Diary in America, Series Two

Volume Three—Chapter Three

To one who has a general knowledge of the various English colonies, to which emigration is constantly taking place, it appears very strange that people should emigrate to such countries as New South Wales, Van Dieman’s Land, and New Zealand, when Upper Canada is comparatively so near to them, and affording every advantage which a settler could wish. Of course the persuasion of interested parties, and their own ignorance, prevent them from ascertaining the truth. Indeed, the reports upon Upper Canada are occasionally as highly coloured as those relative to other colonies, and nothing but an examination of the country, I may say a certain period of residence in it, can enable you to ascertain the real merits of the case. I have neither land nor interest in Upper Canada, and, therefore, my evidence on the question may be considered as impartial; and I do not hesitate to assert that Upper Canada promises more advantages to the settler than any other English colony, or any portion whatever of the United States.

I shall now make a few remarks upon emigration to that province, and point out what the settler will have to expect. I have read many works upon the subject; they are very inaccurate, and hold out to the emigrant brilliant prospects, which are seldom or never realised. The best work, independently of its merits as a novel, is “Laurie Todd,” by Mr Galt. And first, I address myself to the poor man who goes out with only twenty or thirty pounds in his pocket.

If he credit the works written to induce people to emigrate, all that he has to do is to build his log-hut, clear his land, and in three years be an independent man.

It is true that he can purchase fifty acres of land for one hundred dollars, or twenty-five pounds; that he has only to pay one-tenth part of the sum down, which is two pounds ten shillings sterling. It is true that he will collect a Bee, as it is termed, or a gathering of neighbours to run up the frame of his house; but, nevertheless, possessing his fifty acres of land and his log-house, he will in all probability be starved out the very first year, especially if he has a family.

To a poor man, a family is eventually of immense value. As soon as he has fairly settled, the more children he has the faster he will become rich; but on his first arrival, they will, if not able to work for themselves, be a heavy burthen. If, however, they can do any thing, so as to pay for their board and lodging, he will not be at any expense for them, as there is employment for every body, even for children.

The only article I should recommend him to take out from England is a good supply of coarse clothing for his family; if he would take out a venture, let it be second-hand clothes, and he will double his money if he sells them by auction, for clothes are the most expensive article in Canada. I once saw some cast-off clothes sold by an acquaintance of mine in Upper Canada; a Jew in England would not have given five pounds for the lot, yet, sold at auction, they cleared twenty-five pounds, all expenses paid. He cannot, therefore, take out too much clothing, but the coarser and more common it is the better. Let him supply himself from the old clothes shops, or the cheap stores. New clothes will soon become old when he works hard. Having made this provision, let him buy nothing else; but change his money into sovereigns and keep it in his pocket.

As soon as he arrives at Quebec, he must lose no time in taking the steamboat up the St. Lawrence, and landing near to where he has decided upon locating. If he has made no decision, at all events let him leave the city immediately, and get into the country, for there he will get work and spend less money. Instead of thinking of making a purchase of land, let him give up all thoughts of it for a year or two; but hire himself out, and his wife and children also, if he can. If he is a good man, he will receive four pounds a month, or forty-eight pounds a year, with his board and lodging. The major part of this he will be able to lay by. If his wife must stay at home to take care of the children, still let her work; work is always to be found, and she may not only support herself and children, but assist his fund. By the time that he has been eighteen months or two years in the country, he will have his eyes open, know the value of every thing, and will not be imposed upon as he would have been had he taken a farm immediately upon his arrival. He will have laid by a sufficient sum for him to begin with, and he will have become acquainted with the mode of farming in the country, which is very different from what he has been used to in the old. He may then go on and prosper.

The next description of emigrant settler to which I shall address myself is he who comes out with a small capital, say from two hundred to five hundred pounds; a sum sufficient to enable him to commence farming at once, but not sufficient to allow him to purchase or stock a farm which has a portion of the land already cleared. The government lands fetch at auction about ten shillings an acre, and they are paid for by instalments, one-tenth down, and one-tenth every year, with interest, until the whole be paid; of course, he may pay it all at once, if he pleases, and save the interest. He must not purchase more than four hundred acres. He can always procure more if he is successful. His first instalment to government for the purchase of four hundred acres will be eighty dollars.

His next object is to have a certain portion of his land cleared for him. The price varies according to the size and quantity of the portion; but you may say, at the highest, it will cost about sixteen dollars an acre. Let him clear ten acres, and then build his house and barns. I will make two estimates, between which he may decide according to his means.

Estimate 1.

Estimate 2.

But choosing between these two estimates, according to his means, that is, by reserving, if possible, one hundred pounds for contingencies, he has every chance of doing well. He must bear in mind, that although every year his means will increase, he must not cripple himself by an outlay of all his money at first starting. After the first year, he will be able to support himself and family from the farm. I have put every thing at the outside expense, that he may not be deceived; but he must not expend all his capital at once; his horse or oxen may die—his crops may partially fail—he may have severe illness—all these contingencies must be provided against.

But the settler who goes out under the most favourable circumstances, is the one who has one thousand pounds or more, and who can, therefore, purchase a farm of from two hundred to four hundred acres, with a portion cleared, and a house and offices ready built. These are always to be had, for there are people in the Canadas, as in America, who have pleasure in selling their cleared land, and going again into the bush. These farms are often to be purchased at the rate of from five to ten dollars per acre for the whole, cleared and uncleared. In this case all the difficulties have been smoothed away for him, and all that he has to do is, to be industrious and sober.

When I was at London, on the river Thames, (in Upper Canada I mean), I might have purchased a farm, lying on the banks of that river, of four hundred acres, seventy of them cleared, and the rest covered with the finest oak timber, with a fine water-power, and a saw-mill in full work, a good house, barn, and out-buildings and kitchen garden, for six hundred pounds. In ten years this property will be worth more than six thousand pounds; and in twenty more, if the country improves as fast as it does now, at least fifteen thousand pounds.

In looking out for a property in Canada, always try to obtain a water-power, or the means of erecting one, by damming up any swift stream; its value will, in a few years, be very great; and never consider a few dollars an acre more, if you have transport by water, or are close to a good market. You must look forward to what the country will be, not to what it is at present.

Half-pay officers settle in Upper Canada with great advantages, arising from the circumstance, that their annual pay is always a resource to fill back upon. A very small capital is sufficient in this case; and, if prudent, they gradually rise to independence, if not to wealth. There are, however, one or two cautions to be given to these gentlemen. Never go into the bush if you can help it: accustomed to society, you will find the total loss of it too serious. If you have a wife and large family, they may partially compensate for the loss, but even then it is better to locate yourself near a small town. If you are a single man and sit down in the bush, you are lost. Hundreds have done so, and the result has been, that they have resorted to intemperance, and have died ruined men.

But the settlers most required in Upper Canada, and those who would reap the most golden harvest, are men of capital; when I say capital, I mean those who possess a sum of four or five thousand pounds—a sum very inadequate to support a person in England who has been born and bred as a gentleman; but in Canada, with such a sum, he can not only farm, but speculate to great advantage. At present the Americans go over there every year, and realise large sums of money. Indeed, capital is so much required in Upper Canada, and may be employed to such advantage, that I wonder people, with what may be considered as small capitals here, do not go over. The only caution to give them is, not to be in a hurry; in the course of a year or two they will understand what they are about, and then they will soon become wealthy.

When I arrived at Toronto, I was called upon by an old friend who had often shot with me in Norfolk. His father had once set him up in business, but the house failed. He resolved to go out to Canada, and his father gave him a thousand pounds as a start, and allowed him two hundred pounds a year afterwards. He had been in the country seven years when we met again. I accepted his invitation to dine and sleep at his house, which was about seven miles from the town. He sent handsome saddle horses over for three of us. I found him located on a beautiful farm of about four hundred acres, the major portion of it cleared; his house was a very elegantly built cottage ornée, every thing had the appearance of a handsome English country residence; he had married a beautiful woman of one of the first families. We sat down to an excellent dinner, and, in every respect, the whole set-out was equal to what you generally meet with in good society in England. He was really living in luxury. We returned the next day, in a handsome carriage and as fine a pair of horses as one would wish to see.

I could hardly credit that all this could have been accumulated in seven years—yet such was the case, and it was not a singular one; for the whole road from his farm to Toronto was lined with similar farms and handsome houses, belonging to gentlemen who had emigrated, forming among themselves, a very extensive and most delightful society.

Although they do not go ahead as fast as some of the American cities, (for instance, Buffalo,) still Upper Canada has, within the last ten or fifteen years, taken a surprising start, and will now, if judiciously governed, increase in wealth almost as fast as any of the American States. About Toronto, most of the gentlemen have incomes of from seven hundred to fifteen hundred pounds per annum, and keep handsome equipages; but there are many other towns which have lately risen up very rapidly. Peterborough is an instance of this. “Peterborough in 1825 contained but one miserable dwelling; now, in 1838, may be seen nearly four hundred houses, many of them large and handsome, inhabited by about fifteen hundred persons; a very neat stone church, capable of accommodating eight hundred or nine hundred persons,33 a Presbyterian church of stone, two dissenting places of worship, and a Roman Catholic church in progress. The town has in or near it, two grist, and seven saw-mills, five distilleries, two breweries, two tanneries, eighteen or twenty shops (called stores), carriage, sleigh, wagon, chair, harness, and cabinet-makers and most other useful trades. Stages run all the year, bringing mails five times a week and steamboats whilst the navigation is open; there is one good tavern (White’s), and two inferior ones. Families may now find houses of any sizes to suit them, at moderate rents. The roads in this neighbourhood are being greatly improved. The towns of Cobourg, Port Hope, Colborne, Grafton, Brighton, River Trent, and Beaumont in the Newcastle district, are all equally prosperous, and, like Peterborough, are surrounded by genteel families from the United Kingdom; in short, the advancement of this district is almost incredible.”

But there is one important subject relative to emigration which must be considered; if it be, as I trust my readers will be inclined to think with me, a national question, it is highly expedient that it should be not only assisted, but controlled by government. At present the mortality is tremendous; and I very much question whether there are not more lives sacrificed in the transport of the emigrants, than subsequently fall a prey to disease in the western States, bordering on the Mississippi. With those who would emigrate to the United States, we have nothing to do, neither do they so much require our sympathy. The American packets are good vessels, and they suffer little; and when they land at New York, Baltimore and Philadelphia, the charity of the Americans is always ready for their relief. But with the poor emigrants who would settle in Canada, the case is very different. It must be understood, that the Quebec trade is chiefly composed of worn-out and unseaworthy vessels, which cannot find employment elsewhere; for a vessel which is in such a state that a cargo of dry goods could not be entrusted to her, is still sufficiently serviceable for the timber trade—as, ‘allowing her bottom to be out’ with a cargo of timber she of course cannot founder. But if these vessels are sufficiently safe to bring timber home, they are not sufficiently good vessels to receive three or four hundred emigrants on board. Leaky, bad sailers, ill-found, the voyage is often protracted, and the sufferings of the poor people on board are dreadful. Fever and other diseases break out among them, and they often arrive at Quebec with sixty or seventy people who are carried to the hospital independently of those who have died and been thrown overboard.

Sometimes their provisions do not last out the voyage, and they are obliged to purchase of the captain or others on board, (who have prepared for the exigence,) and thus their little savings to recommence life with, are all swallowed up to support existence. I believe that what they suffer is dreadful; and if ever there was a case which would call forth patriotism and sympathy, it is the hardships of these poor people. Allowing emigration not to be a national question, still it is a question for national humanity, and all this suffering might be alleviated at comparatively a very trifling expense.

If two or three of our smaller line-of-battle ships now lying at their moorings, were to be jury-rigged, without any guns on board, and manned with a sloop’s ship’s company, they would not decay faster by running between Quebec and this country than if they remained in harbour. One of those vessels would carry out 2,500 men, women, and children. Let the emigrants take their provisions on board, and should their provisions fail them, let there be a surplus for their supply at the cost price. Under this arrangement, you would have that order, cleanliness, and ventilation which would insure them against disease, and proper medical attendance if it should be required; you would save thousands of lives, and the emigrant, as he left the ship, would feel grateful for the benefit conferred. But the assistance of government must not end here: the emigrant, on his arrival, is adrift; he knows not where to go; he has no resting-place; he is a perfect stranger to the country and to every thing; he exhausts his means before he can find employment or settle: other arrangements are therefore necessary, if the work of charity is to be completed. Indeed, the want of these arrangements is the cause of a very large proportion of the Canadian emigrants leaving our provinces and settling in the United States, where they can immediately find employment; and Americans, agents of the land speculators, are continually on the look-out in Canada, persuading the emigrants, by all sorts of promises and inducements, to leave the provinces and to take lands in the States, belonging to their employers. Every emigrant lost to us is a gain to America; and upon the increase of the English population depends the prosperity of the Canadas, and our best chance of retaining them in our possession.

Both Upper and Lower Canada have one great advantage over most of the other territories of the United States, which is, that they are so very healthy; the winters in both provinces are dry, and, in Upper Canada, they are not severe; and the summers are cool, compared with those of the United States. Indeed, in point of climate, they cannot be surpassed; and I rather think, independently of its fine soil, which enables it to grow every thing (for even tobacco grows well in Upper Canada), that in mineral richness it is not to be exceeded. It abounds in water-power, and has several splendid rivers. As soon as the roads are made (for that is the present desideratum in the Upper Province), I have no hesitation in asserting, that it will be, of all others, the most favourable spot for emigration. It is a man’s own fault if, with common industry, he does not, in a few years, secure competence and the happiness arising from independence, when it is accompanied by that greatest of all blessings—health.

There has been so strange and continued a system of misrule on the part of the mother-country with respect to these provinces, that I am not surprised at any thing which takes place; but it is certain that the emigration to the Canadas has been very much checked by the Government itself.

The price of land in the United States is fixed at a dollar and a quarter per acre; be it of the best quality, full of minerals, or with any other important advantages, the price is still the same. The set-up price in Canada is two dollars per acre. If no more is offered it is sold at that sum, but at no less. Now, whatever the Government may imagine, I can assure them that this difference in the price is considered very important by those who emigrate, and that thousands who would have settled in Canada, have, in consequence, repaired to the United States, much to our disadvantage; and this appears so contradictory, as the Government have very unwisely parted with enormous tracts of the best land, selling them to a Company at a price which, with facilities for payment, reduces the price paid per acre by this Company, to, I think, about one shilling and three-pence, and for which the Company now charge the same price as the Government; thus giving a bonus to speculators which they refuse to those who wish to become bona fide settlers. I never could comprehend the grounds upon which they were persuaded to so unwise an act as that. The lands were sold to the Company before the present Government were in power, but why the price of the land still in possession of the Crown should be raised higher than in the United States I cannot imagine. Sound policy would reduce it lower, for the increase of wealth in the province must ever consist in the increase of its population.