Things in General: Newfoundland, our oldest and nearest colony has been for some time the Cinderella of the Colonial family. Yet it is a gem of a place, and ought to suit Englishmen and women right well. The soil is fertile and the climate good. There are the same crops and the same trees as in old England. Wheat, barley, rye. and oats flourish, and roses are as common as brambles. Mr. Justice Pinsent, of the Supreme Court, Newfoundland, some time ago bore witness that “as a salubrious, health-giving and health-preserving climate, I will back that of Newfoundland against any in the world. … All ordinary fruits, flowers, and vegetables of the English garden thrive well.” Besides all this, Mr. Justice Pinsent testifies to the beauty of the scenery, of its hills and valleys, its lovely lakes and clear streams, its island studded bays, and splendid harbour. Its scenery, in fact, it is very like that of Wales and of the Scottish Highlands. We all know what an abundance of fish lives in its deep bays and round its coasts. This delightful land is so near to our own island home. The passage is something under six days, and that is nothing nowadays. Newfoundland is the key of the St. Lawrence, and the headquarters of ocean telegraphy. It has been even said that “it is doubtful if the British empire could have risen to its great and superior rank among the nations of the earth if any other power had held possession of Newfoundland.” Now, is not the description of this land enough to make us pack up our Gladstone bags and be off? Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick are the places for English folk to settle. California is a mistake. You can grow fruit there. but you can get no price for what you grow. It is a baked-up region, arid and scorching, and is not such a comfortable country as those regions named above.
Transcribed in whole or part from scanned originals: Presented with or without modified text and punctuation. For absolute accuracy refer to the original newspapers. Source: The British Newspaper Archive
Referenced
GRO0747 Hennock: Robert John Pinsent: 1834 – 1893