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The enthusias lected any cause understand why i the perpetuation tained and faithf that the educate ments may rather to the prejudices) OBSERVATIONS, &c. "- c3 >0 0=* J. HE science of political economy in established na- tions may be said to consist in population, subsistence and revenue ; but in a colony like Canada, it may be comprised in one word, settlement, which is the founda- tion of the other three. Whatever are the causes that have retarded the settle- ment of the country ; they are important and worthy of enquiry; whatever will facilitate it equally ^o. The House of Assembly was directed to this subject by His Excellency's Speech at the opening of the present Parliament, and a Committee has reported upon it. To the vU}andonnient -of the ancient mode of granting lands in Fief or Seigneury and the introdiTCtion of the , tenure of free and common soccage, the Committee attri- butes the unsettled state of the waste lands of the Pro- vince. The enthusiasm of party feeling could not have se- lected any cause so likely to gain popularity. It is easy to imdei'stand why an unlearned peasantry should rejoicain the perpetuation of ancient prejudices, so tenaciously re- tained and &ithfully handed down by their Sires ; but that the educated Chairman should adopt such senti- ments may rather be ascribed to a compassionate deference to the prejudices of others, than to an exertion of the cha- A 3 ^ il vacleristic powers ol his own mind. It would be useless tn quesl.on whether or not Lcwei-Canada possesL a j^ ,^! lation equal to the settlement of the waste lands'- * br m c, her case .t has nothing to do with ihe conclusion Ihe question at issue is not: whether Lower-Canada possesses the capabiHty of populating new SeLeunes tut whether her r^opulation l,L the "^viil to ToT In he catalogue of Canadian virtues, energy and ente mrize have seldom or rarely been admitted ; tlfdr domesticated na ures, undisturbed by ambition, or the wants Ihat i^.. pe others scarcely explore the confines of their own pa- .ish much ^ less a wilderness of uninhabited leaTs Content with the simple tenour of their lives of Ster-' rupled |,rosperity, the richest and happiest peasantry in the wor d, their pre udices a.e littie more than a ffratefu acknow edgment of the blessings they possest ^and to winch they are probably induced^o anticVte h^'" clu- ration Accustomed to society and the bu tie of t ic^ y populated places, It is not to be expected that they w H But were it otherwise, to what cause are we to attri bute the many hundred thousand acres, unconceded " the Se.gneur.es already granted. This appears almot an an wer that the nature of the tenure can aftbrd httb as htXrrt '^'^ P«P"1-^-" ofthewastekndT; sud/auemX'""^ '" "''^ Lttle inclined to make 'an^ Of the advantages and disadvantages of the two tenures he Committee witJ.out hesitation prefers the alien" ine iorthesettlementofanewcountiy; butfo, reasons, wh chin any m.nd unprepossessed by locll habit and assoda.ion willbefound very far from warrantinganysucSuc on' Ihe future operation of such tenure in a more advanced state of society is left totally out ol the quesUon aslf the duty ol legislution were merely to provide for' the ex genc.es of the day and to bequeath eveiy prospective in convenience as a legacy to their executors IlTcl our an cestors been as little solicitous about us we .,Cm i are.| but indifcntly in the boasted .'ilfats of ou coT stitution the Ma^na Charta, and th'e Habeas Corpu Act. Ihat the British descendants upon this conUnent and indeed nj nure by fi..e a en JteJ, is not they made to ancl how liitl them to teiain gothic bulbar I am fully a try, divested ( foj-.nerly accon terms vassal an have, by an ai the most oppr( However ust tions may liav< an enemy, or i\ Barons, yet it will, following the same time of newly acquii countiy", cxtil rulers. From the le that a raostcul istration of the government of I alone is to be a lands. That tl garded, aiidfro It is true thai lands, en Fiefc cation, or disr might have be< many purposes { ed ; but docs i then, that it no His Majesty tythcs to the CI and a Colonial that such indu upon him. Do anv ^iich obli'm and indeea upon every oilv.r, should be panial to the te- nure by hve and comrnon s..cca.r-.. i„ proforence i., tenure en M^ H not at all MupnMng, considering the sacrifice* thevmudetoobtamit; the nat.ne of tlfe tenure iS! and how hltle the polish of civihzutiun xvouhl imS ^Zi. t '■'!"" '''' ""^""''^ '"^''^y "^" '■'« ^"'k^-^t "g^'« of gotliic l)arbnrity. ° try, divested oj all those se, v.ces and oppressions which tonnerly accon.panu-d it ; nor can it be forgotten that the emis vassal and villan., ongn.aliy innocent ui themselves have, by an aversion to li.e. system, descended to us a» tlie most opprobrious opuheis ol'our IanT«aoe However useful, m the early aires, th" Feudal institu- tions may have been towards repelling the incursions of an enemy, or reHistiMg the encroachments of neighbouring Karons yet it seldom or ever was the precursor of good will, following only m the train of conquering armies ; at the same tune the reward of services, and the protection of newly acquired territ<»ries-a tanker iii the heart of a country, exciting and betraying the suspicion of its rulers. ' From the report of the Committee, it would nppear that a most culpable neglect, not to say wilful mal-admin- istration of the colonial government, had existed from the government of I.ord Dorchester downwards, and to which alorie is to be attributed the unsettled stale of the Crown lands .1 hat the orders of his Majesty had been disre- garcled, and from thence only is the iisorder to be traced It IS line that his Majesty authorized l-ord D. to .vrant lands, en I-ief or iSeigneurie, subject to the Royal Ratifi- cation, or disallowance. At this period such ^rrants might have been necessary ibr the Royal Treasmy for many pui poses at that ume, and which have now ceas- ed ; but does It therefore fallow, because itwas granted tlien, tliat it now is to be assumed as a ricdu. His Majesty has likewise authorized ''the' payment of tythcstotheCeifry the administration of French law, and a Colonial PariiauK-nt; but docs it therefore follow tliat such indulgence was. then, or is now, obli-atorv upon him. Oo the articles of caphulation acknowled./e any such obligation on l-.js part or right of theirs ? xN^» ili /■»'' m i i^i 6 Tho h?7il» nStli Sept. ir^O) and tl.e 42d arlicle^ those arntlos, \\liich stipulntp (Wr ilir paympnt of tyihes and the C oniiuno do l»aris, arc lof.iscd : The answer is : " They " become stil)jcets of the King " While the AHsoinl)ly is thus stickling, inch for inch, nboiit nverninent did lienating from ng revenue of s catastrophe ilts wc are to ts of misinter- rd the veteran his adherence ^er, may veiy are to j>rovide the more ad* ibiHty of risk, mt want of a onimittee, the r theassump- dcduced to lever will ar- 2w settlement •^ for sale — a 3rs— a sort of f the. country -a quotation Tverted in its • Confection- in, and that be maintain- eded by slow no great dif- iuch Burplulg produceaj may anse. The influx of new settlers readily absorbs Hll that the el.ler settler can spare; ", d tho h money may not, in all cases, be iho cunen'^v whith money H only the representation of laborj iVe ikbor it e if 8 readdy exchanged for it ; and such is the c leman for labor .n new settlements, that it possesses eveu a "1 e J^ntat.ve value, and is comnmnly^ircnlaLd i R. '" >r c^^ 'q7ec.;\be7;i^ foyed fl'^^v^ podTtr Shot iiirn, IS a selt-evulent propos i on • but if i« „ m=.v:^ that cannot be applicable^o L decL^ou of he supeWor^ ty of either tenure. Whether fet.dal or free, heZd w not produce quicker by any difference in the deeds 1" SirLTfTi' P-^-r»hesun alone ripen-ancUeg" tation Itself have no reference to either. Mutual want=i inclme to mutual assistance, and the settlers depend ml* tf™Ts '" ^*"" "P«"^"y expected assistance S Ifave the Seigneurs of Lower-Canada been found sa much to patronize the efforts of labouring warn, or pro^ due |ve mdustry, as to deserve the prerem.nence so^ n- cautiously admitted ? and if thiy haT why e- scarcet a W 'T '' '^"^ '''''''' «"d there i. PrnvTnl .. !T°"^' g«int s-nce the settlement of the J'rovmce that has not beco. , forfeited to the crown if advantage were taken of this jieglect. ' the settVeTnif'" ''''" P'°''"^' '° ''^'^ "» ^''*^ "^«"n«'- the settlements upon the continent of North America have surmounted the obstacles : either Ist~.«l. for land, in this situation, has by no mea s been found less accumulative than tl,. interest of n.oeT d nu>ney .n th.s country wi'd doui)U- u.cll in twelve yeZ' lownsh.ps, partially settled, will rm;.e than quadSe in the same time. The one syste-, ,,ron,otes a^ compact and oinck settlement ano the\>tl,e.'onl, retards i"^"' ^(lly. Ky the Government nii kia^ a douation to t.Ih.> labor became productive .s was done in Upper- tjnada at the commcnce.nent of iis seitl. n.ent, m 783 thelate mditary sei,!e nents Iv. thai comuuv.' However this position n, be objected to as exi>en r'nel'lT 7""' "-""ect. have Ln most a^^H, respects the Province, nor c.,-. the cont.nnance of i Le. ^ntan objectionable fbar^.e ov. this .ide th. D L ,c. Before the Committee cau i^ronoanee decid.div t on tluy uiuot be HI possession vl some f^cts and huieed some as >. A hniitlrcd li, will contri- lii'ty thousand i;;i)inr, ot'ii-n li all lilt; tiiiiu t'i |H'»»nisL' (o alliinmte lot, ilJMiiiii'^ lumls l)H oai»t riy ac- fapiiilist. can coiiai liiij^ the ' ot! \ears, lo ' labors alone in ■ he 'kvliole uf Tovvn^iiipa wry if^\ have .io tlieir own ^'eedxi much '1 tlic «pctlars 'J'lie settlor r<;,rori it— the ^|jeciilation : <';'ns the cd.n- by no means '81 of money ; twelveyejiirs, 111 quadiuple 8 a compact larcls it. ilonation to iori him, un- 10 in iJppcr- cni, m 1783, ' in some of to as PX}>en- xsi hiippy as ce of it pre- 111' .Atla.i.uc. d','cliy U! on I'lvmaneitcy, indeed some ence8 ut all. People are glad of the opportunity of settling i;. :he neighbourhood and re- quire nothing mor4Jihan the land and liberty to do so. 1 might corroborate this by a reference to the eagerness with which landsin the vicinity v)f Perth and RicTimond nave been bought since those settlements have com- menced. 3dly. " By ilif Government granting th ; lands in a manner to secure the laying out of a suflicient capital by individuals for this purpose with a view to their own pro- fit. Here is in fact a feudal operation under the cloak of tree and common soccage, a combination of many for the benefit of one. letter that the Crown lands should be left to their own comimm fatp and cliance of settlement, than this svstem be continued. The Commiitee calcu- Jate upon the probability of capital being drawn into the country by these means, unfortunately the experiment has realized no such expectation ; and the hope has been abandoned, not only as visionary, but as prejudicial to the general interests of settlement. The liberality of the Government countermines its success. While the Govern- ment is giving one and two hundred acres perfectly unfet- tered and sometimes with great assistance ; is it to be ima, gined that a settler will take half that quantity from a gran- tee ? What equivalant can the Grantee offer, keeping his Qwn interest in view, that will induce this preference 10 "^ere the lands of the Crown only sold, the purchaser of large tracts mit/ht be able to retail his lots more advaa- tageously perhaps to the common settler,thanGoven;meiU \vo>dd think it worth its while to be troubled for in de, tail. But here the settler of the «rst class and the settler of the second class both get their lands for nothing and tins proposition can scarcely operate while such a practice continues. ' Willie capital is considered the powerful engine, that It iH. and necessarily must be, in many cases, this plan will not be without its adv(.cates, hut money in new settlements must not be estimated by its relative value in tajmals and Cities. Here it is the representative of arts, manufactures, Jood and labor But arts, manufactures and food are nothing but subdivisions or representatives of that labor. Uoid and silver do not regulate the value or price of Jabor: m all countries and in all situations, labor alone regulates the value of the precious metals. I ne labor is the primum mobile of every thing In a new settlement, if the industiy of one man produces more than his individual wants require, that surplus is exchanged, either for some other £ > icles that he has necessity for ; or for that which will represent them. liarter is more immediately the process of exchan^p in nevv set! len.ents than in cities, the difficulties may be a little gieater but not insuperable It IS the general ditfiision of capital, the respectable yeomanry of a country, not the' overgrown capitalist or seigneur tiiat increases a nation or a settlement. Capital may be a smew ; but labor is the heart. Great gmnts nmv be very well if it were wanted to raise an hereditary coum.Tl''\ f"""^'' ^"' ''''■ 'he yeomanry to whom I country looks for protection, * ' "The system least onerous," says the Committee, «to the actual setter, is unquestionably the l^'lench System " ot seigneunes." = •.".•' " It is difficult to construct a system of ordinary titihty m general practicability thst may be beneficial or deemed so by every class ol persons by the mere calculation? of theoretic know edge, tor however smooth the materials or however capable of polish some unfortunate facts soon (( 11 purchaser of more tidvan- Govenimeiit fd for III de- id the settler nothing and ch a practice engine, that es, this plan ney in new ive value in lanufactures, ind food are f that labor. ! or price of itions, labor 31IS metals, ling. In a in produces t surplus is that lie has t them, exchange in ?s may be a respectable •apitalist or »t. Capital 5reat grants I hereditary to whom a mittee, "to ?nch System nary' tit ility 1 or deemed :ulation9 of materials or ! facts soon over avoK dispel the illusion. But to gloss evide.nce, which would arise from I'acts easily produced, but discarded only as militating a-ainst a favorite or popular prejudice ; though accompanied by the bitterest mvective, is n-.t always an unequivocal proof of intellec- tual superiority. But to weigh every measure in the scale of political jealousy, to make every matter a subject ot competition ; and leave the interests of a country a sacrilice to the triumph of party, excites an impression that scarcely allows a cliarilable excuse. A display of mgemouB sophistry may be admired by partizans as char- acteri-tic of political consistency ; but will fail in streni^thening political j ustice. It y be proper to sym- pathize with the feelings or even prejudices of a country ; but approbation cannot accompany that willing perver- sion which by the effort of genius, would distort the inia- gmation, "to make the worse appear the better cause." " Under this tenure," adds the Committee, " the actuid settler had sereial advantages : he was not " obliged to disburse any money for his land ; whatever • little stock he possessed might be entirely laid out " upon the improvement of his farm." All these advan- tages are in common to the poorest settler whoever went upon the Crown lands. Why this is stated as any claim to preference which is common to both, is more easy to imagine than to justify. " The Seigneur in certain case;?, not universally, was bound by the conditions of the original grant to open a road to communicate from the most remote settlement in hisseigaeurie to the next concession of ungranted lands therein. He was expected to build a mill,' and the rate oimouture was fixed at a lower rate (l-14th) than it now stands at in the United States, where the greatest com- petition obtains (1- 12)." " The new settler had the countenance, support and assistance of the Seigneur, who was interestecl in effect- ing a settlement to save his Seigneurie from forfeiture, and all this was obtained for a moderate rent." There is hardly any subject or action in the world, however con- tradictory to the received notions of morality or good go- vernment, but may present some fair side oraduTit sotne- thinff in extenuation. These oblicratione nn tb*> no.t q? B 2 12 the Seigneur wete wise and necessary ; and had they been faithfully observed, probably the present enqnii-y might have been unnecessarjr, but they are merely the record of the good intention of the monarch who compell- ed them. The roads upon the presient system of granting crown lands, afford as little exception and are more rigid- ly adhered to. The good ordinances of Louis the four- teenth, are nothing where the neglect of them is attended with no inconvenience ; and which I might, without dan- ger, assert has been committed with impunity in almost every Seigneury granted since his reign. The mill which here makes a figure is nothing upon the settlement ; it is less than nothing ; it becomes an oppressive monopoly ; it obliges the settler to take his grain to an inconvenient distance, one of the last remains- of feudal vassalage. At present, in the new settled Townships, the Mills are one of the first considerations. That a settler may suffer no inconvenience for want of a Mill, a Mill-seat upon the opening of a Township isonly mven under the condition of a flour mill being erected and in operation by the first harvest ; with saw-mills much earlier. Here then there is no monopoly ; other mills soon spring up ; competition is excited ; the rate ofmouture regulat^ «l, and preference only given to vicinity or good work. Surely this ig not inferior lo « the expected Mil cfa Sei' gneuri" If the roads are not as obligatory, they are infi- nitely better observed ; there is a general assessment of labor (which may becommated) upon every Landholder, for the repairing and making of roads, a seivice as wiU lincrly performed as that under any tenure en fief, The '*■ countenance, support and assistance of the Sei- gneur" may be implied or expected— a doubtful tenure I whilst the rent moderate or otherwise is inalienable. The free and common soccage loses nothing so far ; but thero is a train of exactions that are entirely passed'over by the Committee. Po the lods el rentes, crtis et renter, redtvances, droit deretrait, dimede pomon,8ic. constitute any part of the system least onerous to the actual settler ; and can it for a moment be imagined, that the free and common soccage tenure is less advantageous, because it exacts none of these tributes ? Can that which pays a rent, whether moderate or not, be equal to that which is IS ttot encumlwred by any. Wliat advantage to the setUer IS It, that if upon an opportunity of selling or a desire to move, his tenure obhges the payment of the lodsetventet It IS nothingr but a constant property tax, a perpetual ex- cise upon his labor and improvement. It may be said that the lods el ventes are paid by the purchaser; butne- yertUeless such a payment being certain will always bfe taken into the calculation, and were there no such tax tlie settler would get the amount of both. ' But however prejudicial to the interests of a risinff no- puIation,to the interests of children yet unborn, the tenure enjiefmnyhe ; ^ it vanishes in a moment if the opinion of the settler is m its favor ; and particularly if both tenures are open to his choice. In complying with the prejudi^ ces of the country, in cranting en fief. His Majesty wiU only raise a perpetual Revenue. Granting, therefore, m free and common soecage, if unsatisfactory, was certain- ly disinterested. Countries subdued by a despotic Mo- narch ought to be feudatory says Montesqufeu ; but treorge theThird preferred the more modem usage of thte laws of nations. He gave to Canada its own lawf, reserve ing only the political and civil government. It is unne- cesaary to revert to the many struggles which the people ot Lrreat-Britain made in the reigns of Henry the Firat. John, and Henry the Third ; until the Act of Charles tlw feecond abohshed the feodal system and took from that Monarch, his heirs and successors the power of renewing It. Wlule this act betrays the jealous fear of the monaiS chial power of that period, and evinces the anxious cau- tion with which they guarded the interest of posterity, it might create a doubt almost of the competency of His Majesty to grant lands under othei- tenure, than that of free and common soecage-^ 12, Charles the Second, Cap 24, feec. 4. By this Act Charles the Second and his suc- cefflors received and receive permanent duties in lieu of beignioiial rights and dues from their subjects for ever But this 13 not the question at present, though it might 1*^^® i®^" according to the spirit and letter of that Act in 1775 and 1786. The Committee calculates upon a great surplus of agri- cultural population in Lower-Canada, and attributes tSeir want of settlement lo the abandonment ef the ancieRf 14 ttiode of granting lands ]en Jief or Seigneury. However gieat the surplus may be or lamentable the result ; the eflect cannot be traced to any such cause. In Boucliette's History of Canada, speaking only of the District of Que- bec, he says : — " La quantite de terre accordeo en fief ct seigneuiie monte a 4,552,500 acres, ou 5, 109,319 arpents fran^ois ; celle en roture libre et commune il 561,234 acres des anciennes tenures, un tiers ou peut-fiire un pen moins f.st en culture ; dans les Townships la proportion des terres en labour est encore assez petite." — page 388. If so there remains 5,406,203 arpents unsettled °in the District of Quebec ; sufficient, at 100 acres each, for 34,062 settlers. If m the District of Quebec there is a surplus population of 34,000, there must be some other cause more powerful than the introduction of the free and common soccage tenure. An hereditary dislike of change ofplace; a constitutional affection for the vicinity of iheir birth. It can scarcely be imputed to the free and com- mon soccage tenure, for the whole of lands so granted, fiom the Government of Lord Dorchester, in all Lower- Canada, in 1795, down to Sir George Prevost, In J 8 14 amounted only to 2,203,709 | acres ; 1,200,000 less acres than now remain uncultivated in the District of Quebec only, since the reign of Louis the fourteenth. But if all the Seigneuries were examined from Die to Pointe au Baudet, some of which run 20 leagues in depth, and have scarcely any inhabitanis ; others not settled "; 3 concessions ; a quantity of land en fief and seigneury will be found not likely to be settled by the descendants of Lower Canadians during the next centurv. For argument, say the distance from Bic to Pomte au Baudet be 400 miles, and that only 10 miles deep of all the lands already granted are unconceded, theic will remain 48,000,000 of unsettled Acres, nearly enough for half a million of settlers. If the reluctance for settlement does not arise for the reasons I have stated, the feult must be in the Setgneures themselves. It may be in the knowledge of the Committee, that more than the petite rente annudle is demanded by a Seigneur before ho will concede ; if this is not the case, why are the lands en fief, even in the heart of Quebec, at Beauport tor example, unsettled ; and if they do not demand more, and act per- II ry. However the result ; the In Bouchette'8 fistrict of Que- jrdeo en fief ct )9,3I9 arpents me A 561,234 ut-etre un pea la proportion ;."— page 388. settled in the res each, for ebec there is a be some other jf the free and like of change icinity of their free andcom- ds so granted, in all Lower* vost, in J 8 14, 1,200,000 less he District of •urteenth. But Bic to Pointe in depth, and n settled'; 3 and seigiieury B descendants lentury. For to Pointe au lies deep of all d, theio will ly enough for for settlement ted, the fault nay be in the lan the petite before ho will ( lands en fief, for example, , and act pef- 15 fectly upon the faith of their grants, the conclusion must be (providmg that the lands are good,) that the Cana- dians have either an unwillingness to separate and settle or that there is no surp.us agricultural population. In the investigatiori of those causes which retard the settlement of a new country, the Committe has overlook- ed, one perhaps, of more real importance, than all the re- sults of us research ; I allude to the Crown and Cleray Re- serves, which alone contain 2-7 ths of all the land surveyed. Were these Reserves mstead of j/j/crcf »/?W the lots of the actual settlers to be placed altogether in the rear coiices- sions of a Township, thg effect of them would be less prejudicial to the settler. Upon the present method, they operate like the lands ot non-residents, retard the progress of vegetation and compact settlement, and make the expense of roads a greater burthen only to the actual settler. In a political point of view, the ingenuity of an enemy could not have devised a plan so fraught with danger and destruction to the future welfare of this Province, and the interests of His Majesty's Government.