The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-10-24 00:00:00

AGRICULTURAL EMIGRANTS TO
CANADA.

The following letter, sent to The Tanen for publication,
affords much useful information for intending emigrants to
Canada
Sir,—! am sorry to hear that there are b till con-
siderable numbers of emigrants coming out this
season, and this, after repeated cautions against send-
ing them so late in the season. There will be little
difficulty, probably, in securing employment for all
our men • but it is doubtful whether there will be any-
thing like a permanency for those already here, who
are obliged to drop in where they can, on the best ob-
tainable terms. And then, as a matter of course,
those who do obtain a yearly hiring have to do so at a
considerable discount on account of the little demand
for them; for farmers, no more here than elsewhere,
will pay more than circumstances demand; nor can
we expect them to. Consequently, men come here
late in the seasen, without means, and have to provide
a stove, which costs about I:5, and scrape together a
little furniture, which, when they come so late in the
season, it is impossible to do before winter is upon
them. They hire at a low figure, or, if not, they
work at a higher price for a month or two, with a probe
bility of being out a considerable time during a long
and severe winter. lam surprised that the Govern-
ment encourages it, as I am convinced that much mis-
chief is done to emigration itself. First impressions
are powerful, and men and women who come out,
buoyed up with coloured imaginations of success, meet
a painful blight which lasts on them for a long time,
probably never leaves them. This will account for
numerous complaints from emigrants, who in fighting
difficulties they never anticipated are discouraged and
broken-hearted. About 300 Icelanders have just
landed at Quebec, and at this time of the year the
question is what to do with them. They can't speak
English, which is an immense disadvantage to them
here and will prevent the farmers employing them.
An endeavour will be made to place them as much
together as possible on railway work or on colonization
roads. The difficulty must be met, but it will not be
without considerable privations, I fear, on the part of
the poor emigrants.
During the past week I have visited a great number
of families who have been here about a year, and on
the whole their condition is very satisfactory. There
are expectations, but most of them are hopeful. The
wages of hired men vary from 130 dole. to '240 dots. per
annum, and perquisites also vary widely. In many
cases 240 dols. (E5O) per year, with run of a cow,
karden ground, house and firing, is given for a
thorough good reliable and competent farm hand.
This is about the top price. I visited one of our men
a few miles from London, Ontario, and found that he
had agreed for 150 dole., house and firing, use of stove
and furniture —the farmer is single and lives away—
use of orchard, use of fowls and a cow, and other little
perquisites which "do not inconvenience us or cost
us anything." Single men can do well, often getting
12 dole, a month and found; they live in the house.
'The great difficulty with married men with families is
that there is a scarcity of house accommodation.
Gradually, however, as the farmers areliecoming more
affluent, they are rising to the ocoasion, and realize
the importance of building houses and engaging mar-
ried men with families, who as a rule are more staid
and reliable, the young man in this country being very
migatory. There is a tendency among the farmers to
employ more regular hands throughout the year. The
fact is, men who for the past 20 or 30 years have them-
telves worked hard with their own hands to secure
what they have, are anxious now to rest on their oars;
and no doubt in the course of time, as their property
increases in value by the opening up of railways and
further development of manufactures—in both of which
directions they appear to be making rapid strides—
farmers then will do still lees of manual labour them-
selves. and will consequently have to hire it. But still
t is at present impossible to give regular employ-
ment throughout the year for all bands, which at some
seasons of the year are in great demand. The result
is, of course, surplus labour of this class of hands in
the winter. This, I am told, is met in a variety of
ways. The lumber trade is done in the wintsr.
The forest is cleared, firewood cut, building materials
prepared, &c., which involves such an mount of
labour, I am-told, as to remove all difficulties. But,
then the lumber trade is very dull at present;
the markets are already too full And, again, in
many of the agricultural districts which are settled,
and where in the summer months there is a great want
of labour there is
I entiv, am at
ld Wo. The

_
4 little or no forest to deer ;
present - wbst the
towns