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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1892-7-15, Page 6BR-ITSSLB POST, JULY 15, 1892 BATTLE OF QUEESTON HEIGHTS, A THRILLING OHAPTLR OF OAN ADIAN HISTORY. BY EARNEST CRC IKSHANK. Their swat and pereistent efforts to en liet the Iudians residing in New York am Pennsylvaaia actively on theie side thrall promised to be successful. In July Eras. tue Granger, the American Indian Agent for the State of New York, held a commit with 'the Senecas at Buffalo, during which he pro- posed that they should permit two hundred of their youu men to join the Amet•ican striny. This theyrefined to do, but eon sented to send some •of their elnefs to the Grand River to dissuade their confedersto artbee from joining the British. In this naseion they were unsuccessful, but (Iran - ger appears to have repreeented to his goy. eminent that they were anxious to be em- ployed themselves, for as early as the 2701 of July, the Secretary of War wrote to Dearborn, enelosing a letter to Granger, authorizing him to metallize the warriora of the Six Nations conditionally. At this time it was impossible for hhn to have known that any Indians had joined the British. About the mid- dle of September, Van Reneselaer held a greed council with the Tuscaroras, and ad• vantage was craftily taken for the appea • ance of a British scouting party upou Grand Island, which eras still the property of the Seems, to excite alarm among them lest they should be deprived of these lands, They were then induced to declare war formally, and Red Jacket pompously ari. nounced that they would put :1,010) werriors in the field. Several hendred Indians were brought down from the Allegheny River and a great feast and war dance held in the streets of Buffalo. Almost at the moment when these events were taking place, the Secretary again wrote to Dearboin :--' By letters received from Erastus Granger it am peers that the yonmet men of the Six Nations 000 110 longer be restrained, and that in case at refusal on the part of the United Statea to accept their seovices they would join the „Indians under the British standard. Mr, Granger has therefore been authorized, after every attempt to secure their neutrality bas failed, to employ them." In direct con. tradiction to the atatement contained in this letterstends &speech delivered at Onondaga, the ancient council grounds in the aix . and adviee in the caulk, nod most of 1 them had now taken the field in some y rapacity, Many of the eurviving loyalists, too old and feeble to bear the fatigue of a campaign, likewise tendeted their services to perform garrison duty. The weather had been singularly diseour- eging. July was excessively hot and dry, but August brought flooas of rain. Wheat • sproutect ni the lields after being reaped and much of the harvest was ruined. Sep. tembur as a rule proved coal and pleasant, but October was ushered in by furious storms, and sudden changes of temperature which prevented most of the Indian corn from maturing, and blighted the lingering hopes of tho farmers. Nations, by sixteen thiefs, representing five • west as Tonawanda, on the 29th of Sep. tember ; " Having been told repeete dly b your agents to :amain neutral, we were very much surprised at the council beld at Buffalo Creek, at being invited to take up the tomahawk. We are not unfriendly to the 'United States but are few in number, mid can do but little, but are willing to do what we can, and if you sav so we will go with your people to liattle. We aro anxious to know your wishes aa soon as possible, because we are afraid some of our young men may disperse among distant tribes and be hostile to you." By the beginuing of October it is carte= that about 300 warriors had joined Veit Rens- selaer's army, Mit they seem to have sent ' some apologetic message to the allied tribes in the British set- ;dee, for these aseureil Brock that they would not act against hirn with any spirit " So I imagine," he observed with Ma aecnetotned penetration if we continue to slew a bold front, but in (be eveut of a disaster the love Of plan - der will preyed in a manlier to be the moet dreaded by the inhabitants of this country," The American militia were ennstantly in the habit of stealieg dealt to the liver awl firing at the Britieh eentries, the latteriee, and private transept on the oppwite batik, and soon exeittel intenee end almost ferocious teelitig of hatred comn.! the trope under Brook's command, but he had the eetisfaction of being eble to report at end of two mon the of hitless/it annoyance • and alarm, that his regulars had not 10511 dtminiehed by a single death at the burls of the enemy, nor by a solitary desertion, and that his entire force was in good health an( spirits in spite of their privations In Ltd e the only loss occasioned by this dee- ultory but harassing warfare, was the death of an untortunate sentry, Private John Hendershot, of the lith Lincoln, who was shot on his post at Queenston, on the 4th of Septembete The British forties were strict. ty forbidden to make any reply, and their endurance was often tested to its utmost limit in consequence. A letter from a spy, apparently residing near Fort Erie, to general Von Rensselaer, gives a very strik- ing view of the situation and feelines of the people at this time. "General Brock," he remarks, "has paid attention to every particular that can ,relste to the future resources of the province under tribes of the confederacy distributed as fat his charge as well as to its immediate de- fence. The harvest has been got in toter. ably well and greater preparation is made for cmtving fall grain than ever before. The bnilitba law is modified as inuch as possible to suit the circumstances of the people, and measures taken to prevent them feeling the burdeu of the war, The women work in the fields, encouragement being given for that purpose. 1 hen Hull's proclamatiot appeared it had its effect, there being secur- ity protnised for private property, and the people would willingly have submitted, but when it was found thab private property was seized without compensation the public sentiment entirely changed. The success of General Brook established the general sentiment; he has since made the most of it, has become personally highly popular; in shot, has taken every measure that &ju- dicious officer will take in his circumstances Io r the security of the provinee. A deter- mination now prevails among the people to defend the country." No dread of impeeding (limiter ever damped his spirits or abated his aotivity. Irrepressibly sanguine himself, he possessed the rare faculty of imbuing all who came in contact with him with unboutffied eonfi, denim in his abilities and reaped for his ohmmeter. To maintain his position in the face of the overwhelming numbers gather- ing in his frone must, at times have roamed well nigh hopeless, yet no signs of despond- ency was ever betrayed in his manner or conversation. His wonted egy wag Besides several large scows for the trans- port of cannon, the Amerieans had begnn to build three gun -boats at Bleck Rook, the destructioa of which, Brock frankly confessed he Ivould have attempted bad Ile not berm restrained by Ins instruc- tinns. The Indians wete strictly pro- hibited from crossing the river tita der any pretence, and were closely watched aud guarded. A party which ar- rived from the west to visit Colonel Claus, bringingwith them a =intik of scalps, were harply rebuked and pledged not to offend in that way again, These rigid precautions bad the effect of diminishing the number of those with the army until it did not much exceed one hundred. A variety of motives absolutely forced General Van Reusselaer to assume the offenave. During September six eagiments of regular infantry, five of New a ork mili- tia, battalion of rifles and several compan- t fee of artillery joined his army. The Peon. aylvenia contingent had aseembled at Mead. a elect on the 90th and was matehin to port eerviee on the lakes lisel obliged the British general, to send away the armed veseels which had formerly [teemed the Hanks of his poaition, mai to guard a frontier which preetically extended from the Sugar Loaf on Lake Erie to Frew Mile Creek on Lake Onatrio, and to occupy the numerous posts and batteries between, aclina.intain communication over a line of sixty miles, he had actually less than e thousand isgular troops and six 111111,1ml militia, with a reeerve of possibly six hun- dred militia ancl Indians. Half of this fovea was seared y adequatoto garrison Iforttleorge and the adjaceet batteries, and a body of troops could hardly be marched front one and of his line to the os her in less than two claye, The concentration of large bodies of mon new Fort Ningara and Buffet°, where great numbers of boats were collected, forced Brook to weaken his centre and etrenethen his whips, anticipating that an attempt would be made to turn his flank, and land troops a few miles in rear of the works pro- tecting it. lam companies of the 49th, two of the Royal Newfoundlitud regiment, four of militia and a stnall cletaohment of Royal artillery, occupied Fort Erie and a series of batteriee extending as low as Frenehman's Creek ; four companies of militia and one company of the 41s1 were posted along the river between that point and Chippewa ; the flank companies of the 400 and two of the York militia, held the batteries near Queeneton ; the eettliworks at &own's and Field's points were each guarded by a militia company, while the re. teething companies of the 49th and Lincoln militia and the field guns were quartered in and about Fort George. A chain of outposts and patrels maintained constane communi- cation between all the posts, and the Initiates were lei; in (050000 11, small parties several miles in rear. As the number of regular artillerymen was quite insufficient to work I even the field guns theist peasessiou, a O005 of volueteer gunners had been formed I pertly from the regular infantry end partly from the militia under Captains Kerby and Swayze. The quelity ol these troops was unquote. ionably snperior to that of any likely to be nought, against them. The 41sc containel large proportiOn of young recruits, ImtwaS wi men 13 IT I VI 0, 0. Forage and pro% isions had already begun to grow scarce, and the rains would mulonbtedly increase the rev. ages of disease already frightfully prevalent among his militia. Dearborn strongly lava him to attempt the passage of the river, as he declared they must reckon upon la at de or obtaining possession of Upper Canto before the winter aet in, assuring him the same time that Harrison would inva the p•ovince by way of Detroit with six reven thousand men, while another tarot body of troops were already assembl at Sneltett's Harbour, where it squa reit was fitting out to contest po seseion of Lake Ontario, and he, in perso promised co inenace elontreal from Lal Champlain. The ultimate success of the operations he regarded as ahnost certai but he warned Van Rensselaer that muc would depend on his movements on tl Niagara. Monroe, Secretary ef Stott openly ascribed the inactivity of the am= in New York to the effects of disaffect= which he declared had paralyzed the effor of the administration aud rendered t measures of Congress inoperative, T militia now clamored loudly to be le againet the enemy, and did not hesitate twense their commander of lukewarmne and cowardice, while soi»e of their office amennced t heir =teethe) of invading Ca tele without waiting for orders ken] hit yet a triffing incident screed to indica how very little dependence was to be place eg cl- et _Tetrad and near Black Creek. One-third of e_ _the troopers off duty were ordered to sleep te in their clothing fully accoutred and 00 ready to spring into the saddle. On the eth n of October all the troop% were directed to be limier arms at foer every morning. le The successful result ot attenk upon 0, two small armed vessels at ort Erie served es to raise the spirite of Van Rensselaer's army 0, I in a remarkable elegree, and wee actually a ts sor;eui bloW to their opponent, owing to he the 001101110 heareity of provisions apart he from ihe loi‘s of the vessels. This occurred early on the morning of the Oth October, to and Brook arrived on the spot before its sunset, bat having appstrently satisfied rs himself thet no ionnediate attempt to 0, ercks the river 10,10 contemplated there, to n, tonna to Niagara eon day. He turned this 10 throt,ter to the best edvantage by compli. ' menting both regulars and militia on their Tond. Another roma commencing et the led to St. David's, throwing o r a beam which ascended the heights taint, a mile t weseward, and finally united with the port age road above. In the angle formed b the intet•section of these two roads at th eoutImest earner of the villege stood th large stone house of the 1103i, Robert Ham then, with its walled courtyard and sub etuatial outbuildinge, The adjaemit piair was dotted with many farmhouses near ta roads, and the fields were gel:orally males ed ordinary rail.fenaes, diversified nee the foot of the heights by an occasional low atone wall. Helf.way up the side of th moantain a mall ration battery had beet built with its angle fronting the rivee an armed with en eighteen:pounder, and a Vrooman's or Scott's Point, nearly a rnbb below, a twenty-four pound gun bad been mounted en harbtfte on a oreseenteshapet earthwork commanding, elthough and a very long range, both landings, and the breadth of the river between. Capt. Williams, wieh the light oompany of the 490, was staeioned au the raffia], and the grenadiers of the same regiment, under leapt James Dennis, and Chisholm's com- pany of the 9nd York, were quartered in the villaee. Outposts and sentries watch- ed the river front the landing to Vroonrat's Point, which was ocoapied by Capt, Sam- uel Hall's company of the lith Lineoln. The entire Coro of regulars and militia die. tributed about Queonston did not exceed two hundred men. Cameron's end Hew. ard's companies of York militia lay at Browe's Polet, three miles distant, but there were no other regular troops nearer than Fort George. Fatigne, duty and fvegnent elarms had begun to tell upon the health and spirits of the men, aud et dark on the evening ot the Iltit Brock learned with much a iprehension that some of the men of the thli had be. bona? at Queeeeton, and even threateaed come insuhortlinate, wrecked the guard the lives of thole officers, but an inquiry showed that thew misconduct was ceased I by drink, and they were liberated with a reprimand. All that day, and the next, parties of rifle - mon lined the opposite shore and fired inces- a fine hod of men a d althou ti santly atany livingthing that mot their e eou of the 49th had been ten years in the eonntry, drinking rum without bounds, they were still respectable and ardent The flank com- paniee of militia were genevally composed of picked Men and hut attained very credit. able degree of discipline. (knead Smyth favoureil an attempt to , pass the river bete een Fort Erie end Chip. pawn., and some intimation of this project may have reached Brock, for he increased • the Queenston side. The housea near the riv• ier were riddled by their five,and even a boat, bearing a flag of truce becerne a target for their bullets. All communication by flag of trnce with the enemy Was aecordingly Istrictly forbidden, except when special pee mission was obtained front heedquarters, (Th HE CONTI:it:BM) tho garrison of both places in the beginning of October, and established detachments to watch the river opposite the head of Navy on their aesistance, eentinel near Schlo ser was shot et his pee: in the uight b some nnknowii person, and entire con patty instantly throw down its arms an ran away, the ingitives: never sum -Ting ti 11,ey hail gained the 111,1101 camp at Lawistni Early in ()weber Van itot,,,,elaer ol couneil wt.r, to whieh Ira Melte Geeeral tanyth, ho Mid jn,,t, taken con ;nand of a. brigade of rt t.tutur troops a General ef the ;Now Yor ittul the commandant of each reg ment Unite.' titates troops, rattyt eltotted his contempt for the militia geuer under atheist wan forced to servo b neglecting to 01 0000(1 or even to explain 11 absence. Van Renssekee had intended t concentrate the whale of his regular troop near Fort Niagara and the inilitia at Lewis ton, and attempt the paesage of the rive eimultmeoesly at both places, but in con sequence of Smyth'smiscondnot this wham was abandoned and he determined to (woe from the latter place only, as be felt setts fled that the forcesthe Ithel already assemble thez•e were amply sufficient for the purpose Staff -eaters, under onepretext and mottle had visited the British lines, and the reset of their observations, eoupled with informa- tion received from his spies had made him pretty thoroughly acquainted with the lumbers and oomposition of the forces op. posed to him. No doubt was entertained of at twat partial snCoess. He nonlidently antioipated being able to seems a foothold in Canada where he weld establish his army in winter quarters end prepare for an early campaien next year. The primary object of the In- vasion teas simply deecribed as being to ex- pel the British from Queenston an I obtain O shelter from the inclemency of theweath. en 'More than eighe thousand troops were aesembled under his command, of wham half were regulars. Three hundred artillery and eight hundred reguler i»fantry occupied Fort Niagara., and nine Itundoed regnlar soldiers and 2,070New York tnilitia were encamped near Lewiston, At Buffalo, General Smyth had 1,050 regular troops, three hundred and eighty-six detached militia, two hundred and fifty sailors, and four hundred Indians, besides the local militia. The advance.guard of the Pennsyl- vania brigade of two thousand men had also arrived at Buffet°, and the remainder was within easy march of Viet place. Many betteatix nod flatbottomed boats wore in readiness at Black Rock, Tonawanda, and Gill's Oreek above the Falls, and at Lewis- ton nail Four Milo Creek below, and a sufficient number could be collected at any given point in a kw hours to carry over a thousand men, His train of field ttrtillery was large and well equipped. s. ! glieudid vooduct in his last general -order y lesucel on the lath Ootolier, catmot Pell, : :Major of the :Niagara Dra;noos, being: dia- d tingnieheil by sprieial mention for eon,piett• , one bravery. '1E0.4 1,nrrirti jemmy etel the rateet of hastening, -e'en Itenaeelear's ments, for a spy returned to his ramp with ;I • information that Battik had left Niagars, in 1- great bat( c and wee ssipposed to have gone t to I)tt tit. Encourogell by misreport, and. feelingets lie expreseca it, " that the nation. i• charactev be deg= tea and the diegrace li will remain, cuermileg the public feelthe and e l spirit until mother (=piffle unless it be ✓ wiped away by a brilliant 'ex Tait in this " is he determined to etri ke while the entlaisiasm O of his troops was vet at its heat over the s recent exploit, anti fixeil the hour and place - for croesing the river for three o'eloalt next ✓ morning at elneenston. The stream was • there at its totrrowest ; a ferry Mel been e established for years, and although the a current was swift, the nevigatioe was well - ascertained aud an indifferent, oarsman could d pull across in less than ten minutes. His artillery, superior in numbera and calibre, ✓ could cover the landing (rent the high ground above Lewiston, where batteeks had already been thrown up for it To resist this formidable army, Brock had fifteen companies of regular hi. ntry, which may have mustered sixty nit and file each ; two came and thirty en of the Royel artillery, with eve guns • a troop of soffits, drivers, and It troop of Provincial Cavalry, beeides the flank cern- anion of the five Lincoln and two York ttallone of militia, The fourteen flank npanies probably did not average more an thirty•five officers and men each, or ss than five hundred in all. The muster of the five Lincoln battalions ;Mow a fad of nearly two thousand me», but these ere scattered over the twenty townships en composmg the county, comprising the tire peninsula, from Burlington Bey to month of Covina river. Perhaps five linked of these ton14 he readily assent.. ed at a few hourg' .tlet., .erlost of the diens bad (lisle to their hunting ounde. The maitre eirs of the trans- ' --'-'fa isplayed bn ,the selection of members of es, bis military family. John McDonnell, 10 the Attorney -General of the province and IVI. P P tor Glengarry, and James Glenna, of the Indian department, a man thorough- iy I iar with the language and customs of the Mating lof the province, were ap- pointed provincial aidowde-eamp, Robert. Niehol, a wealthy merchant and miller .of Port, Dover, who knew intimately every part of of the country between the Niagara Mid Detroit and almost every man fn was bontinated sartistant quartermaster. general. When the assembly was prorogued, GM address to the pao do nf tho proviiera had ba 010 th lo rolis to th on th nen prapared ant to:,,,ned by neatly the whole of the iecinbcre. ereieg :hem to de. lend their country. and ptotla:I.g their aid gr Accordingly the regulars from Fort Ni agara, and strong detachments from Tintado were ordered to join the mailabody at Lew- iston before midnight, and boats sufficient to contain 500 men were secretly brought overland from Gilt's Creek. A furious storm of wind and rain swept over his camp while the troops were drawn up in readiness to enter the boats, end the pilot of the expedition deserted in the darknees. In eonsequence the attack was indefinitely postponed. The rein =tinned with un- ithated violeoce for twenty-eight houre eelii the roads became almost impasseble. Van Renseelner then desired to waie a few days in the hope of reverting to his original plan, but the impatience of his troops seemed to be rather increased la an diminished by their recent failure, and the pressure broughe to bear upon him was too great to be with. stood. His force Ives now still further increesed by the arrival of three hun- dred and fifty regular soldiers, under Lieut. -Col. Oheystio, at Four Mile Creek, east of Fort Niagara. The appearance of these boats, and the detention of a large force near that place, led Brook to believe that an attempt would be made to land to the westward of Niagara, ad prevented him from reinforcing ehe deatehmente at Queenston, and thoogh he bad beeome aware of the attempt to woes the river there, he regarded it simply as it feint to divert his attentim from the true point of ettacik. The evident activity of the enemy near Buffalo at the same time restrained him from weakening the right of his ex. tended line, Th;river as it issues from the gorge at Queeeston is barely two hundred yards in width, and flows at the rate of about four miles an hour. Tbe oliffa 'which 'wall it in above are almost; perpeedicolar, rising to the height of about 3130 feet above the stream, yet oil the Canadian side, in many places were so overgrown, and almost eon.. coaled, by ehruha end trees which ttruelt their roots into the alerts and crannies of the rocks, as to Mahe ih poesible for an or- dinarily active man to olhnb up with /tette difficulty from the water's edge to the summit. A few hundred yards west of the landing stood the village, con. ;fisting of a dont barraeks and about twenty scattered dwellings surromid. ed by gardens mil orchard& The waggon - road loading from Niagara formed the pie. cipal street, and wound up tho heights be. TOSSED BY A SUBIliABIAL BARTH- QUAKE. Thies Days in the Glare of n MaZio Mountain. Among the arrivals in San Francesco the . other day was the bark Seminole, Capt Ne eeden, front Newcastle, N. S. W. Ihe i voyage Up Was not uneventful, and some of her crew think themselves very lucky to reach San Francisco at all. On April 18, when right in the middle of the eolomon group, the bark had a vary narrow escape from bee% wrecked by an' earthquake. It was a bright, sunny day, with not a breath of wind, and the sea was as smooth as glass. The nearest land was! about twenty miles away, and. there was ' nothing to show that mything unmet was °Jima to take place, About lutlf an hour before noon the watch on deck were startl• ed by feeling the veseel shake 0 etem 10 stern, as if elm had tonehed the groune. Capt. Weeden at oneo ordcred the drep•Sott lead to be brought up, although he wai sort. hiS vessel was m deep wa:10 et the time. Abut •five milieus after the fleet sheee g ON OAN4IDA'S CENSUS, tit English Writ or the nensons roe 011 r Contnartittvels Slow I,trowth, 1Prom flutmears'a Jo= tl,) The recent census of Caner= is interest- ing for many reasons, apert from the rather disappointing increase 004,6011 shows in Olio popeletioe, equal to tthout 11.60 per cent, in the (kende 1881.1801. The figures for the various Provinces, as compered with those of 1081, aro as follows ; Nava Scotia has a population of 480,023, as against -i00,- 1372 in 1881 ; New Brunswick, 321,294, as against 321,12e3 ; Prince Edward Island, 1(10,088, as against 100,801 ; Qaebee 1,488, 580, as against 1,830,0117; Ontario 2,112,080, as against ),0110,022t Manitoba. 154,442, as against 00,9110; British Columbia, 110,707,s against 40,450 ; and the North-west Prov• hums and Unorganised Territory, 90,722, as against 00,446, In the Maritime Prov- inces the gain is 1171)00 cant.; m Quebec, 0•53 per cent.; iu Ontario, 9.65 ; in Mani. tuba, 14800; in the North-west, 104-761 in British Columbia, 8786; and ht the Unor- ganised Territory 80 per cent. Among other things the census indicat that in new (=entries, 00 in alder ones, the is apt to be a falling•off in the rural pope dm and a movement towards the towi This in the Cites of the Dominion of Gout only applies to the older provinces, not Manitoba, the North-west Territories, a British Columbia ; tel it is aceounted f by reasons somewhat different from Lilo Which generally obtain elsewhere. The ore naturally wine points of similarity, su as the del elopinent of the manufwaturi indestries, which leo; bean specially notio able in the lase to years 1 the higher wag in the towns ; and the lessened demand f labour caused by the improvements in 030 caltural matennery. But, on the other there are no heavy rents and taxes or tithe ee re la. 113. 'Se to nd or so re ch ng es or or tel and there isnot so widen divergence bet ween urban and rural wages as in 14eat Britain. The slightness of the increase is all the more remarkable in view of the immense areas of unoccupied land still to be found in the cadet pi ovinces, except Prince ltdward Is- land, elost of tile CrOWn land ill question is, however, covered with bush, math, or fereet ; and no one who has not had ahead in clearing it faint under such conditions, or whu has not seen the process in coarse of development, can forni any idea of what the week means. The farmers, altliongh usually comfortebly off, and able to ntake good living on the old homestead, are not always able to buy improved farine for their soils as they grow np ; and consement. ly, the letter, instead of taking up claims in the backwoods me their fathers did, go West to the free -grant lands on the prairies of Menitola and the Nortlawest Territories, or else make their way into the towns. Then, again, the old folks in snob oases often sell the farms they hewed out of the forest in years gone by, and go Weat with their sons, tho proeeeds of the sale being sufficieut to stare the whole family comfortably on a eomparatively large tract of Itind there. This helps lo explain the slow progress of the ooral district of the older parts of Cana- da, and, in conjunction with the immigra- tion that has taken perm:, the more rapid increase in the paw= country and in laritish Columbia. The forest Ian& of Nova Scotia, NeW Brunswick (Metter and Ontario will undoubtedly be attacked 1 time; but we shall Ileac to wait until km becomes Reamer than it is in the groat west ern plains of the Dominion. The eonditioi of things in those provinces is not singular for the satne ciliVieS have lo,en et work it New England, and there has been it falling pp ail of tie rn rtti d 60 an of that part of the United States, The movement tis which reference he been madr bt merely a transfeeenee ef pope will do inuell to draw attention to Lilo great calve:tram of Manitoba end the North. wea8Itt'ich Wilkey has been given to the statement that the yearly Reports of the in the Dominien ;laving the tart decade; "7"1"'"` '1"""" .1, hund red thousand immigrants landed and Inc the total =armlet; in the population Is only little over five hundred thousand, leis claimed that there kit screw loose some- where. 13ut there is little doebt that the Immigration rectums are initeettrate, British Board of Trade leiffigration returns so far as regards Britielt North America, show an emigration to Canada less than a third of that clamed in the Canadian roturnS. II is that they do not include those who go to Canada by way of American port, 0 considerable n111111:01, tiowadays, but not sffilleient to aeconnt for a half of the balance, They inolncle all the steerage paseengers es wall as auenal ealigrarite, an Cl for that reason are not reliable ; the Cana - dim returns are also of douinfnl utility for trineh the same reason, as there is a large amount of trevel on business and pleaeure bet ween Canada, and the United States, It deserves; to be mentioned that there is a wideepread feeling in Canada thet the census rettlims are not so accurate as they might be ; and it is admitted that the plan of enumeration edopted this year exoluded many thotisands of pes•sons who would have been inoluded if that in use in 1881 had beou 'continued. In many places locel re. counts are threatened, and ono or two that have recently taken place seem to indicate that there is some ground for the distruse thet exist& The population of Victoria, British Columbia, for Instance, according to the official census, was ooly 16,841, while later civic recount places lihe total at 24,979, There is also a divergence be- tween the official and municipal censuses in Toronto nod Vancover. Again the birth- rate in Canada has diminishoein the last twenty years or so : aed 01 Ontario alone it is said that had the size of thettverage fam- ily been maintaned at its former percentage the population, this year would have been higher by nearly two hundred thousand 1110 not likely that Canada will get two hundred and fifty thousand people a year in the North-west, as an enthuaiastic Coy. ernor moo prophesied, at any rate for along time ; hat now that the Confederation is practically complete, all theprovinces being milted by railway, possessing ample means of local communication, and herang access to the Atlantic and Pacific: Oceans, there is no doubt whatever that Canada generally, and especially the Western country, is upon the threshold of a period of eative de- velopment, General statistics show that the material progress of Canada anti 4e- fie0,411 inhabitants will commits favourably with any other country in which similar eon. ditions peovail, either inside or outside ehe British Einplre ; and iL will be strange in- deed if the next eenaue does not, tell a much mots satisfactory story than that of 1891. Methodist Growth in India, The Pioneer, a leading Indian daily tbat has never been hienilly to Christian mis- sions in Indio, but has shown sharp oppo. sition at every opportunity, snakes the fol. lowing extremely intereeting editorial atm- ) ;news on the returns of the paw (reuses of 1 1801 showing church growth : • '(Inc of the poiuts coiticised moat Item - 1 ly, tholigh in all probability not nver Wier- . ly, in the retlirne of tile now census for In - 1 dim will be the figare fur the inereaee of the • native Chrietian ply:dation, The imperial s rehires are, of et:rime, not yet availnble, but we are able to give the ni tin reeelte in the o NOTthWl'el inocs and thal.1), awl they • are certainly rem ‘rltahlr. Witlinet ;draw - in» ror possible eel lust ment rem ilistricia • the tote' number oi et0tive tei tit time shoWa in lite tVI14lIS for jirOVIneeS 22,633 neninst Illeedt bat eensue, It rise of sthotit 70 tier cent. The indrease, however, lias been so far from uni.orin iirollgliolit, that the Rehileund divition atom aceounts for over 7,000, out of tee total ad- dition of feeto ;eta for the whole of the indeed provinces. Mk is pleating C1101101 but the Ill1r/.10 11(11A101:' wisut we proceed to apportion the converts to the several Seale rtt work, '1 ho Metho- dist Episcopal Church includes 2,929, or more than half the entire native Christian population. It monopolizes almost ell the entire native Christians in the Rololcand division where the work of conversion seems to have been so extraordinarily succeseful end also in Garliwal and Kheri. The Church of England on the other hand, is credited with only 5,013 out of 22,655 ; most of its adherents belonging to Debra Dun, Agra, Benares, and Gonad-v.1r. Finally, the re- turn of Rumen Catholics is put at 1,9)6. How it comes rtbont that one church has been so ntueh more successful than all the others put together, and hi one disivieion AO math more eminently than elsewhere, ars. points upon which we Must wait for further enlightenment, but the main result, to wit, the increase of 70 por cent in the total Christian population is unquestionably a. fad upon which the apologists of mission- ary enterprise may reasouably congratalate ibit mselves." there am annum. quake, •whiele to use the 1 language of Capt. Weetlen, " was a thuely." I The bialt was leted up at least eix feet, then rolled over to port until her rail was i muter water, Every timber in the twee!, creaked and groaned rts if the ship wait abant to go to pieces. All around the yes. 1 sea as far ma the eye could see, the sea. was y heaving and tumbling, as if in a heavy storm, and tons of water poured over tee t. rails on both sides, flooding the decke. The watch below Wero throull 011b of their 1 bunks and rushed on deck, thinking the ib ship had strack a rook and was going down. 01 The shock lasted nearly a minute, and in- side of twenty sectonds was followed by a third, fully as severe as the one Mutt pre. ceded it, bet it did not /est more than twenty-five second& The bark pitehed and rolled so heavily that the main yard was dipped in the water half a dozen times, and it seemed as if the mast would go over the side. Many articles were swept front the deck by the rush of water, and some of the men narrewly map. ed bein_g clashed egainst the deek house end rail. It was nearly an hour after the last shock before the big waves subsided and the bark was once more motionless on the water, and the crew began to realize what had taken place. In the ca.bins and fore- castle everything was tanned thpey thrVy, and nearly all the °rockery on beard Was smashed. That evening a breeze sprang up told the Seminole reaumed her voyage toward San Francesco. Just before claylighe on the morning of the 2001s, two clays after the earthquake, the lookout reported a bright light Ahead, and it was soon proved to be a large volcano in full blast, The blazing mountain was over forty miles away, end yet by noon the vessel's decks were covered with ashes over an inch deep. Fertile three days and nights during wbiali the volcano remained in view the light was so great that O newspaper could easily have been read on tho vessel's dealt at midnight Copt. Woeden says it is the worst shake- up he ever got, and he would not care for another like 3b. In spite of the very severe shaking the bark escaped unscathed, and, excepting the few bottles of ashes which were preserved by the crew, there is noth- ing to ahow that anything out of the coin. mon occurred. al 1,11 hem 1,1e eit,1 to the west, and le t.1 '01 it growth. But lletare 1 110 great Calla ibut plaine between Winnipeg and the lecky Mountains. were ;;pened up and made 1/00,sildr,Which only took place m a partial 'g'o (11,0111 1011 year,: ago -the Catualetu eteille 11 tilesy MIS 1101 eampleted uutil Noveinlar lsKi-tt goodly portion of this ;one met muscle of Cenittett went to the wairiea 51 1110 United ;Staten which have wen available for settlement for the last linty nr forty years. 'The large number of Ientelians in the Republic is the result of hat emigration, and the lamentable conse- uence of Btitish apathy in allowitig the eillions of acme of ferrate land within our own boundaries, north of the forty-ninth parallel, to remain a terra incognita fur so lone a period. There is another tiling Which helps to explain the existence of a strong Canadian Element in the States. Before the extension of the limits of the Dominion hy the acquisition of the Hudson Bay Terri. tory end British Columbia, Canal. ?engin- el of a strip of laud along the great lakes, the river St feiwrente, and the °oasts end rivers of Nova Seatia, Now Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. It 1011.5 practically withont railway rommunicathin to any lerge extent, and the area under cultivation did not increase with much rapidity from the time the American prairies began to at- tract attention, All tlds time, however,the rising generation in many well-to.do class and suceeaufu1nericulturiats' families were being educated tnr the profession- al stud lighter callings ; and its Canada did not then supply ae tinny openings of the kind as she does now, and the manufaaturing industry was in its infamy, these young people were almost obliged to go to tho Statea; and the eame thing may be sitid of the youthful FrenolaCanadians and others, who were attracted by the high wages of the New England factories. There is httle or no movement from Canada to the United States at the prese»t thne; indeed, so far from its being the caee, people are going to Canada from the United States; and over three thousand immigrants from Dakota are reported to have settled in Man- itoba and the North-west Territories last slimmer. Betrothed, AN ALLEGORY, Two lofty inountneite soar'd ea:mead. Emelt side to vale of vest extent, They know cech other well, awns setti. With 'mall age their forms were bonti They gaeaded wall that lovely vale, .And watched, as with it mother's pride, Two silver streams that swept the dale, Yet had their source on either sicle. oo, on they ;mod, like friends at ploy, - Now remota, caught, new far apart; Till-hel hal hat -they lost their way, And jolted themselvee no more to perti The mountains smiled, and camped their hnnds, And wiebed the lovers homy day t The setting sun tent golden hands. The moon throw ;dryer o'er thole wey1 Wide, wiee, they Amend their pebbly bed United now were thoy for over; The memo albs stretched their necks oew• head, To ace their go in the river 1 Jan» hail», Telerate, tam The increase in these laetommed provinc es ami in British Coltunbia, though, more satisfactory than in Eastern Canada, is not what Was expected; but it must be remem- bered that twenty years ago the actuary was, as Lord Beaconsfield described it, an illimitable wilderneas, having no railway communication with Eastern Canada; in feet, there 'Wan not n, mile of railway in the couttry, As alreerly mentioned, it is only see yeaes sinee the Canadian Pavel= Railway was COlnpleted, The population, chiefly Indians, was in 1878 under fortyefour thous, and; in 1181 it, hail inert:aged to about eighty- eight thousand; and in 1801 it was about two hundred and tWenty-one thousand, whieh, in View of all the eitcumateences, bo not a bad showing. Immigration hae to be wetted mid attracted; and much as more people are wanted there, they cannot bo forced to go, and the movement Must devel- op naturally. elanitobe hes had to contend with inisreprescantione of all sorts, and other things bare tended to prevent a rush of immigrants, not the least beieg tho coin. petition of countries that lieve been open, longer for eattlemen le A large population always acts as a nutgnet so far ati inunigraw don is concerned, But its day is coining very rapidly, aol tho vo,0111 vfidt, 01 tho British Tenant Fermis, their fEINGLI1 A hie 00. ports, end the splendid barvcat of last year, Life Assurance, Mrs. MoOinty-Did yez say Denny's lei fe was not insured ? Airs. Otleaffety-Naw, inclarle. Mrs, eloGinty-13edad, an' him a worlcin1 on th' molts wid th' Westin; an' things, Shure, Moiko has his loife insured, or, bo- ded, mantra the toime he'd been kilt long ago, Tb*' other day a blasth 0=1 off before Ise knowed it, an' divi1 a schrefera did he Loife insuranao is a foine institution, and prevents many a kiddy bein' a widdy before her toime, They Made Rim AtitiVe. Young Physician (to patient): "Did you follow rny directions in taking the little pills -one every three hours ?" Patient "Wall -sr -yon see doo---" Young Physician ; "Great 'heavens 1 You didn't take them of toner than that?" redone : "I didn't take any. My little boy got hold of the bottle in the night and ate them; all up," Young Physiciat (Mistily) 1 Where is the boy ?" Petient1 Tho last I heard of him, he Watt out in the back yard stonin stoats," Ditto, "Ler, Mary, how I do love you," remark. ad a nista() to his sweetheart. "Ditto, John," she replied. " Ditto," thought John ; " what does she mann by 'Ditto'?" And, nob wishing to display hisignoranee befoleMary,he thought he would ask his father. So, seeing him m the garden when he reached horse, he said Father, what's the meaning of 'ditto'?" " 01 I that's easy," said the old man. " Von see ibis cabbage 0101 111011 ortiMager' ye,1/ " \Vele that's " et, Mary% head 1" said John, ''11 doe haven't boon and called mo 'Cabbages,'"