The Backwoods of Canada Part 24

Column 5: Total.

Row 2 Column 1: 1829 Column 2: 8,110 Column 3: 2,443 Column 4: 948 Column 5: 11,501

Row 3 Column 1: 1830 Column 2: 16,350 Column 3: 3,497 Column 4: 1,584 Column 5: 21,433

Row 4 Column 1: 1831 Column 2: 13,808 Column 3: 6,721 Column 4: 2,078 Column 5: 22,607

Row 5 Column 1: 1832 Column 2: 18,947 Column 3: 6,050 Column 4: 3,286 Column 5: 28,283

Row 6 Column 1: 1833 Column 2: - Column 3: - Column 4: - Column 5: 16,000

Row 7 Column 1: 1834*

Column 2: - Column 3: - Column 4: - Column 5: 26,540

Row 8 Column 1: Total Column 2: - Column 3: - Column 4: - Column 5: 126,464

* The returns for 1834 are made up to the 20th November of that year.

III. AMERICAN Pa.s.sENGERS' ACT.

The 9th Geo. IV., c. 21, commonly called the "American Pa.s.sengers' Act,"

was repealed during the Session of 1835, by an Act then pa.s.sed, the 5 and 6 Will. IV., c. 53. The intention of the new Act is, of course, to secure, as effectually as possible, and more effectually than the previous Act did, the health and comfort of emigrants on board of pa.s.senger ships. By a clause of the Act, copies or abstracts are to be kept on board ships for the perusal of pa.s.sengers, who may thus have an opportunity of judging whether the law has been complied with; but the discovery of any infractions of the Statute may be made at a time when, in the particular instance, it may be too late to remedy it, so far as the comfort and even the health of the pa.s.sengers are concerned. It is to be hoped, therefore, that the humane intentions of the legislature will not be frustrated by any negligence on the part of those (especially of the officers of customs) whose business it is to see that the regulations of the Act have been complied with before each emigrant ship leaves port.

No pa.s.senger ship is to sail with more than three persons on board for every five tons of registered burthen. Nor, whatever may be the tonnage, is there to be a greater number of pa.s.sengers on board than after the rate of one person for every ten superficial feet of the lower deck or platform unoccupied by goods or stores, not being the personal luggage of the pa.s.sengers.

Ships with more than one deck to have five feet and a half; at the least, between decks; and where a ship has only one deck, a platform is to be laid beneath the deck in such a manner as to afford a s.p.a.ce of the height of at least five feet and a half, and no such ship to have more than two tiers of berths. Ships having two tiers of berths to have an interval of at least six inches between the deck or platform, and the floor of the lower tier throughout the whole extent.

Pa.s.senger ships are to be provisioned in the following proportion:--pure water, to the amount of five gallons, to every week of the computed voyage, for each pa.s.senger--the water to be carried in tanks or sweet casks; seven pounds' weight of bread, biscuit, oatmeal, or bread stuffs, to every week for each pa.s.senger; potatoes may be included to one-third of the extent of supply, but seven pounds' weight of potatoes are to be reckoned equal to one pound of bread or bread stuffs. The voyage to North America is to be computed at ten weeks, by which each pa.s.senger will be secured fifty gallons of water, and seventy pounds weight of bread or bread stuffs for the voyage.

Where there are 100 pa.s.sengers, a medical pract.i.tioner is to be carried; if under 100, medicines of sufficient amount and kind are to be taken out as part of the necessary supplies.

Pa.s.senger ships are not to be allowed to carry out ardent spirits as merchandise beyond one-tenth of the quant.i.ty as would, but for this restriction, be allowed by the officers of the customs upon the victualling bill of such ship for the outward voyage only, according to the number of pa.s.sengers.

[An important restriction, which ought to be enforced to the letter of the law. The strong temptation which the tedium of a voyage presents to numbers pinned up in a small s.p.a.ce to resort to drinking, has frequently made sad havoc of the money, comfort, and health of emigrants, when, especially, the ship steward has contrived to lay in a good stock of strong waters.]

In the enumeration of pa.s.sengers, _two_ children above seven, but under fourteen, or _three_ under seven years of age, are to be reckoned as one pa.s.senger. Infants under 12 months are not to be included in the enumeration.

Pa.s.sengers are ent.i.tled to be maintained on board for 48 hours after the ship has arrived at her destination. [Emigrants whose means are limited may thus avoid much inconvenience and expense, by planning and executing with prompt.i.tude the route which they mean to take, instead of landing, and loitering in the expensive houses of entertainment of a sea-port.]

Masters of ships are to enter into bonds of 1,000 pounds for the due performance of the provisions of the Act. The penalty on any infraction of the law is to be not less than 5 pounds, nor more than 20 pounds for each offence.

[The government emigration agents at the various ports, or the officers of customs, will doubtless give every facility to pa.s.sengers who seek their advice relative to any violation of the provisions of the Act, and point out the proper course to be taken.]

If there be any doubt that a ship about to sail is not sea-worthy, the collector and comptroller of the customs may cause the vessel to be surveyed. Pa.s.sengers detained beyond the time contracted for to sail, are to be maintained at the expense of the master of the ship; or, if they have contracted to victual themselves, they are to be paid 1 shilling each for each day of detention not caused by stress of weather or other unavoidable cause.

IV. TRANSFER OF CAPITAL.

It is, of course, of the greatest importance to emigrants that whatever capital they may possess, over the necessary expenses of the voyage, &c., should be remitted to Canada in the _safest_ and most _profitable_ manner. Both the British American Land Company and the Canada Company afford facilities to emigrants, by receiving deposits and granting letters of credit on their agents in Canada, by which the emigrants obtain the benefit of the current premium of exchange. It is unsafe and injudicious to carry out a larger amount of specie than what will defray the necessary expenses of the voyage, because a double risk is incurred,--the danger of losing, and the temptation of squandering. The emigrant, therefore, who does not choose to remit his money through either of the before-mentioned companies, should procure a letter of credit from some respectable bank in the United Kingdom on the Montreal bank.

V. CANADIAN CURRENCY.

In all the British North American colonies accounts are kept and prices are quoted in pounds, shillings, and pence, as in England. The accounts are contra-distinguished by calling the former currency, or Halifax currency, and the latter sterling or British sterling.

The one pound Halifax currency, or currency, as it is more commonly called, consists of four Spanish dollars. The dollar is divided into five parts--called in Spanish pistoreens--each of which is termed a shilling. Each of these shillings or pistoreens is again subdivided into twelve parts, called pence, but improperly, for there is no coin answering to any such subdivision. To meet the want a great variety of copper coins are used, comprising the old English halfpenny, the halfpenny of later coinage, the penny, the farthing, the American cent.; all and each pa.s.s as the twenty-fourth part of the pistoreen or colonial shilling. Pence in fact are not known, though almost anything of the copper kind will be taken as the twenty-fourth part of the pistoreen.*

[* The Americans also have their 1 shilling, which is the eighth part of a dollar, or 12-1/2 cents. It is no uncommon thing to hear the emigrant boast that he can get 10 shillings per day in New York. He knows not that a dollar, which is equal to eight of these shillings, is in England equivalent but to 4 shillings 2 pence, and that the American shilling is, therefore, when compared with the English shilling in value, only 6-1/4 pence, and consequently, that 10 shillings a day is, in fact, but ten 6-1/4 pence or 5 shillings 2-1/2 pence. This rate of payment it may be said is still great; so it is, but it is not often obtained by the labourer; when it is, it is for excessive labour, under a burning sun in sea-port towns, during the busy shipping season.]

At a time when the Spanish dollar, the piece of eight, as it was then called, was both finer and heavier than the coin now in circulation, its value at the mint price of silver** was found to be 4 shilling 6 pence sterling. Accordingly, the pound currency was fixed at 18 shillings sterling, and 90 pounds sterling was equal to 100 pounds currency, the rules of conversion being, _add one-ninth to sterling to obtain currency, and deduct one tenth from currency to find the sterling_. This was called the par of exchange, and was so then. So long as it continued correct, fluctuations were from a trifle above, to a trifle below par, and this fluctuation was a real _premium_ or _discount_, governed by the cost of the transportation of bullion from the one to the other side of the Atlantic, an expense which now does not exceed, and rarely equals, 2 per cent. 4 shilling 6 pence has long ceased to be the value of the dollar. Both the weight and purity of the coin have been reduced, until its value in the London market*** is not more than 4 shillings 2 pence, the pound currency being consequently reduced to 16 shillings 8 pence sterling and 100 pounds sterling become equivalent to 120 pounds currency, or 480 dollars, the common average rate now given for the 100 pounds sterling bill of exchange in England.

[** The mint price then coincided more nearly with the market price than at present.]

[*** It is necessary to use the market price, as the difference between the mint and the market price is 4 per cent., and as the Spanish dollar possesses no conventional value, it is only worth what it will bring as an article of traffic.]

The Government, however, still sanction, nay, will not change, the old language, so that the difference is made up by adding what is commonly termed a _premium_. The difference between the _real_ par, 4 shillings 2 pence, and the nominal par, 4 shillings 6 pence, is 4 pence or eight per cent. Thus the fluctuations, instead of being from 1 to 2 per cent.

below, to 1 or 2 per cent. above the _real_ par, are from 1 to 2 per cent. below, to 1 to 2 per cent. above 8 per cent. _premium_ as it is called on the _nominal_ par, or from 6 or 7 to 9 or 10 per cent.

_premium_ on the par. This leads to gross deception, and the emigrant in consequence is not unfrequently outrageously cheated by parties accounting to him for money obtained by sale of bills, minus this or some portion of this nominal premium. Nothing is more common than to hear the new comer boast that he has sold his bill on England for 8 per cent. premium, while in fact he has not received _par_ value. As by the above changes 100 pounds sterling is shewn to be equal to 120 currency, or 480 dollars, the rule of conversion, in the absence of a law, where no understanding to the contrary existed, should be, _add one-fifth to sterling money, and currency is obtained, or deduct one-sixth from currency, and sterling is found._ An examination of the exchanges for ten years has proved this to be correct.

VI. THE CANADA COMPANY.

The Canada Company was incorporated by royal charter and Act of Parliament in 1826. The following are extracts from the prospectus of the Company:--

"The Canada Company have lands for sale in almost every part of the province of Upper Canada, on terms which cannot fail to be highly advantageous to the emigrant, as from the Company requiring only one- fifth of the purchase-money to be paid in cash, and allowing the remainder to be divided into five annual payments, bearing interest, the settler, if industrious, is enabled to pay the balance from the produce of the land.

"The lands of the Canada Company are of three descriptions, viz.--

Scattered reserves: Blocks or tracts of land, of from 1,000 to 40,000 acres each; The Huron tract, containing upwards of 1,000,000 acres.

"_Scattered reserves_. The scattered crown reserves are lots of land of from 100 to 200 acres each, distributed through nearly every township in the province, and partaking of the soil, climate, &c., of each particular township. These lands are especially desirable for persons who may have friends settled in their neighbourhood, and can be obtained at prices varying from 8 shillings 9 pence to 25 shillings currency an acre.

"_Blocks of Land._ The blocks or tracts lie entirely in that part of the province situated to the westward of the head of Lake Ontario, and contain lands which, for soil, climate, and powers of production, are equal, and perhaps superior, to any on the continent of America. These are worthy the attention of communities of emigrants, who from country, relationship, religion, or any other bond, wish to settle together.

"The largest block of this kind in the Company's possession is the township of Guelph, containing upwards of 40,000 acres, of which the greater part has been already sold, and, in the s.p.a.ce of a few years only, a town has been established, containing churches, schools, stores, taverns, and mills, and where there are mechanics of every kind, and a society of a highly respectable description.

"_The Huron Territory_. This is a tract of the finest land in America, through which the Canada Company have cut two roads of upwards of 100 miles in extent, of the best description of which a new country admits.

The population there is rapidly on the increase.

"The town of G.o.derich, at the mouth of the river Maitland, on Lake Huron, is very flourishing, and contains several excellent stores, or merchants' shops, in which any article usually required by a settler is to be obtained on reasonable terms. There is a good school established, which is well attended; a Church of England and a Presbyterian clergyman are appointed there; and as the churches in Upper Canada are now princ.i.p.ally supported by the voluntary subscriptions of their respective congregations, an inference may be drawn of the respectable character of the inhabitants of this settlement and the neighbourhood. The town and township of G.o.derich contain about 1,000 inhabitants; and since the steam-boat, built by the Company for the accommodation of their settlers, has commenced running between G.o.derich and Sandwich, a great increase has taken place in the trade and prosperity of the settlement.

In this tract there are four good saw-mills, three grist-mills, and in the neighbourhood of each will be found stores well supplied. And as the tract contains a million acres, the greater portion of which is open for sale, an emigrant or body of emigrants, however large, can have no difficulty in selecting eligible situations, according to their circ.u.mstances, however various they may be. The price of these lands is from 11 shillings 3 pence to 15 shillings provincial currency, or about from 11 shillings to 13 shillings 6 pence sterling per acre."