The fonds consists of James Moncrieff Wilson's journal of his business trip to North America in early 1866, which the National Archives selected for reproduction because of its content relating to Canada. Wilson left in SS Scotia (Captain Jenkins) on 30 December 1865 and arrived in New York on 12 January 1866. The primary purpose of his trip was to expand the Queen Insurance Company's operations into the United States by establishing a New York office. His journal records his efforts to recruit a Board of Directors for the American operation from the mercantile elite of New York. To this end, he carried numerous letters of introduction and had varying degrees of success with figures like J. Boorman Johnston, W. H. Macy, and James Martin Morrison. Outside of business, he remarked upon the sermons at church services and his visit to Central Park.
Wilson went to Montreal on 10 February 1866, the headquarters of Queen Insurance in Canada. His principal contact there was a Mr. Forbes with whom he also stayed for part of his time in Montreal. Wilson observed in his diary that they had forty agencies in Canada of which eleven lost money-the worst being Three Rivers, Quebec City, Ottawa, Port Hope, and Cobourg. His business efforts in Canada were directed towards encouraging the use of the "tariff" system in the Queen Insurance offices and in meeting with Fire Brigade or Department officials to discuss ways of reducing the incidence of fire. To this end, he promoted the adoption of a telegraph-alarm system, the thorough investigation of all fires whether mischievous or not, and the creation of a Fire Brigade in Quebec City. In this latter effort, he sought the cooperation of other insurers including the Royal and Liverpool and London agencies.
Wilson also recorded in the diary his observations on the cities he visited and social events. In Montreal, he took Mrs. Molson to a dinner party and remarked that all of Montreal seemed well-travelled and often spoke of England and Scotland as home. He took a sleigh ride around the mountain and marvelled at an indoor skating rink at a gala sponsored by the Victoria Skating Club. In Quebec City, he described the ice on the St. Lawrence River and its effect on shipping and how an ice bridge was used. The varieties of English and French spoken and the intermingling of the languages also attracted his attention. He spent much less time in Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton and London but did discuss each city in the diary and remarked at length on the lumber trade in Ottawa and the prominent role played by innkeepers in employing men in lumber ventures, including rafting to Quebec. The diary ends abruptly in early March with his arrival in St. Catharines.
The journal is available on microfilm reel A-1639, at the very end of the reel, after the "End of Microfilm" page.
