"
"Don't you include politicians," said I, "of all shades and colours,
under the last genus? because I do, they are regular beasts of prey."
Well, he laughed; he said he didn't know nothing about them.
"Well," sais I, "I ain't so modest, I can tell you, for I do know. I
am a clockmaker, and understand machinery. I know all about the
wheels, pulleys, pendulum, balances, and so on, the length of the
chain, and what is best of all, the way to wind 'em up, set 'em a
going, and make 'em keep time. Now, Doctor, I'll tell you what neither
the English nor the Yankees, nor the colonists themselves, know
anything of, and that is about the extent and importance of these
North American provinces under British rule. Take your pencil now, and
write down a few facts I will give you, and when you are alone
meditating, just chew on 'em.
"First--there are four millions of square miles of territory in them,
whereas all Europe has but three millions some odd hundred thousands,
and our almighty, everlastin' United States still less than that
again. Canada alone is equal in size to Great Britain, France, and
Prussia. The maritime provinces themselves cover a space as large as
Holland, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, and Switzerland, all put together.
The imports for 1853 were between ten and eleven millions, and the
exports (ships sold included) between nine and ten millions.
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