TO THE HON. Wrm. McDOUGALL, C.B.,
,'| ~~~~~~~MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS, &C.,
OTTAWA.
Although it is only little more than a year sinoe Mr. Dawson
addressed to you his report on the line of route between "Lake
Superior and the Red River Settlement," still the realisation
|I f of the hopes and expectations of Canada by adding this immense
country to the Dominion, furnishes both materials and justification
for the liberty I take in addressing this letter to you. There are,
I believe, no two opinions as regards the richness and value of the
great territory in question, the prairies are second to none on the
continent of North America, and immeasurably superior to anything
that exists in either Upper or Lower Canada; in a word, the fertility
of the land, the salubrity of the climate, and the immensity of this
area need not be dwelt upon here; or if necessary the following
extract from Mr. Dawson's report will be suflicient on this head
to answer all enquiries:
He says " The region is so vast and the soil throughout the greater
" part of its extent so good, that it is no exaggeration to say the
"cultivable lands maybe reckoned by hundreds of millions of acres.
: " The country is intersected with rivers, one of which, the Saskat-
|i chewan drains an area greater than does the St. Lawrence, and is
"navigable for seven hundred miles of its course. From the South
" Branch of this great river, north west to Peace River the climate
< is adapted to the growth ofwheat. Coal, sait, iron, gold and bitu-
" men, are among the minerals to be found. Over the untilled
"fielids which nature has spread out, the wild cattle of the plains
"4 roam in countless herds, and for hundreds of miles together may
'"be saeen grazing like domestic cattle in a field of pasture. A