Chapter VI: Part 6

The insurrection had thus been entirely put down, and Upper Canada was everywhere completely tranquil, when a sudden danger arose, which threatened to become very serious. Mackenzie fled to the town of Buffalo, in which he held crowded meetings, and kindled a considerable enthusiasm in his cause. Besides the prevalent democratic feeling, commercial distress had thrown numbers out of employment, who were ready to engage in any desperate enterprise. Some of a more opulent class furnished resources; while Van Rensselaer, Sutherland, and other individuals acquainted with military service, presented themselves as leaders of the armament. Thus, a small corps was quickly assembled, which took possession of Navy Island, situated in the Niagara channel, between Grand Island and the British shore, which they fortified with thirteen pieces of cannon. Hence Mackenzie issued a proclamation, in the assumed name of the Provisional Government of Upper Canada. Volunteers were invited from that country, and from the States; being assured, that out of the ten millions of acres which victory would place at their disposal, each should receive 300 in full property. There was to be no more dependence on Downing-street; the Assembly, council, governor, and officers were all to be elected by the people. Trade was to be freed from all restraints; and, in a strain of rhodomontade, it was added, that the largest vessels would be able to ascend to Lake Superior. Recruits continued flocking to this post, till their numbers amounted to about a thousand. Col. M^{c}Nab soon arrived with double that number of militia; but he wanted materials for crossing the channel, and forcing the strong position held by the rebels.

All eyes were now turned to the government of the United States, on which the question of peace or war evidently depended. As soon as the first notice was received, there was displayed the most sincere determination to maintain a strict neutrality. Van Buren, the president, issued two successive proclamations, warning the people of the penalties to which they would become liable by engaging in hostilities with a friendly power; and the debates in congress displayed the most complete unanimity against any measure which might commit the American government in such a contest. Clay, Davis, Benton, Calhoun, leaders of opposite parties, united with one voice in this sentiment. The last of these declared, that, “of all calamities which could befall the civilized world, a war with Great Britain would, at this moment, be the most to be deplored.” There was scarcely time for a legislative enactment; but the president appointed General Scott, a veteran officer of energetic and decisive character, to take the command of the disturbed frontier.

Meantime, an event occurred, which, while it weakened the insurgents, excited a strong fermentation among their adherents. A small steamer, named the Caroline, had been purchased, or at least was regularly employed by them, between Fort Schlosser, on the American shore, and Navy Island, conveying to the latter troops and stores. Capt. Drew was instructed by Col. M^{c}Nab to intercept her return. He did not succeed; but seeing her in the channel, moored to the American shore, determined to attack her. He approached undiscovered to within twenty yards; and being then asked the countersign, promised to show it when on deck. The Caroline immediately opened a fire, but the British boarded, and in two minutes were masters of her. Those who resisted were killed or made prisoners; while others, who appeared to be peaceable citizens, were put on shore. The vessel itself, which the strength of the current made it inconvenient to tow across, was set on fire and abandoned, when the stream hurried it rapidly to the brink of the great cataract, down which the flaming mass was precipitated. The wild and picturesque character of this scene acted strongly on the imagination, and the Americans resolutely, though, it would appear, without reason, asserted that unoffending persons had been involved in the massacre, and several even hurried down the awful abyss.

The loss of the Caroline was soon followed by the arrival of General Scott, who took vigorous and effective measures to prevent any supplies or recruits from reaching Navy Island. Meantime, the force of the assailants was continually augmented; two companies of regulars, with a train of artillery, had been sent from Lower Canada, and a tremendous cannonade was commenced. The insurgents, seeing their position become every day more desperate, determined to evacuate it—an object which they effected on the 14th of January. Van Rensselaer and Mackenzie were arrested by the American authorities, but admitted to bail.

Sutherland, with a party of the fugitives, hastened to the extreme west, where, being reinforced by some adventurers in that quarter, they attempted an establishment on Bois Blanc, an island in the Detroit channel. A body of troops, however, was soon despatched against them; and a vessel, containing not only supplies, but several chiefs dignified with high military titles, was captured. Finding it impossible to maintain themselves there, they sought an asylum on Sugar Island, which belongs to the United States. General Scott, meanwhile, was hastening to the place; but Mason, the local commander, addressed the refugees, and by mere dint of remonstrance prevailed upon them to disperse. Attempts were made at other points to form tumultuary assemblages for invading Canada; but, under the altered circumstances, these did not excite any serious alarm.

Meantime, intelligence of the first insurrectionary movements reached Britain, where it excited the strongest sensation. A few of the popular leaders exulted in the event itself, and in the anticipation of its triumphant issue; but the nation, in general, by no means shared this sentiment. The Tories, though they accused government of having, by want of energy, prepared this convulsion, expressed their cordial concurrence in all the means suggested for its suppression. As the house was about to rise for the Christmas holidays, ministers proposed, that, instead of postponing their meeting, as usual, till the beginning of February, they should fix it for the 16th of January, when, according to the course of events, suitable resolutions might be adopted.

Parliament had no sooner reassembled, than information arrived, which left no room to doubt that the rebellion would be suppressed without having assumed any formidable character. The aims of the government were therefore directed towards reorganizing the executive on such a footing as, without suppressing Canadian liberty, might secure future tranquillity. But it was considered indispensable, for the present at least, to suspend the constitution of the lower province. A council was to be named by the Queen, which, with the governor, might exercise the functions now performed by the two legislative bodies; but their powers were not to last beyond the 1st of November, 1840, nor were any of their enactments, unless continued by the proper authority, to be valid beyond the 1st of November, 1842.

Sir John Colborne, then acting as provisional governor of Lower Canada, was instructed to carry these measures into immediate execution. The ministry, however, had determined upon a farther step, with a view to the ultimate settlement of the province. The Earl of Durham was solicited and prevailed upon to undertake its government, as well as that of all British America; and also to turn his attention towards an improved plan for its future management. His lordship’s high reputation as a statesman, and the liberality of his views on political subjects, seemed to afford a security that he would act with vigour, and at the same time with a strict regard to national freedom. He was empowered to form a species of representative council, composed of thirteen members from each province, but to use them merely as advisers, and to call and dismiss them at pleasure.

On the 29th of May, 1838, his lordship arrived at Quebec, where he was received in the most cordial manner, for all parties seemed to unite in expecting from him a settlement of those dissensions which had so greatly distracted the country. In his subsequent progress to other districts, and to Upper Canada, as far as Niagara, he met similar expressions of confidence and congratulation. He was soon, however, called to decide upon a delicate and difficult question, which Sir John Colborne had thought it expedient to reserve for his determination. Wolfred, Neilson, Bouchette, Viger, and other individuals of some distinction, were lying in the jail of Montreal, charged with high treason. Some strong punishment was necessary to mark their crime, and deter from its repetition; yet an impartial jury could not be expected for their trial, which besides would have reopened all those party animosities which it was the object of his lordship to appease. Under this view, he adopted the following course: the prisoners, having been induced to make a confession of guilt, were sentenced to be deported to Bermuda, and to be there kept in strict surveillance. If they should ever return to Canada, without leave from the governor, they were to suffer the penalty of death. The same was awarded to Papineau and others implicated in the late rebellion, but who, after its disastrous issue, had fled the country.

As soon as this ordinance was known in Britain, it created an unusual excitement in the legislature. Lord Brougham, in the House of Peers, made a motion, declaring it illegal, as condemning to death without trial, and to transportation to a colony which was not within the jurisdiction of the governor-general; but, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, he proposed a grant of indemnity. This vote, though strenuously opposed by Lord Melbourne, was carried in the Upper House by a considerable majority. Ministers then, having received from the law-officers of the crown an unfavourable report, at least as to the last particular, considered it impossible to make any farther resistance. They annulled the ordinance, but at the same time conveyed to Lord Durham expressions of their regret, of their general approbation of his measures, and of the unaltered confidence with which they regarded his administration.

His lordship, however, was not of a character to brook this interposition. He had, it is true, passed the limits of strict law; but he maintained that these were scarcely applicable in the critical and convulsed state of the province; that the sentence was lenient; and, on the principle of _volenti nulla fit injuria_, the parties concerned could not be wronged by a decision in which they had cheerfully acquiesced. In short, there being no substantial injustice inflicted, Lord Durham thought he had reason to complain that his scheme was not allowed a fair trial. He had, perhaps, an equal ground of dissatisfaction in reference to the hostile interference of the opposition lords, and more especially because the ministers, his employers, did not resist it to the utmost. Yet it would certainly have been more magnanimous on his part, had he endeavoured, under every discouragement, to have done his best to accomplish his undertaking. He yielded too far to passion and pride, when, even before receiving the official accounts, he publicly announced his intention of throwing up the administration. He did not even follow the established course, of requesting her Majesty’s permission to resign, and waiting till he received it. In announcing, too, the disallowance of the ordinance, he commented on the decision with a severity which was considered irregular, and tending to compromise the royal authority. On the 1st of November his lordship set sail from Quebec, and on the 26th arrived at Plymouth.

Meantime, a fresh storm of rebellion brooded over the province. In the course of the summer, even amid apparent quiet, the burning of a steam-vessel, called the Sir Robert Peel, in the St. Lawrence, and the acquittal of the murderers of Chartraud in the face of the clearest evidence, showed that the spirit of disaffection was still deeply cherished. By the beginning of winter, arrangements had been made for a general rising of the _habitans_, supported by a numerous body of American citizens, who, under the title of _sympathizers_, had vehemently espoused their cause. Arms and ammunition had been clandestinely introduced; and a species of association, bound by secret oaths and signs, had been formed along the whole frontier. Lord Durham imputes this movement to the proceedings at home, which had shaken the confidence in his authority, and raised the hopes of the disaffected; but Sir John Colborne considers that those preparations had been actively pursued ever since the preceding June. The government of the United States, though they had no adequate power to prevent the part taken by their subjects, showed a good disposition, by giving the first intimation of what was going on to Mr. Fox, the British ambassador at Washington. The tidings were soon confirmed from other quarters; and Sir John Colborne lost no time in putting the province in a state of defence, and procuring an additional force from Nova Scotia.

On the night of the 3d of November, a concerted rising took place in all the southern counties of Montreal District; but, owing to some failure of arrangement, the stations along the Richelieu were not found supplied with arms according to appointment, so that most of the inhabitants there dispersed and returned to their homes. The chief seat of insurrection was now farther west, between that river and the St. Lawrence. There three arch-rebels, Dr. Robert Nelson, Côte, and Gagnon, had collected about 4,000 men, and established their head-quarters at Napierville. Their first object was to open a communication with their friends in the States, for which purpose 400 men were detached to the frontier. There a body of British volunteers, as brave as loyal, had stationed themselves, by whom the rebels were attacked, and obliged to retreat with great loss. To retrieve this disaster, Dr. Nelson, with upwards of 900 men, marched against the loyalists. The latter, only 200 strong, took post in Odelltown chapel, on which the enemy commenced a brisk attack; but, after two hours and a half, were obliged to retreat, with the loss of one hundred killed and wounded. The defenders had an officer and five men killed, and nine wounded.

Meantime, Major-General Sir James M^{c}Donnell, under orders from the governor, with seven regiments of the line, crossed the St. Lawrence, and marched upon Napierville. The rebels, discouraged by former losses, after a vain attempt to unite their forces, dispersed in every direction without firing a shot. They still retained a post at Beauharnois; but Col. Carmichael, with a detachment of regulars, and 1,000 Glengary militia, drove them out, though with the loss of two men killed and the same number wounded. Mr. Ellice, and a party of friends, who had been made prisoners by them at the outset, were allowed to return to Montreal. On the 11th, a week only after the first movement, M^{c}Donnell could announce that the insurrection was completely at an end, without the rebels having been able to open any communication with their supporters beyond the frontier.

We must now turn to Upper Canada, where, even before the former outbreak, Sir Francis Head had resigned. The immediate cause was the disapprobation expressed by Lord Glenelg for his removing Judge Ridout, on account of his democratical principles, and his refusing to obey an order to raise to the bench Mr. Bidwell, late speaker of the Assembly, and an opposition leader. He at the same time, in no measured terms, condemned the system of conciliation hitherto pursued in the Colonial Office, whose members he even branded as republicans; insisting that a stern uncompromising maintenance of the monarchical principle, and the exclusion from office of all opposed to it, was the only basis on which Canada could be governed. Ministers unwillingly accepted his resignation; while the loyal inhabitants, among whom he had rendered himself highly popular, expressed on the occasion deep regret and disgust. Col. Sir George Arthur, who had previously held a similar situation in Van Dieman’s Land, was appointed to succeed him.

The new governor soon found himself involved in difficult circumstances; for, early in June, bands to the number of 1,000 or 1,200 Americans crossed the Niagara channel, and endeavoured to excite the people to insurrection. They attacked a party of fourteen lancers posted in an inn, and, by setting it on fire, obliged them to surrender. But no sooner did they learn that Sir George had arrived at Niagara, and that the country was rising against them, than they hastily recrossed the frontier, leaving about forty prisoners, among whom were Morrow and Waite, the first and second in command. In the end of June, a smaller party passed the St. Clair, and invaded the Western District; but finding themselves unsupported, and the militia advancing, they returned, after losing a few of their number, who fell into the hands of the pursuers.

The summer now passed in comparative quietness, though the great movement at the beginning of November continued to be deeply felt along the upper frontier. Almost simultaneously with the rising in Montreal District, a body of about 400 sailed from the vicinity of Sackett’s Harbour, and landed at Prescott. On the 13th, Col. Young, with what force he could muster, and aided by Capt. Sandom, with an armed steamer, compelled a large proportion of them to disperse, while the rest took refuge in a windmill and an adjacent house built of stone, whence they could not be dislodged. Eighteen British were here killed and wounded. In the course of the day, Colonel Dundas arrived with four companies from Kingston, but considered the buildings, the walls of which were three or four feet thick, too strong to be reduced without cannon. A few guns and some additional troops being brought up, an attack was commenced on the 16th, when the party within the stone building, after some stand, sought to escape among the brushwood, but were all captured; upon which those in the mill displayed a white flag, and surrendered at discretion. The whole number of prisoners was 159. The militia, among whom some lukewarmness had been suspected, showed the utmost zeal, and mustered to the extent of 5,000.

The Niagara frontier was found by the enemy so well guarded, that no attempt was made there. But early in the morning of the 4th of December, about 350 organized at Detroit landed near Sandwich, set fire to a steamer and to the barracks, and killed several individuals in cold blood. Being as cowardly as cruel, they were no sooner attacked by a party of militia, than they fled either to the woods or to the American shore, leaving twenty-six killed and twenty-five prisoners.

The captives, on the former occasion, had been treated with extraordinary lenity; but this forbearance not having produced its due effect, and being loudly complained of by the inhabitants, it was judged necessary to exercise greater rigour on the present occasion. A considerable number of the ringleaders were accordingly put to death, and the rest condemned to severe or ignominious punishments.

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[4] I extract the chief part of this _resumée_ of Canadian history from the very clever work before mentioned, written for the Edinburgh Cabinet Library, by Hugh Murray, Esq. F.R.S.E. It is on the whole the best work on the subject that I can find, though, as the reader will doubtless see, it is written with a very strong national bias. With the reserve of my own opinion as to his _colouring_, I take the liberty to make use of the statements of Mr. Murray with little alteration, quite sure that no where else is to be found so able and enlarged a view of the period of history in question.

CHAP. IV

CONDITION OF THE INHABITANTS OF CANADA.

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We have now brought the historical part of our labours to a close, and proceed to what is more interesting to the general reader—the social and moral condition of this interesting people.

The inhabitants of Canada are divided into three classes, among which no complete amalgamation has yet been formed. These are, the original French colonists, commonly called _habitans_, the British settlers, and the Indian tribes.

The _habitans_, at the time of the conquest, formed almost the whole of the European population. They had occupied the best lands along the banks of the St. Lawrence, between Quebec and Montreal; a considerable extent of those upon the Richelieu; and a small space on the Chaudière, the Yamaska, the St. Maurice, and other tributaries of the great river, as well as a detached settlement on the fertile shores of the Detroit. These tracts had been granted to persons of distinction and to favourites, usually in large blocks, which, as already stated, they held under the title of seigneurs. But it accorded not with their habits to clear and cultivate for themselves grounds covered with an unbroken forest; nor would the task be undertaken by farmers on the terms of an ordinary lease. The proprietors were therefore obliged to make them over, in small lots, under the feudal title of fiefs, to hardworking men, who, on receiving this permanent interest, were willing to encounter the toil. The annual payment, or quit-rent, is in general exceedingly small, amounting, on some properties, only to 10_s._ a-year, with a bushel of wheat and two fowls. The seigneur has, besides, certain feudal claims—a tithe on fish, mill-dues, and, more especially, payments on sale or transference, which in some cases amount to a fifth of the purchase-money.

The occupants of these fiefs or farms, under the burdens now specified, are virtual proprietors of the soil, which they cultivate with their own hands, aided by their families. They are described as a particularly contented, industrious, and amiable race of people; and the lots, though much subdivided in the course of succession, are still sufficient to maintain them in simple plenty. They till their land with diligence, though without skill, having scarcely adopted any of the modern improvements. Their study is to produce from the farm every thing they need; not only the whole of their food, but their candles, soap, and even sugar. From flax of their own raising, too, and the wool of their own sheep, they are enabled to manufacture almost every article of clothing. Their houses, though generally built of wood, and only one story high, are whitewashed, and tolerably commodious. A partition in the middle separates the kitchen from the principal apartment, at one end of which are the bed-rooms. There is a garden, which, though in a somewhat rude and straggling state, and cultivated by the females only, yields a comfortable supply of the more common fruits and vegetables.

The personal appearance of the _habitans_ is peculiar. They are tall, thin, and, from exposure to the climate, almost as dark as the Indians. They have thin lips, and often aquiline noses, with small, dark, and lively eyes. Many of the girls are pretty oval-faced brunettes, with fine eyes, good teeth, and glossy locks. The dress is nearly after the old fashion of the French peasantry. The men wear the _capot_, a large grey coat or surtout, covering nearly the whole body, and tied with a girdle of brilliant colours. On the legs they have moccasins, and on the head a straw hat in summer, and a red bonnet in winter. The hair is still tied in a long queue behind. The women wear short jackets or bed-gowns (mantelets), with petticoats distinct, and sometimes of a different colour, and caps instead of bonnets—a mode of dress formerly common in Scotland, and not yet wholly disused. They have long waists, and sometimes the hair tied behind in a large club. At church, or other occasions of full dress, they adopt the English fashion, but display a much greater variety of showy colours. Hair-powder is sometimes worn, and beetroot employed as rouge; but both in their dress and houses they are perfectly clean.

The _habitans_ are frugal and moderate in their ordinary diet, which mostly consists of different kinds of soup. They have, however, their _jours gras_, or great feast-days, particularly before and after Lent, when large companies assemble, and the board is spread with every delicacy which their larder can afford. The table groans beneath immense turkey pies, huge joints of beef, mutton, and pork, followed by a profusion of fruit puddings. Extraordinary justice is said to be done to these viands, as well as to the rum which follows; but the younger members of the company are soon roused by the sound of the violin, and the dancing, of which they are passionately fond, engages them till a late hour. Weddings, above all, are celebrated by a mighty concourse of friends and acquaintances. Twenty or thirty of the country carriages bring in parties to witness the ceremony, which is followed by feasts and dances, not unfrequently prolonged for several days. The young people, however, have a somewhat rude method of expressing their opinion of an unequal union, especially if arising from the relative age of the parties. They assemble at night in large bodies, sounding various discordant instruments—horns, drums, bells, kettles, accompanied by loud shouts; and a contribution to the church, or some charitable purpose, is indispensable to obtain a respite from this jocular persecution. The short summer is necessarily spent in almost unremitting labour; but when ice and snow have covered the ground the gay season begins, and in their carioles or little chaises, on steel runners, which pass swiftly over the frozen surface, they visit their neighbours, and spend much time in social intercourse.

The Canadian French, like their forefathers, profess the Roman Catholic religion with much zeal, and in a manner which occasionally approaches superstition. The roads are marked by crosses erected at the side; their houses are filled with little pictures of the Madonna and child, waxen images of saints, and of the crucifixion; and there is a profuse expenditure of holy water and candles. They reluctantly establish their dwelling beyond hearing of the church bells, and on Sundays the attendance is crowded. They have, however, those inadequate notions as to the sanctity of that day, which are general in catholic countries. When worship is over the remainder is devoted, without reserve, to amusements. “Sunday,” it is said, “is to them their day of gaiety; there is then an assemblage of friends and relations; the parish church collects together all whom they know, and with whom they have relations of business or pleasure; the young and old, men and women, clad in their best garments, riding their best horses, driving in their gayest _calèches_, meet there for purposes of business, love, and pleasure. The young _habitant_, decked out in his most splendid finery, makes his court to the maiden, whom he has singled out as the object of his affections; the maiden, exhibiting in her adornment every colour of the rainbow, there hopes to meet her chevalier; the bold rider descants upon and gives evidence of the merits of his unrivalled pacer; and in winter the powers of the various horses are tried in sleigh or cariole racing; in short, Sunday is the grand fête.” Even the violin and the dance in the evening are not considered unsuitable. Notwithstanding these customs, the religious spirit of the Canadians appears sincere, and is attended with great benefits. Their general conduct is inoffensive and praiseworthy. Crimes of an atrocious description, as murder and violent assaults upon the person, scarcely ever occur. Property is perfectly safe, both from the thief and the robber; the doors of the houses stand open, and all sorts of goods are exposed without any precaution. They scarcely ever engage in those furious personal conflicts which, among the Americans of English descent, are often carried on with such violence; they know neither duelling, boxing, or gouging. On the contrary, they mutually treat each other with all the ceremonious politeness of the French school. One of the first things taught to a child is to speak decorously, to bow or curtsey to its elders or to strangers. This politeness is not accompanied with any degree of insincerity or servility, above which last they are completely raised by their independent situation. They are said to be generous in relieving those in distress—liberal and courteous to all who have any claim on their hospitality. The custom of parents and children living together, often to the third generation, in the same house, marks a mild and friendly temper. The only form under which hostile passions are vented is that of litigation, to which they are immoderately addicted, being favoured by the comparative cheapness of law. M. Bouchette defends this as securing them from violent and turbulent modes of terminating their differences.

The _habitans_ are not a stirring, enterprizing, or improving race. They tread in the steps of their forefathers, following the same routine, and with difficulty adopting the most obvious improvements of modern husbandry. Although extensive tracts lie in their immediate neighbourhood unoccupied, they resign them to the English and Americans, and have scarcely at all extended the range of their original settlement. Even their amiable qualities tend to retain them in this stationary condition; to which we may add their social disposition, their attachment to their kindred, their church, and the rites of their religion. They feel as if in leaving these things they would leave all. Their range of information has hitherto been very limited; and their priests, it has been alleged, by no means favour the diffusion among them even of the first elements of education; so that the majority of the adults cannot even read or write. But the legislature have lately made great exertions to improve them in this respect; and it is hoped that the rising generation will be more enlightened.

The society in Upper Canada, with the exception of the small French settlement at Detroit, presents a very different aspect. A great majority of the inhabitants consists of emigrants recently arrived from Ireland, Scotland, and England, who have not yet made much change in their original ideas and habits. Those established at successive periods during the previous half century, are not represented by Mr. Howison, Mr. Talbot, and other writers, under a very favourable light. The tone, especially in the western districts, appears to have been in a great measure given by such Americans as came, not from the civilised portions of the Union, but from the back-wood tracks, breathing rather the spirit of Kentucky than of New England. Disbanded soldiers and sailors were not well calculated to improve the breed; and even the voluntary emigrants were not always composed of the respectable classes, who, under the pressure of the times, have lately embraced this resource. The removal of the ordinary restraints of society, and the absence of religious ordinances and ministration, concurred in giving to them a reckless and unprincipled character. Intoxication, encouraged by the cheapness of spirits, is indulged to a lamentable degree, and is often productive of general ill conduct and ruin. Little regard is paid to the sabbath and other sacred institutions; and the ear of the stranger is wounded, not only by abusive language, but by swearing to an odious and disgusting degree. Pugilistic contests are carried on with a violence rivalling those of Kentucky, and have not always been unaccompanied by the savage practice of gouging. Mr. Talbot, though he admits that he met with many respectable females, charges a large proportion of the sex with a disregard and even insensibility to their first duties. Although a _spry_ lass, as she is termed, is certain of repeated offers, and is sure of being early united in the bonds of matrimony, she may frequently before that event have given birth to one or two children. Our author was in company with a lady, who volunteered to the company the information, that “her Betty” had been two years old at her marriage. The correcter feelings, on this subject, of females from the old country are contemned as ridiculous. Nay, where so little delicacy prevails, and the children are so valuable a possession, the bringing two or three into the world in this irregular manner, instead of being a bar to marriage, proves, it is said, an additional attraction, by making the young lady a species of heiress. After marriage, she makes an active and industrious wife, but expects from her husband much deference, and even that he should wink at occasional frailties. These faults are described by Mr. Gourlay as rapidly disappearing, though Mr. Talbot, and even Mr. Shirreff, found them still too prevalent; but the increased means of instruction, and the example of respectable emigrants, will, it may be hoped, gradually effect a thorough reform.

No people in the world live better than the inhabitants of Upper Canada. The abundance of produce, and the low price at which it can be sold, naturally inclines them to take the full use of it. Three copious meals, often of twelve or fourteen dishes each, are daily served up, called breakfast, dinner, and supper, but consisting generally of the same component parts; among which are specially enumerated green tea, fried pork, honeycomb, salted salmon, pound-cake, pickled cucumbers, stewed chickens, apple tarts, maple-molasses, pease-pudding, gingerbread, and sour crout. They are not very social in their daily habits, to which, indeed, the almost impassable state of the roads opposes great obstacles; but they are fond of large parties, and, in a favourable season, five or six families often unite, and, without any notice, drive to visit another at the distance of ten or twelve miles. Such an arrival would not always be very opportune in an English household; but, “in this land of plenty,” the flour-barrel, the pork-tub, and the fowl house, afford at all times materials for meeting such an emergency, and the board is soon spread with a plentiful meal. The dance is an amusement of which they are passionately fond. No inn is considered worthy of the name, unless it be provided with a spacious ballroom, which is called into requisition as often as convenience will permit. Intellectual recreations have not hitherto attracted all the attention which they merit. Mr. Talbot, during a residence of five years, never saw above two individuals with books in their hands; and, in one case, it was a medical treatise consulted for health. The sources of improvement already enumerated, however, have already made a great impression, and will, we doubt not, ere long wipe off this reproach from the Canadian people.

There remains yet undescribed a small but interesting portion—the remnant of the Indian nations. It has appeared mysterious how tribes, once so powerful, without war or bloodshed should have silently disappeared, and only a handful survive. The occupation of their hunting grounds by European settlers, the introduction of destructive diseases, particularly small-pox, and the free use of intoxicating liquors, have no doubt materially thinned their numbers. Our researches, however, have led us to suspect that the diminution has not been nearly so great as is supposed; in other words, that the original numbers were much exaggerated. We have had occasion to observe, that the Iroquois, the most powerful people in America, and occupying a territory extending several hundred miles in every direction, were not estimated by the French to include more than 3,000 warriors. Yet they enjoyed a better climate, and were not so entirely ignorant of cultivation as the tribes northward of the St. Lawrence.

The Indians, under British protection, are dispersed in small villages and settlements in different parts of Upper and Lower Canada. The charge made by Mr. M^{c}Gregor, that they have not been kindly treated by our government, seems scarcely well founded, for not only do they remain peaceably under her sway, but they have repeatedly taken up arms in her cause against the “Big Knives,” as they term the Americans. In consideration of their services, and in compensation for the encroachments made on their domain, each individual, on repairing to a fixed station, receives a certain amount of goods as an annual present; and this grant affords the means of estimating the number residing within the provinces. In Lower Canada, in 1828, it amounted to 2,922, exclusive of about 450 Micmacs, or wandering tribes, from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The number in Upper Canada to whom, about the same time, donations were made, was 12,919; making in the two provinces 15,841. The estimate thus obtained, however, is not quite so accurate as could be wished. Several thousands came from beyond the western frontier, a distance in some cases of four or five hundred miles, and even from the territory of the United States; but in consequence of the signal services rendered by them during the last war, pledges had been given, which Britain must now fulfil. On the other hand, in the immense forest territory which the hand of cultivation has not yet approached, there are doubtless very considerable numbers who retain their wild independence, and hold no relation whatever with Europeans. We may notice, in particular, the vast tracts to the east and north of Quebec, whence no mention is made of any resort to the stations of distribution.

The Indians of Lower Canada have been converted to the catholic religion, and their spiritual concerns are superintended by five missionaries, who receive salaries of from 40_l._ to 70_l._ per annum. They appear much attached to these instructors, and show a deep sense of their religious duties; yet they have admitted scarcely any change in their original habits, or made any progress in industry. Their husbandry, as formerly, is on a small scale, of the rudest description, and carried on entirely by women and old men. “The Indian tribes,” said the late Lord Dalhousie, “continue to be warlike in their ideas and recollections. Insignificant as are some of the tribes now in Lower Canada, civilized and accustomed to social life, there is not one of them that does not boast of the warlike days of their chiefs and warriors; even now, the word warrior is assumed by every young man; he is trained up to it, and has a higher idea of the approbation of his chief, or the consideration of white men in that character of an active hunter or warrior, than he has of any other object or use of his existence.” The missionaries, though they execute their spiritual functions with zeal and diligence, not only take no pains to instruct them in reading or writing, but effectually oppose any efforts for that purpose, at least when made by protestant teachers. We even suspect that they indulge rather than check the warlike spirit of their flocks; since it appears, that, on the annual religious festival called the grand _fête de Dieu_, the Indians are in the habit of marching to church in military order, headed by their chiefs, bearing arms, and amid the music of drums and fifes.

A few miles northward from Quebec is the Huron settlement of Loretto, consisting of sixty-seven men, sixty-five women, and forty-seven children. This poor remnant of a race once so powerful, holding only forty acres of land, derive a precarious subsistence from hunting, fishing, and some trifling articles made by their females. They recently preferred a claim to the fief of Sillery, a fine tract extending a league along the St. Lawrence, near Quebec, in virtue of a grant made to their ancestors in 1651. The case being brought before the courts, it was argued by the crown lawyers that the grant had been made to the Jesuits in general terms, for the purpose “of assembling the wandering nations of New France, and instructing them in the christian religion;” that, in 1699, these missionaries, representing that the Indians had quitted the spot on account of the soil being exhausted, requested and obtained a grant of it for themselves; and that it remained in their possession till the extinction of their order in 1800, when it devolved on the British government. On these grounds the judges decided against the Hurons. We cannot help referring, however, to certain facts in our historical narrative, founded on authorities which we incline to believe were unknown to either party in this contest. It there appears that the grant immediately followed the destruction of the Huron nation by the Iroquois, when the Jesuits, as the only means of saving the remnant of the tribe, removed to Quebec. The date, and the name of the principal settlement, seem to show, that, however general the terms may have been, the grant was made virtually for the benefit of these unfortunate fugitives, and to the Jesuits only as their trustees. If this be admitted, we know not how far their quitting it at one time for another spot, without any formal relinquishment, could be considered as vacating their title. On the loss of their cause, they sent two deputies to London, who very earnestly solicited an interview with their great father. Sir George Murray evaded this demand, but received them kindly; and though he could not reopen a legal decision, offered them grants of crown lands in other quarters; but they replied, that an arrangement which would separate them, and require a complete change in their mode of life, could not be felt by them as any real advantage.

In the vicinity of Three Rivers are 82 Algonquins, and near St. Francis and Beçancour, on the opposite side, 359 Abenaquis. These tribes inhabit rude villages, composed of very poor bark huts, though somewhat better than the ordinary wigwams. They once possessed a considerable extent of land, the greater part of which has been wrested from them under various pretences by designing individuals; and to prevent such frauds, it is proposed that no alienation of property by these untaught tribes shall be held valid until it has been sanctioned by government. Farther down the river are three settlements of Iroquois, one at Sault St. Louis and Caughnawaga, amounting to 967; another at St. Regis of 348; and a third, of 282, at the Lake of the Two Mountains. This tribe, once powerful, and even intelligent, are now indolent, wretched, and despised by their own countrymen. Those of Sault St. Louis possess some land, though, from mismanagement, it produces little; and a late claim for an addition, founded on minute boundary questions, was fruitless, though they also sent two deputies to London to enforce it. At the Lake of the Two Mountains are likewise 355 Algonquins and 250 Nipissings. These have no land to cultivate, but by their activity in hunting, and supplying Europeans with furs, they have placed themselves in a more comfortable condition than any other Indians in Lower Canada. They complain much, however, of the extended colonization on the Ottawa, by which their hunting grounds are greatly narrowed.

In Upper Canada, along the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, the Mississaguas are the leading tribe. Those of Kingston and Gananoqui, only 82 in number, are described as worthless and depraved; but such as dwell on the Bay of Quinté and Rice Lake, amounting respectively to 143 and 317, have been converted to Christianity, and are much improved. On the Bay are also 319 Mohawks, many of whom have applied themselves to agriculture, and even adopted in some degree the European dress, though mixed in a grotesque manner with their native attire. On the river Credit, which falls into the western part of Ontario, are 180 of the same nation, who have been greatly civilized by their conversion. Around Lake Simcoe and its vicinity, about 550 Chippeways reside under their chief, Yellow-head. These also have expressed a strong desire for instruction and the knowledge of religion, but have not yet experienced those benefits in an equal degree. The banks of the Grand River, which falls into Lake Erie, to the extent of six miles on each side, were, by a proclamation of General Haldimand, set apart for the Mohawks and Six Nations, who occupy it to the amount of about 2,000. Some part of these lands has been sold with the consent of government, and the proceeds lodged in the British funds, yielding an annual revenue of 1,500_l._, which is distributed among them in goods. They still hold 260,000 acres of an excellent soil, over which they have spread themselves in small villages, and many of them attempt the simpler modes of farming. Farther west are the Munseys on the Thames, 445 in number, and 309 Hurons, connected with the French settlement on the Detroit, and converts to the Catholic form of worship.

With the last exception, all the tribes in Upper Canada, till within these few years, remained in their primitive state of rudeness and ignorance. They are now, however, willing converts to the Christian faith, receiving instruction in reading and writing. Their morals are greatly improved; and, in short, the way is paved for their adopting generally the habits of civilized life. This good work has been almost entirely accomplished by teachers from the United States, belonging to the “Canada Conference Missionary Society,” auxiliary to that of the Methodist Church of New York. The Indians have always shown themselves desirous to be instructed. In 1827, the tribes, when receiving presents at the remote station of Drummond Island, intimated to the agent that there was at Michillimakinac a school or place where the natives were taught to live as the whites do, “to mark their thoughts on paper, and to think the news from books (read and write).” It was in their power to send their children thither “to get sense;” but not being partial to the Big Knives, and hearing that their great father at York was teaching their brethren to “cut up the ground, and be beloved of the Great Spirit,” they would rather be instructed by him. In the same year the Chippeways at Gwillimburg, through their chief, Yellow-head, delivered successive strings of wampum, importing that they wished to be settled together, to pursue agriculture, and “to worship that God which is known to the whites in the good book.”

The work of conversion and civilization was already proceeding, through the exertions of the New York missionaries. Their first success was on the River Credit, in the Home district, where they were greatly aided by Mr. Peter Jones, alias Kakkewaquonaby, the son of a Welsh father by an Indian mother, and thoroughly acquainted with their customs and language. They formed themselves into a village, where Sir Peregrine Maitland built for them twenty houses; they added fifteen for themselves, with a mill; and the Methodist Society aided them in erecting a chapel, schoolhouse, and workshop. They now renounced the “firewaters” (spirits), the effects of which had been so pernicious; and, without giving up hunting, combined with it the culture of the ground and the rearing of cattle. According to the report of the Rev. Mr. Magrath, they had, in March 1828, brought thirty-five acres into cultivation, and possessed nine yoke of oxen, twelve cows, and six horses. The adults were taught to get by heart the most essential doctrines of religion; but for the children of both sexes schools were established, attended by thirty-five boys and thirty-six girls. The Mississaguas, near Belleville, soon followed the example of their brethren; and, with the aid of the Society, formed a village on Grape Island, in the Bay of Quinté. Finding this position too limited, they applied for more land, and were allowed to select the requisite number of vacant lots in the Midland district. This salutary process was soon afterwards extended to the Mississaguas on the borders of Rice Lake and of Mud Lake, northward of Cobourg. They occupied, by right, the islands on the former; and, on the petition of their teachers, were allowed besides 1,200 acres of waste land. Improvement was next extended to the Chippeways, near Lake Simcoe. They were entitled to three islands; but Sir John Colborne thought it more for their benefit that they should be located on its north-western shore, and on the road to Lake Huron. In these objects about 3,000_l._ were spent, chiefly saved out of the annual presents. Another establishment has been formed at Munseytown, on the river Thames; and it appears that much has been done among the Six Nations, particularly the Mohawks, on the Grand River. In short, there seems no room to doubt that the whole of this savage race will soon be brought within the pale of Christianity and civilization.

Vehement objections have been taken against the religious body by whom this change has been effected. They are accused of propagating the political creed of their own country, accompanied with sentiments of hostility to the established church. It does not appear, however, that any disloyal or turbulent proceedings have resulted; and when they are doing so much good, it would certainly be very inexpedient to obstruct their operations, until some efficient substitute shall be found. Sir John Colborne expressly says, “that the established clergy have not effected any Indian conversions;” and the worthy bishop of Quebec candidly observes that, whoever were the instruments, the effect must be a source of satisfaction; and that the hand of God seems to be visible in it. The Society allow 40_l._ or 50_l._ a-year to their missionaries, and maintain ten schools, attended by 251 pupils.

The Indians, as already observed, have certain fixed stations, to which they resort for the purpose of receiving their annual presents. These are, in Lower Canada, Quebec, to which, in 1827, there came 652; St. Francis, 541; Caughnawaga, 967; Lake of Two Mountains, 887; and St. Regis, 348. In Upper Canada, they are, Kingston, 859; York, 781; Fort George (Niagara), 1857; Amherstburg, 5906; and Drummond Island, 3516. The expense became very large during the war, when their services were so valuable. Between 1813 and 1816, it averaged 150,000_l._ a-year. Since that time it has been reduced to about 16,000_l._, which, with 4,400_l._ for management, raises the Indian department to 20,400_l._ a-year. This, in Upper Canada, is estimated at 18_s._ 9_d._ to each individual, for which slender remuneration some travel 500 miles. References have been made from the Colonial Office, to ascertain whether this sum might not be still further reduced, and paid in money, by which the estimates could be formed with greater precision. To the first point, it has been replied by the governors, that the donation is one to which we are bound by the faith of treaties, made in return for important services; and its discontinuance would excite the deepest indignation, and provoke an hostility which might be attended with disastrous consequences. Probably like all rude nations, the Indians, instead of viewing these gifts as in any degree humiliating, pride themselves upon them as testimonies of respect, perhaps even as a species of tribute. As to the payment in money, it was deprecated in the strongest terms by almost all the chiefs, and those interested in their welfare; because the immediate consequence would be its conversion into spirits, thereby causing a serious injury instead of a benefit. The principle articles presented to them in 1832, were 35,700 yards of different kinds of cloth, the prime cost varying from 1_s._ 1_d._ to 3_s._ 4_d._; 4,200 yards of linen; 33,800 yards of cotton and calico, 7_d._ to 1_s._ 7_d._; 84,500 yards of gartering, of scarlet, green, and fancy colours, ¾_d._ per yard; 20,000 yards of blanketing, 1_s._ 11_d._ to 5_s._ 9_d._; 9,260 pairs of combs; 6,700 shoemaker’s awls; 8,740 butcher’s knives; 870 kettles; 18,160 sewing needles; 240 guns, 12_s._ 9_d._ to 30_s._; 16,200 lbs. of lead ball; 46,300 lbs. of shot; 20,000 flints; 3,450 lbs. of carrot tobacco, 17_l._ 10_s._ per cwt.

Since the diffusion of civilization, many of the Indians have consented, and even desired, to exchange these presents for houses, implements of agriculture, and other useful objects. A considerable number have even begun to wish for money, which happily they no longer abuse as formerly, but rather find the most convenient instrument in procuring whatever they may happen to want. Asance, a chief, said that at York, “he found it convenient when hungry to be able to put his hand into his pocket, and find something jingling there for which he could get bread.” It may be observed, that the Indians in Upper Canada are entitled to the annual pay of 5,107_l._ current (4,426_l._ sterling), for land ceded by them to government, who give the value in goods. As the crown obtained in exchange nearly 5,000,000 acres of fertile land, we do think that this slender annuity ought not to exhaust the kindness of the British ministry towards this unfortunate race. They receive also 1,267_l._ sterling for property sold to private individuals, the greater part of which is lodged in the funds. This sum is paid in money to the chiefs.