Canada, although emphatically a new country, is rapidly becoming a most important one, and increasing with a vigour not contemplated in England. It is proved, by ample statistical details, that the United States is behind-hand, _ceteris paribus_, in the race.
The thirteen colonies declared their independence in 1783, now only sixty-three years, and amply within the memory of men. The following data for 1784 may be compared to 1836:--
Imports. Exports. Population. Shipping Tons. Nova Scotia } Cape Breton } St. John's } £75,000 £3,500 32,000 12,000 Prince Edward's } Island } Canada 500,000 150,000 113,000 95,000 Newfoundland 80,000 70,000 20,000 20,000 -------- -------- ------- ------- Total £655,000 £223,500 165,000 127,000
_Or just before the disturbances in Canada, and before the Union._
Imports. Exports. Population. Shipping Tons. Nova Scotia £1,245,000 £935,000 150,000 374,000 Canada 2,580,000 1,321,750 1,200,000 348,000 Newfoundland 632,576 850,344 70,000 98,000 Cape Breton 80,000 90,000 35,000 70,000 Prince Edward's Island 46,000 90,000 32,000 23,800 New Brunswick 250,000 700,000 164,000 347,000 --------- ---------- --------- --------- Total £4,833,576 £3,987,094 1,651,000 1,260,800
Imports. Exports. Population. Shipping Tons. 1784 £4,250,000 £1,000,000 3,000,000 500,000 1836 162,000,000 121,000,000 15,000,000 2,000,000
Thus the increase in shipping alone to the North American colonies, compared with the United States, was as _ten_ to _four_, and the increase of population as _ten_ to _three_.
In imports, the United States, compared with the colonies in that period, increased as 40 to 9, exports 120 to 19; but then the Americans had the whole world for customers, and the colonies Great Britain only, until very lately, and then, even in the West India trade, they could scarcely compete with their rivals; whereas the Americans started with four times the shipping, nearly double the population, six times the import, and four times the export trade, and the people of the republic had already occupied at least ten great commercial ports, whilst Quebec, Halifax, and St. John, were yet in infancy as mercantile _entrepôts_.
Passing over all but Western Canada, we shall examine the state of that province after the rebellion of 1839, when Lord Durham informed us that