"Get population and all else will be added unto you," was Mr. Chamberlain's word-in-season to the Dominion; and that piece of advice was naturally taken as their text by nine out of ten speakers at the Tinmigration Convention held at Winnipeg in February of 1896. The chief results of that conference (which was attended by more than 300 delegates from alli parts of Greater Canada) were the condemnation of the peceene method of advertising the North-West in Europe and the United States, and the almost unanimous expression of opinion that "the only efficient immigration agent is a contented settler." the truth of this latter remark be granted—and it is the writer's experience that four out of five new settlers in the North-West came out on the strength of the information received from some prosperous relative or family friend!—the Dominion Government will find the fulfilment of certain promises made to the North-Western settlers at the first general election a more effectual means of obtaining population than the circulation of libellous panegyries on the country.
An extension of the North-Western system, and legislation with the object of reserving and redeeming all unoccupied lands for the settler and not for the speculator" are planks in the Liberal platform, upon which every "grit" candidate in 1896 took his stand. As yet, however, with the exception of a somewhat Poy, the results of which ure not set to jeerly equipped expedition to Hudson
hand, nothing has been done towards fulfilling the former promise; and to judge from their conduct with regard to the proposed Stikine-Teslin Railway it seems certain the present Government are in no hurry to discontinue the old short-sighted policy of reserving lange blocks of land—whether the land is agricultural or mineral the principle is precisely the same—in newly opened districts.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.