Chapter XXVI: Section 4 (2)

_Q_. "Is it not indispensable to form an opinion upon that point to justify the opinion you have already given?"--_A_. "I think not. I have that feeling, that the consequence of their not having the timber trade would be, that they would produce other articles, and that their condition would not be deteriorated. I am led to that conclusion by seeing the present condition of the State of New York, which once depended on the timber trade; I look also to Vermont; and when every man tells me that he laments and has lamented that he ever meddled with the timber trade, I think that I am justified in my opinion, for no one will pretend to state that the land of Vermont, or even of New York, equals that of Canada. While speaking of the soil of Canada, I would observe that Jacobs has estimated the average return for wheat on the Continent at four to one, of Great Britain seven to one, and Gourlay has estimated the return of Upper Canada at _twenty to one_. Many state that Upper Canada is _unrivalled_ in comparison with any other piece of land of equal extent."

_Q_. "Are you aware of the extent of exportation of agricultural produce from Canada?"--_A_. "I am; I can state it from memory. The largest quantity of wheat exported in any year was in 1831, and I think amounted to 1,300,000 bushels."

_Q_. "Can you make the same statement with reference to corn and provisions as to other articles?"--_A_. "Canada exports a great deal of corn."

_Q_. "Which Canada?"--_A_. "Both Upper and Lower Canada."

_Q_. "Does Lower Canada grow corn enough for her own consumption?"--_A_. "I should think Lower Canada did, and more."

_Q_. "Does Upper Canada?"--_A_. "Upper Canada a great deal more."

_Q_. "Have you the amount of the exports?"--_A_. "I have the exports of 1833; the two Canadas exported 650,000 bushels of wheat."

_Q_. "How much flour?"--_A_. "About 91,000 barrels."

_Q_. "Have you any account of the imports of flour from the United States into Lower Canada?"--_A_. "I have not with me but can give it very nearly."

_Q_. "Do those exports of which you have spoken just now comprehend the United States flour?"--_A_. "No, they are exclusive of Colonial production."

_Q_. "Is not Lower Canada, as well as Upper Canada, in the habit of supplying herself, to a certain degree, with American flour and wheat, and exporting her own produce, on account of the state of the corn laws last year?"--_A_. "Yes, it is done to a certain extent. I have some indication as to the quantity which comes from the United States into Upper and Lower Canada being small. In the returns of the traffic last year through our Welland Canal, about 265,000 bushels of wheat passed through, of which 18,000 British and 22,000 American only went to Montreal. All the rest went to Oswego, for the New York market: but the destination in future will probably depend upon whether the internal communication is improved in those colonies, and on the state of the market in New York and in the Canadas."

_Q_. "If there is sufficient capital, is there any reason to suppose it would not be beneficial to engage in both?"--_A_. "I do not think it is a question concerning the abundance of capital, but the good to be derived from the preservation of the Canada timber trade by enormous protecting duties. I am confident that _the timber trade is inimical_ to _the best interests of the Canadas_; it would be possible to make the timber trade more beneficial than any other pursuit in the country, and the way to render it so would be to give immense protecting duties to the timber trade of Canada, allowing all other articles of produce to be open to general competition; but, by such a course, England would not be benefiting _Canada_."

_Q_. "Can you state the average prices of wheat at Quebec the last four or five years?"--_A_. "I think 5 shillings or 6 shillings. Canadian currency; the latter rate is equal to 5 shillings sterling, which is 40 shillings a quarter; but I do not suppose an average of several years would be over 4 shillings, 2 pence, that would be 33 shillings, 4 pence. There are peculiar circumstances that attended the last three or four years."

_Q_. "Has it been higher the last three or four years than the three or four years previously? _A_. Considerably higher than the ten years previously."

_Q_. "Do you think 30 shillings a quarter would have been the average of the ten years preceding?"--_A_. "I should think so, but I cannot now speak positively."

_Q_. "Are the committee to understand it to be your opinion, that if the timber establishments were broken up and no more timber exported from Canada, there would be no loss to that country?"--_A_. "There might be an immediate loss, and a _very great subsequent gain_. I think there would be an immediate loss attending on the mills, possibly 150,000 pounds to 200,000 pounds."

_Q_. "Has it not been the fact that there has been a constant and gradual increase of tonnage into Quebec for the last fifteen years?"--_A_. "Yes."

_Q_. "Presuming that those establishments were to be broken up and no more timber exported, do you think that gradual increase would still continue?"--_A_. "No; the first consequence, I think, very possibly would be a very material decrease."

_Q_. "Subsequently the _same tonnage_ would be required for the _carriage of corn_ as at present?"--_A_. "Some years hence, for corn and other articles."

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Note 1. The following description of the iron mines at Marmora are worthy the attention of the reader. It is from the engineer who was sent to survey them.

"To Isaac Fraser, Esquire

"The water power at Marmora, and its sufficiency for all hydraulic purposes, may be better imagined than explained to you by me, from the fact, that the falls occur upon the Crow River, at the foot of untold lakes falling into Crow Lake, the deepest inland lake in the province, and just below the junction of the Beaver River, which latter has its source in the Ottawa or Grand River, or the waters flowing parallel therewith, and by the outlet at the Marmora Falls: these head waters, on the confluence with the waters of the Otonabee, and Rice Lake in Crow Bay, six miles below the works, form the great River Trent, second in importance and magnitude only to the St Lawrence. It is sufficient for me to add, that I deem the water power at the works abundantly equal to all the purposes of machinery and manufacture, which can for centuries be established there.

"Immediately adjoining the works there is an ore bed, from the partial development of which, and from the opinions I have received of its superior quality, it would appear to be of the purest kind of iron ore, except native iron, in the same veins with which is an admixture of red paint and yellow ochre, and in separate veins and beds at this locality, those paints occur in some quantities, several barrels of which, especially the red paint, Mr Hayes disposed of at 25 shillings per barrel, at the works, and it seems probable they would become profitable articles of commerce. Here also there is a bed of purely white marble, not seemingly stratified, but in large blocks; and a quarry of superior stone for lithographic purposes, the quality of which has been tested and reported favourably upon. This ore bed would be from its situation within any wall constructed for the custody of the convicts, but from the great jumble of mineral substances, which the careless opening of those veins has occasioned, it is not possible to hazard an opinion as to the probable extent of minerals here, but from, if I may judge by appearances and from geological analogy, the few acres surrounding, it is probable they are sufficiently extensive to be an object of consideration--several hundred tons of ore have already been taken out for the furnaces. There is at this place a well-built bridge and a wharf at which the ore brought from the lake ore beds is landed, and from thence carted or wheeled up to the ore bank.

"_At a distance of four miles by water, that is at the Crow Lake, in the township of Belmont, Newcastle District, the principal ore bed occurs_. I may confine my observations respecting this ore bed to the qualities and varieties of the ores to be found there, and of the extent of the deposit give you an idea, by fancying my feelings when I first saw the mountain. My surprise was great, and _my first conclusion was, that it would be more than sufficient to supply the world with iron for ever_. The ore here is in great variety of magnetic ore, easily quarried and, in fact, it can be quarried, loaded, and transported to the works, roasted on the ore bank, broken up into particles, and put upon the furnace, at an expense not exceeding 2 shillings 0 pence per ton; as I observed it is strongly magnetic, and although mixed considerably with sulphur, it is easily freed from that deleterious mineral by exposure to the atmosphere, and to the action of air and frost, and by this species of evaporation, a new and valuable commodity could be procured in great quantities, namely, the copperas of commerce.

"With a boat of fifty tons burthen--and there is depth of water enough for a 74 gun ship from the wharf at the works, to this mountain of ore-- navigated by four men, 150 tons of ore could be brought down in two days--so readily is it quarried, and so handily put on board. Intermediate to this bed and the works, several other deposites of iron are discovered--one of a superior quality, surpassing in magnetic power any other ore yet discovered, possessing what mineralogists call polarity--and near to this, meadow and bog ore, not a mile distant from the works, is to be found in great quantities. The works are to the north-north-east and eastward, surrounded by beds of ore, of which five have been tried and brought into use--but as they are inland, and consequently more expensively procured, they merit but this passing observation, that in quantity and quality they are valuable.

"For the present I am, Sir,

"Your obedient servant,--_Engineer_"

VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER THREE.

THE CANADAS, CONTINUED.

To one who has a general knowledge of the various English colonies, to which emigration is constantly taking place, it appears very strange that people should emigrate to such countries as New South Wales, Van Dieman's Land, and New Zealand, when Upper Canada is comparatively so near to them, and affording every advantage which a settler could wish. Of course the persuasion of interested parties, and their own ignorance, prevent them from ascertaining the truth. Indeed, the reports upon Upper Canada are occasionally as highly coloured as those relative to other colonies, and nothing but an examination of the country, I may say a certain period of residence in it, can enable you to ascertain the real merits of the case. I have neither land nor interest in Upper Canada, and, therefore, my evidence on the question may be considered as impartial; and I do not hesitate to assert that Upper Canada promises more advantages to the settler than any other English colony, or any portion whatever of the United States.

I shall now make a few remarks upon emigration to that province, and point out what the settler will have to expect. I have read many works upon the subject; they are very inaccurate, and hold out to the emigrant brilliant prospects, which are seldom or never realised. The best work, independently of its merits as a novel, is "Laurie Todd," by Mr Galt. And first, I address myself to the poor man who goes out with only twenty or thirty pounds in his pocket.

If he credit the works written to induce people to emigrate, all that he has to do is to build his log-hut, clear his land, and in three years be an independent man.

It is true that he can purchase fifty acres of land for one hundred dollars, or twenty-five pounds; that he has only to pay one-tenth part of the sum down, which is two pounds ten shillings sterling. It is true that he will collect a _Bee_, as it is termed, or a gathering of neighbours to run up the frame of his house; but, nevertheless, possessing his fifty acres of land and his log-house, he will in all probability be starved out the very first year, especially if he has a family.

To a poor man, a family is _eventually_ of immense value. As soon as he has fairly settled, the more children he has the faster he will become rich; but on his first arrival, they will, if not able to work for themselves, be a heavy burthen. If, however, they can do any thing, so as to pay for their board and lodging, he will not be at any expense for them, as there is employment for every body, even for children.

The only article I should recommend him to take out from England is a good supply of coarse clothing for his family; if he would take out a venture, let it be _second-hand clothes_, and he will double his money if he sells them by auction, for clothes are the most expensive article in Canada. I once saw some cast-off clothes sold by an acquaintance of mine in Upper Canada; a Jew in England would not have given five pounds for the lot, yet, sold at auction, they cleared twenty-five pounds, all expenses paid. He cannot, therefore, take out too much clothing, but the coarser and more common it is the better. Let him supply himself from the old clothes shops, or the cheap stores. New clothes will soon become old when he works hard. Having made this provision, let him buy nothing else; but change his money into sovereigns and keep it in his pocket.

As soon as he arrives at Quebec, he must lose no time in taking the steamboat up the St Lawrence, and landing near to where he has decided upon locating. If he has made no decision, at all events let him leave the city immediately, and get into the country, for there he will get work and spend less money. Instead of thinking of making a purchase of land, let him _give up all thoughts of it for a year or two_; but hire himself out, and his wife and children also, if he can. If he is a good man, he will receive four pounds a month, or forty-eight pounds a year, with his board and lodging. The major part of this he will be able to lay by. If his wife must stay at home to take care of the children, still let her work; work is always to be found, and she may not only support herself and children, but assist his fund. By the time that he has been eighteen months or two years in the country, he will have his eyes open, know the value of every thing, and will not be imposed upon as he would have been had he taken a farm immediately upon his arrival. He will have laid by a sufficient sum for him to begin with, and he will have become acquainted with the mode of farming in the country, which is very different from what he has been used to in the old. He may then go on and prosper.

The next description of emigrant settler to which I shall address myself is he who comes out with a small capital, say from two hundred to five hundred pounds; a sum sufficient to enable him to commence farming at once, but not sufficient to allow him to purchase or stock a farm which has a portion of the land already cleared. The government lands fetch at auction about ten shillings an acre, and they are paid for by instalments, one-tenth down, and one-tenth every year, with interest, until the whole be paid; of course, he may pay it all at once, if he pleases, and save the interest. He must not purchase more than four hundred acres. He can always procure more if he is successful. His first instalment to government for the purchase of four hundred acres will be eighty dollars.

His next object is to have a certain portion of his land cleared for him. The price varies according to the size and quantity of the portion; but you may say, at the highest, it will cost about sixteen dollars an acre. Let him clear ten acres, and then build his house and barns. I will make two estimates, between which he may decide according to his means.

_Estimate_ 1.

+====================================+========+ Ý ÝDollars.Ý +------------------------------------+--------+ ÝInstalment to Government Ý 80Ý +------------------------------------+--------+ ÝShingle-house Ý 400Ý +------------------------------------+--------+ ÝFurniture Ý 100Ý +------------------------------------+--------+ ÝBarns and sheds Ý 400Ý +------------------------------------+--------+ ÝTen acres clearing Ý 160Ý +------------------------------------+--------+ ÝOxen Ý 80Ý +------------------------------------+--------+ ÝCow Ý 20Ý +------------------------------------+--------+ ÝPigs and poultry Ý 20Ý +------------------------------------+--------+ ÝPlough, harrow, etcetera. Ý 20Ý +------------------------------------+--------+ ÝSeed Ý 50Ý +------------------------------------+--------+ ÝHorse and wagon Ý 100Ý +------------------------------------+--------+ ÝAbout 300 pounds Ý 1,430Ý +------------------------------------+--------+ ÝTo this (if you have no family Ý Ý +------------------------------------+--------+ Ýable to work) for a man and his wifeÝ 300Ý +------------------------------------+--------+ ÝExpenses of living the first year Ý 200Ý +------------------------------------+--------+ Ý400 pounds Ý 1930Ý +====================================+========+

_Estimate_ 2.

+=========================+=======+ Ý ÝDollarsÝ +-------------------------+-------+ ÝInstalment to Government Ý 80Ý +-------------------------+-------+ ÝLog-house and furniture Ý 100Ý +-------------------------+-------+ ÝBarn Ý 60Ý +-------------------------+-------+ ÝClearing Ý 160Ý +-------------------------+-------+ ÝOxen Ý 80Ý +-------------------------+-------+ ÝCow Ý 20Ý +-------------------------+-------+ ÝPigs and poultry Ý 20Ý +-------------------------+-------+ ÝPlough, harrow, etcetera.Ý 20Ý +-------------------------+-------+ ÝSeed Ý 50Ý +-------------------------+-------+ ÝHorse and wagon Ý 100Ý +-------------------------+-------+ Ý150 pounds Ý 690Ý +=========================+=======+

But choosing between these two estimates, according to his means, that is, by reserving, if possible, one hundred pounds for contingencies, he has every chance of doing well. He must bear in mind, that although every year his means will increase, he must not cripple himself by an outlay of all his money at first starting. After the first year, he will be able to support himself and family from the farm. I have put every thing at the _outside expense_, that he may not be deceived; but he must not expend all his capital at once; his horse or oxen may die-- his crops may partially fail--he may have severe illness--all these contingencies must be provided against.

But the settler who goes out under the most favourable circumstances, is the one who has one thousand pounds or more, and who can, therefore, purchase a farm of from two hundred to four hundred acres, with a portion cleared, and a house and offices ready built. These are always to be had, for there are people in the Canadas, as in America, who have pleasure in selling their cleared land, and going again into the bush. These farms are often to be purchased at the rate of from five to ten dollars per acre for the whole, cleared and uncleared. In this case all the difficulties have been smoothed away for him, and all that he has to do is, to be industrious and sober.

When I was at London, on the river Thames, (in Upper Canada I mean), I might have purchased a farm, lying on the banks of that river, of four hundred acres, seventy of them cleared, and the rest covered with the finest oak timber, with a fine water-power, and a saw-mill in full work, a good house, barn, and out-buildings and kitchen garden, for six hundred pounds. In ten years this property will be worth more than six thousand pounds; and in twenty more, if the country improves as fast as it does now, at least fifteen thousand pounds.

In looking out for a property in Canada, always try to obtain a water-power, or the means of erecting one, by damming up any swift stream; its value will, in a few years, be very great; and never consider a few dollars an acre more, if you have transport by water, or are close to a good market. You must look forward to what the country _will be_, not to what it is at present.

Half-pay officers settle in Upper Canada with great advantages, arising from the circumstance, that their annual pay is always a resource to fill back upon. A very small capital is sufficient in this case; and, if prudent, they gradually rise to independence, if not to wealth. There are, however, one or two cautions to be given to these gentlemen. _Never go into the bush_ if you can help it: accustomed to society, you will find the total loss of it too serious. If you have a wife and large family, they may partially compensate for the loss, but even then it is better to locate yourself near a small town. If you are a single man and sit down in the bush, you are lost. Hundreds have done so, and the result has been, that they have resorted to _intemperance_, and have died ruined men.

But the settlers most required in Upper Canada, and those who would reap the most golden harvest, are men of capital; when I say capital, I mean those who possess a sum of four or five thousand pounds--a sum very inadequate to support a person in England who has been born and bred as a gentleman; but in Canada, with such a sum, he can not only farm, but speculate to great advantage. At present the Americans go over there every year, and realise large sums of money. Indeed, capital is so much required in Upper Canada, and may be employed to such advantage, that I wonder people, with what may be considered as small capitals here, do not go over. The only caution to give them is, not to be in a hurry; in the course of a year or two they will understand what they are about, and then they will soon become wealthy.

When I arrived at Toronto, I was called upon by an old friend who had often shot with me in Norfolk. His father had once set him up in business, but the house failed. He resolved to go out to Canada, and his father gave him a _thousand pounds_ as a start, and allowed him two hundred pounds a year afterwards. He had been in the country seven years when we met again. I accepted his invitation to dine and sleep at his house, which was about seven miles from the town. He sent handsome saddle horses over for three of us. I found him located on a beautiful farm of about four hundred acres, the major portion of it cleared; his house was a very elegantly built cottage ornee, every thing had the appearance of a handsome English country residence; he had married a beautiful woman of one of the first families. We sat down to an excellent dinner, and, in every respect, the whole set-out was equal to what you generally meet with in good society in England. He was really living in luxury. We returned the next day, in a handsome carriage and as fine a pair of horses as one would wish to see.

I could hardly credit that all this could have been accumulated in seven years--yet such was the case, and it was not a singular one; for the whole road from his farm to Toronto was lined with similar farms and handsome houses, belonging to gentlemen who had emigrated, forming among themselves, a very extensive and most delightful society.

Although they do not go ahead as fast as some of the American cities, (for instance, Buffalo,) still Upper Canada has, within the last ten or fifteen years, taken a surprising start, and will now, if judiciously governed, increase in wealth almost as fast as any of the American States. About Toronto, most of the gentlemen have incomes of from seven hundred to fifteen hundred pounds per annum, and keep handsome equipages; but there are many other towns which have lately risen up very rapidly. Peterborough is an instance of this. "Peterborough in 1825 contained but one miserable dwelling; now, in 1838, may be seen nearly four hundred houses, many of them large and handsome, inhabited by about fifteen hundred persons; a very neat stone church, capable of accommodating eight hundred or nine hundred persons, [see Note 1] a Presbyterian church of stone, two dissenting places of worship, and a Roman Catholic church in progress. The town has in or near it, two grist, and seven saw-mills, five distilleries, two breweries, two tanneries, eighteen or twenty shops (called stores), carriage, sleigh, wagon, chair, harness, and cabinet-makers and most other useful trades. Stages run all the year, bringing mails five times a week and steamboats whilst the navigation is open; there is one good tavern (White's), and two inferior ones. Families may now find houses of any sizes to suit them, at moderate rents. The roads in this neighbourhood are being greatly improved. The towns of Cobourg, Port Hope, Colborne, Grafton, Brighton, River Trent, and Beaumont in the Newcastle district, are all equally prosperous, and, like Peterborough, are surrounded by genteel families from the United Kingdom; in short, the advancement of this district is almost incredible."

But there is one important subject relative to emigration which must be considered; if it be, as I trust my readers will be inclined to think with me, a national question, it is highly expedient that it should be not only assisted, but controlled by government. At present the mortality is tremendous; and I very much question whether there are not more lives sacrificed in the _transport_ of the emigrants, than subsequently fall a prey to disease in the western States, bordering on the Mississippi. With those who would emigrate to the United States, we have nothing to do, neither do they so much require our sympathy. The American packets are good vessels, and they suffer little; and when they land at New York, Baltimore and Philadelphia, the charity of the Americans is always ready for their relief. But with the poor emigrants who would settle in Canada, the case is very different. It must be understood, that the Quebec trade is chiefly composed of worn-out and unseaworthy vessels, which cannot find employment elsewhere; for a vessel which is in such a state that a cargo of dry goods could not be entrusted to her, is still sufficiently serviceable for the timber trade--as, `allowing her bottom to be out' with a cargo of timber she of course cannot founder. But if these vessels are sufficiently safe to bring timber home, they are not sufficiently good vessels to receive three or four hundred emigrants on board. Leaky, bad sailers, ill-found, the voyage is often protracted, and the sufferings of the poor people on board are dreadful. Fever and other diseases break out among them, and they often arrive at Quebec with sixty or seventy people who are carried to the hospital independently of those who have died and been thrown overboard.

Sometimes their provisions do not last out the voyage, and they are obliged to purchase of the captain or others on board, (who have prepared for the exigence,) and thus their little savings to recommence life with, are all swallowed up to support existence. I believe that what they suffer is dreadful; and if ever there was a case which would call forth patriotism and sympathy, it is the hardships of these poor people. Allowing emigration not to be a national question, still it is a question for national humanity, and all this suffering might be alleviated at comparatively a very trifling expense.

If two or three of our smaller line-of-battle ships now lying at their moorings, were to be jury-rigged, without any guns on board, and manned with a sloop's ship's company, they would not decay faster by running between Quebec and this country than if they remained in harbour. One of those vessels would carry out 2,500 men, women, and children. Let the emigrants take their provisions on board, and should their provisions fail them, let there be a surplus for their supply at the cost price. Under this arrangement, you would have that order, cleanliness, and ventilation which would insure them against disease, and proper medical attendance if it should be required; you would save thousands of lives, and the emigrant, as he left the ship, would feel grateful for the benefit conferred. But the assistance of government must not end here: the emigrant, on his arrival, is adrift; he knows not where to go; he has no resting-place; he is a perfect stranger to the country and to every thing; he exhausts his means before he can find employment or settle: other arrangements are therefore necessary, if the work of charity is to be completed. Indeed, the want of these arrangements is the cause of a very large proportion of the Canadian emigrants leaving our provinces and settling in the United States, where they can immediately find employment; and Americans, agents of the land speculators, are continually on the look-out in Canada, persuading the emigrants, by all sorts of promises and inducements, to leave the provinces and to take lands in the States, belonging to their employers. Every emigrant lost to us is a gain to America; and upon the increase of the English population depends the prosperity of the Canadas, and our best chance of retaining them in our possession.

Both Upper and Lower Canada have one great advantage over most of the other territories of the United States, which is, that they are so very healthy; the winters in both provinces are dry, and, in Upper Canada, they are not severe; and the summers are cool, compared with those of the United States. Indeed, in point of climate, they cannot be surpassed; and I rather think, independently of its fine soil, which enables it to grow every thing (for even tobacco grows well in Upper Canada), that in mineral richness it is not to be exceeded. It abounds in water-power, and has several splendid rivers. As soon as the roads are made (for that is the present desideratum in the Upper Province), I have no hesitation in asserting, that it will be, of all others, the most favourable spot for emigration. It is a man's own fault if, with common industry, he does not, in a few years, secure competence and the happiness arising from independence, when it is accompanied by that greatest of all blessings--health.

There has been so strange and continued a system of misrule on the part of the mother-country with respect to these provinces, that I am not surprised at any thing which takes place; but it is certain that the emigration to the Canadas has been very much checked by the Government itself.

The price of land in the United States is fixed at a dollar and a quarter per acre; be it of the best quality, full of minerals, or with any other important advantages, the price is still the same. The set-up price in Canada is two dollars per acre. If no more is offered it is sold at that sum, but at no less. Now, whatever the Government may imagine, I can assure them that this difference in the price is considered very important by those who emigrate, and that thousands who would have settled in Canada, have, in consequence, repaired to the United States, much to our disadvantage; and this appears so contradictory, as the Government have very unwisely parted with enormous tracts of the best land, selling them to a Company at a price which, with facilities for payment, reduces the price paid per acre by this Company, to, I think, about one shilling and three-pence, and for which the Company now charge the same price as the Government; thus giving a bonus to speculators which they refuse to those who wish to become _bona fide_ settlers. I never could comprehend the grounds upon which they were persuaded to so unwise an act as that. The lands were sold to the Company before the present Government were in power, but why the price of the land still in possession of the Crown should be raised higher than in the United States I cannot imagine. Sound policy would reduce it lower, for the increase of wealth in the province must ever consist in the increase of its population.

There are in Upper Canada several villages of free negroes, who have escaped from the United States, and should it be considered at any time advisable to remove any of the West Indian population, it would be very wise to give them land on the Upper Canada frontiers. The negroes thrive there uncommonly well, and have acquired habits of industry; and, as may be supposed, are most inveterate against the Americans, as was proved in the late disturbances, when they could hardly be controlled. They imagine (and very truly) that if the Americans were to obtain possession of Canada, that they would return to slavery, and it is certain that they are not only brave, but would die rather than be taken prisoners. This is a question worth consideration, as out of an idle and useless race in the West Indies may be formed, at very little expense, a most valuable frontier population to these provinces. I am happy to perceive that, in the Report of Lord Durham, the importance of these provinces to the mother country is fully acknowledged.

"These interests are indeed of great magnitude; and on the course which your Majesty and your Parliament may adopt, with respect to the North American colonies, will depend the future destinies, not only of the million and a half of your Majesty's subjects who at present inhabit those provinces, but of that vast population which those ample and fertile territories are fit and destined hereafter to support. No portion of the American continent possesses greater natural resources for the maintenance of large and flourishing communities. An almost boundless range of the richest soil still remains unsettled, and may be rendered available for the purposes of agriculture. The wealth of inexhaustible forests of the best timber in America, and of extensive regions of the most valuable minerals, have as yet been scarcely touched. Along the whole line of sea-coast, around each island, and in every river, are to be found the greatest and richest fisheries in the world. The best fuel and the most abundant water-power are available for the coarser manufactures, for which an easy and certain market will be found. Trade with other continents is favoured by the possession of a large number of safe and spacious harbours; long, deep, and numerous rivers, and vast inland seas, supply the means of easy intercourse; and the structure of the country generally affords the utmost facility for every species of communication by land. Unbounded materials of agricultural, commercial and manufacturing industry are there; it depends upon the present decision of the Imperial Legislature to determine for whose benefit they are to be rendered available. The country which has founded and maintained these colonies at a vast expense of blood and treasure, may justly expect its compensation in turning their unappropriated resources to the account of its own redundant population: they are the rightful patrimony of the English people, the ample appanage which God and Nature have set aside in the New World for those whose lot has assigned them but insufficient portion in the Old. Under wise and free institutions, these great advantages may yet be secured to your Majesty's subjects; and a connexion, secured by the link of kindred origin and mutual benefits, may continue to bind to the British Empire the ample territories of its North American provinces, and the large and flourishing population by which they will assuredly be filled."

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Note 1. The building of this Church was undertaken by the inhabitants of Peterborough and its vicinity, belonging to the church of England. In 1835 it was commenced, and, by great exertions, opened for Divine worship in December 1836, though not altogether finished. Nine hundred pounds was raised by voluntary contributions, not one farthing having been given by any public body to it. The gentlemen composing the building committee are responsible for the remainder due, being five hundred pounds. An advertisement for subscriptions to liquidate this debt has been for some weeks past inserted in a London newspaper.

VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER FOUR.

THE CANADAS, CONTINUED.

Previous to my entering into a further examination of the Canada question, it will perhaps be better to recapitulate, in as few words as possible, what has already occurred, and the principal causes of the late insurrection.

When the Canadian provinces were reduced by the British arms, the inhabitants, being entirely French, were permitted to retain their own laws, their own language in Courts and public offices, and all their vested rights which had been granted to them by the French government. It was a generous, but, as it has been proved, an unwise policy. The form of government, as an English colony, was proposed, and acceded to by the French population, who, gratified by the liberality of their new rulers, cheerfully took the oath of allegiance. For many years, indeed it may be said until the close of the war of 1814, the population remained almost entirely French. England had been so long engaged in war, and the annual expenditure of life in her armies and her navies was so great, that she could not permit, much less encourage, emigration.

At the close of the war of 1814, the census of the population in the two Canadian provinces was as follows:--In Lower Canada, between three and four hundred thousand; in Upper Canada, from thirty to forty thousand, of which nineteen-twentieths were of French extraction. But the emigration during the last twenty-five years of peace has made a considerable change. The population of Lower Canada has increased to six hundred thousand, and that of Upper Canada now amounts to upwards of four hundred thousand. As the emigration has been almost wholly from the British dominions, it may be now fairly assumed that, taking the two provinces together, the English and French population are now on a par as to numbers; the English preponderate in the Upper province as much as the French do in the Lower. But if we are to consider the two nations of settlers as to their respective value as emigrants to the provinces, on the point of capital, industry, and enterprise, the scale will descend immediately in favour of the English population. The French are inactive, adverse to speculation, or even improvement. Every _habitant_ is content with his farm as handed down to him by his progenitor, and the higher classes who hold the seigneuries are satisfied with their seignorial rights and the means of exaction which they afford to them. The privileges of these seigneurs, or lords of the manor, in Lower Canada, are very extensive, and a bar to all improvement or advance. They hold the exclusive right of hunting and fishing; all the water privileges, such as the erection of saw-mills, etcetera, are insured to them. The _habitant_ is even compelled to send his flour to be ground at the mill of the lord of the manor. At the sale of every property, the lord of the manor receives one-twelfth of the proceeds. Thus, if a farm worth a few hundred pounds was to fall into the hands of an enterprising man, and he was to raise it to the value of thousands, more than the prime-cost would be deducted for the lord of the manor if he were compelled to part with it. This, with the other impediments to enterprise, has left Lower Canada in a state of quiescence, and the emigrants who have gone over have passed it by that they might settle on the more fertile and free province of Upper Canada. One of the writers in the daily press of New York has very truly remarked:--

"When the British first obtained the Canadas, its commerce consisted of a few peltries, conveyed to France by the vessels which brought out the troops and carried back the disbanded regiments. The lumber trade was unknown. The importations were a nonentity. While at present many hundreds of vessels are engaged in the direct timber trade, and more than one hundred and fifty vessels have been frequently counted on the river St Lawrence. These, it must be remembered, are almost exclusively owned by British merchants; while the French Canadians own the land in the same proportion as the English do the trade."

It was the knowledge of these facts, and that the English were every year rising in importance, (for they had not only secured the whole trade, but were gradually occupying the more fertile land of the Upper province,) which has created the jealousy and ill-will, and has been such a source of irritation to the French inhabitants of the Lower province. I have dwelt upon these facts because there is a very general opinion (which has most unfortunately been acted upon by our Government), that the legislature of the province should be guided by the interests of the majority, and this they have considered to be in favour of the French population; whereas in numbers they are about equal, and in point of wealth and importance, the English population are most decidedly in the advance; besides that, the former population would willingly separate themselves from the mother-country, and therefore deserve but little favour, while the latter are loyal and attached to it. The French having the ascendancy of five to one in the Lower province, have done all they can to check improvement. Public works which have cost large sums, have remained uncompleted, because the House of Assembly in the Lower province has refused to allow them to be carried on. Indeed, had the Lower province been allowed to continue in her career of opposition, she would have eventually rendered difficult all communication between the Upper province and the mother-country.

This is acknowledged in Lord Durham's report, which says:--

"Without going so far as to accuse the Assembly of a deliberate design to check the settlement and improvement of Lower Canada, it cannot be denied that they looked with considerable jealousy and dislike on the increase and prosperity of what they regarded as a foreign and hostile race; they looked on the province as the patrimony of their own race; they viewed it not as a country to be settled, but as one already settled; and instead of legislating in the American spirit, and first providing for the future population of the province, their primary care was, in the spirit of legislation which prevails in the old world, to guard the interests and feelings of the present race of inhabitants, to whom they considered the newcomers as subordinate; they refused to increase the burthens of the country by imposing taxes to meet the expenditure required for improvement, and they also refused to direct to that object any of the funds previously devoted to other purposes. The improvement of the harbour of Montreal was suspended, from a political antipathy to a leading English merchant who had been the most active of the commissioners, and by whom it had been conducted with the most admirable success. It is but just to say, that some of the works which the Assembly authorised and encouraged, were undertaken on a scale of due moderation, and satisfactorily perfected and brought into operation. Others, especially the great communications which I have mentioned above, the Assembly showed a great reluctance to promote or even to permit. It is true that there was considerable foundation for their objections to the plan on which the Legislature of Upper Canada had commenced some of these works, and to the mode in which it had carried them on; but the English complained that, instead of profiting by the experience which they might have derived from this source, the Assembly seemed only to make its objections a pretext for doing nothing. The applications for banks, railroads, and canals were laid on one side until some general measures could be adopted with regard to such undertakings; but the general measures thus promised were never passed, and the particular enterprises in question were prevented. The adoption of a registry was refused, on the alleged ground of its inconsistency with the French institutions of the province, and no measure to attain this desirable end in a less obnoxious mode, was prepared by the leaders of the Assembly. The feudal tenure was supported, as a mild and just provision for the settlement of a new country; a kind of assurance given by a committee of the Assembly, that some steps should be taken to remove the most injurious incidents of the seignorial tenure, produced no practical results; and the enterprises of the English were still thwarted by the obnoxious laws of the country. In all these decisions of the Assembly, in its discussions, and in the apparent motives of its conduct, the English population perceived traces of a desire to repress the influx and the success of their race. A measure for imposing a tax on emigrants, though recommended by the Home Government, and warranted by the policy of those neighbouring States which give the greatest encouragement to emigration, was argued on such grounds in the Assembly, that it was not unjustly regarded as indicative of an intention to exclude any further accession to the English population; and the industry of the English was thus retarded by this conduct of the Assembly. Some districts, particularly that of the Eastern Townships, where the French race have no footing, were seriously injured by the refusal of necessary improvements; and the English inhabitants generally regarded the policy of; the Assembly as a plan for preventing any further emigration to the province, of stopping the growth of English wealth, and of rendering precarious the English property already invested or acquired in Lower Canada."

It may be said, that latterly the French party, by the inconsiderate yielding of the Government at home, legislate for both provinces; and finding that they never could compete with the English in other points, their object has been to crush them as much as possible. [See Note 1.] The policy pursued by M. Papineau and his adherents, has therefore been to keep the Lower Province entirely in the hands of the French, and with this view they have as much as possible, prevented British settlers from obtaining land in Lower Canada; and that their rule might be absolute, over the French population, they have prevented their education, so that they might blindly follow those who guided them. These two assertions will be fully borne out by an examination into the public records.

The land being almost wholly in the possession of the French, M. Papineau's first object was, to make the possession of _landed property_ the tenure by which any employment of the trust under government could be held; and in this great object he succeeded. It must at once be perceived that, by this regulation alone, all British residents were excluded, and that if possessed of capital to any amount, whatever their stake in the colony might be, they were ruled and dictated to by the French party. No person could be an officer in the militia unless he was a landowner. The wealthy English merchant had to fall into the ranks, and be ordered about by an ignorant French farmer, a man who could not write or read, but made his cross to any paper presented to him for his signature.

By another enactment the grand juries were to be selected from those who were land-owners, and the consequence was, that in two grand juries selected in two succeeding years, there was only one man who could write or read out of the whole number, and the others fixed their cross to the bills found.

What was still more absurd was, that the office of trustee for the schools could only be held by the same tenure, and in the Act passed, it is provided, that the trustees for national education may be permitted to affix their _cross_ to the school reports, a more convincing proof of the state of ignorance in which the Canadian French population have been held and acknowledged to be so by the French party, by the making such a proviso in the statute. I had a convincing proof myself of the ignorance of the French population during the rebellion in Lower Canada. I handed a printed circular to about four hundred prisoners who were collected, for one of them to read aloud to the rest, and there was not one who could read _print_.

Having secured the party in the province, the next object of M. Papineau and his adherents was, to blind the Government at home: they sent home a list of grievances which required redress, and in this they were joined by the English republican party. Among other demands, they insisted upon the right to the Lower Assembly having the control of the colonial revenues. So earnest was the Government at home to satisfy them, that every concession was made, and even the last great question of controlling their own expenditure was consented to, upon the sole condition that the civil list, for the payment of the salary of the governor and other state officers, was secured.

What was the conduct of M. Papineau and his party as soon as they had gained their point? They immediately broke their faith with the Government at home, and refused to vote the sum for the civil list.

For three years, the governor and all the public officers were without their salaries, which were at last provided for by a vote of the English Parliament at home. This nefarious conduct of the French Party had one good effect, it created a disunion with the English republican party, who, although they wished for reform, would be no participators in such a breach of honour.

That for many years there has been sad mismanagement on the part of the Government at home, cannot be denied, but the error has been the continual yielding to French clamour and misrepresentation, and the Government having lost sight of the fact that the English population were rapidly increasing, and had an equal right to the protection of the mother-country. It is the English population who have had real cause of complaint, and who are justified in demanding redress. The French have been only too well treated, and their demands became more imperious in proportion to the facility with which the Government yielded to them in their earnest, but mistaken, desire to put an end to the agitation of M. Papineau and his party. Mistaking the forbearance of the English government for weakness, M. Papineau issued his inflammatory appeals; the people were incited to rebellion; but even this conduct did not seem to rouse the Government at home, who had probably formed the idea that the French Canadian was too peaceful to have recourse to arms. Emboldened by the conduct on the part of the Government, which was ascribed to fear, and finding themselves supported by Mr Joseph Hume and Mr Roebuck at home, the republican party in Upper Canada openly declared itself, and a portion of the Canadian press issued the most treasonable articles without molestation. The Americans were not idle in fomenting this ill-will towards the mother country in the Upper Province, and the Papineau party proceeded to more active measures. Arrangements were made for a general rising of the Lower Province; the meeting of St Charles took place, and resolutions were passed of a nature which could no longer be overlooked by the Provincial Government. For many months previous to the meeting at St Charles, the Provincial Government had been aroused and aware of the danger, and Lord Gosford perceived the necessity of acting contrary to the orders received from home. Proofs had been obtained against those who were most active in the intended rebellion, and at last warrants were issued by the Attorney-General for their apprehension. It was this sudden and unexpected issue of the warrants which may be said to have saved the provinces. It defeated all the plans of the conspirators, who had not intended to have flown to arms until the _next Spring_, when their arrangements would have been fully made and organised. This fact I had from Bouchette, and three or four of the ringleaders, whom I visited in prison. They intended to have had the leaf on the tree, and the cold weather over, before they commenced operations; and had they waited till then the result might have been very serious, but the issue of the warrants for the apprehension of the leaders placed them in the awkward dilemma of either being deprived of them, or of having recourse to arms before their plans were fully matured. The latter was the alternative preferred; and the results of this unsuccessful attempt are well described in Lord Durham's report:--