\ University Lijjrarjes LP Queen's F 4 5012 3 9004 01132954 1'X QPuppu a IntttPrattg IGtbrarg KINGSTON, ONTARIO CANADA. information for Immigrants, HMers AKT> purchasers of 1$ UBLIC LANDS, I MAPS SHOWING THE NEWLY SURVEYED,* .TOWNSHIPS. ROADS &c. OF CANADA. '$ COLONIZATION s M. iTDOUGALL. COMMISSIONER OKCROWN L Q UfiBEC: > i:> liL-NTKR, ROSE & LEMIEl \ ST. lt;-i LK • ritt E'J ^1 isa2. t , T«^wa^y :3e«£»i ifi r -i • s ^g ^V * >ada, ^l«^T CANADA. Information for Immigrants, drillers AND PUECHASEKS OF PUBLIC LANDS, WITH MAPS, SHOWING THE NEWLY SURVEYED TOWNSHIPS, COLONIZATION ROADS, &c, OF CANADA. WM. M'DOUGALL, COMMISSIONER OF CROWN LANDS. QUEBEC-: PRINTED BY HUNTER, ROSE & LEMIEUX, No. 26, ST. URSULE STREET. 1862. [ 50 \.v CONTENTS. PAGE Geographical position 5 Constitution and Government 5 Municipal Institutions 5 Rivers, Canals, and Railways 6 Climate, Woods and Forests 7 Progress and Settlement 7 Minerals , 8 Fisheries 8 Crown Lands 8 Colonization Roads «• 9 Crown Land Agencies, Upper Canada, their localities, and how to reach them 10 Crown Land Agoncies, Lower Canada, their localities, and how to reach them 14 Directions to Emigrants and others wishing to purchase Crown Lands 18 Directions to parties corresponding with the Department of Crown Lands f 18 68432 CANADA. COLONIZATION CROWN LANDS. GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION. Canada extends from the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the east, to (according to some authorities) the Rocky mountains on the West, embracing an area of about 350,000 square miles, or 240,000,000 of acres, independently of its North- Western possessions, not yet open for settlement. The River St. Lawrence, and lakes Ontario, Erie, St. Clair, Huron, and Superior, with their connecting rivers, form a remarkable natural boundary between Canada and the States of the Union, and a means of communication of surprising extent, and unrivalled excellence. CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT. An integral part of the British Empire, Canada enjoys perfect religious, social, and political freedom. The Governor is appointed by the crown, and is its representative in the province. He nominates an Executive Council, who are his advisers. There are two legislative bodies, called the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly, the mem- bers of which are elected by the people. All public offices and seats in the Legislature are open to any candidate possessing the confidence of the people, holding a certain limited amount of property, and being at the time a British subject. Three years resi- dence entitles a foreigner to all the rights and privileges of a natural born citizen. Aliens ean buy, hold, and sell land. MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS. The municipal system of Canada is admirably adapted to the exigencies of a young and vigorous country. In order to comprehend it, it is necessary to state that Upper divided into Town- Canada is divided into Counties, forty-two in number j the Counties are ships, the latter being about ten miles square. The inhabitants of a township elect annually five Councillors ; the Councillors elect out of this number a presiding officer, who is designated the Township Reeve ; the Reeves and the Deputy Reeves of the different townships form the County Council ; this council elect then presiding officer, who is styled the Warden. In each county there is a judge, a sheriff, one or more coroners, a clerk of the peace, a clerk of the county court, a registrar, and justices of the peace, which officers are appointed by the Governor in Council. All Township Reeves, Wardens, Mayors, and Aldermen, are, ex officio, justices of the peace. RIVERS, CANALS, AND RAILWAYS. The natural advantages conferred upon Canada by the St. Lawrence river, and the great lakes, are incalculable. Immediate and direct water communication with the sea for 2,000 miles of inland coast, without any reference to the vast affluents striking deep into the heart of the country, appears in itself sufficient to mark out Canada for a distinguished future. Three hundred miles from the outlet of the St. Lawrence, we pass the mouth of the Saguenay, navigable for the largest vessels 70 miles from its outlet. Four hundred and ten miles sailing from the ocean and we reach Quebec, the great sea-port of Canada ; 590 miles brings us to Montreal, near where the Ottawa, or Grand River of the North, mingles its dark but transparent waters with those of the St. Lawrence, after draining a valley of 80,000 square miles in area. One hundred and sixty-eight miles above Montreal, after passing the St. Lawrence canals, we are in Lake Ontario, 756 miles from the sea, and 234 feet above it. Lake Ontario is 180 miles long, from fifty to sixty miles wide, and 500 feet deep. Traversing its expanse and passing Kingston, Cobourg, Toronto, and Hamilton, we reach the outlet of the Welland Canal, through which we rise 330 feet to the waters of Lake Erie, 1,041 miles from the sea, and 564 feet above its level. Traversing Lake Erie, and through the Detroit river, Lake St. Clair, and the St. Clair river, we arrive at Lake Huron, 1,355 miles from our starting point, and 573 feet above the ocean. We now reach St. Mary's river, and through a short Canal enter Lake Superior, a fresh water sea as large as Ireland, enabling us to attain a distance of 2,000 miles by water from the mouth of the St. Lawrence. There are now 1,876 miles of Railway in operation in Canada, independent of the Grand Trunk extension to Portland. The opening of the Victoria bridge has brought the Grand Trunk into unbroken operation, and it is now able to transport passengers and goods from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, with a saving of several days over all other routes. The following lines are now in operation : —The Grand Trunk from Riviere du Loup to Sarnia ; the Great Western, and branches, from Toronto to Detroit ; the Northern, from Toronto to Collingwood ; the Buffalo and Lake Huron, from Fort Erie to Goderich ; the London and Port Stanley j the Erie and Ontario ; the Cobourg and Peterborough ; the Prescott and Ottawa; the Montreal and Champlain ; the Grcnville and Carillon; the St Lawrence and Industry ; the Port Hope and Lindsay, with branches ; the Brockville and Ottawa, to Perth and Almonte ; the Stanstead, Shefford and Chambly, and the Welland. ; CLIMATE, WOODS AND FORESTS. The climate of Canada is in some measure exceptional, especially that of the peninsu- lar portion. The influence of the great lakes is very strikingly felt in the elevation of winter temperatures, and in the reduction of summer heats. Perhaps the popular standard of the adaptation of climate to the purposes of agriculture, is more suitable than a refer- ence to monthly and annual means of temperature. Much information is conveyed in the simple narration of facts bearing upon fruit culture. From the head of Lake Ontario, round by the Niagara frontier, and all along the Canadian shores of Lake Erie, the grape and peach grow with luxuriance, and ripen to perfection in the open air, without artificial aid. In Lower Canada melons ripen freely in the open air, and apples attain a peculiar degree of excellence, those of the island of Montreal being especially famed. The island of Orleans, below Quebec, is equally celebrated for its plums. That valuable wood, the black walnut, ceases to grow north of latitude 41° on the Atlantic coast, but under the influence of the comparatively mild lake climate of peninsular Canada, it is found of the largest dimensions, as far north as latitude 43°. The principal descriptions of timber found in the forests of Canada, are : —White, yellow, and red pine spruce ; tamarac white and black ash grey, red, soft, and rock elm white and black ) ; ; bird's eye, white, and red oak ; bird's eye curly and soft maple ; black and grey walnut j rough bark hickory ; ironwood ; basswood ; beech red and white cedar smooth and j ; hemlock ; chesnut ; buttonwood and whitewood. Cauada exports annually about 30,000,000 cubic feet of timber in a rough state, and about 400,000,000 feet, board measure, of sawed lumber. PROGRESS AND SETTLEMENT. The resources of Canada have of late years been rapidly developing, and the increase in her population is steadily augmenting. Industry may here find a place to better its condition, and capital a field for profitable investment. In 1829, Upper Canada had but one hundred and ninety-six thousand inhabitants, now the population is 1,396,091. The growth of wealth in the community may be seen from the assessment rolls. The amount of assessable property in the year 1825, in Upper Canada, was about $8,000,000, now the assessable value of farm property, including the value of farming implements, and of live stock, is $359,670,148, or a little more than $257 to each man, woman, and child ; a degree of prosperity it would be difficult to credit, were it not established by incontrovertible proofs. The population of Lower Canada by the census of 1861 is 1,110,664, and the cash value of farms, including the value of farming implements, and of live stock, is $204,652,069, or a little less than $185 to each individual. The advantages which Canada offers to emigrants must, when they come to be generally known, be sufficient to decide their choice in favor of the wood-lands of the Province, watered by beautiful lakes and living streams, which abound with every variety of fish • where the certainty of health, and the chances of life are far greater than in the flat prairies of the West, and where water power is every where abundant, just where it i required, in the midst of forests of valuable timber.