Chapter XII: Part 12

In Canada, also, there is a much greater opening for young men acquainted with any business or profession that can be carried on in America, than there is in the United States. The expence of settling in Canada would be far less also than in any one of the States; for in the former country the necessaries and conveniencies of life are remarkably cheap, whilst, on the contrary, in the other they are far dearer than in England; a man therefore would certainly have no greater anxiety about the future success of a family in Canada than in the United States, and the absence of this anxiety, according to Mr. Cooper, _is the great inducement to settle in the States, which weighs with him more than all other considerations put together_.

The taxes of Lower Canada have already been enumerated; they are of acknowledged necessity, and much lower in amount and number than those paid in the States.

There are no animosities in Canada about religion, and people of all persuasions are on a perfect equality with each other, except, indeed, it be the protestant dissenters, who may happen to live on lands that were subject to tithes under the French government; they have to pay tithes to the English episcopalian clergy; but there is not a dissenter living on tithe lands, perhaps, in the whole province. The lands granted since the conquest are not liable to tithes. The English episcopalian clergy are provided for by the crown out of the waste lands; and all dissenters have simply to pay their own clergy.

There are no game laws in Canada, nor any excise laws whatsoever.

As for the observation made by Mr. Cooper in respect to the military, it is almost too futile to deserve notice. If a soldier, however, be an object of terror, the timid man will not find himself at ease in the United States any more than in England, as he will meet with soldiers in New York, on Governor’s Island, at Mifflin Fort near Philadelphia, at the forts on the North River, at Niagara, at Detroit, and at Oswego, &c. on the lakes, and all through the western country, at the different posts which were established by General Wayne.

In every other respect, what Mr. Cooper has said of the United States holds good with regard to Canada; nay more, it must certainly in addition be allowed by every unprejudiced person that has been in both countries, that morality and good order are much more conspicuous amongst the Canadians of every description, than the people of the States; drunkenness is undoubtedly much less common amongst them, as is gambling, and also quarrels.

[Sidenote: OBSERVATIONS.]

But independent of these inducements to settle in Canada, there is still another circumstance which ought to weigh greatly with every British emigrant, according to the opinion even of Mr. Cooper himself. After advising his friends “to go where land is cheap and fertile, and where it is in a progress of improvement,” he recommends them “to go somewhere, if possible, _in the neighbourhood of a few English_, whose society, even in America, is interesting to an English settler, who cannot entirely relinquish the _memoria temporis acti_;” that is, as he particularly mentions in another passage, “he will find their manners and conversation far more agreeable than those of the Americans,” and from being chiefly in their company, he will not be so often tormented with the painful reflection, that he has not only left, but absolutely renounced his native country, and the men whom he once held dear above all others, and united himself, in their stead, with people whose vain boasts and ignorant assertions, however harsh and grating they may sound to his ears, he must listen to without murmuring.

Now in Canada, particularly in Lower Canada, in the neighbourhood of Quebec and Montreal, an English settler would find himself surrounded by his countrymen; and although his moderate circumstances should have induced him to leave England, yet he would not be troubled with the disagreeable reflection that he had totally renounced his native land, and sworn allegiance to a foreign power; he would be able to consider with heartfelt satisfaction, that he was living under the protection of the country wherein he had drawn his first breath; that he was contributing to her prosperity, and the welfare of many of his countrymen, while he was ameliorating his own fortune.

From a due consideration of every one of the before mentioned circumstances, it appears evident to me, that there is no part of America so suitable to an English or Irish settler as the vicinity of Montreal or Quebec in Canada, and within twenty miles of each of these places there is ample room for thousands of additional inhabitants.

I must not omit here to give some account of a new settlement in the neighbourhood of Quebec, which I and my fellow travellers visited in company with some neighbouring gentlemen, as it may in some degree tend to confirm the truth of what I have said respecting the impolicy of withholding indisputable titles to the lands lately granted by the crown, and as it may serve at the same time to shew how many eligible spots for new settlements are to be found in the neighbourhood of this city.

We set off from Quebec in calashes, and following, with a little deviation only, the course of the River St. Charles, arrived on the margin of the lake of the same name, about twelve miles distant from Quebec.

[Sidenote: RIVER AND LAKE ST. CHARLES.]

The River St. Charles flows from the lake into the bason, near Quebec; at its mouth it is about thirty yards wide, but not navigable for boats, except for a few miles up, owing to the numerous rocks and falls. In the spring of the year, when it is much swollen by floods, rafts have been conducted down the whole way from the lake, but this has not been accomplished without great difficulty, some danger, and a considerable loss of time in passing the different portages. The distance from the lake to Quebec being so short, land carriage must always be preferred to a water conveyance along this river, except it be for timber.

The course of the St. Charles is very irregular; in some places it appears almost stagnant, whilst in others it shoots with wonderful impetuosity over deep beds of rocks. The views upon it are very romantic, particularly in the neighbourhood of Lorette, a village of the Huron Indians, where the river, after falling in a beautiful cascade over a ledge of rocks, winds through a deep dell, shaded on each side with tall trees.

The face of the country between Quebec and the lake is extremely pleasing, and in the neighbourhood of the city, where the settlements are numerous, well cultivated; but as you retire from it the settlements become fewer and fewer, and the country of course appears wilder. From the top of a hill, about half a mile from the lake, which commands a fine view of that and the adjacent country, not more than five or six houses are to be seen, and beyond these there is no settlement beside that on Stoneham township, the one under immediate notice.

On arriving at the lake, we found two canoes in waiting for us, and embarked on board.

[Sidenote: STONEHAM TOWNSHIP.]

Lake St. Charles is about four miles and a half in length, and its breadth on an average about three quarters of a mile; It consists of two bodies of water nearly of the same size; they communicate together by a narrow pass, through which a smart current sets towards Quebec. The scenery along the lower part of the lake is uninteresting, but along the upper part of it the views are highly picturesque, particularly upon a first entrance through the pass. The lake is here interspersed with large rocks; and close to the water on one side, as far as the eye can reach, rocks and trees appear blended together in the most beautiful manner. The shores are bold, and richly ornamented with hanging woods; and the head of the lake being concealed from the view by several little promontories, you are led to imagine that the body of water is far more extensive than in reality. Towards the upper end the view is terminated by a range of blue hills, which appear at a distance, peeping over the tops of the tall trees. When a few settlements come to be made here, open to the lake, for the land bordering upon it is quite in its natural state, this must indeed be a heavenly little spot.

The depth of the water in the lake is about eight feet, in some places more, in others less. The water is clear, and as several small streams fall into it to supply what runs off by the River St. Charles, it is kept constantly in a state of circulation; but it is not well tasted, owing as is conceived to the bottom being in some parts overgrown with weeds. Prodigious numbers of bull frogs, however, are found about the shores, which shews that springs of good water abound near it, for these creatures are never met with but where the water is of a good quality.

At the upper part of the lake we landed, and having proceeded for about half a mile over some low ground bare of trees, from being annually flooded on the dissolution of the snow, we struck into the woods. Here a road newly cut soon attracted our attention, and following the course of it for a mile or two, we at last espied, through a sudden opening between the trees, the charming little settlement.

The dwelling house, a neat boarded little mansion painted white, together with the offices, were situated on a small eminence; to the right, at the bottom of the slope, stood the barn, the largest in all Canada, with a farm yard exactly in the English style; behind the barn was laid out a neat garden, at the bottom of which, over a bed of gravel, ran a purling stream of the purest water, deep enough, except in a very dry season, to float a large canoe. A small lawn laid down in grass appeared in front of the house, ornamented with clumps of pines, and in its neighbourhood were about sixty acres of cleared land. The common method of clearing land in America is to grub up all the brushwood and small trees merely, and to cut down the large trees about two feet above the ground: the remaining slumps rot in from six to ten years, according to the quality of the timber; in the mean time the farmer ploughs between them the best way he can, and where they are very numerous he is sometimes obliged to use even the spade or the hoe to turn up the soil. The lands, however, at this settlement had been cleared in a different manner, for the trees and roots had all been grubbed up at once. This mode of proceeding is extremely expensive, so that few of those destined to make new settlements could afford to adopt it; and, moreover, it has not been accurately proved that it is the most profitable one; but the appearance of lands so cleared is greatly superior to those cleared in the common method.

[Sidenote: NEAT FARM.]

In another respect also the lands at this settlement had been cleared in a superior manner to what is commonly to be met with in America; for large clumps of trees were left adjoining to the house, and each field was encircled with wood, whereby the crops were secured from the bad effects of storms. The appearance of cultivated fields thus situated, as it were, in the midst of a forest, was inconceivably beautiful.

The economy of this little farm equalled its beauty, The fields, neatly fenced in and furnished with handsome gates, were cultivated according to the Norfolk system of husbandry, and had been brought to yield the most plentiful crops of every different sort of grain; the farm yard was filled with as fine cattle as could be seen in any country; and the dairy afforded excellent butter, and abundance of good cheese.

Besides the dwelling house before mentioned, there were several log houses on different parts of this farm, inhabited by the people who were engaged in clearing the land. All these appeared delighted with the situation; nor were such of them as had come a short time before from England at all displeased with the climate; they informed me, that they had enjoyed perfect health from the moment of their landing, and found no inconvenience from the intense cold of the winter season, which appears such an insuperable objection to many against settling in Canada.

[Sidenote: REFLECTIONS.]

This settlement, together with the township it is situated upon, are the property of a clergyman formerly resident at Quebec. The township is ten miles square, commencing where the most remote of the old seigniories end, that is, within eighteen miles of the city of Quebec; but though within this short distance of a large city, it was almost totally unknown until about five or six years ago, when the present proprietor, with a party of Indians and a few friends, set out himself to examine the quality of the lands. They proved to be rich; the timber was luxuriant; the face of the country agreeably diversified with hill and dale, interspersed with beautiful lakes, and interspersed by rivers and mill streams in every direction. Situated also within six miles of old settlements, through which there were established roads, being convenient to a market at the capital of Canada, and within the reach of society at least as agreeable, if not more so, than is to be found in all America, nothing seemed wanting to render it an eligible spot for a new settlement; accordingly the proprietor made application to government; the land was surveyed, the township marked out, and it was allotted to him merely, however, by a certificate of occupation.

Several other gentlemen, charmed with the excellent quality and beautiful disposition of the lands in this part of the country, have taken up adjoining townships; but at none of them have any settlements been made, nor is it probable that any will be, until the proprietaries get better titles: indeed, it has excited the surprise of a numerous set of people in the province, to see even the little settlement I have spoken of established on land held under such a tenure.

[Sidenote: REFLECTIONS.]

That unexceptionable titles may be speedily made out to these lands is sincerely to be hoped; for may we not, whenever that measure shall take place, expect to see these beautiful provinces, that have so long remained almost unknown, rising into general notice? May we not then expect to behold them increasing rapidly in population, and making hasty strides towards the attainment of that degree of prosperity and consequence, which their soil, climate, and many other natural advantages have so eminently qualified them for enjoying? And surely the empire at large would be greatly benefitted by such a change in the state of Canada; for as the country increased in population, it would increase in riches, and there would then be a proportionably greater demand for English manufactures; a still greater trade would also be carried on then between Canada and the West Indies than at present, to the great advantage of both countries[40]; a circumstance that would give employment to a greater number of British ships: as Canada also increased in wealth, it would be enabled to defray the expences of its own government, which at present falls so heavily upon the people of Great Britain: neither is there reason to imagine that Canada, if allowed to attain such a state of prosperity, would be ready to disunite herself from Great Britain, supposing that Great Britain should remain as powerful as at present, and that Canada continued to be governed with mildness and wisdom; for she need but turn towards the United States to be convinced that the great mass of her people were in the possession of as much happiness and liberty as those of the neighbouring country; and that whatever she might lose by exposing herself to the horrors of a sanguinary war, she could gain no essential or immediate advantages whatsoever, by asserting her own independence.

Footnote 40:

All those articles of American produce in demand in the West Indies
may be had on much better terms in Canada than in the United States;
and if the Canadian merchants had sufficient capitals to enable them
to trade thither largely, there can hardly be a doubt but that the
people of the British West Indian isles would draw their supplies from
Canada rather than from any other part of America. The few cargoes at
present sent from Quebec always command a preference in the West
Indian markets over those sent from any part of the United States.

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

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● Transcriber’s Notes:
○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
○ Typographical errors were silently corrected.
○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only
when a predominant form was found in this book.
○ Text that:
was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_);
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had extra character spacing by “plus” signs (+stretched+).
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following letter or letters was intended to be a superscript, as
in S^t Bartholomew or 10^{th} Century.