Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 63, No. 392, June, 1848

5

One of the oldest and wealthiest houses in Glasgow in the West India trade has just failed for £400,000, and in their circular announcing the suspension of their payments they observe: —

"For upwards of half a century we have steadily followed our business of West India merchants, never engaging in speculations of any kind. Our assets chiefly consist of sugar estates in Trinidad and Demerara. These estates are in excellent condition, capable of making large crops; but they have been rendered worse than unprofitable and of no value by acts of Parliament – the worst of which being the Sugar-duty Act of 1846– whereby slave-made sugar was admitted to consumption in this country, on terms which the British colonies are altogether unprepared to compete with. We are, Sir, your most obedient Servants. Eccles, Burnley, & Co."

This is the truth, and nothing but the truth, honestly and manfully spoken. These gentlemen have been as completely spoliated by Act of Parliament as were the estates of the French emigrants by the Convention.

6

The inquest set on foot by the magistrates of Glasgow in support of their deputation, showed that six railway companies alone connected with that city could, if aided by government, employ for a year workmen as follows: —

Embracing, with their dependants, at least 120,000 persons, besides mechanics and others indirectly benefited.

7

Gil Blas, lib. 2, c. 5.

8

This is within the mark. It, has lowered the funds from 100 to 80, or a fifth; railway stock on an average a third; West India property nine-tenths; and mercantile stock, in most cases, nearly a half.

9

Bank of England notes in circulation, —

– Alison's England in 1815 and 1845, Appendix.

10

Free-Trade in Emigration. – The numbers who embarked in Europe, in 1847, for Canada, were 90,006; viz., from England, 32,228; from Ireland, 54,329; from Scotland, 3,752; and from Germany, 7,697. Of the whole number, 91,882 were steerage passengers, 684 cabin, and 5,541 were infants. Deducting from this aggregate the Germans and the cabin passengers, the entire number of emigrants who embarked at British ports was 89,738, of whom 5,293 died before their arrival, leaving 84,445 who reached the colony. Of these, it is estimated that six-sevenths were from Ireland. Among the thousands who reached the colony, a large portion were labouring under disease in its worst types, superinduced by the extremity of famine and misery which they had suffered previous to embarkation. Of the 84,445 who reached the colony alive, no less than 10,037 died at arrival – viz., at quarantine, 3,452; at the Quebec Emigrant Hospital, 1,041; at the Montreal Hospital, 3,579; and at other places in the two Canadas, 1,965 – leaving 74,408. But of these no less than 30,265 were admitted into hospital for medical treatment. Thus it will be seen that more than one-seventh of the total embarkations died, that more than one-eighth of the total arrivals died, and that more than one-third of those who arrived were received into hospital. Up to the 12th of November last, the number of destitute emigrants forwarded from the agency at Montreal to Upper Canada was 38,781; viz., male adults, 12,932; female adults, 12,153, children under twelve, 10,616; infants 3,080. —Report of Executive Council, Canada. Parl. Paper, May 5, 1848.

11

The Angler's Companion to the Rivers and Lochs of Scotland. By Thomas Tod Stoddart. William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh and London. 1847.

12

Guesses at Truth. By Two Brothers. Third Edition. First series.

13

We have not thought it worth while to adhere in our quotations to the somewhat affected manner of spelling which the brothers Hare have adopted. For instance, asked and wished are spelt askt and wisht: we have but one l in traveller, and the French word ragouts is rather oddly travestied into ragoos. The substitution of t for ed in the participle of many verbs, is the most systematic alteration attempted. Now the d and the t, as is very well known, slide into one another by such fine gradations that it is impossible to determine, in many cases, which of these two letters most accurately represents the pronunciation in general use. As the termination ed is what is understood by grammarians as the regular form, and is, moreover, in possession of the ground, it seems very futile to take any pains to alter it. In the instances we have already mentioned, wisht for wished, askt for asked, the new orthography is no nearer to the actual daily pronunciation of the words than the old and received mode of spelling. We do not pronounce wished and asked as we do the word waft. Give the full sound of the t in these words, and a pronunciation is introduced quite as novel as the mode of spelling.

14

Killed, Died – both terms adapted from the Indian figurative language.

15

The Mexicans are called "Spaniards" or "Greasers" (from their greasy appearance) by the Western people.

16

Bent's Indian trading fort on the Arkansa.

17

Meaning, – if that's what you mean? The "stick" is tied to the beaver trap by a string; and, floating on the water, points out its position, should a beaver have carried it away.

18

Scalped.

19

Soles made of buffalo hide.

20

The Hudson Bay Company, having amalgamated with the American North West Company, is known by the name 'North West' to the southern trappers. Their employés usually wear Canadian capôtes.

21

A spice of the devil.

22

"Euker," "poker," and "seven-up," are the fashionable games of cards.

23

Antelope are frequently called "goats" by the mountaineers.

24

An Indian is always a "heap" hungry or thirsty – loves a "heap" – is a "heap" brave – in fact, "heap" is tantamount to very much.

25

The young untried warriors of the Indians are thus called.

26

There is a great difference between an Indian's fire and a white's. The former places, the ends of logs to burn gradually; the latter, the centre, besides making such a bonfire that the Indians truly say, that "The white makes a fire so hot that he cannot approach to warm himself by it."

27

A pithy substance found in dead pine-trees.