the shores of Lake Superior—rich
in mines of silver and copper[see Note 36]—and that the Red River
Settlement[see Note 30] would only be one of the many valuable towns and
districts that would be opened to trade and commerce, and only
contribute its mite to the profits to be obtained from the passage of
the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, it appears to me impossible that
such a powerful and wealthy Company as the Hudson’s Bay, such
magnificent colonies as our North American provinces, and such a power
as Great Britain, can balance for one moment in their minds whether loss
or profit must attend the undertaking and completion of such a Railway.
But, vires acquirit eundo, our argument is stronger as we proceed; for,
crossing the Rocky Mountains, where the real terminus would be, let us
pause for a moment to consider the mine of wealth we should open—not
the wealth of gold and silver—but wealth, the reward of commerce and
industry.
“The land,” Nicolay says, “affords, even now, exports of cattle, wool,
hides, and tallow, as well as salted meat, beef, pork, wheat, barley,
Indian corn, apples, and timber. Of these all are sent to the Sandwich
Islands, some to California, and hides and wool have been sent to
England. The woods of the Oregon present another fertile source of
national wealth. The growth of timber of all sorts in the neighbourhood
of the harbours in the De-fuca Strait adds much to their value as a
naval and commercial station. Coal is found in the whole western
district, but principally shows itself above the surface on north part
of Vancouver’s Island. To these sources of commercial and national
wealth must be added the minerals—iron, lead, tin, &c. The mountains
and seacoast produce granite, slate, sandstone,—and in the interior
oolites; limestone is plentiful, and to the north most easily worked and
very rich in colour.”
Again: look to the whale fishery.[see Note 31] And, in conclusion, we
may say that the Hudson’s Bay Company’s territory in the Pacific, that
is, New Caledonia, “will be found to fall short of but a few countries,
either in salubrity of climate, fertility of soil, and consequent
luxuriance of vegetation, and utility of production, of in the
picturesque character of the scenery.”
But, my dear friend, I have been led on by my excitement on this subject
to make quotations and enter into particulars and details far beyond my
original thoughts, which were chiefly to draw the attention of your
powerful and active mind to a great national undertaking, knowing well
your love of everything English, and at the same time your devoted
attachment to the North American colonies. You have travelled far, and
seen much, and have shown in your works how clearly you have observed
and appreciated the power and manly spirit of England;
“Dear for her reputation through the world;”
and although you have felt, as a colonist, that her provinces of North
America might have been better governed, and that they have had even
much justly to complain about, still you have always upheld the
connection with England, and argued its value. In writing to you, the
thoughts of old times have returned, and reminded me of our happy
meetings and friendly converse in your lodgings in Piccadilly; and, thus
thinking, I have written on, as in fancy I have imagined we should have
chatted together,—and now I cannot do otherwise than continue in this
freedom of communication, and endeavour to excite you to entertain my
thoughts, and to canvass them among your fellow-countrymen.
To return, then, to our subject, and to the necessity for England to be
up and stirring. It has been remarked, that “a person who is already
thriving seldom puts himself out of his way to commence even a lucrative
improvement, unless urged by the additional motive of fear lest some
rival should supplant him by getting possession of it before him.”
Truly, indeed, has it been said by the Spectator, “that England is not
bankrupt, nor poor, nor needy. In every quarter we see immense additions
to material wealth; we observe, too, on all hands a vast extension of
luxurious enjoyments among the middle classes; every thing attests a
huge growth in the wealth of the nation.” It may be fairly considered,
then, that England is thriving—a lucrative improvement of vast
magnitude is open to her—and if the additional motive of fear
of rivalry is necessary to excite her in so noble an undertaking, let her
reflect on what is said in an American paper:—
A Boston paper of the day says, “the finding of these gold mines is of
more importance than any previous event for 300 years. The prosperity of
Queen Elizabeth’s reign was mainly owing to the stimulus given to
commerce by the increase of the precious metals; but the field now to be
acted upon is at least fifty times greater than during that period.
Within five years there will be a Railroad from the Atlantic Ocean,
across the great American Continent, through the gold regions, to the
Bay of San Francisco, said to be the finest harbour in the world. The
people of San Francisco will then communicate by telegraph in a few
minutes, and the mails will be taken to Canton on the one side in
fourteen days, and to London on the other in nine days; so that
intelligence may be conveyed from the one end to the other in the short
period of twenty-three days. This will be witnessed under five years.”
It is evident, then, that the people of the United States are quite
aware of all the advantages to be gained by a quick communication across
the Continent of America. Let us consider now, for a moment, what the
consequences of a railway would be as regards your own valuable and
fertile colonies.[see Note 43]
You have no doubt already pictured to yourself the town of Halifax alive
with all the bustle and excitement of a great commercial community, and
her noble harbours full of every description of vessels, from the
magnificent English steamer to the small colonial coasting craft; for
soon, not merely one steamer a week, as now, would touch from England on
her way to New York, but Nova Scotia herself, from
the increasing wealth
and importance of her towns, would require the use of many steamers to
enable her to carry on the numerous commercial duties that would fall to
her lot; and when we reflect that at Halifax would rest the terminus,
whence could be embarked for England at all seasons of the year our
highly valuable colonial produce, including the rich exports from the
Southern Pacific Ocean (not sent round Cape Horn or the Cape of Good
Hope); and when we reflect that this long neglected seaport town could
equally receive at all seasons of the year the various exports from
England, for her numerous Colonies; and when we consider that there is
abundance of coal at hand, with wood and stone for building, who can
hesitate for a moment to acknowledge that Halifax would soon become one
of the most important ports, and one of the most noble cities of the
world; add to this, that the connection and attachment of Nova Scotia to
England would be cemented for ever—and that the dream of the Clockmaker
would be realized. “This is the best situation in all America—is Nova
Scotia, if the British did but know it. It will have the greatest trade,
the greatest population, the most manufactures, the most wealth, of any
state this side of the water. The resources, natural advantages, and
political position of this place, beats all.” Then again, look to the
city of Quebec; no sooner would the river navigation be open than
thousands of vessels from England would be seen dropping their anchors
at the foot of her proud citadel, carrying out vast cargoes of English
exports; then picture to yourself the railway terminus, alive with all
the consequent bustle, the steam up, and the railway carriages ready to
convey all these articles of commerce to every town and district in the
North American Colonies; away also to the far west, whence they would be
forwarded to our colonial possessions in the Southern Pacific, and to
numerous other places; then again, behold these ships reloading quickly
with the timber and other exportable articles from our then
firmly-linked-together valuable Colonies, sailing away for England, and
repeating their visit two or three times in the season; the difficult
navigation of the Hudson’s Bay avoided; the territory of the Hudson’s
Bay Company daily increasing in value, from the ease with which its
inhabitants could procure articles of commerce, before almost forbidden
to them; and Quebec, being their nearest port for embarkation for
England, would necessarily become even a much more important city than
she is at present. The land in her neighbourhood would become highly
valuable, and, as a matter of necessity, the fine country to the north,
with even better soil and better climate, would soon be opened and
peopled. I cannot cease referring to Quebec without recording my
gratitude for many kindnesses there received—particularly from the
family of Captain Boxer.[see Note 55] Then again, look to New Brunswick,
connected as it would of course be both with Halifax and Quebec, thus,
having a free and direct communication with those cities, and enabled to
export or import at any season of the year, (should she wish to avoid
the navigation of the Bay of Fundy); then think what strength she would
bring to the union of the Colonies by such a link of connection, and how
many more opportunities her inhabitants would have of encouraging and
fostering that strong attachment to their English brethren we all so
well know to exist amongst the people of New Brunswick.
But, my dear friend, I might go on this way for ever, pointing out town
after town, and district after district, showing how the wealth and
prosperity of each would go on rapidly increasing. I cannot, however,
quit the subject without a passing word on Montreal, in which city I
have passed many happy days, and from whose inhabitants I have received
much kindness and civility. That noble city has already made some
steady advances to a great capital, and the time cannot be far distant
when she will rival even the most flourishing on the North American
Continent. To her this proposed Railway would be highly important. She
has shown that she already understands the value of such things; for not
only has she a small one of her own to La-Chine, about seven miles up
the river, but she has also, I understand, finished about thirty miles
towards the Atlantic in the direction of Portland. The interest of these
Companies would not of course be lost sight of, but their profits taken
into the general calculation. The great Trunk Line of Railway would
naturally, I conclude, go through a country some distance to the north
of Montreal; but one of the most important termini must of necessity be
at that city where the business of the Government is carried on, and
where of course a general Railway Communication with every town and
district would be established. Toronto would naturally be considered in
the manner in which so loyal and devoted a city ought to be, and where
was held, even to a very late period, the parliament of a great country,
surrendered only to her sister Montreal on public considerations and for
the general good;[see Note 62] and the Main Line of Railway should be
brought as near Toronto as the communication between the Atlantic and
Pacific (its great object and principal view) would permit. Hamilton,
Kingston, Byetown and several other places must not consider themselves
neglected, if not herein specially mentioned; but in fact as regards
these Colonies, the song of your friend, the Clockmaker, about them
cannot be sung too often. “Oh Squire! if John Bull only knew the value
of these Colonies, he would be a great
man, I tell you,—but he don’t.”
Truly do I hope that I may now sing to them with confidence,—
“There’s a good time coming yet,
Wait a little longer.”
In your conversation with the Clockmaker you have observed, “it is
painful to think of the blunders that have been committed from time to
time in the management of our Colonies, and of the gross ignorance or
utter disregard of their interests that has been displayed in treaties
with foreign powers. Fortunately for the Mother Country, the Colonists
are warmly attached to her and her institutions, and deplore a
separation too much to agitate questions, however important, that may
have a tendency to weaken their affections by arousing their passions.”
Should the Government of Great Britain, upon whose consideration will be
forced the present situation of her Colonies, consider it right to give
their support to this proposed Atlantic and Pacific Railway for the
reasons herein explained, or from any other cause,—the great benefit
that Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Canadas will derive from having
open to them a free and easy access to the Atlantic and the Pacific,
will, I trust, occasion such an activity of mind and such an employment
of matter, that in the general good arising therefrom, all thoughts of
former ill treatment or unkindness from the Mother Country will soon be
forgotten.
The great question, however, is, and will be on all sides, Where is the
money to come from?[see Note 56] and that question I am weak enough to
fancy is easily answered. Let us consider this subject a little. Let us
remember, first, that England expended 630 millions during nineteen
years in war, and, notwithstanding which expenditure, the country got
richer
and richer every day;[see Note 14] and if the country is not
poorer now than it was in the years when it was able to raise the sum of
150 millions in a single year—the greater part of which it could afford
to expend in one year in war, and grow richer all the time—surely such
a country can afford to expend some few millions for the benefit of
those colonies on account of whom she was lately ready to go to war, and
on whose account she did actually expend about two millions, caused
merely by the rebellion and disturbance of a few discontented spirits.
But the money that England would be called upon to advance in the
proposed undertaking would secure to her not only the attachment of her
children in the North American provinces, by making it as well their
worldly interest, as it is their natural feeling and wish, to remain
Englishmen; but that money, and the interest of that money, could be
secured to her by proper arrangements being entered into with the
Hudson’s Bay Company, and with the North American provinces, and be
ultimately reimbursed to her by the formation of the proposed Company.
Up to the present moment England has, I believe, only expended the
sum of £148,000,000 on her Railways, and, I believe, nearly 5000 miles
are finished; and on an average these Railways are said to give a return
of about four per cent., and “with the increase of the national
wealth and population, and with the increase of habits of social
inter-communication and the transit of goods, the traffic on Railways
would increase, and the profits and dividends would not be less but
greater; and in the case of some of them, no man would pretend to say
how great might be the increase of dividends from the improved and
economical modes of working Railways, which, there is every reason to
believe, will day by day be freshly discovered.” [Bradshaw’s Almanack,
1849]. And who will say that £200,000,000 expended (even should such a
sum as that be required) in making a Railway Road from the Atlantic to
the Pacific through our own territories, and therefore completely under
our own controul, would not increase by a tenfold degree the value of
that property already expended in England? When the Railways now in
contemplation at home are finished, their total length will, I believe,
be about 10,000 miles, and the expenditure between 200 and 240 millions.
The length of the Railway proposed to go through our colonies may be
spoken of roughly as at about 4000 miles; but when we take into
consideration the relative value of land in England and our colonies,
and a thousand other Railway contingencies in a highly civilized
country, creating enormous legal, legislative and other expenses, we
naturally come to the conclusion that the outlay per mile must of course
be considerably diminished in the colonies. Taking it, however, at the
English expenditure of £24,000 a mile on the average, it would only cost
£96,000,000;[see Note 32]—£5,000,000 has been estimated as sufficient
for six hundred miles of Railway from Halifax to Quebec. But calling it
£100,000,000, and supposing the work to be five years completing, that
would only be at the rate of £20,000,000 a year, the interest of which
at five per cent. would be £1,000,000. Surely, then, such a sum as that
could be easily raised, even by the Hudson’s Bay Company alone, upon the
security of their extensive and valuable territory. For so great a
difference would soon arise between the value of that territory as it is
now—merely the abode of Indians and hunters—and what it would be then;
with its clearings, its improvements, its roads, its trade, its
manufactures, and its towns, that any amount of debt almost might be
incurred. But our loyal colonies would no doubt equally enter into
securities to England, and be glad, in fact, to share their chance of
the profit; for these colonies, as well as the Hudson’s Bay Company,
would be immense gainers. Still it may be argued, that unless it can be
shown that England herself would be a gainer, she would not be justified
in advancing any money on such an undertaking. Let us, then, consider
this point a little. Mr. Cobden has asserted (what some of our public
journals confess to be true), “that if the revenue had fallen off, it
was because the balance sheet of the merchants and the manufacturers had
fallen off likewise.” If then we show by the undertaking of such a work
as is now proposed, the balance sheets of the merchants and
manufacturers must increase immensely, we surely make out a case for the
good of the country generally, as far as revenue is concerned.
Let us then first consider, that “So interwoven and complicated are the
fibres which form the texture of the highly civilized and artificial
community in which we live, that an effect produced on any one point is
instantly transmitted to the most remote and apparently unconnected
parts of the system.” And again—“The exportation of labourers and
capital from the old to the new countries, from a place where their
productive power is less to a place where it is greater, increases by so
much the aggregate produce of the labour and capital of the world.”
Now, with regard to the first remark, the effect that would be produced
by the necessary exportation of all the machinery for the making and
working of this Atlantic and Pacific Railway, would of course produce,
even in England, a very great increase both to the productive power and
to the consumption of a variety of articles apparently unconnected with
the affairs of the Railway; and when, again, we look to the necessary
exportation of labourers and of capital to the towns on the Line of the
Railway where there is less productive power at work, by increasing that
dormant power we shall increase the aggregate capital of the world, and
consequently that of England. Again—“Could we suddenly double the
productive power of the country, we should double the supply of the
commodities in every market, but we should by the same stroke double the
purchasing power—every body would bring a double demand as well as
supply—every body would be able to buy twice as much, as he would have
twice as much to offer in exchange.” Also—“A country which produces for
a larger market than its own, can introduce a more extended division of
labour—can make a greater use of machinery, and is more likely to make
inventions and improvements in the progress of production.”
Again—“Whatever causes a greater quantity of any thing to be produced
in the same place, tends to the general increase of the productive
powers of the world.” Now it surely will not be denied, that the
undertaking of this National Railway would cause in England a greater
quantity of machinery to be made and exported to the North American
provinces, thus producing for it a larger market than the home, and
causing a greater quantity to be made—thus a general increase of the
productive powers of the world must be produced; and as “wealth may be
defined as all useful or agreeable things which possess exchangeable
value,” it necessarily follows that the immense increase that would be
given to the productive powers of England, to those of her North
American provinces, and of the Hudson’s Bay territory, by an undertaking
on such an extensive scale, if it did not completely, would nearly
double these powers; and as whoever brings additional commodities to
market brings additional power to purchase, it follows that the
inhabitants of our North American provinces, and of the Hudson’s
Bay
territory, would be enabled to take nearly twice the quantity of our
manufactured goods.
Lord Stanley, in moving an amendment to the Address from the Throne,
says: “the exports of the six principal articles of British industry,
cotton, wool, linen, silk, hardware and earthenware, exhibit a
diminution as compared with 1847, of no less than four millions, and as
compared with 1846, of five millions;” such being the case, it becomes
highly important to consider the cause of this falling off, with a view
to a remedy, and some great measures must be adopted towards our own
colonies that will enable them to receive a greater quantity of
manufactured goods from the mother country,—and this great Railway is
suggested as one that would increase the productive power and population
of our North American colonies, and a consequent increasing necessity
for hardware and earthenware, to say nothing even of the other articles
of British industry, or of the facility of communicating with our other
Colonies.
These few remarks will suffice to show that the balance sheets of the
merchants, and consequently of the revenue of England, as well as the
capital of individuals, must increase immensely during the construction
of and at the completion of the proposed undertaking. Mr. Montgomery
Martin has stated that “Railways are the very grandest organization of
labour and capital that the world has ever seen:” that “the capital
actually invested in Railways advanced from £65,000,000 in 1843 to
£167,000,000 in 1848—no less than £100,000,000 in five years.” And why
should we not look forward to an equal—aye—and to a much larger
investment—on such a magnificent Line of Railway? joining, as it would,
all the northern dominions of the old world—crossing, as it would, the
northern territories of the new, and making an easy opening to the rich
and thriving world that may be
considered of the present day. For “the
word has been given, an active and enterprising population will be
poured in, every element of progress will be cultivated, and the
productive countries on the shores of the Pacific, heretofore isolated,
will be brought into active and profitable intercourse. It may truly be
said that a new world has been opened.
“Our fathers watched the progress of America, we ourselves have seen
that of Australia, but the opening of the Pacific is one of the greatest
events in social history since, in the fifteenth century, the East
Indies were made known to Europe; for we have not, as in America or
Australia, to await the slow growth of European settlements, but to
witness at once the energetic action of countries already in a high
state of advancement. The Eastern and the Western shores of the great
Ocean will now be brought together as those of the Atlantic are, and
will minister to each other’s wants. A happy coincidence of
circumstances has prepared the way for these results. Everything was
ready, the word only was wanted to begin, and it has been given.
“The outflowings of Chinese emigrants and produce, which have gone
towards the East, will now move to the West; the commercial enterprise
of Australia and New Zealand has acquired a new field of exercise and
encouragement; the markets which Chili and Peru have found in Europe
only, will be opened nearer to their doors; the north-west shore of
America will obtain all the personal and material means of organization;
the Islands of the Pacific will take the place in the career of
civilization for which the labours of the missionary have prepared them;
and even Japan will not be able to withhold itself from the community of
nations.
“This is worth more to our merchants and manufacturers, and to the
people employed by them, than even the gold mines can be; for this is
the statement of certain results, and the working of the gold mines,
however productive they may prove, must be attended with all the
incidents of irregularity and uncertainty, and great commercial
disadvantages.”—(Wyld’s Geographical Notes.)
Surely then there would be no difficulty with Parliament to encourage
and facilitate the formation of an Atlantic and Pacific Railway Company,
by obtaining its sanction to the loan of £150,000,000 in such sums as
might be required (to be issued under the sanction of a board appointed
for that special purpose), particularly when it is recollected that the
expense of the greater part of her own convicts could be provided for by
that advance.
It will easily be seen that it would be impossible to complete this
Atlantic and Pacific Railway, without at the same time giving great
encouragement to the emigration of labour; and this “is only practicable
when its cost is defrayed or at least advanced by others, than the
labourers themselves. Who then is to advance it? Naturally it may be
said, the capitalists of the colony, who require the labour, and who
intend to profit by it. But to this there is the obstacle, that a
capitalist, after going to the expense of carrying out labourers, has no
security that he shall be the person to derive any benefit from them.”
To those who would object to Government interference in a case like the
present, we can only say, in the words of Mr. Mill, that “the question
of Government intervention in the work of colonization involves the
future and permanent interests of civilization itself, and far
outstretches the comparatively narrow limits of purely economical
considerations; but, even with a view to these considerations alone, the
removal of population from the overcrowded to the unoccupied parts of
the earth’s surface, is one of those works of eminent social usefulness
which most require, and which at the same time will best repay, the
intervention of Government.” “No individual or body of individuals
could reimburse themselves for these expenses.” Government, on the
contrary, could take from the increasing wealth caused by the
construction of this Railway and consequent great emigration, the
fraction which would suffice to repay with interest the money advanced.
These remarks apply equally to the governments of the North American
provinces as to those of the Hudson’s Bay Company and Great Britain.
[see Note 57]
Let us now personify our Atlantic and Pacific Railway, and endeavour
more immediately to apply some of the reasoning as regards colonization
to the money part of the question as regards the Railway. As regards
colonization the question—Who is to advance the money? has, I think,
been very clearly answered by Mr. Mill. As regards the undertaking of
this Railway, and the answer to the question, Where is the money to come
from? let us first suppose then that “there is an increase of the
quantity of money, caused by the arrival of a foreigner in a place with
a treasure of gold and silver; when he commences expending it, he adds
to the supply of money and by the same act to the demand for goods. If
he expends his funds in establishing a manufactory, he will raise the
price of labour and materials; but, at the higher prices, more money
will pass into the hands of the sellers of these different articles; and
they, whether labourers or dealers, having more money to lay out, will
create an increased demand for all things which they are accustomed to
purchase, and these accordingly will rise in price, and so on, until the
rise has reached every thing.” Now let us for a moment suppose this
foreigner to be represented by our friend the Atlantic and Pacific
Railway, (imagined, for the sake of our argument, to be completed), and
we will no longer consider him a foreigner, but a brother. This
brother, on his arrival in England finds that he has unfortunately
forgotten to bring with him his purse, that in fact he has neither gold
nor silver, the representatives of wealth, and here, be it remembered,
that wealth is any thing useful or agreeable, and that money is a
commodity. We will then suppose this North American brother to say, My
good brother of England, I am here without gold or silver, or without
any kind of wealth; the commodities I have left behind me are of such a
nature, that without much labour I could not put them in such a shape as
would enable me to bring them to this country, nor could I obtain silver
or gold enough to represent them; unless, therefore, I send some
labouring people and machinery to my country, I am afraid I cannot
obtain all the commodities I wish to have. Now you have plenty of spare
labourers, and plenty of spare machinery and other useful materials, and
for which you would be glad to receive valuable commodities in my
country; and if you will only send the labourers and machinery out, I
will order that in return you shall be allowed to bring away all the
useful and agreeable things, that is, all the wealth that may be found,
and have the use of such things as you may prefer to keep in my country.
Now if you will make this agreement with me, I will return with you to
my native land, and will not only assist you to obtain all these
commodities, but I will engage also to pay you a certain annual income
out of my saving; and I will show you the short way to the most
extensive region of wealth ever known to any nation in the world; and
you can then travel that road, so that at no future period (at least
within the imagination of man) shall you ever again complain of too
great a population on your soil, or too small a market for your labour.
Then the good brother of England says to this Atlantic and Pacific
brother,—We believe all you say of your wealth, and we see the great
advantage it would be to us to partake of it, and to have the command of
the road you point out, but what security are we to have that when our
labourers and machinery are sent to your country they will be employed;
and if you have neither gold nor silver nor other commodities ready to
give us in exchange for the work and the articles, how are we to pay the
people to prepare the machinery, and all our other labourers, whose
wages would in England of course become higher, as they would be less in
number, and there would be a greater quantity of work to be done. The
brothers, in talking over this matter, discovered that “credit is
indispensable, for rendering the whole capital of the country
productive. It is also the means by which the industrial talent of the
country is turned to most account for purposes of production. Many a
person who has no capital of his own, or very little, but who has
qualifications for business, which are known and appreciated by some
person of capital, is enabled to obtain either advances of money, or
more frequently goods, on credit, by which his industrial capacities are
made instrumental in the increase of public wealth.” The Pacific and
Atlantic brother observed,—This is exactly my case. Only give me
credit, and I will bind myself on my own personal security to give up
whatever portion of my annual income you may consider necessary; and I
will also secure the money advanced by you on my land, on the minerals
thereof, and in any other way that may be deemed necessary. My brother
of the Atlantic and Pacific Railway, says the Englishman, you have
nearly convinced me; we will immediately appoint friends to draw up all
the necessary agreements between us, that will enable me, if possible,
to advance you such labour and machinery as may be required; and we will
also proceed to appoint other friends, who shall take into
consideration, in the first place, the expense incurred from your birth
to a state of manhood, and the annual income that is derived from your
business and your property; and leaving you sufficient to maintain
yourself as a gentleman, we shall appropriate to ourselves whatever may
remain, as a reward for our exertions and the risk to be incurred, and
as a security for the interest of the money expended upon your account.
The brothers having thus agreed in a general way, proceed immediately to
appoint friends and to call upon their good old mother, Great Britain,
to advance the money required, and their North American relations, Nova
Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada, and Hudson’s Bay, to come forward and
make a general family treaty for the security and payment of such
advances. The brothers were then congratulating themselves on what they
considered the success of their project, when it was whispered to them
that something of a similar plan had been proposed for their relation
Ireland, by one “whose loss is too great to be slighted, and too recent
not to be felt;” and it had been suggested that for every £100 expended
on Railways in that country, £200 should be lent by Government; upon
which occasion it had been observed by one who has greatly influenced,
whether for good or evil, will be hereafter known, the destinies of the
British Empire, that “the public credit of the State is one of the
elements of our financial strength, and that it was not possible to
appropriate a great portion of that public credit to the encouragement
of commercial enterprises, without, to the same extent, foregoing the
power to apply that public credit in another direction, in the event of
the national exigencies requiring you to do so.” The brothers replied,
this is certainly true; but the proposed undertaking is not a commercial
enterprise, although no doubt it would produce great commercial and
colonizing results; but it is a grand national work,—a desideratum that
has been wished for, looked for, and cared for, ever since the new world
was discovered—that has repeatedly called forth great expenditure of
money, great suffering, and loss of life in searching for it, to the
north. It is, in short, the great high road between the Atlantic and
Pacific—the expense of making which you are called upon to consider.
As regards Ireland, another bold measure has been suggested for that
country; without giving any opinion upon it, I cannot help asking why we
should not be as bold in peace as we were in war. Must we wait until
“The news is, sir, the Voices are in arms;
Then indeed—we shall have means to vent
Our musty superfluity?”
“Without raising one shilling out of the Exchequer,” says Lucius (see
Morning Post, Jan. 31st), “boldly apply the national credit to relieve
the national distress; at once authorize the Bank of Ireland, or a bank
to be created for that purpose, to issue twenty or thirty millions in
aid of the landed proprietors; secondly, for the judicious encouragement
of emigration, transplant those who cannot earn a subsistence at home to
a comfortable settlement in our colonies, and to promote such mercantile
or other undertakings, let the notes issued be made legal tenders for
all payments whatever, and let the entire soil of Ireland be pledged for
their ultimate security.” Far be it from me to give any opinion on what
is best to be done for Ireland, but certain I feel that what is here
proposed and suggested regarding an Atlantic and Pacific Railway could
not interfere with any plan Government might think right to adopt for
the regeneration of Ireland, unless indeed by greatly facilitating all
emigration plans and permanent employment.
But, independently of all this money question, “there is the strongest
obligation on the government of a country like our own, with a crowded
population and unoccupied continents under its command, to build as it
were and keep open a bridge from the mother country to those
continents.” Let us reflect that “the economical advantages of commerce
are surpassed in importance by those of its effects, which are
intellectual and moral. It is hardly possible to overrate the value, for
the improvement of human beings, of things which bring them in contact
with persons dissimilar to themselves, and with modes of thought and
action unlike those with which they are familiar. Commerce is now what
war once was—the principal source of this contact. Commercial
adventurers from more advanced countries have generally been the first
civilizers of barbarians, and commerce is the purpose of the far greater
part of the communication which takes place between civilized nations.
It is commerce which is rapidly rendering war obsolete, by strengthening
and multiplying the personal interest which is in natural opposition to
it.”—(Mill, Polit. Econ.) In whatever point of view, therefore, we
regard this subject—whether as one of duty by providing the means of
healthy and legitimate employment to our numerous artificers and
labourers now in a state of destitution—a domestic calamity likely to
be often inflicted upon us—unless new fields, easy of access, are made
permanently open to our continually increasing population—and “it would
be difficult to show that it is not as much the duty of rulers to
provide, as far as they can, for the removal of a domestic calamity, as
it is to guard the people entrusted to their care from foreign
outrage”—will they “slumber till some great emergency, some dreadful
economic or other crisis, reveals the capacities of evil which the
volcanic depths of our society may now hide under but a deep crust?”—or
whether we view it as a means of assisting any general system in the
penal code—or whether we view it as a point of individual or government
interest, by turning all that extra-productive power, now idle, in the
direction of our own colonies, and thus connecting and attaching them
more strongly to the mother country—increasing their wealth, their
power and our own:—or whether we consider it in a moral and religious
point of view, as affording greater and quicker facilities for the
spread of education and the Gospel of Christ[see Note 58]—or whether we
look upon it as an instrument for the increase of commerce, and (as an
important consequence) the necessarily directing men’s minds, with the
bright beams of hope from their own individual and immediate distress,
as well as from the general excitement and democratic feeling and spirit
of contention showing itself amongst many nations (an object greatly to
be desired) for—
“The times are wild....
....Every minute now
May be the father of some stratagem;”
—or whether we look at it in a political point of view, as keeping open
to us at all times, without the necessity of interference with other
nations or of war, a great high road to most of our colonial
possessions, and particularly to India—viewing it then in any one of
these points, who can doubt for a moment the beneficial results that
must attend such an undertaking. But when all these considerations are
taken together, we must repeat what we said in a former page, that it is
a grand and a noble undertaking, and that it must be accomplished by
Great Britain and her colonies.
Let us reflect, lastly, my dear friend, that “the world now contains
several extensive regions, provided with various ingredients of wealth,
in a degree of abundance of which former ages had not even an idea.”
Your native land, and the other North American provinces, have, even by
their own exertions, made rapid advances in wealth, accompanied by moral
and intellectual attainments, and can look forward at no very distant
period (if even left to their own exertions) to be enabled to take a
very prominent position in the affairs of the world. But the Hudson’s
Bay Company’s territory is still nearly in its primitive state, and much
indeed is to be expected from its advancement, when it shall have taken
its proper station in the general trade and commerce of mankind; the
position of Vancouver’s Island is such that there is little reason to
doubt its wealth and consequence will place it high in the scale of
England’s offspring.[see Note 59]
But, my dear friend, unless your mind has become as fully impressed as
my own with the vast importance of this great Railway undertaking, I
shall only tire you the more and detain you to no purpose by dwelling
longer on the subject; and indeed even should your mind be satisfied
with the importance of the work, it may yet conceive it to be of an
impracticable nature. “Who (I have been asked) in the living generation
would be reimbursed for the outlay? and without that, who will undertake
a national work, however grand or remunerative to future ages?” To this
I answer fearlessly, that thousands of human beings of the present
generation would benefit by the outlay; that the employment would be a
quite sufficiently lucrative one and visibly so, as to induce the
English capitalist to come forward and undertake the formation of a
Company; for even at this moment Railways are in contemplation,[see Note 40]
if not actually commenced, from Halifax to Quebec and from New
Brunswick to Halifax; and how much more would these Lines be paying
Lines when they had also an opening to the Pacific! But no individual
nor combination of individuals could have sufficient influence with, or,
if they had the influence, could have the necessary power to induce, the
Hudson’s Bay Company to open its territories, and to enter into all the
arrangements and all the agreements that would be necessary to be made
with that Company, with England, and with the North American Colonies,
before a work affecting the interests of so many could be commenced.
It is necessary then that Government should take the initiative, and it
is not uncommon for her so to do in all great national works, such as
roads, surveys, expeditions either for the objects of science or
commerce; such as those sent to discover the north-west passage, upon
which thousands have been spent,[see Note 44] and on account of which,
at this very moment, England has to deplore, in all probability, the
loss of many a noble son, whose relatives have been for so long a time
kept in all the agony of suspense. Upon no other description of work
would Great Britain be required to advance a single penny; but the very
fact of her undertaking what may be considered legitimate expenses of a
government, the survey and marking out the whole Line, the entering into
treaties with her Colonies and the Hudson’s Bay Company for the general
security of the money, and for the interest for a certain number of
years of the capital of the Company, would give such a confidence to the
public mind, that a very short time would bring into full operation in
that direction, sufficient of the power and wealth of England to
accomplish the work; and when accomplished, Government would still hold
a lien upon it until she was reimbursed every penny. And, let me ask,
are there not a thousand expenditures that have been undertaken by
Government for which no reimbursement has ever taken place; and are not
individuals every day risking their capital and their accumulation of
savings, in speculations in foreign lands,[see Note 61] when the result
of those past connections have been such as to lead the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, even in his place in the House of Commons, to hold out
as it were a threat to the whole world, if England’s children did not
receive their due. Surely it would be more prudent, more politically
wise, and more economical, for Government to encourage the expenditure
of our own capital in our own Colonies.
Sitting in his arm chair, in his office in London, the Minister of Great
Britain can now convey his thoughts, his wishes, his commands, in a few
moments to every part of England and Scotland, and will soon be enabled
to do so to Ireland.[see Note 66] He can send the soldiers, horse and
foot, as well as the artillery of Great Britain, flying through the land
at almost any rate he wishes. And all heavy stores and goods of the
merchants can be easily forwarded at about twopence, and even, I
believe, a penny a mile per ton, and at about twenty miles an hour; and
a penny a letter now enables every individual in England to communicate,
at almost every hour, with his distant friends and relations; the post
office itself travelling at a rate and with an ease little to be
comprehended by those who have not witnessed it. The result of such
immense wealth and such enormous power is more than is required for
England, and would necessarily carry with it its own destruction, was
not her empire one which encircles the world.
Let the minister then who guides and directs the wealth and power above
described, and in whose hands the destinies and happiness of thousands
are placed, picture to himself the encouragement that would be given to
British industry and British enterprize, if, at ten days distance from
her shores, a port was established from which he would be enabled to
send across the Continent of America his thoughts, his wishes, and his
commands, with the same speed at which they now travel throughout
England; and if these thoughts, wishes and commands would reach every
one of our own Colonies in the Pacific in about fifteen days after
leaving the western shore of North America; and if from the same port
(ten days distance from England) could also be despatched the troops of
Great Britain, if unfortunately necessary, travelling at the rate before
described; if heavy stores and merchants’ goods could also be enabled to
cross the Continent of America, at the same price and at the same speed
as they now travel in England; if the post office system could also be
introduced, and if letters at a penny each might pass between relation
and relation, between friend and friend from England to her most distant
Colonies—if her children gone forth to colonize could then either
return or communicate their every wish to England in less than a month;
and reclining in his own arm chair, reflecting as he ought to do and
must do upon the power and wealth of England, let him not say that all
here described is not easily within her reach. Let him rather consider
the subject with a view to become the Leader of the Country in such a
noble work. If it is a bold work, let him remember that fortune favours
the brave.—“Si secuta fuerit, quod debet Fortuna, gaudebimus omnes, sin
minus, ego tamen gaudebo.”
And now, my dear friend, whose patience I have so long taxed, it is time
that we should part—
“Whether we shall meet again I know not;
If we do meet again—why we shall smile.
If not, for ever and for ever farewell.”
Believe me,
Ever your’s,
Sincerely and faithfully attached,
ROBERT CARMICHAEL-SMYTH.
Junior United Service Club,
February, 1849.
