THE TRADE, COMMERCE, AND NAVIGATION OF THE BRITISH NORTH AMER ICAN COLONIES. In conformity with your personal directions, and pursuant to your written instructions, the undersigned has diligently prosecuted certain inquiries with reference to the British North American colonies, more especially as regards their foreign, internal, and intercolonial trade, their commerce and navigation, and their fisheries. Having procured some new and special information on these several points, of much interest to citizens of the United States, he submits the same without delay, in the briefest possible form, to the consideration of the gov ernment. Since his appointment as consul at St. John, New Brunswick, in 1843, the undersigned has had the honor, on several occasions, of calling the attention of government to the extent, value, and importance of the trade and navigation of the British North American colonies, and of pointing out the necessity of action on the part of the general government, to meet the important commercial changes which have taken place within the last few years. He has also had the honor of gesting the necessity of wise and liberal legislation in relation to this important and valuable trade, with the view of securing its profits and advantages to citizens of the United States, in whose immediate neighborhood it exists, and to whom, under a fair and equal system of commercial intercourse, it may be said to appertain. sug In the beginning portion of this report, the undersigned has replied to one part of the resolution of the Senate in relation to the trade and commerce of the great lakes; and in the latter portion he has the honor to submit a number of documents and statistical returns in relation to the British North American colonies, made up to the latest possible moment. He most respectfully, but earnestly, solicits the attention of the government, and of the whole commercial community, to the documents and returns herewith submitted, and requests a particular examination of the separate reports on each colony respectively, and of the special reports on the British colonial and French fisheries of North America; which, at this time, will be found to possess much in terest. The undersigned also invites particular attention to the sketch of the early history, and present state of our knowledge of the geology, mineralogy, and topography, of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, prepared expressly for this report by one of our most distinguished geologists, Dr. Charles T. Jackson, who, in conjunction with Mr. Alger, of Boston, first brought to public notice the important mineral resources of these provinces. That full confidence may be placed in the statements relating to trade and commerce of the colonies embraced in this report, it may be proper to state that each colony has been visited—the three following: Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick-several times in person by the undersigned, and that the returns have been carefully compiled not only from official documents, but from trustworthy private resources; and in this connexion the undersigned gratefully expresses his obligations to Thomas C. Keefer, esq., Montreal, for his contributions respecting the resources, trade, and commerce of Canada. The possessions of Great Britain in North America, exclusive of the West India Islands, are, the united provinces of Canada East and Canada West, the province of New Brunswick, the province of Nova Scotia, which includes the island of Cape Breton, the island colonies of Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island, Labrador, and the wide-spread region (including Vancouver's Island, the most important position on the Pacific ocean) under the control of the Hudson's Bay Company, extending from Labrador to the Pacific, and from the northern bounds of Canada to the Arctic ocean, except the districts claimed by Russia. These possessions, viewed merely with reference to their vast superficies, which exceeds four millions of geographical square miles, comprise a territory of great importance, more especially when the manifold advantages of their geographical position are taken into consideration. But their importance should be estimated less by their territorial extent than by the numerous resources they contain; their great capabilities for improvement; the increase of which their com merce is susceptible; and the extensive field they present for colonization and settlement. The British North American provinces, to which these reports and documents are more especially confined, occupy comparatively but a small portion of the aggregate superficies of the whole of the British possessions on this continent; yet they cover a wide extent of country, as will be perceived by the following statement of their Total area British North American provinces.... 218,339,415 In 1830 the population of all these provinces was stated at 1,375,000 souls. The census returns at the close of the year 1851, give the following as their present population: Canada, East and West... New Brunswick .. Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Newfoundland.. Prince Edward Island... Total... 1,842,265 193,000 277,005 101,600 62,678 2,476,548 The following table is an abstract from the late Canadian census: Taking the average ratio of increase of these colonies collectively, it has been found that they double their population every sixteen or eighteen years; yet, various causes have contributed to render the increase smaller in the last twenty-one years, than at former periods. But the commercial freedom which Great Britain has recently conceded to her dominions, both at home and abroad, has caused these North American colonies to take a new start in the race of nations, and, in all probability, their population will increase more rapidly hereafter than at any previous period. The swelling tide of population in these valuable possessions of the crown of England, great as has been its constant and wonderful increase, will scarcely excite so much surprise as a consideration of the astonishing growth of their trade, commerce, and navigation within a comparatively brief and recent period. In 1806, the value of all the exports from the whole of the British North American colonies was but $7,287,940. During the next quarter of a century, after 1806, these exports were more than doubled in value, for in 1831 they amounted to $16,523,510. In the twenty years which have elapsed since 1831, the exports have not merely doubled, but have reached an increase of 116 per cent. During the year 1851 the exports of the British North American colonies amounted to no less than $35,720,000. Equal with this constant increase in the value of exports, has been the increase of shipping and navigation. The tonnage outward, by sea, from all the ports of these colonies, in 1806, was but 124,247 tons. In 1831 the tonnage outward by sea amounted to 836,668 tons, exhibiting an increase of 67 per cent. in the quarter of a century which had then elapsed. So large an increase as this could not be expected to be maintained; yet the increase, which has taken place during the twenty years since elapsed, has been nearly as remarkable. In 1851, the tonnage outward by sea from the North American colonies amounted to 1,583,104 tons, or nearly double what it was in the year 1831. At an early period after their first settlement, the inhabitants of the North American colonies directed their attention to ship building. The countries they occupy furnish timber of great excellence for this purpose, and are rossessed of unrivalled facilities for the construction and launching of ships. This branch of business has steadily increased, until it has attained a prominent position as principally employing colonial materials wrought up by colonial industry. At first the colonists only constructed such vessels as they required for their own coasting and foreign trade, and for the prosecution of their unequalled fisheries; but of late years they have been somewhat extensively engaged in the construction of ships of large size, for sale in the United Kingdoms. New ships may therefore be classed among the exports of the British North American colonies to the parent State. The new ships built in these colonies in 1832 amounted, in the aggregate, to 33,778 tons. In 1841 the new vessels were more than three times as many as in 1832, and numbered 104,087 tons. In 1849 the tonnage of new ships increased to 108,038 tons. In 1850 there was a still farther increase, the new ships built in that year numbering 112,757 tons. That the colonies have great capacity for the profitable employment of shipping, is demonstrated by the steady increase of their mercantile marine. From those periods in their early history, when each colony owned but one coaster, their vessels, year by year, without a decrease at any period, and without a single pause or check, have regularly swelled in numbers and in tonnage, up to the present moment, when their aggregate exceeds half a million of tons, now owned and registered in the colonies, and fully employed in their trade and business. The rate of this steady and continual increase of the tonnage of the colonies may be gathered from the following statement of the tonnage owned by the colonies at various periods, since the commencement or the present century. Aggregate tonnage of the provinces of Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island, at various periods since 1800: The commerce of the colonies may be said to have had its beginning within the past century. Without entering upon details of its rise and extraordinary progress, which can be clearly traced in the documents attached to this report, and to the report which I had the honor of submitting to you in 1850, it will be of great interest to notice its present extent and importance. The tonnage entered inward by sea, at the several ports of the North American colonies, amounted in 1851 to an aggregate of 1,570,663 tons. The tonnage cleared outward in that year from the same ports amounted to 1,583,104 tons. Commensurate with this large amount of tonnage, employed in a commerce which may be said to have had its beginning since 1783, has been the extent of colonial trade during the year just past. The value of this trade is exhibited in the condensed statements which follow. The total exports of Canada for 1851, made up, from United States and Canadian returns, for this report, give a different, but a more correct result, as will be seen by the following statements: The total exports from Canada for 1851, as per returns.. $13,262,376 Of which Quebec exported... 66 66 Montreal.. . $5,622,388 2,503,916 5,136,072 13,262,376 $6,435,844 4,939,300 The character of the above, and the comparative value of the chief material interests of the colony, may be seen by the following table: |