Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-04-11 00:00:00

BRITISH COLUMBIA.

Our new colony of British Columbia is, according to the
last accounts, in a most satisfactory condition. This will
be good news to the public generally, for the young estab-
lishment on the Pacific coast has been quite a favourite
since the tidings reached home that gold had been found
along the course of the Fraser River. Although our
people know little—far too little—about the colonies, yet
they have their partialities. New Zealand, the Britain 'of
the South, from its position and climate, and the labours of
as eminent churchman, has long enjoyed popularity, not so:
much with the emigrant who seeks a busier market for his
labour, as with that educated class which does not emigrate
at all. British Columbia has succeeded for a time to this
pre-eminence in the minds of• Englishmen, and seems likely
to justify the good opinion which has been formed of it. ' '

At the last advices, the difficulties which the influx of
miners had caused was passing away, as the great body of
them, dreading the winter and the high price of provisions,
had returned to San Francisco. Government was strong
enough to keep order among those who remained. In
the spring the rush would, of course, begin again,
but by that time a reinforcement of troops would
have arrived, the administrative and judicial ar-
rangements of the colony would be more complete, and the
unquiet spirits more easily dealt with. With respect to
the mineral wealth of the country, the accounts are most
captivating. It' is reported on good authority that the
whole course of the Fraser River up to its source in the
Rocky Mountains contains rich deposits of gold, and that
the tributary streams are no less abundant in 'metallic
wealth. The gold covers an extent of territory, if these
reports be true, which will make British Columbia the
most important gold-producing region in the
,world. Tt
is. certainly fortunate that Sir Robert Pool made a firm
stand on the Oregon question, and secured this noble tract
for his countrymen. After the sacrifice of territory by the
Ashburton treaty, such a succes. was necessary to restore

his reputation as an administrator of foreign affairs. The
country to which British emigration and enterprise are
now invited is one which must before long take a high
place in the world. The Americans have founded two
States - Cali fornia‘and Oregon, on' the Pacific coast, and
these are growing with a rapidity unexampled even in their
annals. They arc pushing steadily across the continent
the new cities of ten years since are now far within.'
the limits of civilisation. Chicago has become a vene-
rable metropolis to the citizens of St. Paul, Dubuque,
and Superior. The transit across the isthmus is
being regularly organised, and there is reason to
hope that the troubles which desolate Central America will
pass away, so that a rapid and cheap communication between
the two oceans may be permanently established. All these
things point to the speedy prosperity of the British territory ,
on the "Western coast, containing as it does some of the
finest harbours in the world, with a fertile soil, a healthy
climate, winters less severe than was anticipated, and, above
all, mineral wealth to which there seems no bound. It
would certainly ill become the British Government and
and people to neglect the priceless territory on which they
have planted their flag. In days to come, when the Pacific
coast is under Anglo-Saxon dominion from the Frozen Sea
to the Isthmus of Panama, when the Australians are a
powerful community, when China and the whole of Eastern.
Asia are penetrated by the enterprise of English-speaking
races, the region now known as British Columbia will most
assuredly rank among the most prosperous and powerful. It
rests with the Englisli people of the present day to decide
by whom this fabric shall be constructed, and whether
the new community shall grow up with English habits
and instincts, or be furnished with population 'and ideas
by a kindred, but still very different, people. We
are exposed in British Columbia not only to the
rivalry, but to the invasion, of the Americans. They are
firmly established in the neighbourhood, and while the
territory is many thousand miles from the English, either
of the home country or Australia, it is within a few days'
sail of a great American city. The first great object of our
Government should be to encourage a large British emi-
gration. We are happy to say that the working classes of
the present day are firmly attached to the Government of
the mother country, and that even the Irish obey peacefully
the law and the constituted colonial authorities wherever
they go. A large infusion of English settlers is the
primary want of the colony ; they would bring the land
under cultivation, thus probably enriching themselves more
than by seeking their fortunes at the diggiggs; they would
stand by the Government, and help in maintaining order ;-
and they would give an English tone of decency and
regularity to the administration of justice; and, when
established, to the Colonial Legislature. Every one inter-
ested in the welfare of British Columbia must do justice to.
the exertions of Sir E. Lytton, who has organised the staff
of officials and improvised a fair government with praise-
worthy readiness. We trust that his attention, or the
attention of his successor, will be turned to this
question of immigration; and it would net be amiss
to examine whether English colonists could not
bo sent across the Isthmus as well as. the Americans.who
proceed to California. The voyage round. Cape Horn is a
terrible, affair of five months, with storms and head winds a
great part of the way. Surely there is no insurmountable.
difficulty in establishing two lines of' emigrant-ships,—one
for the Atlantic- and the other for the Pacific service, and
booking a family. all through. Of course, it is a question of I
money, and we do not want the Government to interfere
with private enterprise; but still a Government may give
encouragement, or even originate ideas, and the passage of
emigrants across Panama or Tehuantepec seems no more ex-
traordinary than the transport of troops to India by Sues, a
scheme about which the official worldhesitated greatly. The
next subject of anxiety is the financial management of the
colony, and on this head the greatest danger is to be feared
from Downing-street meddling. Australia will probably
not recover during this century from the evils inflicted by
Lord John Russet's and Earl' Grey's administration with
respect to the sale of land. In British Columbia we have
already the first note of complaint, which in a few months
will probably swell into a chorus, unless, indeed, the
settlers take the matter into their own hands, and cora.-
quer the alleged official obstinacy by a violation of.
law. Every one wants to buy land, and the authoritior,
will not sell. Colonel Moody and his Sappers arc to survey
the colony, and when that is done the market will he open,
but not before. In the meanwhile men have been. pre-
vented from establishing a sawpit, a first necessity in, a new
land where houses are all built of timber. This prohibition
was the result of a belief that the possessor would claim a
right of pre-emption when the land came to be sold. For
similar reasons the soil remains uncultivated, and all pro-
visions have to be brought from abroad, This intolerable
mismanagement should cease at once. The system adopted
in America, and of later years in Canada and Australia,-
to allow land to he acquired on the Very easiest termsbiya
the settler. What if a man does get a valuable property
for a trifle, and five years after makes his fortune by selling
nthfor being the
deserves
it ? This is nothing more than he
first to stake his life and fortune o
community. • It is by of
he success of u new
the practice
liberality in this respect that the greattneassillorttheeoUmnPilteetde
.s.rltes has been built up, while the envious. spirit which will
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