The Press.
London, England, 1858-04-10 00:00:00

THE PRESS, APRIL 10, 1858.

capable of being pruned without affecting its
vitality or its power to take root and bear
fruit. Touch Lord PAL3leesroN's in the way
of amendment, and it falls to pieces.

VANCOUVER'S ISLAND.

ON the 30th of May, 1859, a now and impor-
tant colony will be added, or rather restored,
to the dominion of the British Crown. This
colony is Vancouver's Island, which was made
over to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1819,
but of which it is the intention of her Ma-
jesty's Government to advise the repurchase,
at the expiration of the Company's present
trading license on the date above mentioned.
This repurchase will be effected in pursuance
of the recommendation of a Committee of the
House of Commons, which reported " that it
" will be proper to terminate the connection
" of the Hudson's Bay Company with Van-
" couver's Island as soon as it can conve-
" niently be done, as the best means of favour-
" ing the development of the great natural
" resources of that important colony." There
can be no doubt that Parliament will sanction
this step; and we therefore take this early
opportunity of directing the attention of in-
tending emigrants to this new and profitable
field for settlement.

Vancouver's Island is a long and narrow
island on the west coast of North America,
extending in a direction from S.E. 48 deg. 24
min. to N.W. 60 deg. 3 min. N. lat., and be-
tween 122 deg. and 129 deg. W. long. In
length it measures about 230 miles, and is
breadth from 40 to 50 miles. Its climate very
much resembles the climate of England,
though perhaps in winter it is not so cold,
while in summer it is somewhat hotter. The
island is very thickly wooded, chiefly with oak
and fir of magnificent growth, and beech and
maple in less abundance. Among the woods
are interspersed extensive plots of prairie
ground of the most fertile character. The
soil is excellent, capable of producing all the
crops that can be grown in this country ; the
yield of wheat is from twenty-five to forty
bushels per acre, and the crops of potatoes,
oats, and barley are equally good. The mine-
ral wealth of the island is enormous ; besides
iron, copper, and gold, there is abundance of
excellent coal, " very like the West Riding of
" Yorkshire coal," says the Hon. C. W. Fizz
WILLIAM, in his evidence before the Parliamen-
tary Committee. And, in addition to these
internal richcs, the surrounding waters teem
with fish in such enormous quantities that
"no one who has not seen them," says the
same authority, " can possibly credit the value
"and extent of the fisheries." The island is
inhabited by a mild and inoffensive race of
Indians, who show a great disposition to work,
and, notwithstanding their fish diet, display
considerable intelligence and capability of
improvement. In proof of their pacific cha-
racter, we may mention that though they
number eighteen or twenty thousand, the few
white men (some 250 or 300) on the island
"have never had much trouble from them,"
according to the statement of Mr. COOPER,
who has resided there for six years. And to
terminate this enumeration of the advantages
of the colony, it possesses one of the finest
harbours in the world, besides numerous
smaller havens. Considering it in a political
point of view, the Right Hon. E. Emacz says,
in his evidence before the Committee :

I think it should not only be on the ordinary system of
English colonies, but that it should be the principal
station of our naval force in the Pacific. It is an island
in which there is every kind of timber fit for naval pur-
poses. It is the only good harbour to the northward of
San Francisco, as far north as Sitka, the Russian settle.
ment. There is coal enough in the island for your whole
navy. The climate is wholesome, very like that of Eng-
land. The coasts abound with fish of every description.
In short, there is every advantage in the Island of Van-
couver to make it one of the first colonies and best
settlements of England.

It will doubtless create surprise that a
eountry so highly favoured should not ere

this have been colonized and turned to aenunt.
But two causes have combined to turn away
the tide of emigration from its coasts : first,
its proximity to California, and, secondly, its
administration by the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany. Distant only three days' journey from
San Francisco, the attractions of the gold-
fields led many to remain there instead of
continuing their voyage ; while others, who
were anxious to escape from the lawlessness
and turmoil of the diggings, were deterred
from removing to Vancouver's Island by the
fact that it was under the government of a
trading company, whose interest it was to dis-
courage independent settlers and to hamper
private enterprise.

But now that the gold fever has somewhat
subsided, and men have learned by hard ex-
perience that nugget-hunting is at best a pro.
carious trade, there can be no doubt that, as
soon as it is taken under the dominion of the
Crown, Vancouver's Island will be rapidly
peopled. " There are hundreds of persons."
says Mr. COOPER, " in California who would
"•gladly settle in Vancouver's Island if it wero
" a British colony." And, indeed, it is not
surprising that men should be anxious to ex-
change the wild excitement of gold-seeking
for the quieter pursuits of ordinary commerce
and agriculture, and to substitute for the un-
certain protection of a Vigilance Committee
the reliable safeguard of British government.
But whether Vancouver's Island be peopled
by emigrants from this country or by fugitives
from California and the Western States, her
progress must be rapid and her prosperity
secure. Not only does she offer the best sta-
tion for the Pacific fleet, but the whalers of the
North Pacific would find it more convenient
to winter in her harbours than at the Sand-
wich Islands, or even San Francisco. The in-
habitants of the Washington territory on the
mainland would come to her markets for sup-
plies, and a large trade would at once be estab•
lished with the Russian territories at .Sitka,
and the further north. With the four great
staple commodities of timber, corn, coal, and
fish, she could supply the whole Pacific. For
furnishing the first of these articles, she would
have greater facilities than those possessed by
the Puget Sound Company, on the mainland
opposite her coasts, which during the year
1858 shipped 5,200,000 feet of timber to Aus-
tralia, China, South America, and the Sand-
wich Islands. In addition to her own growth
of corn, she could obtain almost unlimited
supplies from the mainland, for which Europe
and Australia would alike afford a ready mar-
ket. For her coal there would be an inex-
haustible demand. Even now American ships
go to the mines at Namino for supplies ; and
such are the facilities for shipment that
vessels of five hundred tons burden can come
within forty yards of the mouth of the pit.
And with regard to her fisheries, many thou-
sand barrels of salted salmon are now an-
nually sent from her shores by the Hudson's
Bay Company to their depot at the Sandwich
Isis nds ; and the trade both in salmon and in
herrings might be indefinitely extended: We
say nothing of her becoming a ship-building
country, though the numerous creeks on her
east coast offer great advantages for that pur-
pose ; nor do we speculate on her opening up
other branches of trade than those we have
mentioned. A glance at the position of the
island on the map, and the mere enumeration
of its natural resources, will be enough to con-
vince every one of its bright prospects as a
colony, and of its importance as a dependency
of the British Crown.

Into the political questions which are con-
nected with making a settlement in that
quarter it is not necessary here to enter.
Our only object is to call the attention of the
•overnment and the country to the approach-
ing addition of this valuable island to the
number of our colonies. We will merely, in
conclusion, express our hope that its transfer
from the Hudson's Bay Company to the Crown
will be complete ; and that, by the appoint-
ment of an entirely new staff of officers, the
island may obtain a Governor who is not also
a factor, and a Chief Justice who does not
combine with his high office the humbler but
more lucrative position of superintendent of
the coal-mines.

II