A LETTER FROM WINNIPEG.

Gisborne Times, Volume IX, Issue 912, 10 June 1903, Page 3

A LETTER FROM WINNIPEG.

Mr Edmund Bell, formerly of Auck land, writes from Winnipeg to a friend it Auckland as follows :—“ Canada is mak ing rapid strides. The immigration last year was largo, but this year it promises to be much larger. This is such an immense country that a hundred thousand settlers ruako but littlo impression upon its surface. Next month the advance guard of several thousand English will arrive. Thoy aro going to settlo together about 500 miles west of this city. Several thousand miles of railway will bo under construction this summer; in fact, the number will bo limited by the labor available for construction. Of course, the effoc of this development is to force the price of labor and material to a much higher level, and strikes are continually occurring, both in Canada and the United States. One efiect of this will be to render American competition less successful in foreign markets. We are evidently approaching a time of change and readjustment. of political and commercial theories and principles, which have been looked upon a s axiomatic. 'lke policy of the United .States is the incarnation of selfishness, tinctured with occasional gleams of sentiment For instance, Lady Cumin is called “ The American Vicereine of India,’ which tickles the fancy of thousands of ambitious American men and women. Another thing which is influencing American opinion favorably towards our Empire is the necessity for foreign markets, and the truth is gradually dawning upon the minds of their foremost, men that the British Empire is something much larger than the dominions of Uncle yani a proposition worth cultivat- I ing for trade benefits and political prestige. Accordingly, it. is believed that the financiers and big manufacturers of the United States are in favor of a working partnership with Britain if not a political understanliincr Such would he to their interest'; for the trade of -100 million of people, occupying nearly a-quarter of the earth’s surface, over which the Union Jack Hies, has vast potentialities—quite sufficient to occupy the energies of an Anglo-American combination. Some people believe that great changes arc imminent in the United States, owing to the sympathy which is growing in the minds

of the people against the trusts and combines, which, as they possess the power of regulating production and prices, are able to neutralise any advantage secured by lahor bodies. A great many people are enamoured with public ownership of railways, mines, etc., so that what with humanitarians and workmen a strong political party may be organised in the near future. Winnipeg is still growing, and it is anticipated that newcomers will have to use tents this summer. The population is now (13,000, which is not had for a city thirty years old.”