bilities of the continent. They came together to celebrate the peaceful triumphs of science and industry-to rejoice over great lines of inter-communication, mutually advantageous to their commerce and social relations. The descendants of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and of the loyalists of 1773 met, on common ground, to exchange thoughts and courtesies, with mutual pride in their achievements and institutions, and without any sacrifice of self-respect. Such a gathering would have been dangerous, before, by a peaceful revolution, responsible government had been secured. It would have brought with it a sense of humiliation, had not the British Americans felt that a great railway system was already outlined and quite within the compass of their resources. As matters stood

they could view the prosperity of their neighbors without despondency or regret.

Levees, processions, steamboat excursions, dinners, and balls, followed each other in quick succession, and intellectual displays added everywhere a grace to civic hospitality. The leading men of the continent met face to face; and many who only knew each other by reputation, enjoyed the advantages of personal intercourse, and tested each other's powers of fascination and of intellect on public arenas or at the festive board.

In a mammoth tent, erected on Boston Common, five thousand persons sat down to dinner. The principal speakers were the President, the Governor of Massachusetts, the Mayor of Boston, the Hon. Edward Everett, Mr. Winthrop, and Josiah Quincy, Jr. British America was represented by Lord Elgin, Mr. Hinckes, and Mr. Howe. We copy from the published report, issued by the committee of management, our friend's re

marks:

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Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen,· At this late hour it would be unfair to trespass long upon your patience. With the voices of the eloquent speakers who have preceded me still charming the ear, how can I venture to address you at all? Though feeling the full force of the comparisons which must be drawn, and representing one of the smallest Provinces of the British Empire, I am reluctant to be altogether silent lest it might be supposed that my countrymen do not appreciate your hospitality, or take an interest in the great works, the completion of

which we have met to celebrate.

To me the occasion is full of interest,

for I stand here, the son of a banished loyalist, to rejoice with you in the prosperity of the city of which my father was a native. How many stirring passages of old Colonial history have the scenes presented to my eye during the past three days revived! How strangely has the past been blended with the present, as I have listened to sentiments of mutual respect and friendship, breathed by the leaders of two great nations, sternly opposed in the olden time, but now rivals only in the graces which embellish life, or in the fields of profitable industry. As the son of a Bostonian, I cannot but rejoice—whatever may be the distinctions of allegiance, the claims of country, or the high hopes of the future which we British Americans cherish in the permanent prosperity and advancement of this city.

Mr. Mayor, I have looked on the great pageant of the day with extreme interest and care, have marked the thronged streets in which the citizens of Boston conduct their profitable commerce, and observed the praiseworthy evidences of the skill and ingenuity of your mechanics. But the sight which challenged the highest interest and admiration — which appealed to the finest and most elevated feelings, were the lines of life and intelligence presented by the young Bostonians who represented the fostering care of the free schools of New England. I might have passed the other features of the celebration with comparative indifference, but when I saw those children, I was reminded of that German schoolmaster who declared that when he entered his schoolroom he always took off his hat, for there he met the future dignitaries of his land. So here, sir, I saw the guarantee and the gauge of the future prosperity of this interesting State. The sight of those children, even more forcibly than the beaming faces which smiled from your balconies and windows as we passed, naturally called to mind those upon whose knees they had been nurtured, and led me to conclude that though we had seen this proud city in its holiday attire, and might, perhaps, see it in its working dress to-morrow, we could see nothing more interesting than the free schools which educate its children, and the beautiful and virtuous mothers who nourish them in their bosoms.

Gentlemen, I speak to you as the descendant of a son of the old soil of Massachusetts the representative of an offshoot which has some of the virtues of the original stock. I hope that Massachusetts men will come to the Northern Provinces and note them. We British Americans who share with you, down to a certain period, the vicissitudes of a common history, and the treasures of a literature bequeathed to us all who have, since the revolution divided us, made for ourselves a noble

you

country out of a wilderness, while we survey your prosperity without envy, and cherish attachment to the parent state, have not forgotten the trials or traditions of a common ancestry. Nova Scotia has adopted the little "Mayflower" as the emblem upon her escutcheon; and those who laid the foundations of her society, and built up her towns and seaports, were as proud of their Pilgrim stock as you are here. Though Halifax dates one hundred and twenty-seven years after Boston in point of time — though all that our fathers toiled for in that century and a quarter, they left behind them at the Revolution, still we are following in your footsteps -emulous, it may be, but I think I may assure you that throughout the British Provinces on the continent there is now no feeling but that of cordial friendship towards these noble States. We desire to see work out in peace the high destiny which your past achievements and free institutions promise. At the same time, as the territory we occupy is as broad as yours, as broad as the whole continent of Europe, watered by lakes as expansive as your own, drained by noble rivers, blessed with a healthy climate and unbounded fertility, with fisheries and commercial advantages unrivalled, we are content with our lot, and feel that the mutual prosperity and success of both nations are to be found in peace, harmony, and brotherly love. I hope, sir, that many years will not pass away before you are invited to a railroad celebration on British soil, and this I promise you, that when that day comes, even if our railroads should not be as long as yours, the festival shall be as long, and the welcome as cordial. In conclusion, sir, permit me to make another allusion to those who, if they are not here, ought to be "freshly remembered;" for they have enlivened our visit by their marked beauty and fascinations. You have tried once or twice, I believe, to invade our frontiers. When next you make the attempt, let me advise you to put the women of New England in the front rank, and then you will be sure to succeed.

On his return homeward Mr. Howe was requested to address the citizens of Portland in explanation of his railway policy, and the elite of that city, including both sexes, assembled to hear him. Of the impression he produced we may form some conception from the opinions expressed by The Portland Advertiser :

Throughout his remarks Mr. Howe vindicated most ably his position as a Nova Scotian, and his efforts to promote the welfare of his own country; yet, with most amicable regards for the common welfare of the Provinces and the States.

The address of Mr. Howe was skilful, eloquent, and able in all respects; frank, lively, and witty in many places, and was repeatedly interrupted by bursts of applause. Few public speakers have ever entertained our audiences with more satisfaction. The occasion has given us another proof of the capital material they have among our eastern neighbors, for orators, statesmen, and railway kings.

At the close of Mr. Howe's address, John Appleton, Esq., offered, with eloquent remarks, a resolution of thanks to Mr. Howe, for his able, eloquent, and lucid statements, in reference to the subject of the address, which was unanimously adopted by acclamation.

On the 6th of October, Sir John Harvey returned from England, and on the 4th of November, the new House met, and the two branches were thus addressed by the Lieutenant Gov.

ernor:

Public attention has for some time been directed to the importance of establishing railway communication between the southern seaboard of Nova Scotia and the St. Lawrence, with a branch line to connect the main trunk with the railway systems of the United States.

The negotiations which I deemed it my duty to open last year with the Right Honorable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, resulted in a generous offer from Her Majesty's government to recommend to Parliament to guarantee, or advance the funds required to construct both these lines, upon certain conditions, the adjustment of which, during the past summer, rendered communications with the governments of the neighboring Provinces indispensable.

The Legislature of Canada has made provision for their portion of the line from Halifax to Quebec, and for its extension through the territory of that Province, to the western frontier.

The government of New Brunswick waits your ratification of the terms proposed at the conference held at Toronto in June last, to assemble the Legislature, with a view to secure its friendly coöperation.

As the Imperial Parliament will probably meet early in the new year, and as it is of great consequence that the laws, passed by the Colonial Legislature, should be transmitted without delay, to secure the appropriations contemplated in time to warrant the commencement of operations in the spring, I have called you together at this unusual period, confident that you would, at whatever personal sacrifice, cheerfully aid me by a prompt and calm consideration of a question of the greatest magnitude and importance.

The correspondence that has taken place, and the measures which I have directed to be prepared, shall be laid before you as soon as the forms of Parliament permit.

I confidently commend the subjects which they embrace to your diligent and enlightened review; and believing, as I do, that the destinies. of these noble Provinces are, to a great extent, involved in the result of your consideration of this question, I shall anxiously await your decision, and trust that the Author of all wisdom and goodness may guide your deliberations.

On the 8th, Mr. Howe brought down the railway bills, explaining their provisions, and anticipating objections which might be urged to them. We take a few extracts from this speech:

But I may be told, now as heretofore, that after all poor little Nova Scotia should have no railway, because she is so favored in having water communication. Sir, I have ever been accustomed to regard certain peculiarities of our country with pride and pleasure; it may be, however, that Nova Scotia, like other beauties, is destined to owe her misfortunes to the very charms upon which our eyes love to dwell. Look at her on the map; not only does the sea like a fond lover embrace her, but in the Bras d'Or Lake and Basin of Mines, it seems to rest on her bosom. Should she then have no railways because the waves love her? because she has been so blessed by Providence? Sir, I wish those who entertain that opinion, would glance at the map, and see how rails run side by side with rivers, and down the margin of streams. Upon the points and headlands these railways are to be found. Look at the noble state of New York; beside the Hudson, one of the most magnificent rivers in the world, whose floating palaces strike with wonder and admiration the traveller from the Old World, runs a railway, paying handsomely, and not diminishing, to the slightest extent, the traffic, and trade, and travel, flowing down that river. But there is a still more striking illustration of the idea which I wish to convey. Let any man look at Long Island; a small, narrow strip of land surrounded entirely by the sea; and even where its very waters embrace and girdle it, runs a railway between the waves. Then, sir, I ask if there be the slightest shade of reason in the argument, that because Nova Scotia has extensive water communication, she should not possess a railway? But again it is said Nova Scotia should not have a railway, because she is so small, so young, so poor. Well, sir, we have been told by the poet, that the