A Letter from Major Robert Carmichael-Smyth to His Friend, the Author of 'The Clockmaker' Part 1

A Letter from Major Robert Carmichael-Smyth to His Friend, the Author of 'The Clockmaker'

by Robert Carmichael-Smyth.

PREFACE.

"It is the duty--the imperative duty--of every individual (however humble) to express conscientiously, but calmly, his public opinions, for by such means truth is elicited."[1] Hence it may be permitted the writer of the annexed Letter to observe, that a momentous question is now brought to the notice of the people of Great Britain,--that it ought not to be neglected, until perhaps a voice from her colonial children may go forth proclaiming "it is too late,"[see Note 64]--for then the opportunity of uniting in firm and friendly bonds of union "this wondrous empire on which the solar orb never sets" will have pa.s.sed away for ever.

----"Dum loquimur fugerit invida aetas: carpe diem quam minimum credula postero."

[1] Montgomery Martin's History of the British Colonies, 1843; and to that work the writer of the following pages begs to refer all those who take an interest in the British North American Colonies. And if so humble an individual might be allowed to offer his advice, he would strongly recommend the republication, in a volume by itself, of the part connected with the North American Colonies.

INTRODUCTION.

"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 compet.i.tion 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 inc.u.mbrance, 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 abolis.h.i.+ng 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]

[2] Nova Scotia.

[3] New Caledonia.

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 pa.s.sed 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 friends.h.i.+p--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 Ca.n.a.l, 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 s.h.i.+p 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 s.h.i.+p 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 pa.s.sengers 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 s.h.i.+p 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 pa.s.senger 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 accomplis.h.i.+ng this much wished-for route.

"Whilst others bravely thought, he n.o.bly dar'd."

But, my dear friend, in an age like the present, shall such a victory content us? most a.s.suredly 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 n.o.ble 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 a.s.suredly 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 G.o.ds 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 sh.o.r.es 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., rus.h.i.+ng 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 ma.s.ses 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 a.s.serting 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 sh.o.r.es of America, and through our loyal, long-tried and devoted North American colonies,[see Note 10] there might be undertaken a great, a n.o.ble, 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 n.o.ble 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 a.s.suredly 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 acc.u.mulated 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 cla.s.ses 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; a.s.suage animosities--in short, that, by creating a feeling of universal grat.i.tude 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 lat.i.tude[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 surpa.s.sed and falsified all the deductions of sober calculations, and so brief an interval has elapsed between the day when certain performances were cla.s.sed 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 wors.h.i.+ps 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 n.o.ble 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 a.s.sisting 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 s.p.a.ce 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 grat.i.tude 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 coa.r.s.e 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 sh.o.r.e 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 inst.i.tutions--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 circ.u.mstances?" 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 n.o.ble 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 n.o.bly, 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.