Examined before the British parliamentary committee of 1857, Richard King, M.D., surgeon and naturalist to the expedition in 1833 in search of Sir J. Ross, was asked:—“Are you under the impression that there is any portion of the territory which you then saw that would be available for the purpose of settlement?” He replied:—“Yes, I found a very large country, as it appeared to me at that date. I hold in my hand one of Arrowsmith’s very best and recent maps, he being the great authority upon that country, and the square piece of country which I always looked upon as a very fertile valley is there distinctly shown. It is bounded on the south by Cumberland House, on the Saskatchewan. It is an enormous tract of country. Cumberland territory is, according to Sir J. Richardson, I find, several thousand square miles. Then it is bounded by Athabaska lake on the north. I am not now exactly giving it north and south. I may state that I passed through a great portion of that country, but of course what I am saying as to the larger portion that I am now speaking of, is not only from my own personal observation upon it, but from an inquiry upon the spot, seeing the nature and extent of that country. This large portion which I have described as within this area I looked upon as the MOST FERTILE PORTION WHICH I SAW. “On this map it is very clear. You will see the country entirely surrounded by water.” Asked if he meant to express an opinion that the whole of that territory was suitable, as regards soil and climate, for the purpose of cultivation, Doctor King replied that he was told by the traders there generally that it was precisely the same land as that which he passed through, namely, a rich soil, interspersed with well-wooded country, there being growth of every kind, and the whole vegetable kingdom alive. Doctor King impressed upon the committee the fact that in going through that country his position was that of a naturalist; he “came away certainly with the impression that it was a very magnificent country in many parts of it; of course there were barren portions, but upon the whole, up to Athabaska lake, it appeared to me to be capable of any extent of cultivation.” Doctor King said that some time previous to his visit to that locality there had been some agricultural activity at the Hudson’s Bay Company’s post at Cumberland House due to the enterprise of Governor Williams. Doctor King found capacious barns, and implements in fields which had evidently been placed under culture. On approaching Cumberland House, he had found a little new colony of thirty persons established, a Canadian, an Englishman, and half-breeds. They had their fields divided out into farms, and other things. It was described to him that they had formed a little colony at Cumberland House but had been ORDERED FROM THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY