Pacific, and keeping in line the boundaries of the Republicans, be ever realised in our day, it is plain that the people will neither be British nor loyal if they are neglected. The Americans have long been turning their eyes in the direction of these regions. Mr. Sibley, the last Governor of Minnesota, ordered Mr. James W. Taylor to obtain reliable information relative to the physical aspects and other facts connected with the British possessions on the line of the overland route from Pembina, viâ the Red River settlement and the Saskatchewan Valley, to Frazer’s River. That gentleman’s report was presented by Governor Ramsay to the Legislature of the State in 1860, with a recommendation to their attention as “relating to matters which concern in a great degree the future growth and development of our State.” Mr. Taylor was received by Mr. McTavish at the Selkirk settlement with every respect and consideration. He found the British colony of Assiniboia prosperous and flourishing. Respecting that colony he says:-- “Of the present community of ten thousand souls, about five thousand are competent, at this moment, to assume any civil or social responsibility which may be imposed upon them. The accumulations from the fur trade during fifty years, with few excitements or opportunities of expenditure, have secured general prosperity, with frequent instances of affluence; while the numerous churches and schools sustain a high standard of morality and intelligence. “The people of Selkirk fully appreciate the advantages of communication with the Mississippi River and Lake Superior through the State of Minnesota. They are anxious for the utmost facilities of trade and intercourse. The navigation of the Red River by a steam-boat during the summer of 1859 was universally recognised as marking a new era in their annals. This public sentiment was pithily expressed by the remark: ‘In 1851 the Governor of Minnesota visited us; in 1859 comes a steamboat; and ten years more will bring the railroad!’”