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Appendix No. 4.
VANCOUVER ISLAND.
Plate I.*
Plate I.*
Plates I and II,*
Plate VIII.*
Plate VIII.*
444
With the enormous odds that might be against her in this part of the world, it is of vital importance that England should be able to strike or ward off successfully the first blow, and therefore not only should all requisites for aggressive as well as passive defence be maintained in as fully efficient and prepared state as possible, but also provision should be made to insure the receipt at the station For this reason the formation of a line of of the earliest intelligence of the breaking out of hostilities. telegraph across the Rocky Mountains in British territory is of the greatest importance.
The scantiness of population and the difficulty of reinforcing the station are two great sources of weakness; both of these might be greatly reduced by the formation of the Canada Pacific Railway, which will not only give facilities for bringing in troops from Canada, a very great advantage in a war with Russia, but would most probably cause a larger influx of population to Vancouver Island, where the climate, soil, minerals, fish, and other natural productions hold out great inducements to settlers of all classes. For military reasons, therefore, all pressure that is possible should be made use of to expedite the completion of this railway.
The British interests that require protection in the North Pacific are at the present time not of very great monetary value; but they are increasing, and with closer connection with the eastern pro- vinces of the Dominion, and through them with Europe, promise a great development. They comprise the settlements on the coast, and the ocean trade to and from the Straits of Fuca, the Nasse, Skeena, and Stakine Rivers in the north, and the inland trade of the Straits of Georgia and Fuca.
The value of the annual exports is 565,000l., and the imports 615,0007.
From Burrard Inlet to the extreme north of the province the shore of the mainland is pierced with numerous inlets; these are not adapted to the purposes of trade, the water being generally over 100 fathoms in depth, and offering no anchorage except at the head and some few small places where the streams from the mountains have deposited débris.
The banks are lofty mountains, rising almost perpendicularly from the water, and affording no space for building except at the head of the inlet, where there is usually a valley.
The only industries likely to arise in these inlets are those connected with fur, now becoming scarce; timber, which is plentiful and of superior quality; salmon and other fish, which are very abundant; and minerals, which are found wherever the country is explored. At present the only trade from these inlets is in furs, except from Matlah, Catlah, and Port Simpson, where the anchorage is better; from the Nasse and Skeena Rivers, which are the routes to the Omenica mines, and in which salmon-canning factories have been established; and from the Stakine River, which, although its lower part passes through the United States' territory, is the chief road to the Cassiar mines, and, as the country to the northward is opened up, will be the chief outlet for the mineral and other produce.
The inlets on the western shore of Vancouver Island are of somewhat similar character to those on the mainland, but on a smaller scale, the depth of water being not so great, the anchorages more plentiful, and the mountains not so high or so abrupt; but in none of them is there any settlement of importance, that at the head of Alberni Inlet having been abandoned, and since burnt.
The vessels engaged in trade to the north of the Straits of Fuca are in general small and few in number; the greater number, and the larger vessels, sail to the southward; very few now go directly across the Pacific, but a great increase to this part of the trade is expected to follow the opening of the Canada Pacific Railway, which will be the shortest route from Europe to the western shores of the Pacific.
The defence of the external coast and the shipping must devolve upon the navy, and this defence, under existing circumstances, could not be efficient, for the want of stations south of the Straits of Fuca and in mid-ocean, to which the ships engaged in watching the southern and trans-Pacific trade could resort to refit, &c.
For these defects I feel I am not qualified to propose a definite remedy, and can only repeat the remarks of naval officers, who, so far as I can judge, seem inclined to the opinion that stations are required at Perlas Island, in the Bay of Panamá, and near the Allfos Islands, or near Guadaloupe, off the coast of Mexico.
It is probable that islands for this purpose might be obtained at the present time more easily than hereafter, when the trade of the Pacific shall be further developed.
No better position for defending the trans-Pacific trade could be obtained than the Sand- wich Islands, but over these, I understand, the United States are endeavouring to establish a Pro- tectorate, and should they succeed in so doing the command of the trade across the Pacific must fall into their hands.
The second want of the navy would be a station near the mouth of the Straits of Fuca where a man-of-war could lie to protect friendly vessels coming into the straits, and attack hostile vessels before they could run into neutral water. Esquimalt Harbour is too far from the mouth of the straits for this purpose.
Port San Juan, nearly opposite Cape Flattery, is in a good position, but the entrance is wide and lies quite open to westerly winds, so that the anchorage is not safe. It could be made so by forming a mole across the entrance, and would then be a most excellent harbour, but the expense would be very great.
Ucluelet Inlet, just within Amphitrite Point, on the north of the entrance of Barclay Sound, has all the requisites for a good harbour except that the outer approach is somewhat obstructed by reefs and rocks, and is exposed to the swell of the Pacific. The entrance is deep, the anchorage good, there is plenty of space for building, &c., and the harbour could easily be protected. There are no settle- ments in the neighbourhood from which supplies could be drawn.
Of the two stations, Port San Juan is the more convenient and the better placed, but it is doubtful whether the interests to be protected are at present of sufficient value to justify the outlay that would be required in the construction of a mole.
* Not printed.
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