Go West!

In 1886 the following advertisement was to be found in the Catalogue of The Royal Agricultural Society on the occasion of their Norwich, Norfolk meeting which took place over the five days commencing July 12th.

The event was a major social gathering over and above the main purpose of competing for prestigious prizes in livestock and produce.

It was also a focal point for those employed in agriculture although unlike in earlier times there was no category by which stockmen, shepherds, bee keepers, gamekeepers and their working families could market their services to prospective new masters and mistresses.

By this period of the 19th Century the numbers of those who gained their principal income from agriculture had dwindled significantly as a consequence of mechanisation and a drift by the workforce towards the rapidly expanding towns and cities where there were many more, although not necessarily easier ways to earn a living.

There were great opportunities for those who wanted or felt they had no other option than to migrate to the Americas or father afield in the Commonwealth.

One such destination under the lure of "Free Grants of Land" was in the nearest British Colony  of Canada.

This new and exciting land was reachable by the shortest sea passage to America, in an average of under nine days.

Land parcels of 160 acres were on offer to those given to settlement in the great wheat producing prairie lands of Manitoba and the Canadian North West. After disembarking from the Atlantic crossing it was a case of traversing the vast distances by the Canadian Pacific Railway which had only started up a year or so earlier.

Amongst the 200 millions of acres available under this promotion there was some small print to the effect that "further quantities can be purchased on reasonable terms". It was not just Manitoba that sought new enterprising and hard working farmers as grants of between 100 and 200 acres were also on offer in the other Provinces of Canada.

The beauty parade and land enticement was targeted at tenant farmers and others with moderate means who had thought about engaging in agriculture but would never had had the chance to acquire freehold land in the British isles where a small and elite class held a disproportionate amount of the rural areas.

Improved farms, suggesting that earlier pioneers had tried and failed were advertised with comfortable dwellings and out-buildings in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward island and British Columbia from three pounds to twelve pounds an acre.

If anyone felt homesick then they were reminded that all of this promised land was within only a few days journey of Great Britain.

Those with money to invest were attracted by excellent opportunities for their capital. Assisted passages were granted by the Canadian Government to key workers such as agriculturists, farm labourers and their families and domestic servants.

Persons seeking a new life and livelihood in any part of America or elsewhere were advised to read, before a decision was made, the reports by Professors J P Sheldon and W Fream, from the College of Agriculture, Downton, Salisbury and of Professor Henry Tanner, Director of Education under the Institute of Agriculture, South Kensington, London and the Guide Books published under the authority of the Imperial and Dominions Governments.

These reports and other literature contained such basic information as maps, guidance on related financial issues, advantages offered to farmers, land regulations, demand for labour, rates of wages, cost of living, assisted passages and were available for every class of enquirers, gratis and post free on application to The Offices of the High Commission for Canada or Agents of the Canadian Government whose offices could be found in Liverpool, Glasgow, Belfast and Dublin.

It was not all however a case of the grass looking greener as Canada was still very much a frontier country in the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

People in major Canadian cities were often plagued by malnutrition and disease. In 1885, Montréal had the highest death rate, at 54.25 deaths per 1000 people, “owing to the violent attack of small-pox from which the city suffered in 1885, there having been no less than 3,193 deaths from that disease.”

Throughout Canada, young children were most vulnerable to malnutrition and disease—53.71% of those that died in 1885 were less than 5 years of age. Causes of death included premature birth, smallpox, malnutrition, lung disease, diarrheal affections, diphtheria, cerebro-spinal and throat diseases, and circulatory system diseases.

Immigration declined from 1883 to 1886, from 133,624 to 69,152 people. More immigrants were choosing to settle in the United States than in Canada.

In 1885, 75% of the 105,096 people who arrived in Canadian ports settled in Canada. In 1886, the percentage dropped to only 56% of the 122,581 people who arrived in Canadian ports.

It would be, to the good folk of Norwich, a difficult choice to make however their existing situation and prospects.