The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-16 00:00:00

Royal Geographical Society,

The eighth meeting of this society during the session took
place on Monday evening, under the presidency of Sir
Roderick Murchison. Among the distinguished visitors
special attention was directed to the two Ambassadors from
Madagascar, who were presented by the President to the
meeting. Following the sound rule of as much as possible
treating of but one district or region on each night, the two
papers of the evening—one on Vancouver's Island, by Dr.
Forbes, R.N., the other on British Columbia (more espe-
daily Cariboo), by Lieutenant Palmer, R.E.—had been
judiciously selected for the purpose of throwing light upon
what has long been a vexed question—the prospects held out
to emigrants by our colonies in the Pacific. The two papers
indeed were, as the President happily put it, complementary
to each other, and opened up the agricultural, commercial,
manufacturing, and gold-producing capabilities of this re-
gion. In order to facilitate discussion they were read toge-
ther, and we have the more pleasure in laying before our
readers the present precis that both authors have confirmed
in every particular the favourable view entertained by our
epecial correspondent on the spot as to the splendid prizes
in store for properly qualified colonists, whether their capi-
tal be mere sinew and determinei. industry or energy, or a
sum of money, which can nowhere be employed to better
advantage, provided a proper investment be sought. Thus,
Lieut. Palmer warns all the loafing classes, to whom gold
acts as a will o' the wisp to lure them to destruction, that
there are no poor man's diggings at Cariboo. That business
has passed into the hands of large capitalists. Dr. Forbes is
equally clear upon the absurdity of supposing that where
labour now is, and is likely for many years to continue, at so
very high a scale, farming can everprove remunerative to the
capitalist,whether in the agricultural orstock- breeding lines.
But a farmer w Ming to work wi, h his hands will grow enough
corn and keep enough home stock in Vancouver to support
himself and family, and if he further cultivate fruit and vege-
tabies, for which the climate, not unlike that of the south-
west of England—a little cooler and dryer in winter, and a
little hotter in summer, with about the same averageannua I
temperature—is not unsuitable, he will be able to exchange
these at the centres of commercial industry for imported
articles. More than this—that is, saving so as to make
capital—he will probably fail to do for many a day to
come. The investment of capital opens up, however, a
very different series of questions, consequent on the
rapid development of the mineral and timber resources of
the colony, which may be said to change from month to
month. The south or Vancouver shore of the Sound of
Georgia is now found to supply these seams, respectively
3ft, 10in., 51t,, and 2ft. sin., of a remarkable fine coal,
which has already been worked at Nanaimo, destined before
long to be the chief town, and British Columbia generally,
and is traceable as far as the furthest north-west
extremity of the island, where Johnson's Straits furnish
excellent landlocked harbours. Up to 1853 the feeble and
casual efforts of the Hudson's Bay Company had in nine
years extracted for their very limited market 63,003 tons of
coals. But during the last year past 22,000 tons had been
exported to San Francisco alone,where it found a remunera-
tive sale, though the price at the pit-mouth is 6 dols per
ton. Behind Nanaimo a remarkable natural cleft, known
as Albeoni Canal, leads into Barclay Sound, where a spirited
London firm have established sawmills, which during nine
months last year cut and exported 15 million super ficial feet
of some of the finest planking from the Douglas and other
pines. The singular outlines on either side of King Georg's
Sound has been often described ; but it may be as well to
ask the reader to cast his eye on a map of the country, when
ho will observe that the coact is so entirely broken up that
it is possible, according to Lieut. Palmer, that there is no
other portion of the globe which possesses so extended a
coast-line, owing to the enormous island-spangled fiords
that run up into the laud. These are all feathered to the
water's edge with the most magnificent hard woods, above
which, at an altitude of 4,000 feet, spring a bold, moss co-
vered, round summit. Up these it has been attempted to
carry a new route to Cariboo, se as to avoid the difficult na-
vigation of the Cariboo, and if found feasible, of which there
seems little doubt, before long Nanaimo, lying at the foot
of two of the largest and the great coal centres of the colony,
must increase daily. Lieutenant Palmer's paper gave a
graphic description of the splendid scenery of the Frazer
below Yale, of its tributaries from either bank above that
point, which have in places hollowed out for themselves
channels 3,000 feet deep, and finally conducted his audi-
tors to the goldfields, where ho noticed the singular ra-
diation of the more valuable geld claims, each lying in its
own " gulche" or narrow torrent bed, six or seven of which
diverge towards all points of the compass from one or two
central isolated mountains. This, however, the president
stated, showed that what had hitherto been found was mere
alluvial or suetace gold, washed down from the central or
fried strata, the line of which was exemplified by a map
exhibited on an enlarged scale running nearly due north-
west along the west aide of the Great Rocky Mountain
chain as far north at least the Penn River. As, however,
this last mentioned river runs eastward to join the Slow
River, it is not improbable that drift gold may yet be met
with en the east side. But the general direction, Sir
Roderick held, of the main quartz gold-beds would be found
to follow one uniform course. Colonel Moody, R.E., after
confirming the previous remarks and the contents of the
papers, the fidelity of which he bore testimony to from
actual experience, said that much stress had been laid en
the fact of Americans having monopolized most of the
business. At all events, if they did so, what they made
they virtually invested on the soil; but he dealt with much
clearness of argument on the splendid future before both
Vancouver and British Columbia, so soon as British capi-
talists could be induced to direct their attention thither,

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HER MAJESTY.

WINDSOR CASTLE, March 15.

The Queen, accompanied by her Royal Highness
the Princess Helena, drove in the grounds this
morning.
Count Furstenstein, Chamberlain to her Royal
Highness the Crown Princess of Prussia, arrived at
the Castle yesterday, and had the honour of dining
with her -Majesty and the royal family.

Lord Talbot do Malahido and Colonel the Hon.
A. Liddell have succeeded Lord de Tabley and
Lieutenant-General Sir H. Bentinck as lord and
groom in waiting.