The Express.
London, England, 1848-07-25 00:00:00

COLONIAL.

WEST INDIES.—JaMAICA.—The financial state
of this island may be gathered from the fact that, the revenue
being st.ort of the expenditure, a proposal had been male
by the board of commissioners of accounts to raise 15.0001.
on certificates. The following wu the motion, of which
notice had previously been given :
That the ReeeivacChneral do leant loan earlideates ander the Rth
lie. c. 15, to the extent of 11,31111. les. td., being the amount of the
defleieney in the ways and means of last action, as shown by the
votes of the boil-s; and that tuck eertifleates be in autos not seined.
ing 601., bearing inU,rnst at the rate of a per sent. per annum, such
interest to he paid half-yearly, and the principal mum in three years.
An amendment was aubmitted :
That it is unwarrantable and improper to propose to borrow money
without knowing from what sourer farther debts ineurrest can be re-
funded to the lenders by this colony, and that the governor he
requested to cell the legislature to meat for the purpose of adaptive
the expenditure of the island to its miserably reduced means, w hub
is the only jot mode of combating the embarriasinenUi imposed
on us by tar measures Icing pursued by the imperial parli.nent.
A very long debate ensued. The board divided, when
there appeared for the amendment, 13; f.,r the original mo-
tion, 11 ; majority, 2. The motion was therefore lost, and
the amendment adopted.
The roads all on( r the island were in a very bad state since
the rains and inundations,
- - - "

- .
The barque Margaret, from Santa Martha, which arrived
on the 18th, brought as passengers,Gencral Pace, his son,
and suite.

CANADA.—We hare papers from our North
American colonies to July 14. Th. it contents indicate aeon-
siderabie amount of anxiety as to the i Aux of emigrants during
the prevent season. Meetings had been held, and the opinion
very freely expressed that steps should be taken to forward
to the scantily peopled settlements the superabundant labour
which, when allowed to stagnate in the irontier towns, pro•
duced the most a rious evils. Steps had also been taken to
promote railway works, and to open for settlement large
tracts of government lands. Tne Toronto Globe states that
the Crown Land Commissioner had matured, and was

about to catty into operation, with the sanction of the
ministry, a scheme for the settlement of the lands of the
crown which lie to the north-west of Toronto, and which
have not hitherto been surveyed. The basis of the plan is,
the formation of as direct a road as possible from Toronto to
Owen Sound. This rood is opened and partly plankrd
through Etotiicoke and Albion, to the Hurontario-road, a
distance of 40 miles. Beyond that point it will be opened
through the unsurveyed townships of Melanchton, Luther,
Amaranth, and Proton, striking the Owen Sound-road about
the township of Holland. Another road will be from the
lower part of Islottawasaga Bay and, going west,
will strike the Owen Sound-road at nearly the
tame point as the one from Toronto. It will
then be continued to a point on Lake 'futon, about 40 miles
above Goderieh, called Pine Brook. The advantage to
Toronto of this scheme is evidust. It brings Owen Sound
between 20 and 30 miles nearer Toronto than Hamilton,
besides opening up a large tract of country, the trade of
which will inevitably find its way to Toronto. The land on
each side of there roads will be laid out in lota cf 60 acres
each, with one-eighth of a mile frontage; they will be
granted on the same conditions as those on the Owen Sound
road, which require the clearing of 16 acres within five years,
the keeping the road in front of their lot in repair, ikc. We
believe that in all 114 miles of road will be opened at a cost
of 301. a mile, and that immigrant labour will be employed
oa the work as much as possible.
FREE GRANTS Or LAND—Ina communication to the
catholic Bishop of Montreal it is stated that the authorities
intend to commence a plan of colonisation in a portion of
that part of the province usually called the Townships. The
letter which gives this intimation explains that the tract of
land selected for this purpose caw with little expense be
made accessible for rattlers from all directions. The sta-
tute regulating the disposal of public lands places it in the
power of the governor. general in council to grant to actual
settlers allotments not exceeding in quantity fifty acres each,
upon or in the vicinity of leading public tousle.
RAILWAYS FOIL CANADA.—A meeting wan held on the
19th of June, at Prescott, to adopt measures to build a rail-
road between Prescott and Bytown. One of the speakers
stated that the people of Ogdensburgh were willing to
subscribe all the money, all they wanted was the charter.
The distance was stated at 54 miles, and the route said to
be very level. The following are the resolutions passed:
I. That the construction of a railroad from Prescott to Bytown
would greatly contribute to promote the trade and facilitate the num-
n,uninition between those places and the adjacent country, and
would open up a ❑rge tract of fertile land for Improve-
ment, and would tend much to advance the prosperity of
this portion of the province. 2. That the present railroad cOtt.
Wooing from Ogdeneburgh to Boston fully exemplifies the necessity
of having a corresponding communicadon between the waters of the
St. Lawrence and Ottawa. 3. That a committee be formed to corre-
spond with the people of Bytown and other places on the subject,
and to solicit their co-operation therein, and to draft a petition to the
legislature, to be presented *tits neat session, for an act of incorpora-
tion, and to procure signatures to the same.
It was mteadol to commence laying some of the rails on
that portion of the Portland line nearest Montreal in the
course of last month. Two or three of the :arriages intended
to run on the line were in a state of forwardness.