The Sea of Mountains ; an Account of Lord Dufferin's
Tour through British Columbia in 1876. By Molyneux St. John. 2 vols. (Hurst and Blaokett.)—Mr. Molyneux accompanied Lord Dufferin's party, as special correspondent of the Toronto Globe, and has now reprinted, with seine omissions, the letters that he wrote describing the places and persons which he saw. It would have been well if these omissions had been far more numerous than they are. There is not a little in the book which can only be excused as having been written in haste, and in- tended only for the ephemeral existence of a newspaper, and which it is a really serious mistako to have thus perpetuated. And there are things in it which ought never to have been written at all. A woman, to take one instance, ought not to have been accused by name of carry- ing on an intrigue, oven though she has the misfortune of being one of Brigham Young's wives. And why do we have an account of Salt Lake City thrust in, without any reason at all? Lord Dufferin did not go there, and it is of Lord Duff orin.a tour that we want to read, not of Mr. St. John's casual impressions of the Mormons. Of course the subject has an attraction of a certain kind, and it was too good to he left alone. Mr. St. John, however, does not show to advantage in dealing with it. Nowhere is his manner of writing more "rollicking." Apart from these faults, these volumes are amusing, interesting, and even valuable. They give us a very clear idea of the great quarrel between British Columbia and the Dominion of Canada, and they contain a full report of Lord Dufferin's great speech at Viotoria, a speech which it is difficult to praise enough. Then there are many acute observations among the ordinary gossip of a newspaper letter, some graphic sketches of social life and scenery, and some entertaining stories. What Mr. Molyneux says about the United States and the Indians is worth read- ing, and his revelations about the Chinese and the virtual slavery to which they are reduced in America is, to say the least, startling. His account of the matter is this. There are six Companies which import Chinese, the men for various employments, the women for purposes of prostitution. On the Coolies thus imported the importing Company keeps a firm hold. Each pays to it a yearly con- tribution of fifteen dollars, and all are bound to regulate their lives by its regulations. For what follows we must give Mr. St. John's own words :—" How," he says, "is Ulla control exercised ? The one restrain- ing influence is the fear of assassination. Each John knows that just as he himself would have no hesitation in murdering one of his countrymen at the bidding of the "six Companies" for a certain reward, so no one of his follows will be found with any scruples about making away with him for a consideration. They are all there to make money, and they will make it, in any way they oan. A pet:leant John is invited into an opium-den, or a tott-house, or ft friend's shop, and once in, the deed is silently and effectually performed. There is no firing of pistols, no disturbance. The victim's head is chopped open with a sharp cleaver, or a butcher's knife, sharpened like a razor, is plunged into his heart, and there is an end of him. No tales are told. John is by nature as silent as the tomb on all such subjects, and the course of Chinese law, trial, and execution runs on day by day, and side by side with the law of the United States, and no one is ever one whit the wiser." We may also mention the very interesting account of Mr. Duncan's Indian set- tlement at Motlakahtla,
Previous page
