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Montrea' 
 C. V 
 
THE RISE 
 
 OP 
 
 CANADA, 
 
 KKOM 
 
 EABBARISM 
 
 TO 
 
 WEALTH Ai\l) CIVILISATION. 
 
 n Y 
 
 CHARLES ROGER, 
 
 QIEHEC. 
 
 Una inanus oxhmnm t,on,-,t, mnum altera ferrum 
 
 VOLUME I. 
 
 QUEBEC : PETER SINCLAIR. 
 
 MontreJ. H^Rmris^y am] B. Dauson; Toronto, A H. Arm-ur & Co • T n„ 
 C.VV, Andnnvs A-. Cn..i„h,.; Port Hor.o. Jan.es A , s , V v , 
 H. Lour cV Iiroth,.r«, D. AhpIhIu A . r ' i- '^^''■''' 
 
 Bostou. Lieu. ^ «nuv„ ' ^'U.wAL.' Li^J T'''^ 
 
 JUakistun; Loudon, Trubuer «fe Co. 
 
 186C. 
 
ST. MICHEL & DARVEAU. JOB PRINTERS, 
 
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 IS 
 
 Ft- 
 
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TO 
 
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 r,.- First (Jovorm>ran<ui.:uu<"ir' ^1 ! AI.lt'; l-V ; ■--• 48 
 
 IVs(S.,.tri,,„,,,,,,f,,Ki Soldi 'rs ;! I ^ ., '"' '-"f'"'^ ^•" Tu.ui.do. 
 
 1 iif ( ana-ia (.'uinpain- "" .)' i .• ," 49 
 
 M.n,u.tt,.ijoi.,ot-T,;;si:urLa '" t^']l!^^'9'-'-^ '.::'■ ti 
 
 •^- - ""'' i>'^a'i'otM.mtcai;n::;:' ^| 
 
 26 
 
 on Lake Erio ^ ya 
 
 Mouth, of the MiHsissiiu-Murdor 
 
 56 
 
 taiia.la mUd t.. E.io-land .. «^ 
 
 Canada and AV-w Euj^Iand...:::; : 57 
 Quyhoe A.■.t-~T.^xut.on without 
 Kepr.'sentation 
 
 57 
 
 58 
 
11. 
 
 CIIAPTEIJ ri 
 
 PAUK 
 
 1' 'pfMciititi'tn in tlio IinpiTifil Pmi 
 
 i.'imi'ht !")!• 
 
 ^I'MifiT'iiiicry's Iiiv;i.>,i(iii '•() 
 
 \iiu>lil — Miiiitj^oiiirry — Alli'ii.. . 01 
 'rtit' Ainorii'H'i Mci.''' — iK-atli nf 
 
 Moiit!.'oiiii I V ii\i 
 
 liiijt;|i('iuic'iic«' I{i.!t»isi il liy till" C'n- 
 
 tti'i!i'' <'li rtry 015 
 
 'I'lif Aini'viriiii Sii'p" Uai-'fil M 
 
 ln.lc|ii-n,|.int' — Di'li'nt oi'IS/ium . (!,'» 
 
 The Siiiicii'lci' <iMiurjfi>>iii' i'Al 
 
 Wfnti'iii C'amula iliviili-d into Dis- 
 tricts C7 
 
 IJivi-iionsiif'flif Pro\iiietM)fQueboc fi** 
 
 l<i*rj Doiclnstoi" (>!< 
 
 <tM\t'iii<n-(c(n( lal rl'i'^rdtt ?(• 
 
 <«i.iv>'riniiMiliirs. 'i \ 
 
 'flu- Uinal Jii.><litiitiiiii Fiiiuiili'ii. . . 7"2 
 t.'uitivatum ot' H(iri|i — Land Jtlt- 
 
 hijiy; T'.t 
 
 I'lif Ijacliiiit'j (.'aiKil — 'Pile UuoIh 
 
 Act I"! 
 
 "I'liuiiy Hitiist's E.stalilislioil — An 
 
 Aiitiifiiiii^m 70 
 
 Ml Dimi!, A'lniiiii'<tritor ., 7ri 
 
 I |)i>i«r ( iiiJi'la — Till' .Separation 
 
 A.-t 77 
 
 Ui'batc I'll tik.' Si'imration Act 7r' 
 
 Mr Fio's .Sp<'ccli 79 
 
 Mi. < 'lianccilor Pilfv SjKUK'h HI 
 
 Ml ![urk(>'.s .SjM'coii H-J 
 
 • /•ivcfiior SimciK' ami his I'arlia- 
 
 mciit ii'^ 
 
 1 'ariiainuiif ary rrcct'oiliiif^s. 81 
 
 Siiuciie's (.'iiaiactor f^5 
 
 Loriijou Koiimli'il — S'lncof's Prc- 
 
 indioofs ....■ K'l 
 
 Sfli'ction ('fa Soatnt'OoM-nunciit. . ^'7 
 
 Siincoi! and tlic Hon. Joliii Vcnii^r. f^il 
 
 T!i(' Nin\ ark Spectator K> 
 
 I'irst Fiiiiiaineiit of Ujijtor Caiia'ki. 90 
 
 Tlu- Hot.. Vi'U'.T Unsscll Ul 
 
 (Teiieral Hunter, (iuvfrii'ir 02 
 
 liiintiir— New Forts of Kntvy 93 
 
 <."i)llect()rs of Cnstiiuis appointed.. 94 
 
 l*arliaincntary Bu.siuoss 95 
 
 I iraiit and Gore : 90 
 
 l.owei Canada — Itiiportanee. of 
 
 Parliament 97 
 
 Farliaineiit Libelled 9S 
 
 The HonoraMe Herman Uyland... 99 
 
 Mr, Ry lanu'.x hatred of Papacy,. 100 
 
 (iomaiiisiii serion.'^ly tlireateiK'd . . lUl 
 Ni' Roman Catliolic IJishop of 
 
 Quebec 102 
 
 Ml Pies,si.-i and IMr, Att'y. Gtn'l.— 
 
 F2.\l)latiation . W,] 
 
 AN'iw Bislio)) Made — Uyland An- 
 
 ii-rv 104 
 
 rimrches and Ivini iti 'n . - . 
 
 J..oi'I l!i-liop !Str leiiHii 
 
 The ( 'hurch of Kiiul and 
 
 i'he l.ijv.M'nters and F.i>i^c')pacy . . 
 
 Gift "f LX'ft.OOd to til.' K nj— Mjien- 
 
 (er \\ ood. iVe . 
 
 (iarrist'ii i'ipecl/iy — tli Habit.UJtS 
 A IVi'N Hici.d At^eiit 111 L>'iidK»i — 
 
 A Speck 01 Wir- ..... 
 
 Til.' MifsapiaUi' liitli.r.lty Setticd 
 
 I'tM linfi in di'.' Fiiiti ci States 
 
 War Pri'iiarations in ('iiiiaila . ... 
 F)iper Canada — Th" !'• ni.imciit 
 (iovt-rin'r (ieieral Sir .liaie.-; Crai^- 
 Kylnii'r.K Love for 'lie New Go- 
 vernor 
 
 Services uf Sir Ji'iiir-! CraiLi' 
 
 Ml • tiiiti i<f Far!i.uiient 
 
 rii" .Judyre.s 111 Paiiiaiiient 
 
 |-,xpiilsi(pii of Mr Hurt 
 
 Froioirntii'ii rit I'arii.iinent 
 
 y\y F'aiviit ami '-Tie' (.'unadicU " 
 Pisiiir-s.iN t'roiii l!h' Milifia... 
 Mr J'.'inet re-'lrctcil Sjr aker 
 riie War- -Tlu dudiT'- — M- ll.iit 
 Parliaiiieiif Aii;^ri!v IJi>siil\i"l . 
 French Hatred of tl..- Briti.-.!; 
 
 Ufficitils 
 
 C'rai'/'.s Opinion of tile J'rciu'h I'a- 
 
 ii.idiniis 
 
 Gi'inposifioii "('till' A.^."*' in'il". . 
 ^'ilitieation oi the " (mmi-'.'ii Plac" '' 
 
 The Mariello Tovmt-; 
 
 The First Steaiubaat on the St. 
 
 Lawrence 
 
 Diaili (if Wa.-<hiii;,'-t,)n 
 
 No Liberty of lii^ciission in the 
 
 United Stat<'s 
 
 Piesident Jliirr's (Ntiispiracy . .. 
 Madi-<on — Fr.>l<iiii — and ilackson 
 Wasliiiinrton Hiploiiiacy — A ii-*\' 
 
 Parliament 
 
 The Speech from tlo' ThiMiu.- 
 
 The Addre.s.s in 1^'pi}' .. 
 
 The Civil Ijlst 
 
 ('iv'l Li.st Resolution.-* 
 
 The Re.^i'iliitiors Preniatnrc 
 
 .Mr Jii>fice Dv l!.iiii'.> 
 
 An Aiit.'iironisiu — I'arliaiiiciu Di.-;- 
 
 f Ol V'.'il 
 
 Rumors of R ■liellii'ii 
 
 Seiznri' of tli"'" Caiiadien. " 
 
 Sir .Iamii,-i" upon <Jbni\i"ii.- W'vA- 
 
 inp-s 
 
 A ProclamHtioii 
 
 A WariiitiiT 
 
 Mi'<;„"overn;nent of the Cfniiirry . .. 
 An Apolou'v for :Nd--(r'n"eniiiicnr . 
 The Re'l-Tapist and thr ' 'ul.e.i.t 
 
 M.l 
 
 lie, 
 
 107 
 IIH 
 
 |o;.« 
 III) 
 III 
 Jiy 
 
 Hi 
 
 in 
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 ii<> 
 
 117 
 
 11- 
 
 li!> 
 120 
 121 
 122 
 12.« 
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 I2r> 
 
 121) 
 127 
 12- 
 
 12^« 
 
 IMii 
 
 i:n 
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 131 
 
 i;tr> 
 
 i;.: 
 
 139 
 1^1) 
 111 
 142 
 143 
 144 
 14'. 
 
 14(5 
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 149 
 
 ir<o 
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Ill 
 
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 Arr'ijraiiC'' !>»' the Ortumli" . 
 Tilt' Tc'iiir K"M'l i'oiii|)li'f«'il . 
 Mcciiii^ iif ji Nf.v riit'liiMiti III. 
 M-- l<.-.iar.l. M I' . ill pii-oi, . . 
 Wliv Mr IS ilanl >\»ui imt liln r 
 
 rtir.l 
 
 1 'i>i|:ittlific8ti.)ii i(f' Ml.' Jijil'jT'* 
 
 IV> I iJtpnrtnrp of Sir .lam(»i» Crnig.. 1HI 
 
 l."it> Mr I'f.-I .III Cmaili.u! AtVaiis. .. !»'.•,> 
 
 I.''7 Ml. I'.c'l— Sir \ icnry (iiUlm 1(53 
 
 l.^H l,<.-i>ilfttion in rpprr CiiinMlft |IJ4 
 
 lii.Hk.' — ri(«vo«t — The " Little 
 
 I •*•'.• B.lf 1G5 
 
 Mil) 
 
 C'llAI'l Kll III. 
 
 I'.\«;k 
 
 »^i! <'Tpr>T^,'e Pr.'vosr Klii 
 
 • '(H iiiiiu' 1 r l')irli;iiin iif J(>7 
 
 HiiiliiHiinii'iii .ii ilic Miiiiia l(i*< 
 
 ])• fiara'i.iii ot W ir l>v liir 1,'iiitcil 
 
 <rat.s * . lli!) 
 
 Tl.n H.-nrv I'lot lio 
 
 HoTin '.s hvdcliL'iy 171 
 
 Thr Am. lii'tiii Min.irify's IVar.x. . 17'^ 
 I'liiicii Suit.'- uiinr<|>arfil fur 
 
 War 17:? 
 
 1'}) ■ K.'iiiiin in V'aiuidn ' 174 
 
 Army Hiilji — l'ror.ip^ari.«n ot' I'.ii 
 
 liaiiK'iit l/.'i 
 
 The .Sfi'. Ciairo Rjiu 17ti 
 
 T.it' IViiiiim'iif'nu'iif ot' Hi>>:ti!itlr)j 177 
 
 Siirr'MKl. I- of Muiiilliniaikiiiat .. 17H 
 (,.1'ii.r.il liill. — rn'i'laiiiation — 
 
 Aiiiii«'i.siliur:c" • •- 17!) 
 
 0:yiii<ivt!.ij.iratiiii)s li\ tiic UritiHli. IHI 
 
 'I 111' Hurt if oi' M.'!).Min!J;o l-l 
 
 r..ii;ilianlii!tiil 01 i ).'rr.^it H'J 
 
 ^iinciuliM- .;tO<"ii.'ial lliiil ItiU 
 
 Hull in Mdiiti-cal— Ihs F.x.mimv... l!?4 
 SurroiuliT .it" II. M !*>. ••(tuenicrc" 
 
 — Th,> l:'l>rlit 185 
 
 Tiii^ •• riiiriiicn' " a vvp'ok l~t? 
 
 Al'aniioiiiiKiit lit' till' •' (Micrtii.ro.' Ir7 
 Till- Nonlcrn f>tati!s i'latii"i'"iis fur 
 
 yiw,' JfW 
 
 Thi' ilat'.lc (if (^uoenstuu — Doatli of 
 
 !5i'>.kf i>-»n 
 
 Th.' Vli'ti.rx — Tlii-nunal of Hn.cki' !!»(» 
 
 Thrt " Pri'si.ltMit " anil • IV'lvi.lcra " i!.>i 
 
 Tho " Fmil,'- an.l t'l.- " Wa^j.. " lihi 
 Thti *' .Vlai'i'ildiiiau '' and '•liii'nl 
 
 vStat's. % V\\ 
 
 Tho L.m'.s of thi- AamiiaUv I'M 
 
 Tlin " C«>n>r!:iition ' an.l tli" 
 
 '•Java' VX> 
 
 ("aptnro oi' th" ".lava" — Sjiiiii . ( 
 
 '■ TiK.' Ti.ii.'.^." ]'X> 
 
 <ieniTals M\('a)Vi' and .>»iiiyrh ..... 11)7 
 
 Tlip Kln?ts on f'i»^ J.akt^s ]0'< 
 
 Dc .Salah-vry— Larolk'. . 1^H> 
 
 DwiH "tin's k.'ivcat. 'JOii 
 
 tjnn I ii'ri AUt'ui J)* ol l^ji" "J"! 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Mtv'tinjj of tlif Lovfpr Tanadian 
 
 I'nrliaiiii'iit 202 
 
 Till' I'linalint J'.>t>li/i^'— Mr Jan. 
 
 ."^fiiaif 20^ 
 
 I'locinlinp.'* of I'ailiaiiit'iit ^tM 
 
 Ml- UylanJ on tiir I'n.ss . 205 
 
 'ill.' 'Mcrrniy " n|>oi', Mr. ^«fual•l 206 
 
 <>|itiiin^'' of flV iif\i <'ani|iaif:n . 207 
 
 l<atfl.« at tlir Kiv.T 1,'aism 208 
 
 (iii'iit F.\i'!ti'.i,^ on Imiiii sitlcs... 209 
 Iiniii'ii li Ml.s,•l|lllu•ln•ll^illu of Ca- 
 
 iialian l.'r.si.iiiT's 210 
 
 As- mlf at o^I.l.n.Nl.uriX 211 
 
 <'a|ifnr(' of Toronto 212 
 
 Fori tjioor^i.' m.un nji 213 
 
 Tlu' Aiii'-iicaiis '^iirjiiisoj 214 
 
 r.laii; KVick—Saikott.-i Harbour.. 215 
 
 The Atf.'-.ir iif Saiki'crs Harhmn . 216 
 
 In'li'(i>ion of Sir (.o'nrcji' lV..-vo8t.. 217 
 rii.xnicrssfiil As.'^anl- upon San- 
 
 'i'l^ky 218 
 
 Stiipi.liiy of tlio Kiiglish Military 
 
 nf|)aitiiii'nt.s 219 
 
 f'aptnrc of two War Vessels nt Isle 
 
 A ii.\ N.,)i.\ 220 
 
 Pi.ittsliiiri; ("ai.tuivd 221 
 
 Wi.vlniii tlini.si uiK.n tho AJ- 
 
 niivalty 222 
 
 riu' '• JSliauuoa " and " Chc!»a- 
 
 rji>aki>. " .... 223 
 
 The Fi-iit—Tiio Triumph 224 
 
 ".VrMH, •• A '• r.'liian "— "I{o.\er" 
 
 vV " F'.nterprise 225 
 
 Ti-fivolliii^ir-Tlii'Tlionsand Islaudfi. 226 
 
 (r'loso frnk— Till Attack 227 
 
 Yi.rk— C'apfmv of tiio '• Julia" & 
 
 '■ tM-.ovler "... 228 
 
 F.ii;:at.i''U' lit on l,aki' Ontano — 
 
 Tiio .Mi^ha|. ivy 
 
 Hnn'l!i_\ ;m(i 1 '. r"y 23D 
 
 Tilt' IJaltle — ri'.e AnH.'iie.nr..«. vieto- 
 
 H"US 2Sl 
 
 rrmtor's Kotro.'it-Kenluckv Moun- 
 
 t'll Ifitic-s ' 232 
 
 n.'ath of T.Tnn>-.'li— Fli|,'ht of 
 
 I'l-Ofi"! 2J3 
 
IV. 
 
 (ii'U"r;il I'liii'tor ivpriiimmltsl hm.I 
 
 -ii>|(i inl' i| .. ... 'SM 
 
 I'lir uitciiticd atfiirl\ .i|M>iiM>iiitri'iil '.':(■'» 
 
 !>• Sal;ili,.i|-y ,i||,i lij, \ ,,l<|jr,.uis «j;l() 
 
 'I'll" Mfitllf tif I'liJiiiMu^iiiiy '>;J7 
 
 Kxti'lli'llt -tVi'it orinusii; u'-i-i 
 
 I'lu' (!.'mfi(liaiiH Vii'torUmtt "iw.l 
 
 Wiikinsiiir^ iJi'si'fiit of tln' Uiipicis '.'lo 
 
 * 'liiv>tl. i'« I'.-inii '.'Jl 
 
 I'Ih- Attiuk I'M Mdtitii 111 jilmii- 
 
 lii'llr.) ... v,'4v! 
 
 tJtii hiiiiiMnoii'l — I'll!"'!' ^•'■'UKitl.i *Ji:{ 
 
 Assail 11 and ('a]>turc.i| t'..rl Nij'jrara '.'-J i 
 
 Ntiituiiial Attaok <jn limck liwk <\:^ 
 
 n,.' K"tival .'f llic Airi'.viiuiis . 'i|(> 
 
 r 'riuiiKitiini ot tin' Caiiiiiaiirii. . . :i47 
 ri'isj.ciity (i( (,'jinttila iluiiiijf tlif 
 
 War •Jl'^ 
 
 I'arllaiiiciil— I'lipi , (uiiada •.'!'.• 
 
 I'll'- I'HrliaiiKMit til' l.,ovv( r I'ariada. ',''>it 
 
 rill' Sjircfh an 1 I'tic K .'|>ly '^-^l 
 
 I'll .pijwnl Iiit!iiiti(' 'lax 'i't'-i 
 
 Ml. UylaU'l and tli- rroviii.'ial 
 
 SxTi'tarv yr/d 
 
 ■^Ii daiiici .stiiarl niidChiff Jiisfice 
 
 s.'w.'l! y:,4 
 
 '1 !n' Ifiilcs (if I'racticc 'S>'> 
 
 Ki>siiliiiii(ii,s amiid al doiiatiian 
 
 Scwcll 'J.m; 
 
 I'lif Im|)'at.'limi'iit '-i-'T 
 
 All I 'ii)ili'asaiit I'o-iitiiMi .. ".'.'■■' 
 
 rliicf Justices Sew ell aiid Moiil, .. -JV.t 
 
 I-'. lid. Ml A;r'M\ts "ftlic I'riiviiu'.' . "itiO 
 I'lii- I'luM^'aiiou— lvus.--i'iii Mi'dia- 
 
 n in 'MM 
 
 ( 'aptiir.' ot tlu' • Kssk-x " W.' 
 
 " Frolii' " A 'Orjilu'Hs ' — " Kpcr- 
 
 ^ vi.'i" A. "P.'ai'ock •■ :.'<;;? 
 
 'I'lie • R..'iiidfnr "and • \Va«ip. \ . "Jtit 
 
 I»ri-iuiicr,s — drii K«'„'t. — liuliaiis ■J()") 
 
 i nr Attack iip.in l-aoill'.- "Jiiri 
 
 I'll" KilK'd and Wmitidi'd-d'lniidt'r iiH? 
 
 I'd'aptiuvs Ki\ riuiid.-r at .Madrid "^ti-* 
 
 < aptiirc »>) Osw'ij'i . . . . 'H)\} 
 
 ■J'li'- Saiidv (.'roi'L Dusimv.s 'JTO 
 
 h'iall'-i Drfcat -JTl 
 
 Till' HatM.- of Ciiipp.'wa 'i^-i 
 
 iU. Halt' • ii.nliniji'd I'Td 
 
 rti'i'- '1 l".ii-l I'irif -.'T J 
 
 crr.M'M 
 
 Di niiiiiM'i ! .Vdiniiiir'tra*or-:n-i'lii"'f 'Ji:5 
 
 Tin- l«'ij:id.>— 'I'iie liilial);taht.s :?!4 j 
 
 ihc Frcncii «.'.iiiaiiian ftiaraot'T. . 'M't , 
 
 ra-liani.-i't— Wat.'d.jo ;!i!) I 
 
 • y\y Native Cit\ '' IM? ' 
 
 I'l.c As.^i'inliiv l,'rn>ur"i ".^l"^ , 
 
 I' M.I 
 
 riic A.-jsaiilt •i".' 
 
 A Kiiti-li I''ii 't on tlif Ainnii'itii 
 
 Cua-i •.'*'» 
 
 AdniiiaM'ockbnrn A (i. u.ral K..** '.'77 
 The l..«-'fri'lntiv. Cnpitui .'f ili.- 1. 
 
 S oaptnrt'.i "'Ti 
 
 1 111' l>. f*Inirtiii|i t>f the l.iliriirir« . ".'TH 
 
 ('apiliilaii.'h el Alixainl'iu. . . . '•'■""' 
 
 l.»"..tli (>r<n iM rai K.isM '.'■"I 
 
 'I'll. Attack nil U dtii.M.n '■i^': 
 
 I'rairii' I'n Cid.'ii and St'. Mali.-.. 'i<i 
 
 .Mmii..' I.sjaiid tak.n piis«<'.s>ii'n lit 'i'^i 
 
 'I'll.' I'.'IlllllSCl't lApcilililHI. . . .. 'i''> 
 
 InvH inn lit' ll'.' I'liitcl Mnti's ... •."iG 
 TiicHriii-li l-'!ci't .Ii'fcatfd in Lake 
 
 (,'liaiiiplain ''■i^-'* 
 
 riu- I'ic-iit iV ll"' S .IT n.lci . . . ■>•> 
 
 '111.' li, :r :t— Sir (;c..r.;-. IV.'M.-t. '-i"* 
 
 (.iiarartcr of Nir (ii'(>i>:i( l'r.v(.»i •.'^"i 
 Ari'iisatiDii iif I'rcvi'.-l Iv .>ir .'.i- 
 
 v.!.. .'.. .. :"■*] 
 
 F.iit Kii. !5|..v,u np i'*'^ 
 
 N.'w Oil. aii«—(icncnd duckbill •.".»• 
 Nature i.r tiic I'ctuiic.s i.f Nov 
 
 nrii'.ars . '-'"U 
 
 rak.'iiliai.!— I'll- .\.-auli ■.'!»■, 
 
 Galiaiit!".- .it I lie 'XM J»c;.'iiiicn» '^'U 
 
 riic l).'t'";f— Tin>rr.t(>n .Sm-cc'^sfni. •.'^>T 
 
 Caplmr .)f I'l it lUiyir— Tlu' I'.'aic v.'.'-i 
 
 1 •ft'i'iu'c ' f rakciiliaiii's cciidiii ! ... '.';•;) 
 
 r ic II.MiMid Oi'iivt ntii.n :'>'ii) 
 
 (i.n.'i'ipii I ci'^i 'if tin War It'iJ 
 
 'Ihc (^analii .Mii'ii 1 l>i.'-l.a!..icd. . ;i'--.' 
 MiM'tin^- iif i'aiiiaiiiiiil in l.nu.'i- 
 
 Caiia.ia ;'.':; 
 
 An A^T'iil — i'niiiic Opii'ii'ii. . ;m4 
 .Sorvife of I'iatc tn Sir ti.oi.' i'r.'- 
 
 v.ist d :. 
 
 Clii.iiU'ti'r Ki I'ri'vcsiasut Ji'.cin.ir. I'ati 
 Clii-i'iif tilt' Si.vs.si(in — tlu- I.,;.. I.ii;.- 
 
 (.'anai •'•'•7 
 
 |*i'i)Ti,.-;s — Kfi..:ill id iSii (<..ii.i« 
 
 I'lovti-; :!i,'S 
 
 lii'.;islatii'n i:i I'pjit r Canailii .... '.\'i'-^ 
 
 Sate iif J'ar'i.r, in I'pitcr raiuul;:. dt') 
 'lile N.'\>.-.pa;».'r a l'e-.lilci.c. in llie 
 
 I.an.i . :;il 
 
 Tlv' liii'i'k M..'1'.ni.ii lit •- (i(.r.-'.> 
 
 lf.-ti.-:i :;i-,' 
 
 « 
 
 I'M-:- 
 
 r»'.s.solnfi'»n ■;*■ I'arii.'.nit hi .... t'.M' 
 
 (>enerai Wilj-'ti .\dinini.''tiatt r. . ;JVil 
 liiforniatitin ''..r tli< C'ult.nial .Se- 
 
 cr.'tiry '''ii 
 
 ."ii .J, dm !<1h-''hr.'oke's Notimi- . A'l i 
 
 T;".' N-.'W r.i iiiu.nt ■<•:"■ 
 
f*U-|n'll-i.<li o| Ml .111 li. r I Ulrl. 1 .'.•.'« 
 
 Til.' riiiff .liisi'uM' i.t iiiitivul. .L'"« 
 
 ■ s,.i. Kii.i;! ' N<i.^>riitliiii . ;tvi> 
 
 M :iiiii(r<'i>ii lit iit'tli<! ( •iiiiiiiKiio .. . '.''il 
 
 rii.' I<;nik.M>i t/u,'ltc<c jtiKl M.iiitii'al. :<•.'■' 
 
 York .'iii-l Kuiu'^toii :L".» 
 
 F.r-t >tci'.iii,'i-.s ,iii til • l.iUi'M ;Wt) 
 
 <lwvirniii< 111 ufljiiiT (!ii"iHii,'i.. . . 'X 
 
 l'jr<i*nititiii« I'lir U|iiiiii>n •> siikiv '.W , 
 
 J M'pli WiUiK-k-«. Vi IM' :V.V\ ' 
 
 i.ifur.' :i:t! 
 
 Til"' l'ri»nt(»Mti'in ... X.'ill 
 
 Kort ij«;ii I'ii)t"NfiiMts — l'ii)iii;.'r'.li(iii ;i;t7 
 
 Uiir.unl'.s I'arli.inifiii.uv Ijiln-i :';H 
 D'ir.iiiil Inipri-iuiti-ii— \Vv;»tt r,^ i 
 
 (J.»r.' ■. XV.i 
 
 Li-.MT i'iiuada Civil lii.Ht IM" I 
 
 1 '^ Iii.^trmtiii;!; — l''oinlii') 341 
 
 V'!iiiilir,itioii 111" liii|ic;i('ltiiii'!it-' ... H •'.' 
 
 .Mr |{\!Hiiii'- Ujiiniiii :;j;; 
 
 i'fu' l'ii:iiiil)lv ChikiI . . . :}»•! 
 
 iiw K.stiiiiati'S— Sr I'.'i.'i Sii..,.i 
 
 <.^»in bt'C ;, ..» I 
 
 LJHint^'^ln;nt ol M'>iitui'iiii>rv — ! 
 
 wiiiiiiK.iia ■. . .;v;o ' 
 
 ilis (;» I'c thi' Diikt' ol' Hii'iiiiion I's 
 
 '?i)l!<'cll - M i 
 
 l{ ■ •rtioUDftlii'l'ivill^i'd — l.uliiin' 
 
 I'.iiml ::i< 
 
 .V ".ililiKniil lm|n;jii'li!iii'iit.^ :i4 ' 
 
 ^lOHl•^ Ki'i'liiiiy cviiu-'d l»y tin" K'';^is- 
 
 ! itiv<- C uuinil :!.'.'>) 
 
 A I'.iiil, S r.iliuJi, ;ui I HiU'- s < asc :l"»l 
 
 .\ 'I'l'sty Spri'i'ii t'loiii 111. TiiriiMt'.. ;V">'2 
 K.;icivu('iiii;il — I'Mpiil'itiui) — Ufinks :•.'>:'. 
 
 S'l I""'' ^ ''*'i'''''* — Mr. (<ouri:iy, . .. . :{:')4 i 
 
 j5''. (ili•|lll,l_v'^ si:llOlil.'< ■.!•".'> 
 
 I ;.)U! lav (irp'sti'd '.<')C> ; 
 
 ii"Uil!iv'* cjcrtnii-nt — I'arli.imi'iit. ;>.'i7 , 
 (i;iVi'nior .Miurluiiil aiil tli'' C'lC.i- 
 
 MMitiuii :'.'.H 
 
 D-Mth oi th.- l^uk.' (if Kiflmifiiui. '^'}'^ ! 
 Ai.tau'oiii'^tii — .M.iitliUti an.] tin L i 
 
 (J. A.>;s.'iiiiyly •M\0 ] 
 
 .\-)ival o( Ijoril DailiDii.M,'. ;i(;i 
 
 I'apiiu'iui'.s .-jpi'i'i'li •{'. Moiurfal. . . . 'MVZ ' 
 D.iiliim.xit^s ojii uiiijj; i>;uliuiiu!iitary 
 
 spi'fch "0:! 
 
 I ;i( liiti-.-* t'tir iiiamit'uoturiiin" in 
 
 1.o\v.'i(';umJ.i :'.G4 
 
 ll'ii:>>ri!jlr .Ji'liii Nci'.suii — Appi-.ir- 
 
 uu'c mill ( iiaiactf'r UGf* 
 
 •.^iLtiTcl of I he Hou.Sfs aixHit Hk' 
 
 Civil i,ist :r.« 
 
 y.Y Atuirtnv Stuart — Tlir Supplies, 
 
 Aic ;?r.7 
 
 Tb,' Lacliim- Canal — SiuocuroOili- 
 
 rt^s !^tW 
 
 A J JitioiH to th". lOxi'C'itivp. Council 'MVt 
 
 u.y 
 
 Jin. C 
 
 l.^.^l ".\llt l"'.'!!!*!! 
 
 Mr Marnatt, M. I' — Muppn)'.; ui 
 
 till' Suppli.->. :!7I 
 
 I'l..' Hu.mriiMi .liiliii IJii liiir.l 
 
 M. 
 
 KOII 
 
 ;{7 
 
 ti.ii'i til'' it>i\ i-iihir 
 
 Dtspiiii' (Mirluil lit ill ■ A.%r*( iiiliiy :t7l 
 
 Kti'i I't lit .•iiitiii,'^ otv till >uppiit s :r7ri 
 
 I 'i 111' I'mniiratluii— U.vlaii Is Alvii'f IS?*! 
 
 l.fj.M-'Inliv.' I'liiiin uf tin I'm, jno's ;57? 
 
 .V- 
 
 iilt 
 
 iiH' a 
 
 nil 
 
 (•iiiiiiiK'rif 1 
 
 II <ii 
 
 111' 
 
 . . ... . M-i 
 
 Till I nil II Hill. . ? ;;7!« 
 
 I'lii' Clim, ii — I'oliiloal IHuhiji. '.i^ > 
 
 .\ntipnliii ••j-.linT.'iMii;^ I'lllii'.iilti"." .HI 
 
 I'ailidii: in au'iiii in .H.'s.oi "II . '•!; 
 SirK. Il'irtiiii— l)i,tni-t<itSf Kuui- 
 
 ri:. :H ? 
 
 Tin; Civil Mm ;-t 
 
 ■'I'lMi''"" l<il«>!— K'.ii;it:ai'.-!..ii tii.- 
 
 v.iiiiU' ciiit-t :w:. 
 
 T i( l*'ill.llli'l':4— ill' Ifl'l'l'Ivi'l- liclK'- 
 
 iHi :5m; 
 
 'I'll' I.ail.ir 111 iCliiiiilil.v (Vuial* :H7 
 'I'll" p'li ligation— I inn ui tin' 
 
 V:'i,vini't'.-» IH-^ 
 
 T!( I'li'iiii' .AcfMinit.^ '>r Ujip'T C;t- 
 
 iiiiiia. a"".* 
 
 i.'.iuriiiy's Vl'ili^'-iiti'.'ii'.l \'k\\ s W^) 
 
 C.i'.i ■;nirli'ii:ti( ■'^liiii C.iiiat-- ri'i'djii- 
 
 1.1'M.Ji'il WM 
 
 !{ ■.K'y.'itnoi i.f a Itromi, — .\'.r. M.-i 
 
 rilt •.V)'J 
 
 .l.'liii CInrltii.i Fi>l.«rr, M,. I> . 
 
 Kii.u''> I'nnt •!• 'Ml 
 
 S"i.<|M ii-fioti of Mr. ('."Mwi'li . . :'.!>i 
 
 J..i)r.t l)«ii i>i ■.ic" .; r,\[ilaiialii'n . . . . 'K)7> 
 
 'I'll' Jct'ih'U'i.tii — 'l''',i Si!iii^,',iiiiiT. [\\Ki 
 Fi.-.' u'ivii>-,.tii<n I'f tin- St. I,.vw- 
 
 nuii'i' (ii'iiiiii!'!'- 1 11)7 
 
 l'<?ttisliiii'.s,'. of til'- l.'iwpi' Cj'.ii.'tda 
 
 A.vvnil.ly -.^A 
 
 Ov'i'iijintioii.s 'f'avi'ii iiil 'jip"i(.'nnadii t';);J 
 
 I'tau i>a»l.'< nil Iinpiirlatlon'* . 4<J(> 
 
 Till' Ci'Tfry Jkc'si'rM"> i'n 
 
 I'.irli imi'iil Cl(i.'*iil — I'yraiuiN <>( 
 
 Miiitininl . ."... 4ii'J 
 
 Till- i'lilwi'll.'^aiKi r.nxliMir-i.>f r C 40H 
 ^V 1, Mi" -ki'ii/ic — .^np< aiaiu" 
 
 .i;iil ( 'iiaiai icr +t)4 
 
 M;n'ki'ii/i" I'.M-.iocutoil 4ur> 
 
 JVi's.'- Mi;;'.Ziiiifr?" 4i)0 
 
 Sir J. I'libiiis.'i! — I'atii'miaiilOp- 
 
 piv.-^.iiiii 407 
 
 K.r.all (if Si' 1' M.iitlaii'l 408 
 
 .Viartli.nvs— Willi— Kol)in.-«)n .... 40i) 
 
 'fill' ^ifutry of (.'anaila HO 
 
 Till' Liu.'iary and Historii-ai Sn 
 
 ('ii't.\ ... Hi 
 
 I »i'pai tare of Li«<i Dallioiisii! . 1 ! .' 
 
IMtKIACF 
 
 I'lTr: liofiiih of;i lioiik, a> of a [.ictiii.'. ciin^isls in tl'" Li'iT'ii|)in?' of iinaw-s aiui 
 in t\u\ arnin>;(>inont of ilrtaiN Not, only iias attitudr an 1 ^n(iu|.in;r tu ln' at- 
 I'lul'd to by till ])aint(>r, ninl liy tli'' iiavrafur of I'vont":, Imt attiT.tiuii innA In- 
 )).U(1 til iii^iit and sliaJi' ; anJ tin; saini- sulijcct is siisi'cjitihlt' of luin;::; tn-aTcil in 
 jiiuuy ways. WIkmi tlio idea orPniT'il to nu' of ()lVi.Min'jf tn tlu' priliHi- ot' Ciiniul i 
 a history ot'tlic in'ovince, I w-a.-j not ignorant of tlic I'vistrni'i- nf oticr l;istori«s 
 Smith. ('In-istn-. Garnean, Gimrlay, Martin ami Mnrray, tho narrarivi-s of lla^ 
 Jcsnit Fatlii-rs, t'liarltvoix, thi' Journal- of Knox, and many utlur liistorii's 
 .tiid bonks, wcro more or l(>ss familiar to nic; hnt tbrr ■ was then no history, ot 
 till Canada from the rarlii-st period to tin- [iri'sont day so < oncisely wriitm, and 
 the various ovi-nts and ])i'r.sonai:r<"^- of whicdi it is coinposcd. mo ;i'r.iu[ifd to;.';'!hiM-, 
 a-', to pn^yrnt an attractive and .strik^!l^■ piidinv to the mind of every read' r li. 
 was that vvant uhicli I determin-'d to supply, and with some iJei.^re,' of e,'u-n>'st- 
 ness the self-imposed task was undertaiieti. My plan was/fz/wf/f; to imitate tho 
 •inipio narrative style, the eoneiseuess. the pietuicsipieness. the eloipienre, tho 
 poetry, and the philose;hie spirit of a history, the mo.st remarkable of any extant 
 — thatoftlie world. As Ml'se^ ;.''ra[diieally aud p!iilo?iophica!ly has sketehed tiio 
 poopliti^ e.f the earlh ; painted the b '.anties o'' d.iwniiiL; nalnre, shown tli,' oririii 
 • if a;jrieultiire and the a^ts; deserlbed th • social Jidvaneemeut of families, tribes 
 and nations; exhibited the short-eoinine^s and tlie f-.\eeitemi'vs i>f pa'riarelial and 
 jf monarehieal forms of troverrimenf ; exposed the warrin^r^ atsd !ii .keiinu's 
 r.monpf ineji; told of tlie manner in wliieli a [leople eseap>'d tiom Iieno'iue and 
 lalsed tiieniselves on tiie wn^fd-; of thrones, priiiei[ialities, aieJ powers, to jxn.at- 
 ■i\ess ; jiiibiislied the laws by wliieli that most chosen people wer" 'governed ; anil 
 'Jwelt nji.ui the perversity of Imumn nature; and as otlier men, divinrly in- 
 spired, have smI iiniely re)iresen|ed the hijihest, Nta;res ot ,Ji wi>h ei% ilisatien, so 
 did I propose to niy.self to exhibit, tho rise of Canada iVom a pri:niii\e eondition 
 to its present state of advanee.menl. My first p-reat dirtieulty \va5 (o ob'ain a 
 publisher. Then.' could only be a very f-'w persons who would run thc^ ri>k ■'!' 
 )inbli-hin;r a mere Instory of C.maila. "ven wiih n'i tlee tancife! e.v 'ellevii :es, 
 pvodnei'd bv oneiinknown to f-mi' lint ■ \'. lierc i hore is a will, the'^-i^ ;i \\;\; ," 
 
i'KKl'.M K. 
 
 ori.l ;il).»iii tlif lui.J.llf ot" ill" inoiitli ui .Jail- last. I h.il .-lu'iijcili;,! in <lis{>itsm(.j ti 
 ii tjook, then sciircely !(f;}»-uii, to Mr l'i!t<ir ^incluii Huoksifllcr, .Julin . Street, in 
 tli'i City cf QueJxii That {T.ititl.fniHii, with • har>utori.stic spirit hihI liln-rality , 
 ii^rt^eiJ to bttrjoine my |tiihUsh.:r, an J mail the 17tli day ol" Hi-pt'-nihcr, 1 read and 
 wrot'; (iilipeiitly, h.iviujr writtr'u, in loini'l iminh.T.i, about u tliou.>ianiJ pafjes of 
 foolscap and broujfht t.i a corii lusio/i tlm tirst rebellion. Then the work of print- 
 in;,' was bojrun, and the, Rorrnrtion of all the proofs totrotli'^i with the, »-ditori.il 
 niHiintfiiinont of a newspaper, iiavt- since alfonled niu .siitfi'-ient occupation Mr 
 McMullen, of IJrocUville, has, Jiowever, produced a iiistoiy of this conntry frc/u 
 its discovery to the present rinv, alnm-ii .ts if he low! iK'en iiii'luenced by motives 
 similar to those which have inHu-inced m'. His pictures, however, are not my 
 pictUHis, uiir iii.s souliuients my sontimi'Jits. The. books — a!rhou<„'li tin; facts ar.) 
 til'.' same and necessarily dcriveii from tli<t saim^ sources— are essentially difl'erenl. 
 lie is most elaborate in the bcifinninu. I b-'conv; more aud more particular with 
 r Xard to <lctails toward,! Ihe clos'! — I exp.ind with the e.vpiii.ion of the country. 
 In the lirst cliap'er of this tirst volume, tiie hi.story of the province while utider 
 I'mnch rule is r.i.pi lly traced, and the history of tie; N.w Kn<:land Colonies 
 <li|)ped into, withth" \ ie-v of slmwin'j: the proi^re.ssional resemblance between 
 thu country wliidi is now the Ciiiied States iiiiil lUU' own ; in the siv;oud chapter 
 th- re i]:v ubtains only a <^lanc\ as it were, at the American w.ir of indeivpii- 
 d.;nce, when In' is carried a^ain into ('anada ati I made acquainted with the 
 ni any dillicnlriesin spite of whi.-li rpiKraml Lower Canada continued to advance 
 in w.ilth and civilis,itio)\ ; iti the third chajjfer a history of the wnr between 
 rwij,'-laiid and the Cnlteil States is i;'i\-0!i with cousidi vable miuuler.ess : and t.ho 
 fourth chaptci- briujjcs the read r up to the tenniuatioii of that oxtraordinjiry 
 period of mls-jr;,v-i. II, 111, .lit, subsi'ipieiit tn tlie, American war, which continued 
 until t!io liehdlion, aud has uot eviii yet been allo^'etiier .u^.it rid of. Tiiere aro 
 without doul>^, errors. cKceptions, and omissi.in-i eiiou;jjh !.o bi' found — an island 
 uiiy h n.' Ii ■ Ml iuidvertontly plac vl in .a wreui^ Like, a date or lijrure may bo 
 incorrect, words ;niy Uim: be-n mispj-iuti^ I, and, in some parts, the sense a 
 little inti;rfTed with — l.ut I have set down uothiuij in malice, haviuL'' hnd a strict 
 reiT'inl for truth. 1 h;u-.- creaiui'd Guurlay, Christie, .Murniy. Alison, Weils, 
 an i 1[ 'ury, .i.il t ik ;u wiiut 'ver \ d >;!,n • I e.isenii.il from a history of the I 'uited 
 States, with cit a title pa!4;e, aii.l from ,J u'cd Sparks atid other .authors; btit for 
 the histfu-y of h iwer Canada my chief reliance has been upon the valuable 
 volumes, complhid with so much c;ire, by Mr. Christie, and I have put thf 
 os.J -u-e of his si.xth volu.ii" of revolatioiM in its litting place. 
 
 For va u.ible tissist.iuc- iu the way of inform.'ition. 1 sim indebted to Mr 
 Christie per.-onally, to fli" Houble. [b.-nry Black, to the Librari;uis uf the Legis- 
 lative Assembly— t'je. IJ.n-iTend Dr. Adamson .and Dr. WimbM— and to Daniel 
 VVilkie. Ksquire, on.' of the teachers of the High School of Quebec 
 
 C ROGEU. 
 
 Q'Uiboc, 31st Decmbcr, b-'f).'') 
 
BA 
 
 have l)ec 
 to otiior ( 
 I'oeoiitJv : 
 I)assage 1 
 made, J 
 
 Eui-OpO 1(1 
 
 these exp 
 
 eijiployoil 
 
 great inti 
 
 Newfound 
 
 Danes) an 
 
 he gave, ji 
 
 ho so (lesisj 
 
 unimpi;o\£i 
 
 more appli 
 
 Cabot to bt 
 
 which he v\ 
 
THK RJSK 
 
 OF 
 
 C A N A D A 
 
 FROM 
 
 BAIIBAJUS3I TO CIVILIS.U JON. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 to "tlior ,Ils.,„v,.fk., of „..„.. *'^''" Thoy lune all lo,l 
 
 .ooouti, a., wi,hi„\\: , ;;' ;™; >7--;;'-o, -" - 
 
 passage iVon, the Atlantic to ,o 7 ^O ' T ■^' "•■ ^ 
 
 Europe to A«a that thi. ,'"''," '"■" V'''"^" ''-"> 
 
 the«, exploring, expoaiti Hi, , 'T::,""'', ''."""' "^ 
 employ-e,I J„h„ Cal«,t Tli '" «"«mios a.^o, 
 
 great intropi.litv, e vL. ',,""■ "T'^"'°'' ^' "'^'""f 
 
 Dane.) „n,l en^n-ed tt To Vr'''"™''^'-^- '-""" '" "'o 
 h«g«ve, it i. all,,,,.,, ,1 ' St- Lawrence. To Lahrartn,. 
 
 Cabot to'be a t ^ p.f 'f ;, r"'' •^7'""--' «>'.--l to 
 
 — .e.a„n,t,t'a:;-^:s;:r::'^S 
 
L.ANADA DIF^COVF.REn. 
 
 1527, 
 
 thfit ho rctnrjicd to Eii^-land nml was knitrlitod by Horin'tho 
 kSovriitli. Sclinstiiiii Ciihot iiiailo the )u'\'l art<Mii])l to tvai-li 
 
 CI, 
 
 una li\- sailin''- iioi'ili-wc 
 
 -t. Jl^' ];i'iii'trah'il til lliitlsou's 
 
 IV 
 
 iKW r I'Vcii iiiii a 
 
 Inn 
 
 () 
 
 ft! 
 
 U' r«i. 
 
 1. 
 
 awivncc 
 
 UIK 
 
 rotiii'iiod 1.) Kiivjlaiitl. Filiv wins attt'i'sviinl.s, Cotetval left 
 l'<^rtiii''aK \\it1) flic N'ii'W -if ti-lluwiiiii' tlic riMirse of the elder 
 
 Cabot. fir 1 
 
 'CirlU'i 
 
 1 Laldador. returned To Portuua!. \\u^ 
 
 \\ 
 
 lo.st on a !-eeoiid \uyaLre, and was the tii'st subject of a 
 "searcbiuu' expedition," \\\yvt\ wssfln liaviiii;' been fitted out 
 ith tha! view hy llie Kiiiii' of Tortuii-al. Several other 
 attcinpts ah di.scovcvv were sul».se(|U(-ntly nnide. T^s'0 nier- 
 ch.'ints ol' I'l'isfoj, in Kniiiaiid, obiaini'il a j^atcnt to ostablisih 
 coloiiie.-in .Wwfoundlaud and lialirador, and in lo27, Henry 
 the Seventh, for the la^it time, de^^patched a north-west jnis- 
 Bfiii-c discovery fleet. The Jbrniation of Knii'lish settlements, 
 and the e\'[»loratioii wore e(]na!ly nnsncci-.-sful. Tliese liicts 
 I allude to, rather ■\\itli tlie ol>ject of a'-eountinii: for the 
 name of '• Caaaila," ai)[)Ued to the country through AvJiich 
 
 tlie St. Lawren 
 
 ce 
 
 tl 
 
 0\V; 
 
 than for any oiin-r purpose 
 
 In tl 
 
 10 
 
 '■'' Ivldi'ons; (Ifs Ji.su/L^;" Fatlier llenei>in states that the 
 Spaniards first discovered Ca)iada while in search, not of a 
 nortliwest passnire, V.nt of li'old, which they oouKl not find, 
 and tl'jerefore ealKnl the lano, so \al;uriess in their eves, is7 
 Cajxt di N'kIii — "The Cape of Xothiug." Tint, the Spaniards, 
 ndio |»ossibly did visit Canada tno years before Cabot, wluit- 
 ever rlu- object of their vovaffc mav have been, could not 
 Lave done anytliinij: so absurd. Que!>ee, not Canada, may 
 have been to them Capo Nothing, Jiiid doubtless uas. It 
 was the (/•(/'/ they looked for. That was as visible to them as 
 to Cahot, and a passage, strath, or way io signified in Spanish 
 by the W(rrd Canada. It was not gold but a way to gold that 
 English, Spaniards, Italians, and P^'cnch sought. It was 
 the cashmeres, the pearls, and the gold of India that were 
 wanted. It was a short way to wealth that all hoped for. 
 And the St. Lawrence has, indeed, been a shoi't way to 
 
 wealth, if not to China, as will afterwards be shown.* 
 
 The title of llcnet.ln'8 book is " Nouvcau Voyage d'un pais plus grand qu« 
 
i:>34. 
 
 I'ATITIKK":' AIUUVAI. IN' THi: BT. LaWRKNCK 
 
 Pa«!sui_cf ovor (ho ox[iloriilion of wluit i:* now tlio Coa«4t of 
 tlu." ["nitcd iStaU'.'^, I>v X't'i'iM/.^niio, T «'oiiii' {.» tho 'lisoovory of 
 tJ;i8|ic Piiisiii him] the l\ivi-i' St. f ia\vi\'ii('(\ l>y .hinnu'.-; Ciiftior, 
 of St. Malo, ill I'^rainc, W'iih slaps of oiu' liimdK'il and 
 tw.-uty tons, and fort) tons, Oai'tit r arriwd in the St. Law- 
 rt'iico — as some sjirinij; tradn-s (»f tlio pros-.nl day oi.i.-asionally 
 do — l.icfoiv tli<j i(H' had brok'.ii u}t, and found it noi^ssaiy to 
 go liaok and seek shelter in souk' of tlu. loAWf liays or liar- 
 l)(»ur.s. lie loft St. Malo in Aju-il, l.VM, an<l an-ivod in the 
 St. Lawronoo early in May. ]{otin'niii!.r to (.iasjio. lio^iitoi\'d 
 tho l^ay CliahMir, i-finainod tin ro tinlil tlio 2')t!i .Inly, ami 
 roturiiod to Franoo. Xext year, Cartior aiTi\cd in the St. 
 LaA\Tcncc, iiftor various disasters to liis tln\-o vessels, and 
 viewed .'ind named Antioosti, wliicli ho (itllid li'lsle do 
 L'Assom[)tion ; e.\[i]ored the l-viver Sauaionay; landed on, 
 and named the Isle anx Coudres, or Island of Filhorts; 
 passed the I.ilo of Bueehus, now Island of (.)rl"ans ; and at 
 length came to anrlioron the " Little Klver " St. Croix, the 
 St. Charles of these times, on which stood the liuts ol'Sta(hi- 
 o-ona. Cariier ehatted with the In<lians for a season. Ho 
 found them an exeeedingly good tenijiored and very «-i)m- 
 municative people-. They toM him that there was another 
 town liiglier u[» iho ri\er, and C^artier detri'minod npon vi^it- 
 ing that eongregalion of 1/ireli hark ti'iit^or liiit<, |i!t<ln'd on 
 a spot of land oalled Jloelielaga, tiow the site ^>f Monlreal. 
 At Iloohelaga tlic "new (Jovornor '" met with a magnifieent 
 reeeption. A thousand natives asserahled to meet him on 
 the sliore, and the eompliment was retiirne<l by presents of 
 "tin" beads, and other tritles. IToehelnga was the chief In- 
 dian Emporinni of Canada; it was ever a lirst class city — in 
 Canada. Cliarlevoix says, even in those days this (Ilocliclaga) 
 
 rEiiropo, nvec les rCflcctious dcs piitorpri.'ies tlu Sieiir do l.-i Sallo, suv les Mines 
 de Ste. Barbc, &c., * '• * et des avaiitagos <iii'on pcut rotiriT dn (dicinin 
 racoui-ci de la Chine et du Japon, pur Iti inoyon de tant do vastes contrees ft de 
 nouvclles colonies," Cpiiblislied at t'tiviht in lHOi^J 
 
 In the commissions p-antod to Chauiplain, (m tliclotli October, jr)1'2. and loth 
 February, 1625, the fame objects are adverted to :—/)';« r casM/yc'- </e trourrr te 
 chemin faite pour aller par de dans It dit pays au pays de la Chine cl Indes Ori- 
 •»taU$" 
 
mm 
 
 a 
 
 '■«)M.MKN<'i:.Mt.\T uK THLi Fl K IUaDL. 
 
 looa. 
 
 K'.O.s. 
 
 was a placo of oonsiilcriiblo imjiortaiice, as the eapital of » 
 gnnit, oxLont of country. Kiuht or ton villatro.s wore subject 
 to its sway. Ja«-''iU('S Cartier rvtuniod to (2ueb(>c!, loadoil his 
 vos.^jols with snp|;oso(l n'old ore, and Capo diamonds, which 
 he supposed wore brilliant.s of tlio tirst water, and then wont 
 homo to France, w bore lie toM a truly maixnitiocnt tale con- 
 ccrninii* a truU' inaijnitieont 0()untr\-. Expeditions for C'ana- 
 da wore overvvliere set afoot. Kven thioen [Olizaboth, of 
 Eni^land, nent Frolnsber on a voyag:o of discovery, })ut he 
 only <liseovoi'ed a for(l:in(l and tiins of nii<'a, Avldeli ho mis- 
 took for <i;olden ore. Mnrtin Frobishor was ruined. Jlis was 
 a ruitious s})oculation. Tab- or mica did not pay the expen.se 
 of a nine montli's voyapjo with fifteen ships. IJut oil that 
 was then son,i::]it i'*n' is now found in Canada — and more. 
 To obtidn mueh o-oM. bowever. the solllonioid, of a counti'V 
 is ncoes.sary. It is the wants of t!io settlers which extract 
 gold from tlie ground for the benefit of the trader. The only 
 occupiers of Canada, no farther })ack than two linndred years, 
 were Indians. The Montatfuais, tlio ITurons, the Algon- 
 quins, the Iroouois, the Ontairomios, the Moliawks, the 
 Seiu'cas, the k^iimx, the I'lackieet, ami the (^rowfeet red- 
 faces, were the undisputed possessors of the soiL They 
 hold the mine, the lake, ihe river, the forest, and the to^vn- 
 ship in free and connuon soceau'e. Thev wore some- 
 times merchants and soniotimes soldiers. They were all 
 ready to trade with their wliito invaders, all prone to quarrel 
 among themselves. The Iroquois and Ilurons were ever at 
 war with eacli other. ^\'hen not smoking they were sure to 
 be fightino;. 
 
 The first wliitc man who opened up the trade of the St. 
 Lawrence was M. Pontgrave, of St. Alalo. He made several 
 voyages in search of furs to Tadousac, and the wealthy mer- 
 chant was successful. With tlie aid of a Captain Cliauvin, 
 of the French navy, whom he induced to join him, Pont- 
 grave attempted to establisli a trading ])0.st at Tadousac. He 
 was, however, unsuccessful. Cliauvin died in 1603, leaving 
 a stone house for his monument, then the onlv one in Canada. 
 
uu»,s. 
 
 yLiiUi;<' K'lMUii). 
 
 It was uuvir (.It-teriuiiiinl by tlio French aovernnieiit to form 
 eetllciiK'iitHi iti ('lunula. And tlii; nillitarv iiiiiid oi' France 
 attempted to curry into effect a plan not dissimilar to that 
 rccommen(hMi a tew voars ai^-o hv Major Carmvcliael Smvth, 
 the mukint;; of a road to the Tacitic tlirough the wilderness 
 by means of convicts. The plan, however, failed, though 
 attempted by the Manpiis De la Ivoche, who actually left on 
 Sable Island forty conviets drawn trom the French priaona. 
 A oompany of nn^'chanis liaving been furuied ^kiv the pur- 
 pose of making settlements, Ohamplain accepted the com- 
 mand of an expedition, and accom[)anied by Tontgravc, 
 sailed for the St. Lawrence in lt;0-"i. The.y an-ivinl safely at 
 Tadousac, and proceeded in open boats up the St. Lawrence; 
 but did nothing. The eft<>rt at settlenjent was subsequently 
 renewed. In 1008, (.'hamplain, a second time, reached 
 Stadacona or Quebec, on the 8i'd .Iidv, and struck bv the 
 commanding position of Ca[*»c Diamoml, selected tlie base 
 of tlic promontory as the sire of a town. IIo erected huts 
 for shelter; o&tabliohcd a magazine for stores and provisions; 
 and formed l)arracks for the soldiery, not on the highest point 
 of the lieadland, but on tbe site of the recently destroyed 
 parliament buildings. Tlierc were then a few, and only a 
 few, Indians in Stadacona, tliat Indian town being situated 
 rather on the St. Charles than on the St. Lawrf.'iice. Few as 
 they were, famine reduced them to the necessity of supplicat- 
 ing food from the strangers. The strangers themselves suf- 
 fered much from scurvy, and after an exjilorationof tlie lake 
 which yet bears tlie tutmc of its discoverer, Champlain re- 
 turned to France. Two years later tlie intrepid vsailor set 
 out for Tadousac and Quebec with artisans, hiborers, and 
 supplies for Xouvelle France, the name then given to Canada, 
 or the Great "' Pass" to China. He arrived at the mouth of 
 the Saguenay on the 26th of April, after a remarkably short 
 passage of eighteen days. Ho found his first settlers con- 
 tented and prosperous. They had cultivated the ground suc- 
 cessfully, and were on good terms with the natives. Cham- 
 plain, however., desirous of annexing more of the territory 
 
 •. i 
 
 I 
 
8 
 
 EXPLORATION OF THE OTTAWA. 
 
 1G15. 
 
 of the IikUrhs, stirred tliem ti[> to ■^trifu. Ho liin^solf joined 
 an hostile ex.potlition ot' tlio Alironquins and Moiitiignuis 
 against the [ro-iuoiH. Wliat siuress he met witli iH not now 
 to he aHcortaiiied. Di'tieieiit in resources, lie ai^^ain returned 
 to France, and loiuid ajtartiicr ahjc and ulliinL,' to assist the 
 Cohmy in the ])erson of the Count d<^ Woisson, w)io had 
 been appointed Vicer.iy of tlio new country — a sinecure ap- 
 pointment wliich tlie Count did not loii.^ enjoy, ina^imuoh as 
 death took possession of liim sliortly afterwards. The hono- 
 rary ofH(!e of Mcoi'oy, wliicli more resenihled an EnifUsh 
 Colonial Secretaryship of the present day. than a vieeroyalty, 
 Ava8, on the deatli of Soisson, conferred on the Prince de 
 Conde, who sent Chiimplain from St. Malo for the Colonial 
 Seat of (Jovenunent, on the 6th March, 1013, as Deputy 
 Governor. Champlain arrived at Quchec on the 7th of May. 
 The infant colony was (juiet and contented. Furs wore easi- 
 ly ohtained for clothing in winter, and in summer very little 
 clothing of any kind was necessary. Tin; chief husiness of 
 the then colonial mercliantswas the collection of furs for ex- 
 portation. There were, properly s[)eaking, no merchants in 
 the country, but only factors, and other servants of the homo 
 Fur Company. The country was no more independently 
 peopled than the Hudson's Bay Territory now is. The ac- 
 tual presence of (.'.ther governor or sub-governor was unne- 
 cessary. C*ham])lain only made an official tour of inspection 
 to Mount Royal, Explored the Ottawa, and returned to 
 France. lie was dissatisfied with the appearance of aft'airs, 
 and ])ersuaded the Prince of Conde, his chief, to really set- 
 tle the country. The prince consented. A new company 
 was formed through his influence, and, with some Roman 
 Catholic Missionaries, Champlain again sailed for Canada, 
 arriving at Quebec early in April, 1615 — a proof that the 
 winters were not more intense when Canada was first settled 
 than at present. Indeed the intense cold of Lower Canada, 
 compared with other countries in the same latitude, is not so 
 much attributable to the want of cultivation as to the height 
 of the land, and the immense gully formed by the 8t Law- 
 
161(1. 
 
 TIIK rOl.D — LAKK II I' HON. 
 
 roiice, and tlio o-roat lakes wliicli receive the cold l)la8t.s of 
 the mountainous reirion whieli constitutes the Arctic hiffh- 
 lands, and from which the rivers runtiinif to tlie nortliward 
 into Hudson's Bay, and to the soutliward into the ^jreat lakes 
 and the St. Lawrence, take their rise. Tlic icy breath of the 
 distant north and nortliwest sweeps down .such rivers as the 
 Ottawa, the St. Maurice, and the Sagueiniy, to be gathered 
 into one vast channel, extending throughout Canada's whole 
 extent. And, clear the forest as we may, Canada will al- 
 ways be the same cold, healthy count ry that it now is. Lower 
 or ratlier Highland Canada, will be especially so, without, 
 however, the general commercial prosperity of the countiy 
 suffering much on that account. There are lowlands enough 
 for a population far exceeding that now occupying the Uni- 
 ted States. But this is a digression. Champlain's Mission- 
 aries set themselves vigorously to the work of christianizing 
 the heathen, while Champlai'n himself industriously began 
 to fight them. Ho extended the olive branch from his left 
 hand, and stabbed vigorously with a sword in his right hand. 
 The Missionaries established churches, or rather the cross, 
 from the head waters of the Saguenay to Lake Nepissing. 
 Champlaiu battled the Iroquois from Mont lloyal to Nepis- 
 sing. Rather he icoidd have done so. He did not find them 
 until ho reached, overland and in canoes, Lake Huron, the 
 superior character of the land in that neighbourhood attract- 
 ing his particular attention. He found his "enemy" en- 
 trenched by " four successive palisades of fallen trees," says 
 Smith, ••' enclosing a piece of ground containing a pond, 
 with every other requisite for Indian warfare — a very Sebas- 
 topol, upon which Champlaiu discharged his fire-arms, dri- 
 ving the L'oquois back to their camp. The place was, how- 
 ever, impregnable, and the siege was reluctantly raised. The 
 Algonquins would only fight as they pleased. They were 
 sadly in want of a head. They would not use fire-arms, but 
 " preferred firing their arrows against the strong wooden de- 
 fences." Champlaiu was t\^•ice wounded in the leg, and his 
 
 allies, making the non-arrival of reinforcements an excuse, 
 
 fi 
 
10 
 
 SIXTY WHITK 1MIAUITANT5. 
 
 1620. 
 
 retreated. Champlain innisted upon ^oint? homo, but trans- 
 port was wantiiii;, and hu wu.-* coiiipolled to winter, a« best 
 ho could, in a dosolato region, Avith his disicomlittt'd allies. 
 In the tbllowinu: year ho ifot away, and made liaHtedownhirt 
 Black Sea of Ontario, to his Golden Horn at Tadousac, from 
 thence, on the 10th of Sept., lOlG, returning to his native 
 country to find his partner, the Prince of Conde, in dingraco 
 and in ^confinement, for what tlie historian knows not. Tho 
 Prince had possibly been playing Hudson, for we find that 
 the Marshal de Tliemines was prevailed upon to accept tlie 
 office, on condition of sharing the emoluments. But he too 
 became involved in "controversy with the merchants," and 
 after only two years presidency of the Company, resigned, 
 when the Duke de Montmorenci obtained the Viceroyalty 
 from Conde, for eleveti thousand crowns. The Duke was 
 Lord High Admiral of France, and Champlain was exceed- 
 ingly glad. Another new colonizing company was formed. 
 Seventy-seven artisans, farmi'rs, physiiciaus, or gentlemen, 
 three friars, horses, cows, sheep, seed-corn, and arms were 
 collected at Rochelle for exportation in 1019. But the lay- 
 men, partly Protestants and partly Roman Catholics, began 
 to squabble about the immaculate conception, or something 
 else, equally stupid and unimportant, until Champlain him- 
 self got into troul)lo and nearly lost his Deputy Governorship, 
 and the expedition was delayed. In 1620, Champlain, how- 
 ever, set sail, and on his arrival at his capital, in July, was 
 agreeably surprised to find that a missionary, named Duples- 
 sis, had got so far into the good graces of the Hurons, at Trois 
 Rivieres, that he had discovered and frustrated a plan for the 
 massacre of the French colonists. At Tadousac affairs were 
 not at all flattering. The colonists had neglected cultivation. 
 Only sixty white people remained, ten of whom were reli- 
 giously engaged in keeping school, or were engaged in keep- 
 ing a religious school. At this period of time it is difficult 
 to say which. Worse than this scurvily decimated condition 
 of the people, was the intmsion of some unprincipled and 
 unprivileged adventurers from Rochelle, who had been bar- 
 
 lOJl. 
 
 terin^ 
 
 Cham 
 
 what 
 
 Canac 
 
 father 
 
 by He 
 
 or Re« 
 
 institu 
 
 was at 
 
 This ^ 
 
 liour o 
 
 sible tl] 
 
 certain 
 
 w* h tl) 
 
 ahianc£ 
 
 and dec 
 
 Tlie Ire 
 
 were re 
 
 Quebec 
 
 wooden 
 
 and the 
 
 to be th 
 
 dispute ( 
 
 and the 
 
 he met ' 
 
 who hac 
 
 his supp 
 
 trade an 
 
 mined o 
 
 suprema 
 
 nephew. 
 
 lor. Th 
 
 had well 
 
 he was r( 
 
 rived at 
 
 De Caen 
 
 conceded 
 
1021. 
 
 THE FIRST FHANCO-CANADIAN. 
 
 n 
 
 ie 
 re 
 
 tering lire-firiUii with the Iiidiaiis tor tho Coinpniiy'sJ fur:*. 
 Chaniplain was very- wroth, but niodoratcd his an^or some- 
 wliat 0!i nseertaiuiui; that an enfant (fa .sol — a real Frencli- 
 Canadiau hahy was in tlie hin<l of tho livinijj. Who was tho 
 father of the cliihl or wlio tho mother, is neitlier mentioned 
 by llonuopin nor Charlevoix, and the olUceof J'rothonotaiy, 
 or Ke^^istrar of Births, Marriaijres, tiuil Deaths had not been 
 instituted. It is not even in the chronicles that Chaniplain 
 was at the cliristenini?, nor is the cerenionv alluded to at all. 
 This p:reat, and most interestintc event hap])ened on some 
 liour of some unmontioucd day in the year 1021. It is pos- 
 sible the mother was of a distinguished Huron family. It is 
 certain that the Ilurons were about that time in el()se alliance 
 w' h the French, for the Iroquois began to bo jealous of the 
 alliance between the Ilurons, Algonquins, and the Froncli, 
 and declared war with the vie\v of destroying the settlements. 
 The Iroquois succeeded in burning some Huron villages, but 
 were repulsed by the French both at the Sault St. Louis and at 
 Quebec. Quebec was now a fortified town. There were 
 wooden, but not very extensive, walls around the barracks 
 and the huts. Chaniplain had, on the whole, great reason 
 to be thankful His power and authority seemed to be un- 
 disputed. He had seen the first of a new world generation, 
 and the means of wealth were seemingly at his feet. But 
 he met with disappointment. The association of merchants 
 who had fitted out his expedition, and from whom he obtained 
 his supplies, were suddenly deprived of all their privileges of 
 trade and colonization, by Montmoreuci. The Duke, deter- 
 mined on doing as he pleased with his own, transferred the 
 supremacy of the colonists to the Sieurs de Caen, uncle and 
 nephew. The one de Caen was a merchant, the other a sai- 
 lor. The sailor was soon at Tadousac. Before Champlain 
 had well known, by a letter of thanks for past services, that 
 he was recalled, or rather superseded, his successor had ar- 
 rived at the head quarters of Nouvelle France — Tadousac. 
 De Caen solicited an interview with Champlain, which was 
 conceded. Smarting with indignation, Champlain was too 
 
 4i 
 
 •I 
 
■smi 
 
 12 
 
 TUB <'()L0NIST,< DISSATISFIED. 
 
 i<;25. 
 
 polite. His courtesy was so excessive, tliat De Caen became 
 exacting as if to sliow who he was. He wanted to seize all 
 Champlain's trading vessels. They belonged, he said, to a 
 company whose privileges had been transferred to him as the 
 representative of another company. The furs with which 
 they were laden belonged to Montmorenci and tlie De Caens, 
 as his Grace's agents. Cliamplain demurred, and Captain 
 De Caen peremptorily demanded Du Pout's vessel. Cham- 
 plain, no longer courteous, flow into a violent passion. Du 
 Pont was the favourite agent of his company, and his own 
 particular friend. Champlain's rage was of no avail. Xor was 
 the sympathy of the colonists of any value. De Caen wag 
 supreme, and did as he pleased. The colonists, however, ex- 
 cessively indignant, resolved to leave in a body, unless their 
 opinions were allowed some weight, and a number did take 
 their departure. Although De Caen had brought eighteen 
 new settlers, the colony was reduced to onlj^ forty-eight. 
 Champlain, however, remained in Canada. He felt himself 
 to be the chief colonist, and only removed to Quebec, where 
 he erected a stone fort. The fort was partly on that part of 
 the present city on which the old Church of Xotre Dame 
 stands, in the Lower Town, and partly where the former 
 Palace of the Roman Catholic Archbishop stood. Champlain 
 pitched his tent outside the walls, which were almost rectan- 
 gidar, under the shadow of a tree, Avhich, until six years ago, 
 threw its leafy arms over St. Anne Street, from the Anglican 
 Cathedral Church yard. While this fort-building, vessel 
 seizing, and unchristian feeling were rending the infant co- 
 lony to pieces, interfering with trade, and proving vexatious 
 to all, a union had been formed in France between the old 
 and new companies. The coalition was not productive of 
 good. There was so little cordiality and so much contention 
 between the parties, that Montmorency threw up his viceroy- 
 alty in disgust, that is to say, he sold out to the Duke de 
 Ventadour. Ventadour was in a world of difficulties. 
 France was then half Protestant and half Catholic. Venta- 
 dour's chief object in purchasing Canada was to diffuse the 
 
 1(>27. 
 
 Cathf 
 energ 
 mass 1 
 room 
 hung ( 
 He wji 
 man a\ 
 himsol 
 tificati( 
 had ev 
 Protest 
 of his f 
 Lawrei 
 tainlng 
 The ex( 
 should 
 Champ I 
 He mad 
 0U3 diss 
 all l-hes( 
 bratcd ( 
 derived 
 the privi 
 newer c 
 ciatcs w« 
 ply neeo 
 large nu 
 ate chur 
 ported Iv 
 glebes, o 
 support 
 singing c 
 the Huu( 
 always a 
 was proc 
 year, 162 
 
h'>2 
 
 i. 
 
 TllK lirXDKKI) ASSdCIATKS. 
 
 13 
 
 Catholic Religion (hvouglioiif tlie now world. AVitli much 
 energy of character, ho was singularly pious. TFo {ittondod 
 mass regularly at an early hour every morning. Tils bed- 
 room was religiously Ktted up; the syml)ol of redemption 
 hung constantly over the head ol" his hod. TTo was no higot. 
 He was thoroui2rhlv in earnest, lie was onlv not wise. The 
 man who had caused Champlain so much annoyance was 
 himself a Huguenot, and not that only, — to the Duke's mor- 
 tification, he had taken to Canada chieny l*rotestants, and 
 had even caused the Jvoman Catholic e:nigrants to attend 
 Protestant worship on shiphoard. Two thirds of the crew8 
 of his ships were Protestants. They sang psalms on the St. 
 Lawrence. The new vicerov was much annoyed on asccr- 
 tabling that Do Caen had permitted such a state of things. 
 The exorcise of the Protestant religion, he had given orders, 
 should bo barelv tolerated," and he had been disoboved. 
 Champlain did not trouble himself about religious squabbles. 
 lie made himself ditiiculties with the Indians, leaving religi- 
 ous dissensions to 1)C made l)y liis would be superior. Amid 
 all these difliculties the fur trade languisbed, and tlio cele- 
 brated Cardinal Richelieu, who knew the advantages to be 
 derived from Vcntadour's pious missionary eftbrt, vevoked 
 the privileges of Do Caen's new company, and established a 
 newer company called the Hundred Associates. The asso- 
 ciates were not only to colonize, but they were amply to sup- 
 ply necessaries to the colonists. They were to send out a , 
 larii'C number of cleroTmon. Those cler<i'vmen were to ere- 
 ate churches and erect parsonages. They wore to be sup- 
 ported by the Associates for fifteen years. They were to have 
 glebes, or reserved lands, assigned to them for their suflicient 
 Bupport. At a blow the wily cardinal had extinguished psalm 
 singing on the St. Lawrence for at least a century. In 1627 
 the Hundred Associates were formed. But plans cannot be 
 always carried into effect as soon as determined upon. War 
 was proclaimed by England against France in the following 
 year, 1628. The weakest and the meanest of English kings 
 
14 
 
 QUEBEC SURRENDERED TO THE ENGLISH. 
 
 1028. 
 
 had caused the Puritans, previously persecuted by Elizabeth, 
 to leave their country. The Puritans, in November, 1607, 
 had settled in JsTew England. The year in which the first 
 Franco-Canadian saw the light of day, Governor Carver, of 
 Plymouth Colony, had entered into a league of friendship, 
 commerce, and mutual defence with Massassoit, the great 
 Sachem of the neighbouring Indians. Some years previously 
 (1619) the Colony of Virginia had received her first Governor 
 General from England, who had instructions to convoke a 
 general legislature. With all his impotent stammering, slob- 
 bering, weeping, buffoonery, and pedagoguism, James had 
 an indistinct idea that it was as necessai'v to hear the voice 
 of the people as the voice of the king. He chose rather to 
 direct than to suppress the expression of opinion. But the 
 Governor General of Virginia was appointed by the London 
 Company, whose privileges were taken away b}^ James on 
 the year preceding his death, which occurred in March, 1625, 
 after the company had expended £100,000 in the first attempt 
 to colonize America. James appointed a viceroy or governor 
 and directed him how to govern. JS'ew France, at the break- 
 ing out of such a war, had something to dread from !N"ew 
 England, so much further advanced in colonization. Cardi- 
 nal Richelieu's plan of Canadian settlement was roughly 
 interfered with, by the capture of his first emigrant ships by 
 Sir David Kerk, who afterwards proceeded to Tadousac, 
 burned the village, and proceeded to Quebec to summon 
 Champlain to surrender. The brave Frenchman refused and 
 Kerk retreated. But Kerk came back again. He again ap- 
 peared before the walls of Fort Quebec, and summoned it to 
 surrender. Reduced to great distress by famine, Champlain 
 surrendered, and the whole settlement was taken captive to 
 England. With the exception of a few houses, a barrack, 
 and a fort at Quebec, and a few huts at Tadousac, Trois Ri- 
 vieres, and Mont Royal, Canada was again as much a wilder- 
 ness as it ever had been since the Asiatics had stepped across 
 Behring's Straits to replenish the western hemisphere. The 
 great curiosity, the first Franco-Canadian baby, now eight 
 
1635. 
 
 TUK RESTORATION — DEATH OF CIIAMPLAIN. 
 
 15 
 
 r 
 le 
 
 it 
 
 years old, was doubtless carried to the tower, and caged as a 
 curiosity, near the other lions and tigers of London. It was 
 not until the restoration of peace in 1633, that Champlain 
 was reappointed Governor of Canada, which, by the treaty 
 of 1632, was surrendered back to France, on the supposition 
 that it was almost worthless. This time colonization was 
 systematically undertaken by the Jesuits, who only arrived 
 in Canada in time to supply the loss of Champlain, a man of 
 exemplary perseverance, of ambitious views, and of wonder- 
 ful administrative capacity, for a layman of that day, who 
 died in December, 1685. The foundation of a seminary was 
 laid at Quebec. ]\Ionks, Priests, and Xuus were sent out 
 from France. The Church was to settle in the wilderness to 
 be encircled by the godly. If Admiral Kerk had carried off 
 a settlement, Mother Church was to produce other settle- 
 ments. A new governor was named — Montmagny. Busi- 
 ness, however, began to languish. The Indians became ex- 
 ceedingly troublesome. And the Iroquois had subdued the 
 Algonquins, and had nearly vanquished the Hurons. To 
 defend the settlement from these fierce \varriors, Montmagny 
 built a fort at Sorel, at the mouth of the Richelieu, down 
 which river the savage enemy usually came. The construc- 
 tion of the fort had the desired effect. Peace with the In- 
 dians soon followed, and the colony became happy and con- 
 tented. The effect of Jesuitical tact and judgment soon be- 
 gan to exhibit itself. An Ursuline Kunnery and a Seminary 
 were established at Q'lebec, through the instrumentality of 
 the Duchess d' Aiguillon. The religious order of St. Sulpice, 
 at the head of which was the Abbe Olivier, proposed to the 
 King of France to establish a new colony and a seminary at 
 Mont Royal, bearing the name of the order and composed of 
 its members. The proposal was entertained, and the Island 
 of Montreal conceded to the religionists for their support. 
 The Sieur Maisonneuve — a name admirably chosen — was 
 placed at the head of the faithful emigrants, and invested 
 with its government. The third regular governor of Canada 
 was M. d' Aillebout. He succeeded Montmagny, whose term 
 
16 
 
 TJIE MASriACKE AT rilLLLHY. 
 
 ir>3(j. 
 
 of office had expired. On tlie death of ChanipUun, no Gov- 
 ernor of Canada was to hohl tlic reins of ii^overninent longer 
 than three years. i3'Aille])ont \\'as an exceedingly able man. 
 lie was lirni, and, on the whole, just. He was left entirely 
 to himself in the management of affairs, and he left the con- 
 version of the Indians to peace and Christianity, to the mis- 
 sionaries, who laljored well and earnestly, establishing the 
 Iliirons, and even the Iroquois, in villages. The latter, who 
 were never to be trusted, onlv feiu-ned semi-civilization, and 
 unexpectedly renewing the war, they fell upon their old 
 enemies, the llurons, with diabolical fury. In the Indian 
 village of Sillery, while a missionary was celebrating mass 
 in the Catholic Church, and none Init old men, women, and 
 children were present, a terrible and foul massacre occurred. 
 The Iroquois rushed into the chapel witli tomahawk and 
 scalping knife, murdering all the congregation, nor stayed 
 their hands ujitil upwards of four hundred fanulies, being 
 every soul in the village, were slain. Al)out this time our 
 friends soutli of the line 45®, tirst began to dream of 
 the annexation of Canada. An envoy from ^qw England 
 visited Quebec, and proposed to the French governor the es- 
 tablishment of a peace between the two colonies of a^ew 
 France and Xew England, which was not to be broken even 
 should the parent states go to war. Governor Montmagny 
 consented, on condition that the Iroquois were to be put 
 doAvn. He was so willing that he sent an envov to Boston to 
 ratify a ti'eaty. But the Xew Englanders would not quarrel 
 with the Iroquois, and no treaty was effected. A more hope- 
 ful international commercial alliance, of which the Boston 
 Jubilee of 1851 Avas indicative, has lately been entertained. 
 Compared to the Iroquois, or even the Algonquins, the Hu- 
 ron tribe of Indians were mild in disposition and peaceably 
 disposed. The French missionaries obtained a powerful hold 
 over them. Great numbers became christianized, and even, 
 to some extent, civilized. Descendants of Nimrod though 
 they were, their wandering habits were partially subdued, 
 and very many began to cultivate the ground. As if there 
 
Ifllitl. 
 
 THE EFFKCT OF RUM TPOX THE IROQUOIS. 
 
 17 
 
 •■1 
 le 
 
 was something in the crimato of Quebec to produce such an 
 eft'ect, they were naturally inclined t^ho supremely tranquil. 
 And notwithstanding" the recent horrible massacre they soon 
 sank back into their ordinary state of Icthargv. They were 
 fearfully aroused from their letliarffy, however, by another 
 series of attacks on the part of the Iroquois. The latter fero- 
 cious red men made a descent upon the village of St. Ignaco, 
 killing and capturing all the Ilurons there. They next at- 
 ■• :'ked 8t. Louis, and though some women and children man- 
 aged to escape, both riiissionaries and Ilurons were carried 
 off for the torture. The Huron nation, terribly damaged, 
 seemed to be at the mercy of their more savage enemies. 
 They scattered in every direction. Their settlements were 
 altogether abandoned. Some sought refuge with the Otta- 
 was, some with the Eries, and not a few attached themselves 
 to missionaries, who formed -them into settlements on the 
 Island of St. Joseph., in Lake Ontario. Unable, however, 
 to lind sutficient subsistence on the island, they were com- 
 pelled to form villages on the main land, where they were 
 again slaughtered by the Iroquois. So inferior had they be- 
 come, physically and intelledually, if not numerically, to 
 the Iroquois, that they resolved to put themselves altogether 
 under French protection. This protection the missionaries 
 procured for them, and a new settlement was formed at Sil- 
 lery. The Iroquois now did what they pleased. They were 
 in full possession of the whole country. The French were 
 literally confined to Quebec, Three Elvers, and Montreal. 
 But that which neither French nor Ilurons could do bv force, 
 they were made to do tliemselvcs. They were destroyed in 
 hundreds by rum. The French appealed to their appetites. 
 Iroquois independence was broken in upon by a mere artifice 
 of taste. Furs were now bought, not with pieces of tin and 
 strings of beads, but with plugs of tobacco and bottles of 
 spirits. Intoxication had its ordinary' effect. It caused these 
 naturally hot-blooded, quarrelsome, freemen to butcher each 
 other, and it made them the slaves of the fur trader, whose 
 exertions increased as the favorite narcotic lessened the exer- 
 
18 
 
 ARRIVAL OP TROOPS — A MOON-LIGHT rLlTTl.tO. 
 
 1660. 
 
 's!"?.! "'.' 
 
 'f 
 
 tions And weakened the energies of the hunter. So injurioufl 
 was the effect of the "fire water," and so obvious was the 
 injury to the Indians themselves, that the Chief of the do- 
 mesticated Indians petitioned the Governor, their great Fa- 
 ther, to imprison all drunkards. AVhether or no D' Aillehout 
 granted the request is not recorded. Probabl}' it was not 
 then granted. Among the -Ec/^/s, Ordonnanccs Boyaux, declar- 
 ations^ et arrets du Counsel d'etat Roi concernant le Canada^ no- 
 thing concerning Indian intoxication is to be found. D' Aille- 
 hout ceased not long aftenvards to be governor. In 1650 he 
 was succeeded by Monsieur deLauzon. So hostile, however, 
 had the feelings of the Iroquois now become, that M. de 
 Lauzon returned to France for a detachment of soldiers. He 
 brought out 100 men in 1653. Then the Iroquois were dis- 
 posed for peace. They begged for it. Might is right. The 
 power of the new Governor was acknowledged by the Iro- 
 quois. One hundred muskets was a powerful argument 
 against even 6000 bows and arrows. Frenchmen were sent 
 among them. An Iroquois Roman Catholic Church was 
 founded. For two years all was tolerably quiet, but at the 
 end of that time the spirit of insubordination was so great 
 that the French, anticipating massacre, made a moon-light 
 flitting to Quebec. 
 
 M. Lauzon was superseded as Governor of Canada, in 1658, 
 by the Viscompte d'Argenson. On the very morning of his 
 arrival a large party of Algonquins were menaced under the 
 very guns of Quebec by the Iroquois, who were driven off, 
 but not captured, by a posse of French troops. In the fol- 
 lowing year Monseigneur I'Eveque de Petree, anived at Que- 
 bec, to preside over the Catholic Church. Fran9ois de 
 Petree, a shrewd, energetic, learned prelate, was not, how- 
 ever, appointed to the See of Quebec, by "Notre Saint Pere 
 le Pape Clement X," as he himself tells us, until the Ist 
 October, 1664. In 1663 he established the Seminary of 
 Quebec, and united it with that of the du Bac, in Paris, in 
 1676. The education of young men for the ministry seemed 
 to be his groat objeot. ,Trade would develope itself in time. 
 
his 
 the 
 off, 
 fol- 
 iue- 
 de 
 
 lOW- 
 
 *ere 
 
 l8t 
 
 of 
 [b, in 
 |med 
 lime. 
 
 1668. 
 
 SWEARING 1N)> BLASPHEMY — THE BARTIIQUAKB. 
 
 19 
 
 The country could not fail to become great with so much 
 deep water flowing through it. But religion must be pro- 
 vided for, and the Catholic, the most consistent, if not the 
 most enlightened, of any system of Christianity existing, 
 was his religion, and he paved the way for its extension. 
 Four hundred more soldiers had been added to the garrison 
 before Francois de Laval was even Bishop of Quebec, and 
 they accompanied de Monts, as the Guards did Lord Durham, 
 who was also sent out to enquire into the condition of Canada. 
 In de Mont's time, Canada must have been in a very extra- 
 ordinary state. In 1668, an edict of the king prohibited 
 swearing and blasphemy. The king ruled that oflicers of the 
 army had no acknowledged rank in the Church. And in 
 1670, an arret du Conseil encouraged '•'■ les marriages des gar- 
 goTis et des JiUes du Canada" 
 
 One of the most remarkable earthquakes of wiiicii we have 
 read occurred in Canada, soon after the arrival of the Bishop 
 of Pctrea. It happened, too, in winter. On the 5th of 
 February, 1663, at half-past five o'clock in the evening, the 
 earth began to heave so violentl}^ that people rushed in terror 
 into the streets, only to be terrified the more. The roofs 
 of the buildings bent down, first on one side, then on the 
 other. The walls reeled backward and forward, the stones 
 moving as if they w^ere detached from each other. The 
 church bells rang. Wild and domestic animals were flying 
 in every direction. Fountains were thrown up. Mountains 
 were split in twain. Rivers changed their beds or were to- 
 tally lost. Huge capes or promontories tumbled into the St. 
 Lawrence and became islands. The convulsion lasted for 
 six months, or from February to August, in paroxysms of 
 half an hour each, and although it extended over a range of 
 country, 600 miles in length by 300 in breadth, not a single 
 human being was destroyed. Beyond question this earth- 
 quake altered entirely the features of the countrj- from Mon- 
 treal to the sea ; but, that it did not produce that rent, a« 
 some will have it, through which the Saguenay flows, id 
 evident from th« fact that the Sagn«nay existed on C»rtiers 
 
n |«MHM— MMMBi 
 
 20 
 
 THE PHYSICAL FEATURES OF Tllli COUNTRY. 
 
 1663. 
 
 I, 
 
 I: 
 
 first visit. It did not even produce those numerous islands 
 with wliich the Lower St. Luwrenoe is i-itudded, for some of 
 them are also mentioned l)v the same dariniy and skilful na- 
 vigator. But for the sake of science it is to Ijc regretted that 
 the particular rivers, whose beds were clianged or which 
 were entirely ohliterated, have not been mentioned. The 
 greater depth of the Saguenay tlian the St. Lawrence is 
 easily accounted for by the greater height of the banks of the 
 one river than of the other. In the St. Lawrence a large 
 body of water finds an outlet through a chain of mountains 
 forming the banks of a i-iver which is the outlet of a series of 
 lakes or inland seas, in which the rains or snows of a great 
 part of Xortli America are collected, as the Caspian, the 
 Sea of Azof, and the Euxine are the rain basins of Europe 
 and of Asia, and which spreads its waters over breadths of 
 h\nd, great or small, as its sliorcs are steep or otherwise. If 
 Canada is high al)ovc the oceaii, and on that, as well as on 
 other accounts, iutcnselv cold in winter, it is some consola- 
 tion to know that that latitude, Mhich is in some sense to be 
 regretted, has produced a ri^er and lake navigation for sea- 
 going ships of upwards of a thousand miles, more valuable 
 than ten thousands of miles of prairie-land. A prairie country 
 might have produced a Mississippi filled with snags, but only 
 a mountainous country could produce such rivers for naviga- 
 tion as the Saguenaj' and St. Lawrence, and such rivers for 
 manufacturing purposes as the St. ^Maurice and the Ottawa. 
 But Canada is not all mountainous. There are vast steppes, 
 extensive plains, through which numerous streams roll slug- 
 gishly into the great lakes. There are tracks of country of 
 extraordinary extent capable of producing the heaviest crops. 
 There are garden lands around most of the western cities, on 
 which these cities of yesterday subsist and have arisen. And 
 even in Lower Canada there arc straths of wonderful fertility. 
 Canada, with any government which will permit trade, 
 cannot fail to become pecuniarily rich, even with the draw 
 back of the towns of Lower Canada being rendered inland for 
 half the vear by means of ice. Lower Canada has been 
 
 1664. 
 
 cripple 
 policy, 
 tor. I 
 taming 
 intellig 
 fined tc 
 geous, 
 two mi 
 pine, I 
 nualh- 
 self reli 
 Churclu 
 head wi 
 and the 
 begets ^ 
 Be AJ 
 Baron L 
 stupid n 
 suffered 
 The Iroi 
 upon ev 
 minated 
 in rendei 
 by Euro 
 Associate 
 king, AvI 
 India Cc 
 the Crow 
 tolic and 
 General, 
 and Coun 
 Three K 
 were esti 
 hundred 
 Excellenc 
 proud anc 
 sneered ai 
 
1664. 
 
 THE FlUST GOVEUXUU AM> CUU.NCIL. 
 
 21 
 
 crippled by tho policy of Cardinal Ricliclii'U, who, by tliut 
 policy, paradisical as it may a])i)car, was her lirst benefac- 
 tor. A theocratic government, no doulit excellent for the 
 taming of Indian.-", is not by any mcjins well adapted for an 
 intelligent peo[iK\ So long as the trade of Canada was con- 
 fined to furs the Jesuitical ]tolicy of liichelieu was advanta- 
 geous, but now that the Indians arc nearly exterminated — 
 two millions of acres under cultivation — millions of feet of 
 pine, birch, oak and other tindicr used or exported an- 
 nuallv — and manufactures abonndiui-- — a somewhat more 
 self reliant s[»irit is requisite than the establishment of 
 Churches under the extraordinarv control of a single mitred 
 head will permit. Such a spirit is being gradnally aroused, 
 and the more gradual the more pei'nument will it be. Violence 
 begets violence. Exam])lc is more persuasive than force. 
 
 Dc Monts, or leather de Lauzon, was succeeded by the 
 Baron D'Avaugour, the last of the Fur Governors, a weak, 
 stupid man, who had almost by his imbecility and vacillation 
 snft'ered the business of his employers to l)e extinguished. 
 The Iroquois most vigorously waged war during his time 
 upon every other tribe of Indians. Thoy altogether exter- 
 minated the Erics, and in their very wickedness, did good 
 in rendering their country more susceptibk; to colonization 
 by Europeans. D'Avaugour was recalled. The Hundred 
 Associates resigned their cliarter into the hands of the French 
 king, who transferred the company's privileges to the West 
 India Company. M. dc ^lesy was appointed governor by 
 the Crown, and for a council of advice he had a Vicar Apos- 
 tolic and five others, one of whom was a kind of Inspector 
 General, and another a Ileceiver General. To this Governor 
 and Council the power of establishing Courts of Justice, at 
 Three Rivers and Montreal, was confided. Courts of Law 
 were established soon after De jMesy's arrival, and four 
 hundred soldiers were obtained from France to enable His 
 Excellency to cause the law to be respected. De Mesy, of a 
 proud and unbending temper, quarrelled with his Council, 
 sneered at the settlers, and governed with a rod of iron. Ho 
 
 ■ i 
 
22 
 
 riR.>?T PKTTLKMKNT OF OLD SOLDIERS^. 
 
 vm. 
 
 cared neither for Vicar Apostolic, nor for Finance Minsters. 
 Nay, he went so far, after quarrelling with the Jesuits, as to 
 send twoniemhcrs of the Company to France, a niistake for 
 which he paid the penalty In' heing hinifjclf recalled. De 
 Mesy was succeeded l>y the Marcjuis do Tracy and was the se- 
 cond Chief Crown Oovernor, or Vi(.'crov. lie was not fettered 
 with a Council of Advice, but he was more absurdly hampered 
 with almost (?o-equals in the shape of assistants. The Seig- 
 neur de Courcellcs was appointed Governor of the Colony, 
 and Mon. De Talon, Intendant. De Tracy brought with 
 him as settlers the tlien newlv disbanded reo-inient of Cari- 
 gnan-Sallicres, Avhich had returned from fighting, not for 
 the Turks in Hungary, but against them. They had been 
 extraordinarily successful. And France had acquired great 
 influence by her successful eilbrts to stay Mahometan en- 
 croachment. The Turks were then the oppressors not the 
 oppressed. But France then, as now, was playing the balance 
 of power game. The men of the Carignan Sallieres Regiment 
 were admirably adapted for settlement in a country in which 
 constant fighting was being carried on. They were to have 
 a deep interest in subduing the Iroquois. They were some 
 protection against the Eound-Keads of Massachusetts. Sixteen 
 hundred and sixty-five other settlers, including many arti- 
 sans, accompanied them. Cattle, sheep, and horses were 
 for the first time sent to Canada. More priests were sent out, 
 for whom the "West India Company were, by their charter, 
 bound to provide churches and houses. The most Christian 
 king had determined *ipon at least christianizing the country, 
 and upon so retaining it. "Without priests and churches the 
 Hungarian Heroes w^ould have been of as little value to 
 France as the cattle, sheep, and horses which accompanied 
 them to Canada. It was a condition of the West India 
 Company's Charter that priests were to be carried out, and 
 parsonages and churches erected. Like most companies char- 
 tered for similar purposes, the stock of this company was trans- 
 ferable, but only the revenue, or profits of the revenue could be 
 attached for the debts of the stockholders. The company 
 
l««5. 
 
 THH CANADA CoUPANT. 
 
 28 
 
 had a monopoly of the tcriitoi'v, antl tlio trade of the CoIoiit 
 for forty years. Nor was tliis all. His most Cliristian Ma- 
 jesty conferred a hounty of thirty liviesoii every ton of jroods 
 imported to France, a kind of protection similar to that still 
 extended hv the French e-overnment to the Newfoundland 
 
 I' I? 
 
 _^fisheries. The company had tlie ri^ht to all mines and mi- 
 neral — had the power of levy in 2^ and recruitinj;' soldiers in 
 France — had the power of manufaetnrinii; arms jind ammu- 
 nition — had the power of Imildiniij forts in Canada — and had 
 the power of declaring and carrying on war against tho 
 American Indians, or, in case of insult, the Colonial 
 Englishmen of New England, or the Manhattanese Dutch. 
 Justice was to he administered according to the Custom of 
 Paris. All Colonists of, and converts to the Roman Catholic 
 faith, had tho same rights in France as P"'reiu;hmen horn and 
 resident in France had. And. for four years the king him- 
 self agreed to advance a tenth of the whole stock of the 
 company, without interest, and to bear a corresponding pro- 
 portion of any loss which the company, in tho course of four 
 years, might sustain. These were certainly liberal and pru- 
 dent privileges, but more ultimate good, or in other words, 
 good would have been sooner realized had the conditions 
 been less liberal and less prudent. These conditions were of 
 too liberal a nature to cause any desire for change to be 
 entertained for a great length of time, and the consequence 
 is that even now Lower Canada is governed according to the 
 " Cotume de Paris, " and cultivated as France was cultivated 
 two hundred years back. A year after the Marquis' arrival, 
 the Council of State granted to the Canadian Company the 
 trade in furs on payment of a subsidy of one fourth of all bea- 
 ver skins, and of one tenth of all Buffalo skins. The trade of 
 Tadousac was excepted. Fort building and church building 
 went on vigorously. The fur trade was easily attended to. 
 Three forts were erected at the mouth of the Richelieu — 
 Sorel. The Indians made sorties repeatedly down this river, 
 always doing much mischief, and the forts were intended to 
 prevent th« mischief. But the Iroq^uois were not to be foiled. 
 
24 
 
 KINGSTON ror.NItKD. 
 
 IliOO. 
 
 TIloy found rnoiins to roncli tlie scMloniont,'* by otlicr ronds. 
 Nor was Do Tracy to l)o annoyiMl. I Ii' sent out war iiartics 
 who did not, liowovvi", otlvct mii'-li. The \'iccroy, an ohl 
 man ot'sonic sevi-nty .sunuuci's, took the Ih'ld liiiusoH*. With 
 the view ot'extermiiuitiiiii' the Juchans, lie set out on tho 14th 
 Sept., l(!t)<>, with a eonsiiU'i-ahle force consist! Ui;' of retijuhir 
 troops, militia, and frieiully Indians, rnfortuiuitely the 
 Commissariat Department was hiidly conihicti'd, and tho 
 extCMMuinatinu- foi-ce were nearly thiMnselvos oxtcrminatod by 
 starvation. They had to pass tlirou_u-h a largo tract of forest 
 land to moot their foes, and they frequently lost their way. 
 The haversack was soon emi)tiod, and the starvingarmy was 
 only too happy to breakfast, dine, and su|> on chestnuts 
 gathered in the bush, until s(Mne Indian settlements were 
 reached. They came upon almost a forest of chestnut-trees, 
 and fell upon them like locusts. They ate and tilled their 
 haversacks, and it was well that they did so, for the Iroquois 
 had adopted the Russian expedient of abandoning their vil- 
 lages, and sulfering the enemy to march through a country 
 altogether wanting in the bare necessaries of life. M. De 
 Tracy marched and countermarched without eti'ecting any- 
 thing beyond capturing some old men, and one or two 
 women with their children. Luckily he fell in with supplies 
 of corn in one of the abandoned settlements which he took 
 possession of for the beneiit of his army. Still more luckily 
 he got to Quebec ;igain safely, but so thoroughly disgusted 
 wdth the state of afiairs, that ho resigned his goverimient 
 into De Courcelh's hands, and returned to France. De 
 Courcelle was anuiu of some address. He cajoled the Iroquois 
 and Y^revented war. He was the founder, but not the 
 builder of Fort Cataraqui or Kingston, on Lake Ontario. He 
 settled Ilurons at Michillimacinac. Both fort and set- 
 tlement were intended to benefit the fur trade. The new- 
 settlement w\as in fact a new hunting ground, and the new 
 fort was for the protection of the hunters. De Courcelle 
 visited personally Cataraqui. He was dragged up the La- 
 chine, the Cedars, and other rapids of the St. Lawrence, in 
 
V>U2. TIM': SMALL I'OX — DK FllnN'TIJNA*' — SALll ill' SPIUITS. 
 
 •'A 
 
 an oiicn l)()at, but hu1Km\'(1 iVoin moiHtiuv ami fxposuiv to 
 Bucli an extont that, on ro(uniiiii>; to Montreal, lio solicited 
 Jiis recall to France, and was recalled aeeordiiii^^^ly. 
 
 In ItiOO, the Indians encountered, in the shape ol'sniall- 
 
 pox, a 
 
 inoro terrible Ibe than the musket, tlie sword, the 
 
 arrow, or th'.> " tirewater. " AV^hole tribes were exterminated 
 by this loathsome disease, which ai>i>ears not to have been 
 imported, inasmuch as tlie most distant and least civili/e<l 
 
 •ibe 
 
 iii'st 
 
 •ked and 
 
 dvsufKerc-d. Th 
 
 most sev 
 
 Atlikamegues were eonqiletely exterminated. Tadousae and 
 Trois Rivieres were aban(h)n(!d bv all the Jjidians. Fifteen 
 hundred Ilurons died at Sillery, and yet the Huron sutt'ered 
 less than any other nation. The remnant of the tribe was 
 collected by Father Chainounat, who est.'iblishod them at 
 Lorcttc, where some half-breeds arc yet to be found. 
 
 The Count de Frontenac was the third Viceroy of Canada. 
 He succeeded De Com'celle in 1G02, and Boon after his ar- 
 rival erected the fort wliich his predecessor had decided upon 
 erecting at Cataraqni, gi^'ing' it bis own name — a name 
 wliich still distinguishes the County, the chief town in which 
 Kingston or Catarqui is. De Frontenac was a man of asto- 
 nishing energy. Ilis self will and self esteem were only com- 
 pensated, for by ability and a spirit of independence and 
 honesty. It was not to he supposed that such a man could 
 long suhmit to the whims of his co-equals, as far as gov- 
 erning Avas concerned. !N'or did he. The triumvirate — the 
 Viceroy, the Bishop, and the Intcndaut — each with an equal 
 vote, were soon at loggerheads. Chcsnau, the Intendant, 
 without Frontenac's ability, had all his bad qualities. The 
 Intendant and Viceroy were soon violently opposed to each 
 other, and to make matters worse, the Bishop, supported 
 by his clergy, was annoyed with both. The Bishop consid- 
 ered the sale of spirits to the Indians ahominable ; De 
 Frontenac thought it profitable ; and Chcsnau did not think 
 at all. An appeal was made by the clergy to the home gov- 
 ernment, and both De Frontenac an^ Chesnau were re-called. 
 with censure, and the profitable sale of spirits to cne Indians 
 
 ^ I 
 
26 
 
 MARQUETTE — JOLLYET— THE BIEIIR LA SALLE. 
 
 1G78. 
 
 was prolii])itcd by a, roj^al edict. De Froiitenac ruled 
 Canada for ten years, and during liis administration La Salle 
 discovered the mouths of tlic Mississippi. Only the year 
 after Do Frontenac's arrival in Canada, the Indians reported 
 that there was a large river flowing out to the Atlantic, to 
 the southwest of the colony, and the Kevcrend Messirc 
 Marquette * and a merchant of Quebec, were sent on an 
 exploring expedition. Starting in two canoes, with only a 
 crew of six men for both, they found themselves, after an 
 exceedingly tedious voyage, on the Mississippi, and, rejoicing 
 at their success, returned ])ack immediately to report pro- 
 gress. At Chicago, Marquette separated from his com- 
 panion. In that Indian village of Lake j\Iichigau, now a 
 populous commercial town, the missionary remained with 
 the Miami Indians, while Jollyet went back to Quebec for 
 further instructions. Of course Jollyet was highly commu- 
 nicative at Quebec. The multitude could not travel by steam 
 in those days from Gaspe to Lake Michigan. It was no easy 
 matter at that period to paddle over those groat seas, the 
 inland lakes, in a birch-bark canoe. Jollyet had much to 
 boast of and might, without chance of detection, boast of 
 more than either his experience or a strict adherence to 
 truth could warrant. Jollyet was a curiosity. Jollyet was 
 the lion of Quebec, and he was toasted and boasted accor- 
 dingly. The Sieur La Salle, was in Quebec when Jollyet 
 returned. He heard of the merchant's adventures with 
 deep interest. La Salle, a young man of good family, and 
 of sufficient fortune, had emigrated to Canada in search of 
 fame, and A^ith the further view of increasing his pecuniary 
 resources. lie expected, like Cabot and some others, to 
 find a passage through Canada, by water, to China, 
 imagining that the Missouri emptied itself into the north 
 Pacific. The narrative of Jollyet made La Salle more 
 sanguinely credulous, that he had the "way" before him. 
 
 * The able American Historian, Jarcd Sparks, in a letter to a friend at Que- 
 bec, speakinpf of the early missions in Canada, says ; — " For heroic striipglos 
 and great sacrifices, the world affords few examples to be compared with ibose 
 of tho early Missionaries in Canad.n.'" 
 
167a. 
 
 THE rillST VESSEL BUILT IN CANADA. 
 
 27 
 
 ;o 
 
 e- 
 
 3S 
 
 First lie gained the sanction of the governor to explore 
 the course of that river, and then he retrrned to France 
 for support in his enterprise. So plausible a stoiy did he 
 relate, that means were soon forthcoming. The Prince of 
 Conti most lilj»eral]y entered into La Salle's views, and 
 assisted him to prepare an expedition. The Chevalier de 
 Tonti, an army officer, with one arm, joined him, and on 
 the 14th July, 1678, De La Salle, and De Tonti sailed for 
 Quebec from France, with thirty men. It w^as two months 
 before they reached Quebec ; but no sooner did they ar- 
 rive than they hastened to the great lakes, accompanied 
 by Father Hennepin. Father Hennepin was the histo- 
 rian of the voyage. He tells a wonderfully interesting 
 story. La Salle built a vessel of 60 tons, and carrying 7 
 guns, above the Falls of Niagara, having laid the keel in 
 July, 1679. There are always difficulties attending new en- 
 terprises, and La Salle's shipbuilding operations were fre- 
 quently and annoyingly interfered with. The carpenter was 
 an Italian, named Tuti, and he occupied seven months in 
 building the craft. One day, an Indian, pretending to be 
 drunk, attempted to stab the blacksmith, but that worthy son 
 of Vulcan, like Bailie Mcol Jarvie, successfully defended 
 himself with a red hot bar of iron. Again the savages 
 tried to burn the ship, l^ut were prevented by a woman. 
 A squaw gave La Salle's people warning of the Indian's in- 
 tention. AhT'".ii[' >vQrQ frequent, and only for Father Henne- 
 pin's exhaiLitlons, shipbuilding would have been abandoned 
 to a later ?^ lod, on the lake. But carpentor Tuti persevered, 
 and amid eiithusiastic cheering, the c^iai >+'ng of a Te Dciim, 
 and the tii ng of guns, she was saioly launched. The 
 " Cataraqu)" was square lig^^ed. She was a kind of brigan- 
 tine, not unlike a Dutch galliot of tho present day, with a 
 broad elevated bow and a broiul elevated stern. Very flat 
 in the bottom, she looked much larger than she really was, 
 and wl.Ln her "great " ;^thi- wero fired off, the Indians 
 stared marvellously at iho fJ-ating fort With the aid of 
 tow-iincH and jaik tl.c Nif-garf! Kiver wa^ witii difficulty 
 
^,.. ■^.■»v..m.ipii»»n».«-il 
 
 28 VOYAGE OF THE CATARAQUI — TEMPEST ON LAKE ERIE. 1679. 
 
 ascended, and on the 7tli of August, 1679, the first vessel 
 that ever sat upon tlie lakes entered Lake Erie. Tlie day 
 was beautifully calm, and tlie explorers chanted Te Deums, 
 and fired off guns, to the no small consternation, perhaps 
 amusement, of the Senecas. In four days they sailed through 
 the lake, and entering the liivcr Detroit they sailed up it to 
 Lake St. Clair, and in twelve days more Lake Huron 
 was entered. In that lake storms and calms were alter- 
 nately encountered. On one occasion the wind blew so 
 strongly, that La Salle's man of war was driven across to 
 Saginaw Bay. But worse weather was yet in store for La 
 Salle. A tempest swept over the lake, and topmasts and 
 yards were let go by the run. There was neither anchorage 
 nor shelter, and La Salle and all his crew, now terribly 
 frightened, prayed and prepared for death. Only +ie pilot 
 swore. He anathematized the fresh water. It was Uc' ;i oi'ougli 
 to perish in the open ocean, but something terrible to be 
 drowned in a nasty fresh vv^ater lake, to be devoured, per- 
 haps, by an iclithyosaurus. Prayers and curses seemingly 
 had produced the desired effect ; indeed, the pilot's anathe- 
 matizing was prayer ; but such prayer is not by any means 
 to be recommended. It would be as well to curse as only to 
 pray when fear is excited. Prayer, doubtless, often is, but 
 never ought to be, the effect of fear. Prayfer should be the 
 holy offering up of reasonable desires to the Creator, and 
 in times of danger there should be confidence in the Creator 
 as all powerful, and in ourselves as the instruments of the 
 Creator. However, favored with less adverse winds, th<: 
 exploring expedition reached Michillimacinac, and anchored 
 in 60 fathoms, living on delicious trout, white fish, and stur- 
 geon. From thence entering Lake Michigan, they pro- 
 ceeded to an Island at the mouth of Green Bay, where La 
 Salle loaded his ship ^vith furs and sent her back to Niagara. 
 The cargo was rich. It was valued at 50,000 livres. The 
 blaspheming pilot and five men were sent off with the vessel, 
 but whether the craft foundered in Lake Huron or was pi- 
 ratically visited by the Indians, she was no more heiu'd of. 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 1682. 
 
 Two J 
 learned 
 pilot, 
 sissippi 
 mouths 
 to our e 
 steps to 
 GoveriK 
 first Go 
 I. to th( 
 was not 
 mand of 
 the 24th 
 phical si 
 iug thro 
 murdere 
 fiite for 
 Canada 
 Indians ; 
 and ]^ov 
 lakes to 
 ocean th] 
 stream b( 
 The Ind: 
 spots on 
 establishc 
 M. De 
 roy. Th. 
 vdspositio 
 strong go 
 idea of di 
 occuiTed 
 Iroquois p 
 trading w 
 down the 
 exporter, 
 mode of c 
 
1682. MOUTHS of the Mississippi — murder of la salle. 29 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 Two years elapsed before La Salle or Father Hennepin 
 learned the fate of the " Cataraqui" and her blasphemous 
 pilot. They perseveriugly pushed their way down the Mis- 
 sissippi and readied the Atlantic, thus discovering the 
 mouths of a stream which has been a great source of wealth 
 to our enterprising neighbours. In two years he turned his 
 steps to Quebec, and going home to Franco was appointed 
 Governor of the territory he had discovered. He was the 
 first Governor of Louisiana, a territory ceded by I's'apoleon 
 L to the United States, in 1803. The unlucky Governor 
 was »iot destined to reach his government. La Salle, in com- 
 mand of four ships, with settlers, sailed from Rochelle, on 
 the 24th of July, 1689. He was ignorant of the exact geogra- 
 phical situation of the mouths of the Mississippi, but pass- 
 ing through the Antilles, reached Florida, where he was 
 murdered by his own people — a melancholy and lamentable 
 fate for one of whom all Frenchmen may justly boast. 
 Canada now numl)ered 8000 souls, including converted 
 Lidians ; and French America extended from Newfoundland, 
 and ifova Scotia through the St. Lawrence and the great 
 lakes to the Pacific, and from the great lakes again to the 
 ocean through the ^Mississippi, all the westward of even that 
 stream being French soil. Yet it was only nominally so. 
 The Indians Avere virtually the ow]iers of the soil, those 
 spots on which forts or trading posts had been erected or 
 established, only excepted. 
 
 AI. De La Barre now (1682) succeeded Frontenac as Vice- 
 roy. The new Governor was of a restless and overbearing 
 Tdsposition. He required, or supposed that he required, a 
 strong government. He certainly needed an able one. The 
 idea of drawing oli' the trade of the St. Lawrence had first 
 occuiTed to the English colonists on the Hudson. The 
 Iroquois preferred trading with the "down south" English to 
 trading with the French. Their fiu^s were cliiefly carried 
 down the Hudson, to the no small annoyance of the French 
 exporter. De La Barre had no idea of tolerating such a 
 mode of doing business. The furs of Canada were French 
 
'..Trr 
 
 30 
 
 INDIAN DIFFICULTIES — FollT NIAOAUA. 
 
 1G85. 
 
 fars. The Iiidiaiis were merely Imnters for the French, and 
 liad no right wliaicvor to disposse of their goods in the dear- 
 est njurket, and hwy tlieir necessaries in tlie clicapcst mar- 
 ket. De La Barre, weakened thougli he Avas in tlie number 
 of his troops, many men liaving converted their swords into 
 ploughsliarcs, and their guns into reaping liooks, resolved 
 upon punishing tlie free-trading cliildren of the woods. lie 
 obtained two hundred additional soldiers from Franco, and 
 proceeded up the St. Lawrence on his labor of love. The 
 Lidians only lauglied at him. They thought ho was in a 
 dream when he pompously required them not to w\ar upon 
 eaCi v;)tlicr, or permit the English to come among them. 
 IIis^n-)]v were sick and starving, and were at the mercy 
 rather ul i''c Indians than the Indians at their mercy. M. 
 De La Barre was compelled to withdraw his troops. The 
 blustering, pompous, mischief-loving De La Barre was 
 recalled by his government, for incompetency, and in 1685 
 was succeeded l)y Dcnonville. 
 
 The Marquis Dcnonville was only more cunning than his 
 predecessor, and perhaps more decided. No sooner had he 
 set foot in the colony, than, with the assistance of the 
 missionaries, ho persuaded the Iroquois chiefs to meet him 
 on the l^anks of Lake Ontario. Denonville and the Indians 
 did meet, and no sooner had they met, than Dcnonville 
 treacherously caused a number of them to Ijc seized and put 
 in irons, to ha sent as prisoners to the King of France, for 
 seiTice in his gallies. Denonville erected a fort at Niagara, 
 l)ccamc more violent and overbearing to the Indians, treated 
 the remonstrances of the English of New York, concerning 
 the erection of Fort Niagara, -with contempt, and at last 
 ])rouglit upon himself, as the arrogant generally do, defeat 
 and disgrace. This fort, to whicl> the North West Fur 
 Company of (Quebec had offered to contribute 30,000 livres 
 annually, in consideration of a monopoly of the fur trade, 
 was destroyed by the Iroquois, who followed the now retreat- 
 ing French to Cataraqui, made themselves masters of the 
 whole country west of Montreal, and, to crown all, appeared 
 
 lOHO. 
 
 l)efore tl 
 
 required 
 
 and he ^^ 
 
 gain tin 
 
 allies, w 
 
 time, th( 
 
 attacked 
 
 the Fren 
 
 prisoners 
 
 Nations 1 
 
 off two] I 
 
 The fort 
 
 abandonc 
 
 virtually 
 
 Tadousac 
 
 It was 
 
 Canada a 
 
 tent Den 
 
 attempted 
 
 been too : 
 
 They ^voi 
 
 without s 
 
 complied. 
 
 an allian( 
 
 Ottawas v 
 
 the gain, 
 
 French, v 
 
 to be. £ 
 
 Indians, s 
 
 English ai 
 
 the Indian 
 
 disposed t< 
 
 the Frenc] 
 
 was receiv 
 
 a union, 
 
 trade of tl 
 
 the Fur C 
 
imx 
 
 DECEPTION AND IT;^ REr^ULT.-^. 
 
 :U 
 
 before tliat city witli propo,-:al.-; of peace. T)e?ioiivilIe wan 
 required to restore the chiel's who had bccii scut to Franco, 
 and ho was either, in a position not to resist, or wished to 
 gain time. lie consented to neu'otiate. Tlie lliirons, liis 
 allies, were not now so peaceably disposed. For the iirst 
 time, they seem to have evinced a warlike spirit. They 
 attacked the deputies, and insinuated to their prisoners that 
 the French Governor had instigated them to do no. The 
 prisoners were allowed to depart; a large party of the Five 
 Kations heard their tale, descended upon Montreal, carried 
 oft' two hundred of the inhabitants, and retired unmolested. 
 The fort at Cataraqui was l)lown up, and for a time of course 
 abandoned. Thus, in 1G80, French Canada was again 
 virtually reduced to Montreal, Three Rivers, (Quebec, and 
 Tadousac. 
 
 It was in 1G89 that the Count de Frontenac returned to 
 Canada a second time, asYicer6y, to succeed the incompe- 
 tent Denonvillc. lie took out the captured chiefs, and 
 attempte^J. to conciliate the Iro(|Uois. But the Indians had 
 been too frequently deceived by his immediate predecessors. 
 They would h ivc nothing to do with him, unless he restored, 
 \vitliout stipulation, their captured chiefs. De Frontenac 
 complied. He complied the more readily because lie feared 
 an alliance between the Ottawas and the Iroquois. The 
 Ottawas wore quite inditi'erent to French friendship, because 
 tlicgain, in their estimation, was altogether in favor of the 
 French, whose protectors the Ottawas considered themselves 
 to be. So tar from provocation being now given to the 
 Indians, a policy extremely opposite was pursued. The 
 English and Dutch of the lS'"ew England settlements coveted 
 the Indian trade in furs, and the Indians were more favorably 
 disposed towards the English and Dutch traders than towards 
 the French, because from the former a hu'ger consideration 
 was received. It was Dc Frontenac's policy to prevent such 
 a union, which would, as he conceived, have injured the 
 trade of the St. Lawrence, and have injured the revenue of 
 the Fur Company. De Frontenac induced the Ottawas to 
 
 
 ' 
 
 ■ »• 
 
 1 
 
 
 

 82 
 
 MAfJRACRE OF FCIIKNECTADY. 
 
 I08y. 
 
 !■• 
 
 assist him ap^aiust tlio Englisli of New England, whom he 
 had resolved to attack, France and England being then at 
 war. lie fitted out three expeditions, one against ^ew 
 York, a second against iSTew Hampshire, and a third against 
 tlie Province of Maine. The part}' against iS'^cw York fell 
 upon Schenectady, in Fehruary, 1690. The weather was 
 exceedingly cold, and the ground deeply covered with snow. 
 It was never even suspected, that, at such a season, a cam- 
 paign would be begun. Yet, at the dead of night, while 
 the inhal>itants of Schenectady were asleep, and not a sen- 
 tinel was awake to announce the danger, the war-whoop was 
 raised, every house in the village was simultaneously 
 attacked, buildings were In'oken into and set on fire, men 
 and women wore dragged from their beds, and even mothers, 
 wilii their sleeping inflmts at their breasts, were inhumanly 
 murdered. Sixty persons wore massacred ; thirty were made 
 pric. ner •, dxA such as escaped, almost naked, fled through the 
 deep snow, many perishing with the extreme cold, and the 
 most fortunate being terribly frost bitten. At Salmon Falls, 
 the party sent by Frontenac against i!^ew Hampshire, killed 
 thirty of the inhabitants, took fifty-four prisoners, and 
 burned the village. At Casco, in Maine, the third party 
 killed and captured one hundred persons. Such was the 
 business of colonists in those days. In Canada the majority 
 had no voice in popular affairs. Governors, Intendants, 
 Seigniors, and Priests, controlled the colonists as they willed. 
 However much the Governor may have despised the Intend- 
 ant, the Intendant the Seignior, or the Priest all put 
 together, the merchant, artisan, and peasant were of no 
 account. "VYealth without title was only a bait for extortion. 
 The peasantry were serfs, and the nobles uneducated despots. 
 Education was in the hands of the clergy, while power was 
 solely vested in the Heads of Militaiy Departments. But if 
 ignorance was particularly characteristic of the Canadians, 
 the New Englanders could lay little claim to superior enlight- 
 enment. Harvard's College, in Massachusetts, had appa- 
 rently done no more for the ISTew Englanders, in 1692, than 
 
 1C02. 
 
 ^he Semin 
 Jeflge of Ic 
 frecdoju ii 
 people of ,' 
 Boston, ^vc 
 tagious" m 
 fifteen ycai 
 learned pJr 
 craft. A re 
 accused of 
 Bradstrect v 
 of Sir Willii 
 for refusing 
 death. Kor 
 persons, "m 
 hundred and 
 time beibre ti 
 of sense, cdi 
 madness and 
 cipled. A 
 sadduceo. ' ' 
 disease whicli 
 wliat resembi 
 motion of the 
 sometimes dui 
 at once deaf, c 
 down their thi 
 a prodigious le 
 awideness, th 
 again togethei 
 Shoulder-blade 
 afl:ected. Soni 
 violently togetl 
 and drawn bad 
 De Frontenac 
 of the Five ]S\at 
 to be encounterc 
 
1G02. 
 
 EDITC.VTION — WITCHCRAFT. 
 
 33 
 
 the Seminary of (Juobco, in the way of (.liU'iiHini!; ii know- 
 ledge of Icttoi'rt among I.I10 peopU\ from Avliich the desire [or 
 freedom invarial)]y p.])ring^^, had done for Oanada. Tlie 
 people of Salem, Andover, Ipswich, (lloneestcr, and even 
 Boston, were accusing each other of witclicraft. A "con- 
 tagious" malady, which affected children of ten, twelve or 
 fifteen years of age, it was, oddly enough, said hy the 
 learned physicians of the period, was the result of witch- 
 craft. A respectable merchant of Salem, and his wife, were 
 accused of bewitching children; the sons of Governor 
 Bradstreet were implicated in the divinations ; and the wife 
 of Sir William Pliippa was not above suspicion. One man, 
 for refusing to put himself on tnal by ']nry, was pressed to 
 death. Nor was Giles Correy the oidy suflerer : — nineteen 
 persons, " members of the Church", were executed, and one 
 hundred and fifty persons were put in prison. It was some- 
 time before the conviction began to spread, that even men 
 of sense, education, and fervent piety could entertain the 
 madness and infatuation of the Aveak, illiterate, and unprin- 
 cipled. A disbeliever in witchcraft was an 'obdurate 
 sadducee. ' That conviction did at last possess men. The 
 disease which affected the supposed bewitched children some- 
 what resembled St. Vitus' Dance. It was an involuntary 
 motion of the muscles. The affected w^ere sometimes deaf, 
 sometimes dumb, sometimes blind. Oftentimes, they were 
 at once deaf, dumb, and blind. Their tongues were drawn 
 down their throats, and then pulled out upon their chins to 
 a prodigious length. Their mouths were forced open to such 
 a wideness, that their jaws went out of joint, only to clap 
 again together, with a force like that of a spring lock. 
 Shoulder-blades, elbows, wrists, and knees were similarly 
 aflected. Sometimes the suffurer was bcuumbed, or drawn 
 violently together, and immediately afterwards stretched out 
 and drawn back. 
 
 Do Frontenac set earnestly to work to pacify his old dnemies 
 of the Five ligations. A new and more dreaded enemy had 
 to be encountered. The I^uritans of Massachusetts, provoked 
 
 E 
 
 I • 
 
 ■ ;t 
 
- —" *■»» l**W 
 
 
 34 
 
 PORT ROYAL REDUCED BY PHIPPS. 
 
 1693. 
 
 ^■ 
 
 by De Frontenac's aggressions, resolved to attack Canada, 
 in self-defence. Sir William Phipps, afterwards the first 
 Captain General of Massachusetts, born on the River 
 Kennebec, a man of extraordinary firmness and great 
 energy, who had raised himself to eminence by honesty of 
 purpose, a strong will, and good natural ability, was ap- 
 pointed to the command of an expedition, consisting of 
 seven vessels and eight hundred men. The object of the 
 expedition was the reduction of Port Royal, or Annapolis, 
 in Nova Scotia, which Sir "William speedily and easily 
 accomplished. A second expedition, under Sir William, 
 was resolved upon, for the reduction of Montreal and Que- 
 bec. Two thousand men were to penetrate into Canada by 
 Lake Champlain, to attack Montreal, at the same time 
 that the naval armament, consisting of between thirty and 
 forty ships, should invest Quebec. The expedition failed. 
 The Commissariat and Pontoon Departments of the land 
 expeditio 1, were sadly deficient, and the naval expedition 
 did not reach Quebec until late in October. The weather 
 became tempestuous, and scattered the fleet, while the land 
 force to Montreal mutinied through hunger. Sir William, 
 on the 22nd of October, re-embarked the soldiers which he 
 had landed, and sailed, without carrying with him his field 
 pieces or ammunition waggons. Humiliating as the repulse 
 was to Massachusetts, it was highly creditable to De 
 Frontenac, who now easily succeeded in winning over the 
 Five Nation Indians. Indeed, matters had so very much 
 changed, that these enemies of his most Christian Majesty 
 solicited the Governor to rebuild the fortatCataraqui, which 
 was accordingly done. The Indians were not, however, 
 unanimous in their desire for peace. There was a war and 
 a peace party. To show his power, De Frontenac conceived 
 the idea of a great expedition against the Indians. He col- 
 lected regulars, militia, and all the friendly Indians to be 
 procured, and, marching to Cataraqui, passed into the 
 country of the Onondagos. On entering a lake, it was as- 
 certained by the symbol of two bundles of mshes, that 1434 
 
1697. 
 
 DE FRONTENAC « PENOBSCOT EXPEDITION. 
 
 85 
 
 ii\ 
 
 fighting men wore in readiness to receive them. De Frontenac 
 threw up an earthwork, or log fort, to fall hack upon, and 
 proceeded. De Callieres, Governor of Montreal, commanded 
 the left wing; Do Vaudreuil the right; and De Frontenac, 
 now 76 years of age, was carried, like Menschikoif at Alma, 
 in the centre, in an elbow chair. The Indians fell back, and 
 as they did so, pursued the Russian policy of destroying 
 their own forts by fire. The French never came up with the 
 Onondagos or Oneidas, but contented themselves with 
 destroying grain, and returned to Montreal. 
 
 De Frontenac's next expedition was to join Admiral, the 
 Marquis Nesmond, — ^wh o had been despatched with ten ships 
 of the line, a galliot, and two frigates, — ^with a force of 1500 
 men at Penobscot, with the view of making a descent on 
 Boston ; to range the coast of ]S'e^vfoundland ; and to take 
 New York, from whence the. troops were to return overland 
 to Canada, by the side of the River Hudson and Lake 
 Champlain. The junction was not effected, and the expe- 
 dition failed. A treaty of peace, on the 10th of December, 
 1697, concluded between France and England, at Ryswick, 
 in Germany, put an end to colonial contention for a short 
 time. By that peace, all the countries, forts, and colonies 
 taken by each party during the war, were mutually given 
 back. De Frontenac, an exceedingly courageous and skilful 
 officer, now became involved with his government at home. 
 The French government began to perceive that advanced 
 posts for the purpose of trading with the Indians for furs, 
 were of little, if, indeed, they were of any advantage, 
 while they were a continued source of war. It was proposed 
 to abolish these stations, so that the Indians might, to the 
 great saving of transport, bring in their furs themselves, to 
 Montreal. De Frontenac demurred. These forts were the 
 sign of power, as they were a source of patronage. The fur 
 trade was a monopoly, carried on by licenses granted to old 
 officers and favorites, which were sold to the inland traders 
 as timber limits are now disposed of. Profits of 400 per 
 cent were made on successful fur adventures, under a license 
 
86 
 
 TUAUK — WAll — rorULATiON. 
 
 1703. 
 
 to trade lo IJie oxtoiit oC 10,000 crowiiH on tlio mercluindizc 
 and 000 crowns to each ol' tlio canocnicn. 15cavei' nkinR, ut 
 Montreal, were then worth 28. 8d. BteiTin^ a pound weight. 
 The lir.st Jisheiy waH formed at Mount Louin, on the south 
 shore ol' tlie St. Lawrence, ahout halfway between the mouth 
 of the CJnlf and (iuehec, in 1007. A company formed by 
 the Hieur do Keverin, was tolerably Kuccessful. Canada was 
 even now beginning to look u]), in a commercial point of 
 view. J-)e Frontenac died in Xovend^er folloAving, in the 
 78th year of his age, and the Governor of Montreal, Da 
 (Jalliercs, succeeded him. Do Callieres died suddeidy, iv 
 few years after liis elevation, (1703) when the people of Ca- 
 nada petitioned for the appointment of the Marquis J)o 
 Vaudreuil to the Viceroyalty, and the king granted 
 their prayer. The death of De Callieres occurred one 
 year after a new declaration of war between France and 
 England. This w^ar -was the result of unsettled boundaries, 
 by the peace of Rj-swick. England declared w^ar against 
 both France and Spain. Again Canadians and New Eng- 
 landers sulfercd severely. The French of Canada, especially, 
 allowed their Indians to perpetrate the most horrible atrocities. 
 Women prisoners were inhumanly butchered in cold blood, 
 before the very eyes of their husbands, only because they 
 were unable to keep pace with other prisoners, or their 
 captors. Both the Frencli and the English colonists were 
 permitted by the parent states to fight almost unaided, to 
 fight on imperial account, at colonial expense of blood and 
 treasure. To Canada, nearly altogether a militaiy colony, 
 fighting was particularly agreeable, and yet the population 
 had not reached 15,000, while Massachusetts contained 
 70,000 souls ; Connecticut, 30,000 : Rhode Island, 10,000 ; 
 New Hampshire, 10,000 ; New York, 30,000 ; New Jersey, 
 15,000; Pennsylvania, 20,000; Maryland, 25,000; North 
 Carolina, 5,000; South Carolina, 7,000, and in all 142,000 
 souls. The difficulty of land transport confined hostilities 
 to the border States, and preserved a balance of power 
 between tlie contending colonists. Indeed, the St. Lawrence 
 
1710. 
 
 NEW KNcJLAND KXIMCMTION TO CANADA. 
 
 :37 
 
 lion 
 
 iiilbrded n coinparativcly easy iiioans ol" coiiimunicalion I'or 
 the Frciicli to tliat art'orded by tlio mountain pasHCrf of Ver- 
 mont to the New Kui-'laiiderH. The French coiikl more easily 
 pounce upon the outposts of Lake Champhiiu tliau the New 
 EncjUiuderri eouhl marcli to defend them. The Encrlisli 
 colonists resolved upon makini:; a i!:reat effort. Massachusetts 
 petitioned (Jueen Anno for assistance, who promised to send 
 iivo regiments of reg'ular troops, which, with 1200 men, 
 raised in Masaachusetts and lihode Island, were to sail from 
 Boston for Quebec. Tlio fleet, with the five rei^iments on 
 board, never came to hand, havinc; been sent to Portugal ; 
 but 1800 colonists marched against Montreal, by way of Lake 
 Champlain, and penetrated as far as A\^ood Creek, where 
 the news of the altered destination of the fleet reached them 
 and caused them to return. The French Governor acted on 
 tho defensive. He made , exti'aordinary preparations for 
 defence, which were needless, as the Iroquois Indians, 
 having quarrelled with the English, on the ground that 
 Iroquois safety consisted in the jealousies of the French and 
 English, would not fight, and the invaders retreated. 
 Another application being made to the (^ueen of England 
 for protection, on the part of the New Englanders, Colonel 
 Nicholson came over with five frigates and a bomb ketch, 
 and having been joined by five regiments of troops from 
 Now England, ho sailed with tho frigates and al)out twenty 
 transports, from Boston, on the 18th September, for Port 
 lioyal, which ho captured and called, in honor of his Queen, 
 Annapolis. Animated with his success, Nicholson sailed for 
 England, to solicit another expedition to <^ ^anada. His 
 request was granted. Orders were immcdl;ilcly sent to the 
 colonies to prepare their quotas of men, and only sixteen 
 days after the orders to that eft'ect were received, a fleet of 
 men of war and transports, under Sir Ilovenden Walker, 
 with seven regiments of the Duke of Marlborough's troops, 
 and a battalion of marines, under Brigadier General Hill, 
 arrived at Boston. The fleet had neither provisions nor 
 pilots, but by the prompt exertions of the colonists, 15 men 
 
^ 
 
 88 
 
 CIENEUAL NICHOLSON — PEACE OP UTRECHT. 
 
 1613. 
 
 of war, 40 tran8portn, and storertliips, with nearly 7000 
 men, sailed from Boston for Canada, while Colonel, now 
 General Nicholson, marched at the head of 4000 provincial- 
 ists, from Albany towards Canada. The fleet arrived in the 
 St. Lawrence on the 14th of August, (1710) but in proceeding 
 up the river the whole fleet was nearly destroyed. Tho 
 pilots vere ignorant of tho channels, and tho ' ""i wcro 
 contrary and strong. About midnight of the 2.-iia, a part 
 of the fleet were driven among islands and rocks on the 
 north shore, eight or nine transports were cast away, and 
 nearly 1000 soldiers were drowned. The attempt to take 
 Quebec was again abandoned. Tho ships of war sailed 
 directly for England, and the transports, having provincial 
 troops on board, returned to Boston. General Nicholson 
 remained at Fort George until he heard of the miscarriage 
 of the St. Lawrence expedition, when he retraced his steps 
 to Albany. The Canadians had made extensive preparations 
 for defence. The greatest possible enthusiasm p^^vailed in 
 Quebec. The merchants of Quebec, in 171 'aised a 
 subscription and presented the Governor with 50,uv. ^ crowns, 
 for the purpose of strengthening the fortifications of the 
 town. The peace of Utrecht was, however, concluded, in 
 1713, and Canada was left to contend only with the Outa- 
 gamis, a new Indian enemy, who, in conjunction with the 
 Iroquois, had determined upon burning Detroit, the limit 
 of civilisation to the north west. The French soon caused 
 their Indian enemies to bury their hatchets. 
 
 At the peace, Quebec had 7000 inhabitants, and the 
 population of all Canada amounted to 25,000, of whom 
 5000 were capable of bearing arms. Already the banks of 
 the St. Lawrence below Quebec were laid out in seigniories, 
 and the farms were tolerably well cultivated. Some farmera 
 were in easier circumstances than their seigneurs. The 
 imported nobility had dwindled down to the condition of 
 placemen or traders* The Baron Be^ancour held the oflice 
 of Inspector of Highways, and Count Blumhart made ginger 
 beer. Three Rivers contained 800 inhabitants. A few 
 
1745. 
 
 SOCIAL CONDITION AND J'llOUHK.^r^. 
 
 lid 
 
 ianiior.s lived in tlio iicifrlil'oin'liootl of tli«» iiioiitli of the St. 
 Francis. Montreal wna risinif ra[>i<lly into ini|)ortan».e, 
 Ijiivin^ obtained the fur trade of Throe Jiivcr.s, in a<ldition 
 to its own, and the island liavin<4' been carefully cultivateil, 
 through the well directed ettorts of the desuits. A])ove 
 Montreal there was nothing but forts — Yovt Kingston or 
 Cataraqui, Fort Niagara, Fort Detroit, and Fort Machilli- 
 niakinac. 
 
 The Marquis de Vaudrouil having ruled Canada for twenty- 
 ono years, died on the lOtli of April, 1725. He was 
 succeeded by the Marquis do Beauharnois, under whose 
 judicious management of aftairs, the province becamo 
 prosperous. Cultivation was extended. The Indians were 
 80 much conciliated, that intermarriages between the French 
 and Indians were frequent. And there was nothing to excite 
 alarm but the growing importance and grasping disposition 
 of the New Englanders and Kcw Anglo-IloUandcrs. The 
 Governor of New York had erected a fort and trading post 
 at Oswego, on Lake Ontario, with the view of monopolizing 
 the trade of the Lakes. Beaidiarnois followed the English 
 Governor's example, by building an opposition fort in the 
 neighbourhood of Niagara. Another fort was erected by 
 the Marquis, at Crown Point, on Lake Champlain, and yet 
 another at Ticonderago. The English very soon had a more 
 reasonable pretext than a monopoly of the fur traffic, for 
 more active demonstrations against the French. War was 
 again declared in 1745, between France and England, by 
 George 11.; and Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, without 
 waiting for instructions from England, determined upon, 
 attacking Louisbourg, then considered to be the " Gibraltar 
 of America." Louisbourg, on Cape Breton, was fortified 
 by the French, after the peace of Utrecht, at an expense of 
 $5,500,000. The fortifications consisted of a rampart of 
 stone, nearly 36 feet in height, and a ditch eighty feet wide. 
 There were six bastions, and three batteries, with embrasures 
 for 148 cannon and 6 mortars. On an island at the entrance 
 of the harbor w^as another battery of 30 cannon, carrying 
 
. ■^'W ^ii 
 
 40 
 
 LOUIBnOUllf! — SIIIULKY S RXPKT>ITION. 
 
 1745. 
 
 I'l 
 
 28 pound 8liot, aiuT at the bottom oi'tlio liar])Our, opposite the 
 entrance, was situated tlio royal ])attery of twcnty-eiglit 
 Ibrty-tAvo prtunders, and two eighteen pounders. The 
 entrance of the town, on tlie land .side, was at the west, 
 over a draw-bridgo, near wliicli was a circular battery, 
 mounting 10 guns of 24 jtounds shot. And these works bad 
 been 25 years in building. Louisbourg was a place of much 
 importance to the French. It v.-as a convenient retreat to 
 such privateers as always annoyed and sometimes captured 
 the New England fishing vessels. And the manner of this 
 attack upon it is exceedingly interesting. It was determined 
 on in January, 1745. Massachusetts furnished 3,250 men ; 
 Connecticut, 510 ; Rhode Island and New Hampshire, each 
 300. The naval force consisted of twelve ships, and in 
 two months the anny was enlisted, victualled, and equipped 
 for service. On the 2ord of March, an express boat, which 
 had been sent to Commodore Warren, the Naval Commander 
 in Chief in the West Indies, to invite his co-operation, 
 returned to Boston with the information, that without orders 
 from England he could take no share in a purely colonial 
 expedition. Governor Shirley and General Pepperell never- 
 theless embarked the army, and the colonial fleet sailed the 
 next morning. The expedition arrived at Canso on the 
 4tli of April, where the troops from New Hampshire and 
 Connecticut joined it. Here, Commodore Warren, with his 
 fleet, very unexpectedly joined the expedition. Shortly after 
 his refusal to join, instructions which had been sent oft' from 
 the British Government, approving of the attack upon 
 Louisbourg, as proposed by Governor Shirlej', and which 
 Pepperell had gone to attack, without waiting for Imperial 
 approval, had reached Commodore Warren, and without 
 loss of time he proceeded direct to Canso, whither it was 
 reported the Colonial fleet had gone. Ills arrival was the 
 cause of great joy among the colonists. After a short con- 
 sultation with General Peperell, the Commodore sailed to 
 cruise before Louisbourg, and was soon followed by the 
 colonial fleet and army, which, on the 30tli April, arrived 
 
1745. 
 
 SIEGE OF LOUISBOURO. 
 
 41 
 
 in Cap Rouge Bay. It was not until then that the French 
 were aware that an attack upon them was meditated. Every 
 attempt was made to oppose the landing. They sent detach- 
 ments to the landing places. But General Pcpperell deceived 
 them. He made a feint of landing at one point, and 
 actually landed at another. The stoiy reminds us of Sebas- 
 topol. Next morning 400 of the ..English marched round 
 behind the hills, to the north west of the harbour, setting 
 fire to all the houses and stores, till they came wdthin a mile 
 of the Royal Batteiy. The conflagration of the stores, in 
 which was a considerable quantity of tar, while it concealed 
 the English troops, increased the alann of the French so 
 greatly, that they precipitately abandoned the Royal batteiy. 
 Upon their flight, the English troops took possession of it, 
 and by means of a well directed fire from it, seriously dam- 
 aged the town. The main body of the army now commenced 
 the siege. For fourteen nights they were occupied in draw- 
 ing cannon towards the town, over a morass, in which oxen 
 and horses could not be used. The toil was incredible, but 
 men accustomed to draw the pines of the forests, for masts, 
 could accomplish anything. By the 20th of May, several 
 fascine batteri9s had been erected, one of which mounted 
 five forty-pounders. These batteries, on being opened, did 
 immense execution. While the siege was being proceeded 
 with. Commodore Warren captured the French ship of war 
 "Vigilant," of 74 guns, with her 560 men, and a gi'eat 
 quantity of militarj'^ stores. This capture was of very great 
 consequence, as it not only increased the English force 
 and added to their military supplies, but seriously lessened 
 the strength of the enemy. Shortly after this important 
 capture, the English fleet was considerably augmented by 
 the arrival of several men of war. A combined attack by 
 sea and land was now determined on, and fixed for the 18th 
 of June. Already the inland battery had been silenced ; 
 the western gate of the town was beaten down, and a breach 
 cftected in the wall ; the circular battery of sixteen guns was 
 
 nearly ruined ; and the western flank of the King's bastion 
 
 P 
 
42 
 
 SURRENDER OF LOUISBOURU. 
 
 174G. 
 
 was nearly demolished. The besieged were in no condition 
 to resist a joint attack by sea and land. The preparations 
 for such an attack altogether dispirited them. A cessation 
 of hostilities was asked for, on the 15th, and obtained. On 
 the 17th, after a siege of forty-nine days, Louisbourg and 
 the Island of Cap Breton surrendered. Stores and prizes to the 
 amount of nearly a million sterling fell into the hands of 
 the conquerors. Nor was this the only advantage. Security 
 was given to the colonies in their fisheries ; N^ova Scotia 
 was preserved to England ; and the trade and fisheries of 
 France were nearly ruined. The succefj^^'^l General, a New 
 Englander by birth, was created a baro. ;t of Great Britain, 
 in recognition of his important services to the State. Sir 
 "William Pepper(w)ell rose on the ruins of Louisbourg. On 
 France the bloAV fell with great severity. The court, aroused 
 to vengeance, sent the Duke D'Anville, a nobleman of great 
 courage, in 1746, at the head of an armament of forty ships 
 of war, fifty-six transports, with three thousand five hundred 
 men, and forty thousand stand of arms for the use of the 
 French and Indians in Canada, to recover possession of 
 Cape Breton, and to attack the colonies. Four vessels of 
 the line, forming the "West India squadron, were to join the 
 expedition, and Canada sent ofl:' 1700 men with the same 
 view. The gi'eatest consternation possessed the English 
 colonists, as part of this immense fleet neared the American 
 coast. But there was, in reality, no cause for fear. The 
 tempest had blasted the hopes of France. Only two or 
 three of the ships, with a few transports, reached Chebucto 
 Bay, in Nova Scotia. Many of the ships of this once for- 
 midable expedition were seriously damaged by storms, others 
 were lost, and one was forced to return to Brest, on account 
 of cholera among her crew. On arrival at Chebucto, where 
 Halifax is now situated, the Admiral became so despondent 
 that he poisoned himself, and the Vice Admiral, no more a 
 Roman than his superior, ran himself through the body 
 with his sword. So died both these gallant but unfortunate 
 men, whose moral courage quailed before what they knew 
 
1746. 
 
 A FRENCH FLEET INTERCEPTED. 
 
 43 
 
 must be public opinion in France. Nor were the disasters 
 of the Duke d'Anville's ai-mament yet over. That part of 
 the fleet which had arrived in America, sailed for the purpose 
 of attacking Annapolis, only to be dispersed by a storm, in 
 the Bay of Fundy, and to return to France crest-fallen. 
 Another expedition was however, determined upon. Six 
 men of war, of the largest class, six frigates, and four East 
 Indiamen, Avith a convoy of thirty merchant vessels, set 
 sail from Franco, with the Admiral dela Jonquiere appointed 
 to succeed de Beauharnois as Governor of Canada. But a 
 British fleet, under Admiral Anson and Rear Admiral 
 Warren, dispatched to watch, and, if possible, intercept 
 it, fell in with the French fleet on the 3rd of May, and before 
 night all the battle ships had surrendered. The new Gov- 
 ernor of Canada found himself a prisoner. The disagree- 
 ble intelligence of this second failure reached France on the 
 somewhat sudden and unexpected return of a part of the 
 convoy, which had escaped capture, as night fell, on the 
 day of the surrender of the fleet. Another Governor for 
 Canada was appointed, the Count de la Galli^oniere, who 
 arrived safely. De la Gallisoniere took an intelligent 
 view of the position of aftairs. He saw the folly, in a mil- 
 itary point of view, of keeping the frontier a wilderness, 
 and recommended that a large number of settlers should be 
 sent from France, who, by being located on the frontier, 
 would act as a check upon the British. His advice was, 
 however, unheeded, and de la Jonquiere having been 
 released from capti\dty and conveyed to Canada, the Count 
 resigned his trust to the Admiral, and returned to France. 
 De la Jonquiere was exceedingly active and able. Shortly 
 after, or about the time of his release from captivity, the 
 peace of Aix-la-Chapelle was signed, and all conquests — 
 Louisbourg included — made during the war, were mutually 
 restored. But de la Jonquiere hated the English cordially, 
 and by his hostile acts against the English fur traders, of the 
 Ohio Company, he brought on that war between France and 
 England, known as ''The French and Indian War." Sev- 
 
T-T 
 
 WPP 
 
 JteL4iii.,.Ci*.tiV.'Wf 'r...ii»i. . 
 
 44 
 
 THE NEW ENGLANDERS' CONVENTION. 
 
 1754. 
 
 eral English traders were seized and carried to a French 
 poii;, on the south of Lake Erie, and fortifications, at con- 
 venient distances, were erected and occupied by French 
 troops, between Fort Presqu'isle and the Ohio. War was 
 ultimately declared, and Colonel George "Washington, 
 afterwards President of the United States, was sent, at the 
 head of a regiment of Virginians, by the British Governor 
 Dinwiddle, to put a stop to the fort building, which, 
 although joined by nearly 400 men from New York and 
 South Carolina, he failed to accomplish, having been com- 
 pelled by De Villiers, at the head of a force of 1500 French 
 soldiers, to capitulate, with the privilege of marching back 
 to Virginia unmolested. In Canada, De la Jonqui^re 
 was by no means a favorite. Terribly avaricious, while the 
 Intendant sold licenses to trade, the Governor and his 
 Secretary sold brandy to the Indians. De la Jonquiere 
 became enormously wealthy, but his grasping disposition so 
 annoyed the people of Quebec and Montreal, that complaints 
 against him were loudly made, and he was recalled. He 
 died, however, at Quebec, before his successor, the Marquis 
 du Quesne de Menneville, was appointed. The Anglo-Indian 
 French War now raged furiously. The English colonists 
 were recommended by the British Government to unite 
 together in some scheme for their common defence. A 
 convention of delegates from Massachusetts, New Hamp- 
 shire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Mary- 
 land, with the Lieut. Governor and Council of New York, 
 was accordingly held at Albany, in 1754, and a plan of a 
 federal union adopted. The plan was simply this : — a Grand 
 Council, to be formed of members chosen by the provincial 
 assemblies, and sent from all the colonies; which Grand 
 Council, with a Governor General appointed by the Crown, 
 having a negative voice, should be empowered to make 
 general laws, to raise money in all the colonies, for their 
 defence, to call forth troops, regulate trade, lay duties, &c. 
 It met, however, neither with the approbation of the Pro- 
 vincial Assemblies nor the King's Council. The Assembliee 
 
1754. 
 
 SURPRISE AND DEFEAT OF BRADDOCK. 
 
 45 
 
 rejected it because it gave too much power to the Crown, 
 and the King's Council rejected it because it gave too much 
 power to the people. Nevertheless, the Assemblies \mreser- 
 edly declared, that, if it were adopted, they would under- 
 take to defend themselvw from the Frcncli, without any 
 assistance from Great Britain. The mother country refused 
 to sanction it. Another plan was proposed, which met 
 with universal disapprobation. A convention was to be 
 formed by the Governors, with one or more of their Council 
 to concert measures for the general defence, to erect forti- 
 fications, to raise men, &c., with power to draw upon the 
 British Treasury to defray all charges, which charges were 
 to be reimbursed by taxes upon the colonies, imposed by 
 Acts of Parliament. The English colonies, however, 
 vigorously attempted to repel the encroachments of the 
 French from Canada, and ultimately succeeded, notwith- 
 standing the blundering incompetency of General Braddock 
 and Colonel Dunbar, the afterwards celebnited Washington 
 being Aid-de-Camp to the former on the Ohio. Braddock, in 
 proceeding against Fort du Qucsne, * with upwards of 2,200 
 men, one thousand of whom were regulars, suffered himself 
 to be surprised by only five hundred Frcncli and Indians, 
 had five horses killed under him, was himself mortally 
 wounded, and his troops were defeated. Nay, out of sixty- 
 five officers, sixty-four were killed and wounded, and of the 
 troops engaged, one half were made prisoners, through the 
 ungovernable folly of a man, who advanced without caution, 
 and attempted to form a line when surrounded in a thicket. 
 It was at this time, when the English colonists, not only 
 contemplated a federal union, but had determined upon 
 expeditions — one against the French in Nova Scotia, which 
 completely succeeded ; a second against the French on the 
 Ohio ; a third against Crown Point ; and a fourth against 
 Niagara. The Marquis du Quesne organized the militia of 
 Quebec and Montreal ; minutely inspected and disciplined 
 
 * Now called Pittsburg, and tho chief mauufacturiug town in the United 
 States. 
 
■MM 
 
 ^^ 
 
 46 
 
 AVAllICIOUSNESS OF BWOT. 
 
 1755. 
 
 I '» 
 
 the militia of the seigneuries ; and attached considerable 
 bodies of regular artillery to every garrison. Tired of the 
 continual fighting l)etween Canada and the English colonies, 
 the Marquis du Quesnc solicited his recall. His request was 
 conceded. His most Christian Majesty appointed the 
 Marquis de Vaudreuil de Cavagnac, son of a former Governor 
 to succeed him. De Vaudreuil do Cavagnac sailed for the 
 seat of his government with Admiral La Mothe, who was 
 in command of a fleet newly fitted out, at considerable cost, 
 at Brest. The sailing was not unnoticed by the English 
 Channel fleet. Admiral Boscawen gave chase. He had 
 eleven ships of the line, and with these he came up with the 
 French fleet ofl:'I^^ewfoundland. A battle ensued, and two 
 French vessels fell into the hands of the British, the 
 remainder of the French ships escaping under cover of a fog. 
 Quebec was reached without further molestation, and Gov- 
 ernor De Vaudreuil de Cavagnac was installed. All Canada 
 was, on his arrival, in arms. Every parish was a garrison, 
 commanded by a captain, whose authority was not only 
 acknowledged, but rigidly sustained. Agriculture was, 
 consequent!}'', entirely neglected. Provisions were scarce ; 
 the price of food was enormously high ; and the fur trade 
 was rapidly declining. Notwithstanding this, the Intendant, 
 Bigot, shipped olf large quantities of wheat to the West 
 Indies, on his own account. The Marquis de Vaudreuil de 
 Cavagnac sanctioned the avaricious exactions and dealings 
 of Bigot. Practices the most dishonest and demoralizing 
 were winked at or excused. The Governors positively 
 enriched themselves on the miseries of the governed. A 
 high standard value was given to grain in store. It was 
 studiously reported that the fiirmers were hoarding up their 
 stocks, and prejudice was so excited against them, that it 
 was no difficult matter to confiscate their corn, on pretence 
 that it was absolutely necessary for the city and the troops. 
 De Cavagnac and Bigot bought cheaply and sold extrava- 
 gantly dear. As the Russian officials cheat the Russian 
 government, so did the French oflUciale cheat both the peo- 
 
1750. 
 
 CAI'TUUK OF OSWKOO BY MONTt'ALM. 
 
 dug 
 rely 
 A 
 
 pie and the government ofFranco. But it wan little wonder. 
 The Governor had onlv a salary of £212 sterlino- out of 
 which he was expected to clothe, maintain, and pay a guard 
 for himself, consisting of two sergeants and twenty-tive 
 soldiers, furnishing them with liring in winter, and other 
 necessary articles. A Governor was compelled to trade to 
 ho on a pecuniary level with the merchant. 
 
 The hostilities hetwcen the colonists of English and 
 French extraction for the two preceding years had heen car- 
 ried on, without any formal declaration of war. It Avas not 
 until June, 175C, that war was declared by Great Britain 
 against France, and operations were determined upon on a 
 large scale. Lord Loudon was appointed Commander in 
 Chief of the English forces in America, a?id General the 
 Marquis do Montcalm was appointed Generalissimo in 
 Canada, in room of Dieskau, who was disabled at Lake 
 George. The English commander matured a plan of cam- 
 paign, formed by his locum tcnens, General Abercrombie, 
 which embraced an attack upon Niagara and Crown Point, 
 still in possession of the French, the former being the con- 
 necting link in the line of fortifications between Canada 
 and Louisiana, and the latter commanding Lake Champlain* 
 and guarding the only passage at that time to Canada. 
 Loudon was as hesitating and shiftless, as Abercrombie had 
 been an improvident commander. The expedition against 
 Crown Point was unaccountably delayed. General Winslow, 
 at the head of 700 men, was not permitted to advance. 
 Montcalm, as energetic, able, and enterprising as his 
 opponents were indecisive, with 8000 regulars, Canadians, 
 and Indians, made a rapid descent upon Oswego, at the 
 south-east side of Lake Ontaria, and captured it. Sixteen 
 hundred men, one hundred and twenty pieces of cannon, 
 fourteen mortars, two ships of war, and two hundred boats 
 and batteaux, fell into the conqueror's hands. Lord Loudon, 
 prone to inactivity, instead of vigorously pushing forward 
 upon Crown Point, to retrieve this great disaster, made the 
 disaster an excuse for relinquishing the entei'prise. The 
 
48 
 
 INCOMPETENT OENEttALS — CIIANaE OF MINISTRY. 
 
 1756. 
 
 failure of the campaign of '56 much aimoyed the British 
 Parliament and people, and great preparations were made 
 in the following year to prosecute the war to a successful 
 issue. It was in vain, while Lord Loudon was in command 
 of the colonial army. A fleet of eleven ships of the line, 
 and fifty transports, with more than six thousand troops, 
 arrived at Halifax, for tlie reduction of Louisbourg, and 
 Lord Loudon ordered a large body of troops, designed to 
 march upon Ticonderoga and Crown Point, to co-operate. 
 But so dilatory was his Lordship, that before tlie expedition 
 from Halifax was ready to sail, a French fleet of 17 sail had 
 arrived at Louisbourg, with reinforcements, making the 
 garrison nine thousand strong — and this fine specimen of a 
 hereditary commander deemed it inexpedient to proceed, 
 and abandoned the expedition. Montcalm, again profitting 
 by the weakness and indecision of his adversaries, made a 
 descent on Fort William Henry, situated on the north shore 
 of Lake George, with nine thousand men. The fort, gar- 
 risoned by three thousand men, was commanded by Colonel 
 Munroe, who obstinately defended it. Nay, had it not been 
 for the silly indifterence of General "Webb, who was in com- 
 mand of Fort Edward, which was within only fifteen miles 
 of Fort "William Henry, and was garrisoned by 4000 men, 
 the French General might have been unable to make any 
 impression upon it. But Webb, although solicited by his 
 second in command, Sir "William Johnston, to suffer his 
 troops to march to the rescue, first hesitated, next granted 
 permission, and then drew back. Li six days the garrison 
 surrendered, Munroe and his troops being admitted to an 
 honorable capitulation. Reverses such as these, involving 
 great misery, inasmuch as the Indians too frequently 
 butchered their prisoners in cold blood, could notfail to have 
 an efifect upon a ministry which had appointed such incapa- 
 bles to command. A change of ministry was loudly 
 demanded, and most fortunately for the honor of^the British 
 arms, and for the salvation of the colonies, there was a 
 change. The great Pitt, afterwards Lord Chatham, was the 
 
17.06. 
 
 AUERCROMBIE S ATTACK ON TICONDEKOGA. 
 
 49 
 
 Palraor.stou of that da v. Placed at tlic head of the adinin- 
 istration, he breatlied into tlic British Councils a new sonh 
 He revived the enci'i!,'ies of the coh)nies. He ,i>'ave new life 
 to dependencies, wliose h)yalty was weakened, and wliose 
 means were exhausted by a series of as ill-contrived and 
 unfortunate expeditions as were ever attciapteth He 
 addressed circulars to the colonial (Joveriiors, assuring tliem 
 of thcdetenuination of the niinistrv to send a laru'c force to 
 America, and called upon the colonics to raise as many 
 troops as possible, and to act proni[itly and liberally in fur- 
 nishing the requisite supplies. The colonies nobl^' responded. 
 Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Xew England unitedly 
 raised 15,000 men, who were ready to take the Held in May. 
 An expedition to Louisboui'g, a second to Ticonderoga, and 
 a third agninst Fort du Quesue were determined upon. The 
 tide of success was on the turn. Admiral Boscawen, with 
 a fleet of twenty ships of the line, eighteen frigates, and an 
 army of fourteen thousand men, under the command of 
 General Amherst, his second in command being (Jeneral 
 "Wolfe, sailed from Halifax, for Louisbouj'g, on the 28th of 
 May. Louisbourg resisted vigorouslv, but oji the 2Gl;h of 
 July tliis important fortress was a second time in the posses- 
 sion of Great Britain. 5735 men, 120 cannon, 5 ships of the 
 line, and 4 frigates were captured. Isle Koyal and St. John's, 
 with Cape Breton, foil, also, into the hands of the English. 
 Against Ticonderoga the Engllsli were not so successful. 
 This central expedition was conducted by General Abcrcrom- 
 bie, who had succeeded Lord Loudon as Commander-in- 
 Chief in America, that nobleman having returned home. 
 He had with him 10,000 men and a formidable train of 
 artillery. Ticonderoga was only garrisoned ]>y 8000 French. 
 The passage of Abercrombie across Lake Champlain was only 
 a little less splendid than that of the British andFrencli armies 
 over the Black Sea, from Yarna to Eupatoria, in September, 
 1854. The morning was remarkably bright and beautiful, 
 and the fleet moved with exact regularity, to the sound of 
 
 fine martial music. The ensigns waved and glittered in the 
 
 o 
 
 . i: 
 
 1; 
 
•MMi 
 
 60 
 
 .Sl'llURNDKR OF I'OIIT FUONTEXAC. 
 
 1751). 
 
 Hunbcams, and the aiiti(;i[»fitioii of futiiro triuuiphs shoiio in 
 every eye. Above, beneath, around, the scenery wa.'^ that 
 of enchantment. Ttwas a coniplieation of beauty and nia<;'- 
 nificence, on Avhich the sun rarely sliines. l>iit General 
 Abercrornl)!e was unequal to the eoniuiand of such an army. 
 Ho left to incompetent Aides-de-Camp the task of iveonnoi- 
 tcring the ground and entrenchments, and without a know- 
 ledge of the strength of the place, or of the points proper for 
 attack, and without bringing up a single piece of artillery, ho 
 issued his orders to attempt the lines. The army advanced with 
 the greatest intrepidity, and for upwards of four hours (the 
 duration of the battle of the Alma) maintained the attack 
 with incredible obstinacy. Xearly two thousand of the 
 English were killed or wounded, and a retreat was ordered. 
 On reaching Lake George, his former quarters, the defeated 
 and mortilled Abercrond>ic yielded to the solicitations of 
 Colonel Bradstreet, who desired to be sent against Fort 
 Frontonac, (now Kingston) on Lake Ontario. Three 
 thousand provincials were detached on this expedition, and 
 in two days the fortress had surrendered, and 9 armed ves- 
 pels, 60 cannon, and sixteen mortars, and a vast quantity of 
 ammunition were taken possession of. Fort du Qucsne Avas 
 evacuated on the approach of General Forbes, with 8000 
 men, and was re-named Pittsburg, in honor of the Prime 
 Minister of England, Mr. Pitt. 
 
 Elated by success, the entire conquest of Oaimda was 
 now determined upon by the English. Three powerful armies 
 were simultaneously to enter the French Province by three 
 different routes — Ticonderoga and Crown Point, Niagara 
 and Quebec were to be attacked as nearly as possible at the 
 same time. On the 22nd of July, 1750, the successor of 
 Abercrombie, General Amherst, attacked, first, Ticonderoga, 
 and then Crown Point, both places being evacuated on his 
 approach, the French retiring to Isle Aux Noix, where 
 General Amherst could not follow them, for want of a 
 naval armament. On the 6th of the same month. Fort 
 Niagara was invested by Sir William Johnston, who sue- 
 
17;>9. 
 
 WOJ.Ft: t< INVA.SIOX. 
 
 ol 
 
 C'Cecled tu tLe ooiumand of the Xiaiiiiiru division of tlio ariiiv 
 on tlio death ofOoiioral rridoanx, an ahlo and distinguished 
 officer, nnfortunately kilU'd, four days previously, by tho 
 bursting of u eohorn. A general battle took ]>lace on the 
 24tli, whieh decided the fate of Niagara, by placing it in tho 
 hands of the invaders. 
 
 The intended campaign of 1750, was early made known 
 to General Montcahn : that on Quebec was made known to 
 him on tlie 14th of May, by M. dc Bougainville, appointed 
 on the Marquis' staff, as Aid-de-Camp. In January, u 
 census of those capable of bearing arms in Canada was 
 taken, when 15,220 were rcjiortcd as available for sciTico. 
 Montcalm went energetically to work to preserve tho 
 country to France. A council of war was held at Mon- 
 treal, and it was decided that a body of troops, under 
 Montcalm, the Marf[uis dc -Levi, and M. de Jcnnczcrgus, 
 should be posted at Quebec ; that M. de Bourlcmarpie should 
 hasten to Ticonderoga, blow up the works at tho approach 
 of the English, retire by tho Lake to Isle-aux-Xoix, and 
 there stubbornly resist. AN^ith 800 regulars and militia, the 
 Chevalier de la Cornc was directed to hold the rapids above 
 Montreal, to entrench himself in a strong position, and hold 
 out to the last. It is, therefore, obvious, that the evacuation 
 of Ticonderoga was determined upon; and that the retention 
 of Niagara was not much desired. The intended march 
 upon Quebec, by a large force from England, caused tho 
 greatest uneasiness. Montcalm, luisteningto Quebec, pushed 
 on the defences of the city and its outposts vigorously. 
 The buoys, and other marks for the safe navigation of tho 
 St. Lawrence were removed. Proclamations, calling upon 
 the people to make a determined resistance, were issued. 
 The people were reminded that they were about to contest 
 with a powerful and ruthless enemy of their religion and 
 their homes. The Church urged the luithful to resist the 
 heretical invaders. 
 
 General Wolfe was in the harbour of Quebec before either 
 Ticonderoga or Niagara had fallen. Eight thousand men 
 
Tim 
 
 62 
 
 Tllli UKl'L'LSK AT MuNTMuUKNCI. 
 
 1751). 
 
 17, 
 
 r 
 
 Iiiul 1)0011 einl)at'ke(lut Loiiishotirir, nn<lorconvoy of Adniirsils 
 SiiundorH nnd IEoIiiioh. Tlu; (.'xpcdilioii iii'iMvcd Avitliout 
 ncc'idoiit oiY t1io Tslaud of OrK';!!!.-!, ulicre tlie troopn worn 
 (lisomlmrkc'd, on tlic 2')th of Jiiiu'. (Tonoral Wollc, tliroo 
 days afterwards, i.s.siied an nddroi^s to tlio colouistH. ITo 
 ni)pcal(!d to tlieir fears. (JcMioral Ainliorst was aiti>roaching in 
 one direction, Sir AV. Jolinstoii in anotlior, and he (Wolfe) 
 was at their very dooi-s. Siieeonr from Fi'anco was unob- 
 tainal)ie. To tlic peasantry lie, lliereforo, offered tlie sweets 
 of peace, amid tlie liorrors of war. The I'^rencli colonists, 
 however, were ii;'norant of the Kniilish langnaije as of Ihig- 
 iish customs. Tliev saw no sii^n of tine feelinj^ towards 
 themselves in so hirg-e a lleet and so considerable an army. 
 Every obstacle that could bo jilaccd in the way of an invading 
 force, the French colonists patriotically i)laced in the way of 
 Generid Wolfe. The}- readily formed themselves into bat- 
 talions for defence. They hung about tlio skirts of that part 
 of the armv which had ])een landed, cutting oif foraging 
 parties, and othervrise harassing it. They prayed in the 
 churches for the preservation of their country-. The most 
 noble spirit animated the Canadians. (Jeneral Monekton 
 was sent to drive the French off Point Levi, opposite Quebec, 
 and take possession of the post. He succeeded. Batteries 
 were thrown up and unceasingly worked. The tiring a\ as, 
 but however, of little use, only the houses of the town 
 being injured. The fortifications wore not only uninjured, 
 they were being rapidly strengthened. ?iTore energetic mea- 
 sures were determined upon. Wolfe crossed the river and 
 
 attacked the onomy in their entrenchments, a* Moi. I'on-'i. 
 
 But, some of the boats in which the • had crossed, 
 
 urduckily gronnded, and the attackin*. ity did not land 
 together. The grenadiers rushed imp'^tuously forward, 
 without oven waiting to form, and weremowi d down by the 
 enemy's close, steady, and well directed fire. Montcalm's 
 force now advanced to the beach, and the contest waxed 
 hotter. A thunder storm was approaching, and the tide was 
 fretting in. Wolfe, fearing the consequences of delay. 
 
 vibrate 
 nels \vc 
 curious 
 passing 
 
17ol>. 
 
 TiiK HAITI, t: 01' yi i;iJi:r 
 
 r\: 
 
 ^ 
 
 as. 
 
 lea- 
 
 Ini s 
 
 ordered a retreat, aii<l returned to hU ([iinrter^, on tlio Is«land 
 ol' Orleans. IIo lost yix liundre*! of tlie llower of liis army 
 in tins nnliapity eneounter, and left heliijid liiin f»onio of hi« 
 lari^est boats. The condition of llic Invaders was fur from 
 envia]>le. SieknesH prevailed to an iilarniinLi; extent in tho 
 camp. They had been already Jive v.eeks before the eity, and 
 many lives had been lost, not only in skirmishes, but by 
 dysentery. ^\^)Ife himseli" f( 11 sick. l)e]>resscd in 8[)irits 
 by the disastrous atteni[)tt() land on tlie Heauiiort shoals, and 
 worn down witii fatit;-ue and watehins;, he was eonipelled to 
 take to his bed. Tt was while lying ill that the |»hin occurred 
 to him of })roeeedin«^ up the river, scaliui^ the heights by 
 niu'ht, and I'orclng Montcalm to a general enu'agement. On 
 his recovery ho proceeded to carry his plan into execution. 
 A feint of landing again at JJeanpoi't was made. The boats 
 of the lleet, lilled with sailors and marines, apparently nnulo 
 for the shore, covered by [i part of the ikrt, the other part 
 having gone higher up the rixer. At one hour after midnight, 
 on the 12tli Septendjer, the licet being now at anchor at the 
 narrows of Carouge, the first division of the army, consist- 
 ing of 1600 men, were [»laced in Hat boltonied Ijoats, which 
 silently droppeil down the current. It was intended to land 
 three miles above Cape 13iamond, and then ascend to the 
 high grounds above. The current, hou'e\er, carried the 
 boats down to within a mile and a half of the city. The 
 night Avas dismally dark, the bank seemed more than ordi- 
 narily steep and lofty, and the French were on the qui five. 
 A sentinel bawled out, " Qnc r/rr," who goes there?" "Xa 
 France," was the quick reply. Captain Macdoiudd, of tho 
 78tli Highlanders, had served in Holland, and know tho 
 proper reply to the challenge of a French sentry. " A cpiel 
 regiment?" asked the sentry, " De la Heine" was the res- 
 ponse. "Passe" said the soldier, "who made the darkness 
 vibrate as he brought his musket to the carrv. Other senti- 
 nels were similarly deceived. One was more particularly 
 curious than the others. Something in the voice of the 
 passing friend did not please his ear. Kunning down to the 
 
^31 
 
 foajftx.tUsf . ,»j » 
 
 "54 
 
 I>EATJI OJ' WUI-FE. 
 
 ]7;59. 
 
 1^ iil*':^ 
 
 !:■■ 
 
 water's edge, he called " Pour quoi est-ce que vous ne 
 parlez plus Imut," vvliy don't you speak louder?" " Tais 
 toi, nous serous entciKlu !" llush, avo sliall be overheard 
 and discovered, btiid the cunning liiglilander, still more 
 softly. It was enough, tlie ])oats passed. Within one ho\ir 
 of daylight a landing \vas ofrected, and tlio British army 
 began to scale the heights, the base of which was then 
 washed by the 8t. Lawrence. Ily dsulii^ht, the armv was 
 draAvn up in battle ari\iy, on the "Plains of Abraham." 
 The ground was somewhat undulating, jind Avell calculated 
 for mancouvring. Every knoll was taken advantage of. 
 Every little hillock ser\-ed the purpose of an earthwork. For 
 the invaders it was victory or death. To retreat was impos- 
 sible. The position of the Ih'itish army was speedily made 
 known to ^Montcalm. There AAas not a moment to be lost. 
 The French General rapidly crossed the St. Charles, and 
 advanced with his whole army, to meet that of Wolfe. Fif- 
 teen hundred Indians first ascended the hill, from the valley 
 of the St. Charles, and stationing themselves in cornfields 
 and bushes, tired n]»on the English, who took no notice of 
 their tire. Ik'tween nine and ten o'clock, the two armies 
 met, face to face, and when the main body of the French, 
 advancing rapidly, were within forty 3'ards, the English 
 opened their fire, and the carinige was terrible. The French 
 fought gallantly, but under a galling and well directed fire, 
 they fell, in spite of the exertions of their otlicers, iiito 
 disorder. The Tjrltish Grenadiers charged at this critical 
 moment. The Highlanders rushing forward, with the clay- 
 more, hewed down every opponent, and the fate of the 
 battle was no longer doubtful — the French retreated. "Wolfe 
 liad just been carried to the rear, mortally wonnded in the 
 groin. Early in the battle, a ball struck him in the wrist, 
 but binding his handkerchief around it, he continued to 
 encourage his men. It was while in the agonies of death, 
 that he heard the cry of "they flee," " they flee," and on 
 being told tliat it was the French who fled, exclaimed, 
 "Then I die happy."' His econd in command. General 
 
I7r)i>. 
 
 ijkath or mo\t<;ai,m. 
 
 O.) 
 
 .11, 
 
 :lfC 
 
 ■he 
 
 Moiickton, was woundod nwd coiiveved luvav, ft«hortlv after 
 as,sumin<2; tlic (ru-oetion of ait'alrs, wlicri rlio command 
 dovolvod upon Ocm'i-al ToAviislK'iid who followed up tlic 
 victory, reudorcd t.lio inoro telling- In- the death of the bravo 
 Montcalm, who foil, laortally wounded, in front of liis 
 battalion, and that of his second in command, (xonoral 
 Jonnozcrgus, who fell near liim. A\u)lfo's army consisted 
 of only 4,828 men, Montcalm's of 7,520 men, exclusive of 
 Indians. The English loss amounted to ">') killed and 007 
 wounded, that of the Frencli to nearly a thousand ki. led and 
 wounded; and a thousand made prisoners. ^J^ntcalm was 
 carried to the city ; bis last moments were employed in 
 writing to the English general, recommending the French 
 prisoners to bis care and humanity; and when informed that 
 his wound was mortal, he sub-iimely remarked: — -'I shall 
 not then live to see the surrender of Quebec." On the 14th 
 ho died, and on the evening of the 18th the keys of Quebec 
 were delivered up to his concpicrors, and the British flag 
 was hoisted on the citadel. French imperial rule had virtu- 
 all v ended in Canada. Xot so, French customs. Bv tlio 
 capitulation, which suffered the gari'ison to march out with 
 the honors of war, the iidial)itanto of the country were per- 
 mitted tlie free exercise of tlu'lr religion ; and, afterwards, 
 in 1774, the Konian Catholic Church establishment was re- 
 cognized ; and disputes concerning landed and real property, 
 were to be settled bv the Coafumc da Paris. In criminal 
 cases only was the law of Ihigland to apply. 
 
 Admiral Saunders, with all the fleet, except two ships, 
 sailed fiu' England, on the 18th of October, (Quebec being 
 left to the care of General Murray and about 3000 men. 
 After the fleet had sailed, several attempts Avei-e made upon 
 the British outposts at I'oint Levi, Cape Eonge, and St. 
 Foy, unsuccessfully. AVinter came, and the sufferings of 
 the conquerers and the conrpiered were dreadful. The Fra- 
 zerlliirhlanders wore tlieir kilts, notwithstanding' the extreme 
 cold, and provisions were so scarce and deai-, that many of 
 the inhabitants died of starvation. The Marquis de Van- 
 
 flA—l 
 
"m^wwmj 
 
 66 
 
 CANADA CKDEB TO ENGLAND. 
 
 1763. 
 
 dreuil, the Governor Goiioral of ITi.^ Most Christian Majesty, 
 busied himself, at Montreul, with preparations for tlie 
 recovery of Quebec, in the spring'. In April, he sent the 
 General De Levi, Avith an army of 10,000 men, to effect that 
 object. l)e Levi arrived within three miles of Quebec, on 
 the 2Sfc]i, and defeated Genera! Murray's force of 2,200 men, 
 imprudently sent to meet him. The city was again besieged, 
 but this time by the French. Indeed, it was only on the 
 appearance of the 'Britisii ships, about the middle of May, 
 that the siege was raised. J)e Levi retreated to Jacques 
 Cartier. The tide of fortune was again turning. General 
 Andierst Avas advanciiip: from Xew York upon ]\Iontreal. 
 Bv the middle of Ma\', tliat citv, and with it the whole of 
 Canada, including a population, exclusive of Indians, of 
 69,275 souls, was surrendered to England. 
 
 Montcalm, who was not only a general, but a statesman, 
 is said to have expressed himself to the eifect, that the con- 
 quest of Canada by Englaiul would endanger her retention 
 of the i!Tew England colonies, andultimately prove injurious 
 to her interests on this continent. Canada, not subject to 
 France, would be no source of uneasiness or annoyance to 
 the English colonists, who already were becoming politically 
 important, and somewhat impatient of restraint. IIow far 
 such an opinion was justiliable, is to be gathered from the 
 condition of Canada and the colonies of Great Britain in 
 America, at tliis hour. 
 
 Canada was, in 1763, ceded by His Most Christian 
 Majesty, the King of France, to His Britannic ]N[ajesty King 
 George the Second. Emigration from the ITnitcd Kingdom 
 to Canada was encouraged — not to Canada only, but to 
 Nova Scotia, Avhich then included the present Province of 
 New Brunswick. By the treaty of 1763, signed at Paris, 
 Kova Scotia, Canada, the Isle of Capo Breton, and all the 
 other Islands in the Gulf and River St. Lawrence, were 
 ceded to the British Ch'own. Britain, not only powerful in 
 arms, but, even at this period, great in commerce, was 
 about to change, though almost imperceptibly, the feelings 
 
1763. 
 
 CANADA AND NKW ENGLAND. 
 
 57 
 
 to 
 
 uy 
 
 fur 
 no 
 in 
 
 of her new sul)jeets. The old or Xcw Enghind colonies, 
 which had so largely eontrihuted to the subjugation of 
 Cana(hi, were already largely engaged in trade. They had 
 not made much progress in agriculture. They had made no 
 progress in manufactures. It was six years later before their 
 iirst collegiate instilution, at Hanover, Xew Hampshire, was 
 founded. But, while Cana(hi, perhaps, only loaded a couple 
 of vessels with the skins of the bear, the beaver, the buffalo, 
 the fox, the lynx, the martin, the minx, and the wolf, to 
 prevent the total evaporation of heat from the shoulders of 
 the rentier sex in Paris or London, or to frini»:e the velvet 
 robes of the courtiers of St. James and the Tuileries, the 
 New Englanders employed, annually, about one thousand 
 and seventy-eight British vessels, manned by twenty-eight 
 thousand nine hundred seamen, while their whale and other 
 fisheries had become of groat importance. * To change the 
 military cliaracter of the sixty-nine thousand inhabitants of 
 Canada ceded by France to England, could not be done im- 
 mediately. That was as impossible as to make them abjure 
 by proclamation, their religion. All changes, to be lasting, 
 must be gradual, and the government of Great Britain only 
 contemplated a lasting change, by the introduction into 
 Canada of her own people, imbued with somewhat diiferent 
 ideas, religiously, legally, and commercially, from those 
 which actuated the conquered population. 
 
 lan 
 ing 
 
 * In 1771, liowpvor, 471 ,000 bitshels of wheat were exported from Canada, 
 of which two-thirds, it was computed, were made in the Sorcl District. Sec the 
 Journal of Charles Carroll, of Carollton, page 77. 
 
 lugs 
 
 H 
 
mm 
 
 liKW'«!«l»'.. .t. ^. 
 
 58 QUBBEC ACT — TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION. 1774. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 For some years after the conquest, the form of government 
 was purely military. It was, indeed, only in 1774, that two 
 Acts were passed by the British government, one with the 
 view of providing a revenue for the civil government of the 
 Province of Quebec, as the whole of Canada was then 
 termed, the other, called " The Quebec Act," defining the 
 boundaries of the Province, setting aside all the provisions 
 of the Royal proclamation, of 1763, and appointing a gov- 
 erning Council of not more than twenty-three, nor less than 
 seventeen persons. And whatever may have been the motive 
 for this almost unlooked for liberality on the part of the 
 mother country, it is not a little singular that only a year 
 later, England's great difficulty with her old colonies occurred. 
 The Parliament of Great Britain had imposed, without even 
 consulting the colonists, a tax for the defence and protection 
 of the colonies, on clayed sugar, indigo, coffee, &c., and 
 the colonists resisted. The American colonies contended 
 that taxation and representation were inseparable, and that 
 having no voice in the administration of affairs, they were 
 free from any taxation, but that which was self-imposed, for 
 local purposes. So far, however, from paying any heed to 
 the remonstrances of the colonists, the Imperial Parliament 
 became more exacting and tyrannical. Not only were the 
 necessaries of life taxed in America, for the benefit of the 
 
1774. 
 
 IIEPHESENTATION IN THE IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. 
 
 59 
 
 red-tapists and other place-lioldcra of the Imperial govern- 
 ment, l)ut a stamp Act was passed through the Imperial 
 Parliament, ordaining that instruments of writing — bonds, 
 deeds, and notes — executed in the colonies, should be null and 
 void, unless executed upon paper stamped by the London 
 Stamp Office. It was then that a coffin, inscribed with the 
 word " Liberty" was carried to the grave, in Portsmouth, 
 Massachusetts, and buried with military honours ! Had the 
 views of Governor Pownall, of Massachusetts, with regard 
 to the representation of the colonies in the British Parlia- 
 ment, been adopted, no umbrage could have been taken at 
 the imposition of taxes, because the colonies would have 
 been open to civil and military preferment in the state equally 
 with the residents of the United Kingdom. It was, and is, 
 an unfortunate mistake to look upon colonists with contempt. 
 Colonists, more even than the inhabitants of old countries, 
 inhale a spirit of independence. Often, lords of all they • 
 survey, they call no man lord. They are the pioneers of 
 their own fortunes. They make glad the wilderness. They 
 produce more than they themselves require. But Great 
 Britain was, at the time of which we speak, perfectly infat- 
 uated. On the 4th of Sept. of the very year in which the 
 Quebec Act was granted, 1774, a Continental Congress was 
 held, of which Peter Randolph, of Virginia, was President, 
 to sympathize with the people of Boston, on account of their 
 disabilities, by reason of the tea riot. * But such Congresses 
 produced no effect in England. On the contrary, Massa- 
 chusetts was more rigorously punished, and was prevented 
 from fishing on the Banks of Newfoundland. Is it wonder- 
 ful that the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker's 
 Hill followed? Is it wonderful tiiat those who had assisted 
 Wolfe in taking Canada from the French, should have after- 
 wards attempted to conquer Canada for themselves ? Is it 
 wonderful that, on the 3rd of November, 1775, one of 
 Washington's Brigadier Generals, Montgomery, should have 
 
 * People are sometimes in the habit of making light of a tempest in a tea pot. 
 This tea tempest was no laughing matter. 
 
-.A-^M 
 
 60 
 
 iMOMGOMURY is INVASlUX. 
 
 1774. 
 
 r 
 
 received tlie BuiTcnder of 500 regular Jiritisli troopn, at ^t. 
 John's, Canada East ; the surrender of one hundred 
 Canadians, of thirty-nine pieces of cannon, of seven mor- 
 tars, and of live hundred stand of anus? Is it wondurful 
 that Montreal, then so thinly inhabited and indiifcrently 
 garrisoned, should have capitulated, or that Quebec should 
 have been invested by Arnold, who sailed doAvn the Chau- 
 dicre on raAs, and by IMontgonuu'y, to whom ^Montreal had 
 capitulated ? It is only wonderful that Quel)ec was success- 
 fully defended, and that General Montgomery perished 
 under her walls. Canada, notwithstanding the temporary 
 annexation of Montreal, was true to Great Britain, feeling 
 that whatever might liave been the injustice of Britain to 
 the old Colonies, Canada had nothing then of which to com- 
 plain. Indeed, the attack upon the newly ceded province 
 of Canada, w^^s amongst the earliest demonstrations of a 
 disposition on the part of the old Colonies to rcsoi-t to vio- 
 lence. " The Quebec Act" was in itself a cause of offence 
 to them. On the 21st of October, 1774, the following lan- 
 guage was made use of l)y the Congress, in reference to that 
 Act, in an Address to the people of Great liritain : — " iTor 
 can w^e suppress our astonishment, that a British Parliament 
 should ever consent to establish in that country, a religion 
 that has deluged your Island in blood, and dispersed impiety, 
 bigotiy, persecution, murder, and rebellion through c\ery 
 part of the world." And " That wc think the Legislature 
 of Great Britain is not authorized by the Constitution to 
 establish a religion fraught with sanguinaiy and impious 
 tenets." The attack was of a tw^o-fold nature. Both the 
 sword and the pen were brought into requisition. It was 
 supposed by the discontented old colonists, that the boundary 
 of the lakes and rivers which emptied themselves into the 
 Gulf of St. LawTcnce, and had formed the natural barrier 
 between two nations, until the peace of Paris, in 1763, 
 w^hen Canada passed from the dominion of France to that 
 of the British Crown, formed no boundary to BritiKh rule, 
 as the sway of tlie Anglo-Saxon race was now^ fully ostab- 
 
 ■ 177,'j 
 
 lishe 
 
 and i 
 
 to de 
 
 liarm 
 
 Avay t 
 
 of C( 
 
 balan( 
 
 Avere l 
 
 Avarfai 
 
 bein<r 
 
 but HP 
 
 were, 
 
 keys o; 
 
 Montn 
 
 proj^ag, 
 
 ploynic 
 
 gomery 
 
 tain po 
 
 the twc 
 
 Arnold 
 
 and ha( 
 
 gomeiT, 
 
 had arri 
 
 £il)out tw 
 
 ^feauAvh 
 
 escaped, 
 
 in an op 
 
 Captain 
 
 lodged i] 
 
 Decembe 
 and tliQ 
 
 besiegers 
 «go, and 
 small a d( 
 dontly w^a 
 
 * See the , 
 Historical So 
 
1775 
 
 ARNOLD — MONT(iOMi:UY — ALLEX. 
 
 61 
 
 lished over tlio wliolc of the nortliorii part of the continent ; 
 and it was further supposed, tliat it was, therefore, proper 
 to detract, if possible, from the power of Great Britain, to 
 harm the revohitionary colonists on the great watery high- 
 way of the lakes and rivers, or to prevent such a united force 
 of Colonial and Provincial inhabitants as might counter- 
 balance, in a great measure, tlie pertinacious loyalists who 
 were to discountenance American appeals for justice, — tlio 
 warfare, l)cfore the declaration of American Independence, 
 being " neither against the throne nor the laws of England, 
 but against a reckless and oppressive ministry.*" £11:011:8 
 were, for such reasons, made to ol)tain possession of the 
 keys of the Lakes and of the St. Lawrence at Quebec and 
 Montreal. The old colonists were to make a war of political 
 propagandism on Canachi and they resolved upon the em- 
 ployment of both force and persuasion. Geiierals Mont- 
 gomery, Arnold, and Allen invaded Canada, and, to a cer- 
 tain point, with complete success. After the successes of 
 the two latter officers at Ticonderogji and Cro^vn Point, 
 Arnold pushed on towards Quebec, through the wilderness, 
 and liad ascended the heights of Al)raliam ])efore Mont- 
 gomeiy, who hiul proceeded towards Quebec from ]\Iontreal, 
 had arrived. Under these circumstances, Arnold retired 
 about twenty miles al)ove Quebec, to wait for Montgomery, 
 Meanwhile, the Governor of Canada, Sir Guy Carleton, had 
 escaped, through Montgomery's army, in the dead of night, 
 in an open boat, rowed with muffled oars, and guided by 
 Captain Bouchettc, of the Poyal Xavy, and was now safely 
 lodged in the chief fortress of America. On the 1st of 
 December, ]Montgomery effected a junction with Arnold, 
 and the siege of Quebec was commenced, although the 
 besiegers were most indifferently provided with camp equip- 
 age, and were poorly clad. Their cannon, too, was of so 
 small a description, as to be almost useless. The design evi- 
 dently was to carry the toAvn, which Avas not then nearly as 
 
 * Seo tho Journal of Charles Carroll, ofCarollton, i)ubli:5lied by the Maryland 
 Historical Society, Baltimore — pafre 6. 
 
^r=Tf!wr' 
 
 UMt.t/- t :/it*iti.th'ji>nka 
 
 G2 
 
 TIID AMEUICAN BIEGE — DKATII OF MONTUOMEUY. 1775. 
 
 K 
 
 strongly fortified ns now, niul was only jyarrisoncd by a few 
 troops, militia, and seamen, by assanlt, in the full persnasion 
 that the Canadians would be only most happy to be identified 
 with the American struggle for liberty, or by being neutral, 
 would show to the ministy of England the formidable 
 animosity of a united connnent, by which the ends of the 
 old colonists would be gained, and the war nii>pcd in its 
 ripening bud.* This, Generals Montgomery and Arnold 
 were unable to do. The attempt was made on the 31st 
 December, but signally failed. Arnold proceeded with one 
 division towards Sault-au-Matelot Street, by way of St. 
 Roch's, and succeeded in establishing himself in some houses 
 at the eastern extremity of that street, but being attacked in 
 the rear, by a part of the garrison, directed by General 
 Carleton to make a sortie from Palace Gate, only a remnant 
 of the assailants, with considerable difHculty, managed to 
 get back to camp. Montgomery approached by the road 
 under the Cape, called Prcs-de-Ville, with another division, 
 but was stoutly resisted, and fell mortally wounded. After 
 the attack, Montgomery's body was found embedded in the 
 snow, together with the bodies of his two Aides-de-Camp, 
 Captain McPherson and Captain Checseman. Arnold now 
 retired about three miles from Quebec, where he encamped 
 during the winter. 
 
 On the 15th of February, 1776, the American Congress 
 appointed Dr. Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase, and 
 Charles Carroll, of Carrollton — the last mentioned gentle- 
 man being requested to prevail upon his brother, the Revd. 
 John Carroll, a Jesuit of distinguished theological attain- 
 ments, and celebrated for his amiable manners and polished 
 address, to accompany them — to proceed to Canada with 
 the view of representing to the Canadians that the Ameri- 
 cans south of the St. Lawrence, " had no apprehension that 
 the French would take any part with Great Britain ; but 
 that it was their interest, and, the Ameiicans had reason to 
 
 * U. S. Catholic Magazine, vol. 4, p. 251, and Brent's Biography of Arch- 
 bishop Carroll, p. 69. 
 
1770. INDEPENDENCE REFUSED BY TUB CATHOLIC CLEllOY. Cu] 
 
 believe, their iuclinution, to cultivate a friomlly iiitorcouiso 
 with the colonies." They ■were to have roligioun freedom, 
 and have the ^lower of Helf-govornnient, while a free press 
 was to bo established, to reform all abuses.* The C'ommit- 
 tee, or, more properly speaking, the Commission, were, 
 however, far from being successful in their attempt to nego- 
 tiate Canada into revolt. The clergy of Canada could not ho 
 persuaded that, as Roman Catholics, they would be better 
 treated by the Revolutionary (colonists than they had been 
 under the British government, after the expression of Buch 
 sentiments as those addressed to the people of Great Britain, 
 on the 21st of October, 1774. The Americans, uncouth- 
 in manners, were, in truth, most intolerant of papacy. 
 In the " Cradle of American Liberty," a dancing school 
 was not permitted. While in Boston a fencing school was 
 allowed, there were no musicians permitted to exist, and 
 the anti-papal character of the people was even more 
 evident from the fact, that the first thing printed in New 
 England was the Freeman's Oath ! the second an almanac ; 
 and the third an edition of the psalms. 
 
 On the day after the Reverend Mr. Carroll had failed in his 
 part of the mission, joined Dr. Franklin, and returned to 
 the South, Chase and Carroll of Carrolltou had been busy 
 with the military part of their embassy. At a council of 
 war held in Montreal, it was resolved to fortify Jacques 
 Cartier — the Richelieu Rapids, between Quebec and Three 
 Rivers — and to build six gondolas at Chambly, of a proper 
 size to carry heavy cannon, and to be under the direction of 
 Arnold. But disasters thickened around the insurgents. 
 The small pox had broken out among the troops, and was 
 making deep inroads upon th Ir scanty numbers. To crown 
 the whole, the worst news was received from the besiegers at 
 Quebec, for out of 1900 men, there were not more than 1000 
 
 fit for duty, all the rest being invalids, chiefly afflicted with 
 
 — — — — — ' 
 
 * It is not a little odd, that Franklin should have been a member of this 
 Committee, seeing that ho was the very man who urged upon the British 
 Minister, in 1759, the expediency of reducing Canada, as the most serious blow 
 which could be inflicted on French power in America. 
 
sm 
 
 64 
 
 THE AMlilUCAN SIEtiE RAISED. 
 
 177«]. 
 
 tlio small-] >ox. Oil llic otli of May, 177r>, d oouiu'il of war 
 was held at Quebec, and it was ivv^olved to remove the inva- 
 lids, artillery, batteaux, uiid stores higher iiji the river; l)ut, 
 oil tho oveiiiuii'ot' that dav, intelli2;euce was received in the 
 American cam}), that lil'recn ships were within forty lea^<>;ue.s 
 of (iuebcc, liastening u[) the river; and early next morning, 
 five of them liovc in siglit. Geueral Thomas immediately 
 gave oi'ders to embark the sick and the artillery in tlie bat- 
 teaux, whilst the eneni}- began to land their troops. About 
 noon, a body of the IJritisli, a tliousand strong, formed into 
 two divisions, incolunms of six deep, and supported with a 
 train of six pieces of cannon, attacked tlie American senti- 
 nels and main guard. The Americans stood for a moment 
 on tlic plains, v/ith about 250 men and Q)ie iiehl piece only, 
 when the order for retreat was given, and the encampment 
 was precipitately deserted. In the confusion, all the cannon 
 of tiio besiegers fell into the hands of the British, and about 
 200 invalids were made prisoners. Following the course of 
 tho river, the broken army of the Americans Hed towards 
 Montreal, and halting for a while at Deschambault, finally 
 retreated along the St. Lawrence, until they made a stand at 
 Sorel, Avith the view to an "orderly retreat out of Canada." * 
 By the 18th of Juno, tho British General, Bnrgoyne, was 
 close behind Arnold, who now^, with the whole of the 
 American urmy, had quitted Canadian soil, and was pro- 
 ceeding somewhat rapidly up tho Eichelieu, into Lake 
 Champlain. 
 
 In tho very year that Arnold retired from Quebec, on the 
 4th of July, 1770, tho thirteen now confederated colonics, 
 on the report of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin 
 Franklin, Kogor Sherman, and I^hillip Livingston, dissolved 
 their allegiance to the British Crown, declaring themselves 
 to be free and independent. The lions, sceptres, crowns, 
 and other paraphernalia of royalty were now rudely trampled 
 on, in both Boston and Virginia. Massachusetts, and, 
 shortly afterwards, New York, were, indeed, in the posses- 
 
 * Carroll's visit to Canada, p. 27. 
 
1777. 
 
 INDEPENDENCE — DEFEAT OF HAl'M. 
 
 «;5 
 
 at 
 
 sion of rebels, commanded ])y Washington. It was llion 
 that, in 1777, the execution of a plan of attacking the New 
 Englanders, hy way of Canada, was entrusted to Ciienoral 
 Burgoyne, who, with some thousands of troops, a powerful 
 train of artillery, and several tribes of Indians, proceeded 
 down Lake Champlain, to cut off the northern from the 
 southern colonies of the rebellious confederation. Bm'goyne 
 chased the American General St. Clair out of Ticonderoga ; 
 hunted Schuyler to Saratoga ; destroyed the American flotilla 
 on Lake Champlain ; demolished bridges, and reduced forts. 
 lie, nevertheless, met with a severe check at Bennington, 
 Vermont. Being at Fort Edward, ho sent Colonel Baum, 
 with a detachment of the army to seize a n>agazinc of stores 
 at Bennington. "NVhcn within a few miles of that place, 
 however, Baum learned that the Americans were strongly 
 entrenched. He, therefore, halted, and sent to Burgoyne 
 for a reinforcement. But the American General Stark, who 
 had a large body of Vermont Militia under his command, 
 in addition to his ordinary "New Hampshire corps, now 
 determined to be the assailant. AVithonly r>00 regulars and 
 100 Lidians, Colonel Baum did not consider it prudent to 
 iight a body vastly superior in numbers, and ho re^i\ntcd. 
 Assistance reached him at this critical monicr.'' -, 'ch 
 seemed to make a battle, if not expedient, a y oinl , ' ho- 
 nour. Unfortunately the sense of honour prevailed, Bai i 
 gave battle, and was himself slain and his men defeated, the 
 British loss being TOO in killed and wounded, while that of 
 the Americans was only about 100. It was a pity that ''aum 
 had not the moral courage to retire, even when reinfoi. 1, for 
 his defeat much embarrassed Burgoyne, and made an ' ten.pt 
 at a general retreat even necessaiy, as the courage of the 
 enemy had so increased by the moral eilect of a victory, 
 that Burgoyne was in danger of being surrounded by tho 
 hordes of State Militiamen who, on all sides of him, were 
 taking the field. Burgoyne was, nevertheless, still on the 
 advance, with the main body of his army, and was approach- 
 ing Saratoga, when he heard of the defeat of Baum. Un- 
 
.'iV*' '4-.'9W 
 
 w 
 
 TUB BURRENDER OF BUROOYNE. 
 
 1780. 
 
 willing to retreat, and yet unable to advance, he hesitated, 
 but ultimately decided upon returning. That, however, was 
 now impossible. lie had hardly turned his face towards the 
 place from whence he came, than he fell in with General Gates, 
 losing about 600 men ; and ho had hardly realized his loss, 
 when he learned that Fort Edward, which stood between him 
 and Canada, was in the possession of the enemy. No avenue 
 of escape appeared open, and this fine army from Canada, 
 consisting of five thousand seven hundred eft'ective men, 
 with General Burgoyne at their head, laid down their arms 
 to the American General Gates, at Saratoga. Even accord- 
 ing to the testimony of Lady Harriet Ackland, Burgoyne, 
 though sufliciently brave for anything, was quite incompetent 
 for command. He had neither resources nor strategy. He 
 knew neither what to do nor what ho was doing. He neither 
 knew when to advance nor when to retreat. It was all hap- 
 hazard vrith him. Through his very stupidity an army was 
 positively sacrificed. Lord Cornwallis, afterwards, easily 
 defeated Gates. And in the campaign of 1780, "Washington 
 wa? himself in straits. His commissariat was wretchedly 
 bad. For days the medical department of his army had 
 neither sugar, cofiee, tea, chocolate, wine, nor spirituous 
 liquors of any kind ; and the army had not seen the shadow 
 of money for five months. A junction cleverly eftected 
 between the two British armies might have changed, or 
 rather checked the destinies of the Confederated Colonies. 
 But, by the awkwardness, carelessness, and want of prudence 
 of Burgoyne, in the first place, Cornwallis got also hemmed 
 in, being intercepted on one side by the French fleet, and 
 on the other by the army commanded by Washington, and 
 he capitulated after his defeat at Yorktown, in September, 
 1781. Had a line of communication northward been main- 
 tained for the British anny, even seven thousand men might 
 have escaped the blockade of the sixteen thousand militia, 
 under Washington, to whom the conqueror of Charleston 
 was compelled, by the fortune of war, to present his sword. 
 The Btupidity of the British Generals, combined with the 
 
1790. 
 
 WESTERN CANADA DIVIDED INTO DISTRICTS. 
 
 6T 
 
 previous stupidity of tho Imperial administrations, led to the 
 evacuation of those colonies by Great Britain, to which sho 
 was in a great measure indebted for tho acquisition of Port 
 Royal and Louisbourg in Nova Scotia, and for Niagara, 
 Frontonac, Montreal, and Quebec in Canada. Tho prediction 
 of Montcalm had come to puss. The United States were 
 independent. But, however much tho war in America, 
 between Great Britain and her own old colonies, had tem- 
 porarily interfered with, it had paved tho way for a more 
 extended, commerce in Canada. There were men in New 
 England who would not, on any account, bo rebels. Many 
 of these, with their families, sought an asylum in Canada, 
 and the advancement of the Far West, on the British side 
 of tho lines, is, in no small degree, to bo attributed to the 
 integrity and energy of those highly honourable men. 
 Canada was then entirely, or almost entirely, under military 
 rule. It could not well be otherwise. The necessities of the 
 times required unity of action. There was no room for 
 party squabbling, nor were there numbers sufficient to 
 squabble. The province, the population of which did not 
 extend beyond Detroit, a mere Indian trading post, and 
 beyond which it was expected civilisation could not be 
 extended for ages, was divided into two sections, the western 
 and the eastern. Sir Guy Carleton, afterwards Lord Dor- 
 chester, had divided all west of the monument of St. Regis 
 into four districts, after the manner of ancient Gaul, which 
 he termed Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nassau, and Hesse; 
 and the Seminary of Quebec had cut up the eastern 
 section into parishes, distinguished by cross roads. In the 
 lower section of the province, the bonnets rouges and bonnets 
 bleus were on the increase, but the increase was like that of 
 the frogs : it was multiplying in the same puddle, with the 
 same anchanging and unchangeable habits. The peaweet- 
 ing, the whistling, the purring, and the whizzing, were onJ y 
 the louder, as the inhabitants became more numeroupj. 
 There was no idea of change of any kind. Language, 
 manners, and knowledge were the same as they ever had 
 
i.-nriT'ff^nnTiy vjr.i.-ffivi'a 
 
 68 
 
 DIVISION OF THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC. 
 
 1791. 
 
 been : only the pomp of the cliurcli had succeeded to the 
 pomp and circumstance of war. There was no more industiy , 
 no more energy, no more scientific cravings, and no earnest 
 pursuit of wealth. All was contentment. Even by the 
 authorities, no desire to awaken the Franco-Canadian from 
 nis slumber, was entertained. On the contrary, the restless 
 United Empire loyalists were to be separated from them. 
 The isolation of Lower Canada from the rest of the world 
 was to be as complete as possible. 
 
 Xot very long after the declaration of American Inde- 
 pendence, Canada was divided, by Act of the Imperial 
 Parliament, into two distinct provinces, called Upper Ca- 
 nada and Lower Canada. ^Ir. Adam Lymburner, a 
 merchant of Quebec, not being particularly anxious for 
 isolation, ;^ppeared at the bar of the House of Commons on 
 behalf of himself and others. He was against the separation. 
 The united province was not even in a condition to main- 
 tain a good system of government. Oppressed by the 
 tyranny of officials, industry and improvement had been 
 ner'^cfcd, and a state of languor and depression prevailed. 
 Th public buildings were even falling into a state of ruin 
 and (locay. There was not a Court House in the province, 
 nor a snfiicient prison nor house of co'TCction. Xor was 
 there a school house between Tadoustic and Niagara. The 
 country upon the Great Lakes was a wilderness. Lymburner 
 dilnot, however, prevail. The British government desired 
 tu put the United Empire loyalists upon the same footing 
 wit^i .>:a .1 to constitutional government as they had pre- 
 vious'^ en,ioyed before the independence of the United 
 States in that country, a condition about which a certain 
 class of merchants in Quebec have always been inditt'erent. 
 Lord Dorchester was appointed Governor-in-Chicf in Cnnada, 
 and administrator in Lower Canada, while General Simcoe 
 was named Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. General 
 Simcoe selected for his capital Niagara, ''' and resided there 
 at Navy Hall. On the site of Toronto, in 1703, there was a 
 
1791. 
 
 LOUD DOKCIIESTER. 
 
 69 
 
 solitary wigwam. That tongue of land called the peninsula, 
 which is the protection wall of tlic harbour, was the resort 
 only of wildfowl. The margin of the lake was lined with 
 nothing else hut dense and trackless forests. Two families 
 of Massassagas had squatted somewhere in the neighbour- 
 hood of the present St. Lawrence Hall when General Simcoe 
 removed to little York with his canvass palace, and drew 
 around him the incipient features of a Court. The progress 
 in material improvement in this country may be guessed at 
 from the then condition and the present state and appearance 
 of Toronto. The reven;ic of the country between 1775, 
 and 1778, was not over .£10,000. The salary of the Gover- 
 nor-iu-Chicf was only £2,i)00. 
 
 During the American AVar, the Canadians, though they 
 exhibited no signs of disaffection to Great Britain, did not 
 ardently lend a helping hand against the enemy. Being 
 appealed to by Middleton, the President of the Provisional 
 Congress of Rebel States, — who told them that their Judges 
 and Legislative Council were dependent on the Governor, 
 and their Governor himself on the servant of the Crown in 
 Great Britain ; that the executive, legislative, and judging 
 powers were all moved by nods from the Court of St. James ; 
 and that the Confederated States Avould receive their ancient 
 and brave enemies on terms of equality — the Canadians 
 stood ji:vi in their new allegiance. It is more than proba- 
 ble, indoeil, that the bombastic state paper never reached 
 the C'l.is of those for whom it was intended. There was no 
 press in Canada at that period, and only one newspaper, the 
 "Quebec Gazette," established by one Gilmore, in 1764. 
 Unable, as the majority of the French were, to read their 
 own language, it was not to be expected that they could read 
 English. Still less is it to be supposed that His Excellency 
 Lord Dorchester circulated it in French. Lord Dorchester 
 was exceedingly prudent in liis administration of affairs,, 
 and, — unlike Governor Murray, who, b}' the wa}', wrni suc- 
 ceeded in the administration of the Government by Paulus 
 yEmilius Irving, Es^piire, with Brigadier General Carletoii 
 
— «l^ 
 
 ,i. fiiii. UlL'iMm 
 
 70 
 
 GOVERNOR'OENERAL PRESCOTT. 
 
 1795. 
 
 for Lieutenant Governor, obtained the aftcction of one race 
 and tlie resentment of the other, — conciliated both races. His 
 lordship, in one of his speeches " from the throne," tells us 
 that he " eschewed political hypocrisy, which renders people 
 the instruments of their own misery and destruction." 
 There was, in truth, no Parliament, in the proper sense of 
 the term, then. Such artifices as are now necessary for good 
 legislation, had not therefore to be resorted to. 
 
 On the political separation of the two sections of Canada, 
 it was agreed that Lower Canada should be permitted to 
 levy the duties on imports. Of all imports, Lower Canada 
 was to receive seven-eighths, and Upper Canada one eighth, 
 and the revenue for the year following the separation was 
 X24,000, including £1205, the proportion of the duties 
 belonging to Upper Canada. In those days, a week was 
 consumed in the transport of the mail from Burlington in 
 Vermont, via Montreal, to Quebec; but yet there must 
 have been wonderful progress from Governor Muri ;\v ^ 
 time, — during which a Mr. "Walker, of Montreal, having 
 caused the military much displeasure, by the imprisonment 
 of a captain for some oifence, was assailed by a number of 
 assassins of respectability, ^vitll blackened faces, who entered 
 his house at night, cut off bis right ear, slashed him across 
 the forehead with a sword, and attempted and would have 
 succeeded in cutting his throat, but for his most manly and 
 determined resistance — for on surrendering the government 
 of Lower Canada into the hands of General Prcscott, pre- 
 viously to going home to England, in the frigate " Active," 
 in which he was aftenvards wrecked on Anticosti, he was 
 lauded in a most obsequious address, by the inhabitants 
 both of Quebec and Montreal, the latter place thon number- 
 ing a little more than 7000 inhabitants, for his "auspicious 
 administration of affairs, the happiness and prosperit^'^ of 
 the province having increased in a degree almost unequalled." 
 General Prescott, not long after Lord Dorchester's return 
 home, in a frigate from Halifax, after the wreck of the 
 " Active," was raised to the Governor Generalship. During 
 
1797. 
 
 GOVERNOB MILNES. 
 
 71 
 
 the three years of thi* Governor'a rule, nothing, politically 
 or otherwise, important occurred in Canada. Great Britain 
 was iHicceswfully engaged in war with both France and Spain, 
 and in the former country a revolution had occurred which 
 preceded one of the most terrible periods on the page of 
 history. In Quebec, a madman named McLane, a native 
 of Rhode Island, fancying himself to be a French General, 
 conceived the project of upsetting British authority in 
 Canada. lie intended, with the co-operation of the French 
 Canadians, to make a rush upon the garrison of Quebec. 
 His imaginary followers were to be aimed with spears, and 
 he dreamed of distributing laudanum to the troops. Un- 
 fortunately for himself, he made known his plans to all and 
 sundry, and was rewarded for his indiscretion by being 
 hanged on Gallows Ilill, as an examjjle to other fools. 
 
 The next Governor of Lower Canada w^as Roberts. Milnes, 
 Esquire. Under his sw^ay, something akin to public opinion 
 sprang up. So soon as the last of the Jesuits had been gath- 
 ered to his fathers, it was the purpose of the Imperial gov- 
 ernment to seize upon the estates of " The Order. " Mr. 
 Young, one of the Executive Council, had, however, no sooner 
 informed the House of Assembly that His Excellency had 
 given orders to take possession of these estates as the property 
 of George the Third, than the House went into Committee 
 and expressed a desire to investigate the pretensions or 
 claims which the province might have on the college of 
 Quebec. The Governor was quite willing to sufier the 
 Assembly to have copies If all documents, deeds, and titles 
 having reference to the estates, if insisted upon, but consid- 
 ered it scarcely consistent with the respect which the Com- 
 mons of Canada had ever manifested towards their sovereign, 
 to press the matter, as the Privy Council had issued an order 
 to take the whole property into the hands of the Crown. 
 The House considered His Excellency's reply, and postponed 
 the inquiry into the rights and pretensions alluded to. The 
 next thing which this slightly independently disposed 
 Assembly undertook, was the expulsion of one of its mem- 
 
. .l.ll.JJ.IIIllll.. ^ 
 
 72 
 
 THE ROYAL INSTITUTION FOUNDED. 
 
 1798. 
 
 ■ i 
 
 bers, a Mr. Boiic, who had been convicted of a conspiracy 
 to defraud a person named Dronin, with whom he had had 
 some commercial transactions, of a considerable snm of 
 money. He was heard by Counsel at the Bar of tlie House, 
 but was believed to have been justly convicted, and was 
 expelled. Again and again he was re-elected, and as often 
 was he expelled, and at last he was, by special Act of Par- 
 liament, disqualified. "Whether or no he was the object of 
 unjust persecution by the government, the moral effect upon 
 the country of the expulsion and disqualification of a person 
 in the position of Mr. Bouc, cannot be doubted. The num- 
 ber of bills passed during a parliamentary session in those 
 days, was not considerable. Five, six, or eight apj)ear to 
 have been the average. The income of the province was 
 about X20,000, and the expenditure about ^639,000. Under 
 such circumstances, corruption was nearly impossible. 
 
 In the next session of parliament an attempt was made to 
 establish free schools, and the Royal Institution, for the 
 advancement of learning was founded. IsTor was this all, an 
 Act was passed for the demolition of the walls that encircled 
 Montreal, on the plea that such demolition was necessary to 
 the salubrity, convenience and embellishment of the city. 
 They were thrown down, and in seventeen years after it was 
 impossible to have shown where they stood. The parliament 
 did more. At the dictation of the Governor, it assigned three 
 townships for the benefit of the oflicers, non-commissioned 
 ofiicers, and privates, who had served during the blockade 
 of Quebec, in 1775-6. Field ofiicers were to bo entitled to 
 1000 acres ; eaptains to 700 acres, lieutenants and ensigns 
 to 500 acres, and non-commissioned ofiicers and privates to 
 400 acres each. Still another bill, of no mean importance, 
 was carried through the three branches of the Legislature, 
 the second branch being positively a House of Lords, com- 
 posed, as it was, of Lord Chief Justices and Lord Bishops, 
 — the mind, capacity, and education of the country. No 
 picture of the legislature of this time can be made. There 
 wore no reporters nor any publicition of debates. Newtf- 
 
1802. 
 
 CULTIVATION OF HEMP — LAND JOBBING. 
 
 73 
 
 ^ops, 
 
 No 
 
 llieve 
 
 papcra wore in tlicir infiincy. lladicalis m had not got hold 
 of its fulcrum, and tho lover of public opinion was, conse- 
 quently useless. Na}', in anticipation, as it were, of tho 
 unruliness that afterwards exhibited itself, tho Governor, 
 now Sir Robert Milnes, recommei\ded tho culture of hemp 
 in the province, and the Assembly voted <£1200 for the 
 experiment. An Agricultural Bureau, of which the Gov- 
 ernor was himself the President, was established, but tho 
 cultivation of hemp was not more agreeable to the farmer of 
 Lower Canada then than it is now. The experiment did not 
 succeed. Jean Baptiste would raise wheat, which he knew 
 would pay, and would not raise hemp, wliich might or might 
 not pay, lie was a practical, not a theoretical farmer. Like 
 the " regular" physicians of every period, and in every 
 country, he practised secundum arfcni, and eschewed danger- 
 ous theories and unprofitable" innovations. 
 
 About this period, 1802, laud jobbing began. Vast grants 
 of territory were made to favourites and speculatoi's, only to 
 lie w^aste, unless improved by the squatter. To obtain a 
 princely inheritance, it was only necessary to have a princely 
 acquaintance with the government, and, in some cases, the 
 Governor's servants. Land was not put up to public com- 
 petition, but handsomely bestowed upon the needy and pen- 
 niless Court attendant. A Governor's Secretary, a Judge's 
 nephew, or some Clerk of Records was entitled to at least a 
 thousand acres; the Governor's cook to TOOarpents. There 
 was no stint, and no income or land tax. 
 
 In 1803, rarliaraent " better regulated" the militia: the 
 revenue had increased to ^31,000 ; the expenditure had 
 increased to X37,000, and the two Governors' salaries to 
 £G,000 ; war re-broke out with France ; the feeling of loyalty 
 throughout the provin(>.e was enthusiastic ; and offers to raise 
 volunteer corps were freely made. 
 
 During the next Session of Parliament, measures of some 
 importance occupied the attention of the Legislature. A 
 bill was passed, making provision for the relief of the insane 
 and for the support of foundlings. In all thirteen bills were 
 
iiHi.i'^NiKMl 
 
 THE liACIIINE CANAL — THE GAOLS ACT. 
 
 1803. 
 
 ]tnf!!^C(l, juul 1lie I'cvcimo Imd incrcapod one tlioiisnnd pounds. 
 It Aviu; l1io ]ast .session ol' the third rjirliiuncnt. In July tlio 
 election of juendjor.s for tUo Iburtli I'arlianient took place. 
 They Avoro coiiduetod, on tlio an'IioIo, quietly, but were, 
 ncvcrtlielcss, viL^oronsly contested. Strong party feeling 
 did not tlien run Jiiu'li, and there Avere no prejudices against 
 persons of rcspectahlc standing in society, whatever might 
 1)0 their origin, (iuel)ec luid four representatives, two of 
 Avlioni were of French extraction and two, apparently of 
 ^eottisli descent, !^^ontreal was similarly represented. If 
 there were as rein-esentatives of (Quebec a Grant and a I'anet, 
 a Young and a J)e Salaberry, Montreal was represented by a 
 Jlichardson and a Mondelet, a ^McCJill and a Cliaboillez. 
 The Parliament was convened for the despjitch of business 
 on the *Jth, and having disposed of some contested elections 
 iirocecded energetieallv to Avork. The idea of a Canal to 
 overcome the dilHculties of the Lachine liapids or Sault St. 
 Louis suggested itscU'; and the consideration of the exped- 
 iency of its construction engaged the attention of the House. 
 Tlie construction of a canal was not considered within the 
 means of the province, and a sum of only £1000 pounds Avas 
 voted lor the removal of impediments in the rapids. A Sei- 
 gniorial Tenure I Jill, not dissimilar in character to that AAdiicli 
 so x^vy recently has become hnv, Avas introduced, but fell 
 through. The Gaols Act, imposing a duty of tAvo and a 
 half per cent 0J1 imiiorts, for the erection of common gnols 
 at (Quebec and Montreal, AA'as adopted. The trade aa".is 
 dissatisHed, and, as has been too frequently the case, AAdien 
 the merchants of this province liaA'e been dissatisfied Avith 
 the Acts of a Legislature, of Avliose acts, unless in so far as 
 tlieir oAvu liusiness interests haA'c been concerned, they liaA'C 
 been altogether indifferent, the trade petitioned the Imperial 
 authorities against the Act, representing Avitli all the force of 
 Avhich they Avere capalde, the serious iujury inflicted by it 
 U[)'tn boliea, souchong, hyson, spirits, Avine, and molasses. 
 The gaols avciv, hoA\ever, built, Avilhout direct taxation 
 having been resorted to. Another act of very considerable 
 
1803. 
 
 TRIXITY HOUSES ESTABLISHED — AN ANTAdONISM. 
 
 (') 
 
 importance l)ccamc law : that for tlio bettor i-e<i'ulatioii of 
 pilots and sliippiiig, and fortlie iiiipvoveiiient of the naviica- 
 tion of the llivcr 8t. Luwivik-o between Montreal ami the 
 sea. By tills Aet tlie Trinity Houses Avere eslablislied, tlie 
 abolition of "wliicli lias lately eiii^'aged tlio i^erlous attention 
 of the Hon. William Hamilton Merritt. The fourth rarlia- 
 mcnt, like its predecessors, possessed within itself, some 
 men of entcrprizo, energy, and independence. However 
 willing it might have been to treat the (Jlovernor with res- 
 pectful consideration, there was no disposition in if to l)eeome 
 a mere tool in the hands of those who took npon themselves 
 to guide His Exccllenc}'. They conceived that they had the 
 power of appropriating the revenue, of voting the supplies, 
 and of paying their own officers such salaries as they plea ^ d. 
 The French Translator to the Assembly havi]ig applied for 
 an increase of salary, it occurred to the Assembly that the 
 translator, Mr. P. E. ])esl;)arats, was a very elHeient oOieer 
 and Avorthy man, and that it was within their province to pay 
 liim such a sum as they estimated his services to be worth. 
 But they did not arbitrarily do that which it seemed to them 
 they might have done, Witli exiieme courtesy, they ad- 
 dressed the Goveriior, begging that His Excelleniy^ wouM 
 make such addition to the salary of this oilicer as to His 
 Excellency might seem fit. So far, however, from comply- 
 ing with a very reasonable request, Sir Ixobert regrette<lthc 
 absence of some observances, the nature of "which was never 
 ascertained, and felt compelled to resist a precedent which 
 might lead to injurious consequences. The Assembly were 
 staggered, "With very considerable reason they Avere oifended 
 at the Executive, Avhoprctended to the right of money grants 
 in the Assembly. The House went into committee, by a 
 majority of one, and were about to consider 1 fls Excellency's 
 considerate message, when the (lentleinini rsher of the 
 Black Rod appearing at the Bar, commanded tlieafU ndance 
 of the Commons at the Bar of the I'pper House, a\ here 
 His Excellency, somewhat l)ond)astieaily prorogued the 
 Parliament. About to return to England, he wiis ]ierfe<-tly 
 
m 
 
 76 
 
 MR. DUNN, ADMINISTRATOR. 
 
 1803. 
 
 indifferent to the censure of the Commons of Canada. lie 
 cared nothing for the effect of a eoifp d'cfat. lie never 
 dreamed of the po,ssil>i]ity of a misuudcrt^tandiiig helwccna 
 Governor and his Leglshiturc. It was the lirst of the kind 
 that he had known, and it was a duty wliich he owed to his 
 sovereign to nip it in the hud. Sir Itohcrt, Mr. Christie 
 says, was not a i;)opular Governor. Had that been liis only 
 misfortune, it woukl have heen weU. He was, evidently, 
 something worse, in being only that which might emphati- 
 cally be expressed in a single word. A few grains of com- 
 mon sense in one or two Governors of colonies would have 
 saved England some millions of pounds. Sir Robert Shore 
 Milnes having ruled, or having been ruled, for a period of 
 six years, set sail for England, on the 6th of August, in 
 H. M. S. Uranie, leaving Mr. Dunn, the Senior Executive 
 Councillor of Canada, to administer the government. 
 
 Lower Canada, however politically insignificant, with 
 only some ,£47,000 of revenue, was yet gradually rising into 
 something like commercial importance. Li the course of 
 1805, one hundred and forty-six merchant vessels had been 
 loaded at Quebec, and another newspaper, the Quebec 
 Mercury, still existing, and published in the English lan- 
 guage, was , established by Mr. Thomas Cary. Montreal, 
 only second in commercial importance to Quebec, had also 
 its newspapers, and already began to exhibit that energy for 
 which it is now preeminently conspicuous. Toronto, the 
 present " Queen City of the "West," was yet only surrounded 
 by the primeval forest, and thirty years later could boast of 
 but four thousand inhabitants, although, in 1822, " Muddy 
 Little York" was not a little proud of its " Upper Canada 
 Gazette," and Niagara of its " Spectator." Kingston had only 
 twenty wooden houses, while Detroit was the residence of 
 but a dozen French families. Upper Canada, indeed, con- 
 tained scarcely a cultivated farm, or even a white inhabitant, 
 sixty or seventy years ago. 
 
 Allusion has already been made to the division of Canada 
 into two provinces. A more particular allusion to that cir- 
 
 1791. 
 
 CUP5S1 
 
 Sinicc 
 
 Jiave 1 
 
 the tv 
 
 have I 
 
 possibi 
 
 by Mc 
 
 consen 
 
 tJie ffri 
 
 Union, 
 
 constiti 
 
 31st A 
 
 r" — -ti 
 
 vyuuucii 
 
 Council 
 
 appoint 
 
 mus urn 
 
 of appo 
 
 vacated 
 
 years co 
 
 ernor's 
 
 permissi 
 
 tary title 
 
 Council ■ 
 
 sentative 
 
 twenty o 
 
 birth or 
 
 value of 
 
 charges, 
 
 annum. 
 
 but as the 
 
 composed 
 
 pay office 
 
 direct aii^ 
 
 unsuited s 
 
 however u 
 
 Cobbett oj 
 
 years after 
 
1791. 
 
 UPPKU CANADA — THE ^KPARATION ACT. 
 
 77 
 
 CUP Stance will not bo out of i>laco. Already, Gonoml 
 Simcoe, the lion. IVtcr llus.-^ell, and Lieut, (loneral niintor 
 have ruled over tlie Upper, and not the least interesting of 
 the two provinces. The object of the reparation may 
 have been to keep the Lower Province French as long a.s 
 possible, to prevent the consummation devoutly anticipated 
 by Montcalm, and the ])uc de Choiseul, and to raise up a 
 conservative English colony in the Far West, to counteract 
 the growing power of the now United States. By the 
 Union, constitutions very distantly related to the British 
 constitution were conferred upon the two provinces. The 
 Slst Act of George the Third constituted a Legislative 
 Couucil and Legishitive Assembly for each province. The 
 Council was to bo composed of at least seven members, 
 appointed by writ of summons^ issued pursuant to a manda- 
 mus under the sign manual of the Sovereign. The tenure 
 of appointment was for life, to be forfeited for treason or 
 vacated by swearing allegiance to a foreign power, or by two 
 years continual absence from the province without the Gov- 
 ernor's permission, or four years of such absence ivithout 
 permission of the Sovereign. The King could grant heredi- 
 tary titles of honor, rank or dignity. The Speaker of the 
 Council was to be appointed by the Sovereign or his repre- 
 sentative. The Assembly was to be elected by persons over 
 twenty one years of age, subjects of the British Crown, by 
 birth or naturalization, possessing property of the yearly 
 value of forty shillings sterling, over and above all rents and 
 charges, or paying rent at the rate of ten pounds sterling per 
 annum. Here were, undoubtedly, three legislative branches ; 
 but as the Legislative Assembly could, at the most, only bo 
 composed of thirty members, many of whom would be half 
 pay officers, the Crown, through its representative, had a 
 direct and overwhelming preponderance. Yet, however 
 unsuited such a Parliament would be for the present time, 
 however uncongenial it might have been to the feelings of a 
 Cobbett or Hunt-man, escaped from Spa Felds ten or twenty 
 years afterwards, it undoubtedly well represented the conser- 
 
■rt^ 
 
 Tsm 
 
 78 
 
 DEBATE OX THE SEPARATION ACT. 
 
 1791. 
 
 vativo, somi-dospotic foolitiics of the military settler, or 
 ITnitod Empire loyalist, a kind of privileged being, wIioho 
 very dei^ceiidants were entitled to a free grant of Uvo linndred 
 acres of land. AVlien the Separation Act was before the 
 Britinh Parliament, the public mind in England was to some 
 not altogetlier inconsiderable extent contaminated by the 
 spurious liberty-feeling of the French Ilevolutioii, aud by 
 the consequences of the American strike for independence. 
 " The liights of Man," as enunciated by Paine, had infected 
 many among the lower orders in society, and not a few 
 among the higher orders. Edmund Burke, Mr. Chancellor 
 Pitt, and Charles Fox, were members of the British Parlia- 
 ment. By the Act, a provision for a Protestant Clergy, in 
 both divisions of the province, was made, in addition to an 
 allotment of lands already granted. The tenures in Lower 
 Canada, which had been the subject of dispute, were to be 
 settled l)y the local legislature. In Upper Canada the tenures 
 were to be in free and common soccage. No taxes were to 
 be imposed by the Imperial Parliament, unless such as were 
 necessary for the regulation of trade and commerce, to bo 
 levied and to be disposed of by the legislature of each divi- 
 sion of the former Province of Quebec. On the 9tli of April, 
 1791, the Separation Bill was somewhat unexpectedly offered 
 for the acceptance of the House of Commons. Mr. Fox 
 declared that he had not had time to read it, and felt un- 
 willing to express an opinion npon its merits. On a motion 
 by Mr. Ilussey, "that the Bill be recommitted," Mr. Fox, 
 however, remarked, that many clauses were unexception- 
 able. The number of representatives, in his opinion, were 
 not sufficient. An assembly to consist of 16 or 30 members 
 seemed to him to give a free constitution in appearance, 
 while, in fact, such a constitution was withheld. The 
 goodness of a bill, making the duration of Parliaments 
 seven years, unless dissolved previously by the Governor, 
 might be considered doul)tful. In Great Britain, general 
 elections were attended with inconveniences, but in Canada, 
 where, for many years, elections were not likely to be 
 
 1791 
 
 atten 
 
 lie e( 
 
 blics, 
 
 count 
 
 most 
 
 imabl 
 
 The q 
 
 ties w< 
 
 intend 
 
 into C 
 
 Asseni 
 
 they cf 
 
 Ife saw 
 
 tojusti 
 
 iinknov 
 
 averse, t 
 
 could 01 
 
 GoverjK 
 
 accumm 
 
 pcrpetut 
 
 mankinc 
 
 Bill for 
 
 imdersto 
 
 but all d( 
 
 of the cli 
 
 make gn 
 
 be ajjproj 
 
 lands nia< 
 
 of Canad, 
 
 grants wa 
 
 though tl: 
 
 nor any ci 
 
 were all o 
 
 (-'iled to til 
 
 one sevent 
 gniuted. 
 
1701. 
 
 MU. fox's fsPKECIT. 
 
 79 
 
 attended witli tlio conaecineiioe.s \vhi('li nnnifitera dreaded, 
 lie could not coiiecivo wliy tlioy slionld make huoIi assem- 
 blies, not annual or triennial, but sci)tennial. In a, new 
 country the representatives of tbc people would, for the 
 most part, be persona engaged in trade, wlio might bo 
 unable to attend I'arliament for seven consecutive years. 
 Tlic qualiiications necessary for electors in towns and coun- 
 ties were much too bigli. It seemed to him that ministers 
 intended to prevent the introduction of i)Opular government 
 into Canada. AVhile the number of the members of tho 
 Assembly were limited, the nmubers of the Council, although 
 thev could not be less than seven members, were unlimited, 
 lie saw nothing so good in hereditary powers or honours as 
 to justity their introduction into a country where they were 
 uidcnoAvn. They tended rather to make a good constitution 
 worse, than better. If a Council were wholly hereditary, it 
 could only be the tool of tho King and the Governor, as tlio 
 Governor himself would only be the tool of the King. The 
 accummulation of power, confirmed by wealth, would be a 
 perpetual source of oppression and neglect to the mass of 
 mankind. He did not understand the provision made by the 
 Bill for tlic Protestant clergy. By Protestant clergy, ho 
 understood not only the clergy of the Church of England, 
 but all descriptions of Protestants. He totally disapproved 
 of the clause which enacted that, " whenever tho King shall 
 make grants of lands, one seventh part of those lands shall 
 be appropriated to the Protestant Clergy." In all grants of 
 lands made to Catholics, and a majority of the inhabitants 
 of Canada were of that persuasion, one seventh part of those 
 grants was to be appropriated to the Protestant clergy, al- 
 though they might not have any congregation to instruct, 
 nor any cure of souls. If the Protestant clergy of Canada 
 were all of the Church of England, ho would not be recon- 
 ciled to the measure, but the greatest part of the Protestant 
 clergy in Canada were Protestant dissenters, and to them 
 one seventh part of all the lands in the province was to be 
 granted. A provision of that kind, in his opinion, would 
 

 
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 WnSTIR.N.Y. 145M 
 
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80 
 
 MU. FOX'B BPEECII CONTINL'ED. 
 
 1791 
 
 rather tend to corrupt than to hencHt tlio Protestant clergy 
 oi* Canada. Tuc Bill, -while it Htatod that one seventli of 
 the land of Canada should l)e rcHcrvcd for tlio maintenance 
 of a Protestiint clerji-v, did not state liow the land so set 
 aside sliould he applied. AV'ith regard to the Bill, as it 
 related to the regulation of Appeals, he ■was not satisiied. 
 Suitors were, in the iirst instance, to carry tlieir complaints 
 before the Courts of C-ommon Law in Canada, to appeal, if 
 dissatisfied, to the Governor and Council, to appeal from 
 their decision to the King in Council, and to appeal from 
 His Majesty's decision to tlie House of Lords. If the Lords 
 were a better Court of Appeal than the King, the Lords 
 ought to 1)0 at once appealed to. By such a plan of appeal- 
 ing, lawsuits would be rendered exceedingly expensive, and 
 exceedingly vexatious. He did not like the division of the 
 Province. It seemed to him inexpedient to distinguish 
 between the English and French inliabitauts of the province. 
 It was desirable that they sliould unite and coalesce, and that 
 Buch distinctions of the people should be extinguished for 
 over, so that the English laws might soon universally prevail 
 throughout Canada, not from force but from choice, and a 
 conviction of their superiority. The iidiabitants of Lower 
 Canada had not the laws of Franco. The commercial code of 
 laws of tlio French nation had never been given to them. 
 The}' stood upon the exceedingly inconvenient " Coiitumc dc 
 Paris." Canada, unlike the AV^est Indies, was a growing 
 country. It did not consist of only a few white inhabitants 
 and a large number of slaves. It was a country increasing 
 in population, likely still [more to increase, and capable of 
 enjoying as much political freedom, in its utmost extent, as 
 any other country on the face of the globe. It was situated 
 near a country ready to receive, with open arms, into a partic- 
 ipation of her democratic privileges, every person belonging 
 to Great Britain. It was material that a colony, capable of 
 freedom, and capable of a great increase of people, should 
 have nothing to look to among their neighbours to excite 
 their envy. Canada should be preserved to Great Britain 
 
1791. 
 
 MR. CILiNCELl.oH I'lTT 6 SI'KIX'II. 
 
 81 
 
 e of 
 as 
 atctl 
 artic- 
 
 )lc of 
 lOuUl 
 ixcite 
 dtain 
 
 by tlio clioieo of lier inl-fihitautf, and then; wa^ not!iiii<^cl>:(; 
 to look to. Tlie Lc'ijisltitive C'omnils oiiu'lit to Ix' totally 
 free, and ivpeatoilly c-lionoii, in a maimer as laiu-li in(U'[iou- 
 (lont of the Governor as the nature ofa colony ^vonl.] a<hnit. 
 lie was perfectly desirous of estahlisliiiiij a jiermanent pi'o- 
 vision for the clerirv, l»ui could not lliink of nud-cin"' for 
 tlioni a provision so considerahle as \\as uidvuown in any 
 country of Europe, where the species of religion to he pro- 
 vided for prevailed. 
 
 It id impossihle to do other than^ admire the farsiu'litedncss 
 of that great statesman, Charles Fox, v»ith his hhie coat 
 and yellow waistcoat, in this manly, sensihle, and telliuii; 
 address. Time has nearlv hrouii'ht round the state of thint;-s 
 that he desired to see, and if disemhodied spirits can take 
 an interest in thin ii's earthly, it will he no snudl addition to 
 his present state of bliss to discover almost the reall/.alion 
 of suggestions made sixty years ago, hefoi'c the IJi'owns of 
 this period were conceived, and while the Jlolphs were puling 
 infants. 
 
 Mr. Chancellor I'itt did not join issue with ^Ir. Fox, 
 but did not consider it ex[>edient to Hash legislative IVec- 
 dom upon a people. lie thought that il" the Assembly were 
 not rightly consolidated by the Hi 11, little harm was done, 
 because there was nothing to hinder the raiTiament of 
 Great Britain from correcting any })oint which might here- 
 after appear to want correction. ]le did not like tlu; 
 elective principle of democratic govermnents, and with 
 respect to the land appropriated to the clergy, like (.'vvvy 
 tiling else provided by the bill, it was subject to re- 
 vision. AVhere land had been given in connnutation of 
 tithes, the pro[)ortion of one seventh had grown into an 
 establisbed custom. The Bill was re-committed. Xext day 
 the clauses of the Bill being put, paragrajjh by paragra]>h, 
 Mr. Burke eloquently defended its provisions, ridiculed the 
 "Rights of Man," and almost extinguished the light of the 
 new lantern, which exhibited in the aiademies of Paris 
 and the club-rooms of London, theconstitutiojisof America 
 
II .Jill nil l^illini 
 
 ■T? 
 
 afJMIIfciltlKtftft'.-mi »'. JA»' ■*. 
 
 82 
 
 MU. BURKE*!* SPEECH. 
 
 1792. 
 
 and l^^'ranco ns f<o iiindi pupcrior to that of Groat Britain. 
 Tlio (listiiii^nisliod orator was certainly more deelainatory 
 lliaii ar^'iiiiieiitalive, and lie Avas re[K'atodI_v called to oi'dcr. 
 It was n'.letjed that Mv. Bnrko liad no ri^lit to almsc the 
 uovernnientsof Franco and Anierica, as tlio "(Juehcc I>iU" 
 only was hel'ore the House. Xay, there was soiuetliinu; like 
 a scene. Mr. Ihirke complained of liavinn* l)een deserted hy 
 those, with wlioni lie formerly acted, in his old a^i;'e, and Mr. 
 Fox, with tears in his eyes and stroni>' emotion, declared 
 that he would esteem and venerate Jhu'ko to the end of 
 time. Ihe same cries of " order," "■order," " chair," "chair," 
 "goon," 'go on," that arc heard in our most tumultuous 
 dohatcs, in the Assemhiy, were frequent in the course of the 
 dehato, and Mr. ]>urke Avas imahle, on account of the 
 tumult, to proceed with his account of "the horrihle and 
 nefarious consequeiu'cs ilowiug from the French idea of the 
 rights of man." The dehating continued for a iiumhor of 
 days, and the Bill was read a third time on the 18th of May. 
 When the rei)ort of the Bill iii Committee was brought up, 
 on the IGth of May, the House divided upon an amendment 
 hy ;Mr. Fox, to leave out the clause of hereditary nobility, 
 which amendment was lost by an adverse majority of forty- 
 nine. It was then moved, in amendment to the Bill, by 
 .\rr. Chancellor I'itt, that the nund)cr of representatives in 
 the Assemblies should be fifty instead of thirty, l)ut that 
 iriotion was also lost hyan adverse majority of fifty-one. 
 
 The government of Upper Canada was assumed by Gen- 
 eral Shncoe, on the 8tli of July, 1702. lie carried out with 
 him to Upper Camidathe Act constituting it into a province, 
 and on the 18th of September he was enabled to meet liis 
 Parliament. The capital of the Province was at N'ewark, 
 now ^N^iagara. The seat of Government, according to the 
 Duke do la Rochefoucault Lianconrt, who visited it in 1795, 
 consisted of about a hundred houses, "mostly very fine 
 structures." Governor Simcoo apparently did not occupy 
 one of them, but a "miserable wooden house," — formerly 
 occupied l»y the Commissaries, who resided there on account 
 
 I 
 
1792. 
 
 flOVEUNOR SIMCOE AND IIIS PARLIAMENT. 
 
 
 of tlic navisjation of tlio lake, — Lis ij-iianl coiisislinG: of four 
 Roldiei's, Avlio cvorv inorninj;' came from the fort, to wliioli 
 they rctuniod in tlie cveiiiiif*-. It is ditKcult even to guess at 
 the appearance of the rarliameiit building. Assuredly it 
 did not require to ])e of great size. Wlien the time arrived 
 for opening tlie Session, only two, instead of seven mem- 
 bers of the Legislative Council were present. Xo Cliief 
 Justice appeared to till the office of ^iteaker of the Council. 
 Instead of sixteen mendjers of the Lejiislative Asseniblv, 
 five only attended. AV^hat was still more end)arrassing, no 
 more could be collected. The lEouse Avas, nevcrllieless, 
 opened. A guard of honour, consisting of fifty soldiers 
 from the fort, were in attendance. ])ressed in silk, (gov- 
 ernor tSnncoe entered the hall, with his hat on his head, 
 attended by his Adjutant and two Secretaries. The two 
 members of the Council gave notice of his })resence in the 
 Upper House to the Legislative Assend)ly, and the Hvc 
 members of the latter having ai)peared at the Bar of the 
 two Lords, Ilis Excellency read his speech from the throne. 
 He informed the honorable gentlemen of the Legislative 
 Council and the gentlemen of the House of Assembly, that 
 he had summoned them together under the authority of an 
 Act of Parliament of (Jreat Britain, which had established 
 the British constitution, and all that secured and maintained 
 it to IT[>per Canada ; that the wisdom and bcneticcnco of 
 the sovereign had been eminentlyprovedby many provisions* 
 in the memorable Act of Separation, which would extend to 
 the remotest posterity the invaluable blessings of that con- 
 stitution ; that great and momentous trusts and duties had 
 been committed to the representatives of the.province, inii- 
 nitely beyond whatever had distinguished any other ]jritish 
 Colony; that they were called upon to exercise, wi<:h due 
 deliberation and foresight, various offices of civil adminis- 
 tration, with a view of laying the foundation of that union 
 of industry and wealth, of commerce and power, which 
 may 4ast through all succeeding ages ; that the natural 
 advantages of the new province wore inferior 1<> noneoutlii. 
 
!i-,"i' ■"'I.'".! rnxdMn^M'^mmmmm 
 
 84 
 
 PAULIAMENTAllY I'ROCEEDINaS. 
 
 1792. 
 
 h 
 
 side of the AHuiitiu ; tliiit tlie ]^ritish government had paved 
 tlio way ibv i(s speedy coloni/atiou ; and that a nnmcrous 
 and a.i!,Ti cultural pcojile would s[M>edily take possession of 
 the soil and diuiato. To this speech the replies of the 
 Council and As.send)iy were ])ut an echo. The seven gentle- 
 men loi-'islators proceeded actively to hnsiness. An Act was 
 passed to rei)eal the (iuchee Act, and to introduce the 
 English law as the rule of decision in all nmtters of contro- 
 versy relative to i)roperty and civil right; an Act to establish 
 trials by jury ; jiii ^Vct to aholiih the sunnnary proceedings 
 of the Court of Common l*leas inactions nnder ten pounds 
 sterling; an Act to prevent accidents l)y lire ; an Act for 
 the moi'e eas}- recovery of small debts ; an Act to regulate 
 the toll.s to be taken in mills (not more tlian a twelfth for 
 grinding and bolting); an.d an Act for building a Gaol and 
 Court House in every district within the province, and for 
 altering the names of the said districts, the district of 
 Lmicnburg to be called the Eastern District; that of Meck- 
 lenburg, the ^Midland District; that of Xassau, the Home 
 District; and that of Hesse, the "Western District. 
 
 Darliament was about a month in session, when it was 
 [trorogued 1 )y His Excellency. On the 15th of October he gave 
 the assent of the Crown to the Bills passed, and in the pro- 
 rogation speech, made on the same day, lie intimated his 
 intention of taking such measures as he deemed prudent to 
 reserve to the CroAvn, for the public benefit, a seventh of all 
 lands gi'antcd or to be granted; and he begged the popular 
 representatives to explain to their constituents, that the pro- 
 vince was singuhirly blest with a constitution the very image 
 and transcript of the British Constitution! There being 
 only thirty thousand iidndjitants in the whole province, 
 small as the I'arliament was, the people, if not fairly, were 
 at least sulHciently represented. It is somewhat doubtful, 
 nevertheless, that a constitution which gave only a quasi- 
 sovereign to Upper Canada, neither directly, nor, as the 
 Governors of Canada now are, indirectly responsible to the 
 people, could have been the very image and transcript of 
 
1702. 
 
 8IMC0E 8 CHARACTER. 
 
 85 
 
 tho British Constitution. Tlicrc was a niifsty rosemblanco to 
 that celebrated and unwritten form of government, in tlio 
 erection of three estates — Kinij, Lords, and Commons — and 
 no more. But, as it is sometimes expedient to he thankful 
 for small favors, it may have appeared to Governor Simcoo 
 that the new constitution of the eoh)ny was superior to that 
 of Enghmd before inaf/ua charia. Undoubtedly tlie^Governor 
 was an honest man, a good solclier, a prudent ruler, liberally 
 educated, and of cojisiderablo meiitfil capacity. He appears 
 to have been a member of the Imperial Parliament at the 
 time of the passage of the Separation Act, for when the 
 report of the Bill was brought up in tho Conmions, on tho 
 16th of May, 1701, it appears by the debate, that a Colonel 
 Simcoe spoke in favor of the adoption of the report, pro- 
 nounced a paneg3'ric on the British Constitution, and wished 
 it to be adopted in the present instance, as far as circum- 
 stances would admit. Aware of tho advantages which such 
 a colony as Upper Canada, if it attained perfection, might 
 bring to the mother country, he accepted the government of 
 a mere wilderness, to adopt means adequate for that purpose. 
 Independent in means, high in rank, possessed of large 
 and beautiful estates in England, Governor Simcoe, in tho 
 opinion of the Duke de la Kochefoucault Liancourt, could 
 have had no motive of personal aggrandizement in view 
 when he accepted the government of Ui)per Canada. The 
 General, however, loathed the Americans of the United 
 States. lie had been with Burgoyne. lie had tasted of that 
 officer's humiliation. It was impossible for General Simcoe 
 to speak of the "rebels" calmly. A zealous promoter of 
 the American war, as well as participator in it, the calamitous 
 issue of that unfortunate and most deplorable struggle 
 increased the intensity of his bitterness. Although he did 
 not hope for a renewal cf the strife, he trusted that if it were 
 renewed, he might have the opportunity of laying the 
 country in waste, and of exterminating the canting, hypo- 
 critical, puritanical, independents. He soon perceived the 
 folly of the Seat of Government being situated on the very 
 
80 
 
 LONDON ForNDKD — SIMCOE ri PRKJIDICES. 
 
 1702. 
 
 frontier, tlio more c's|)0(ijilly si.-< J^otroit wsistolK' snrreiKlorod 
 to tlio very people mIkhii lie most detested. York, lioin its 
 security, sitnnti<^ii aii<l extent, seemed, at first iclnnee, to l)e 
 the most desirable jilace. J)c'lt'riiii)ied, liowcver, to do 
 iiotliiiiii; rasldy, (lenoral »Simeoe wciu'lifd tlie matter well in 
 his mind. It seemed to Inm that a town mi,u:ht lie founded 
 on the TJiames, a river previously called De La Trenehe, 
 which rises 'M llie liiii'li lands, between Lakes Ontario, Huron, 
 and Erie, and ll(>ws into Lake {St. Clair, which would ho 
 most Huitahle, and in i)roeess of time, most central. ITe 
 even selected the site of a town u]>on the river, which he 
 ha<l named the Thames, and called the site London. Indeed 
 it is somewhat astonishinu' that this excellent Anirlo-tovv, as 
 the Americans, south of 4.') ^ , doubtless, esteemed him, did 
 not call iSandwieh, Dover; J>ctroit, Calais; and the then 
 AV^estern and Home Districts of the western section of the 
 Province, which is almost an Island, Kn<;land. Theijardeu 
 of Cpper Caiuula, almost surrounded by water. Governor 
 Himcoe did intend, that as En<i,"lan(l is mistress of the seas, 
 so her offshoot, C^mada, should be (^ueen of the Lakes. 
 Whatever miuht have been, or mav yet he the natural 
 advantages of London, Canada West, for a seat of govern- 
 ment, the Governor General of J3ritish Xorth America, 
 Lord Dorchester, not then on the best possible terms Avith 
 (Jeneral tSimeoe, would not hear of it. and he, notwith- 
 standing the boast of the Lieutenant Governor that Upper 
 (■anada had obtained tlic exact hnagc aiuf transcript of the 
 liritish Constitution, exercised a powerful influence in the 
 Htate. Lord J.)orchestor insisted that Kingston should be the 
 capital of the Upper i'rovince. ][e was determined, more- 
 over, that if he could not prevail on the Lnperial Govern- 
 ment to convert Kingston into the provincial capital, that 
 the seat of goverimient should not l)e at the London of 
 General Simcoe. He was not favorable to York. A muddy, 
 marsliy, nnhcalthy spot, it was unfitted for a city. Lord 
 Dorchester, peevish from age, was, to some extent, nndei' 
 the influence of the Kingston merchants, and was inclined, 
 
1793. 
 
 SELECTION OF A SEAT OF OOVERNMENT. 
 
 
 by a fcolinpjof c^ratitiulo, to i^rntit tlio wislio.^ of Connnodori' 
 IJouc'hctto, wlio resided at I\iii_ii:sf(»n, Avitli liis tainlly, iind 
 tu whom Liu'd i-Ndcln'sIci' was iiidclilid [\)v t-ui'r cMiuluct 
 tliroiV<i;1i till' Aiin'i'icaii eaiii]i, alU-r Montreal had lalleii into 
 the liaiuls ol" Montn'oinei'v. Kin<;-ston, as a town, was tlieii 
 intbrior oven to Newark, l)iit the l)aek eoiintrv was in u 
 more advaneed state, as lar ns eidtivatioii was eoneerned. 
 Tlic nuinher of liousos in tlio two towns was nearly e(|nal, 
 but the houses in Kini^ston were neither as laruv nor so ii:ou(l 
 II.S those of Newark. Many of the housi-s in J\inirstou were 
 
 merely log-houses, and those whieh consisted of Joiners 
 work were badly eonstrueted and i»ainted. There was no 
 Town IFall, no Court House, and no I'rison. The trade 
 consisted ehieily in furs, hi-ought down the Lake, and iu 
 provisions brought from ]Miro[)e. There were only three 
 merchant ships, that made eleven voyagx's in the year. In 
 the district, three or four thousand ])ushels of corn were 
 raised, and the surplus of that re(piire(l ior the feeding of 
 the troops and inhabitants was exported to i'lngland, the 
 price of rtour being six iloliars per barrel. In ITl'l, a thou- 
 sand barrels of salt porkwercsentfrom Kingston to Quebec, 
 at a price of eighteen dollars a barrel. In selecting a site 
 for the scat of government, then, as now, local interests 
 were brought into play, but General Sinicoe ultimately suc- 
 ceeded in obtaining the permission of the Imperial author- 
 ities to lix it at York. 
 
 The revenue of Upper Canada, in 1703, was only £000, 
 and the pay of the ]iicnd)ers of Assembly was ^2 a day. 
 There Avas a Chief Justice ami two ruisnc Judges, the mem- 
 bers of the Executive Council, live in nund)er, being a 
 Court of Appeal; and the Governor, with an assistatit, 
 formed a Court of Chancery. ^Murders were of more fre- 
 quent occurrence than other crimes, and were rarely 
 punished. There w^ere Quakers, Baptists, Tunkers, Tres- 
 byterians, and Roman Catholics without places of worship. 
 The ministers of the Episcopal Church in connection with 
 tlio Church of I]ngland, wer(» the only clergymen paid by 
 government. 
 
88 
 
 PIMCOK AND THE HOX. JOHN YOUNO. 
 
 1703. 
 
 Governor Hlnicoe'ri hcIktiios for the iinprovcnioiit of tbo 
 cotintiy mul tlio dcvelojiinont of its resources, nro wcnlliy of 
 notiee, ns l»cini; " extremely wise and well arranj^ed." The 
 central point of the settlenientH he «U'sit''ned to be between 
 the Detroit River and the plantations piwiously established 
 in Lower Canada, within a s(pnire Ibi'nied by Lake Ontario, 
 Lake Krie, ])etroit Kiver, and Lake Huron. He eoneeived 
 that r])per Cainida was not only capable of satisfying all tlio 
 wants of its inhabitants, but also of becoming a granary 
 for England. He did not doubt but that the activity of 
 Upper Canada, in agricultural jtursuits, would operate as 
 a powerful example in regard to Lower Canada, and arouse 
 it from its then sui»ineness and indolence, lie conceived 
 that the vast quantities of sturgeons in Lake Ontario Avould 
 afford a successful competition with Russia in the manufac- 
 ture of isinglass or lish-gluc. The corn trade was, in his 
 opinion, preferable to the fur trade, whicli threw the whole 
 trade of a largo tract of territor}- into the Lands of a few. 
 Ho detested militar} government without the walls of the 
 forts. To the Lieutenants of each county he deputed the 
 right of nominating the magistracy and officers of militia. 
 A justice of the peace could assign, in the King's name, two 
 hundred acres of land to every settler, with whose principles 
 and conduct he was accjuainted. The Surveyor of the Dis- 
 trict was to point out to the settlor the land allotted to him 
 by the magistrate. He did not care to enlarge his territory 
 at the expense of the Lidians. It appeared to him that a 
 communication between Lakes Huron and Ontario might be 
 opened, by means of the St. Joseph's river, which would 
 relieve the fur traders of the Far West from the navigation 
 of the Detroit River, of Lake Erie, of the Niagara River, 
 and of a great part of Lake Ontario, and would disappoint 
 the United States in their hope of receiving, in future, any 
 articles across the Lakes, situated above Lake Huron. He 
 was further of opinion, that a direct communication, the 
 idea now entertained by the Houble. John Young, of Mon- 
 treal, might be established between Lake Huron and the 
 
 Engh 
 
1793. 
 
 THE NKWARK blTOTATOR. 
 
 89 
 
 Rivoi* Ht. L.Mwronoo. Unlortnnatcly lor tlio TroviiMH', Gov- 
 ernor Simooo (lid not rtMiiiiiii loiiu' oiioiiirh \u it to jnit lii^ 
 ndmiraMy concoivod projoets into cxocntion. Tlio.'^e sclionicH 
 wlicn conceived, could not l»u verv easilv liroudit under 
 public notice. Tliere was in nil rpjtcr ('anuda oidy ono 
 newspaper, and that verv i'ar from Ix'iiiu,' an oru'an of imblic 
 opinion. Tlio Xewark S}>ectator, orMercurv, or ("lironicle, 
 or whatever else it nuiv have Itcen, wa?< Itut a loose ol)si'rver 
 of men and manners, printed weekly. Had it not l)cen 
 Bupportod hy the c:overnnu!nt, not u i'ourlh part oF the 
 expenses of the proprietor would have heeii relun<led to him 
 by the sale of his newsjiaper. It was a sliort abstract of the 
 newspapers of Xew York and /Mbany, "accommodated" to 
 the anti-American principles of the CJovernor, with an 
 epitome of the Qiwbce GazcHc. It was tlie medium throut!:h 
 which the Acts of the Leij^islature, and tlio Governor's 
 notices and orders were commuiiieatcd to the peoi)le. It was 
 par exccUenec the government organ. 
 
 Tlio Second Session of the First Provincial Parliament 
 of Upper Canada was held at Niagara, on the 31st of -May, 
 1793. There is no copy of the speech from the throne to bo 
 found, unless it may have been in the Xewark SiurOdor, 
 which is not within reach. Its contents mav be i^b^aued from 
 the nature of the Bills passed during the Session, and 
 assented to by the Lieutenant Governor. An Act was 
 passed for the better regulation of the militia ; the nomina- 
 tion and appointment of parish and town otHcers were pro- 
 vided for; the payment of wages to the members of tlic 
 House of Assembly, at a rate not exceeding ten shillings per 
 diem, was authorized and provided for; the laying out, 
 amending, and keeping in repair the public high roads Avas 
 regulated, the roads not to be less than thirty nor more than 
 sixty feet wide ; marriages solemnized by justices of the 
 peace, before the separation, were to bo valid, and in future 
 justices of the peace were empowered to marry persons not 
 living within eighteen miles of of a parson of the Church of 
 England, the form of the Church of England to be folloAved; 
 
 M 
 
MHH 
 
 90 
 
 rrnsT parliament or v.fVT.n canada. 
 
 1704. 
 
 fho times and placos of lioldini? Courts of (innrtor R(?sHions 
 woro iixcd ; tlio lurthcr iiitrndnctioii of slaves was pivvoutod, 
 and tlio tonu of contracts for Hcrvitndo liiuilcd ; u Conrt of 
 Probuto "NvaH cstablislicd in tlio I'rovince, and a Hnrrogato 
 Court in every district; Commissioners were ap[K)intotl to 
 meet Commissioners i'rom tlie Lower I'rovince, to regulate 
 the duties on commodities, passiiii^ from one i'rovince to the 
 otlier; a fund for payini^ the t<alaries of the olUcers of the 
 Legislative Council, und for <lefraying the contingent 
 expenses thereof, by u duty of four itencc a gallon on 
 Madeira, and two pence on all other wines imported into 
 the rrovinco was established ; the destruction of wolves 
 and bears was encouraged ])y a rewar<l of twenty shillings 
 for a wolfs head, and of ten shillings for a bear's head ; 
 returning otHcers were appointed for the (several counties ; 
 and a further fund for the payment of the House of Assem- 
 bly and its ofliccrs was created, by an "additional" duty of 
 twenty shillings to be levied on all licenses for the retail of 
 wines or spirituous liquors. In the third Session of the 
 Parliament, convened on the 2nd June, 1704, an Ait was 
 passed for the regulation of juries ; a Superior Court of Civil 
 and Criminal Jurisdiction was established, and a Coui-t of 
 Appeal regulated; a Court was established for the cognizance 
 of small causes in every district ; the Lieutenant Governor 
 was empowered to license practitioners in the l.iw ; lines and 
 forfeitures reserved to His Majesty for the use of the Pro- 
 vince were to be accounted for ; the Assessment Act for the 
 payment of wages to the Assembly was amended ; the militia 
 was further regulated ; liorncd cattle, horses, sheep, and 
 Bwine were not to run at large ; the Gaols and Court Houses 
 Act was amended ; a duty of one shilling and three pence 
 per gallon was laid upon stills, and the manner of licensing 
 public houses was regulated. 
 
 The Fourth Session of the First Parliament of Upper 
 Canada having met for the despatch of business, on the Gth 
 July, 1795, the practice of physic and surgery w^as reg- 
 ulated; an Act was passed to ascertain the eligibility of per- 
 
171)0. 
 
 THE HON. l»ETEU RUSSELL. 
 
 91 
 
 
 icV- 
 
 sons to 1)0 rotiirnod to tlio Ilonso of APHomMy ; tlic nc^roo- 
 inent l)et\ve(Mi Upper (^aiuulii and Lower Oannda, by wliich 
 tho latter were to collect all the dutieH on g-oodn, wares and 
 niereliandizo arriviiii^ at (Juebcc, givini? tho former oiio 
 eighth of their iiett produto, was ratified, approved, nnd 
 contirnied; tho Superior Court Act of the previouH Session 
 was ameiuled and explained; and Kegistry OiHecs were 
 established for tho eiiregistering of deeds, lands and tene- 
 ments. There were no private Bills. Tho measures for 
 rarliamentary consideration were all of a public nature, and 
 tho legislation was eminently judicious and peremptory, 
 ^[r. Attorney Cieneral AVhite was tho great man in the 
 Commons, and Mr. Speaker Chief Justice Powell in the 
 Lords. The first I'arlii; I ^nt died a natural death, and tho 
 members of it went (piiet.y to their respective places of 
 abode. 
 
 Tho second railiu.iicnt met at Newark, after a general 
 election not productive of any vciy great degree of excite- 
 ment, on the IGth of -May, 1790, opened by tho Governor 
 in person, with tho usual lormalities. Certain coins wore 
 better regulated ; the juries Act was amended; tho Quarter 
 Sessions Act was amended ; tho public houses Act was 
 amended; tho wolves and bears destruction Act was 
 partially repealed, by tho rewnuls for killing bears being 
 withdrawn ; tho Lieutenant Governor was authorized to 
 appoint Commissioners to meet others from the Lower Pro- 
 vince, about duties and drawbacks on goods passing from 
 one Province to tho other; and tho assessment Act was 
 amended. 
 
 This Session of tho second Parliament was hardly con- 
 cluded, when Governor Simcoe was re(iuired to relinquish 
 his Government and proceed to St. Domingo, in a similar 
 capacity, the government of Upper Canada, until the arrival 
 of a regularly appointed successor, devolving upon the Hon. 
 P. Russell, President of the Council. Mr. Kussell convened 
 the second Session of tho Provincial Parliament, at the new 
 capital of York, selected by his predecessor, and in which a 
 
mnammmmmmmmm^ 
 
 92 
 
 OENEUAL IIUNTKIl, «0VEIIN0U. 
 
 1708. 
 
 gubernatorial rosidonco of canvass had boon erected. The 
 lirst Act passed dnriiiii; his very quiet rei,£»-n of only three 
 years, -was one for the better security of vhe rrovincc against 
 the King's enemies. It provided tliat no person professing to 
 owe alK'giance to any country at war against tlie King, shouUl 
 be permitted to enter, remain, reside, or dwell in the province. 
 The second Act was one to enable the inhabitants of the 
 township of York to assendile for the purpose of choosing and 
 nominating parish and township otHcers; an Act for securiug 
 the titles to lands ; an Act for the regulation of ferries ; an 
 Act to incorporate the legal profession ; the word " clergy- 
 man" in land grants to signity clergy ; felons from other 
 Provinces to be apprehended, and the trade between the 
 United States and the Province to be temporarily provided 
 for, by the suspension of an Act re[)Ugnant to the free inter- 
 course with the .United States, established by treaty of 1794. 
 Several amendments to Acts and other Acts were passed, 
 when the Session was prorogued in due form. 
 
 On the 5th of June, 1798, the third Session of the second 
 Provincial Parliament met, and seven Acts received the 
 gubernatorial assent. Among other things, the boundaiy 
 lines of the ditferent townships were to be determined, the 
 ministers of the Church of Scotland, Lutherans or Calvin- 
 ists, were authorized to celebrate marriage ; and the method 
 of performing statute labor on the roads was altered. 
 
 The fourth and last Session of this second Parliament of 
 Upper Canada met at York, on the 12tli June, 1799, and 
 six Acts were assented to, among which was one providing 
 for the education and support of oqilian children ; and 
 another eiuibling persons holding the office of Registrar to 
 be elected members of the House of Assembly, a member 
 of which body accepting the oilice to vacate his seat, with 
 the privilege, however, of being re-elected. 
 
 On the 17tli August, 1709, General Hunter appeared and 
 assnmed the Lientenant Governorship to which he had 
 been appointed b}'' the King. lie was not, however, simply 
 Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada ; but also ^he 
 
1800. 
 
 HUNTER — NEW-PORTS OF ENTRY. 
 
 98 
 
 of 
 iud 
 
 Lieiitemint, General comTnaiuling-iii-cliief, in both of the 
 Canadas. lie took possession of tlic Government of Upper 
 Canada about a fortnicrht after the o-eneral government of 
 British ^N'ortli America liad been entrusted to His Excellency 
 Robert Shore Milnes, Esquire. Tlie Lieutenant General 
 was well advanced in years. He had seen iifty-three sum- 
 mers, and it was not to be expected that his previous 
 education and habits would give way to tlic new ideas of 
 younger men in a neAv countr3^ General Hunter was, 
 nevertheless, connected with a highly talented family, his 
 brother being the celebrated Dr. Hunter of London, and 
 his talents for government were possibly better than tho 
 bi'ls passed during his reign would indicate. There was, 
 indeed, little, if any, advance in legislation. The Acts of 
 former Sessions, relative to duties, tho administration of 
 justice, and to the militia, were patched and repatched, 
 made more stringent, less liberal, and more complicated. 
 In the first Session of the third Parliament, which met at 
 York, on the 2nd June, 1800, six Acts of revival, regulation, 
 or amendment were assented to, one of which, making a 
 temporary provision for the regulation of trade between 
 LTpper Canada and the United States, established ports of 
 entry. The second Session of the third l*arliament was 
 held on the 28th of May, 1801, at tho now established 
 capital. The Parliament, as usual, was recommended to 
 look after the King's enemies, the militia, the Quarter 
 Sessions, the Customs Duties, the Roads, and the payment 
 of the Assembly and its officers. There was no change in tho 
 matters legislated upon, worthy of note, with the exception 
 that Cornwall, Johnstown, Newcastle, York, jS'iagara, 
 Queenston, Fort Erie Passage, Turkey Point, Amherstbui-g, 
 and Sandwich were declared to be Ports of Entry, collectors 
 being appointed by the Governor to receive a salary of ,£50 
 per cent on duties, till the same amounted to XI 00, above 
 which sum there was to be no advance, and having the 
 privilege of appointing their own deputies ; the Governor 
 was authorized to appoint Flour and Ashes Inspectors, who 
 
94 
 
 COLLECTORS OP CUSTOMS APPOINTED. 
 
 1802. 
 
 wore to receive three pence for every l)arrel of flour they 
 inspected, and one shilling for every cask of pot and pearl 
 ashes ; and an Act was passed preventing the sale of spiritu- 
 ons or intoxicating drinks to the Moravian Indians, on the 
 River Thames. The third Session of the third Parliament 
 met ou the 25th of May, 1802, when five Acts only were 
 passed. Titles of lands were to be better ascertained and 
 secured; the administration of justice in the Newcastle 
 District was provided for ; the rates which the Receiver 
 General should take and retain for his own use out of the 
 the monies passing through his hands, subject to the dispo- 
 sition of the Province, was to be declared and ascertained; 
 one or more ports of entry were established, and one or 
 more collectors of Customs appointed; and an Act for 
 applying X750 to encourage the growth of hemp, and .£84 
 Os. 8d. for stationery for the Clerks of Parliament was 
 adopted. On the 24tli of January, 1803, the Parliament 
 being again assembled for the despatch of business, an Act 
 was i^assed, allowing time for the sale of lands and tene- 
 ments by the Slicrilf ; a fund was estal)lislied for the erection 
 and repair of light-houses ; the rights of certain grantees of 
 the waste lands of the Crown were declared; married 
 women were enabled to convey and alienate their real 
 estate ; attornies were enabled to take two clerks and " no 
 more," the Attorney and Solicitor General excepted, as they 
 could take three each, and "no more;" the swine and 
 horned cattle restraint Act was extended ; members of Par- 
 liament, having a warrant from the Speaker of attendance, 
 were, for their owii convenience, enabled to demand from 
 justices of the peace, ten shillings a day, to be levied by 
 assessment. After this. Parliament was prorogued, unless 
 it bo that a second fourth Session of the Parliament was 
 held, which is not very probable, although IMr. Gourlay, iu 
 his account of Canada, gives two fourth Sessions to the 
 third Parliament, and afterwards complains that the business 
 of the first Session of the sixth Provincial Parliament was 
 nowhere to be found. 
 
1805. 
 
 PARLUMENTAIIY BUSINEP!3. 
 
 D") 
 
 es of 
 Tied 
 cal 
 no 
 tlicy 
 and 
 
 Parliament next apscmhlod on tlic 1st of February, 1804. 
 Sedition was provided against; persons ^vlio sliould .sediu-e 
 soldiers into desertion were to bo exeniphirily punished ; 
 fees, costs, andcluirges were to be regulated by the Court of 
 Kings Bench ; the swine Act was amended, so that sheep 
 might run at large, and rams only be restrained bctween^thc 
 1st December and 20th December; £300 was ai»propriated 
 to the printing of all the Acts of the I'rovince, and i^80 a 
 year was allowed for the annual printing of the laws, which 
 were to be distributed among meml^ers of I'arliament, 
 judges, and militia oflicers ; .£100 was granted for tho 
 building of bridges and repairing old roads and laying out 
 new ones ; the Customs Act was explained; £115 was 
 granted for the purchase of the Statute Laws of England ; 
 X400 per annum was granted to be applied in the erection of 
 Parliament Buildings; £303 lis. lO^d. was voted for tho 
 clerks and officers of the Parliament, including stationary, 
 and to the government commissioners appointed to adopt 
 means to encourage the growth of hemp a sum of £1000 
 was granted. The Session of the fourth Parliament, next 
 l^ent on the despatch] of business, came together on the 1st 
 February, 1805. It altered the time of issuing tavern and 
 still licenses; afforded relief to heirs or devizees of the nom- 
 iness of the Crown, entitled to claim lands in cases where no 
 patent had issued for such lands ; regulated the trial of con- 
 tested elections ; continued the Duty-Commissioners Act for 
 four years ; altered certain parts of the IS"ewcastle-District 
 administration of justice Bill ; made provision for the fur- 
 ther appointment of parish and town officers ; relieved 
 insolvent debtors, by an Act which enabled a debtor in 
 prison to receive five shillings weekly from his creditor 
 during his detention, if the prisoner were not worth five 
 pounds, worthlessness being, in this instance, to a man's 
 advantage ; tho curing, packing and inspection of pork was 
 regulated by the appointment of inspectors, whose fees were 
 to be one shiUino- and six pence per barrel, exclusive of 
 cooperage, with six pence a mile to the Inspector, for every 
 
90 
 
 GRANT AND QORE. 
 
 1805. 
 
 milo ho liad to travel ; £45 9s. 8d., advanced by His Majesty, 
 througli tlic Lieutonant Governor, for the purchase of hemp 
 seed, and <£229 8s. Gd., advanced for contingencies, clerks 
 of I'arliamcnt and so forth, were to l)e made good out of a 
 certain sum aj^plied to that purpose ; and for the further 
 encouragement of the growth and cultivation of hemp, and 
 for tlie exportation thereof, it was by law determined that 
 X50 per ton should be paid for hemp. 
 
 Lieutenant General Hunter died at Quebec on the 21st 
 August of the same year, (1805) at the age of 59, and was 
 buried in the English Cathedral at Quebec, where a monu- 
 ment in marble has been erected to his memory, by his 
 brother, the physician. It is recorded on his tombstone, 
 that General Hunter's life was spent in the sendee of his 
 King and country, and that of the various stations, both 
 civil and military, which he tilled, he discharged the duties 
 with spotless integrity, unwearied zeal, and successful 
 abilities. 
 
 The Honorable Alexander Grant, as President of the 
 Council, succeeded General Hunter in the administration of 
 affairs. Mr. Grant reigned onl}'^ one year, when he was 
 succeeded by His Excellency Sir Francis Gore. During Mr. 
 Grant's short rule, .£50 a year each, was provided for eight 
 years, to six Slieriffs ; an Act was passed to regulate the 
 practice of physic and surgery ; £490 was appointed for the 
 purchase of instruments to illustrate the principles of na- 
 tural philosophy, to be deposited in the hands of a person 
 employed in the education of youth ; <£1,600 was granted 
 for public roads and bridges ; the Acts for the appointment 
 of Parish officers, for the collection of assessments, and for 
 the payment of the wages of the House of Assembly were 
 altered and amended ; the Custom Duties' Act was contin- 
 ued ; and £498 8s. 5d. was made good to the Commissioners 
 treating with Lower Canada, and to the Clerks of Parlia- 
 ment. 
 
 The Governments, of both Upper and Lower Canada, were 
 Administered by residents of the country at the same period 
 
1806. 
 
 LOWER CANADA — IMPORTANCE OF PARLIAMENT. 
 
 97 
 
 was 
 
 of time. "While Mr. Grant, the administrator of Upper Ca- 
 nada, had convened the parliament of the province on the 
 4tli of February, 1806, Mr. Dunn had convoked the parli.a- 
 meut of Lower Canada for the 22nd of the same month in 
 the same year. On openinfi^ the parliament of Lower Ca- 
 nada Mr. Dunn tellingly alluded to the important victory of 
 Lord Kelson at Trafalgar and to the subsequent action oft* 
 Ferrol, recommending the renewal of the nets deemed expe- 
 dient during the previous war for the prcseiTation of His 
 Majesty's government and for the internal tranquillity of 
 the province. B}" the address, in reply, lie was assured that 
 these acts would be renewed. Shortly after the assembly 
 had met it occurred to them that their peculiar privileges, as 
 an offshoot of the Commons of England, had been assailed. 
 The proceedings of a dinner party given to the representa- 
 tives of Montreal in that city had been printed and circulated 
 in the Montreal Gazette of the 1st April, 1805. The dinner 
 wasgiv'ii in Dillon's tavern, and the party were particularly 
 merry with the abundant supply- of wines. Mr. Isaac Todd, 
 merchant, presided. After the customary toasts on all such 
 occasions had been given, the president proposed: — "The 
 honorable members of the Legislative Council, who were 
 friendly to constitutional taxation as proposed by our worthy 
 members in the House of Assembly;" — "Our reprcscntativea 
 in parliament, who proposed a constitutional and proper 
 mode of taxation, for building gaols, and who opposed a tax 
 on commerce for that purpose, as contrary to the sound 
 practice of the parent state ;" — " May our representatives be 
 actuated by a patriotic spirit, for the good of the province, 
 as dependent on the British empire, and be divested of local 
 prejudices ;" — " Prosperity to the agriculture and commerce 
 of Canada, and may they aid each other, as their true inter- 
 est dictates, by sharing a due proportion of advantages and 
 burthens ;" — "The city and county of Montreal and the grand 
 juries of the district, who recommended local assessments for 
 local purposes ; — " May the city of Montreal be enabled to 
 support a newspaper, though deprived of its natural and 
 
 N 
 
96 
 
 PAULIAMENT LIDELLED. 
 
 1806. 
 
 useful advantages, apijarcntly, for tlio benefit of an indivi- 
 dual." It is diiKcult to perceive where any breach of privi- 
 lege was involved, but the a8t>eni])ly looked upon these aspi- 
 rations and upon the compliments to the Montreal repre- 
 sentatives as a false and scandalous and malicious libel, 
 highly rnd unjustly reflecting upon His Majesty's represen- 
 tative and on both Houses of the Provincial Parliiiment, 
 and tending to lessen the aficctions of His Majesty's subjects 
 towards the government of the province. A committee of 
 inquiry was appointed, and reported that the libellers were 
 the printer of the GazeUc, Edward Edwards, and the presi- 
 dent of the dinner party, Isaac Todd. Xay, the libel was 
 reported to be a " high" breach of the privileges of the 
 Assembly and Messrs. Todd and Edwards were ordered to 
 be taken into custody. But the Serjeant-at-Arms, or his 
 deputy, could not lay his hands upon these gentlemen and 
 the matter Avaa no more thought of until the editor of the 
 Quebec 3Icrcurii ridiculed the whole proceedings, when it 
 was ordered that Mr. Cary sliould be arrested. Mr. Gary 
 was afraid that such unpleasant investigations might give 
 rise to other unpleasant investigations with regard to the 
 powers of the House. Ho intimated that in France it was 
 customary to tic up the tongue and lock up the press, and 
 for so doing he was compelled either to submit to be himself 
 locked up or apologize. On being arrested he apologized 
 at the Bar of the House and was released. The time of the 
 House was frittered away l)y empty discussions and wordy 
 addresses upon the gaol tax, previously mentioned, which 
 the king did not disallow as required by the mercantile 
 community. Indeed the administrator of the government 
 in his prorogation speech remonstrated with the Assembly 
 for the non-completion of the necessary business. The civil 
 expenditure of the year came to c£35,409 sterling, including 
 £2,000 to General Prescott, who was then in England, and 
 X3.406 to Sir Robert Shore Milnes, with the addition of 
 £2,604 c\n*rency, for salaries to the officers of the Legisla- 
 ture, the expenditure exceeding the revenue by £869. 
 
1800. 
 
 THE IIONOUAULE ITEIiMAN IlTLAND. 
 
 W 
 
 Gcnoral Prescott, tlio Governor General, absent in Kng- 
 lancl, was yet in tlie receipt of <£2,000 a year, aiul llie year 
 before he had ^4,000 ; Sir llobert ^fihiCB, the Lieutenant 
 Governor, also absent, had received the salary above men- 
 tioned, while Mr. Dunn received £750, as a judge of the 
 King's Bench, =£100 for liis services as administrator of the 
 government, a pension of c£500 sterling a year, on relin- 
 quishing the administration, and an a«hlitional allowance of 
 .£1,500 a year while he had administered the government. 
 Beyond question their "Excellencies" and "His Honor," 
 were amply remunerated. The Governor General and his 
 Lieutenant were absent on business. Indeed, while the 
 Legislative Assembly, in defence of imaginary privileges, 
 were cutting such fantastic capers before high heaven, the 
 confidential secretary of Lord Dorclicster and of his succes- 
 sors so far, the llonoraldo Herman AVitsius Eyland, — who, 
 having been Acting Paymaster General to llis Majesty's 
 Forces captured by the Americans, went to England, when 
 His Lordship, then General Sir Guy Carleton, evacuated 
 New York, and returned with him to Canada, when tliat 
 officer was appointed Governor-in-Chief in 1793, full of the 
 sympfithies, antipathies, prcpossessiojis, and prejudices of the 
 English conservative of that day, — had devised a scheme, 
 which, had it been carried out, would have rendered their 
 privileges not very valuable. He only designed to "anglify" 
 the French-Canadians by compulsion. Before the separa- 
 tion of the province into Upper Canada and Lower Canada 
 it was a matter of consideration whether all the Roman Ca- 
 tholic churches in the Province could not be converted 
 into lleformed Anglo-Episcopal churclies. The contem- 
 plated plan of doing so was to take from the " Vicaire du 
 Saint Siege Apostolique" the power of nominating and ap- 
 pointing the parish priests ; the appointment of subsequent 
 bishops was to be given to the king ; and the Popish Bishop 
 then living, was to be succeeded by a Protestant Bishop, 
 who would find an easy method of turning Cardinal Riche- 
 lieu's church extension schemes to excellent account in a 
 
■^SSgH 
 
 100 
 
 MR. UYLAND (3 HATRED OP rAPAOY. 
 
 1«00. 
 
 new mode of ordaining now "catholic" priests, who might 
 he disposed to ahandon, at least, some of the doctrines of 
 Rome and embrace, at least, some of those of the Protestant 
 religion. The religious principle involved in this interest- 
 ing scheme would have done credit to the eighth Henry. It 
 would have had the effect of erecting on a l*opish founda- 
 tion, of building up on the sainted Eock, a church militant 
 as a more powerful safeguard to English influence and power 
 in Canada than the citadel of Quebec has been. Together 
 with the creation of a Provincial Baronetage, in the persona 
 of the members of the Upper House, the honor being des- 
 cendible to their eldest sons in lineal succession, and the 
 raising of the most considerable of these eldest sons at a 
 future period to a' higher degree of honor, as the province 
 increased in wealth, together with the recognition of Mr. 
 DeBoucherville's old noblesse, it would have most certainly 
 much sooner produced that state of things which Sir Francis 
 Bond Head and the "family compact" so ably brought to a 
 crisis. The secretary of all the governors Lower Canada 
 had yet had, corresponded, most confidenti.'illy, with his 
 home masters, somewhat, perhaps, to the prejudice of his 
 honor the administrator. As general Simcoe loathed the 
 nasal twang, attenuated appearance, and the vulgar republi- 
 canism of a downcast American, so Mr. Witsius Ryland 
 abominated Romanism. Speaking of the Roman Cathohc 
 clergy of Canada, he says : — " I call them Popish to distin- 
 guish them from the clergy of the Established Church and to 
 express my contempt and detestation of a religion, which 
 sinks and debases the human mind, and which is a curse to 
 every country where it prevails." Nay, he laid it down, as 
 a principle, to undermine the authority and infl.uence of the 
 Roman Catholic Priests. It was or should be the highest 
 object of a governor to crush every papist scoundrel. Fol- 
 lowing the line of conduct which had so widely established 
 the authority of the Popes of Rome, it was the duty of 
 governors to avail themselves of every possible advantage, 
 ftnd never to give up an inch but with the certainty of gain- 
 
1800. 
 
 ROMANISM SEIIIOI'SLY TIIUEATENED. 
 
 101 
 
 ) 
 
 iiic^ an ell. IIo lamented that the seminary and perlia])^ 
 some other estates liad not been taken po^ses.^ion of hv the 
 crown, incorporated, and tni.stee.s ap[)ointed, out of which 
 incorporated estates a handsome salary mip;ht have been paid 
 to the King's Superintendent an.l Deputy Superintendent of 
 the Romish Church! l)ut the proceeds of which slioidd prin- 
 cipally have been applied to the pmi»oses of i)ublic educa- 
 tion. And he was deeply mortiticd that " a conipany of 
 French rascals" had momentarily deprived the country of 
 any hope of such a destiny of these estates. The private 
 and confidential remarks of the secretary were not idtogether 
 without eftcct. His Grace of Portland, then His Majesty's 
 Secretary for the Colonies, peremptorily ordered Governor 
 Milnes to resume and exercise that part of the king's 
 instructions requiring that no person whatever was to have 
 holy orders conferred upon him, or to have cnre of souls, 
 without license, iirst had and ol^tained from the Governor, 
 and Lord Ilobart, the Duke's successor in the Colonial De- 
 partment, intimated to Sir Kol)ert Milnes that it was highly 
 proper that he should signify to the Catholic Bishop the 
 impropriety of his assuming any new titles or exercising any 
 additional powers to those which he had as the Vicar of the 
 Holy Apostolic See. The French Priests were also to bo 
 reminded that their residence in Canada was merely on suf- 
 ferance, and that it was necessary for them to behave cir- 
 cumspectly, else even that indulgence would be withdrawn. 
 Greatly alarmed at these proceedings the Bishop of Rome 
 respectfully remonstrated. He humbly reminded His Most 
 Excellent Majesty, the King, that nineteen-twentieths of the 
 population w^ere of the Roman Catholic religion ; that the 
 humble remonstrant was himself the fourteenth bishop who 
 had managed the church since Canada had happily passed 
 into the hands of the Crown of Great Britain ; that the ex- 
 tension of the province was prodigious, requiring more than 
 ever that the superintending bishop should retain all the 
 rights and dignities which His Majesty had found it conve- 
 nient to suffer the bishops to have at the conquest ; and that 
 
-rrmmmm 
 
 102 
 
 XO ROMAN CATnOLIC niSIlOP OP QT^EBEC. 
 
 1800. 
 
 in tlio C()ur;« of Jut^iico thoro wliould be no room to doul)t 
 llK'ir i>owc'rs. It wiiJ^ iixlcc'l no wonder llint the superin- 
 tendent of tlie (Miureli of Itonie wjis aininiod at tlie aspeet 
 of atlairs. The Attonu^y-Ceneral SeweU reported with 
 rcii'ard io the nomination of Laurent Bertrand to he cure of 
 Saint Lt'on-le-(Jrand, l>y tlie tiiuhir Koman Catholic Bishop 
 of (Quebec, in the case of one Lavergne, wlio having refused 
 to furnish tlie ptfin htni, was prosecuted in the Court of 
 King's Bench, tliat it was a usni'paiion in the bishop to erect 
 parishes and ajipoint cures, lie went farther and said that 
 there was no such person as the lioman Catholic Bishop of 
 Quebec. The title, rights, and powers of that ofKcc had 
 been desti'oyed by the cojiquest. Nay, there could not, 
 legally, bo any such character, as, if ho existed, the King's 
 supremacy would be interfered with, contrary to the Statutes 
 of Henry the Eighth and of Elizabeth. Kot only was there 
 a quiet but arbitrary denial of the right of the Koman Ca- 
 tholic Bishop to manage the affairs of his diocese, the possi- 
 bility of negociating the Kcverend Coadjutor I*lessis out of 
 liis influence was entertained. Mr. Attorney-General ulti- 
 mately waited upon that ecclesiastic to explain his own pri- 
 vate sentiments to him. The bishop was studiously guarded 
 and significantly polite. The Attorney-General thought 
 that a good understanding ought to exist between the gov- 
 ernment and the ministers of religion. Mr. Plessis was 
 quite of that opinion. Mr. Attorney-General thought the 
 free exercise of the Roman Catholic religion having been 
 permitted the government ought to avow its otKcers, but not 
 at the expense of the Established Church. Mr. Coadjutor 
 I'lessis said that position might be correct. Mr. Attor- 
 ney-General thought that the government could not allow^ to 
 Mr. Plessis that which it denied to the Church of England. 
 Mr. Plessis saw that the government thought that the bishop 
 should act under the King's commission, and could see no 
 objection to it. The Attorney- General w^as strongly of opi- 
 nion that the right of appointing to cures, which no bishop 
 of the Church of England had, must be abandoned. Mr. 
 
 11^ 
 
1800. Mil. l»LE66ie AND MR. ATTY. OEN'L. — EXPLANATION. 103 
 
 Sir. 
 
 ricaaifl thont^lit that even liuoimpai'to niul the Pope liad 
 ottocted a compromiso on tliat niHtkw. Mr. Attornoy-Goiie- 
 ral lia<l no fiiilli in ]Jiioiniparto and was but an indiHerent 
 Catliolic, hnt tlio Crown only could .'«olct't ioni a niwliop's 
 own r/iosiliood, and a Jjishop, onco acknowltd^'cd, would 
 1)0 the head of a doparlnK'nt. Tliat said Mr. IMesHid would 
 be a dej)artnre IVoin the Koinish dooiniie Oi' t'liurcli disci- 
 pline. To some extent it would, but your dcrtcv would bo 
 oiKcers oi' the Crown, and you would obtalu tlie means) of 
 living in splendour, said the Aitoruey-CJciicral. Splendour, 
 8aid Mr. I'lessiw, is not suitable to the condition of a bishop; 
 ecclesiastical rank anda suiHcient nuiintenancc is all he 
 needs. The Attorney-Ceneral meant that a bishop should 
 have the income of a <i^entlemau. ^[r. I'lcssis meant the 
 fiame thing-, but it was a delicate matter to pension a bishop, 
 for relinquishing his right of iiominaling to the ciuvs, as the 
 public would not hesitate to say he had sold his church. 
 Never mind, said the Attorney-General, if the matter is 
 viewed aright, you have none to relinquish. I do not know, 
 replied Mr. Plessis. Whatever is to be done must now bo 
 done, intimated the Attorney-General. You si)eak truly, 
 was the modest reply, something must be done, and though 
 we may ditfer in detail, I hope wo shall not in the outline. 
 Not very long after this conversation Bishop Deiiaud died. 
 Now was the time for Mr. Witsius Ryland to act or never. 
 lie did act most energetically. lie ear-wigged Mr. l*rcsident 
 Dunn, concerning his proper line of conduct on the occasion. 
 He attempted to dissuade ^Ir. Dunn from a formal acknow- 
 ledgement of Ml', ricssis, as Superintendent of the Komish 
 Church, till His Majesty's pleasure should be declared. He 
 thought an order should bo immediately issued from home, 
 prohibiting the assumption, by a lioman Catholic prelate, of 
 the title of Bishop of Quebec. It occurred to him that a French 
 emigrant bishop, if one could be found, would be more easily 
 managed than Mr. Plessis. But Mr. Plessis was too much 
 for Mr. liyland, and fomid favor in the President's sight. 
 Mr. Dunn would not listen to the representations of his 
 
"S^^H 
 
 104 
 
 A XEW UTSIIOP MADE— RTLAND ANOUY. 
 
 1806. 
 
 Bocrotary, and tlio utuOi ot* lii!4 Hoorctary was kiiullcd. Ho 
 wroto to Sir RolnTt Miliios on the suhjoot, and to " Nfy dear 
 Lord," tho Kiiflit llcvorend Jaooh Nfonntain, D. J). Not 
 only was Mr. Dunn dt'tenninod upon tonnaliy rceo^ifnizing 
 tho new Roman Catliol'u; jrishop but lie wan determined to 
 snfter tho Uevcrend Mr. l*anot to take the oath aa Coadjutor, 
 without either waiting tor llis Mnjosty's pleasure, or for any 
 other sanction wliatever. It was most distressing, hut 
 "where was tlie layman, tree from vanity, who, at seventy- 
 throe years of age, would lot slip an oi»portunity of making 
 a bishop?" It was dreadful. His contempt and indignation 
 rose to a height that nearly choked him. As an apology for 
 the recognition of Mr. Panet, it was all very well to say tliat 
 his brother was a mighty good sort of a man. A mighty 
 good sort of a man ! How devoted were such mighty good 
 sort of men, those very loyal subjects, to Ilia Majesty ! 
 From tho Speaker himself, down to the " fellow" who held 
 a lucrative office in the Court of King's Bench, and who had 
 sent his son to join the banditties of Mr. Buonaparte, who 
 was not, to suit his purpose, brimfull of loyalty ! Things 
 were wretchedly managed, but the wisest thing to be done 
 under prer:cnt circun\stances was nothing. 
 
 The Home Government anxious to build up in some man- 
 ner a Protestant Church establishment had appointed the 
 liight Reverend Jacob Mountain, Doctor in Divinity, to tho 
 Diocese of Quebec. At the expense of the Imperial Gov- 
 ernment, a Cathedral was built in Quebec, which was conse- 
 crated in 1804, on the ruins of the Recollet Church of tho 
 Jesuits. To this day it is possibly the most symmetrical 
 in appearance of any church of the Church of England in 
 Canada. Exteriorly, it is 135 feet in length and 73 iii 
 breadth, while the height of the spiro above the ground is 
 152 feet, the height from the floor to the centre arch, within, 
 being 41 feet. The communion plate, together with the altar 
 cloth, hangings of the desk and pulpit of crimson velvet and 
 cloth of gold, and the books for divine service, was a private 
 present from George the Third. There was then also a 
 
 Re 
 
ISO*;. 
 
 < IIUKCIIKS AND KUt'CATION. 
 
 105 
 
 Kootor of (2iiol)OC, huviiia; u ftalary, from tlio Hritisli Goveni- 
 iiioiit, of £200 u year, sucli a sum ns, Bimhop Mountain re. 
 porU'd U) Ills Kxiu'lIcMu-y tlio Governor, no ^cnllemun could 
 poHrtil)ly live upon ! a Itcctor of Montreal with the same 
 salary, and XHO additional per annum made up by M»d>scrip- 
 tion from the [)arisli ; ji Jtcctor of Tiwoo RivLM's with a liko 
 salary of iiiiOO from home; u liuetor of William Henry rc- 
 ceivintjj illUO from homo and XoO from the Society for tho 
 l^ropui^ation of the Gorii)el ; an cvenini^ lecturer at (iucheo, 
 receivinof XI 00 from the Imperial Treasury; the incumbent 
 of Mis>ii8rpioi Bay, obtainintf iilOO from i>'overnnient, £1)0 
 from the Propaijation Society, and X30 from tho inhabitants ; 
 and two vacancies in the "new settlements," requiring* X150 
 to be paid to each. The building of a stone cliurch in 
 Montreal was commenced, but the structure which promised 
 to bo "one of the handsomest specimens of modern archi- 
 tecture in the province," was not Hnished, for want of funds, 
 ten years afterwards. In Upper Canada, so late as 1795, no 
 church had been built. Even in KeAvark, it is quaintly added 
 by the Buko do la Rochefoucaidt Liancourt, in the same 
 halls where the Legislative and Executive Councils held 
 their sittings, jugglers would have been permitted to display 
 their tricks, if any sliould have ever strayed to a country so 
 remote. Ilis Grace, quite correct with regard to Newark, 
 was at fault in speaking of the whole province. At Stam- 
 ford there was a Presbyterian Church, built in 1791, and 
 another church built for tho use of all persuasions, a kind 
 of free and common soccage church, in 1795, w^hich was 
 destroyed in the subsequent war. It was in this year that 
 one of the most remarkable men, and one of the most able 
 and indefatigable of tlie colonial clergy, Avas strolling about 
 Mariachal College, in Aberdeen, studying philosophy. He 
 was a very plain-looking Scotch lad and very cannie. Al- 
 together wanting in that oratorical brilliancy so necessary for 
 an efficient preacher of the great truths of Christianity, Mr. 
 John Strachan had diligently acquired a dry knowledge of 
 the humanities, to fit himself for a teacher of youth. He 
 
 
 
106 
 
 LORD BISHOP STRACHAN. 
 
 1806. 
 
 18 
 
 was, in a limited sense, a classical scholar. Greek and Latin, 
 Hebrew and the Mathematics, were at his fingers' ends. 
 Not long after leaving college, he obtained the place of a 
 preceptor to the children of a farmer in Angus-shire. The 
 situation of schoolmaster of Dunino, a parish situated four 
 miles south of St. Andrews, in Fifeshire, and six miles north 
 of Anstruther, the school taught by Tennant, the orientalist, 
 professor of Hebrew and other oriental languages in St. 
 Mary's College, St. Andrews, and the author of the Poem of 
 Anster Fair, became vacant, when Mr. John Strachan made 
 application for the fat berth, the salary being nearly <£30 a 
 year, and obtained it. Mr. Strachan taught quietly at Du- 
 nino, attending St. Andrews College, in the winter, until he 
 received the offer of <£50 a year, as tutor to the family of a 
 gentleman living in Upper Canada. He accepted it, left 
 Dunino, and went to the wilderness. Mr. Strachan taught 
 as a private tutor for some time and subsequently establish- 
 ed a school for himself, when he married a widow possessed 
 of cash and respectably connected. The Church of Scotland, 
 in Canada, was then at a very low ebb. Even in Quebec, 
 although there had been a regularly ordained clergyman of 
 the church ofliciating since 1759, there was only, from 1767 
 to 1807, an apartment assigned to the Scotch Church for the 
 purpose of divine worship, by the King's representative, in 
 the Jesuits' College. Nay, in 1807, the Scotch Church was 
 entirely sent adrift by Colonel Brock, to be afterwards per- 
 mitted to meet in a room in the Court House. Until 1810 
 there was no Scotch Church in Quebec. What inducement 
 was there for a progressive Scotchman to remain in connec- 
 tion with such a church? Mr. Strachan clearly perceived 
 that the road to worldly preferment ran through the Church 
 of England, and, having a wife, and the expectation of a 
 family, he recognised the expediency of obtaining orders 
 as a descendant of the apostles. It was not long before 
 he obtained permission to officiate as a minister of the 
 Church of England, and he abandoned the birch for the 
 surplice. Mr. Strachan justified every expectation that may 
 
1806. 
 
 THE CHURCH OP ENGLAND. 
 
 107 
 
 -1 
 
 was 
 
 the 
 the 
 
 have been formed of him. He became a most zealous 
 churchman, and a very nhort time elapsed until the Scotch 
 schoolmaster was the Hon. and Revd. Dr. Strachan, Rector 
 of York, now Bishop of Toronto, and he may go to the 
 grave satisfied that he has done more to build up the Church 
 of England in Canada, by his zeal, devotion, diplomatic 
 talent, and business energy, than all the other bishops and 
 priests of that church put together. 
 
 Some idea will now have been formed of the state of the 
 Church of England "establishment," in Canada, about a 
 time, when it was intended to amalgamate with it the fabrics 
 of Rome. Bishop Mountain had a seat it in the Legisla- 
 tive Councils of both provinces. He only was the embodi- 
 ment of Church and State. 
 
 Mr. Secretary Ryland, anxiously active against the Church 
 of Rome, was very favorably disposed towards the Church of 
 England. His creed with regard to the "Protestant Church 
 Establishment," in the provinces, was for it to have as much 
 splendour and as little power as possible. His chief deeire 
 was to make episcopalianism fashionable. He would have 
 given to the Bishopric of Quebec a Dean, a Chapter, and all 
 the other ecclesiastical dignitaries necessary for show, and he 
 would have endowed the See with sufficient lands to support 
 the establishment in the most liberal manner. But not a 
 grain of civil power beyond their churches and churchyards 
 was he inclined to give to the clergy. He even thought that 
 in regard to the particular case at Montreal, and in any other 
 case where a church should be, or was about to be built by 
 private contribution, the bishop would exhibit infinite dis- 
 cretion, if he did not do more than wish to advise and to 
 consecrate. The same rights, privileges, prerogatives and 
 authority as bishops enjoy under the common Law of Eng- 
 land could not safely be given to colonial bishops, nor could 
 it be possible to obtain them. A more worldly view of 
 church extension could not well be conceived, but the sug- 
 gestion was not by any means an imprudent one. Bishops, 
 being but men, are too apt to abuse power, and it is surely 
 
108 
 
 THE DISSENTERS AND EPISCOPACY. 
 
 1806 
 
 well that too much of it shoukl not be granted to experiment 
 upon. 
 
 While all this was quietly going on, sub 7'osa, in Lower 
 Canada, the Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians, were 
 quietly taking hold of the public mind in Upper Canada. 
 Although the meeting houses were only few and far between, 
 and churches and chapels were extremely rare, the most illi- 
 terate of the sects wore itinerating, hither and thither, with 
 wonderful success. 
 
 About this time there was also a disposition to ditfuse 
 education. His Majesty, the King, gave directions to estab- 
 lish a competent number of free schools in the different 
 parishes, to be under the control of the Executive, but the 
 project was strenuously opposed by the Roman Catholic 
 clergy, and only grammar schools in Montreal and Quebec 
 were provided for, which have languished and died. It was 
 feared by Bishop Mountain that the want of colleges and 
 good public schools would render it necessaiy for parents to 
 send their children to the United States, to imbibe, with 
 their letters and philosophy, republican principles. It was 
 at his suggestion also that the idea of free schools was en- 
 tertained. The Canadians were deplorably ignorant, and 
 their children, it was designed, should be free from that re- 
 proach. It is only now, however, that they are emerging 
 from the most debasing state of mental darkness, into some- 
 thing like enlightenment. Example has done that which 
 force would have failed to accomplish. 
 
 As illustrative of the saying " there is nothing new under 
 the sua," it is worthy of remark here that upon the arrival 
 of the intelligence in Canada, respecting the breaking out 
 of the war with France, in 1798, some of the leading mem- 
 bers of the House of Assembly, which was then sitting, 
 proposed to levy the sum of .£20,000 sterling, by a tax on 
 goods, wares, and merchandize, to be applied, as a voluntary 
 gift to His Majesty, from the province, to enable the King 
 the more effectually to prosecute the war. This was pro- 
 posed by Mr. xUtorney-General, Mr. Young, and Mr. Grant. 
 
 was 
 
1806. GIFT OF .£20,000 to the kino — spenceu wood, ag. 109 
 
 and aa far as tho House was concerned, the measure was 
 found practicable. But General Prescott, the Governor, 
 having been informed of the matter, did not think it expe- 
 dient to encourage a scheme which Lord Elgin would have 
 jumped at. 
 
 In 1805, the whole revenue of the province was only 
 X37,000, yet, it appears that Sir Robert Milnes, the Governor, 
 did not think that he could sufficiently entertain to gain a 
 due consideration from the principal persons in the province, 
 on ,£4,000 a year. He sent a whining letter to Lord Hobart 
 on the subject, begging for an increase of salary. ,£5,000 
 was not a sufficient sum to keep up the hospitality of Gov- 
 ernment House. It would hardly support the summer resi- 
 dence at Spencer Wood. He had said nothing about so 
 delicate a matter, while the war lasted, though he had ex- 
 pended £1,000 a year out of his own private income. And 
 he would rather resign than sacrifice the comforts and waste 
 the means of his familv. 
 
 Canada, now, continued steadily to advance, both politi- 
 cally and commercially. N^either her political advancement 
 nor the extent of her commerce was great, but both were 
 yearly becoming greater. During the summer of 1806, one 
 hundred and ninety-one vessels, 33,474 tons of shipping, 
 entered at Quebec. Coasters were in full and active em- 
 ployment, and shipbuilding was to some considerable extent 
 carried on. The military of the garrison were still anti- 
 quated. The army made no perceptible progress, soldiers 
 still plastered their hair, or if they had none, their heads, 
 with a thick white mortar, which they laid on with a brush, 
 afterwards raked, like a garden bed, with an iron comb ; and 
 then fastening on their heads a piece of wood, as large as the 
 palm of the hand, and shaped like the bottom of an arti- 
 choke, they made a eadogan, which they filled with the same 
 white mortar, and raked in the same manner, as the rest of 
 the head dress.* The army wore cocked hats, knee breeches 
 and gaiters. The habitonts, or peasantry, had retrogi'aded, 
 
 • See Duke dela Rochefoucault's Liancourt's travels through North Amerio*. 
 
-.u.. ^iffim iiip 
 
 110 
 
 GARRISON PIPECLAY — THE HABITANTS. 
 
 1806. 
 
 and Volney found that, in general, they had no clear and 
 precise ideas : that they received sensations without reflect- 
 ing on them ; and that they could not make any calculation 
 that was ever so little complicated. If asked how far the 
 distance from this place to that was, a French-Canadian 
 peasant would reply : — " it is one or two pipes of tobacco 
 off," or "you cannot reach it between sunrise and sunset." 
 But the better classes, in close contact with the upper classes 
 among the English, were rapidly improving, and began to 
 entertain the idea that they had political rights. They even 
 started a newspaper called " Le Canadkn" and began most 
 vigorously to abuse "les Anglais" and the government. 
 The ^^ Canadioi," published entirely in French, firet appear- 
 ed in November 1806. Had it been less anti-British, possi- 
 bly, it would have been less disagreeable ; but the idea had 
 strongly taken possession of its supporters that French-Ca- 
 nadians were looked upon, by the government and its satel- 
 lites, as mere serfs, and they agitated accordingly. Not 
 only that. They began to exhibit some sparks of independ- 
 ence. Their watchword became : — "iVos institutions, notre 
 langue, ei nos his." They branded the British immigrants 
 and the British population as ^^ Strangers et int^'us." Mr. 
 Crapaud's temper was fairly up. There was cause. The 
 worm will bite when trodden upon. Unless there had been 
 substantial grievances, the Cmiadien could not by any possi- 
 bility have becoiae so popular as to have given not only 
 umbrage, but uneasiness to the government. Yet it did 
 cause such uneasiness and was peremptorily checked. It 
 was impossible then for a native-born Canadian, whether of 
 English or French extraction, to look a home-appointed 
 government official in the face. " Tempora mutantur et nos 
 mutamur in illis." 
 
 On the 21st January, 1807, Mr. President Dunn again met 
 the Legislature of Lower Canada. That invaluable consti- 
 tution enjoining on the ruler to meet his parliament once a 
 year, rendered it imperative upon him to summon the Coun- 
 cil and Assembly for the despatch of business. He recom- 
 
 a war. 
 
1807. 
 
 A PROVINCIAL AGENT IN LONDON. 
 
 Ill 
 
 noire 
 grants 
 Mr. 
 The 
 i been 
 possi- 
 ; only 
 ; it did 
 ;d. It 
 her of 
 ointed 
 et nos 
 
 in met 
 jonsti- 
 )nce a 
 IConn- 
 kcom- 
 
 nieuded to the assembled wisdom before him the i>roprioty 
 of continuing several temporary acts then in force ; congra- 
 tulated them on the brilliant success of His Majesty's arms ; 
 alluded with pride to the conquest of the Cape of Good 
 Hope; and touched upon the repeated victories obtained by 
 Sir John Stuart in Calabria. The Assembly replied in terms 
 most flattering to the President personally, promising to do 
 as he required. On proceeding to business, the iirst subject 
 which engaged the attention of the House was the propriety 
 of defraying the expenses of members of the House resid- 
 ing at a distance from Quebec. The House was disposed to 
 defray such expenses, but nevertheless, the further consider- 
 ation of the matter was postponed by a majority of two. 
 The expediency of having a Provincial Agent or Ambassa- 
 dor, resident in London, to look after the interests of the 
 province at the metropolis of the empire was discussed, and 
 it was resolved in the affirmative. The Alien Act was passed, 
 and that for the better preservation of His Majesty's gov- 
 ernment continued for another year, together with several 
 other acts, and on the 16th of April, the parliament was 
 prorogued. 
 
 Serious apprehensions of a war betwen England and the 
 United States now began to be entertained. American com- 
 mercial interests were grievously affected by the war in Eu- 
 rope, and a kind of spurious activity, in the hostile prepara- 
 tions which would surely follow a declaration of war against 
 England, on which country in peace the merchants of New 
 York, Boston, and the other seaports of the United States 
 principally depend, seemed to be the only incentive for such 
 a war. But while the fillibusters of " the greatest nation in 
 creation," were looking for any cause of war, a good cause, in 
 American eyes, arose. The American ships of war were 
 mostly manned by British seamen. Men were greatly in 
 demand for British war vessels, and it was conceived that 
 the right to impress a British sailor anywhere on land or 
 water belonged to His Majesty's naval officers. It having 
 reached the ears of Admiral Berkeley, the Naval Commander 
 
112 
 
 A SPECK OF WAR. 
 
 1807. 
 
 ill Chief, oil tlio ICalifax Station, that tlic American fr' j;ate 
 " Chesapeake," was partly manned by British seamen, the 
 Admiral, untliinkiugly ordered Captain Humphreys, of the 
 "Leopard," to recover them. The men on board of the 
 " Chesapeake" were indeed known to he deserters from II. 
 AI. S. "Mchimpus." William Ware, Daniel Martin, John 
 Strachan and John Little, IJritish seamen, within a month 
 after tlicir desertion, had ottered themselves as able seamen 
 at Norfolk, in Virginia. Their services were accepted, and 
 the "Chesapeake," on board of which they were sent, pre- 
 pared for sea. Being made aware of the enlistment of these 
 men, the British Consul at Norfolk, formally demanded their 
 surrender by the Captain of the " Chesapeake." Their sur- 
 render was refused. Application for them was then made to 
 the American Secretary of the navy. But he did not con- 
 sider it expedient to give them up. Three of the men were 
 natives of America, two had protection, and the other had 
 merely lost his protection. The " Chesapeake" sailed on 
 the 22nd of June, and on the same day was intercepted by 
 the British frigate "Leopard," of 50 guns, off Cape Henry. 
 Captain Humphreys, of the "Leopard," stepping on board 
 of the " Chesapeake," demanded the muster of the crew of 
 the American frigate. Captain Barron, in command of the 
 American frigate, refused compliance. The British Com- 
 mander returned and both vessels got ready for action, the 
 American frigate only, it is said, anticipating hostilities. 
 Then the Leopard fired upon the Chesapeake and, in thirty 
 minutes, so disabled her that she struck, when Captain 
 Humphreys boarded her and took, from among her crew, 
 Ware, Martin, and Strachan, together with one John Wilson, 
 a deserter from a British merchant ship. The United States 
 now burned with indignation. Their outraged nationality 
 could never brook such an insult. Every British armed 
 vessel was ordered to leave the waters of the United States 
 by the President. A special meeting of Congress was held. 
 And the American Minister at the Court of St. James was 
 ordered to demand satiBfaction. He did do go. Mr. Canning, 
 
1807. 
 
 THE CHESAPEAKE DIFFICULTY SETTLED. 
 
 118 
 
 the Britis'a Minister, at once ottered reparation, but ho ob- 
 jected to any reference to the general question of impress- 
 ments from neutral vessels being mixed up with an affair so 
 unfortunate. Mr. Munroe was not authorized to treat these 
 subjects separately, and further negotiation between the two 
 ministers was suspended. Grout Britain then sent a special 
 minister to the United States, empowered to treat concern- 
 ing the special injury complained of. Before he arrived 
 ihost ample preparations were being made in the United 
 States for war. Millions of dollars were appropriated to- 
 wards the construction of 188 gun-boats, and the raising of 
 horse, foot, and artilleiy. It was not until 1811 that this 
 huge mistake was settled, when the British Minister com- 
 municated to the American Secretary of State that the attack 
 on the Chesapeake was unauthorized by His Majesty's gov- 
 ernment; that Admiral Berkeley was recalled; that the 
 men, taken from the Chesapeake, should be restored ; and 
 that suitable provision for the families of the six American 
 seamen killed in the fight should be made. But, settled as 
 this gross and deplorable mistake was to the perfect satisfac- 
 tion of the President, the trading community of the United 
 States were every day becoming more dissatisfied with the 
 state of affairs in Europe and the consequent state of affairs 
 at home. The situation of affairs, on this side of the At- 
 lantic, was indeed gloomy and critical. France and England 
 were fiercely at war, and were arraying against each other 
 the most violent commercial edicts to the destruction of the 
 commerce of neutral nations. There was the British block- 
 ade from the Elbe to Brest ; Napoleon's Berlin decree ; the 
 British Order in Council prohibiting the coasting trade ; the 
 celebrated Milan decree ; and the no less celebrated British 
 Orders in Council, of ITovember the 11th, 1807, together 
 with the American Government's edicts respecting non-inter- 
 course with Great Britain and France to set on edge the 
 teeth of a people now little scrupulous as to what they did, 
 provided money could be made, or power be obtained. 
 Strife had introduced a disposition to intrigue ; political cun- 
 
114 
 
 FEELINO IN TlIC L'NITKU HTATES. 
 
 1807. 
 
 }8 
 
 niug had becom. ♦ashionablc ; and political duplicity had lost 
 much of its deformity in the United States. The finger of 
 derision was no longer pointed at meannesses ; the love of 
 honor, and manliness of conduct, was blunted; cunning 
 began to take the place of wisdom ; professions took the 
 place of deeds , and duplicity stalked forth with the boldness 
 of integrity. The American people wanted a quarrel that 
 the whole boundless continent might be theirs. They had 
 badgered France out of Louisiana, and they would badger 
 England out of Canada and the West Indies. In New York 
 and Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore, it was customary to 
 talk of walking into Canada and squat a conquest, as was 
 afterwards carried into effect with regard to Texas. Mr. 
 Dunn, the President of the Canadian government, looked 
 upon the state of feeling in the adjoining republic with sus- 
 picion. He conceived it expedient to feel the public -pulse 
 in Canada. Like a skilful physician he approached the pa- 
 tient cautiously and good humouredly, to prevent flurry or 
 agitation, and in putting his hand on the pulse of public 
 opinion, he found it to be healthily strong and regular. He 
 prescribed only a draft of one-fifth part of the whole mi- 
 litia of the province. The draft was taken immediately. 
 The Roman Catholic Bishop of Quebec, or rather the yet 
 only Superintendent of the Romish Church in Quebec, Mr. 
 Plessis, now rapidly rising into favor with the Colonial Court, 
 promptly issued a mandement to the faithful, concerning the 
 war, and a " Te Deum" was sung in all of the churches 
 under his control in Lower Canada. The Canadians turned 
 out with great alacrity. His Honor the President and Com- 
 mander-in-Chief expressed his satisfaction in general orders. 
 Burn's artillery company volunteered. In ballotting, young 
 bachelors procured the prize tickets of the married men. 
 Some that were not drawn purchased tickets from some that 
 were drawn, and there were not a few married people who 
 refused to sell out, if all that is stated in a Quebec paper of 
 that period can be credited. No doubt the glories of war 
 were uppermost in men's minds. It is possible to make war 
 
1807. 
 
 WAR PFEPARATIONS IN CANADA. 
 
 nr> 
 
 popular and the braggart tone of the Americans had doubt- 
 less contributed considerably to its popularity with the Ca- 
 nadians. 
 
 Colonel Brock was then Commandant at Quebec. He was 
 ft man of much decision of character and of strong natural 
 sense. "With tlic President he made the most vigorous ex- 
 ertions to discipline the militia and to put the fortiiications 
 of Quebec into a good state of defence. Night and day men 
 labored at the fortitications. Every addition that "science, 
 judgment and prudence could suggest," was made. 
 
 The income tins year was £36,417, and the civil expendi- 
 ture £36,213. 
 
 In Upper Canada, Francis Gore, Esquire, it has been pre- 
 viously intimated, was Lieutenant-Governor. He first met 
 Parliament on the 2nd of February, 1807. Twelve Acts 
 were passed, the most remarkable of which were the Act to 
 establish Public Schools in every district of the Province, 
 £800 having been appropriated for that purpose, with the 
 view of giving to each of the eight districts of the Province, 
 a schoolmaster having a salary of £100 a year ; the Act im- 
 posing licenses on Hawkers, Pedlars, and Petty Chapmen, — 
 to th© amount of three pounds for every pedlar, with twenty 
 shillings additional for a hawker with a horse ; eight pounds 
 for every chapman sailing with a decked vessel and selling 
 goods on board ; — five pounds for the same description of 
 traders sailing in an open boat ; and eight pounds on transient 
 merchants ; and the Act for the Preservation of Salmon, 
 which permitted that fish to be taken with a spear or hook, 
 but prohibited the use of a net in the ISTewcastle and Homo 
 Districts. 
 
 When next the Parliament met, on the 20th January, 
 1808, the same fears that w^ere felt in Lower Canada, being 
 felt in Upper Canada, an Act was passed to raise and train 
 the Militia ; £1,600 was granted toAvards the construction of 
 roads and bridges ; £200 of yearly salary was granted to an 
 Adjutant-General of Militia ; £75 additional was given to 
 the Clerks of the Assembly ; £62 10s. per ton was to be 
 
116 
 
 UPPER CANADA — TUB PAKLIAMKNT. 
 
 1807. 
 
 the price of hemp purchased under an Act of rarliainent 
 for the encouragement of its growth in the I'rovince ; an 
 Act for the more equal representation of the Commons was 
 passed ; and Collectors of Rates were to enter into bonds of 
 ^200 security. 
 
 On the 2nd February, 1809, the Parliament of Upper Ca- 
 nada was again convened. An Act was adopted for quarter- 
 ing and billeting the Militia and His Majesty's troops on 
 certain occasions. Householders were to furnish them with 
 house-room, iire, and utensils for cooking. Officers, in case 
 of an invasion, having a warrant from a Justice of the Peace, 
 could impress horses, carriages, and oxen, on regulated hire. 
 Upper Canada was evidently preparing for an expected 
 struggle, as well as Lower Canada. £1,045 -was this session 
 granted for the Clerks of Parliament and contingencies, in- 
 cluding the erection of a Light House on Gibraltar Point ; 
 Menonists and Tunkera were permitted to affirm in Courts 
 of Justice ; £250 was appropriated for a bridge across the 
 Grand River ; and .£1,600 w^as granted for bridges and high- 
 ways. In the next session of the Fifth Parliament, which 
 Governor Gore assembled at York, on the 1st of February, 
 1810, X2,000 were granted for the roads and bridges ; the 
 Common Gaols were declared to be Houses of Correction 
 for some purposes ; a duty of .£40 a year was set upon a 
 Billiard Table set up for hire or gain ; ,£606 were applied to 
 printing Journals, Clerks of Parliament, and building Light 
 Houses. The Act establishing a Superior Court of Criminal 
 and Civil jurisdiction, and regulating a Court of Appeals, 
 was repealed ; and .£250 additional was granted for the erec- 
 tion of a bridge across the Grand River. 
 
 To return to Lower Canada, Lieutenant-General Sir James 
 Henry Craig arrived at Quebec in the capacity of Governor 
 General, on the 18th October, 1807, in the frigate Horatio, 
 and relieved Mr. President Dunn of the government, on the 
 24th of October. Mr. Secretarj'^ Ryland was very busy at 
 the time. He was flattering himself, he told the Bishop of 
 Quebec, that the Secretary of State would have received 
 
]«07. 
 
 (JOVKIINOR tJENERAL blR JAMES CRAIfi. 
 
 117 
 
 from him a scries ot* (los|)at<'lios which would "^ivo that 
 fuut'tionary a (jcnoral and useful kuowlod^v of the state of 
 things in Lower Canada. ' 'f hcio wcio so]uo wlio had ex- 
 erted themiselvert t(» (k'fanie and injure the J*i'e.si(UMit, witli a 
 view to their own private interests, lie partieuUirly alluded 
 to that contenii)tible animal, Chief Justice Aieoek; to his 
 worthy friend and coadjutor, of whose treacherous, plau- 
 flible, and selfish charac;ter, he had never entertained a doubt ; 
 and to that smoothfaced swindler, whom the Lieutenant- 
 Governor had taken so affectionately by the haiul, as tho 
 man, who, of jdl others, came nearest in point of knowledge, 
 virtue, and ability, to the great Tom of Boston, lie would 
 add to these worthies ft pudding-headed commanding ofKcer 
 (General Brock I) who, if the President had given in to all 
 his idle " Camelian " ])r()jects, would have introduced utter 
 confusion into the whole system, civil and military, lie 
 anxiously expected Sir James Craig, whoso establislied fame 
 assured him that a better choice could not have been made. 
 And he thought it probable that if his dear, dear Lordship, 
 should not have had an opportunity of honoring him with a 
 recommendation to His Excellency of established fame, Ins 
 services would be dispensed with, and then he could join 
 his family in England. But should he remain as Secretary 
 to General Craig, he liad it in contemplation to lay before 
 him a copy of liis letter to Lord S., concerning ecclesiastical 
 aftairs, though it would not be prudent to do so until he liad 
 ascertained how far the General's sentiments accorded with 
 his own. In a postscript to his letter to the dear Lord 
 Bishop, Mr. liyland goes into raptures. He had just re- 
 ceived a message from Mr. Dunn, telling him that the Gov- 
 ernor General had arrived. He dressed himself immediately 
 and got on board the frigate with Mr. Dunn's answer to the 
 General's despatch, before the ship cast anchor, and before 
 any of the other functionaries knew even that the Governor 
 General was at hand. He found the General ill in bed, but 
 was 80 politely received, that the General begged that he 
 would do him the favor to continue his sccrctarv. Ho never 
 
118 
 
 RYLAND"S MjVli Full THK NKW UOVEIIXOK. 
 
 1807 
 
 waft 80 ploasctl with any porson at first sight. Although he 
 saw him to every diHudvautjigo, the General appoarod to be 
 a most amiable, a most intelligent, and a most deeided cha- 
 racter, lie, (the General,) landed about one o'elock, but 
 was so unwell that he begged to be left alone, and Mr. Ry- 
 land only saw him tor an instant. But that eurious beast, 
 the Chief Justice, after intruding himself with unparalleled 
 assurance, upon the General, before he landed, forced him- 
 self again upon him, at the Chateau, when every body but 
 tlie President had withdrawn, and most impudently sat out 
 the latter. He did so for the purpose of recommending as 
 secretaries, his father-in-law, and a young man named Bra- 
 zenson, or some sueli name, whom lio^ad brought out with 
 liim from England, but his scheme entirely failed, and his 
 folly would fall upon his own pate ! Mr. Ryland had trans- 
 acted business with the Governor every day since he had 
 landed, and had even drawn up a codicil to his will, the poor, 
 decided Governor, who had adopted Mr. Ryland, Avas so ill. 
 Nay, Mr. Ryland, for the love of this one honorable and just 
 man, could have ahnost forgotten that he was surrounded 
 by scoundrels, and would bury in oblivion the mean jea- 
 lousies of a contemptible self-sufficiency, and the false pro- 
 fessions of smiling deceit. But should it please Almighty 
 God to remove the incomparable man, and should there be 
 a chance that the civil government of the province should 
 be again disunited from the militaiy command, he did hope 
 that the dear, dear Lord, would favor him with his utmost 
 interest towards enabling him to make the exchange which 
 Mrs. Ryliind would tell his dear Lordship, the Bishop, her 
 husband had in contemplation. 
 
 Sir Jaiiif s Craig was an officer of good family. He was 
 one of the Craigs of Dalnair and Costarton, in Scotland, but 
 was born in Gibraltar, where his father had the appointment 
 of Civil and Military Judge. He had seen much service in 
 the camp and in the field. In 1770 he was appointed Aid- 
 de-Camp to General Sir Robert Boyd, then Governor of Gib- 
 raltar, and obtained a Company in the 47th Regiment of the 
 
1807. 
 
 tilUKVtCES OF SIK JAMES C'ltAUi. 
 
 110 
 
 pe be 
 
 lould 
 
 lope 
 
 lost 
 
 Ihich 
 
 her 
 
 was 
 
 but 
 
 lent 
 
 uein 
 
 line. Having gone to America, with his regiment, in 1774, 
 he was present at tlie battle of IJunl^er's Hill, where ho 
 was Hoveroly wounded. In 1770, lie accoiripanied liis regi- 
 ment to Canada, coniuumding liis coniptiny at the action at 
 Trois KivicrcH, and lie afterwards coimiiandcd the advanced 
 guard in the expulsion of Arnold and his " rebels." Ho 
 was wounded at Hubertown, in 1777, and was present at 
 Tironderoga in the same year. He was wonnded again at 
 Freeman's Farm, and was at Saratoga with Burgoyne, and 
 after that disastrous aifair was selected to caiTy home the 
 despatches. On his arrival in England, he was promoted to 
 a majority in the 82nd Regiment, which he accompanied to 
 Nova Scotia, in 1778, to Fenobscot, in 1779, and to North 
 Carolina, in 1781, where he was engaged in a continued 
 scene of active service. He was promoted to the rank of 
 Major General, in 1794, and the following year was sent on 
 the expedition to the Cape of Good Hope, Mhere, in the re- 
 duction and conquest of that most important settlement, 
 with the co-operation of Admiral Sir G. K. P]lphinstone and 
 Major General Clarke, he attained to the liighest pitch of 
 military reputation. Nor were his merits less conspicuous, 
 it is said, in the admirable plans of civil regulation, intro- 
 duced by him in that hostile quarter, when invested with the 
 chief authority, civil and military, till succeeded in that po- 
 sition by the Earl of Macartney, who was deputed by the 
 King to invest General Craig with the Red Ribbon, as a 
 mark of his sovereign's sense of his distinguished services. 
 Sir James served, subsequently, in India and in the Mediter- 
 ranean, where he contracted a dropsy, the result of an affec- 
 tion of the liver. This was the officer, of an agreeable but 
 impressive presence, stout, and rather below the middle sta- 
 ture, manly and dignified in deportment, positive in his 
 opinions, and decisive in his measures, though social, polite, 
 and affable, who was sent out to govern Canada because a 
 rupture with the United States was considered probable. 
 Sir James on an-ival at Quebec did not, however, consider 
 hostilities imminent. Nor did he immediately organize the 
 
120 
 
 MEETING 01'' PARLIAMENT. 
 
 160S. 
 
 militia. But ho lauded the Canadians for the heroic spirit 
 which they had manifested. One of his first acts was to re- 
 lease from prison a number of persons convicted of insubor- 
 dination, and sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment in 
 the gaol of Montreal. The militia of the parish of L'As- 
 somption, in the district of Montreal, had formed a painful 
 exception in the spirit which they exhibited on being called 
 upon to enrol for service, to that which had been exhibited 
 eveiywhere else. But tlu rioting had been immediately 
 suppressed,, and the rioters punished by the ordinary Courts 
 at Montreal. In gaol the rioters manifested contiition, pro- 
 mised good behaviour for the future, and Sir James, over- 
 looking the faults of the few i)i consideration of the general 
 merit, set the prisoners free. On the 29th of .Tanuary, 1808, 
 he convened the Legislature, lie regretted, in his opening 
 speech, that there was little probability of a speedy cessation 
 of hostilities, in Europe. He congratulated the "honorable 
 gentlemen," and "gentlemen," on the capture of Copen- 
 hagen and the Danish fleet, defending^ the morality of the 
 offensive measures against Denmark. He lamented the dis- 
 cussions that had taken place l)etween His Majesty's gov- 
 ernment and that of America. He hoped that the difier- 
 ences would be so accommodated as to avert the calamities 
 of war between two nations of the same blood. He intend- 
 ed that no means should be neglected to prepare for the 
 worst. Though the militia had been selected, he did not 
 think it necessary to call them together, no inmiediate cir- 
 cumstance seeming to require it. He had appointed com- 
 missioners for the erection of ne\v^ gaols in Quebec and Mon- 
 treal. And he expected perfect harmony and co-operation 
 between the legislative bodies and himself, as the represent- 
 ative of the sovereign. All that Sir James wished to be 
 done the Assembly promised to do. 
 
 In those days not only was the Chief Justice a member of 
 the Upper House, but the Judges of the King's Bench were 
 not ineligible for election to the Lower House, and some, or 
 all of them, contrived to get seats there. It does not appear 
 
1808. 
 
 THE JUDGES IN PARLIAMENT. 
 
 121 
 
 )er of 
 were 
 le, or 
 )pear 
 
 that the Chief Justice was in the Ui^i^er House a mere gov- 
 ernment tool, for Sir Robert MUnes most bitterly com- 
 plained to the Duke of Portland, of the opposition to certain 
 measures, which he had met with, from Chief Justice Os- 
 goode, who, even in public, treated him contemptuously. 
 But it is yet probable that some of the judges in the Assem- 
 bly, were less the representatives of the people who had 
 elected them, than the mouth-pieces of the government, to 
 whom they were indebted for their appointments to the 
 Bench, and on whose good pleasure, their continuance on 
 the judgment seat, depended. Be that as it may, the Assem- 
 bly were jealous of their presence in the House, and accord- 
 ingly, this session of Parliament, a motion was introduced 
 into the Assembly, declaring It to be expedient that the 
 Judges of the Court of King's Bench, the Provincial Judges 
 of the Districts of Three "Rivers and Gaspe, and all Commis- 
 sioned Judges of any Courts that might afterwards be estab- 
 lished, should be incapable of being elected, or of sitting, or 
 of voting in the House of Assembly. The motion was adopt- 
 ed, and a bill framed upon the resolution, passed the Assem- 
 bly. Unfortunately, heedless of the pressure of public opi- 
 nion, the Legislative Council threw out the bill ! The As- 
 sembly were greatly incensed, and the idea of expelling the 
 judges was entertained; but for a while relinquished. 
 
 Mr. Ezckiel Hart appeared at the Bar of the House to 
 take Idt eat for Three Rivers, Mr. Lee, the previous repre- 
 sentative of tLat town, had died in the course of the previous 
 G :;.ion, and Mr. Hart had been evicted to succeed him. Mr. 
 Hfc't \7as a merchant of goo^ »*^ .^ding. Of the most spot- 
 less private character, he stood in high esteem with his 
 neighbours and tellow townsmen. But Mr. Hart was not 
 faultless. He was, by birth, education, and religion, a Jew. 
 When he prayed, he placed the ten commandments next his 
 heart. In him, those devctt d members of the Society of 
 Jesus, found neilhi^i a syinpathizer nor a persecutor. A 
 Christian Legits lativ.' Assembly, like that of Canada, of 
 which Sir Jam«^a C.aig -fterwards privately expressed an 
 
122 
 
 EXPULSION OF MR. HART. 
 
 1808. 
 
 opinion so ludicrously high, could not bj contaminated with 
 the presence of a Jew. By a vote of twenty-one to five, it 
 was resolved : — " That Ezekiel Hart, Esquire, professing the 
 Jewish religion, cannot take a seat, nor sit, nor vote in this 
 House." Ezekiel departed. The word ^^baruch," was on 
 his tongue, the signification of which, like that of the French 
 word ^^sacrS" may signify, according to the humour of the 
 utterer, either an anathema or a blessing. The Assembly 
 being, however, ignorant of the Hebrew tongue, Mr. Hart 
 was not sent to gaol for breach of privilege, nor was he even 
 required to apologize. These were the chief topics of de- 
 bate, and much time was occupied with them. A sum was 
 voted to repair the Castle of St. Louis then tottering to 
 decay. The Militia and the Alien Acts were continued for 
 another year. A bill for the trial of v.;d^.o verted elections 
 was passed, and in all thirty-five bills were carried through, 
 all of which His Excellency, the Governor, sanctioned, ex- 
 cept that relative to gaols in Gaspe, which, though after- 
 wards sanctioned, was reserved for the pleasure of the King 
 to be expressed on it. On the 14tli of April the Parliament 
 was prorogued. The speech was somewhat lengthy, and on 
 the whole, it was a good one. Sir James was induced to put 
 a period to the session that he might be enabled to issue 
 writs for a new House. The critical situation of afikir?' made 
 him anxious for legislative assistance, under circumsi '.ac* «, 
 that would not be liable to interruption from the PST)irf:ticn 
 of the period, for which one of the branches we (^ - ^o; en. 
 He was glad that so much attention had been paid to busi- 
 ness. He was very much pleased to find that a sum of 
 money had been granted for the repair of the Chateau. 
 Events of great magnitude had taken place in Europe. Na- 
 poleon had succeeded in exciting Russia, Austria, and 
 Prussia, to hostilities, against England, and the Ministers of 
 those Courts had demanded their passports to retire from the 
 Court of St. James. Napoleon had done more tjian that. 
 The disturber of mankind had subverted the government of 
 Portugal, but that magnanimous Prince, Don Pedro, had 
 
1S08. 
 
 PROKOGATION OF PARLIAMENT. 
 
 123 
 
 ent 
 id on 
 
 put 
 [issue 
 iiade 
 
 )i en. 
 
 Ibud- 
 of 
 
 teau. 
 Na- 
 and 
 
 krs 
 
 of 
 the 
 
 it of 
 had 
 
 emigrated with his Court to the Brazils, rather than submit 
 to the degrading chains of such a master. His Majesty, the 
 King of Great Britain, had offered the Americans repara- 
 tion, immediately and spontaneously, for the unauthorised 
 attack upon the Chesapeake^ but the American government 
 taking advantage of the state of affairs in Europe, were en- 
 deavoring to complicate the difficulty, to the injury of that 
 power which alone stood between it and an inevitable doom 
 to the worst of tyranny. And in conclusion, he begged the 
 representatives of the people to instruct their constituents, 
 by the influence of their education and knowledge ; to point 
 out to them a sense of their duties in due subordination to 
 the laws ; to advise them to be faithfully attached to the 
 Crown ; to let them into the knowledge of their true situa- 
 tion ; to conceal not the difficulties by which the empire was 
 surrounded, but, at the same time, to point out the miseries 
 Britain was combatting to avoid ; and to assure them that 
 while Britons were united among themselves, there was no 
 dread of the result of the present struggle between liberty 
 and despotism. 
 
 The war had had its effect upon the trade of the countiy. 
 The revenue had fallen off nearly <£1,000, being only ^635,- 
 943, while the civil expenditure had increased to .£47,231. 
 
 In May the general election took place. The contests 
 were not marked by much bitterness. As before, in the 
 larger towns, the two origins were equally represented. 
 Even in the counties, several gentlemen of English extrac- 
 tion, were returned to the Assembly. Mr. James Stuart, the 
 Solicitor General, now no friend to the Governor nor to his 
 sub rosa adviser, Mr. Ryland, was returned for the East Ward 
 of Montreal. Mr. Stuart, a lawyer of excellent acquirements, 
 of great independence of spirit, and of extraordinary mental 
 capacity, iDstead of being raised to the Attorney-General- 
 ship, on the elevation of Mr. Sewell to the Chief Justice- 
 ship, in tt.e room of Mr. Chief Justice AUcock, who had 
 died in August, had been superseded by Mr. Edward Bowen, 
 a barrister of very limited acquirements, and, being then 
 
■SSSBSBaS 
 
 124 
 
 MR. PANET AND " THB CANADIEN. 
 
 1808. 
 
 only a young man, professionally, very inexperienced. Nay, 
 he was soon afterwards dismissed from the Solicitor-General- 
 ship, by the Governor, to whom he had, in some mysterious 
 way, given offence. The Honorable Mr. Panet, Speaker of 
 the Assembly for the four previous parliaments, was nomi- 
 nated for the Upper Town of Quebec, and went to the 
 hustings. He presided at an election meeting, at which 
 there was something like plain-speaking, a particular kind 
 of speaking most distasteful to the Acting Paymaster General 
 of Burgoyne's army, an army with which even Sir Jamea 
 Craig had himself served. All the official class of the city, 
 " including the resident military officers, and dependents upon 
 the Commissarir.t, Ordnance, and other departments in the 
 ^ dson," entitled to vote, voted in favor of another French 
 ^t^/leman, more acceptable to the government. The Quebec 
 Mercury was strongly opposed to the Speaker, who, by his 
 plainspeaking, had become offensive to Mr. Ryland, the 
 confidant of Sir James Craig. Mr. Panet lost his election for 
 Quebec, but was returned to the Assembly for Huntingdon. 
 The Governor and his Secretary were very much displeased, 
 and the Mercury was inspired to speak against the bilious 
 spleen of the triumphant Panet, who was connectc'l with 
 that vile print, the Canadien. During the election for Que- 
 bec, a handbill had appeared, calling the government feeble. 
 Those who issued that handbill, the Mercury exultingly re- 
 marked, would have felt that they were not quite under the 
 government of King Log. The Canadien was, in abuse, the 
 freest of any paper in the province. It was licentious. It 
 no more consulted that which it was expedient for a free 
 press to do, than did the House of Assembly consider that 
 which was suitable to it, a few years past, on the article of 
 privilege. Mr. Ex-Speaker Panet was connected with the 
 Ganadien. He was also a Colonel of Militia. It occurred to 
 Mr. Ryland that the position of a militia officer was incom- 
 patible with the proprietorship of a newspaper. According- 
 ly, a few days after the return of Mr. Panet for Huntingdon, 
 Mr. " H. W. R." the Private Secretary of the Governor 
 
1800. 
 
 DISMISSALS FROM THE MILITIA. 
 
 125 
 
 General, was directed to inform Messrs. J. II. Panet, Lieute- 
 nant-Colonel, P. Bedard, Captain, J. T. Taschereau, Cap- 
 tain and Aid-Major, J. L. Borgia, Lieutenant, and F. Blan- 
 chet. Surgeon, proprietors of the Cdnadicn, that the Gov- 
 ernor-in- Chief considered it necessary for His Majesty's ser- 
 vice to dismiss them from their situations as Colonel, Cap- 
 tain, Aid-Major, Lieutenant, and Surgeon, of the Militia. 
 "With regard to the Ilonorahle ^Mr, I'anet, in particular, 
 His Excellency could place no confidence in the services of 
 a person whom he had good reason for considering as one of 
 the proprietors of a seditious and libellous publication, dis- 
 seminated through the province, with great industry, to 
 vilify His Majesty's government, to create a spirit of dissa- 
 tisfaction and discontent among his subjects, and to breed 
 disunion and animosity between two races. Had it been the 
 purpose of the Canadicn and of its proprietors to breed dis- 
 cord between the two races of settled inhabitants, the cen- 
 sure of Sir James Craig would have been deserved. But 
 that was not its purpose. It aimed only at equality of pri- 
 vileges, and complained of the sway of officials having no 
 abiding interest in the country. It was a war between the 
 imported official class and the native-born or naturalized 
 classes which the Ccmadien waged. Doubtless, it went, occa- 
 sionally, too far. Doubtless, it forgot to make such distinc- 
 tions between the officials and the traders or agriculturists of 
 British origin. Doubtless, it did remember that the French 
 Canadians had been captives at the conquest, and their souls 
 revolted at the idea of being lorded over still, though no 
 longer captives, but British subjects, anxious for the honour 
 of their King, and ready to defend him from his enemies. 
 
 The new Parliament met on the 9th of April, 1809, The 
 Assembly were directed to choose a Speaker. Out of doors 
 and indoors, in the Governor's Castle, at the official desk, ia 
 the merchant's counting room, in the baker's shop, in the 
 Council, and in the Assembly itself, the choice of a Speaker 
 by the Assembly, was a matter of interest. It was whis- 
 pered that Mr. Panet had incurred the Governor's displea- 
 
126 
 
 MR. I'ANET HEELECTKD SPEAKEU. 
 
 180U. 
 
 sure, and that all the toadies would vote against him. It was 
 blandly hinted that Mr. Panet having been dismissed from 
 the Militia, the House, having regard to its own dignity, 
 could not call him to the Chair. It was said in conversation 
 that Mr. Panet was an excellent and most impartial Speaker, 
 and it was a pity that he had suffered himself to have been 
 connected with the seditious and libellous Cunadien. Only 
 for Mr. Panet's unfortunate position, no more suitable per- 
 son, for the highly honorable office of Speaker, could have 
 been thought of. But he must not be Speaker under pre- 
 sent circumstances. The Assembly thought otherwise and, 
 acting independently and fearlessly, elected Mr. Panet as 
 their Speaker. His Excellency the Governor did not much 
 relish the choice. He did not, however, refuse to confirm 
 Mr. Panet as Speaker of the Assembly. It was thought that 
 he would be refused confirmation. But when he appeared 
 at the Bar, with the House at his heels, and supported by the 
 Mace, the Honora])le the Speaker of the Legislative Council 
 was only commanded to tell Mr. Panet, that having filled 
 the Chair of Speaker, during four successive Parliaments, it 
 was not on the score of insufficiency that he would admit an 
 excuse on Mr. Panet's part, nor form objections on his own 
 part. He had no reason to doubt the discretion and mode- 
 ration of the present House of Assembly, and as he was, at 
 all times, desirous of meeting their wishes, so he would be 
 particularly unwilling not to do so, on an occasion, in which 
 they were themselves principally interested. He, therefore, 
 allowed and confirmed Mr. Panet to be Speaker. His Ex- 
 cellency, though somewhat ironical in his mode of confirm- 
 ation, acted liberally and prudently. In His Excellency's 
 speech from the throne, allusion was made to the unfavour- 
 able posture of affairs with America ; to the revolution in 
 Spain and to the generous assistance afforded that country 
 by Great Britain ; again to the emigration of the Royal Fa- 
 mily of Portugal to Brazil ; to "Wellington's victory at Vi- 
 meira, by which Portugal had been rescued from the French ; 
 he cautioned the members of the Legislature against jea- 
 
 1809. 
 
 lousies 
 
 have n( 
 
 alluded 
 
 United 
 
 Canadia 
 
 owing t( 
 
 had bec( 
 
 the hints 
 
 Excellen 
 
 reply wa 
 
 was a qu 
 
 On proc 
 
 judges Av 
 
 even ma 
 
 averse to 
 
 prepared 
 
 All that \ 
 
 eligible fc 
 
 was appoi 
 
 from the ( 
 
 report to t 
 
 and of coi 
 
 to disquali 
 
 time. Mr 
 
 for Three] 
 
 Jew, and 
 
 would the 
 
 had been s 
 
 previous I 
 
 Assembly 
 
 from being 
 
 and read tv 
 
 siness had 
 
 noyed. Ti 
 
 judges, was 
 
 of May, he 
 
 to five bills, 
 
1809. 
 
 THE WAR — TlIK JrDUES — MR. HART. 
 
 1-27 
 
 loiisios among thcniselvG;^, or of the government, wliieli could 
 have no otlier object in view tliiin the general woU'uro ; and 
 alluded to the non-intercourse and embargo policy of the 
 United States, which, so far, had operated favourably for the 
 Canadian trade, particularly in the article of lumber, which, 
 owing to the exclusion of British shipping from the Baltic, 
 had become a staple export. The House was not pleased at 
 the hints about jealousies, nor very much pleased with His 
 Excellency's remarks in confirming their Speaker. The 
 reply was not quite an echo of the speech. It was more. It 
 was a quiet remonstrance against governmental insinuation. 
 On proceeding to business, the propriety of expelling the 
 judges was again discussed. A motion to expel them was 
 even made, but it was negatived. Some even who were 
 averse to the judges having seats in the Assembly were n6t 
 prepared to go the length of expelUng them from the House. 
 All that was wanted was that, in future, judges should be in- 
 eligible for seats in the Assembly. To this end, a committee 
 was appointed to inquire into the inconvenience resulting 
 from the elections of judges to the Assembly, with orders to 
 report to the House. The committee inquired and reported, 
 and of course, reported unfavourably to the judges. A bill 
 to disqualify the judges was re-introduccd and read a first 
 time. Mr. Hart again appeared at the Bar to take his seat 
 for Three Rivers. He had been re-elected. He was still a 
 Jew, and showed no disposition to recant his error. Nor 
 would the House recant their error. The resolution which 
 had been adopted against Mr. Hart's taking his seat in the 
 previous Parliament was repeated in this. The House of 
 Assembly went still farther. A bill to disqualify all Jews 
 from being eligible to seats in the Assembly, was introduced 
 and read twice. Five weeks had elapsed and the public bu- 
 siness had not begun. The Governor was very much an- 
 noyed. The refractory spirit of the House, as regarded the 
 judges, was most distasteful to him. Suddenly, on the 15th 
 of May, he went down to the Legislative Council, assented 
 to five bills, and summoned the attendance of the Commons, 
 
 H 
 
128 
 
 PARLIAMENT ANORILY DISSOLVED. 
 
 1809. 
 
 " When I met you, said the now irate Sir James, at the com- 
 mencement of the present session, I had no reason to doubt 
 your moderation or your prudence, and I therefore willingly 
 relied upon both. I expected from you a manly sacrifice of 
 all personal animosities. I hoped for a zealous dispatch of 
 your public duty. I looked for earnest endeavours to pro- 
 mote the general harmony. I looked for due and indispen- 
 sable attention to the other In-anchcs of the Legislature. It 
 was your constitutional duty. It was due to the critical 
 juncture of the times. I have been disappointed in every 
 hope on which I relied. You have wasted in frivolous de- 
 bates, or by frivolous contests on matters of form, that time 
 and those talents to which the public have an exclusive title. 
 You have abused your functions. In five weeks, you have 
 only passed five bills. You have been so intemperate in de- 
 bate that moderation and forbearance is scarcely to be looked 
 for without a new Assembly. Gentlemen, Parliament is 
 dissolved. A new Parliament will be convened as soon as 
 convenience will permit. My object in thus acting, is to 
 preserve the true principles of the free and happy constiiution of 
 the Province." He turned with peculiar satisfaction from lec- 
 turing to the Assembly, to ofi:er his acknowledgements to 
 the gentlemen of the Legislative Council, for their unani- 
 mity, zeal, and unremitting attention to the public business, 
 manifested in their proceedings. They were not to blame 
 for the waste of time and for the little that had been done 
 for the public good. The Assembly were surprised. It 
 never entered the head of a single member that Sir James 
 Craig, who, on first meeting a Canadian Parliament, had 
 been so courteous, would have been so abruptly censorious. 
 A prorogation was anticipated, when the Usher of the Black 
 Rod commanded, by order of His Excellency, their presence 
 at the Bar of the Upper House, but the possibility of a dis- 
 solution of Parliament never occurred to any one. The 
 constitution, boasted so much of, was certainly a happy one. 
 The representatives of the people were suddenly sent back 
 to their constituents as unfitted for their business. And for 
 
1809. 
 
 FRENCH HATRED OF THE BRITISH OFFICIALS. 
 
 129 
 
 some time, the country, tickled with the bhmtness of the 
 Governor, applauded the act. Had Sir James desired to be 
 absolute, the country, before it had had time to consider, 
 would have assisted His Excellency in a coup d'etat. It was 
 not until the Canadkn had taken the matter up energetically 
 that any of the discarded legislative materials could obtain 
 a hearing from their constituents. After the Canadien had 
 criticised the speech from the throne, and had commented 
 on the Bill of Rights, in allusion to the Governor's measures, 
 with respect to the Assembly, and aa applicable to the exist- 
 ing circumstances of the Province — " Nos insUiutions, noire 
 langue, etnos lois" — public opinion gradually turned round in 
 favor of the Assembly. 
 
 Sir James Craig's opinion of the Canadians had undergone 
 a very considerable change for the worse. In a despatch to 
 Lord Liverpool, some short time afterwards, on the state of 
 affairs in Canada, which Mr. Ryland was sent^to London 
 with, Sir James speaks of Canada as being a conquered coun- 
 try, a fact never to be put out of view. lie spoke of a colony 
 usually estimated to contain a population of 300,000 souls. 
 Of these, 20,000, or 25,000 only, might have been English 
 or Americans, and the remainder were French. They were 
 in language, religion, in manners, and in attachment, 
 French. They were bound to the English (officials) by no 
 tie, but that of a common government. They looked upon 
 the government of the province with mistrust, jealousy, 
 envy, and hatred. He was certain his opinion of them was 
 well founded. There were very few French Canadians in 
 the country who were not tainted with the sentiments he 
 had imputed to them generally. Common intercourse hard- 
 ly existed between the French and English. The lower 
 class, to strengthen a word of contempt, added the word 
 Anglais to it. The upper classee, who formerly associated 
 with the English upper classes, had entirely withdrawn 
 themselves. The Canadians, generally, were ignorant, cre- 
 dulous, and superstitious. He did not perceive that they 
 had any great vice except one. D-runkeuness was the pre- 
 
lao 
 
 CRAia S OVINION OF THE FRENCH CANADIANS. 
 
 1809. 
 
 vailing vice. "When drunk they were brutal and quarrel- 
 some. Like other people, suddenly freed from a state of 
 extreme subjection, they were apt to be insolent to their 
 superiors. They were totally unwarlike and averse to nrms 
 or military habits, though vain to an exc:sH, and possessing 
 a high opinion of their prowess. They had been so flattered 
 and cajoled about their conduct, in the year 1775, that they 
 really believed they stood as heroes, in history, whereas no 
 people, with the exception of a very few individuals, be- 
 haved worse than they did on that occasion. Now came the 
 teachings of Mr. Secretary Ryland, which that gentleman 
 did not think it prudent to bore Sir James with until he had 
 ascertained how far the incomparable man's sentiments ac- 
 corded with his own. The Superintendent of the Church 
 of Rome in Canada, had been designated Roman Catholic 
 Bishop, by other Governors, which was both dangerous and 
 wrong, in view of the Queen's supremacy. The Bishop did 
 as he pleased, in the appointment of cur6s. His patronage 
 was at least equal to that of the government. The Bishop 
 was cautious not to perform any act that might be construed 
 into an acknowledgement of His Majesty's rights. He 
 would not obey a Proclamation of the King for a fast or 
 thanksgiving, but issued a " mandat" of his own, to the same 
 effect, but without the least allusion to His Majesty's autho- 
 rity. The arms of Great Britain were nowhere put up in 
 the churches. With the cur6s no direct communication with 
 the government existed. The church selected its ecclesias- 
 tics, the Governor knew not why, from the lower orders. 
 The Bishop was the son of a blacksmith. The Coadjutor 
 was brother to a demagogue, the Speaker of the Assembly, 
 an " avocat." The cur^s saw in Buonaparte the restorer 
 of the Catholic religion. The Legislative Council, an object 
 of jealousy to the Lower House, was composed of every- 
 thing that was respectable in the Province. There were 
 about 300,000 French inhabitants to 25,000 English and 
 American, yet there never had exceeded fourteen or fifteen 
 English members in the House of Assembly, while then 
 
 th 
 lo 
 
 (« 
 
1809. 
 
 COMPOSITION OF THE ASSEMBLY. 
 
 181 
 
 there were only ten, and it was desired to get rid of the 
 judges ! The interests of certainly not an unimportant co- 
 lony, was in the hands of six petty shopkeepers, a black- 
 smith, a miller, and fifteen ignorant peasants, a doctor or 
 apothecary, twelve Canadian " avocats" and notaries, and 
 four people respectable so far as that they did not keep 
 shops, together with the ten Englishmen, who composed the 
 Legislative Assembly. Some of the habitants could neither 
 read nor write. Two members of a preceding Parliament 
 had actually signed the roll by marks, and there were five 
 more whose signatures were scarcely legible, and were such 
 as to show that to be the extent of their writing. Debate 
 was out of the question. A Canadian Parliament did not 
 understand it. The habitant M. P., openly avowed that tho 
 matter, whatever it was, had been explained to him. The 
 "moutons" were crammed at meetings held nightly for the 
 purpose. There was one singular instance, of a habitant, 
 who, in every instance, voted against the prevailing party. 
 But that was the solitary exception to a general rule. Tho 
 Canadians voted en masse, as directed — not by the govern- 
 ment. The government was entirely without influence. 
 The Assembly was the most independent in the world, for 
 the government could not obtain even that influence which 
 might arise from personal intercourse. He could not be ex- 
 pected to associate with blacksmiths, millers, and shopkeep- 
 ers. Even the avocats and notaries he could nowhere meet, 
 except during the actual sitting of Parliament, when he had 
 a day in the week expressly appropriated to receiving a large 
 portion of them at dinner. The leaders in the House were 
 mostly a set of unprincipled avocat" rd notaries, totally un- 
 informed as to the principles of the Lritish constitution, or 
 parliamentary proceedings, which they, nevertheless, pro- 
 fessed to take for their model. Without property to lose, 
 these men had gradually advanced in audacity, in proportion 
 as they had considered the power of France as more firmly 
 established by the successes of Buonaparte in Europe. They 
 were obviously paving the way for a change of dominion. 
 
132 
 
 VILIFICATION OF THE "GENS KN PLACE.' 
 
 1809. 
 
 Without one act by which to point out either injury or op- 
 pression, the people of tlio Province liad been taught to look 
 upon Ilia Majesty's government with distrust, and they 
 publicly declared, while avowing sucli distrust, that no offi- 
 cer of the Crown was to be elected into the House. The 
 English in general and their own seigneurs were entirely 
 proscribed. Except in the boroughs or cities these classes 
 had no chance of election. A paper '^n.lled the Canadicn, 
 had been published, and industriously ,alated in the coun- 
 try, for three or four years, to degrade and vilify the officers 
 of government, under the title of gens en j)l(ice ; and to bring 
 the government itself into contempt, by alluding to the 
 Governor as a mimstcre, open to their animadversions. No- 
 thing calculated to misl' ad the people had been omitted in 
 this vile print. The various circumstances that brought about 
 the abdication of James the Second, had been pointed out, 
 with allusions, as applicable to the government here. '* La 
 nation Canadlenne" was their constant theme. Religious 
 prejudices, jealousy, and extreme ignorance, forbade the ex- 
 pectation of any improvement in the embly. Questions 
 before the Houses were always viewf affecting or other- 
 wise some temporal right of their clergy, or having some 
 remote tendency to promote the establishment of the Pro- 
 testant interest. How the Act for the establishment of 
 Public Schools had passed had always been matter of sur- 
 prise to him. There was much jealousy at the progress of 
 the Eastern Townships, which were settled by American 
 loyalists. The country was beginning to look up to the 
 members of the Assembly as the governors of the country. 
 Formerly the cry was — ^^LaCkambre to the devil!" He 
 thought that the only remedy for the state of things which he 
 had described w^as to deprive the province of its constitution, 
 as the provincialists termed their charter. The people were 
 unfitted for liberty. And here are the Governor's reasons 
 for saying that a people were incapable of free institutions. 
 *' That spirit of independence, that total insubordination 
 among them, that freedom of conversation, by which tliey 
 
1809. 
 
 TIIU MAllTELLO TOWERS. 
 
 183 
 
 lation 
 tkey 
 
 coinmunioatc tlicir idoaH of ,iijovornmcnt, uh tliey imbibe 
 tiicm tVoiu their leaders, all which have iiicreaf^od uondor- 
 fully "within these iivo or six years, owe their origin entirely 
 to the House of Assembly and to the intrigues incident to 
 electiojis. They were never thought of before." One really 
 wonders that even a general officer could have ventured upon 
 sending to England such trash, a countiy which had pro- 
 duced a Cliarles Fox, wdio took at the passing of the Separa- 
 tion Act so opposite a view of human nature. Doubtless, 
 the Imhitants are precisely, even at this day, as Sir James re- 
 presented them to be. But it was superlative impudence in 
 a man of plebeian extraction to say that he could not asso- 
 ciate with members of Parliament, who followed the occu- 
 pation of shopkeeping for a living. It surely was enough 
 for Buonaparte to have stigmatized England as a nation of 
 shopkeepers. Sir James might have left it alone, after hav- 
 ing experienced the independent energies of a nation of 
 wooden clock and wo( den nutmeg makers. The '•'• (fens en 
 place" had badly advised him, and he was too blind to see 
 it. Sir James was an Indian Governor with a vengeance. 
 
 The fortifications of the City of Quebec had been much 
 improved during the summer of 1808, and tlie foundations 
 of the four martello towers, which now stand outside of the 
 fortifications, on the land side, at the distance of nearly a 
 mile, were laid. 
 
 After the dissohition of the Parliament, about the middle 
 of June, the Governor set out on a tour through the Pro- 
 vince. He was attended by a numerous suite, travelled in 
 great state, and was well received wherever he halted. At 
 Three »Rivers, Montreal, St. Johns, and "William Henry, ad- 
 dresses were presented to him. He was applauded and even 
 thanked for having stretched the royal prerogative so far as 
 to dissolve the House without any sufficient reason. What 
 was gained by the fulsome adulation is not particularly ap- 
 parent, unless it be that the Canad'mi had an opportunity 
 afforded it for not very flattering criticisms. The opportu- 
 nity was not by any means lost. The Canadkn grinned at 
 
:^lU:- 
 
 1^ ' i n t .. 
 
 t- * 
 
 6 
 
 -■ 7 / /■ i.< 
 
 134 
 
 THE FIIIHT STEAMBOAT ON THE ST. LAWRENCE. 
 
 1800. 
 
 the gens en place, and even ventured to laugh at the royal 
 prerogative himself. But the gens en place were not to he 
 laughed out of countenance by a vile print, which only could 
 appeal to French passions and Romish prejudices. They 
 only waited until His Excellency returned to Quebec, to re- 
 new their congratulations. The citizens of Quebec, on Sir 
 James' return to the Chateau, waited upon him with an ad- 
 dress. They approved of his judicious and firm adminis- 
 tration. Sir James, perfectly elated, expressed, in a parti- 
 cular manner, his satisfaction. It was most gratifying to 
 have received such an address from those whose " situa- 
 tions" aftbrdcd them the more immediate opportunity of 
 judging of the motives by which he might be actuated on 
 particular occasions. 
 
 In November of this year, the first steamer was seen on 
 the St. Lawrence. At 8 o'clock on the 6th of that month, 
 the steamboat Accommodation arrived at Quebec, with ten 
 passengers from Montreal. She made the passage (180 miles) 
 in sixty-six hours, having been thirty hours at anchor. In 
 twenty hours, after leaving Montreal, she arrived at Three 
 Rivers. The passage money was only eight dollars for 
 the downward trip and nine dollars for the trip upward. 
 iC^either wind nor tide could stop the Accommodation, and 
 the Accommodation was eighty-two feet long on deck. The 
 accommodation aiforded to passengers was not, however, 
 very great. T vventy berths were all that cabin passengers 
 could be accommodated with. Great crowds visited her 
 saloons. The Mercury told its readers that the steamboat 
 received her impulse from an open, double-spoked perpendi- 
 cular wheel, on either side, without any circular band or 
 rim. To the end of each double-spoke, a square board was 
 fixed, which entered the water, and by the rotatory motion, 
 acted like a paddle. The wheels were put and kept in mo- 
 tion by steam, which operated in the vessel. And a mast 
 was to be fixed in her for the purpose of using a sail, when 
 the wind was favourable, which would occasionally accele- 
 rate her headway. After the Accommodation had made 
 
1810. 
 
 DEATH OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 135 
 
 jen on 
 nonth, 
 :h ten 
 miles) 
 r. In 
 Three 
 rs for 
 ward, 
 and 
 The 
 |vever, 
 ngers 
 her 
 boat 
 endi- 
 ud or 
 was 
 tion, 
 mo- 
 mast 
 ►vhen 
 jcele- 
 
 several trips, Upper Canada began to "guess" about the ex- 
 pediency of having " AV^alks-in-the- Water." The Accommo- 
 dation was built by Mr. John Molson, of Montreal, an ex- 
 ceedingly enterprising man of business, and for a number 
 of years, his enterprise secured to him a monopoly of the 
 steam navigation of the lower St. Lawrence. lie died an 
 "honorable," only a few years ago. 
 
 During 1808, 334 vessels, or according to the Harbour 
 Master's statement, 440 vessels, arrived at Quebec from sea, 
 making up 66,373 tons of shipping, in addition to which, 
 2,902 tons of shipping were built at the port. The revenue 
 was .£40,608, and the civil expenditure £1,251 sterling. 
 The salaries and contingencies of the Legislature amounted 
 to .£3,077. The salary of the Governor-in-Chief was £4,500 
 sterling, and that of the Lieutenant-Governor, who had been 
 three years absent in England, Xl,500. On the 28th of No- 
 vember, in this year. Sir Francis Nathaniel Burton, whose 
 brother was Marquis of Cunningham, succeeded Sir Robert 
 Shore Milnes, in the now sinecure office of Lieutenant- 
 Governor, where he remained to enjoy the otium sine digni- 
 tate. 
 
 A continuance of the peace between His Majesty's gov- 
 ernment and that of the United States was, in the beginning 
 of 1810, considered less probable than ever. After the 
 death of Washington, which occuired on the 4th December, 
 1799, during the Presidency of Mr. Adams, political excite- 
 ment ran high in the United States. At the expiration of 
 Mr. Adams' term of office, there were, as candidates for the 
 Chief Magistracy of the Union, and for the Vice-Presi- 
 dency : — Mr. Jeffigrson and Mr. Burr, on the one side, and 
 Mr. Adams and Mr. C. D. Pin' kney, on the other. Mr. 
 Adams, elected by the Federalis or Tory party, had given 
 much offence to the Democratic party, by his law against 
 sedition, designed to punish the abuse of speech and of the 
 press. By this law a heavy fine was to be imposed, together 
 with an imprisonment for a term of years, upon such as 
 should combine or conspire together, to "oppose am/ mea- 
 
136 NO LIBERTY OP DISCUSSION IN THE UNITED STATES. 1810. 
 
 It I 
 
 j 
 ( 
 
 1 
 
 
 * 
 
 i 
 t 
 
 > 
 
 sure of the goverument." !N"o one, on any pretence, under 
 pain of similar punishment, was to write or print, utter or 
 publish, any malicious writing against the government of 
 the United States, or against either House of the Congress, 
 or against the President. In a word, the liberty of discus- 
 sion was annihilated. A more extraordinary law could not 
 possibly have been put upon the Statute Books of a coun- 
 try, where every official, being elective by the people, his 
 conduct, while in office was, in a common sense point of 
 view, open to popular animadversion. As far as producing 
 the effiact contemplated was concerned, the law was alto- 
 gether inefficacious. Tb^ ^eople met and talked together 
 against their President, ti Senate, and the House of Repre- 
 sentatives. l!fay, Mr. Adams lost what he designed to se- 
 cure, his re-election, by it. The -Democrats were furiously 
 opposed to him. While Messrs. Jefferson and Burr got each 
 seventy-three votes, the opposition candidates for President 
 and Vice-President, Messrs. Adams and Pinckney only 
 got, for the former, sixty-five votes, and for the latter, sixty- 
 four. Messrs. Burr and Jefferson having each an equal num- 
 ber of votes, it became the duty of the House of Represen- 
 tatives, voting by States, to decide between these pretenders 
 to the chief power in the State. The constitution provided 
 that the person having the greatest number of votes should 
 be President, and that the person having the next highest 
 number of votes should be Vice-President. For several 
 days the ballot was taken. The Federalists or Tories sup- 
 ported Mr. Burr, and the Democrats Mr. Jefferson. At last 
 the choice fell upon the latter, and Mr. Burr was elected to 
 the Vice-Presidency. It is well to know these circumstances 
 in connection with subsequent events. Mr. Jefferson anni- 
 hilated the minority of the republic. He had as much con- 
 tempt for them as Sir James Craig or Mr. Ryland could 
 have had for the conquered Canadians. He swept them 
 from every office of profit or emolument under the State. 
 When remonstrated with, by the merchants of New Haven, 
 respecting the removal of the Collector of Customs at that 
 
1810. 
 
 PRESIDENT BURR S CONSPIRACY. 
 
 137 
 
 I State, 
 [aven, 
 It that 
 
 port, merely because he was a Federalist or tory, the Presi- 
 dent quietly replied, that time and accident would give the 
 Tories their just share. Had he found a moderate partici- 
 pation ot office in the hands of the Democratic party with 
 whom he acted, hip. removals and substitutions would have 
 been less sweeping. But their total exclusion called for a 
 more prompt corrective. And he would correct the error. 
 When the error was fully corrected then he would only ask 
 himself concerning an applicant for office, these questions : 
 — " Is he honest ?" " Is he capable ?" and " Is he faithful 
 to the Constitution ? The Tories were almost inclined to 
 burn the White House. 
 
 Ohio was admitted into the Union in 1802 ; in 1804, Colo - 
 nel Burr, the Vice-President of the United States, killed 
 General Hamilton in a duel ; Mr. Jefferson was re-elected 
 President in 1804, and Mr. George Clinton, of Xew York, 
 instead of Burr, now deserv6dly unpopular with all bnt the 
 filibustering classes, Vice-President; in 1805, Michigan be- 
 came a territorial government of the United States ; and in 
 the autumn of 1805 the outcast President Burr was detected 
 at the head of a project for revolutionizing the territory 
 west of the Alleghanies, and of establishing an independent 
 empire there, of which New Orleans was to be the capital, 
 and himself the chief. To the accomplishment of this 
 scheme. Burr brought into play all the skill and cunning of 
 which he was possessed. And it was not a little. He had 
 his design long in contemplation. He pretended to have 
 purchased a large tract of territory, of which he conceded to 
 his adherents considerable slices. He collected together, 
 from all quarters where either he himself, or his agents, pos- 
 sessed influence, the ardent, the restless, and the desperate, 
 persons ready for any enterprise analogous to their charac- 
 ters. He also seduced good and well-meaning citizens, by 
 assurances that he possessed the confidence of the govern- 
 ment, and was acting under its secret patronage. He had an- 
 other project, in case of the failure of the first. He designed 
 to make an attack upon Mexico and to establish an empire 
 
138 
 
 MADISON — ER8KINB — AUD JACKSON. 
 
 1810. 
 
 1810. 
 
 thef«. He failed. Before his standard was raised, the gov- 
 ernment was made aware of his designs, and ho was brought 
 to trial, at Richmond, on a charge of treason, committed 
 within the district of Virginia. It was not proved, however, 
 that he had been guilty of any overt act, within the State, 
 and he was released. It was probably to find employment 
 for that restless and desperate class of persons, with which 
 the United States even then abounded, that the government 
 of America sought cause of quarrel with Great Britain, as 
 well as to produce that spurious activity among the industrial 
 classes, which is ever the result of warlike preparations. 
 
 In 1809, Mr. James Madison was elected President of the 
 United States. During Mr. Jefferson's administration, com- 
 mercial intercourse with France and Great Britain had been 
 interdicted. When, however, Mr. Madison was fairly estab- 
 lished in the Presidency, he showed a disposition to renew 
 intercourse, and was seconded in his endeavours by Mr. 
 Erskine, then British Minister at Washington. Mr. Erskine 
 non-officially intimated to the American Secretary of State, 
 that if the President would issue a Proclamation for the 
 renewal of intercourse with Great Britain, that it was pro- 
 bable the proposal would be readily accepted. It was done. 
 Sut the British government refused to rescind the Orders in 
 Gouneil of January and November 1807, so far as the United 
 States were concerned, which would have given th« benefit 
 6f thfe Coasting trade of France to the Americans, recalled 
 Ml". Ikiskine for having exceeded his instructions, and sent 
 Mr. Jackson to Washington in his stead. A correspondence 
 was immediately after Mr. Jackson's arrival at the American 
 Beat of government, opened with Mr. Madison's Secretary of 
 State, and was as suddenly closed. Mr. Jackson was, as a 
 dij^lomiati^, rather blunt. Repeatedly, he asserted that the 
 American Executive could not but have known from the 
 powers exhibited by Mr. Erskine, that in stipulating, as ho, 
 had done, he had tfanscended those powers, and was, there- 
 ibre, acting without the authority ol his government. The 
 Attiericah Executive deemed such an assertion equivalent to 
 
 adecl 
 
 Mr.E 
 
 deniec 
 
 rican 
 
 langua 
 
 the ho 
 
 the CO 
 
 not CO] 
 
 larly h 
 
 censur 
 
 Theg 
 
 Sir Jan 
 
 legislat 
 
 liable t< 
 
 which c 
 
 be issue 
 
 place ir 
 
 His Ex( 
 
 the pari 
 
 expecte( 
 
 some su 
 
 two opii 
 
 the peoj 
 
 {populi) I 
 
 were ca 
 
 were to] 
 
 the fom 
 
 at the Bi 
 
 the confi 
 
 gracious! 
 
 Panet ha 
 
 expresses 
 
 of the 03 
 
 can gov( 
 
 agreed u 
 
 cumstanc 
 
 breach, a 
 
1810. WASHINGTON WPLOMAUY — A N«W PARLIAMENT. 139! 
 
 a declaration that the American government did know that 
 Mr. Erskine had exceeded his instructions. Mr. Jackson 
 denied that his language could be so interpreted. The Ame- 
 rican Executive at once replied that Mr. Jackson's tone and 
 language could not but be looked upon as reflecting upoi> 
 the honor and integrity of the American government, and 
 the correspondence was closed. The British government, 
 not considering Mr. Jackson's diplomatic eftbrts as particu- 
 larly happy, recalled him. He escaped, however, more direct, 
 censure. 
 
 These events had just occurred, across the line '45, when 
 Sir James Craig, now more anxious than ever, "to obtain 
 legislative assistance, under circumstances that would not be 
 liable to interruption from the expiration of the period for 
 which one of the branches was chosen, ordered the writs to 
 be issued for a new general election. The elections took 
 place in October, 1809, when, contrary to the expectation of 
 His Excellency, most of the gentlemen who held seats in 
 the parliament which, in the previous May, had been so un- 
 expectedly dissolved, were again returned. There were 
 some substitutions. But those only who halted between 
 two opinions, in fearing the government, while representing 
 the people, were supplanted by men who would echo the vox 
 (j)opuli) et preterea nihily in the Chamber of Deputies. They 
 were called together on the 29th of January, 1810. They 
 were told to elect a Speaker, which they did, by selecting 
 the former Speaker, Mr. Panet. They were told to appear 
 at the Bar of the Upper House. And they did appear in 
 the confusion usual on all similar occasions. The Governor, 
 graciously confirmed their choice of a Speaker, and Mr. 
 Panet having bowed his acknowledgments. His Excellency 
 expressed his concern that, far from an amicable settlement 
 of the existing differences, between the British and Ameri- 
 can governments, as was anticipated from the arrangement 
 agreed upon by His Majesty's Minister at Washington, cir- 
 cumstances had occurred that seemed to have widened the 
 breach, and to have removed that desirable event to a period 
 
140 
 
 TUB SPEECH FROM THE THKONE. 
 
 1810. 
 
 scarcely to be foreseen by human sagacity ; the extraordinary 
 cavils made with a succeeding minister ; the eager research 
 to discover an insult whicji defied the detection of " all other 
 penetration ;" the consequent rejection of further commu- 
 nication with that minister, and indeed every step of inter- 
 course, the particulars of which were known by authentic do- 
 cuments, evinced so little of a conciliatory disposition, and so 
 much of a disinclination to meet the honorable advances 
 made by His Majesty's government, while these had ^ been 
 further manifested in such terms, and by such conduct, that 
 the continuance of peace seemed to depend less on the 
 high sounded resentment of America, than on the modera- 
 tion with which His Majesty might be disposed to view the 
 treatment he had met with ; he felt it to be unnecessary to 
 urge preparation for any event that might arise from such 
 a condition of things ; he persuaded himself that in the 
 great points of security and defence one mind would actuate 
 all ; he assured the country of the necessary support of re- 
 gular troops should hostilities ensue, which with the " inte- 
 rior" force of the countiy would be found equal to any at- 
 tack that could be made upon the province ; the militia 
 would not be unmindful of the courage which they had 
 displayed in former days, (when, of course, they behaved 
 worse, with the exception of a few individuals, than any 
 people ever did ! *) the bravery of His Majesty's arms had 
 never been called in question ; he congratulated the legisla- 
 ture on the capture of Martinique, and triumphantly alluded 
 to the battle of Talavera, which had torn from the French 
 that character of invincibility which they had imagined 
 themselves to have possessed in the eyes of the world. He 
 recommended the renewal of those Acts which were de- 
 signed to enable the Executive to discharge its duty against 
 dangers, which could not be remedied by the course of com- 
 mon law ; he drew attention to the numerous forgeries of 
 foreign bank notes, and recommended a penal statute for 
 their suppression ; and he remarked that the question of the 
 
 * Sir James' lettsr to Lord Liverpool. 
 
1810. 
 
 THE ADDRESS IN REPLY. 
 
 141 
 
 expediency of excluding the Judges of the King's Bench 
 from the House of Representatives had been, during the two 
 last sessions, much agitated, and that, although he would not 
 have himself interdicted the judges from being selected by 
 the people to represent them in the Assembly, had the ques- 
 tion ever come before him, he had been ordered by His Ma- 
 jesty to give his assent to any proper bill, concurred in by 
 the two Houses, for rendering the judges ineligible to a seat 
 in the Assembly. 
 
 The Assembly, very naturally, entertained the opinion 
 that the Imperial government had not approved of the con- 
 duct of Sir James Craig in dissolving the previous Parlia- 
 ment. Indeed, even before taking the speech from the throne 
 into consideration, the Assembly resolved that every attempt 
 of the executive government and of the other branches of 
 the legislature against the House of Assembly, whether in 
 dictating or censuring its proceedings,, or in approving the 
 conduct of one part of its members, and disapproving that 
 of others, was a violation of the statute by which the House 
 was constituted; was a breach of the privileges of the House, 
 which it could not forbear objecting to ; and was a danger- 
 ous attack upon the rights and liberties of His Majesty's 
 subjects in Canada. There were, not ten only, but thirteen 
 members of British origin now in the House of Assembly, 
 and the vote, for the adoption of the resolution, exhibited a 
 wonderful degree of unanimity of opinion with regard to 
 the right of freedom of opinion and the freedom of debate. 
 There were twenty-four affirmative to eleven adverse votes, 
 and, among those who voted with the minority, were some 
 officials of French origin. In reply to the address from the 
 throne, the House expressed its unalterable' attachment to 
 Great Britain, they were grateful and would be faithful to 
 that sovereign and nation which respected their rights and 
 liberties ; it was unnecessary to urge them to prepare for 
 any event that might arise, they would be prepared ; and 
 the militia, not unmindful of the courage which they had, 
 in former days, displayed, would endeavour to emulate that 
 
mm 
 
 142 
 
 TlIK CIVIL LIST. 
 
 1810. 
 
 bravery, natural to His Majesty's arms, which had never 
 been called in question. Nay, the House was exuberant 
 with loyalty. No sooner was the address in reply presented 
 to the Governor than an address, congratulating the King 
 on the happy event of having entered upon the fiftieth year 
 of his reign, was unanimously adopted, and transmitted to 
 the Governor for transmission to England. The expediency 
 of relieving tlie Imperial government of the burthen of pro- 
 viding for the civil list of Canada was next discussed. It 
 was considered that the sooner the payment of its own gov- 
 ernment officers devolved upon the province, the better it 
 would be for all classes itihabiting it. Ultimately, the pro- 
 vince would be required to defray the expenses of its own 
 government, and the sooner it did so the less weighty would 
 the civil list be. The minority were very much opposed to 
 the proposed change. Some, who, twenty-seven years be- 
 fore, were most anxious to present .£20,000 to the King, by 
 a tax on goods, wares, and merchandise, to assist in enabling 
 His Majesty to prosecute the war against France vigorously, 
 now that the province was more than paying her expenses, 
 could not see the necessity of saddling the countiy with a 
 burthen which would make it, as they alleged, necessary to 
 impose duties to the amount of fifty thousand pounds a year. 
 At first, the very ignorant * country people, not knowing 
 that which was going on, became alarmed at the startling 
 information conveyed to them by the majority. They ex- 
 pressed their fears that their friends were betraying them. 
 They were soon pacified. Their members infonned them, or 
 they were informed by the Canadien, that when the House 
 of Assembly had the entire management of the civil list, 
 they would not fail to reduce the sum necessary to keep up 
 the hospitality of Government House, and only, consequently, 
 consideration for the Governor-in-Chief ; nor would they fail 
 to retrench the several pensions, reduce the heavier salaries 
 of the employees, cut off the sinecurists, and, in a variety of 
 
 I 1 1 T pTr"' 
 
 * Sir James' letter to Lord I«lverpool, accompamed bj tbe explanatory Mr. 
 Byland. 
 
IHIO. 
 
 CIVIL LIST RESOLUTIONS. 
 
 145 
 
 It 
 
 Mr. 
 
 ways, lessen the public burthens. The habitants were no 
 longer alarmed at the additional taxation of <£aO,000 a year, 
 with which they wore threatened. A series of resolutions 
 passed the Assembly, intimating that the province was able 
 to supply funds for the payment of the civil list. The pro- 
 vince was able to pay all the civil expenses of its government. 
 The House of Assembly ought "this session" to .vote the 
 sums necessary for defraying the expenses of the civil list. 
 The House will vote such necessary sums. And the King, 
 Lords, and Commons of England, were to be informed that 
 the Commons of Canada had taken upon itself the payment 
 of the government of the province and that they were ex- 
 ceedingly grateful to England tor the assistance hitherto af- 
 forded, and for the happy constitution, which had raised the 
 province to a pitch of prosperity so high that it was now 
 able and willing to support itself. Ten gentlemen of Bri- 
 tish extraction voted against these resolutions and only one 
 Canadian. The address to the King, pursuant to the resolu- 
 tions, was carried by a vote of thirteen to three. Many 
 members appear to have been afraid of themselves or rather 
 of the consequences to be apprehended from the offence 
 which the adoption of such resolutions was calculated to 
 give the Imperial advisers of the representative of the King 
 in a colony. N"ay, the Governor-in- Chief did not much re- 
 lish the resolutions. He turned them over in his mind, 
 again and again. There ^vas something more than appeared 
 upon the surface. He disrelished the idea of getting his meat 
 jK>isoned by its passage through Canadian fingers. He was 
 Sure the King, his master, would pay him well, but, as for 
 the Canadians, they might stop the supplies. The Assem- 
 bly waited upon His Excellency with their addresses. They 
 i^qiiested that His Excellency would be pleased to lay them 
 before His Majesty's ministers for presentation. Sir James 
 hesitated. The addresses were so peculiarly novel as to require 
 a eoasiderable degree of reflection. The constitutional 
 usage of Parliament, recognised by the wisdom of the 
 Hou&fe of Commons of the United Kingdom, forbade all 
 
144 
 
 THE RESOLUTIONS PREMATURE. 
 
 1810. 
 
 I' I 
 
 ■> I 
 
 steps on the part of the people towards grants of money 
 which were not recommended by the Crown, and although 
 by the same parliamentary usage all grants originated in the 
 Lower House, they were ineffectual without the concuiTence 
 of the Upper House. There was no precedent of addresses 
 to the House of Lords, or Commons, separately, by a single 
 branch of the Colonial Legislature. He conceived the ad- 
 dresses to be unprecedented, imperfect in form, and founded 
 upon a resolution of the House of Assembly, which, until 
 sanctioned by the Legislative Council, must be ineffectual, 
 except as a spontaneous offer on the part of the Commons 
 of Canada. The resolutions were premature. He regretted 
 that he could not take it upon himself to transmit these ad- 
 dresses to His Majesty's ministers. In his refusal he was 
 impressed by a sense of duty. But, besides the sense of 
 duty. His Majesty's ministers, unless commanded by His 
 Majesty, were not the regular organs of communication with 
 the House of Commons. Even were he to transmit those 
 addresses, he could not pledge himself for their deliveiy, 
 through that channel. He would have felt himself bound 
 upon ordinary occasions to have declined any addresses 
 similar to those then before him, under similar circum- 
 stances. He would on the present occasion transmit to the 
 King his own testimony of the good disposition, gratitude, 
 and generous intentions of his subjects. He thought it right 
 that His Majesty, "by their own act," should be formally 
 apprised of the ability and of the voluntary pledge and pro- 
 mise of the province to pay the civil expenditure of the 
 province when required. He then engaged to transmit the 
 King's address to His Majesty, with the understanding that 
 no act of his should be considered as compromising the 
 rights of His Majesty, of his Colonial Representative, or of 
 the Legislative Council. He significantly hoped that the 
 House of Assembly might not suppose that he had expressed 
 himself in a way that might carry with it an appearance of 
 checking the manifestation of sentiments under which the 
 House had acted. A committee of seven members were, on 
 
1811. 
 
 MR. JUSTICL' DU UONNK. 
 
 145 
 
 the receipt of His Excellency's answer, uppointed to search 
 for the precedents and parliamentary usages alluded to by the 
 Governor-in- Chief, with instructions to report speedily. And, 
 that there might be no excuse, with regard to the improper 
 introduction of a njoney matter, for a refusal to sanction any 
 bill that the Assembly might think proper to pass, a reso- 
 lution was adopted by the Assembly to the cftect that the 
 House had resolved to vote, in the then session, the sums 
 necessary for paying all the civil expenses of the govern- 
 ment of the province, and to beseech that His Excellency 
 would be pleased to order the proper officer to lay before the 
 House an estimate of the said civil expenses. The practice 
 of these avocats, shopkeepers, apothecaries, doctors, and 
 notaries, was tolerably sharp. The House went again to 
 work upon the expediency of appointing a Colonial Agent 
 in England, and introduced a bill with that object, which 
 was read. A bill to render the judges ineligible to sit in 
 the Assembly passed the Assembly ; but the Council amend- 
 ed the bill, by postponing the period at which the ineligibi- 
 lity was to have effect, to the expiration of the parliament 
 then in being, and sent it l)ack to the Assembly for 
 concurrence. Indignant at this amendment, the Assembly 
 adopted a resolution to the eftect that P. A. DeBonne, being- 
 one of the Judges of the King's Bench, could neither sit 
 nor vote in the House, and his seat for Quebec was declared 
 to be vacant. The vote was decisive. There were eighteen 
 votes in favor of the resolution and only six against it, the 
 six being all English names. McCord, Ross, Cuthbert, 
 Gugy, and such like. If the practice of the avocats was 
 sharp, the practice of the Governor was yet sharper. Down 
 came the Governor-in-Chief in two days after the search for 
 precedents had begun in the Assembly, in not the best of 
 humour, to the Legislative Council Chamber. On the 26th 
 of February, the uncontrollable Assembly were summoned 
 before the representative of royalty. He informed the two 
 Houses that he had come to prorogue the legislature, having 
 again determined to appeal to the people by an immediate 
 
 T 
 
146. 
 
 AN ANTAOONISM — PARLIAMENT DIBMOLVED. 
 
 1811 
 
 I ' 
 
 dissolution. It had been rendered impossible for him to 
 act otherwise. Without the participation of the other 
 branches of tlie Legislature the Assembly had taken upon 
 themselves to vote that a judge could not sit nor vote in 
 their House. It was impossible for him to consider what 
 had been done in any other light than as a direct violation 
 of an Act of the Imperial Parliament. He considered that 
 the House of Assembly had unconstitutionally disfranchised 
 a large portion of His Mtyesty's subjects, and rendered ineli- 
 gible, by an authority they did not possess, another, and not 
 inconsiderable class of the community. By every tie of 
 duty, he was bound to oppose such an assumption. In con- 
 sequence of the expulsion of the member for Quebec, a 
 vacancy in the representation of that county had been de- 
 clared. It would be necessary to issue a writ for a new 
 election, and that writ was to be signed by him. He would 
 not render himself a partaker in the violation of an Act of 
 the Imperial Parliament, and to avoid becoming so he had 
 no other recourse but that which he was pursuing. He felt 
 much satisfaction when the Parliament met, in having taken 
 such steps as he thought most likely to facilitate a measure 
 that seemed to be wished for, and that, in itself, met his 
 concurrence ; but as, in his opinion, the only ineligibility 
 of a judge to sit in Parliament arose from the circumstance 
 of his having to ask the electors for their votes, he could not 
 conceive that there could be any well founded objection to 
 his possession of a seat in the Assembly, when he was elected. 
 He believed that the talents and superior knowledge of the 
 judges, to say nothing of other considerations, made them 
 highly useful. He lamented that a measure, which he consi- 
 dered would have been beneficial to the country, should not 
 have taken effect. But he trusted 'liat i ,, ^jeople, in the dis- 
 appointment of their expect*^ ♦ would do him justice, and 
 acquit him of being the ca aat so littU usiness had been 
 done. 
 
 Such is human nature, that, on leaving the Council 
 Room, Sir James Crajg was loudly cheered. His mF iliness. 
 
1811. 
 
 RUMORS OF REBELUON. 
 
 147 
 
 combined with stupidity, and hi^ real honesty of purpose, 
 had its temporary eftect upon those who admire pluck as 
 much in a Governor as in a game cock. Not only was His 
 Excellency cheered on leaving the Parliament buildings, 
 addresses poured in upon him from all quarters. Quebec, 
 Montreal, Terrebonne, Three Rivers, Sorel, "Warwick, and 
 Orleans, complimented Sir James. A more cunning man 
 would have flattered himself that he had acted rightly. 
 But there was to be a day of retribution. The late members 
 of the late House of Assembly were not idle. Nor was the 
 Ganadien silent. Every means that prudence could dictate, 
 and malevolence suggest, were resorted to, with a view to 
 the re-election of the dismissed representatives. The 
 "friends" of the government suggested that there were 
 plans of insurrection and rebellion. It was insinuated that 
 the French Minister at "Washington, had supplied the sedi- 
 tious in Canada with money. It was even broadly stated 
 that the plenipotentiary's correspondence had been inter- 
 cepted by the agents of the government. And that which 
 was not said is more difficult of conjecture than that which 
 was said. 
 
 The revenue was this year ^670,356, and the expenditure 
 j£49,847 sterling; 635 vessels, consisting of 138,057 tons, 
 had arrived from sea ; and 26 vessels had been built and 
 cleared at the port. 
 
 At this time there were five papers in Lower Canada. 
 The Quebec Gazette, the Quebec ' Mercury, Le Canadim, the 
 Mcntreal Gazette, and the Courant. The three former were 
 published in Quebec, the other two in Montreal. The Ga- 
 zettes were organs of the government, the Mercury and Cour 
 rant were " namby-pamby," and the Ganadien was as the 
 voice of le peuple. 
 
 The elections were, in the month of March, again about to 
 take place, and the government conceived the magnificent 
 idea of carrying a printing office by assault. "When every- 
 thing was prepared, then was the time to act. Headed by a 
 magistrate, a party of soldiers rushed up the stairs leading- 
 
148 
 
 SEIZURE OF THE "CANADIEX. 
 
 1811. 
 
 to the Canadien printing office. The proprietor received 
 them with a low bow, and much annoyance was felt that no 
 opposition was ofiered. The premises were searched. Some 
 manuscripts were found, and, " under the sanction of the 
 Executive," the whole press, and the whole papers of every 
 description, were forcibly seized, and conveyed as booty to 
 the vaults of the Court House. In this action one prisoner 
 was made. The printer was seized, and " after examina- 
 tion," was committed to prison. And, as if an insurrection 
 were expected, the guards at the gates were sti'engthened, 
 and patrols sent in every direction. The public looked 
 amazed, as well it might. The Mercury did not know whe- 
 ther most to admire the tyrannical spirit or the consummate 
 Vanity of the Canadians, and of No. 15, of the Canadien^ 
 which contended that the Canadians had rights. As a 
 striking proof of Canadian tyranny, the Canadien would not 
 allow any but the members of the Assembly to be a judge 
 of the expediency of expelling Judge DeBonne ! and it was 
 even said that of all those who signed the address to His 
 Excellency, presented in the name of Quebec, not one was 
 capable of understanding the nature of the question. In a 
 dependence, such as Canada, was the government to be daily 
 flouted, bearded, and treated with the utmost disrespect and 
 contumely ? " He" expected nothing less than that its pa- 
 tience would be exhausted, and energetic measures resorted to, 
 as the only efficient ones. From any part of a people con- 
 quered from wretchedness into everj^ iiidulrjence, and the 
 height of prosperity, such treatment, as the government daily 
 received was far diffisrent from that which ougat to have 
 been expected. But there were characters in the world on 
 whom benefits have no other effijct than to produce insolence 
 and insidi. The stroke was struck, the Mercury would say 
 no more. The greatest misfortune that can ever happen to 
 the press is for it to be in the possession of invisible and 
 licentious hands. It said no more, because "the war was 
 with the dead !" ' 
 Sir James was not verv 6ure that he had acted either 
 
1811. 
 
 SIR JAMES UPON OBNOXIOUS WRITINGS. 
 
 149 
 
 nee 
 ay 
 to 
 nd 
 
 Vil8 
 
 lier 
 
 wisely or well. He thought it necessary to explain. Divers 
 wicked and sed^iiou:^ writings had been printed. Divers 
 wicked and seditious writings had been dispersed through- 
 out the province. Divers writings were calculated to mis- 
 lead divers of His Majesty's subjects. Divers wicked and 
 traitorous persons had endeavoured to bring into contempt 
 and had vilified the administration, and divers persons had 
 invented wicked falsehoods, with the view of alienating the 
 affections of His Majesty's sul>jects from the respect which 
 was due to His Majesty's person. It was impossible for His 
 Majesty's representative longer to disregard or suffer prac- 
 tices so directly tending to subvert His Majesty's govern- 
 ment, and to destroy the happiness of His Majesty's subjects. 
 He, therefore, announced, that with the advice and concur- 
 rence of the Executive Council, and duo information having 
 been given to three of His Majesty's Executive Councillors, 
 warrants, as by law authorised, had been issued, under 
 which, some of the authors, printers, and publishers of the 
 aforesaid traitorous and seditious writings had been appre- 
 hended and secured. Deeply impressed with a desire to 
 promote, in all respects, the welfare and happiness of the 
 most benevolent of sovereigns, whose servant he had been 
 for as long a period as the oldest inhabitant had been his 
 subject, and whose highest displeasure he should incur if 
 the acts of these designing men had produced any effect, he 
 trusted that neither doubts nor jealousies had ci*ept into the 
 public mind. He w^ould recall to the deluded, if there were 
 any, the historj^ of the whole period during which they had 
 been under His Majesty's government. It was for them to 
 recollect the progressive advances they had made in the 
 wealth, happiness, and unbounded liberty which they then 
 enjoyed, "Wliere was the act of oppiession — where was the 
 instance of arbitraiy imprisonment — or where was the vio- 
 lation of property of which they had to complain ? Had 
 there been an instance in which the uncontrolled enjoyment 
 of their religion had boon disturbed ? While other coun- 
 tries and other colonies had been deluged in blood, during 
 
150 
 
 A PROCLAMATION. 
 
 1811. 
 
 i " 
 
 I; I 
 
 the prevalent war, had they not enjoyed the most perfect 
 seeurity and tranquillity ? What, then, could be the means 
 by which the traitorous would effect their wicked purposes ? 
 "What arguments dare they use ? For what reason was hap- 
 piness to be laid aside and treason embraced ? What persua- 
 sion could induce the loyal to abandon loyalty and become 
 monsters of ingratitude ? The traitorous had said that he 
 desired to embody and make soldiers of twelve thousand of 
 the people, and because the Assembly would not consent, 
 that he had dissolved the Parliament ? It was monstrously 
 untrue, and it was particularly atrocious in being advanced 
 by persons who might have been supposed to have spoken 
 with certainty on the subject. It had been said that he 
 wanted to tax the lands of the country people, that the 
 House would only consent to tax wine, and that for such 
 perverseness he had dissolved the Assembly. Inhabitants 
 of St. Denis ! the Governor General never had the most 
 distant idea of taxing the people at all. The assertion was 
 directly false. When the House offered to pay the civil list, 
 he could not move without the King's instructions. But in 
 despair of producing instances from what he had done, the 
 traitorous had spoken of that which he intended to do. It 
 was boldly said that Sir James Craig intended to oppress the 
 Canadians. Base and daring fabricators of falsehood ! on 
 what part of his life did they found such assertions ? What 
 did the inhabitants of St. Denis know of him or of his in- 
 tentions ? Let Canadians inquire concerning him of the 
 heads of their church. The heads of the church were men 
 of knowledge, honor, and learning, who had had opportu- 
 nities of knowing him, and they ought to be looked to for 
 advice and information. The leaders of faction and the de- 
 magogues of a party associated not with him, and could not 
 know him. Why should he be an oppressor ? Was it to 
 serve the King, the whole tenor of whose life had been 
 honorable and virtuous ? Was it for himself that he should 
 practice oppression ? For what should he be an oppreseor ? 
 Ambition could not prompt him, with a life ebbing slowly 
 
1811. 
 
 A WARNING. 
 
 161 
 
 ^ly 
 
 to a close, under the pressure of a disease acquired in the 
 service of his country. He only looked forward to pass the 
 remaining period of his life in the comfort of retirement, 
 among his friends. He remained in Canada simply in obe- 
 dience to the commands of his King. "What power could 
 he desire ? For what wealth would he be an oppressor ? 
 Those who knew him, knew that he had never regarded 
 wealth, and then, he could not enjoy it. He cared not for 
 the value of the country laid at his feet. He would prefer 
 to power and wealth a single instance of having contributed 
 to the happiness and prosperity of the people whom he had 
 been sent to govern. He warned all to be on their guard 
 against the artful suggestions of wicked and designing men. 
 He begged that all would use their best endeavours to pre- 
 vent the evil effects of incendiary and traitorous doings. 
 And he^ strictly charged and commanded all magistrates, 
 captains of militia, peace officers, and others, of His Ma- 
 jesty's good subjects to bring to punishment such as circu- 
 lated false news, tending, in any manner, to inflame the 
 public mind and to disturb the public peace and tranquillity. 
 Could anything have been more pitiable than such a pro- 
 clamation ? The existence of a conspiracy on the part of 
 some disaffected persons to overthrow the King's govern- 
 ment was made to appear with the view of covering a mis- 
 take. The proclamation was the apology for the illegal sei- 
 zure of a press and types used in the publication of a news- 
 paper, in which nothing seditious or treasonable had in 
 reality been published. It was true that the Canadien up- 
 held the Assembly and criticised the conduct of the Execu- 
 tive, with great severity. It was true that the Canadien com- 
 plained of the tyranny of "^65 Anglais.'* It was true that 
 the Canadien strenuously supported the idea of the expenses 
 of the civil list being defrayed by the province and not by 
 the Imperial government. And it was true that it contended 
 for "wos institutions, notre langue, et nos lois." It did nothing 
 more. No hint was thrown out that Canada would be more 
 prosperous under the American, than under the £ngUsh do- 
 
152 
 
 MISaOVE^NMENT OF THE COUNTRY. 
 
 1811. 
 
 1} 
 
 minion. It was not even insinuated that Canada should be 
 wholly governed by Canadians. All that was claimed for 
 French Canadians was a fair share in the official spoils of the 
 land they lived in, freedom of speech, and liberty of con. 
 science. Governor Craig asked the inhabitants of St. Denis 
 or any of the other inhabitants of the province to remind 
 him of any one act of oppression or of arbitrary imprison- 
 ment. And at that very moment the printer of the (Jana- 
 dien was in prison. jSTor was he there alone, there were 
 Messrs. Bedard, Blanchet, and Taschereau, members of the 
 recently dissolved House of Assembly, together with Messrs. 
 Pierre Laforce, Pierre Pajpineau, of Chambly, and Francois 
 Corbeille, of Isle Jesus, to keep him company, on charges of 
 treasonable practices, concerning which there was not, and 
 never had been, even the shadow of proof, on charges which 
 the government did not attempt even to prove, and on 
 charges which were withdrawn without the accused having 
 ever been confronted with their accusers. Base and daring 
 fabricators of falsehood! Fran9ois Corbeil, an innocent man, 
 the victim only of unjust suspicions, on the one hand, and 
 of diabolical selfishness, on the other, died in consequence 
 of the injury his health received in that prison where tyranny 
 had placed him. But he could issue no proclamation. His 
 voice was not loud enough in the tomb to reach the Court 
 of St. James, surrounded as that Court was, by an impene- 
 trable phalanx of Downing Street Red-tapists. Canada was 
 only mis-governed because England was deceived, through 
 the instrumentality of Governors, honorable enough as men, 
 but so wanting in administrative capacity, as to be open to 
 the vile flattery and base insinuations of those who were, or 
 rather should have been at once the faithful servants of the 
 Crown and of that people who upheld it, who were virtu- 
 ally taken possession of, on arrival, by the '■^ gens en place^" 
 4nd held safely in custody, until their nominal power had 
 ceased. And when power had passed away, then only did 
 many of them perceive, as Sir James Craig is reported to 
 have done, the deception, the ingratitude, and the almost 
 
 11 
 
 th 
 
1811. 
 
 AN APOLOGY FOR MISGOVERNMENT. 
 
 ir>3 
 
 sn. 
 
 ;u- 
 
 •5 
 
 to 
 
 mi 
 
 inhumanity of man. There is some excuse to bo offered for 
 the extraordinary course of policy pursued by iSir Janierf 
 Craig ; and an apology even can be made for the crooked 
 policy of those voluntary advisers who had hedged him in. 
 Great Britain was at war with France. The name of a 
 Frenchman was unmusical in the ears of any Englishman of 
 that period, and it sounded harshly in the ears of the British 
 soldier. It was France that had prostituted liberty to lu.st. 
 It was France that had dragged public opinion to the scaf- 
 fold and the guillotine. It was France that held the axe up- 
 lifted over all that was good and holy. It was France that 
 was making all Europe a charnel-house. It was General 
 Buonaparte of France, who only sought to subdue England, 
 the more easily to conquer the world. Many an English 
 hearth had cursed his name. Manv a widow had he made 
 desolate, and many an orphan fatherless, l^he '' conquered 
 subjects" of King George spoke and thought in French. 
 They held French traditions in veneration. There could 
 only be a jealousy, a hatred, a contempt entertained of 
 everything seeming to be French, in the heart of an English- 
 man. And these sentiments were doubtless reciprocated. 
 But, still the French of Canada, were oidy, now, French b}'^ 
 extraction. They had long lost that love of the land of their 
 origin, which belongs to nativity. Few men in the province 
 had been born in France. Few Canadians knew anything 
 about the new regime, or took any interest in the " Code 
 NapolSon.'" And few even cherished flattering recollections 
 of Bourbon rule. The Canadians wanted English liberty, 
 not French republicanism. The Canadians wanted to have 
 for themselves so much liberty as a Scotchman might enjoy 
 at John o' Groats, or an Englishman obtain at Land's-End. 
 And for so desiring liberty they were misrepresented, be- 
 cause of English colonial prejudices, and because of oflficial 
 dislikes and selfishness. When the first Attorney-General 
 of Canada, Mr. Mazzeres, afterwards Cursitor Baron Qf the 
 Exchequer, in England, of whom Mr. Ryland was but a 
 pious follower, proposed to convert the Canadians to Angli- 
 
154 
 
 THE RED-TAPIST AND TUB CO&ONIST. 
 
 1811. 
 
 cism in religion, in manners, and in law, assuredly little op- 
 position could have been made to the scheme. Then, the 
 pursuance of Cardinal Kichelieu's policy would, in after 
 ages, have ei^empliiied that the pen had been mightier than 
 the sword. Then the the whole population of the province 
 could have been housed in one of the larger cities of the 
 present time. But when the province had increased in num- 
 bers to 300,000, partially schooled in English legislation, the 
 exercise of despotism was only as impolitic as it was obvi- 
 ously unjust. It was feared by the officers of the civil gov- 
 ernment of Canada, when this despotism was practised, that 
 the legislature might have the power, which has since been 
 conceded, of dispensing with the services of merely impe- 
 rial officers, and of filling, with natives to the manor born, 
 every office of profit or emolument in the province. It was 
 feared if the exclusive power were granted to the Colonial 
 Legislature of appropriating all the sums necessary for the 
 civil expenditure of the province, that it would give the Le- 
 gislature absolute control over the officers of the empire and 
 of the colony, and annihilate, if not actually, potentially, the 
 imperium of Great Britain over her colony. A distinction 
 was drawn between the privileges of a colonist and of the 
 resident of the United Kingdom. While every municipality 
 in the latter was permitted to pay and control its own officers, 
 the voice of a colonist was to be unheard in the councils of 
 the nation to which he was attached, and he was to have no 
 control over the actions of those who were to make or admi- 
 nister the laws, under which he lived. He was patiently to 
 submit to the overbearing assumptions of some plebeian 
 Viceroy, accidentally raised to a quasi-level with the great 
 potentates of the earth, and inclined to ride with his tempo- 
 rary and borrowed power, after that great impersonage of 
 evil, which, it is alleged, the beggar always attempts to over 
 take when, having thrown off his rags and poverty, he hag 
 been mounted on horseback. It is admitted that at this 
 time the province was controlled by a few rapacious, over- 
 bearing, and irresponsible officials, without stake or other 
 
1811. 
 
 ARROGANCE OF THE OFFICIALS. 
 
 155 
 
 lag 
 is 
 
 er- 
 er 
 
 connection with the country, than their offices,* having no 
 sympathy with the mass of the inhabitants. It is admitted 
 that these officials lorded it over the people, upon whose 
 substance they existed, and that they were not confided in, 
 but hated. T^ is admitted that their influence with the Eng- 
 lish inhabitants arose from the command of the treasury. 
 And it is admitted that, though only the servants of the 
 government, they acted as if they had been princes among 
 the natives and inhabitants of the province, upon whom 
 they attected to look down, estranging them from all direct 
 intercourse, or intimacy, with the Governor, whose confi- 
 dence, no less than the control of the treasury, it was their 
 policy to monopolise. To the candidates for vice-regal fla- 
 vors, their smiles were fortune, and their frowns were fate. 
 The Governor was a hostage in the keeping of the bureau- 
 cracy, and the people were but serfs. 
 
 Nothing has been left on record^to show that when Sir 
 James Craig issued his absurd proclamation, treason was to 
 have been feared, unless it be that the clergy were required 
 to read the proclamation from the pulpits of the parish 
 churches, that Chief Justice Sewell read it from the Bench, 
 that the Grand Jury drew up an address to the Court and 
 strongly animadverted upon the dangerous productions of 
 the Canadienf and that the Quebec Mercury expressed its ab- 
 horrence of sedition, and chronicled the fact that 671 hxihi- 
 tants had expressed their gratitude to the Governor, for his 
 " truly paternal proclamation." 
 
 In the April term of the Court of King's Bench, the re- 
 lease of Mr. Bedard from gaol, was attempted, by an attempt 
 to obtain a writ of Habeas Corpiis. But the Bench was not 
 sufficiently independent of the Crown. The writ was re- 
 fused. The State prisoners were compelled to remain in 
 prison, indulging the hope that whatever charges could be 
 preferred against them would be reduced to writing, and a 
 trial be obtained. It was hoping against hope. Some of 
 the imprisoned fell sick, among whom was the printer of the 
 
 * Christie's History of Lower Canada, vol. J , page 347. 
 
156 
 
 THE CRAIO ROAD COMPLETED. 
 
 1811. 
 
 •* 
 
 Omadicn, and all in the gaol of Quebec, with the exception 
 of Mr. Bedard, were turned out of prison. Mr. Bodard re- 
 fused to be set at liberty without having bad the opportunity 
 of vindicating his reputation by the verdict of a jury. 
 Conscious of the integrity of his conduct, and ^' the legality 
 of his expressed political opinions, he solicited trial, but the 
 September session of the Criminal Term of the King's 
 Bencb was suffered to elapse without any attention having 
 been paid to him. Three of the prisoners were imprisoned 
 in the gaol of Montreal, and were not only subjected to the 
 inconveniences and discomforts of a damp and unhealthy 
 prison, but to the petty persecutions of a relentless gaoler. 
 They were one after the other enlarged without trial, Mr. 
 Corbeil only to die. 
 
 In the course of the summer the government bad been 
 occupied with the regulation and establishment of a system 
 of police, in Montreal and Quebec, and, with that view, 
 salaried chairmen were appointed to preside over the Courts 
 of Quarter Sessions. The government also determined upon 
 opening up a road to the Eastern Townships, which would 
 aiford a direct land communication between Quebec and 
 Boston. Commencing at St. Giles, on the south sliore of 
 the St. Lawrence, that road to the township of Shipton, 
 which- still bears the name of Governor Craig, was completed 
 by a detachment of troops. 
 
 On the 10th of December, Parliament again met. The 
 House of Assembly re-elected Mr. Panet to the Speakership, 
 and the Governor approved of his election. In his speech 
 from the throne, Governor Craig had never doubted the loy- 
 alty and zeal of the parliaments which had met since he had 
 assumed the administration of affairs. He was confident 
 that they were animated by the best intentions to promote 
 the interests of the King's government and the welfare of 
 the people. He looked for such a disposition in the tenor 
 of their deliberations. He called their attention to the tem- 
 porary Act for the better preservation of His Majesty's 
 government, and for establishing regulations respecting 
 
 a 
 ii 
 li 
 
 H 
 
1811. 
 
 MKETINU OF V NEW I'ARLIAMKNT. 
 
 157 
 
 oy- 
 lad 
 ent 
 lote 
 e of 
 snor 
 em- 
 
 ty's 
 
 ;ing 
 
 aliens or ccrtuin subjects of His Majesty, who had resided 
 iu France. No change had taken place in the state of pub- 
 lic affairs, that would warrant a departure from those pre- 
 cautions which made the Act necessary. He did not mean 
 that it should be supposed that he meant to divide the inte- 
 rests of His Majesty's government from the interests of the 
 public, for they were inseparable. But the presei'vation of 
 His Majesty's government was the safety of the province, 
 and its security was the only safeguard to the public tran- 
 quillity. He therefore recommended those considerations 
 together with the Act making temporary provision for the 
 regulation of trade between Canada and the United States 
 to their tirst and immediate consideration. He entreated 
 them to believe that he should have great satisfaction in 
 cultivating that harmony and good understanding which 
 must be so conducive to the prosperity and happiness of the 
 colony, and that he should most readily and cheerfully con- 
 cur, in every measure, which they might projtose, tending to 
 promote those important objects. And he further intimated 
 that the rule of his conduct was to discharge his duty to his 
 sovereign, by a constant attention to the welfare of his sub- 
 jects, who were committed to his charge, and these objects 
 he felt to be promoted by a strict adherence to the laws and 
 principles of the constitution, and by maintaining in their 
 just balance the rights and privileges of every branch of the 
 legislature. Sir James Craig's attempts at maintaining a 
 balance of power were the chief causes of all his blunder- 
 ing. He did not himself know the proper balance of power 
 between himself and the governed. He could not possibly 
 perceive when his balance-beam was out of its centre, and if 
 he had seen a slight leaning to one side, and that side not 
 his own, he could not liave conceived that the scales of jus- 
 tice would have been very much affected. It never occurred 
 to him that the displacement of it, only to the extent of 
 one-sixteenth half of an inch, on the side of Government 
 and Council, would weigh a quarter of a century against the 
 Assembly, the people and progress. But so it was. The 
 
158 
 
 MR. UEDARD, M. P., IN PllISOX. 
 
 1811. 
 
 beam with which Sir James Craig would have and did weigli 
 out justice, was one-sided, and, to make matters still worse, 
 the Governor threw into the adverse scale a host of his own 
 prejudices, and of the prejudices of his secret councillors. 
 He would have been glad, had the House expelled Mr. Be- 
 dard, one of its members, on the plea that it was prejudicial 
 to its dignity that a representative of the people should be 
 kept in durance, while the House was in session, and still 
 more discreditable that that member should be charged with 
 treason. Hardly had he delivered his speech, and the As- 
 sembly returned to their chamber, when the Governor sent a 
 message to the House intimating that Mr. Bedard, who had 
 been returned to Parliament, as the representative of Surrey, 
 was detained in the common gaol of Quebec, under the 
 "Preservation Act," charged with treasonable practices. 
 The House most politely thanked the Governor-in-Chief for 
 the information. The House resolved that Mr. Bedard was 
 in the common gaol of Quebec. The House resolved that 
 Pierre Bedard was, on the 27th day of March, returned to 
 Parliament, as one of the Knights Representative of Surrey. 
 The House resolved that Pierre Bedard, was then one of the 
 members of the Assembly, for the existing Parliament. 
 The House resolved that the simple arrest of any one of 
 His Majesty's subjects did not render him incapable of elec- 
 tion to the Assembly. The House resolved that the Gov- 
 ernment Preserves Act, guaranteed to the said Pierre Be- 
 dard, Esquire, the right of sitting in the Assembly. And 
 the House resolved to present a humble address to His Ex- 
 cellency, informing him that his message had been seriously 
 considered, that several resolutions had been passed, which 
 they conceived it to be their duty to submit to His Excel- 
 lency, and that it was the wish of the House that Pierre 
 Bedard, Esquire, Knight Representative for the County of 
 Surrey, might take his seat in the House. The vote in favor 
 of the resolutions was expressively large. There were 
 twenty-five members present, and twenty voted for the 
 resolutions. Messrs. Bourdages, Papineau, senior, Bellet, 
 
1811. 
 
 WHY MR. DEDARD WAS NOT LIBERATED. 
 
 159 
 
 ^vor 
 kere 
 the 
 bet. 
 
 Papineau, junior, Debartch, Viger, Lee, and Binineau, were 
 named a committee to present an address to the Governor, 
 founded on the resolutions, but they managed to escape that 
 honor. "When it was moved to resolve that an enquiry be 
 made as to the causes whicli had prevented the messengers 
 from presenting the address, as ordered by the House, Mr. 
 Papineau, senior, moved that nothing more should be said 
 about the address, and the motion was carried. Nor was 
 anything more said about the unfortunate gentleman who 
 was imprisoned, as the Governor himself afterwards stated, 
 only as a measure of precaution, not of punishment, until 
 the close of the session, when he was released. He was 
 kept in Ham because he might have done mischief, on the 
 principle that prevention is better than cure, and, when Mr. 
 Bedard desired to know what was expected of him, the Gov- 
 ernor sent for his brother, the cure, and authorized him to 
 tell Mr. Bedard that he had been confined by government, 
 " only looking to its securitj'- and the public tranquillity," 
 and that when Mr. Bedard expressed a sense of that error, of 
 which he was ignorant, he would be immediately enlarged, 
 Mr. Bedard replied courteously, but declined admitting any 
 error, which he had not made, or of confessing to any crime 
 of which he was not guilty. The Governor had heard of 
 the resolutions of the House, and expected the presentation 
 of the address embodying them, when he received an appli- 
 cation from the elder Papineau, one of the committee, re- 
 questing a private conference on the subject of the resolu- 
 tions. That conference only drew from His Excellency the 
 remark that : — " No consideration. Sir, shall induce me to 
 consent to the liberation of Mr. Bedard, at the instance of 
 the House of Assembly, either as a matter of right, or as a 
 favor, nor will I now consent to his being enlarged on any 
 terms during the sitting of the present session, and I will 
 not hesitate to inform you of the motives by which I have 
 been induced to come to this resolution. I know that the 
 general language of th« members, has encouraged the idea 
 which univereally prevails, that the House of Assembly will 
 
160 
 
 DISQUALIFICATION OF TIIE JUbOK.S. 
 
 1«U. 
 
 relourte Mr. Uodurd; an ulua ho Hnulv establiHhcd tlmt thero 
 is not a doubt eiitertainod upon it in tlie province. The time 
 is therefore come, wlicn I fool tlmt the Hocurity as well as the 
 dignity of the Kiui^'s ,i>-ovornment, imperiously require that 
 the people hIiouM bo made to uudorritand the true limits of 
 the rights of tlio respective parts of the govornmont, and 
 that it is not that of the House of Assembly to rule the 
 country." vVnd Mr. Bodard, sonsilde of luiving done no 
 wrong, remained in gaol uutil tlio I'arliament was prorogued, 
 as an exami)le to the people that there was no public opinion 
 worth hooding, in the i)rovincc, and that the power of the 
 Governor was somothiug superior to that of the Assembly. 
 The Assembly wont to work after having nnido the fruitless 
 attempt to liberate Mr. IJodard, and passed as many bills as 
 were required. The "gaols" bill was temporarily conti- 
 nued : the repairs of the Castle of St. Lewis having cost 
 X14,980, instead of .£7,000, as contomplated, the addi- 
 tional outlay was voted ; c£oO,000 were voted towards the 
 erection of suitable parliament l)uildings. The Alien Act 
 and that for the Preservation of the Government were con- 
 tinued, together with the Militia Act, to March 1813 ; the 
 bill to disqualify judges from being elected to the Assembly 
 passed both Houses, and to these the Governor assented, 
 proroguing the Parliament afterwards with great pleasnre. 
 Communication with Europe had been difficult during the 
 winter, on account of the impediments thrown in the way 
 of American commerce. The Princess Charlotte had died, 
 and the sovereign himself had become alarmingly indis- 
 posed. A now Act of non-intercourse had been passed in 
 
 the American Congress. 
 
 lie had seen among the Acts 
 
 passed, and to which lie had just declared His Majesty's as- 
 sent, with peculiar satisfaction, the Act disqualifying the 
 judges from holding a seat in the House of Assembly. It 
 was not only that he thought the measure right in itself, but 
 that he considered the passing of an Act for the pui'pose, as 
 a complete renunciation of the erroneous j^rinciple, the acting 
 upon which put him under the necessity of dissolving the 
 
1811. 
 
 UEPARTURK OF dlh JAMKS CRAlU. 
 
 1«1 
 
 t'the 
 ubly. 
 itlesH 
 Us as 
 ;oiiti- 
 cost 
 addi- 
 [a the 
 I Act 
 con- 
 the 
 ubly 
 ited, 
 isiire. 
 the 
 way 
 led, 
 idis- 
 diu 
 cts 
 s as- 
 the 
 It 
 but 
 , as 
 |ting 
 the 
 
 last parliainout. The country was becoming luxuriantly 
 rich, and he hoped that all would be harmony and tolerance. 
 He would be a proud man who could say to his sovereign that 
 he Ibuiul the Canadians divided and left them united. 
 
 On the I'Jth of June, 1811, Lieut. -General iSir James Craig 
 embarkcMl for lOngland, in 11. M. S. AnwUd. Previous to his 
 departure he received addresses from C^Licbec, Muntrefll, 
 Three Rivers, ^\'ar^viek, and Terrebonne, and when he was 
 about to leave the Chateau St. Louis, the British population, 
 who adnured the old General more perhaps than they did 
 the constitutioiuil i-uler, exhibited considerable feeling. The 
 multitude took the place of His Excellency's carriage horses 
 and popularly carrietl away, to the (Queen's wharf. His Ma- 
 jesty's representative. Nay, the old soldier, who really had 
 a heart, almost wept as he bade farewell to men, some of 
 whom he had first met with in the battle iield, and had since 
 known for nearly half a century. Sir James too was ill. 
 It was not indeed expected that he would have lived long 
 enough to reach England. His dropsy was becoming not 
 only troublesome but dangerous. "'^ 
 
 Sir James was succeeded in the administration of the gov- 
 ernment of Canada by Mr. Dunn. 
 
 The Canadians had, during the admiiustration of Gov- 
 ernor Craig, earnestly pursued Junius' advice to the English 
 nation. They had never, under the most trying circum- 
 stances, suffered any invasion of their political constitution 
 to pass by, witliout a determined and persevering resistance. 
 They practically exhibited their belief in the doctrine that, 
 one precedent creates another ; that precedents soon accu- 
 mulate and constitute law ; that what was yesterday fact- 
 becomes to-day doctrine ; that examples are supposed to jus- 
 tify the most dangerous measures, and that where they do 
 not suit exactly, the defect is supplied by analogy. They 
 felt confident that the laws which were to protect their civil 
 rights were to grow out of their constitution, and that with 
 
 * Sir James did reach England, but died short ly afterwards. He expired in 
 January 1812, ag'od 62. 
 
16J 
 
 MR. PEKL ON CANADIAN AFFAIR!?. 
 
 1811. 
 
 it the country was to fall or flourish. They believed in the 
 right of the people to choose their own representativea. 
 They were sensibly impressed with the idea that the liberty 
 of the press is the palladium of the civil, political, and reli- 
 gious rights of a British subject, and that the right of juries 
 to return a general verdict, in all eases whatsoever, is an es- 
 sential part of the British constitution, not to be controlled, 
 or limited, by the judges, nor in any shape to be questiona- 
 ble by the legislature. And they believed that the power of 
 the King, Lords, and Commons, was not an arbitrary power, 
 but one which they themselves could regulate. In a word, 
 they believed that, whatever form of government might be 
 necessary for the maintenance of order, and for putting all 
 men on an equality in the eye of the law, the people them- 
 selves were the source of all power, and they acted accord- 
 ingly. 
 
 Mr. Peel, (afterwards Sir Eobert Peel,) Under Secretary 
 of State, condemned the conduct of Sir James Craig, as 
 Governor of Canada. Mr. Ryland, himself, informed Sir 
 James, by letter, from London, whither he had been sent 
 with despatches, that when he observed to Mr. Peel that Sir 
 James Craig had all the English inhabitants with him, and, 
 consequently, all the commercial interest of the countrj^ 
 Mr. Peel remarked that the Canadians were much more nu- 
 merous, and he repeated the same remark more than once, 
 in a way that indicated a fear of doing anything that might 
 clash with the prejudices of the more numerous part of the 
 community. And when Mr. Ryland ventured to suggest 
 that the decided approbation of the Governor's conduct 
 could not fail to have a desirable effect on the minds of the 
 Canadians, and that the best way of expressing such appro- 
 bation, was by suspending the constitution, as Sir James 
 Craig had recommended, Mr. Peel thought that a reunion 
 of the provinces would be better than a suspension of the 
 constitution of Lower Canada. Lord Liverpool thought that 
 it was not very necessary to imprison the editors of the Ca- 
 nadien. He quietly asked if they could not have been 
 
1811. 
 
 MR. PKEL. — SIR VICARY GIBBS. 
 
 163 
 
 an 
 
 )pro- 
 imes 
 Inion 
 
 the 
 I that 
 
 Ca- 
 
 brought over to the government ? Mr. Ryland said that it 
 was not possible, that Mr. Bedard's motive for opposing the 
 government, was possibly to obtain office, but he had acted 
 in such a way as to make that impossible. At dinner with 
 the Earl of Liverpool, at Coombe Wood, Mr. Ryland seems 
 to have had a combing from Mr. Peel. He writes to Sir 
 James Craig that, in a conversation with Mi\ Peel, before 
 dinner, concerning the state of things in Canada, he was 
 mortiiied to tind that he Inid bi^ an imperfect idea of the 
 subject. IIo expressed himself as though he had thought 
 that Sir James Craig had dissolved the House of Assembly 
 on account of : !;eir having passed a bill for excluding the 
 judges. He endeavored to give Mr. Peel a clear and correct 
 conception of these matters, but God knew with what suc- 
 cess ! He recollected Governor Craig's advice, and kept his 
 temper, but it Avas really very provoking to see men of fine 
 endowments and excellent natural understanding, too inat- 
 tentive to make themselves masters of a very important 
 subject, which had been placed before them, in an intelligi- 
 ble manner. "VVlien Mr. Peel asked him if the English 
 members of the House were always with the government, 
 Mr. Ryland said that in every case of importance, with the 
 exception of Mr. James Stuart, formerly Solicitor-General, 
 the English members always supported the views of the 
 government. And, indeed, the Attorney-General of Eng- 
 land, Sir Vicary Gibbs, reported against the despotic in- 
 tentions of Sir James Craig, and, at the suggestion of his 
 secretary, further expressed his ofiicial opinion that the 
 paper published in the Omadien, and upon which the pro- 
 ceedings of the Executive Council of Canada had been 
 founded, was not such as to fix upon the publishers, the 
 charge of treasonable practices, and that it was only the ap- 
 prehensions that had been in Canada entertained, of the ef- 
 fects of the publication of the paper in the Canadien, that 
 might have made it excusable to resort to means, not strictly 
 justifiable in law, for suppressing anticipated mischief. The 
 truth was simply that a stupid old man, filled with the most 
 
164 
 
 LEaiSLATION IN UPPER CANADA. 
 
 1811. 
 
 11 ' 
 
 violent prejudices, against change of any sort, had been sent 
 to govern a new and rapidly rising country, and knew not 
 how success was to be obtained. His mind was full of con- 
 spiracies, rebellions, and revolutions, and nothing else. 
 When he retired to rest, and had drawn the curtains of his 
 bed, there sat upon him, night after night, three horrible 
 spectres : — the Rebellion in Ireland, the Reign of Terror in 
 France, and the American revolution. He slept only to 
 dream of foul conspiracies, and he was dreaming how they 
 best could be avoided, when in broad daylight he was most 
 awake. 
 
 Upper Canada had not yet become sufliciently populous 
 to require much legislation. Indeed, the legislature of that 
 province hardly transacted any business more important 
 than now devolves upon some insignificant county muni- 
 cipality. There was as yet no party. There were as yet 
 no grievances. Parliament was annually assembled by Gov- 
 erner Gore, rather because it was a rule to which he was 
 bound to attend, than because it was required He met his 
 parliament again, on the 1st of February, 1811, and business 
 having been rapidly transacted, the royal assent was given to 
 nine Acts, relative to the erection and repair of roads and 
 bridges, to the licensing of petty chapmen, to the payment 
 of parliamentary contingencies, to the regulation of duties, 
 to the further regulation of the proceedings of sheriffs, in 
 the sale of goods and chattels, taken bj- them in execution, 
 to assessments, to bills of exchange, and to the raising and 
 training of the militia. 
 
 On the 30th of Septembei', in the same year, Lieutenant- 
 Governor Francis Gore resigned the government into the 
 hands of Major-General, Sir Isaac Brocke, and returned to 
 England, Mr. Dunn, having, on the 14th of the same 
 month, been relieved of the governmeni of Lower Canada, 
 by Lieutenant-General Sir George Pi'evost, Baronet, the 
 Lieutenant-Governor of !N'ova Scotia, and now appointed 
 Governor General of British I^orth America, in considera- 
 tion as well of bis adniinistrative ability, a.s of hk distin- 
 
1811. 
 
 BROCKE — PREV08T — THE "LfTTLK BELT. 
 
 165 
 
 mt- 
 
 Ithe 
 
 to 
 
 ime 
 
 \dix, 
 
 the 
 
 ted 
 
 ira- 
 
 in- 
 
 gaislied reputation as an officer in the army. No sooner had 
 Sir Geonre arrived at Quebec, than he set out on a tour of 
 militarv observ^atioii. War was now more than ever immi- 
 nent. Another difficulty had occurred at sea. A British 
 sloop of war, the Ijittle Belt, had been fired into by the 
 American frigate, President, and, in the rencontre which fol- 
 lowed, had suffered greatly in her men and rigging. The 
 British Orders in Council had not been rescinded, American 
 commerce was crippled, the revenue w;is falling off, and there 
 was that general quarrckomencss of spirit which, sooner or 
 later, must be satisfied, pervading the middle Slates of the 
 American Union. Congress was asscixibled by proclama- 
 tion, on the oth of Xovember, and the President of the 
 United States indicated future events by a shadow in his 
 opening " Message." Mr. Madison found tliat he must 
 " add" that the period had arrived which claimed from the 
 legislative guardians of the national rights, a system of more 
 ample provision for maintaining them. There was full evi- 
 dence of the hostile inflexibility of Great Britain. She had 
 trampled on rights, which no independent nation could re- 
 linquish, and Congress would feel the duty of putting the 
 United f .fates into an armour and an attitude, demanded by 
 the crisis, and corresponding with the national spirit and 
 expectation. Congress did as they were recommended to 
 do. Bills were passed having reference to probable hostili- 
 ties, one of which authorized the President to raise, with as 
 little delay as possible, twenty-five thousand men. 
 In Canada every man held his breath for a time. 
 
166 
 
 HR GEORGE PREVOST. 
 
 1812. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 General Prevost was the very opposite of Sir James Craig. 
 While the latter considered force the only practical persua- 
 sive, the former looked upon persuasion as more practicable 
 than force. He was determined to bo conciliatory, to throw 
 aside unjust suspicions, to listen to no tales from interested 
 parties, to redress such grievances as existed, and to cretite no 
 new causes of discontent if he could avoid it. He was made 
 acquainted with all the steps that Lad been taken by his 
 predecessor, and he entered on thfe administration of the 
 government of Lower Canada, with a determination to pur- 
 ,sue a very opposite policy. A few Aveeks after his assump- 
 tion of office he remodelled, or rather recommended to the 
 Imperial ministry, the expediency of remodelling the Exe- 
 cutive Council. He caused seven new members to be added 
 to it, and he further oflended the officers of the principalities 
 or departments, by preferring to places of trust and emolu- 
 ment, some of the demagogues persecuted by Sir James 
 Craig. Sir George Prevost met the parliament on the 21st 
 of February, 1812. He congratulated the country on the 
 brilliant achievements of Wellington, in the deliverance of 
 I*ortugal and the rescue of Spain from France. Notwith- 
 standing the changes, so astonishing, which marked the age, 
 the inhabitants of Canada had witnessed but as remote 
 spectators the awful scenes which had desolated Europe. 
 
1812. 
 
 OPENING OP FAIILIAMENT. 
 
 167 
 
 AVhile Britain, built by nature against the contagious breath 
 of war, had had her pohtical existence involved in the fate 
 of neighboring nations, Canada had hitherto viewed without 
 alarm a distant storm. The storm Avas now approaching her. 
 The muttorings of the thunder were already within hearing. 
 All was gloomy, still, and lurid. It was necessary to be vi- 
 gilant. To preserve the province from the dangers of inva- 
 sion it would be necessaiy to renew those Acts which expe- 
 rience had proved essential for the preservation of His Ma- 
 jesty's government, and to hold the militia in readiness to 
 repel aggression. The renewal of the " Preservation Acts," 
 was not that wdiieh the Assembly very much desired. They 
 had had enough of such "Preservation" of government 
 Acts already. Tliey would much rather have been pre- 
 served from them than be preserved with them. On the 
 principle of self preservation, the Assembly would rather 
 be excused from continuing anj such Act as that which had 
 been so abused as to have afforded a licence for the impri- 
 sonment of three members of the Assembl}', on vague 
 charges, which the ingenuity of the publi'- prosecutor could 
 not reduce to particulars. Had it not been from a convic- 
 tion of the goodness of the new Governor, the Assembly 
 would not have renewed any such Act. Sir George regretted 
 that the Parliament had thought it uecesary to revert to any 
 of the proceedings of his predecessor, under one of the 
 "Preservation Acts," and he earnestly advised the gentle- 
 men of the House of Assembly to evince their zeal for the 
 public good, by confining their attention solely to the pre- 
 sent situation of affairs. But the House thought it due to 
 the good character of His Majesty's subjects that some mea- 
 sure should be adopted by the House, with the view of ac- 
 quainting His Majesty of the events which had taken 
 place under the administration of Sir James Craig, its late 
 Governor, together with the causes which such events had 
 originated, so that His Majesty might take such steps as 
 would prevent the recurrence of a similar administration, 
 an admmistration which tended to misrepresent the good 
 
168 
 
 EMBODIMENT OF THE MILITIA. 
 
 1812. 
 
 and faithful people of the province, and to deprive them of 
 the confidence and affection of His Majesty, and from feel- 
 ing the good effects of his government, in the ample man- 
 ner provided for by law. i^aj, this was not all. It was 
 moved that an enquiry be made into the state of the pro- 
 vince, under the administration of Sir James Craig, and into 
 the causes that gave rise to it, and the resolution was car- 
 rried, two members only voting against it. A committee 
 was appointed, but no report was made. The bill for the 
 better preservation of His Majesty's government, and the 
 Alien bill were both lost, not hy ill intention, but by awk- 
 ward management. But the loss of these bills was amply 
 compensated by the militia bill, authorizing the Governor to 
 embody two thousand young, unmarried men, for three 
 months in the year, who, in ease of invasion, were to be re- 
 tained in service for a whole year, when one-half of the em- 
 bodied would be relieved hx fresh 'drafts. In the event of 
 imminent danger, he was empowered to embody the whole 
 militia force of the countrv, but no militiaman was to be 
 enlisted into the regular forces. For drilling, training, and 
 other purposes of the militia service, d£12,000 were voted, 
 and a further sum of ^£30,000 was placed at the disposal of 
 the Governor-in- Chief, to be used in the event of a war 
 arising between Great Britain and the United States. 
 
 Sir George Prevost prorogued Parliament on the 19th of 
 May, well satisfied with the proofs which had been exhibited 
 to him, of the loyalty of the parliament and people of a 
 country so very shortly before represented to be ti'easonable, 
 seditious, disaffected, and thoroughly imbued with hatred to- 
 wards Great Britain, lie shortly afterwards re-instated, in 
 their respective ranks in the militia, such officers as had 
 been set aside by Sir James Craig, without just cause, and 
 indeed spared no exertion to make the people his friends, 
 welljudging that the offi(?e, or place men would, of necessity 
 be so. On the 28th of May, he le%'ied and organised four 
 battalions of embodied militia ; and a I'egiment of voltigeurs 
 was raised, the latter being placed under the command of 
 
1812. 
 
 DECLARATION OF WAR BY THE IMTliD tiTATfc:;3. 
 
 169 
 
 Major Do Salaberrv, a Frencli-Caiuulian, who had scn'ed in 
 the 60th regiment of toot. 
 
 There was need for this embodiment of troops. Already, 
 dating from the 3rd of April, the American Congress had 
 passed an Act haying an embargo for ninety days on all ves- 
 sels witldn the jurisdiction of the United States. The Pre- 
 sident, !Mr. Jefferson, had recommended the end)argo. He 
 liad long intended to gratify the lower appetites of the worst 
 class of the American people, who were now more nume- 
 rous than that respcctal)lo class of re])ubUcans of which that 
 great man, Washington, was himself the type. The measure 
 was preparatory to a war with Great Britain. And war was 
 very soon afterwards declared. On the 4tli of June, a bill 
 declarino' that war existed between Great Britain and the 
 United States passed the House of lieprescntatives by a majo- 
 rity of seventy-nine to forty-nine. The bill "was taken to the 
 Senate, and there it passed only by tliQ narrow majority of 
 six. The vote was nineteen voices in the ailii'mative and 
 thirteen in the negative. Mr. Jefferson assented to the bill 
 on the 18th of June. The grounds of war were setfoi'th in 
 a message of the President to Congress, on the 1st of June. 
 The impressment of American seamen by British naval offi- 
 cers ; the blockade of the ports of the enemies of Great 
 Britain, supported b}" no a(le(piate force, in consequence of 
 which American commerce had been i)lundered in every sea, 
 and the great staples of the country cut oif from their legi- 
 timate markets ; and on account of the British Orders in 
 Council. The Coiiimittee on Foreign relations believed that 
 the freeborn sons of America w^ere worthy to enjoy the 
 liberty which vheir fathers had ])urcliased at the price of 
 much blood and treasure. They saw by the measures adopt- 
 ed by Great BritaMi, a course commenced and persisted in, 
 which might lead to a loss of national character and inde- 
 pendence, and they felt no hesitation in advising resistance 
 by force, in which the Americans of that day would prove 
 to the enemy and tlie w^orld. that they had Jiot only inherited 
 that liberty which their fathers had given them, but had also 
 
170 
 
 TUli lllJXKY I' LOT. 
 
 1812. 
 
 I' . 
 
 I I 
 
 the will and the power to muintain It. They relied on the 
 patriotism of the nation, and confidently trusted that the 
 Lord of Hosts would <j;o down with the United States to 
 battle, in a righteous cause, and crown American efforts 
 with success. The committee recommended an immediate 
 appeal to arms. The confidential secretary of Sir James 
 Craig was not a little to blame for the terrible state of fer- 
 mentation into which the representatives ol* the sovereign 
 people of America had wrought tliemselves. AVitliout the 
 knowledge of tlie Imperial government, .Mr. Secretary Ey- 
 land had received the concurrence of Sir James Craig to a 
 scheme for the annexation of the iS'ew England States to 
 Canada. A young man named Henry, of Irish parentage, 
 and a captain in the militia of the American States ; had 
 come to Montreal wdtli the view of remaining in Canada. 
 He studied law and made considerable proficiency. Indeed, 
 he was a young man possessed of some talent and of great 
 assurance. And as there was anotlier suspicion haunting 
 the minds of Sir James Craig and of Mr. Secretary Ryland, 
 Mr. John Henry, late captain in the American service, and 
 now Barrister-at-law, was introduced to Governor Craig, as a 
 gentleman likely to inform the government of Canada, whe- 
 ther or not, the suspicions of the Governor and of the Gov- 
 ernor's Secretary, were correct, these suspicions being that 
 the jS'orth Eastern States of the American Republic desired 
 to form a political connection with Great Britain. Mr. 
 Henry appeared to be the very man for such a mission. He 
 was immediately employed as a spy, and went to Boston, 
 where he did endea\'our to ascertain the public mind, in 
 those places in which it is most frequently spoken. He lin- 
 gered about hotels and news rooms. He visited the parks 
 and the saloons. He went to church, or w^herever else in- 
 formation was to be obtained, and he sent his experiences 
 regularly to Mr. li^dand, who furnished him with instruc- 
 tions. But Captain Henry required to be paid for all this 
 trouble. He applied to Governor Craig to find that 
 excellent gentleman had no idea of their value. He then 
 
1812. 
 
 llENliy S TUEAOHERY. 
 
 171 
 
 ineinorializecl Lord Liverpoul, asking I'or hia ttervices only 
 the appointment of Judge Advocate ol' Lower Canada, to 
 which the Hahirv of iloOO a year was attached. The noblo 
 Lord, at the head of the government, knew nothing about 
 Captiiin ITenrv, and recommended him, if lie had any claim 
 upon Canada, to apply to Sir George Provost, the Governor 
 General. Captain Henry would do no such thing. He 
 Avent to the United States, and, for the sum of fifty thousand 
 dollars, gave up to the American government a very inte- 
 resting ' correspondence between tlio Secretary of the Gov- 
 ernor General of Canada, Mr. Uyland, and himself. Con- 
 gress was so transported witli rage, at the attempted annex- 
 ation, that a bill was brought into the Mouse of llepresenta- 
 tives, and seriously entertained, the object of which was to 
 declare every person a pirate, and punishable with death, 
 who, under a pretence of a commission from any foreign 
 power, should impress upon the high seas any native of the 
 United States ; and gave every such impressed seaman a 
 right to attach, in the hands of any British subject, or of 
 any debtor to any British subject, a sum equal to thirty dol- 
 lars a month, during the whole period of his detention.* 
 The federalist Americans w^ere somewhat favourably dis- 
 posed tow^ards England. The minority in the House of Re- 
 presentatives, among which Avere found the principal part of 
 the delegation from IIn'cw England, in an address to their 
 constituents, solemnly protested, on the ground that the 
 wrongs of which the United States complained, although in 
 some respects, grievous, were not of a nature, in the then 
 state of the world, to justify war, nor w^ere they such as war 
 would be likely to remedy. On the subject of impressment 
 they urged that the question between the two countries had 
 oncQ been honorably and satisfactorily settled, in the treaty 
 negotiated with the British Court by Messrs. Monroe and 
 Pinckney, and that although that treaty had not been rati- 
 fied by Mr. Jefferson, arrangements might probably again 
 
 Allison, page 656. 
 
172 
 
 TllU AMKKH'AN MINoUTTYS IIJAKS. 
 
 1812. 
 
 be made. In relation to tlie second eaiise of war — the bloek- 
 ado of her enemies' itorts, withont an ade(ituite force, the 
 minority replied that it was not desii^ned to injure the com- 
 merce of the United States, hut was retaliatory upon France, 
 which had taken the lead in aggressions upon neutral rights. 
 In addition it was said, that as the repeal of the French de- 
 crees had l)een ofKeially announced, it was to be expected 
 that a revocation of the Orders in Council wouhl follow. 
 The}'' could not refrain from asking what the United States 
 were to gain from war ? Would the gratification of some 
 privatcers-nien compensate the nation for that sweep of 
 American legitimate commerce, by the extended marine of 
 Great Britain, which the desperate act of declaring war in- 
 vited? Would Canada compensate the middle States for 
 !New York, or the A\^cstern Stiites for New Orleans? They 
 would not be deceived ! A war of invasion might invite a 
 retort of invasion. When Americans visited the peaceable, 
 and, to Americans, the innocent colonies of Great Britain, 
 with the horrors of war, could Americans be assured that 
 their own coast would not be visited with like horrors. At 
 such a crisis of the Avorld, and under impressions such as 
 these, the minority could not consider the war into which 
 the United States had, in secret, been precipitated, as neces- 
 sary, or required by any moral duty, or any political expe- 
 diency. The country'' was divided in opinion, respecting 
 either the propriety or the expediency of tlio war. The 
 friends of the administration wore universally in favor of it. 
 That there ^v'as no just cause for a declaration of war on 
 the part of the United States, it may be sufficient to state that 
 the news of the repeal of the obnoxious Order in Council, 
 reached the United States before England was aware of the 
 declaration of war. But the American government wanted 
 a war a-s an excuse for a iillibustering expedition to Canada, 
 which v,'a8 to be peaceably separated from Great Britain, 
 and quietly annexed to the United States. Then existing 
 difFerencGs would have been speedily patched up to the 
 satisfaction oi' all parties, the Lower Canadians being, in 
 
1812. 
 
 UNITED STATES UNPREPARED FOR WAR. 
 
 17J] 
 
 the langnatfo of Sir Jamon Crniii;, tirasonaUU'. so(litioiis, and 
 attaeliod to tlio ooniitry with wliicli tho I'liitiMl States wns in 
 allmnco, Fnuicc. Tlio UiiitiMl Stati's worn not prepared for 
 war. Wliiki Groat Ih-itaiii iiad a linndred yail of the line in 
 commission, and a tliousand sliips of warl)ore tiio royal tia<i', 
 the Americans liad only four friifates and eiiflit sloops in 
 commission, and their whole naval force atloat in ordinary, 
 and building for the Ocean and the Canadian Lakes, was 
 eight fri_i:;ates and twelve sloops, '^^flieir inilitary force only 
 amounted to twentv-tive thousand men, to he eidisted for 
 tlie most part, hut the l*resident was authorised to call out 
 one hundred thousand militia, for the ])urpose of defending 
 the sea coast and tlic Canadian frontiers. The greatest 
 want of all was proper otliccrs. The ahlest of the revolu- 
 tionary heroes luid jndd the delit of natni-e, and there was 
 no military officer to whom fame could point as the man 
 fitted for comnuuuL With means so lamcntahly inconsi- 
 derable had America declared war against a country whose 
 arms were sweeping from the Spanish I'cninsula the disci- 
 plined and veteran troops of France. It was marvellous 
 audacitv. And it was a marvellous mistake. Canada, it is 
 true, had only 5,454 men of all arms, who could be account- 
 ed soldiers, 445 artillery, 3,783 infantry of the line, and 
 1,226 fenciblcs. She had only one or two armed brigs and 
 a few gun-boats on the lakes, but the Upper Canadians were 
 not prepared to excliange their dependency on Great Britain 
 for the paltry consideration of being erected into a territory 
 of the United States, and the Superintendent of the Church 
 of Rome, in Lower Canada, hardly thought it possible that 
 a new conquest of Canada would make her peculiar insti- 
 tutions more secure than they were. The militia of both 
 sections of Canada were loyal. They felt that they could, 
 as their enemies had done before, at least defend their own 
 firesides. There was no sympathy with the American cha-^ 
 racter, nor any regard for American institutions then. 
 Those feelings were to be brought about by that commercial 
 selfishness which time was to develop. 
 
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174 
 
 THE FEELING IN CANADA. 
 
 1812. 
 
 The doc'luralioii of war l»y the ruited States was only 
 known in Qiicboo on the -,4th of Jnne. A notitication was 
 ininiediatolv <!:iv«'n bv the itolice authorities to all Auiorican 
 citizens then in C/unuda, ro(inii'ini^ tlieni to leave the pro- 
 vince on or before the third of duly. liut Sir Georu:e Pre- 
 vo.st afterwards extended the time to fourteen davs lonu'er, 
 to suiter American merchants to conclude their business ar- 
 rano'cmcnts. J'ruclainati<»ns were issued, imposini:; an em- 
 bariro on the shi[iping in the port of (iuel)ee, and calliniLi; the 
 legislature together, for the despatch of business. I'arlia- 
 ment met on the l<Jth of duly. The Goveruor-in-Cliief an- 
 nounced tlie declaration of war, expressed his reliance upon 
 the spirit, the determination, the loyalty and the zeal of the 
 country. W^ith the aid of the militia, His Majesty's regular 
 troops, few in nundjer, as they were, would yet gallantly 
 repel any hostile attempt that might be nuulc upon the co- 
 lony. It was witli concern tluit he saw tlie expense to which 
 the organization and drilling of the militia would put the 
 province. But battles must be fought, campaigning had to 
 be endured, and true and lasting liberty was cheap at any 
 cost of life or treasure. The reply was all that could be de- 
 sired. While the House deplored the hostile declaration 
 that had been made against Great Britain, and seemed to 
 shrink from the miseries which war entails, they assured the 
 Governor that threats w^onld not intimidate, nor persuasions 
 allure them from their dnty to their God, to their countiy, 
 and to their king. They were convinced that the Canadian 
 militia would fight with spirit and determination, against 
 the enemy, and would, with the aid of the tried soldiers of 
 the king, sternly defend the province against any hostile 
 attack. As far as spirit went there was no deficiency, but 
 Canada was worse olt' for money than the United States was 
 for soldiery. There were forty thousand militia about to 
 rise in arms, but where was the money to come from neces- 
 sary to keep them moving? Congress intended to raise an 
 immediate loan of ten millions of dollars. Tt was essential 
 Canada should immediately replenish her exchequer, as 
 
IHIli. 
 
 ARMY niM.S — PUOHOUATION uT I' \ 111,1AM CNT. 
 
 175 
 
 thof'O not boinix tlio rliiys of stoiiTnslii[ts, fiiiuls IVom Kiirlniul 
 conVl not bo poon olit.-iinod. Sir (TOora:o l'i'C'\os} rcsohrd to 
 issue armv bill;^. nnvnble citlicr iji cfisli, (^r in ^ovcrnnuiU 
 bills of oxcbancro, on liondon. The House ot" AsscmMv a>->- 
 sontod to tlie cireidation of iiny hills, niid uranlid fiftcon 
 thousand pounds uninudlv for fivo vcnrs, to \K\y tlw intei-ost 
 that would nccruo iijion llu'Ui. P.ills to llm vidiic of iwo 
 hundred and liftv tlious:ind wi'iv authorised to be put in cir- 
 culation ; thev were to bo received in t!i(> jcivnieiit of du- 
 ties; tlioy were to be a le'i;al tcMidor in l!ie niiirket ; and they 
 were to be rcdooniod at tlu* army bill oHirc, in n\\y way, 
 whether in cash or bills, the Governor-in-(1iief niiulit si^•nif\•. 
 Nothinir could have boon more satisfacloi-v to Sir (iooru'o 
 Prevost. Ife jiroroo-uod the Tarlianiont on the Isiof Au- 
 gust, with every expression of satisfaction. And well ho 
 might be satisfied. The men who were, acoording to the 
 representations of liis predecessor, not at all to be depended 
 upon, in a ease of emergency, had most readily, liberally, 
 and loyally, met the demands of the public service. The 
 men who feared martial law, and could not tolerate tlie 
 withholding of the Habeas Corpus, came forwjird nobly to 
 defend from outward attack the dominions of their king. 
 The whole province was bursting with warlike zeal. A 
 military epidemic seized old and young, carrying oft' the 
 latter in extraordinary numbers. Montreal, (iuebee, an<l 
 even Kingston and Toronto teemed with men in uniform 
 and in arms. The regular toops were moved to Montreal, 
 and Quebec was garrisoned by the militia. At Montreal, 
 even the militia turned out for garrison duty. And on the 
 6th of August, the whole militia were commanded to hold 
 themselves in readiness for embodiment. A little of the 
 zeal now began to ooze out. There never yet was a rule 
 without an exception. In the Parish of Ste. Claire, some 
 young men, who had been dratted into the embodied militia, 
 refused to join their battalion. Of these, four were appre- 
 hended, but one was rescued, and it was determined by the 
 ftble-bodied mon of Pointe Claim to liberate such others of 
 
17(i 
 
 THE bTE. CLAIRE RIOT. 
 
 1812. 
 
 their iVuMids a> lia«l alroady joiiiod tlic depot of tlie enibo- 
 ilied luililia at Laiirairie. Ae<'onliiH''Iv, on tlio tollowinff 
 day, some tliiVL- or four liuiidred persons assenddcd at La- 
 cljine. Tliey luid not as.seniblod to pass a series of resolu- 
 tions censurinir the i^^uvernnient for illcii'ally and watitonly 
 (tarrviny oW some of the best men of the Parish of Pointe 
 Chiirr, nor did they Oxpress any o]iinion favorable to Mr. 
 Madison and the Amerieans, but they had assembled to 
 obtain, by foivi-, the liberty of thi;ir friends about to be sub- 
 jected to military diseipline. it srcnu'd to have been a mis- 
 understandiiiir, however. Tlu' infuriated ])arishioners of 
 Pointe Claire, who woidd not be comforted, on being ap- 
 pealed to, to go to their homes, fre([uently raised the cry of 
 "Vive le Roi." It might be supposed tliat the 8te. Clairo 
 people meant to wish a long and happy reign to lli.s Impe- 
 rial Majesty Xai>oleon, as Mr. liyland .shrewdly suspected. 
 But that 8np[)Osition was not entertain[d>le for any consi- 
 derable length of time, inasmuch as the people without any 
 prompting intimated that they had been informed that the 
 militia law had not been i)ut into force, but that if the Gov- 
 ernor should call for their services they were ready to obey 
 him. The magistrates assured the ]ieople that the militia 
 law was really to be enforced, and advised them to disperse. 
 They refused to budge. Two pieces of artillery and a com- 
 pany of the 41>th regiment, which had been sent for, to 
 Montreal, now appeared at Lachino. Still the mob would 
 not disperse. Accordingly, the Riot Act was read, and the 
 artillery tired a ball high over the heads of the stubborn 
 crowd, whicli, of course, whizzing harmlessly along, pro- 
 duced no effect upon the crowd, except that the eightj^ who 
 were armed with fusils and fowling }»iecc.s, somewhat smart- 
 ly returned the compliment, proving to the satisfaction of 
 the soldiers the possession of highly military qualities, in a 
 quarter where it was least expected. In reply, the troops 
 fired grape and small arms, but without any intention of 
 doing mischief. The rioters again fired at the troops, but 
 not the slightest harm resulted to the troops. Ft was a kind 
 
1812. 
 
 THK COMMKNCKMENT OF IJOSTIMTIKS. 
 
 17 
 
 of Hhani battle. The military authorities began, liowever, 
 to tire of it, and the mob was tired into, when one man 
 having been killed, and another having been dangerously 
 wounded, the mutineers dispersed, leaving some of the most 
 daring among them, to keep np a straggling tire from the 
 bushes ! The military made thirteen prisoners and, as night 
 was setting in, left for Montreal. Next day, four hundred 
 and fifty of the Montreal militia marched to Pointe Claire, 
 and from thence to St. Laurent, which is situated in the rear 
 of the Island of Montreal. There, they captured twenty- 
 four of the culprits, and brought them to head quarters. 
 Thus, there were thirty-seven rebels, prisoners in Montreal, 
 when the United States had declared war against Britain, 
 and the first blood shed, in consequence of the declaration 
 of war in Canada, by the troops, was, unfortunately, that of 
 Canadians. But the Pointe Claire habitants bitterly repent- 
 ed the resistance which they had mnde to the militia law, 
 and many of them came to Montreal, craving the forgive- 
 ness of the Governor, which they readily obtained. The 
 ringleaders alone were punished. 
 
 Hostilities were commenced in Upper Canada. No sooner 
 had General Brocke learned that war was proclaimed, than 
 he conceived a project of attack. He did not mean to pe- 
 netrate into the enemy's country, but for the better protec- 
 tion of his own, to secure the enemy's outposts. On the 
 26th of June, he sent orders to Captain Roberts, who was at 
 St. Joseph's, a small post, or block house, situated on an 
 island in Lake Huron, maintained by thirty soldiers of the 
 line and two artillerymen, in charge of a serjeant of that 
 corps, under the command of tlie gallant captain, to attack 
 Michillimackinac, an American fort defended by seventy- 
 five men, also under the command of a captain. He was 
 further instructed to retreat upon Ht, Mary's, one of the 
 trading posts belonging to the North West Fur Company, 
 in the event of St. Joseph's being attacked by the Ameri- 
 cans. General Brooke's instructions reached Captain Ro- 
 berta on the eighth of July, and he lost no time in carrying 
 
 V 
 
OF' 
 
 178 
 
 SIHKENUEU OF MlClIILLIM.U.KI.'At . 
 
 ISlii. 
 
 the first part ot* them into cxoeutioii. Coninmnicuting the 
 design, the execution of wliioli ho liml 1)Oom ontru.sted witli, 
 to Mr. Potiiier, in cliiirge of thi^ Conipany'H Post, at St. 
 Joseph's, that gentk'man patriotically tendered liis servicet^. 
 Mr. Pothior, attended by idumt a linncbvd and sixly voya- 
 geurs, the greater part of wliom wi-rc armed with iniiskt't.s 
 and fowling pieces, Joined Cajjtain lioberts with Ins detach- 
 ment of tliree artiUerynien and tliirty soldiers of tlie line, 
 and in a flotilla of boats and canoes, accompanied by the 
 Xorth West Company's brig Oila/oih'n, hulen with stores 
 and provisions, a descent was made upon Micbillimackinac. 
 They arrived at the enemy's fort, without having met with 
 the slightest opposition, and summoned it to surrender. 
 The officer in command of the .\merican fort at once com- 
 plied. He had indeed received no certain infornuition that 
 war had been declared. Very shortly afterwards two ves- 
 sels, laden with furs, came into the harbour, ignorant of the 
 capture of the fort, and were taken jtossession of, though 
 subsequently restored to their proprietors, by Major-General 
 DeKottenburgh, the President of the Board of Claims. 
 Unimportant as this achievement was, it yet had the eflect 
 of establishing confidence in Upper Canada. It had an ex- 
 cellent effect upon the Indian tribes, with whose aid the 
 struggle with the Americans, was afterwards efficiently 
 maintained. 
 
 Upon the declaration of war, the govco-nment of the 
 United States despatched as sl^ilful anoflicer, as they had, to 
 arm the American vessels on Lake Erie, and on Ijake On- 
 tario, with the view of gaining, if possible, the ascendancy 
 on those great inland waters, wliich separate a great por- 
 tion of Canada from the United States. The American 
 army was distributed in three divisions : — one under Gene- 
 ral Harrison, called '* The North Western Army," a second 
 under General Stephen Van Rensellaer, at Lewiston, called 
 " The Army of the Centre," and a third under the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief, General Dearborn, in the neighbourhood 
 of Plattshurgh and Greenhnsh. As yet the armies had not 
 
1812. 
 
 0I;N. ml 1,1. — IMlUCLAMATluNS — A MIIlM'.STia'UOM. 
 
 171^ 
 
 the 
 d,to 
 lOn- 
 nicy 
 ipoi'- 
 icaii 
 lene- 
 lond 
 
 lied 
 lom- 
 lood 
 
 not 
 
 been put in motion, but on tlie l'2lli of July, (icnoral Hull, 
 the Governor of Mitlii^iuii, anIio liml been uont, a( iho head 
 of two tliousand live liiindivtl men. ri> ])t'troit, with the 
 view of [Hitting an en<l U* the liostiIili<'S of the Indian!^ in 
 that scM.'tion of the (.'f)untrv, cros.st-d to Si'.iiduicli. t.'rtahli>;hed 
 his head-nuartcrs thcit'. and issiu'd a prochiniation to tlie 
 inhabitants of Canada, lb- cxpivs^o*! the most «Mitire con- 
 fifK^iice of succ-i'ss. Tlie standard of union, ho aUegetl, 
 waved over the tei'ritorv ol' ("anathi. lie tendered the inval- 
 uaide blessinu:s (»f liberty, ei\il, politieal, and religious, to 
 an op[»ressed [leople, separated from, and havini;' no shai'e 
 in the Couneils of Ihiiain, or interests in in-r eonduet. And 
 he threatened a war >f extermination if the Indians were 
 employed in resisting the invasion. 
 
 General Broeke met the TarHament of ('p[)i'r (lunula, at 
 York, on the 28th of the same month, and issued a procla- 
 mation to the people, in wliieh he ridiculed General Ilnll's 
 fears of the Indians. lie then despatched Colonel Proctor 
 to assume the eonimand at Andicrstburgh, from Fort St. 
 George. 
 
 So contident was the Anierii-an General of sueeess that, 
 as yet, he hud not a single cannon or mortar mounted, and 
 he did not consider it expedient to attempt to carry Amherst- 
 burii'h, which was onlv situated ei^-hteen miles below, by 
 assault. But, as his situation, at ISandwich, became more 
 and more precarious, he, at length, did resolve upon attack- 
 ing Amherstburgh, if he couhl get there, lie sent detach- 
 ment after detachment, to cross the Canard, the rivei- on 
 which Amherstburgh stands. The Americans attempted 
 thrice to cross the bridge, situated three miles above Am- 
 herstburgh, in vain. Some of the 41st regiment and a tew 
 Indians drove them back as often as they tried it. Another 
 rush was nuide a little higher up. l>nt the attempt to ford 
 the stream was as unsucce.sslul as the attemjits to cross the 
 bridge. iN'eai' the ford, some of tliose Indians, so mu'.-h 
 dreaded by General Hull, lay concealed in the grass. Not a 
 blade stirred until the wholo of the Amerieans were well in 
 
180 
 
 OPPKN.<?IVE OPEHATIONS BY TIIK RHITISH. 
 
 1812. 
 
 the fitream, and some had gained Xhc hank, on the Canadian 
 side, when eighteen or twenty of the red <*liil(b'en of the 
 forest, sprang to tlieir feet, and gave a yell, ho liideouH, that 
 the Americans, stricken with panic, tied with almost Indi- 
 croiis precipitancy. tSo terror-striitkeii, indeed, were the 
 valiant host, that they left arms, accoutrements, and havre- 
 sacks, hehind them. No further attempt was made hy Ge- 
 neral Hull, on Amherstburgh. It would have heen cap- 
 tured with great difficulty, if it could have been ca])tured at 
 all. At the mouth of the river Canard, a small tributary of 
 the Detroit, the Queen Charlotte, a sloop of war, armed with 
 eighteen twenty-four i)ounders, lay at anchor, watching everj- 
 mancEuvre. 
 
 On the 3rd of July, Lieutenant Koletto, commanding the 
 armed brig Hunter, nt ten o'clock in the forenoon, succeeded 
 in capturing the Oii/ucja i)acket, bound from the Miami 
 river to Detroit, with troops, and laden with the baggage 
 and hospital stores of the American army. He made a dash 
 at the Cayuga in \\i& barge, and, with only six men, secured 
 her. 
 
 Colonel Proctor now assumed the offensive. He sent 
 Captain Tallon, on the 5th of August, with an inconsidera- 
 ble detachment of the 41st regiment, and a few of the many 
 Indians, who were flocking to his standard, to Brownstown, 
 a village opposite Amherstburgh. Captain Tallon energeti- 
 cally carried out his instructions, by surprising and routing 
 more than two hundred of the Americans, who were under 
 the command of Major Vanhorne. The captured detach- 
 ment were on their way from Detroit to the river Raisin, in 
 the expectation of meeting there a detachment of volun- 
 teers, from Ohio, under Captain Burr, with a convoy of pro- 
 visions for the army. General Hull's despatches fell into 
 the hands of the captors. The deplorable state of the Ame- 
 rican army was disclosed, and, without loss of time, Colonel 
 Proctor sent over a reinforcement, consisting of one hun- 
 dred men, of the 41st regiment, with some militia and four 
 hundred Indians, under the command of Major Muir, their 
 
1812. 
 
 TUt; BATTl.K OK AlAUlAao. 
 
 181 
 
 landing being protoctcd by the brig Himkr. Nor were the 
 Anierica!i (Jeneral's nti.stbrtunes yet to be ameliorated. 
 While these tliingH were taking place, a despatch reached 
 him from the officer comman<ling the Niagara frontier, inti- 
 mating that his expooted co-operation was impossible. On 
 eveiy side, Geuenil Hull was being henmied in. Uis sup- 
 plies had been cut off. Defeat had befallen him so far and 
 death, sickness, fatigue and diseomliture had its depressing 
 effect nj^on his soldiery. There was no insurrection in Ca- 
 nada. The people of the backwoods had not the slightest 
 desire to be territorially annexed to that country over which 
 the standanl of union had waved for thirty years. On the 
 contrary, they were bent upon doing it as much mischief 
 as possible. They had no idea of transferring their allegi- 
 ance to a power who had visited them with the miseries of 
 war, for no fault of theirs. Hull was dismayed. When it 
 was announced that General Brocke was advancing against 
 him, he sounded a retreat. Unwilling that his fears should 
 be communicated to the troops under him, General Hull 
 retreated ostensibly with the view of concentrating the 
 army. After he had re-opened his communications with the 
 rivers Raisin and Miami, through which the whole of his 
 supplies came, he was to resume offensive operations. 
 That time never came. On the 8th of August, Sandwich 
 was evacuated. Two hundred and fifty men only were left 
 behind, in charge of a small fortress, a little below Detroit. 
 When again in Detroit, General IIull sent six hundred men 
 under Colonel Miller, to dislodge the British from Browns- 
 ton. Major Muir, who commanded at Brownston, instead 
 of waiting for the attack, quixotically went out to meet his 
 adversaries. The two opposing detachments met at Ma- 
 guago, a kind of half way place, where a fight began. It 
 was of short duration, but, considering the numbers engaged, 
 was sanguinary. Seventy-five of the Americans fell, and 
 the British were compelled, though with inconsiderable loss, 
 to retreat. On the water as on the land, the chief mischief 
 fell upon the Americans. Lieutenant Rolette, with the 
 
182 
 
 HO.MHAUD.MIINT OF UHTKOIT. 
 
 1812. 
 
 boats* o;' i.K' Q>hc/i (.'harlnttc n\\(\ Hunter, iiitt'ivoptud, iMtaek- 
 0(1, and o;:n| iiivd olovoii Ainoricaii hattoaux and boats, wliioli 
 wore ill I'i'iil,' lor Detroit, nndor tlio escort of two linndred 
 and lit'iy Aiucrican soldiers, nnircliinc: idonif the shore, the 
 hoals and batieaiix havinn- un board iillv-six wounded Ame- 
 ricans and two Knglisli prisoners. 
 
 Generid Broeke. who hiid proroo-ued liis Parliament, now 
 appeared at the scat of war. Jl(; had eollocted together a 
 foive ul' seven Imndred oi" British regulars and militia and 
 six hnndred auxiliary Indians. And Ije verv eoollv deter- 
 mined upon obtaining the surrender of Jlis Kxeelleney, Ge- 
 neral Hull, and his wliole force. Knowing from liis absurd 
 proelamntion, how much in dread he stood of the Indians, 
 General Broeke intiniated that if an attack were nnule, the 
 Indians would be bevond liis eontrol ; that if Detroit were 
 instantly suri'enderod. he wonM enter into conditions .such as 
 would satisfy the most scru})nlous sense of honor; and that 
 he had sent Lieutenant-Colonel McDonnell and Maior Glejrff 
 with full authority to conclude any arraiii^ement that HMght 
 prevent the unnecessary etfusion of blood. General Hull 
 replied very courteously in the negative. Captain Dixon, of 
 the Royal Juigineers, had thrown up a battery in Sandwich, 
 on the very ground so recently occupied by the Americans, 
 to act upon Detroit. In this battery there were two five 
 and a half inch mortars, and one eiii-hteen and two twelve 
 pounder guns, and it was manned by sailors under the com- 
 mand of Captain Hull. For upwards of an hour the can- 
 nonade was terrific, the fire of the enemy being very feebly 
 maintained, from two twenty-four pounders. On the morn- 
 ing of the eighteenth, the cannonade recommenced, and 
 General Broeke crossed the river with liis little army, unop- 
 posed, at the Spring "Wells, three miles below Detroit, the 
 landing being effected under cover of the guns of the Queen 
 Charlotte and Hunter. General Broeke formed his troops 
 upon the beach, into four deep, and flanked bj' the Indians, 
 advanced for about a mile, when he formed this miniature 
 army into line, with its right resting on the river Detroit, 
 
1812. 
 
 slkhi:m)KU ot ulnkuai. hull. 
 
 188 
 
 ■trO 
 
 op- 
 the 
 
 ;ui<l tlio lot't K\ij)[tortc'(l by tljc Ill(lilm^^. llo then niudo pre- 
 parations tor assault, and was al)oiit to attack, when to the 
 snrpri.so as nniru, it is said, ot' the American as of the Bri- 
 tisii rci::inu'nts. a ilau' of triicc was (ii.-phiycd upon tlu" walls 
 ol' the lort. an<l a niessenuvr Wiis seen a])i>ri)achini::. It wua 
 an intimation thai ( Ji'iici-a.! ll'ill would capitulate. Lieute- 
 nant-Colonel Mc1><iniii'll and Nhijor (lleiru" were accordin.uily 
 sent over to the Aiiieviean (ioneral'N tent where, in ti tew 
 minutes, the terms ol' ca])itidatii>n were signed, sealed, and 
 delivered in duplicate, one eo(ty lor the inibrmation of His 
 Britannic Majesty, and tiie other for that of Mr. I'residcnt 
 Madison, ilie clitef of the authors of the war. To Mr. Ma- 
 dison, the inibrmation that ( Jeiu'ral Hull had capitulated to 
 the Goxcnior of Tjipcr Canada, with two thousand iive 
 hundred men. and rhirty-three pieces of cannon, and that, 
 in conse<|Uenee, the whole territory of Michiij-an liad been 
 ceded to Creat Britain, could oidy liave l)een as disaii'reea- 
 ble as it \v:is animatimj; to the people of Canada. >So entirely 
 indeed weiv the Americans un[>repared for a blow of such 
 extraordinary severity, that no one could be bron<'lit to be- 
 lieve in it. Tt seemed an impossible circumstance. It was 
 felt to be a delusion. It 8eemed.as if some one had j)ractised 
 a terrible hoax njjon the nation. Until officially made 
 known to the sovereign people, tlie disaster was looked 
 upon as a lying rumour of the enemy. Another Henry had 
 been at work, tampering with the New Kngland States, or 
 the federalist minority liad set it afloat. True it could not 
 be. It was indeed something to excite surpi'ise. The trophy 
 of a British force, consisting of no more than seven hundred 
 men, including militia, and six hundred Indians was the 
 cession of a territory and the surrender of a General-in- 
 Chief, a strong fort, the armed brig John Adams, and the 
 two thousand five hundred men, who were designed not 
 to defend their country only, but to wrest Upper Canada 
 from the Crown of Great Britain. To General Hull's fears 
 of the savage ferocity of the Indians, this bloodless victory 
 must, to some extent, hoAvevcr trifling, ho attributerl. Go- 
 
t«4 
 
 HULL IN MUNTKUAI. — IMS KXCISI-;. 
 
 1812. 
 
 iiemi Mull UU8 cvidtMitly HUpcrrttitiously alVuid ol' uu Indian. 
 While ankin^ tiic inhabitiints of Upper Canada to come to 
 him for protoction, ho could not lu?Ii> cntruuting, as it were, 
 protection for himself auaiiiHt the Indians, [f you will not 
 accept my otfcr, the (tcncral HPciucd to Hay, either remain at 
 home or croMs hayoni'ts with American Holdicrs, but turn 
 into the field one of the scalpinj; savages of your forests, 
 and wo shall kill, burn and destroy, everything that comes 
 before iis. With bin recfular troopn, the unfortunate man, 
 was sent a prinonor to Montreal. He was led into that city, 
 at the head of his officers and men, and was at once an ob- 
 ject of pity and derision. But the Commander.in-Chief re- 
 ceived his [irinoner with the courtesy of a gentleman, and 
 with every honor due to his rank. Nay, he even suffered 
 him to retiirn to the United States on parole, without soli- 
 citation. 
 
 In his official despatch, to the American government, 
 Hull took [tains to free his conduct from censure. His rea- 
 sons for siirrender, were the want of provisions to maintain 
 the siege, the expected reinforcements of the enemy, and 
 *' the savage ferocity of the Indians," should he ultimately 
 be compelled to capitulate. But the federal government so 
 far from being satisfied with these excuses, ordeied a Court 
 Martial to assemble, before which General Hull was tried, 
 on the charges of treason, cowardice, and un-officerlike con- 
 duct. On the last charge only was he found guilty and sen- 
 tenced to death. The Court, nevertheless, strongly recom- 
 mended him to mercy. He was an old man, and one who, 
 in other times, had done the State some service. He had 
 served honorably during the revolutionary war. The sen- 
 tence of death was accordingly remitted by the President, 
 but his name was struck off the army list, and this repub- 
 lican hero, who had forgotten the art of war, went in his 
 old age, broken-hearted and disgraced, to a living grave, 
 with a worm in his vitals, gnawing and torturing him, more 
 terribly than thousands of Indians, practising the most un- 
 heard of cruelties could have done, until death, so long de- 
 nied, came to him. naturally, as a relief. 
 
1812. r«LUHKNUKU Ol- H. M. 6. " UL KUHII-KK"— TIIK FKIIIT. 186 
 
 The ciivuiiistaiic't' is not a liltU; riirioiirt that only tlirtie 
 days aflor CUmictuI Hull liii<l HunvmliTtMl to Uoveruor Brocke, 
 Cai»tjiin DacivH, loimiiaiHrm;^; li. M. S. GmrrUhr., laul aur- 
 reudored to ('ai»liiiii Isaac Hull, after a luoHt severe action 
 with the Aiiierican liiirate ConstiUitlim. The Con,slitution was 
 most heavily armed tor a vessel of tliat ])eriod. On her 
 main deek she carried no less than HO twenty-four poundera, 
 wiiile OH her n|)|ier deck she liad '24 thirty-two pounders, 
 and two eiijliteens. hi addition to this, for a frigate, un- 
 usually iieuvy arnianient, there was u piece mounted, under 
 her capstan, resenihlinif seven musket harrels, fixed together 
 with iron han<ls, the odd cone ri heiug discharged by u 
 lock — each barrel threw twenty-live balls, within u few 
 seconds of each other, making 1 1-*) from tlu' piece within 
 two minutes. Ai\d she was 11 nninned. Her crew con- 
 sisted of 470 men. The (tUiirierc iountod only 40 carriage 
 guns, mid was manned by only -44 men, and 19 boys. On 
 the 19th of August, the look-out of the (jucrriere noticed a 
 sail on the weather beam. The ship was iii latitude 40®., 
 20 N., and in longitiule 55 ^ . VV., and was steering under a 
 moderate breeze on the starboard tack. The strange sail 
 seemed to be l^earing down upon the Guenierc^ and it was 
 not long before the discovery was made that the stranger 
 was a man-of-war, of great size and largely masted. Her sail- 
 ing (pialities, under the circumstances, were considerably su- 
 perior to those of the Gucnierc, and it became consequently 
 necessary to prepare for an action, which it was impossible 
 to avoid. At three o'clock, in the afternoon, Captain Da- 
 cres, the commander of the British frigate, beat to quarters. 
 An hour later and the enemy was close at hand. She 
 seemed to stand across the Guerriere's bows and Captain 
 Dacres wore ship to avoid a raking fire. No sooner had this 
 manoeuvre been executed than the Guerriere ran up her 
 colours and tired several shots at her opponent, but they fell 
 short. The stranger soon followed the example set to him, 
 and, hoisting American colours, fired in return. Captain 
 Dacres now fully aware of the size, armament and t>ailing 
 
18G 
 
 THL ••OLhilUIKRli A WKLCK. 
 
 18 IL'. 
 
 powers of his Opponent, wore rejieatcdly, broadsides being 
 as repeatedly cxclKUiged. AVhile botli sliips were keeping 
 up a heavy lire, and steerin^L? free, ilia ConsiliiHuni, at iiyO 
 o'clock, closed on tiie Gucrrierc'.s starboard l)eaiu, when the 
 battle raired funouslv. Twoilv minutes had hardlv elapsed 
 when the nii;':("ii must of ilic (JiUri-icyiWHi-, shot away, bi'ing- 
 ing the ship ii[» into the wind, :ind tiie carnage on boan' 
 became toi-ritic The Cvii8ti1>ii'«>iU during tiie confusion, 
 caused bv the loss of the (hii'rrirrcn mast, was laid across 
 the Britif^h frigate's bow, and wliile one ov two of the bow 
 guns of the (7"<'r/vV/"<'('onld only l)e brought io beiir upon the 
 Conslifxf'i'ii, lliat vessel scoured the docks of the J3ritish 
 ship, v.ith a stream of ruetal. " At live minutes before six 
 o'clock, says Captidn Hull, when within half pistol shot, we 
 commenced a heavv fire fi'om all t)ur i;uns, double shotted 
 with round and graite."" On board the Giurrin-c, Mr. Grant, 
 who comnuinded the forecastU-, was carried below, the 
 master was shot through the knee: and I, says Captain 
 Dacres was shot in the back. At twenty minutes past six 
 the fore and maiiunasts of the (jKcrrirrc went over the side, 
 leaving her an unmanageable wreck. The ConstUiii'am ceased 
 tiring and shot a-head, her cabin having taken lire from the 
 6rWOTwr'.s\guns. 'V\i(^ Gui rr'u'i'i would have renewed the 
 action, but the wreck of the masts had no sooner been 
 cleared than the spritsail yard went, and the Constitution 
 having no new braces, wore round within pistol shot again 
 to rake her opponent. The crippled ship lay in the trough 
 of the sea, rolling her main deck guns under water. Thirty 
 shots had taken etfect in her hull, about iive sheets of cop- 
 per down ; the mizen mast, after it fell, had knocked a large 
 hole under her starboard quartei-, and she was so completely 
 shattered as to be in a sinking state. The decks were swim- 
 ming with blood. Fifteen men had been killed and sixty- 
 three had been severely wounded, when Captain Dacrcs 
 called his officers together and consulted them. Farther 
 waste of life was useless, and the British colours were 
 dropped in submission to those of America. But the result 
 
1812. 
 
 ABANDO.\.MK-\T uF THK " GLERRIEUE." 
 
 187 
 
 Igain 
 .ugh 
 liirty 
 Icop- 
 large 
 itely 
 rim- 
 Ixty- 
 Icrcs 
 Ither 
 re re 
 Isult 
 
 of the contest, though it could not fail to cause great exult- 
 ation in the United ." tatcs. reflected no dishonor upon the 
 flag of Britain. A more unecjual contest had never before 
 been maintained with such spirit, zeal, t^klll, or bravery. 
 The bnttio had laslod for nearly three hours and a half, and 
 the result was the sure effect of si/.e. as all things being 
 otherwise equal, the heavier must overcome the lighter 
 bodv. When the Gurrrirrr surrendered, it was onlv fo per- 
 
 mit her iralh 
 
 ul the 
 
 galliint commander, her ether orhcers, and tne men, 
 the wounded ami tlie untouched, \o be transferred for safety 
 from a watery grave to the Ccvhsitfutloii. Captain Hull, the 
 conqueror, told his government that the (jinrrlere had been 
 totally dismasted and otherwise cut to pieces, so as to make 
 her not worth towing into port. AVith lour feet of water in 
 her hold, she was abandoned and blown up. The Cohstitu- 
 tion had only the Lieutenant of Mariiies and six seamen 
 killed, and two officers, four seamen, and one marine 
 wounded. 
 
 On each side there was now something to be proud of and 
 8omethin<>: to reoTet. If the British exulted over the fall of 
 Detroit and the surrender of General Hull,' and the United 
 States viewed these occurrences with indescribable pain and 
 a sense of humiliation, the Americans could now boast of 
 the success of their arms at sea, while Britain regretted a 
 disaster upon that element, on which she had long held and 
 yet holds the undisputed mastery. There was now no room 
 for the American government, on the ground of having 
 been too much humiliated, to refuse peace if it were offered 
 to her. Yet peace was refused. Soon after these occur- 
 rences the news of the repeal of the Orders in Council 
 reached this continent, and the ground of quarrel being re- 
 moved, peace was expected, and an armistice was agreed to 
 between the British Governor of Canada, Sir George Prevost 
 and General Dearborn, the American commander-in-chief, 
 on the northern frontier. But the American government, 
 bent upon the conquest of this province, disavowed the ar- 
 mistice and determined upon the vigorous prosecution of 
 
188 
 
 THE XOJnilKKN .STATES OL.AMoUuLr? I'UR PEACE. 
 
 1812. 
 
 11 I 
 
 the contest. It was tlien that tlio Northern States of the 
 American Union, wlio wore tlie most likely to suffer by the 
 war became clamorous for peace. The whole brunt of the 
 battle, by land, was necessarily to be borne by the State of 
 New York, and the interriif>tion of the transatlantic traffic 
 was to fall witli overwhelmingly disastrous pressure upon 
 Massachusetts and Connecticut. Addresses to the President 
 were sent in, one after another, from the Northeastern States, 
 expressing- dissatisfaction with the war and the utmost ab- 
 horrence of the alliance betAvccn imperial France and re- 
 publican America. They would have none of it, and if 
 French troops were introduced into their States, as auxilia- 
 ries, New England would look upon them and would treat 
 them as enemies. Nay, the Northern States went still fur- 
 ther. Two of the States, Connecticut and Massachusetts, 
 openly refused to send their contingents or to impose the 
 taxes which had been voted by Congress, and " symptoms 
 of a decided intention to break off' from the confederacy 
 were already evinced in the four Northern States, comprising 
 New York, and the most opulent and powerful portions of 
 the Union."* 
 
 General Brocke, ignorant of the armistice, and indeed it 
 did not affect him, for General Hull had acted under the 
 immediate orders of the American Secretaiy at "War, and 
 was consequently irresponsible to General Dearborn, with 
 the aid of the Lilliputian navy of the Lakes, was maintain- 
 ing the ascendancy of Great Britain in Upper Canada and 
 Michigan. He was about indeed to make an attempt upon 
 Niagara, to be followed by another upon Sackett's Harbour, 
 with that daring, promptitude and judgment, which was 
 characteristic of thvi man, when he received instructions 
 from the Governor General to rest a little. Following the 
 advice of the Duke of Wellington, Sir George Prevost had 
 wisely determined not to make a war of aggression with 
 the only handful of troops that could be spared to him 
 from the scene of prouder triumphs and of harder and 
 
 Aliaoir.s Hi>iory of Europe, page 6(32. vol. 10. 
 
1812. THE BATTT.i: OF lirHKN.<T(»N — UV.MU <»!• IIROCKF.. 
 
 18H 
 
 3ed it 
 the 
 and 
 with 
 itain- 
 and 
 upon 
 hour, 
 was 
 tions 
 gthe 
 had 
 with 
 him 
 and 
 
 more important .-Jtriii^^irlos. But the AiDoricuii trovt^niinont. 
 indifferent to tlie iiu'iniccs ot' tlio iVortlicrn I'roviiicoH of the 
 Union, and mifitakincj for weakness tlie conciruitory ad- 
 vances of Sir George L'revost, soon distui-bod tlio rest of the 
 gallant Brooke. Early on tlie nioniiuii; i>f tli'- I^Uli of Ooto- 
 ber, a detachment of between a thousand and thirteen hun- 
 dred men, from the Amerieau army of the centre, under the 
 immediate command of (/olonel Solomon Van Kensellaer,* 
 crossed the river Niagara, and attacked the Britisli position 
 of Queenstown. It was when Van Renseliaer having liim- 
 self crossed, and the British had been driven from their po- 
 sition, that General Brooke, and about six hundred of the 
 49th regiment, in the grey of the morning, arrived at the 
 scene of conflict. The Americans being about the same 
 time reinforced by the addition of regulars and militia. 
 General Brocke put himself at the head of tlie 49tirs Gre- 
 nadiers, and while gallantly cheering them on, he fell mor- 
 tally wounded, and soon after died. His trusty aid-de- 
 camp, the brave Colonel McDonell, fell beside him, 
 almost at the same moment, never again to rise in life. 
 The 49th fought stoutly for a time, l^ut, discouraged by the 
 loss of the General, they fell back and the position was lost. 
 But the fortune of the day was not yet decided, although 
 Van llensellaer, with the aid of Mr. Totter, his Lieutenant 
 of Engineers, had somewhat strengthened the recently cap- 
 tured position on the heights. Reinforcements, consisting 
 partly of regular troops, partly of militia, and partly of 
 Chippewa Indians, in all about eight or nine hundred men, 
 came up about three in the afternoon, to strengthen and en- 
 courage the discomfitted 49th, under General Roger Sheaife, 
 who now assumed the command. A combined attack was 
 made on the Americans by the English troops and artillery, 
 in front and flank, while N'orton, with a considerable 
 body of Indians, menaced their other extremity. It was 
 
 * Alison says under the command of General Wadsworth, but Christie speaks 
 of Brigadier-General Van Rensellaer, while the American accounts speak of 
 Colond Solomon Van Rensellaer. In this case Mr. Christie and the Americans 
 are to be preferred to Alison. 
 
190 
 
 THE VH TohY — THK 111 RIAL OF BROCKK. 
 
 1812. 
 
 entirely successtul. The Ameiiouns wore totally defeated, 
 and Olio General Officer, (Wadsworih, eomnianding in the 
 room of General Van liensellaor, who had rc-cros.sed the 
 river to accelerate the eini)arkalion of the niilitia, which, 
 thoufrh urged, entreatetl, and conmianded to embark, re- 
 mained idle sjiectatois. while their conntrvmen were, as the 
 American ;u-o(miits sav. strua'uTnii!; for vietorv,) two Lieute- 
 muit-Colonels, tive Majors, and a correspond! iiij;' numher of 
 Captains and suhalrerns, with nine hundred nuMi, were 
 made prisoners: one gun and two colours were taken ; and 
 there were four hundred killed and wounded, while the loss 
 on the si(h' of the British did not exceed seventy men. 
 Thus was the battle won. It had cost En^-land an excellent 
 soldier, a man who thorouffhlv understood his dutA\ and 
 felt his position in whatever capacity he was placed. He 
 died at the age of 4*2, and the remains of this gallant de- 
 fender of Upper C^anada were buried at Fort George, to- 
 gether with those of his aid-de-canip, Colonel ^IcDonell. 
 One o-rave contained both. General Brocke was buried 
 amidst the tears of those whom he luid often led to victoiy, 
 and amidst the ^iym[>athetic sorrowing of even those who 
 had caused his death. Minute guns were tired during the 
 funeral, alike from the American as from tlie British batte- 
 ries. Thus it was with the Americans on land. It was, as 
 has been seen, very ditferent on the sea. And tlie tirst ren- 
 contre took place on the latter element. Wlien war was 
 declared it was with the intention of intercepting the home- 
 ward bound West India Heet of British merchaiitmen. 
 Three frigates, one sloop, and one brig of war, under the 
 command of Captain Rogers, of the American frigate Pre- 
 sident, were despatched on that errand. It was about three 
 on the morning of the 23rd of June, that Captain Rogers 
 was informed, by an American brig, bound from Madeira to 
 !N'ew York, that four days before a fleet of British merchant- 
 men, were seen under convoy of a frigate and a brig, steer- 
 ing'to the eastward. Captain Rogers accordingly shaped 
 Jiis course in pursuit of them. At six o'clock in the morn- 
 
IS12. 
 
 THi; 
 
 IMtKSIDKNT ANL> " BELVIDKIIA. 
 
 lUl 
 
 )iitte- 
 is, lis 
 ren- 
 was 
 )rne- 
 Hien. 
 ir the 
 Pre- 
 tliree 
 )ger8 
 Ira to 
 liant- 
 Iteer- 
 iped 
 lorn- 
 
 ing, a sail vvu.s cle.scriu<l, wliich was soon discoverod t«) he a 
 frigate. The signal was niiido for a chase, and the squadron 
 made all sail on the starboard taek. This being pereeivcd 
 by Captain l>yrn, who eonmiandeil tiie British frigate Bdv'i- 
 ^^m, protecting the convoy, he ta<-ked and made all sail, 
 steering northeast by east. It wiis now I'ight o'clock in the 
 morninLT, and the Pn-^iilinf seemed to be i^aininu- on the 
 Behulern, leaving her consoris, however, far biiiind her. 
 About hull' past three in till' al'iernoon, tiie Prc^idrnt fired 
 three guns, the shot from om- of which was terri1)ly destruc- 
 tive. Two men were killed, iind LieiitiMiant Bruce and four 
 men were more or less severely wounded. l>roadside after 
 broadside was lired by both vessels soon afti'rwards, and the 
 
 %■' 
 
 Pi'Ci-vJciii at last bore off. Each iiartv loj-t about twentv-two 
 men, but the British frigate had the advantage. Her guns 
 were pointed witli great skill, and produced a suprising 
 effect, as the American sijuadron tailed in taking the single 
 English frigate, and the whole uierchantmen escaped un- 
 touched. Indeed after a cruise of twenty days and before 
 the declaration of hostilities was known at sea, the Ameri- 
 can squadron returned to port, liaving oidy captured seven 
 merchantmen. 
 
 The action between the Cuns/iiution and the Guerriere oc-r 
 curred after this event, the result of which has been already 
 stated, somewhat out of place, it is true, but, with the dcr 
 sign of exhibiting how a peace might ha^•e been effected, 
 had it been desired by the Americans, without loss of honor 
 on either side. The simultaneousness of the advantages 
 gained by the British on the land, and of the advantages 
 gained b}' the Americans on the sea, is not a little remarka- 
 ble, nor is it le^s remarkable that after the tide of battle had 
 slightly turned with the British, on land, towards the close 
 of the war, the naval actions at sea were nearly all to the 
 disadvantage of the Americans. It would seem that provi- 
 dence had designed to humble the pride of the unnatural 
 combatants. 
 
 About the exaot time of the surrender of General "VTads- 
 
192 
 
 THE "FROMO AXK TIIK " W.ASP. 
 
 18VJ. 
 
 worth, at Queenston, an cngageniont occurred between the 
 English sloop of war Frolic^ and tlio American brig of war 
 Wasp^ which proved disastrous to the former. Aa far as the 
 number of guns went, both vessels Avero equal. Eacli had 
 eighteen guns, nine to a broadside, but while the sloop had 
 only 92 men and measured only '{84 tons, the hrig had 185 
 men and measured 434 tons. The Frolic^ on the night of 
 the 17th of October, liad l)oen overtaken by a most violent 
 gale of wind, in which she carried away her mainyard, lost 
 her topsails, and sprung her maintopmast. It was, w^hile 
 repairing damages, on the morning of the 18th, that Cap- 
 tain Whinyatcs, of the F'oUc, was made aware of the pre- 
 sence of a suspicious looking vessel, in cliase of the convoy, 
 which the Frolic had in charge. The merchant ships conti- 
 nued their voyage with all sails set, and the Frolic, dropping 
 astern, hoisted Spanish colours to decoy the stranger under 
 her guns and give time for the convoy to escape. The ves- 
 sels soon approached sulRciently to exchange broadsides, 
 and the firing of the Frolic was admirable. But the vessel 
 could not be worked easily, and the gatf braces being shot 
 away, while no sail could be or was placed upon the main- 
 mast, her opponent easily got the advantage of position. 
 To be brief, the storm of the night before had given the 
 Wasp an advantage which, neither nautical skill, nor un- 
 daunted resolution could counteract, and the Frolic, an un- 
 manageable log upon the ocean, was compelled to strike. 
 Undoubtedly this was another triumph to the United States, 
 although, materially considered, the gain was not much. 
 In only a few hours after this action, both the Wasp and the 
 Frolic were surrendered to H. M. S. Poiciiers, of seventy- 
 four guns. 
 
 Seven days afterwards, another naval engagement oc- 
 curred, more tellingly disastrous to Great Britain. The 
 United States, a frigate of fifteen hundred tons burthen, car- 
 rying 30 long 24-pounders, on her main deck, and 22 42- 
 pounders, with two long 24-pounders, on quarter deck and 
 forecastle, howitzer guns in her tops, and a travelling carro- 
 
1H\± 
 
 THE "MAOKDONIAN AND " UNITKI) .STATES. 
 
 193 
 
 It oc- 
 
 The 
 car- 
 42- 
 and 
 
 ITTO- 
 
 liudo OH her deck, with a com[»lument of 478 picked men,* 
 was perceived by il. M. frigate Macedonian^ of 1081 tons, 
 cariying 49 guns, and manned by 254 men and 35 boys. 
 'The Macedonian approached the enemy and the enemy 
 backed lior sails, awaiting tlic attack, after the firing had 
 continued for about an hour, ut long range. When in close 
 battle, Captain Garden perceived that he had no chance of 
 success, but he was determined to light his ship while she 
 floated and was manageable, hoping for, rather than expect- 
 ing, some lucky hit, which would so cripple the enemy as to 
 permit the Macedonian, if no more could be done, to bear 
 oft* with honor. But the fortune of war was adverse. 
 Every sh(>t told with deadly and destructive eft'ect upon 
 the Macedonian, and even yet, with nearly a hundred shots 
 in her hull, her lower guns under water, in a tempestuous 
 sea, and a third of her crew either killed or wounded. Cap- 
 tain Cardeu fought his ship. To " conquer or die," was his 
 motto, and the motto of a brave crew, some of whom even 
 stood on deck, after having |»aid a visit to the cockpit, and 
 submitted to the amputation of an arm, grinning defiance, 
 and anxious to be permitted the chance of boarding with 
 their fellows, when Captain Garden called up his l^oarders 
 as a dernier resort But boarding was rendered impossible, 
 as the fore brace was shot away, and the yard swinging 
 round, the vessel was thrown upon the wind. The United 
 States made sail ahead and the crew of the Macedonian fan- 
 cying that she was taking her leave cheered lustily. They 
 were not long deceived. Having refilled her cartridges, the 
 United States, at a convenient distance, stood across the bows 
 of her disabled antagonist, and soon compelled her to strike. 
 While the Macedonian had thirty-six killed and sixty-eight 
 wounded, the United States had only five killed and seven 
 hors de combat. 
 
 It was such advantages as these that induced the Ameri- 
 cans to continue the war. The Americans were inflated 
 with pride. In their own estimation they had become a first 
 
 * Captain Garden's defipatch to Mr. Crokfr. 
 
 X 
 
194 
 
 THE LORDS OF THE ADMIRALTY. 
 
 1812. 
 
 rate maritime power, and even in tlie eyes of Europe, it 
 seemed that they were destined to become so. The dispa- 
 rity in force was justly less considered than the result. 
 However bravely the British commanders had fought their 
 ships, the disasters were no less distressing, politically con- 
 sidered, than if they had been the result of positive weak- 
 ness or of lamentable cowardice. These advantages even 
 compensated in glory to the Northeastern States for the 
 losses which their commerce had sustained, and would, had 
 they continued very much longer, have stimulated them to 
 forget their selfishness, their bankruptcies, and their priva- 
 tions, though perhaps they tended on the other hand, to 
 cause less vigorous eftbrts to be made for the acquisition of 
 Canada, than otherwise would ha\o been the case, by rivet- 
 ting the public attention of America more on the successful 
 operations by sea than on their own disastrous operations by 
 land. There was yet another disaster to overtake Great 
 Britain. And it was little wonder. The Lords of the Ad- 
 miralty, wedded to old notions, unlike the Heads vH the 
 Naval Department of the United States, were slow to alter 
 the build or armament of tlie national ships. They seemed 
 to think that success must ultimately be dependent upon 
 pluck, and that there could be again few instances in which 
 a sloop could be so disabled by a storm as to be unable to 
 cope with a brig, better manned, better armed, and in good 
 sailing trim. They continued to send slow-sailing brigs and 
 ill-armed sloops-of-war, for the protection of large fleets of 
 merchantmen, with valuable cargoes, while the frigates of 
 the enemy, in search of them, whethoi' in the calm or in the 
 storm, were faster than British seventy-fours, and were equal 
 to British ships of the line in armament. It was after the 
 loss of the Macedonian that the British Admiralty commis- 
 sioned and sent to sea the fi'igate Java, of the same tonnage, 
 with the same deficiency of men, and, worse than all, half 
 of whom were landsmen, and of exactly the same arma- 
 ment as the 3Iacedonian, only that her weight of metal wae 
 less, to cope with such frigatetf as the United iSta(ei<, the Pre- 
 
1812. 
 
 THE '' C0N8TITI TIOX " AND TUB "JAVA. 
 
 195 
 
 sUnif, and the ConstHufhu. On the 12th of November, the 
 Java sailed from Spithcad, tlic remonstrances of Captain 
 Lambert against tlie inadequacy and inexperience of his 
 crew being of no avail with the authorities. He was told, 
 when he insisted that he was no match for an American, 
 even of equal size, that " a voyage to the East Indies and 
 back woidd make a crood crew." The difficulties in the 
 way of getting to the East Indies, to say nothing of coming 
 back again, never entered into the heads of men, who had 
 long been laid up in ordinary, and were dry-rotting to decay. 
 These were the men who sent the water casks to contain the 
 fresh water of His Majesty's vessels afloat on our fresh 
 water lakes. Then, as now, were the wrong men in the 
 wrong places. Men, Vho should have been in Greenwich 
 Hospital, talking of times gone by, or living in dignified 
 retirement, were entrusted with the management of affairs 
 in a new age, the country rather losing than gaining by their 
 individual experiences. And the British public stung to 
 the quick, were aware of it. The correctness of Captain 
 Lambert's judgment was too soon brought to the test. The 
 Java fell in with the Constitution on the 28th of December, 
 when the latter stood off as the former approached, to gain a 
 first advantage by firing at long range. But as the Java 
 was fast gaining upon her, the Constitution made a virtue of 
 necessity, and shortened sail, placing herself under the lee 
 bow of the Jam, so that in close action, the crew of the 
 Constitution might fight like men behind a rampart, while 
 the crew of the Java stood at their guns m barbette. The 
 action immediately commenced, and the effect of the Java's 
 first broadside, on the enemy's hull, was such that the Ame- 
 rican wore to get away. Captain Lambert also wore his 
 ship, and a running fight was kept up with great spirit for 
 forty minutes. The Java had, as yet, suflered little, but the 
 vessels coming within pistol shot, a determined action en- 
 sued. Captain Lambert had resolved upon boarding his 
 enemy, if it were possible in any measure to effect it. 
 With that view he was closing upon hk antagonist, vvhen 
 
19C CAl'Tl Rt; OF THE 'M.VV.a" — SI'IRIT UF '"TJlk; TIMES." 1812. 
 
 the foremuHt of tlio Jaai I'dl suddenly uiul with si crash ho 
 tremendous as to lin-jdv in the ioieeastle and eover the deck 
 with the M rcH-k. Only a moment hiter and tlie main top- 
 mast also fell upon the dock, wjiilc Ca])tain Lambert lay 
 ■\ve1terinf? in his blood, mortiiUy wonndc-d. Lieutenant 
 Chads, on whom the command now devolved, found tlic 
 Java perfectly unmanageable. The wreck of the masts 
 huno-over the side, next to the enemy, and every discluirgi' 
 of the Jam's own <i;uns set lier on fire. Yet, Lieutenant 
 Chads continued the action for three hours and a half, until 
 tlio J(/w was felt to be ^oint,^ down. It was then that the 
 Constitution assumed a rakini:: })osition, and it wjts then only 
 that Lieutenant Chads struck. The Java was no prize to 
 the victors of great vahie, for her ci'ew were no sooner taken 
 out than the American comman(hM' blew her up. In this 
 desperate engagement the Java had twenty-two killed and 
 one hundred and two wounded ; the Constitut'nm had ten 
 killed and forty wounded. Captain Lambert's worst fears 
 had been realised, and the death of that gallant and (dvilful 
 sailor aroused a tongue which, in Great Britain, has a po- 
 tency and influence, such as ofHcial insolence cannot with- 
 stand, nor official incapacity escape from. The spirit of the 
 "Times" was up. The voice of the many loudly con- 
 demned the incompetency of the few. The conduct of the 
 war had now become a matter of moment, and reforms, in 
 the marine department at least, were imperative. 
 
 By the fall of Genl. Brocke, the civil governorship of the 
 Upper province devolved upon Major Genl. Roger Sheafte, 
 the senior military officer there, and to him, Genl. Smyth, the 
 new American commander at Niagara, applied for an armis- 
 tice, which was granted, and which lasted from the battle of 
 Queenston until the 20th of Ils'ovember. Nothing could 
 have been more silly than this consent to an armistice on 
 the part of a general so very fortunate as General ShealFe 
 had been. He needed no rest. He could gain nothing by 
 inactivity. Delay necessary to the enemy was of course in- 
 jurious to him. Without any molestation whatever the 
 
l«lii. 
 
 OKNKUAL.* *<111:AI'1'1; AM) SMYTH. 
 
 ]U] 
 
 in 
 
 in- 
 the 
 
 Amerioans wore ouiiltlod to tbnvard tlieir iiavnl stores tVdin 
 Blark Rock to Prcsciuo Islo, by water, wliicli, lind hostilities 
 boon acti\'o, ■would have been inipossiblo. Tliirf tnico, !iot 
 to bury tlio dead, or projiaratory to subniissioi), wa.s obtained 
 with the view of tj:ainiiiu' time, so that a fleet mii^^ht bo 
 equipped to eo-operate with the army, l)v wrestini:; from the 
 Britisii their previous su[»eriority on the laUiv-^. (Toneral 
 Smyth had, with the true friekery of the diplomatisl. rather 
 than with the blunt houesty of the soldier, exerted himself 
 darinji: the armistiee, in the preparation of boats for another 
 attempt to invade Upper Cauada. Alexander Smyth, Bri- 
 gadier-General, in command of the Anieriean army of the 
 centre, thoui;'h a rogue, in a dipIonuiti(^ [)oint of view, wan 
 not necessarilv a fool. Tie liad shrewd notions in a small 
 way. Like a true downcast Yaid<ee, he knew the cflect of 
 soft sawder upon human nature. Like the unfortunate Hull, 
 before taking possession of a territory so extensive as Upper 
 Canada, he thought it necessary to assure the stranger that 
 he was, on submitting to bo conquered, to l)ecr)me. " a fel- 
 low citizen." lie proclainied this interesting fact to Ida 
 own companions in arms. If the stranger citizens behaved 
 peaceably, they were to be secure in their persons, as a mat- 
 ter of course, but only in their properties so far as Alexan- 
 der's imperious necessities would U(biiit, and how far that 
 would have been, time was to unfold. He strictly forbade 
 private plundering, but whatever was " booty," according 
 to the usages of war — "booty and beauty," doubtless com- 
 bined, — Alexander's soldiery were to have. Appealing to 
 the trader-instincts of his hordes, he offered two hun- 
 dred dollars ahead for artillery horses, of the enemy, and 
 forty dollars for the arms and spoils of each savage warrior, 
 who shouM be killed, and every man, who should shrink, in 
 the moment of trial, was to be consigned to "eternal in 
 famy." The watchword of the "patriots," was to be "the 
 cannon lost at Detroit or death." 
 
 During the truce, in Upper Canada, there was some skir- 
 mishing in Lower Canada. At St Regis, four hundred 
 
198 
 
 TlIK FLiniTS ON TIIK I.AKKS. 
 
 iSlii. 
 
 ». 
 
 Amerieiuis HurpriKod (he Indian villni^e. Twciity-tlireo njen 
 wore niado prisonors, and Lieutenant Rolette, with Serjeant 
 McGillivmy, and nix men were Hlain. But to eounterbaiance 
 this atl'ttir, a luontli hiter, some detaolimentrt of the 41Mh re- 
 giment, u few artillery, and Hoventy militianjen from ('orn- 
 wall and Glongary, surrounded a hloek house at tlie Sal- 
 mon River, and made prisouerrf of a (/aptaiu, two suhalterns 
 and forty men ; four batteaux an<] fil'ty-ficven stand of arms, 
 falling also into the hands of tlie eaptors. 
 
 In no way discouniged, however much they may have 
 boon irritated by these repeated failures, which had not even 
 the excuse of inferiority in numbers, or in any want of the 
 materials of war, it the want of vessels on the lake be not 
 considered, the American government energetically exerted 
 itself to augment theii* naval forces on the lakes and to rein- 
 force General Dearborn. Indeed, that officer was now at 
 the head of ten thousand men, at Plattsburgh, and the 
 American fleet on Lake Ontario was already so much supe- 
 rior to that of the British, as to make it necessary for the 
 latter to remain inactive in harbour. The British ship 
 Royal George^ was actually chased into Kingston channel, 
 and was there cannonaded for some time. It was only when 
 the American fleet came within range of the Kingston forts 
 that they hauled oft* to Four Mile Point, and anchored, the 
 commander taking time to reflect upon the expediency of 
 bombarding Kingston. Next morning, having come to an 
 opposite conclusion, he stood out with his fleet into the 
 open lake and fell in w^ith the Governor Simcoe. A chase 
 was commenced, and the Governor Simcoe narrowly escaped 
 by running over a reef of rocks, and making for Kingston, 
 which, like the Moyal George, she reached more hotly pur- 
 sued than she had bargained for, It was late in the season, 
 and the weather becoming more and more boisterous, the 
 Americans bore away for Sackett's Harbour, in making for 
 which they captured two British schooners, taking from one 
 of them, Captain Brooke, the paymaster of the 49th regi- 
 ment of the line, who had with him the plate which had 
 
 II! ' 
 
 1!( 
 
18]2. 
 
 l)E S.M.AnEKUY — LAluLLIi. 
 
 n»u 
 
 regi- 
 had 
 
 beloiii^od to his piUant de^joased brother, the late Governor 
 of Upper (-aiiadii. Bat tlie Amurican Commodore Chaiicey, 
 >ifcn(3roiisly paroK'd him, ami Hutt'ercd liim to retain the 
 phi to. 
 
 Unahlo to reiiiaiii U)nij('r liuiclivo, (ionural Dearborn, in 
 c«)mmand of tlni AmoriiMii aniiy of tlio iiortii, approached 
 LowtT Caiiathi. On thi' 17th of XovcuUkt, Major Deyala- 
 borrv, coiamaiidiiiij: tlio ('aiiadiaii Cordon and advanced 
 postH. on tho lino, recciivod intelligonce of Lieutenant Phil- 
 lips, tliat the enemy, ten tlionsand strcrtitf, were rapidly nd- 
 vaneinuj upon Odolltown. There was no time to be lost and 
 he .set about strenu^theninu^ hid position as speedily as he 
 could. Two companies of ( -anadian Voltigeur«, three hun- 
 'ii''3d Indians, and a few militia volunteers were obtained 
 liom the neiii:hl)oring parishes, and there was every disposi- 
 tion manifested to give the intruders a warm reception. 
 The enemy, however, halted at the town of Champlain, and 
 nothing of moment occurred until the 20th of November, 
 when the Captain of the day, or rather of the night, as it 
 was only three in the morning, noticed the enemy fording 
 the river Lacolle. Retracing his steps, he had only time to 
 warn the piquet of their danger, when a volley was fired by 
 the Americans, who had surrounded the log guard-house, at 
 so inconsiderable a distance tliat the burning wads set fire 
 to the birch covering of the roof, until the guard-house was 
 consumed. But long before that happened, the militia and 
 Indians had discharged their guns, and dashed through the 
 enemy's ranks. It was dark, and the position which the 
 Americans had taken, with the view of surrounding the 
 guard-house, contributed somewhat to their own destruc- 
 tion. In a circle, face to face, they mistook each other in 
 the darkness, and fought gallantly and with undoubted 
 obstinacy. Neither side of the circle seemed willing to 
 yield. For half an hour a brisk tire was kept up, men fell, 
 and groaned, and died ; and the consequences might have 
 been yet more dreadful had not the moon, hidden until now 
 bv clouds, revealed hert;e1f to the astonished combatants. 
 
20U 
 
 DIIAP.BOKN S UKTKKAT. 
 
 181-2. 
 
 I I 
 
 I' I 
 
 'JMio vietoiv-j and the vanquished returned together to Cham- 
 plain, leaving behind four killed and live wounded. From 
 the wounded prisoners, whom, Avith the dead, the Indiana 
 pieked oif the battle iield, it was learned that the unsuc- 
 cessful invaders consisted of fourteen hundred men and 
 a troop of dragoons, commanded by Colonels l^yke and 
 Clarke. 
 
 Unfortunate to the Americans as this night attack had 
 been, it was sufficient to lead the Governor General of Can- 
 ada to the conclusion that it would not be the last. Nay, 
 he was persuaded that a moat vigorous attempt at invasion 
 would be made, and having no Parliament to consult, nor 
 any public opinion to fear, he turned out the whole militia 
 of the province for active service, and ordered them to be 
 in readiness to march to the frontier. Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Deschambault was directed to cross the St. Lawrence at La- 
 chine, and from Caughnawaga, to march to the Pointe 
 Claire, Riviere-du-Chene, Vaudrenil, and Longue Pointe. 
 Battalions upon L'Acadie, and volunteers from the foot 
 battalions, with the flank companies of the second and third 
 battalions of the Montreal militia, and a troop of militia 
 dragoons, crossed to Longueil and to Laprairie. Indeed the 
 whole district of Mo*ntreal, armed to the teeth, and filled 
 with enthusiasm, simultaneously moved in the direction 
 from whence danger was expected. General Dearborn 
 quietly retreated upon Plattsburgh and Burlington, and, 
 like a sensible man, as he undoubtedly was, abandoned for 
 the winter, all idea of taking possession of Lower Canada. 
 
 On the 28th of November, the armistice being at end, 
 General Sm^iih invaded Upper Canada, at the foot of Lake 
 Erie. With a division of fourteen boats, each containing 
 thirty men, a landing was effected between Fort Erie and 
 Chippewa, not however unopposed. Lieutenant King, of 
 the Royal Artillery, and Lieutenants Lamont and Bartley, 
 each in command of thirty men of the gallant 49th, gave 
 the enemy a reception more warm than welcome. Ovti/- 
 whelmed, however, bv numbers, the artillerv and the df- 
 
181-J. 
 
 SMYTH a ATTK.MI'T AT EVAK. 
 
 t:oi 
 
 de- 
 
 tJU'hmeiit of the 49tli, untU'i- linniont fjave way, when I/ieu- 
 tenaiit King had siiccL'edod in siiiking \iU j;-iiii8. Jjamont 
 and Kiin>; were both wounded, and with thirty nion, were 
 overtaken hy tlie enemy and made i>risuners. Jiartloy 
 fought steadily and iiereely. lli.s gal hint ha?id was reduced 
 to seventeen, before he oven thought of a retreat, which his 
 gallantry and tact enabled him to eti'ect. The American 
 boats had, wliile JJartley was keeping up the light, returned 
 to the American fcilioiv with the prisoneis, and as many 
 Americans as could crowd into them, leaving Captain King, 
 General Smytli's aid-de-cam[», to Jind his way back, as best 
 he might. lie moved down the rivei' shore with a few offi- 
 cers and forty men, foUowed, from Fort JCrie, by Major 
 Ormsby, who made them all jn-isoners with exceedingly 
 little trouble. [Jnconscious of any disaster, another division 
 of Americans, in eighteen boats, made for the Canada 
 shore. Colonel Bislio}> had now arrived from (i^hippewa, 
 and had formed a junction with Major Ormsby, the Com- 
 mandant of Fort Erie, and with Colonel Clarke and Major 
 Hall, of the militia. There were collected togetlicr, under 
 this excellent officer, about eleven hundred men, taking into 
 account detachments of the 41st, 49th, and Royal Newfound- 
 land regiments, and in addition, some Indians. The near 
 approach of the Americans was calmly waited for. A 
 cheer at last burst from the British ranks and a steady 
 and deadly fire of artillery and musketry was opened upon 
 the enemy. The six-pour der, in charge of Captain Kirby, 
 of the lioval Artillerv, destroyed two of the boats. The 
 enemy were thrown into confusion, and retired. 
 
 General Smytli again tried the effect of diplomacy upon 
 the stubborn British. He displayed his whole force of full 
 six thousand men, upon his own side of the river. Colonel 
 Bishop ordered the guns which had been spiked to be ren- 
 dered serviceable, and the spikes having been withdrawn, 
 the guns were remounted and about to open fire, with the 
 view of scattering the valiant enemy, when a flag of truce 
 brought a note from General iSmyth. It was simply a sum- 
 
202 MEETING OF THE LOWER CANADIAN PARLIAMENT. 1812. 
 
 mon8 to surrender Fort Eric, with a view of saving the 
 further eftusion of blood. lie was reciuested to " come and 
 take it," but did not make another attempt until the 1st of 
 December, when the American troops embarked merely 
 again to disembark and go into winter quarters. Murmur 
 and discontent filled tlie American camp, disease and death 
 were now so common, and General Smyth's self-confidence 
 was so inconsiderable that the literary hero, who had spoken 
 of the "eternal infamy" that awaits him who "basely 
 shrinks in the moment of triiil," literally fled from his own 
 camp, afraid of his own soldiery, who were exasperated at 
 his incapacity. Thus ended the first year of the invasion. 
 The Americans had learned, the not unimportant lesson, 
 that, as a general rule, it is so much more easy successfully 
 to resist aggression, than, as the aggressor, to be successful. 
 The invasion of any countiy, if only occupied by savages, 
 requires more means than is generally supposed- 
 Sir George Prevost, somewhat relieved from the anxiety 
 attendant upon anticipated and actual invasions, now sum- 
 moned his Parliament of Lower Canada, to meet for the 
 despatch of business. He opened the session on the 29th 
 of December, and in his speech from the throne, alluded to 
 the honorable termination of the campaign, without much 
 effusioa of blood, any loss of territory, or recourse having 
 been had to martial law. He proudly alluded to the achieve- 
 ments in Upper Canada, and feelingly alluded to the loss 
 sustained by the country, in the death of General Brocke. 
 He spoke of the recent advantages gained over the enemy 
 in both provinces, and recommended fervent acknowledge- 
 ments to the ruler of the universe, without whose aid the 
 battle is not to the strong nor the race to the swift. And 
 it was not alone for such advantages, great as they were, 
 that the country had to be thankful, the Marquis of Wel- 
 lington had gained a series of splendid victories in Spain 
 and Portugal. In Spain and Portugal British valour had 
 appeared in its native vigour, encouraging the expectation 
 that these countries would soon be relieved from the mise- 
 
1812. 
 
 THE PRF.VALrXT FKEl.l.NG — Ml!. JA.^. t^TUART. 
 
 20 
 
 rics which liad desolated them. Ilia lioyal lliglme.ss, tlio 
 Prince Regent, had directed liim to thank tlie lloutie lor 
 their loyalty and attaihnicnt. His Royal Highness felt not 
 the .slightest apprehension of insidious attacks upon the 
 loyalty of a people who had acted so liberally and loyally 
 as the Canadians had done. Sir George spoke of the bene- 
 ficial effects arising from the Army Bill Act, and recom- 
 mended it to their further consideration. The militia had 
 been called out and had given him the cheering satisfaction 
 of having been a witness of si public spiritedness, and of a 
 love of country, religion, and the laws, which elsewhere 
 might have been equalled, but could not be anywdiere ex- 
 celled. He recommended a revision of the militia law and 
 urged upon the legislature the expediency of concluding the 
 public business with dispatch. 
 
 Sir George had aroused the better feelings of the country. 
 His words fell gratefully upon the ear. The Canadian peo- 
 ple and their representatives felt that they were treated with 
 respect and were proud in the knowledge of deserving it. 
 All that the Assembly wanted was the confidence and af- 
 fection of their sovereign. No longer treated with suspi- 
 cion and looked upon wath aversion they were ready to sa- 
 crifice everything for their country, and the reply of the 
 House of Assend)ly was an assent to his every wish. 
 
 As soon as the House had proceeded to business, Mr. 
 James Stuart, one of the members for Montreal, with the 
 view of embarrassipg the government, and with no purpose 
 of creating uneasiness in England, moved for an enquiry 
 into the causes and injurious consequences that might have 
 resulted from the delay incurred in the publication of the 
 laws of the Provincial Parliament, passed in the previous 
 session. His assigned object in making the motion was to 
 palliate the conduct of the Pointe Claire rioters. The 
 motion carried and the Clerks and other officers of the 
 Upper House were summoned to attend at the Bar of the 
 Assembly. The Upper House, seemingly, considered thai 
 their officer.^ had equal privileges with themselves, and at 
 
204 
 
 PltOCtKDlNUS OF I'ARLIA.MKNT. 
 
 1812. 
 
 I I 
 
 I' I 
 
 iirat refused to allow these gentlemen to attend, but, seeing 
 the A8seml)iy resolute, and being anxious not to throw any 
 obstaele in the way of the speedy despatch of the public bu- 
 siness, they [)erniitted their attendance under protest.- The 
 result of the enquiry amounted to notliing, and the House 
 proceeded to other business. Tlie subject of appointing 
 an agent to Knglan<l was again considered, but postponed 
 until a more suiting time, wlien the propriety of an income 
 tax was discussed. It was indeed resolved in the Assembly 
 to impose a tax upon persons enjoying salaries from the 
 government, of fifteen per cent upon sucb as had £1,500 a 
 year, twelve per cent upou such as had £1,000 and upwards, 
 ten per cent upon <£o00 and ujiwards, and five per cent 
 upon every £250 and upwards. The bill was, of course, 
 rejected by the Council. The Assembly, however, firmly 
 convinced of the loyalty of the people were neither to be 
 cajoled nor brow-beaten out of tlieir rights, and they pro- 
 ceeded to other business of a singularly unpleasant charac- 
 ter to the higher powers. Mr. Stuart, the leader of the 
 opposition, was a man of extraordinary capacity and of 
 great firmness of purpose. Those who had made Sir James 
 Craig do him an injustice still held their appointments, and 
 he was determined to bring about a cliange without the 
 slightest regard whatever to the consequences of change. 
 He moved for an enquiry into the power and authority exer- 
 cised by His Majesty's Courts of Law, with a view to put a 
 stop to such trifling with justice as had been exhibited in 
 the arrest and imprisonment of Mr. Bedard and others. It 
 was asserted bv Mr. Stuart that under the name of Rules of 
 Practice, the Chief Justice, in league with the government, 
 had subverted the laws of the province, and had asssumed 
 legislative authority, to impose illegal burthens and res- 
 traints upon His Majesty's subjects, in the exercise of their 
 legal rights, which were altogether inconsistent with the du- 
 ties of a Court and subversive of the rights and liberties of 
 the subject. The House granted the enquiry sought for, and 
 proceeded to other business. But it is here worthy of note 
 
1812. 
 
 MK. KYLAM) ON THli PKKbs. 
 
 205 
 
 that Mr. Jiedard, who hud hvi'w so unjustly treiited by Sir 
 James Craig, in virtuo of these Rules of rractico, had now 
 triumphed over his enemies. He, wlio only two years hack, 
 had been presented, at the instance of the government, by 
 the Grand Juries of Quebec and Montreal, was now seated 
 upon the Bench as rrovinclal Judge for the District of 
 Three Rivers, and thus, says his secret enemy, Mr. Kyland, 
 is he associated Avith the Chi«'f Justice of the province, who, 
 in his capacity of Executive Councillor, had concurred in 
 ' s commitment to the gaol of Quebec, on treasonable prac- 
 tices. It was to secure the independence of the judges by 
 freeing them from executive trammels, that ]Mr. James Stuart 
 himself, afterwards Chief .Justice of the }>rovince, and a 
 Baronet of the United Kingdom, moved for an enquiry con- 
 cerning their Rules of Practice, rules obviously incompati- 
 ble with the liberty of speech and with the freedom of the 
 press. The enquiry had an excellent indirect effect. It 
 Beemed to some extent, to have secured the liberty of the 
 press. From the time, says Mr. Ryiand, that the Assembly 
 began its attacks on the Courts of Justice, the licentious- 
 ness of a press, (the Gazette.) recently established at Mon- 
 treal, has appeared to have no bounds. Every odium that 
 can be imagined, is attempted in that publication, to he 
 thrown on the memorv of the late Governor-in-Chief, on the 
 principal otHcej's of government, and on the Legislative 
 Council. The ]»eople"s nunds are poisoned and the disor- 
 ganizing party encouraged to proceed. Thus is it led to 
 hope that any future Governor may be detei'red from exer- 
 cising that vigor, which the preservation of His Majesty's 
 government may require. A higher tribute to a free press 
 no man ever paid than that. The ho[)e has been realised, 
 the trials have all been passed through, and persecutions for 
 opinion's sake must now be cloaked, at least, by something 
 more than expediency. 
 
 The Assembly next proceeded to the consideration of the 
 expediency of legally enlarging the limits and operation of 
 martial law. as recommended in the speech from the throne. 
 
206 
 
 TIIK -'MKUCLKY L'I'OX MU. aTLAKT. 
 
 1812. 
 
 and reported that such enlargement was inexpedient. The 
 House then renewed the Army IJill Act, authorised the sum 
 of five hundred pounds to be put in circulation, and com- 
 missioners were appointed to ascertain the current rate of 
 exchange on London, which liolders were entitled to recover 
 from government. Fifteen thousand pounds were granted 
 for the equipment of the militia, and £1,000 additional for 
 military hospital. ' Towards the support of the war X25,000 
 were granted. X400 were granted for the improvement of 
 the communication between Upper and Lower Canada. A 
 duty of two and and a half per cent, for the further support 
 of the war was placed upon all imported merchandize, with 
 the exception of provisions, jind two and a half per cent 
 additional on imports by mercliants or others not having 
 been six months resident. A motion Avas made l)y one of 
 the most independent members of the Assembly, for a 
 committee of the whole, to enquire whether or not is was 
 necessary to adopt an address to the King concerning the 
 impropriety of the judges being mend)ers of the Legislative 
 Council. But the motion was not pressed. This gentle- 
 man, though very desirous of as much liberty as it was 
 possible to obtain for himself, was not particularly disposed 
 to give an undue share to others. He took umbrage at an 
 article communicated to the Mercurt/, ably written, and 
 perhaps, at the time, strikingly true, relative to the conduct 
 which Mr. Stuart had been and w^as pursuing, since he had 
 been stript of his official situation by the late Governor. It 
 was hinted that the discontented legislator was actuated in 
 his opposition to the government by no unfriendly feel- 
 ing to the United States. It was asked if he were not 
 determined to be somebody. He was a man not unlike 
 him who fired the temple of Ephesus. He was sowing seeds 
 of embarrassment and delay, and picking out flaws, with the 
 microscope of a lawyer, in the proceedings of the govern- 
 ment. And he was prostituting his talents and perverting 
 his energies. The House resolved that the letter of " Juni- 
 olus Canadensis," was a libel, and perhaps it was, but if so, 
 
1813. 
 
 OPKNINO 01' TIIK XKXT CAMl'AIGX. 
 
 20l 
 
 Mr. Stuart had the Courts ot" Law open to liim, and there- 
 fore the interference of the House wa.s as silly as it was 
 tyrannical. Mr. Gary, the publisher of tlie Mn-cuiy, evaded 
 the Sergeant-at-Arms, and laughed at the silliness of the 
 collective wisdom afterwards. The House was prorogued 
 on the 15th of February. The war had not so far pro- 
 duced any injurious effect on the commerce of the country 
 The revenue was £61,193 cuiTcney, and the expenditure, 
 which included the extraordinary amount of £55,000 grant- 
 ed towards the support of the militia, was only £98,777. 
 The arrivals at Quebec numbered 399 vessels of 86,437 
 tons, and in 1812, twenty vessels were built at the port of 
 Quebec. 
 
 The first operations of the next campaign, in 1813, were 
 favorable to the British. On the 22nd of January, a severe 
 action was fought at the lliver Raisin, about twenty-six 
 miles from Detroit, between a detachment from the north- 
 eastern army of the United States, exceeding seven hun- 
 dred and fifty men, under General Winchester, and a com- 
 bined force of eleven hundred British and Indians, under 
 Colonel Proctor. General Harrison, in command of the 
 north western army of the United States, was stationed at 
 Franklintown. Anxious, at any cost, to attbrd the discon- 
 tented and sickly troops under him, active employment, he 
 detached General Winchester with his seven or eight hun- 
 dred, or, as it is even said, a thousand men, to take posses- 
 sion of Frenchtown. This, General Winchester had little 
 difficulty in doing, as he Avas only opposed by a few militia- 
 men and some Indians, under Major Reynolds. The intel- 
 ligence of the capture of Frenchtown had, however, nO' 
 sooner reached Colonel Proctor than he collected his men 
 together and marched with great celerity from Brownston to 
 Stoney Creek. Next morning, at the break of day, he re- 
 solutely attacked the enemy's camp and a bloody engage- 
 ment ensued. General Winchester fell into the hands of 
 the chief of the Wyandot Indians, soon after the action 
 began, and was sent a prisoner to Colonel Proctor. The 
 
208 
 
 KATTI.i: AT Tin; IlIVKi; RAISIN. 
 
 1813. 
 
 Americans soon rctioutcd, taking refuge beliind liouses 
 and fences, and, terribly afraid of tlio Indians, determinedly 
 resisted. The Americans bIaz(Ml away; every fence and 
 window of the vilUige vomited a llame of lire ; but tlie Bri- 
 tish, with their anxiliary Indians, were still driving in the 
 enemy, and about to set the houses on lire, when tlie cap- 
 tured General VVincliester, stipulated for a surrender. On 
 condition of being protected from the Indians, lie assured 
 Colonel Proctor that the Americans would yield, and this 
 assurance being given, General Winchester caused a flag of 
 truce to be sent to his men, calling upon them to lay down 
 their arms, which they were only too glad to do. The Ame- 
 ricans lost betw^een three and four hundred in killed alone; 
 while one brigadier-general, three field otlicers, nine cap- 
 tains, twenty subalterns, and upwards of five hundred rank 
 and file, w^ere taken prisoners.* Comparatively considered, 
 the British loss was trifling. Twentv-four men were killed, 
 and one hundred and fifty-eight were wounded. Colonel 
 Proctor was raised to the rank of Brigadier-General, in re- 
 ward for his successful gallantry. 
 
 As if to couterl>alance the elfect of this success, another 
 naval engagement occurred at sea, on the 14th of February, 
 between the British sloop of war Peacock and the American 
 brig Hornet. The fight was long continued, bloody and 
 destructive. The Peacock, after an hour and a half of hard 
 fighting was in a sinking state. The effect of the enemy's 
 fire was tremendous, but the men of the Peacock behaved 
 nobly. Mr. Humble, the boatswain, having had his hand 
 shot away, went to the cockpit, underwent amputation at the 
 wrist, and again voluntarily came upon deck to pipe the 
 boarders. The Peacock was now rapidly settling down, and 
 a signal of distress w^as consequently hoisted. The signal 
 was at once humanely answered. The firing ceased imme- 
 diately, the American's boats were launched, and every 
 effort praiseworthily made to save the sinking crew. All 
 
 * Alison mixes up Colonel MeDonell's capture of Ogdensburgh, which is below 
 Kingston, and opposite Prfgcott, the scene of the Wind Mill fight in '37. 
 
J8i3. 
 
 URKAT KXKUTIUXS ON* BOTH SIDKS. 
 
 209 
 
 below 
 
 were not, Uowover, Hiived. Throe of tlie Hornet's men and 
 thirteon of the erovv of the Prurock went down in the latter 
 vessel to<]fethcr. The Ilonut carried twenty guns, while the 
 Peacock had only eiji^hteen, \x\\(\ the tonnage of the former 
 exceeded, by seventy-four tons, that of the latter. 
 
 The Americans now gathering up tlieir strength, irritated 
 by their repeated failures on the land, and disheartened, but 
 vet not discouraged bv their original weakness on the lakes, 
 were about, in some degree, to be compensated more suit- 
 ably for their ijiland losses than by the capture or rather by 
 the negative kind of advantage of destroying at considera- 
 ble cost and risk, frigates and sloops of w^ar at sea, inferior 
 in every respect, the bravery of the sailors and the skill of 
 the oihcers excepted, to the huge and properly much esteem- 
 ed American double-banked frigates and long-gunned brigs. 
 The command of Lake Ontario had devolved on the Ame- 
 ricans. New ships of considerable size, and well armed, 
 under the superintendence of experienced naval officers, 
 were built and launched day after day. Troops were being 
 collected at every point for an attack, by sea and land, upon 
 either York or Kingston. It was now exceedingly necessary 
 that some activity of a similar kind should be displayed by 
 the British. The forests abounded in the very best timber ; 
 there were able shipbuilders at Quebec ; the Canadian naval 
 commanders had distinguished themselves frequently ; there 
 was a secure dockyard at Kingston ; and, indeed, there ex- 
 isted no reason whatever, for the absence of that industry on 
 the Canadian side of the rivers and lakes, dividing the two 
 countries, but one, and a more fatal one could not have 
 been listened to. It was simply that the British had been 
 hitherto able to repel the invader wherever he had eftected 
 a landing, and would be, under any circumstances, quite 
 able, as they were willing, to repel him again. And there 
 was an ignorance about Canada, on the part of both the 
 heads of the naval and of the military departments in Eng- 
 land, as disgraceful, as it was inexcusable. It was believed 
 that there were neither artisans to be found in the country 
 
210 IMPERIAL MlSAPPRElIENrflOX OF CANADIAN' llKSOlRrKS. 1813. 
 
 nor wood. It pocnicd to bo a prevalent opinion that tho 
 country was pooplcd only l)y French farmers, a few French 
 jj^entlenien, and some hundreds of discharged soldiers, with 
 ji few lawyers and landed [)roprietors, styled U. E. Loyalists, 
 besides the feAV naval otHcHM's resident at Kingston, and the 
 troops in tho ditferent garrisons. In U)>per Canada, during 
 tho winter, nothing, or ahnost nothing, was done in the way 
 of building ships for tho lakes. Sir George Prevost, it is 
 true, made a hurried visit to Upper Canada, after having 
 ]irorogued the I*arliament. He was a man admirably adapt- 
 ed for the civil ruler of a c6untry ha\ing such an elastic and 
 very acceptable constitution as that which Canada has now 
 had for some years past. He was one of those undecided 
 kind of non-progressive beings, who are always inclined to 
 let well alone. He was well meaning, and he was able too, 
 in some sense. lie was cautious to such a degree that cau- 
 tion was a fault. He was not, by any means, deficient in 
 personal courage, but his miiul always hovered on worst 
 consequences. If he had hope in him at all, it was the hope 
 that providence, without the aid of Governor Prevost, would 
 order all things for the best. Ho had a strict sense of duty 
 and a nice sense of honor, but lie always considered that 
 it was his duty not to risk much the loss of anything, 
 which he had been charged to keep, and his moral, 
 was so much superior to his physical courage, that he never 
 considered it dishonorable to retreat without a struggle, if 
 the resistance promised to be very great. An instance of this 
 occurred while Sir George was on his way to Upper Canada. 
 On the 17th of February, Lieutenant-Colonel Pearson, com- 
 manding at Prescott, proposed to him an attack upon Og- 
 densburgh, which was then slightly fortified, and was a ral- 
 lying point for the enemy. Indeed, an attack had some days 
 previously been made upon Brockville, by General Brown, 
 at the head of some militia from Ogdensburgh, and Colonel 
 Pearson thought that the sooner an enemy was dislodged 
 from a position exactly opposite his own and only separated 
 by a frozen river, three quarters of a mile in width, the more 
 
I8t;'>. 
 
 1818. 
 
 AS8ALLT AT OUDENSULKli. 
 
 211 
 
 rated 
 more 
 
 secure he would have felt liimselt' to be, iiud the less duui^er 
 wouhl there liave been of the communication between the 
 Upper sind Lower provinces of Cana(hi, l)oini;' interrupted. 
 General Prevost would not con^^ent to an attack, but he al- 
 lowed a demonstration to be made by Colonel McDonnell, 
 the second in comiuand at Prescott, so tliat the enemv 
 might exhibit his strength, and his attention be so much 
 engaged that no attempt would be made to waylay the 
 Governor General, on the infoi-mation of two deserters from 
 Prescott, who would, doubtless, have informed the comman- 
 dant, at Ogdensburgh, of Sir (ieorge's arrival and of his 
 chief errand. Colonel McDonell moved rapidly across the 
 river, and on landing, was met by Captain Forsyth and the 
 American forces under him. A movement designed for a 
 feint, was now converted into a real attack. Colonel McDo- 
 nell, as he perceived the enemy, still more rapidly [)ushed 
 forward, and, in a few minutes, was hotly engaged. The 
 Americans were driven from the village, leaving behind 
 them twenty killed and a considerable number wounded. 
 On the side of the British, the loss of Colonel McDonell, 
 seven other ofdcers and seven rank and file had to be de- 
 plored, while forty-one men were wounded. The attack was 
 most successful however. Eleven cannons, several hundred 
 stands of arms, and a considerable quantity of stores fell into 
 the hands of the victors, while two small schooners and two 
 gun-boats were destroyed in winter quarters. 
 
 Recruiting and drilling were being briskly carried ou 
 about Quebec and Montreal. Some troops began to arrive, 
 about the beginning of March, from the Lower Provinces. 
 The 104th regiment had arrived overland from Fi*edericton, 
 in New Brunswick, by the valley of the St. Johns River, ' 
 through an impenetrable forest, for hundreds of miles, to 
 Lake Temiscouata, and from thence to River-du-Loup, pro- 
 ceeding upwards along the south shore of the St. Lawrence. 
 
 A month later and the Americans were ready to resume , 
 the offensive in Upper Canada. The American fleet, con- 
 sisting of 14 vessels, equipped at Sackett's Harbour, situated 
 
212 
 
 CAl'TUKE OF TOKONTU. 
 
 1813. 
 
 lit the foot of the lake, and not wry iUr (Voni Kinp^ston, in 
 a direct lino aeiH)^!*, Hailed from the harhour under Commo- 
 dore Clin net.'}', witli Hoventoon hundred men, coninianded by 
 GcnoralH Dearborn and Pike, t(> attack York, (now Toronto.) 
 In lu'o duvs the ticot was olo-ne in .shore, a little to the wuHt- 
 v.'ard of (Til)raU:ir Strait. A landinc^ wani noon eifeetcd at 
 the Fr>.Micli fort of Toronto, about three miles below York, 
 under cover of the lc'his of the fleet, but the enemy's ad- 
 vance was afterwards stoutly opposed. Six hundred militia 
 men altogether, inehidlnfif the grenadiers of the 8th regi- 
 ment of the line, could not long withstand seventeen hun- 
 dred trained troops. They withdrew and the schooners of 
 the fleet approaching close to the I'ort, commenced a heavy 
 cannonade, while (reneral Pike pushed forward to the main 
 works, which he intended to carry by storm, througli a little 
 wood. As General Sheafle, in command of the British, re- 
 tired, and as General Pike, in command of the Americans, 
 advanced, a powder magazine exploded which blew two 
 hundred of the Americans into the air, and killed Pike. Of 
 the British, fully one hundred men were killed, and the 
 walls of the fort were thrown down. The Commodore was 
 now in the harbour. And General 8heafl:e seeing that not 
 the remotest chance of saving the capital of Upper Canada, 
 now existed, most wisely determined to retreat upon King- 
 ston, lie accordingly directed Colonel Chewett, of the mi- 
 litia, to make arrangement for a capitulation, and set off 
 with his four hundred regulars for Kingston. By the capi- 
 tulation, private propert > was to be respected, and public 
 property only surrend .rod. The gain was not great, if the 
 moral effect of victory be not considered. The victors car- 
 ried off three hundred prisoners, and the British, before re- 
 treating, had considered it expedient to burn a large armed 
 ship upon the stocks, and extensive naval stores. 
 
 The Clerk of the House of Assembly of Upper Canada, a 
 volunteer, fell during the struggle. In all, the British loss 
 was one hundred and thirty killed and wounded. 
 
 It is said thnt General 8hf*nffe ^ulferod sevcrolv n th»? 
 
I8i;>.. 
 
 loKT uK(.>n«n; blown vir 
 
 218 
 
 public estimation, bconuso ho rotrontoil. The public Imd 
 forgotten that he IkrI killed and destroyc'l luorc Aincncana 
 than hud fallen on the side of the Unti.sh. Xor did it occur 
 to them that had their pMicral ni>t retreated, and rajiitu- 
 lated, an nrnuHl Heel wa.j in the haibour, which it \vi;.s iui- 
 poci.sible to drive out, evv n liad the fort lui'n .-tandin^ir, or 
 had there been ,t!:reat i?;uns, wiih wliich earth batteries could 
 have bi'.en formed, it h.i 1 not onMin-i'd to the piildic of 
 Lower Canada that if York inid been burned, Shealfc's re- 
 treat to Kin;i;8ton, woidd have been no k'.-s-i iin^xu'utive than 
 it waa. Jle was, however, Hupersedi'd in the command in 
 chief of Upi)er Canada by Major General De Rotteidiurgh. 
 The American Heet landed the troo]»H at Niapira alter tlii-s 
 success, and then sailed for Saekett'.s Harbour for reintorco- 
 ments. The Commodore, an energetic, clearheaded sailor, 
 Bcnt two of his vessels to cruise off the harltour of King- 
 ston, vigilantly, and then sent vessel after vessel, at his con- 
 venience, with troops, up the lake to Michigan. There he 
 concentrated the whole of his ships, including his Kingston 
 cruisers, for an attack upon Fort Ueorge, in combination 
 with the land force under General Dearborn. The British 
 were under the command of General Vincent, who could 
 not muster above nine hundred soldiers. It was early on 
 the morning of the 27th of ^lay, that the enemy began the 
 attack. The fort was briskl}- cannonaded, and during the 
 fire, Colonel Scott, with a body of eight hundred American 
 riflemen, effected a lauding. But they were promptly met 
 by the British and compelled to give way, in disorder. The 
 Americans retreated to the beach and crept under cover of 
 the bank, from whence they kept up a galling fire, the Bri- 
 tish troops being unable to dislodge them, on account of 
 the heavy broadsides of the American fleet, formed in Cres- 
 .cent shape, to protect their soldiers. Indeed, under cover 
 of this fire from the fleet, another body of the enemy, num- 
 ^riqg ten thousand men, effected a landing, and the British 
 were reluctantly compelled to retire. General Vincent blew 
 ^p the fort and fell back upon Burlington Heights, ov«ry 
 
•214 
 
 I'Hi: AMERICANS .-trnPRlSFD. 
 
 1813. 
 
 inch of ground beinoj .stoutly contested. Flushed with sue- 
 of'ss, Dearborn, the American General-in-Chief, now confi- 
 dently anticipated the conquest of the whole of Upper Ca- 
 na<la, and pushed forward a body of three thousand infantry, 
 two hundred and fifty horse, and nine guns. But General 
 Vincent having learned of the enemy's advance, sent Colo- 
 nel Harvey, with eight hundred men, to impede their pro- 
 gress. Harvey, an experienced and bravi^ officer, was not 
 long in discovering that the enemy kept a bad look out. 
 He resolved upon surprising them. Accordingly, he waited 
 for the darkness of night, under cover of which, a sudden 
 attack was made so successfully, that he made prisoners of 
 two generals and a hundred and fifty men, besides capturing 
 four guns. It was now the enemy's turn to retreat, and 
 they did so in admirable confusion. Arrived at Fort George 
 a halt took place, but a fortnight elapsed before General 
 Dearborn had sufficiently recovered from the eftect of this 
 surprise to send out an expedition of six hundred men to 
 dislodge a British picquet, posted at Beaver's Dam, near 
 Queenstown. The dislodgement was most indifferently ef- 
 fected, inasmuch as the expedition w^as waylaid on their 
 passage through the woods, by Captain Kerr, with a few 
 Indians, and by Lieutenant Fitzgibbons, at the head of 
 forty-six of the 49th regiment, in all, less than two hundred 
 men, but so judiciously disposed as to make the Americans 
 believe that they were the light troops of a very superior 
 army, the approach of which was expected, and thv?y, to the 
 number ot fiva hundred, surrendered, with two guns and 
 two standards. 
 
 It now became the turn of the British to invade, and 
 early in July, Colonel Bishop set out on an expedition to 
 Black Rock, at thfe head of a party of militia, aided by de- 
 tachments of the 8th, 4l8t, and 49th regiments of the line. 
 He waj perfectly successful. The enemies' block-houses, 
 stores, barracks, and dockyard were burned, and seven 
 pieces of ordnance, two hundred stand of arms, and a great 
 quantity of stores were brought away. But it was at groat 
 
1813. 
 
 BLACK ROCK — SACKKTTS HARBOUR. 
 
 210 
 
 cost. AVhile employed in securing the stores, the IJiitisli 
 were fired upon, from the woods, by some Air erican militia 
 and Indians, and while Captain Siiuuders, of the 41st, 
 dropped, severely wounded. Colonel Bishop, who had 
 planned, and so gallantly executed the assault, was killed. 
 
 AYhile these things were happening in the Far-Civiliscd- 
 AVest of that day, the British Hotilla on Lake Champlain, 
 had captured two American schooners, the Gruuier and 
 Eagle, of eleven guns each, off Islc-aux-Noix. 
 
 After it had become apparent that the Americans had the 
 command of Lake Ontario, and could visit to burn and 
 destroy every village or unfortified town, held by the Bri- 
 tish, some slight and very inadequate exertion was made to 
 remedy so distressing a state of aft'airs. Z!n May, Sir James 
 L. Yeo, with several other naval officers and 450 seamen 
 arrived at Quebec, en route for the lakes. Captains Barclay, 
 Pring, and Finnis, had been some time at Kingston, and were 
 doing something in the way of preparing fo.i service the few, 
 vessels at Kingston, by courtesy called a fleet. Sir George 
 Prevost and Sir James L. Yeo lost little time in reachino: 
 Kingston together. The American fleet was oft" Niagara, 
 bombarding Fort George. It occurred to the two com- 
 manders that an attack upon their naval station at Sackett's 
 Harbour would not be amiss, and it was resolved upon. 
 About a thousand :.xen were embarked on board of the 
 Wolfe, of 24gu' ... tho Royal George, of 24 guns, the Earl of 
 Moira, of 18 guns, and four armed echooners, each carrying 
 from ten ic t^7elve guns, with a number of batteaux. The 
 weather wi s very fine. Everything \, -: H in readiness for 
 an expeditious landing. The soldiers were transferred from 
 the armed vessels to the batteaux, so that no time might be 
 lost in the debarkation. Two gun-boa,ts were placed in rea- 
 diness, as a landing escort. T'he boats were under the di- 
 rection of Captain Mulcaptei', of the iloyal Navy, and the 
 landing under the imwrnate suporvision of Sir George Pre- 
 vost and Sir James L. Y-^o It ^vas expected that, in the 
 absence of the American tleet and arncy, the growing axid 
 
 '\ 
 
21t> 
 
 THK AKVAIH oF SACKKTT!? II A R DO i; P.. 
 
 1S13. 
 
 It 
 
 I :■, 
 I 
 
 m. 
 
 formidable naval establishment of the tnieniy would bi» 
 temporarily rendered worthless. And the expectation was 
 not an unnatural one. It was, indeed, in a trilling degree, 
 realised. There was some injury done to Saekott's Harbor, 
 but not of such a nature as to produce a strong effect upon 
 either Canadian minds or American nerves. A number of 
 boats, containing troops, from Oswego, were dispersed, 
 while doubling Stoney Point, and twelve of them, with 150 
 men on board, captured. But the loss to the British was 
 the delay caused by such an unlucky acquisition. The 
 landing was deferred by it. General Brown was put on the 
 alert.. He had time to make arrangements and to collect 
 troops. He planted 500 militia on the peninsula of Horse 
 Island, which is a sort of protection wall for the ^^<T7 jour. 
 He ordered them to be still and close, keep their powder 
 dry, and resei've their fire. And they did their best, in ac- 
 cordance with these instructions, until the fleet opened a 
 heavy cannonade to cover the landing of the invaders, when 
 General Brown's militiamen qtiaked exceedingly. When 
 the troops had landed, and the American militia had lost, 
 by death, their immediate commander, Colonel Mills, they 
 fled with the utmost precipitation. But it was the conduct 
 of these very cow^ards that afterwards alarmed, the ever 
 suspicious Sir George Prevost, and caused, to a very consi- 
 derable extent, the almost failure of the expedition. The 
 British columns were advancing somewhat rapidly towards 
 Fort Tomkins, when they were met by Colonel Backus, at 
 the head of 400 regulars, and some militia, hastily assem- 
 bled from the neighboring towns. A sharp contest ensued. 
 Colonel Backus w^as mortally wounded. His regulars still 
 maintained their ground, but a serious impression had been 
 made upon his line. On the militia, so strong an impres- 
 sion had been made that before General Brown could bring 
 up, to the assistance of Backus, 100 of the party dispersed 
 at the lauding, these irregulars fled by a road leading south 
 westwardly, through a wood. The regulars stood firm. Cap- 
 tain Gray, commanding the British advanced corps fell, and 
 
ism. 
 
 INDKCISldN (•!• .<fK tilloRdK 1MU:V<>ST. 
 
 217 
 
 the 8U.s))iciou8 nniid of Prevo-;t tUnciod a snare, lie f»aw 
 the regular soldiery of the oiieiay staiidinc; unmoved; he 
 had learned that a reghnont of American retrniars, under 
 Colonel Tutle, were marching at double i^tep, to the scene 
 of action ; and he fancied that the retreating militia were 
 not at all afraid but brilliantlv executing a ('ircuitous march 
 to gain the rear of the British line, and cut oif their retreat. 
 It was true Fort Tomkins was about to fall into British 
 hands. Already the officer in charge of Xavy l*oint, agree- 
 ably to orders, and supposing the fort to be lost, had set on 
 fire the naval magazine, containing all the stores captured at 
 York ; the hospital and barracks were illuminating the lake 
 by their grand conflagration ; and a frigate on the stocks 
 had been set on fire, only to be extinguished, when Sir 
 George Prevost's mind became unsettled, concerning the 
 ulterior designs of the enemy. In the very moment of fully 
 accomplishing the purpose of the expedition, he ordered a 
 retreat ; the troops were re-embarked without annoyance ; 
 the fleet returned safely to Kingston, and the Canadian*-* 
 public suspected that Sir George Prevost, as a military com- 
 mander, had been weighed in the balance and found want- 
 ing. They felt, indeed, mrst acutely, that Major General 
 Isaac Brock was dead, and that he was not replaced by Sir 
 George Prevost. 
 
 In the west, the Americans, under Harrison, exerted 
 themselves to recover Michigan. They were blockaded, it is 
 *^rue, and inactive witlnn Fort George, but, on Lake Erie, 
 the war was vigorously prosecuted. General Proctor was 
 kept particularly busy. The Americans were inconveni- 
 ently near. They showed no disposition to move. They 
 had settled down and were practicing masterly inactivity at 
 Sandusky. Proctor determined upon disturbing them. He 
 moved rapidly upon Lower Sandusky, and invested it with 
 five hundred regidars and militia, and upwards of three 
 thousand Indians. The Indians were commanded by Te- 
 cumseh. Having battered the fort well and made ft breach 
 Proctor determined upon carrying the place >vy assantt. The 
 
218 
 
 UNSUCCESSFUL ASSAULT UPON SANDUSKY. 
 
 18ia. 
 
 Indians, however, were worthless for the assault of a forti- 
 fied place. Concealed in the grass of the prairie, or hidden 
 in the trees of the forest, they could fire steadily and watch 
 their opportunity to rush upon the foe, but they had a horror 
 of great guns and stone walls. They kept out of range of 
 the American cannon. Nothing could induce them to con- 
 sent even to follow their British allies up to the breach. The 
 assault was, nevertheless, determined upon, and Colonel 
 Short led the storming party of regulars and militia. Under 
 cover of tlie fire of cannon the gallant band reached the 
 sum it of the glacis and stood with only the ditch between 
 them ' 'he fort. The heavy fire of the enemy upon men 
 in a po.sT' in so exposed at first produced some confusion ; 
 but the storming party soon rallied and leaped into the 
 ditch. It was then that they were smitten with such a fire of 
 grape and musketry as no men could long withstand. The 
 assailants retreated, leaving Colonel Short, three ofiScers, 
 and fitty-two men dead in the ditch, and having forty-one of 
 their number wounded, 
 
 General Proctor, finding his force inadequate to carry the 
 fort by assault, raised the siege and retired to Amherst- 
 burgh. 
 
 Although it was all important to have and maintain the 
 command of the lakes, very little was done by the British 
 with that view. It was especially necessary to obtain the 
 command of Lakes Erie, Ontario and Champlain. No great 
 aggressive movement could have been easily eftected while 
 the British had the command of the lakes. But on Lake 
 Ontario the British fleet was inferior to that of the Ameri- 
 can, the American Captain Perry had almost established 
 himself on Lake Erie, and on Lake Champlain the British 
 had not a single vessel larger than a gun-boat, and very few 
 of them. The excuse was that every vessel cost a thousand 
 pouuds a ton ; that timber, nor iron, nor anything required 
 for shipbuilding was obtainable in a province which was 
 even then compensating for the check in the Baltic timber 
 trade, in a province which abounds in iron, and was then 
 
181U. 
 
 IHi:^.. riTUPTDTTY OF THE i:X(3Lr.SII MIMTAHY I)i:P AHTMKNTS. l'l*.> 
 
 forti- 
 idden 
 watch 
 lorror 
 nge of 
 
 con- 
 i. The 
 lolonel 
 Under 
 3d the 
 etween 
 m men 
 fusion ; 
 nto the 
 
 1 tire of 
 I. The 
 officers, 
 >'-one of 
 
 irry the 
 mherst- 
 
 tain the 
 British 
 the 
 To great 
 Id while 
 in Lake 
 I Ameri- 
 [ibUshed 
 British 
 rery few 
 lousand 
 required 
 Ich was 
 timber 
 ks then 
 
 <|nite capable of buildino- liir<i:o sou-ii'oinc," oriirt nt Quchoo. 
 While it was in truth no nioro dilticuit for Fiiiijhiiui to rover 
 the lakes with (nxiinon than it was for the Tnitcd States to 
 do so, England kept sending out, at great expense, timber, 
 pitch, materials in iron, water casks, and such like to Que- 
 bec and Kingston, with some thirty or ibrty shiinvrights, 
 and less than a hundred sailors to man the flotillas of three 
 lakes. Ils^either the Admiralty nor the Ordnance had time 
 to make enquiries concerning Canada, or even to think of 
 the. American war. All eyes were upon Wellington in 
 Spain. The attention of the people of England was not 
 directed towards Canada. A wide sea rolled between the 
 two countries, and, besides, there was an indistinct notion 
 that Canada was wholly inhabited by Frenchmen, who 
 might take care of theniselves or not, as they pleased. The 
 two first vessels belonging to the British on Lake Cham- 
 plain, were built by the Americans. The British were con- 
 tented with their fort at Isle-aux-I^^oix, and rejoiced in the 
 luxury of two gun-boats. It was on a lovely morning very 
 early in June, chat a sail was seen stretching over a point of 
 land, formed by a bed in the river Chambly, and about six 
 miles distant from the fort. Another sail followed closely, 
 and the shrewd suspicion seized upon Colonel Taylor, of 
 the 100th foot, commanding the garrison, that the visitants 
 were vessels of war. He determined to war with the two 
 strangers, per mare et terram. He converted some of his 
 soldiery into marines, manned his three gun-boats, and 
 placing three artillerymen in each boat, proceeded towards 
 the enemy. But he took the additional precaution of send- 
 ing down both shores of the river a few detachments from 
 the fort. The sloops of war came up majestically, the star- 
 spangled banner waved gracefully in the gentle morning air, 
 and the American commanders were guessing the eflfect of 
 their first broadside upon Isle-aux-Noix, when they were 
 met by a heavy and well directed fire of grape from the 
 gun-boats, and by a steady torrent of bullets from the shore. 
 Still they tacked shortly from shore to shore, and evorv time 
 
i'L'O t'Ai'TiriK or TWu \\\ii vkssi:i,s at isi,k aix nuix. 181;-5. 
 
 lliey wore in at;iys, ti .sliowur ot* bullets swept tlie decks, 
 while tlie grape of the guii-boats whistle^ through the 
 rigging. From half past four in the morning until half past 
 eight, the battle raged, but then it was necessary to run one 
 of tlie sloops ashore, to prevent her from sinking, and both 
 surrendered. Tlie (rrowler and the Eafile. were worth the 
 trouble incurred in capturing them. \v.\.c\\ mount<:!d eleven 
 guns. They had long eighteens upon their forecastles, and 
 their broadside guns were composed of twelves and sixes. 
 The crew of each vessel consisted of thirtv-five men and 
 between the two vessels there was a company of marines, 
 who embarked on the previous evening at Champlain. Nor 
 •was the cost to the captors very great. I^o one was killed 
 and only three men w^ere severely wounded, while the enemy 
 f< cered severely in killed and wounded, and a hundred men 
 were made prisoners. 
 
 Hhri ': vessels now called the Shannon and the Blake, as for- 
 get-me-nots of an action recently fought, but not yet noticed, 
 in Chesapeake Bay, were speedily turned to excellent use. 
 It was conceived expedient to destroy the barracks, hospitals 
 and stores at Plattsburgh, Burlington, Champlain, and 
 Swanton, if possible, and an expedition was accordingly 
 fitted out at Isle-aux-Noix. The two captured sloops of war 
 were repaired and made ready for the lake. Captain Pring, 
 from Lake Ontario, was proipaoted to the rank of com- 
 mander and sent to take command, but the sloop of war 
 Wasp, having shortly afterwards arrived at Quebec, Captain 
 Everard, with his whole crew, were sent to Isle-aux-Noix, 
 and as senior officer assumed the command of the two ves- 
 «els and the three gun-boats. The squadron sailed on the 
 29th of July, with about nine hundred men on board, con- 
 sisting of detachments of the 13th, 100th, and 103rd rai- 
 ments of the line, under Lieutenants Colonel Taylor and 
 Smelt, some royal artillery under Captain Gordon, and a 
 few militia, as batteaux men, under Colonel Murray. The 
 expedition was altogether successful. At Plattsburgh, the 
 American General, Moore, made no opposition -to -the land- 
 
IX. 181;;. 
 
 lie decks, 
 •ongh the 
 1 half past 
 run one 
 and both 
 vorth the 
 ted eleven 
 atlew. and 
 md sixes, 
 men and 
 • marines, 
 ain. Nor 
 "^as killed 
 ;he enemy 
 dred men 
 
 ike, as for- 
 
 t noticed, 
 
 llent use. 
 
 hospitals 
 
 ain, and 
 
 iordingly 
 
 s of war 
 
 Pring, 
 
 of com- 
 
 of war 
 
 Captain 
 
 |ix-Noix, 
 
 ;wo ves- 
 
 ou the 
 
 'd, con- 
 
 d r^- 
 
 |or aud 
 
 , and A 
 
 The 
 
 h, thfi 
 
 land- 
 
 1818. 
 
 PL.a'rSllt'llU CAI'il KEI). 
 
 221 
 
 ing of the British, but retired with tiftccii hundred .soldiers, 
 Murray, meanwhile, destroying the arsoiuil, public build- 
 ings, commissariat stores, and the new barracks, capable of 
 accommodating five tlioiisand inon. Neither did the squa- 
 dron lie idly by. Captiiius Kverard and Pring, in the 
 Groiokr and Eagle, proceeded to Burlington, and threw the 
 place into the utmost consternation. Ocn'l. Hampton, who 
 was encamped there with four thousand men, was unable to 
 prevent the capture and destruction of four vessels. And 
 the two ships did not linger there either unnecessarily. 
 They went back to Blattsburgh, re-embarked the troops, and 
 proceeded to Swanton, Colonel Murray sending a detach- 
 ment to Champlain to destroy the barracks and blockhouse. 
 At Swanton the object of the expedition was accomplished, 
 and the expedition returned without casualty. 
 
 Public opinion had its effect upon the Admiralty, notwith- 
 standing the stubborn resistance of the old Lords, who still 
 privately persisted in the notion that an old tub, manned by 
 monkeys, if commanded by an officer in the royal navy, was 
 a match for the best American frigate that ever floated. 
 There had for some time back been considerable activity in 
 the English dockyards. Several vessels were commenced 
 on the model of the American frigates, and the commanders 
 of frigates and sloops of war, on the American coast, were 
 cautioned not to expose themselves to certain destruction by 
 attacking large and heavily armed vessels, only nominally of 
 the same rank or class as themselves. There was to be a real, 
 not an apparent equality. There was to be an equality in 
 tonnage, an equality in the number of guns, an equality in 
 the weight of metal, an equality in the thickness of a ship's 
 sides, and above all an equality in men, so far as such 
 equality could be ascertained. Equality in sailing power 
 was of great importance, but wdiere it was wanting, the 
 superior sailor, if superior in metal and men had an advan- 
 tage which nothing but a calm or a lucky hit aloft could 
 destroy. The crews of every ship on the North American 
 fetation were to be exercised in sunncrv. AVisdom had been 
 
2-22 
 
 WK<l)UM TllllLHT Ll'UN TllK ADMIRALTY. 
 
 1813. 
 
 liickilv luri'C'd npoii tlie AUniiraltv. And tlio rctiult was 
 good. Sir John Boiiaso, tiie naval comniaiider, in North 
 America, blockaded every harbour in the United States. 
 American coniinerce was ruined. The carrying trade of 
 the Atlantic was no longer in vVmerican hands. The public 
 revenue sank I'roni twenty-tour millions of dollars annually, 
 to eight millions. Even had the Americans possessed the 
 means of building new frigates, the expenditure would have 
 been useless, while Sir John Borlase had the command of 
 the sea. Congress did authorise the commencement of four 
 new seventy-fours, and of four forty-four gun frigates, with 
 six new sloops for the ocean, a;. d as many vessels of every 
 description, as circumstances would show the necessity for, 
 on the lakes. 
 
 Admiral Cockburn, at the head of a light squadron, was 
 most annoying to the Americans. Not only did he blockade 
 the Chesapeake and Delaw^are inlets, but he scoured eveiy 
 creek and river. Every now and then gun-boats were sent 
 on excursions, and marines landed to damage naval stores 
 and arsenals, lie was a kind of legalized pirate, who dart- 
 ed in to a harbour, bay, or port, doing every imaginable 
 kind of mischief and running oft*. 
 
 About this time there w'ere cruising oft' Boston two ships 
 of equal strength, the Shannon and the Ihiedos. Captain 
 Broke, the commander of the Shajinor., was the senior offi- 
 cer, and having determined upon a combat, if it were pos- 
 sible to effect it, between the American frigate Chesapeake^ 
 then in Boston harbour, "w^here she had passed the winter, 
 and his ow^n vessel, he sent the Tenedos to sea, with instruc- 
 tions not to return for three weeks. Captain Broke had la- 
 boriously and anxiously drilled his men. He had sighted 
 his guns and used them often. In a word, he had by long 
 continued training brought his crew to the highest state of 
 discipline and subordination. They could fire ball to a 
 nicety. At sea and in harbour he had kept his men at great 
 gun practice. He w^as in a position to cope with any forty- 
 four gun frigate, belonging to the United States, for, though 
 
1813. 
 
 Tin; •• islIAX'.ON AND " CIIKSAl'KAKK. 
 
 22^5 
 
 the Shuimon WiXA only i>ioivc(l for 38 ginis, she earriud o'2. 
 When the Tenaios liud pnt to sea, Ca[>ui'n .Broke sent in u 
 challenge to Captain Lawrence, of the Chcsapcohe^ entreat- 
 ing him to try the fortnnos of their respective flags in 
 even combat. The CAr.sy/^x'rt/v had 49gnns. Captain Broke 
 immediately lay close into Boston Light House, and the 
 Chesapeake was quickly under weigh. It is said that Cap- 
 tain Lawrence had not received the challenge of his op- 
 ponent when he stood out of the harbour, but, however that 
 may be, the Chesapeake was escorted to sea l)y a flotilla of 
 barges and pleasure boats. Victory, indeed, was considered 
 certain by the Americans. Nay, so very certain were the 
 inhabitants of Boston that the Shannon would either be sunk 
 or towed into port that, counting their chickens before they 
 were hatched, they prepared a public supper to greet tlic 
 victors on their return to the harbour, with their prisoners. 
 It was otherwise. Captain Broke saw with delight, from 
 the masthead of the Shannon, that his challenge was to bo 
 satisfactorily replied to. The Shannon wna cleared for ac- 
 tion, and waited for the Chesapeake. She had not long to 
 wait. The Chesapeake came bowling along with three flags 
 flying, on which were inscribed — " Sailors, rights and free 
 trade." The Shannon had her union jack at the foremast, 
 and a somewhat faded blue ensign at the mizen peak. 
 There were two other ensigns rolled into a ball ready to be 
 fastened to the haulyard and hoisted in case of need. But 
 her guns were well loaded, alternateh- with two round shot 
 and a hundred and fifty musket balls, and with one round 
 and one double-headed shot in each gun. The enemy hauled 
 up within two hundred j^ards of the mizen beam and cheer- 
 ed. The Shannon cheered in return, and then the bravest 
 held his breath for a time. A moment more and the Shan- 
 non's decks flashed fire. "With deliberate aim each gun 
 along her sides was discharged, and the enemy, in passing, 
 fired with good eft'ect his whole broadside. The Shannon's 
 shot, however, told upon the rigging of the Chesapeake, and 
 upon her men, and after two or three broad sides, the Chesa- 
 
00.1 
 
 TIIK flGHT — TIIK THILMI'II. 
 
 1818. 
 
 peakc in atteiiiptiiii!: to haul licr tbrosjiil up lull on board tlit? 
 Shminon, wlioso starbounl bower anchor locked with the 
 Shannon'fi mizeii chains. The irreat guns, with the exception 
 of the Shannon s two aftermost ufuns ceased tirinji. The 
 Chesapeake's btorn was beaten in, and her decks swept. 
 There w^as now a siiarp fire of musketry from botli sides, 
 but (yaptain Broke perceivine; that the Chesapeake s men liad 
 left their guns, called up his boai'ders, at the same time or- 
 dering the two sliips to be lashed togetlior. And Mr. Ste- 
 vens, the Shannon's boatswain, set about the execution of 
 the latter order. Tlis left arm was hacked off hy the ene- 
 my's marines, and heAvas mortally wounded by a shot from 
 the Chesapeake's tops. He proceeded, nevertheless, in fast- 
 ening the two ships together, and then dropped in death 
 between the vessels. Captain Lawrence was wounded and 
 carried below, when Captain Broke, at the head of his 
 boarders, leapt upon the Chesapeake's quarter-deck. The 
 enemy's crew were soon oveqDowered and driven below. 
 Forcing his way forward, the Shannon's men shut down the 
 Chesapeake's hatches and kept up a fire on the men in the 
 tops, while the Shannon's men at the same time, under Mr. 
 Smith, forced their way from the foreyard to the Chesa- 
 peake's mainyard, and soon cleared the tops. Captain Broke 
 was at this time assailed furiously by three American sailors, 
 who had previously submitted, and w^as knocked down by 
 the butt end of a musket, but as he rose he had the stisfac- 
 tion of seeing the American flag hauled down and the proud 
 old British union floating over it in triumph. Fifteen mi- 
 nutes had only elapsed and the Chesapeake was entirely in 
 the hands of the British. There was one lamentable mis- 
 hap. Lieutenant Watt, who hauled down the enemy's co- 
 lours was, with two of his men, killed by a discharge of 
 musketry from the Shannon's marines, in the belief that the 
 conflict still continued. The Chesapeake had forty-seven 
 killed and ninety-eight wounded, and the Sliannon lost in 
 killed twenty-four, while tifty-uine had been wounded. It 
 was so ascertained that on equal terms England stiU held 
 
1813. "ARdUs" A "PKLTCAN" — "boxer" & "UNTERI'RII=5E." 225 
 
 tlio suproiiiaov of tlio seas, and tlio exultation in Fjnu;land 
 was so icrout tliat cvorv ri'dit-minded man wont with the 
 government wlien tliey made ('Uptain Broke a ))aronet. 
 The hroadside ujuns ol' the S/unnvm were 25, of tlie OlH^na- 
 2)€o.kc25; the wcii^ht of metal in the former was 538 Ihs., 
 and of the latter 590 lbs. ; while the Shamion had 30(1 and 
 the Chcmpmke 370 men. 
 
 The C7tf.w/>m/ir was carried into Halifax, where her jjjal- 
 hint, gentlemanly, and ill-starred commander died and was 
 buried, with full military honors, in the presence of all the 
 British oiHcers on the station, who uncovered themselves as 
 they laid into the grave all that was earthly of their noble 
 foe. 
 
 The tide of fortune on the sea had now turned in favor of 
 Great Britain. On the 14th of August, the Argus, of twenty 
 guns, employed in carrying out Mr. Crawford, the Ameri- 
 can Minister to France, was met after having landed the 
 minister off St. David's, at the mouth of the Irish channel, 
 by the British brig Pelican^ of eighteen guns, more heavily 
 armed, though carrying fewer guns, and better manned than 
 the Argus, so that, everything considered, the vessels were 
 tolerably well matched. As a matter of course they fought, 
 and the Pelican, one of the improved brigs, soon out-man- 
 ceuvred and raked her antagonist. Captain Allen, of the 
 Argus, fell at the lirst broadside. The Argus was ultimately 
 obliged to surrender with a loss of six killed and seventeen 
 wounded, her opponent having only three killed and live 
 wounded. 
 
 It was not longafter this that the Britio It brig Boxer, o^ 
 
 only fourteen guns and 8ixt3'-six men, leil a prize to the 
 
 American brig Enterprise, of sixteen guns and one hundi-ed 
 
 and twenty men, but afterwards, throughout the war, single 
 
 combats, where there was even an approach to equality, 
 
 terminated in favor of the British. Captain Bljiihe, of the 
 
 Boxer, and the commander of the Enterprise, Lieutenant 
 
 Burrows, were buried in one grave, at Portland in Maine, 
 
 with militarv honors. 
 
 z 
 
IJi'C 
 
 IHAVtM.INU — THh; TflOl'SAND ISLANDS. 
 
 I8i8. 
 
 'riiua wore the favors of Mars ytill huUiiiciHl witir tolerable 
 liiirness between the combatants. 
 
 Between Upper and Lower Canada the eoninuinieation 
 by either land or water, in summer, was very imperftict, 
 during the war. There was then no Kidcan Canal, connect- 
 ing Kingston with the Ottawa and the St. Lawrence. And 
 there was neither the Laeiiine, the iieauhariK 'hi Corn- 
 wall nor any other canal by which tlie dangers cmO ditKcul- 
 ties of the St. Lawrence rapids might he avoided. Only 
 batteanx and canoes j)lied between Upper and Lower Ca- 
 nada. A kind of Hat-bottomed boat, of li'Dm Jjr> to 40 feet 
 in length, and about six feet beam in the centre, carrying 
 from four to four and a half tons, was only avjillahle for the 
 transport of passengers, goods, wares, and merchandise. 
 The boat was worked by oars, a mast and sail, drag-ropes 
 for towing, and long poles for pushing them through the 
 rapids, while the bow was kept towards the shore by a tow 
 line held by the boat's crew or attached to hor.' ^. From 
 ten to twelve days were occupied iu the voyag m Mon- 
 treal or Lachiue to Kingston. To convey stores irom La- 
 c'hiue to Kingston, during the war, required some tact. On 
 one side of the river were the British batteries, while ex- 
 actly opposite was an American fort or earthwork, which as 
 the batteaux poled past Prescott or Brockville, could throw 
 ft round shot or two in their immediate vicinity without 
 very much trouble. Indeed the Americans did very quietly 
 send one or two cruisers and privateers to dodge about that 
 marine paradise, the Thousand Islands, forming the delta of 
 Lake Ontario, and covered to this day with timber to the 
 water's edge, islands of all sizes and of all forms, gently 
 rising out of the limpid rippling stream, or boldly standing 
 forth from the deep blue water, presenting a rugged, rocky 
 mo88-ciad front to the wonderstruck beholder. On the 20th 
 of July, some cruisers from Sackett's Harbour, succeeded 
 in surprising and capturing, at daybreak, a brigade of bat- 
 teanx laden with provisions, under convoy of a gun-boat. 
 They made off with their prize to Goose Creek, which is not 
 
1813. 
 
 aoOSB CREEK — THE ATTACK. 
 
 007 
 
 fjvr from (umaiiCKHH'. At Kin^fiton tlio loss of the sujtplics 
 was Hooii uscortaiiu'd, ami Lieutoiuuit tScott, of tlio Uoval 
 Navy, wiirt (lesjtjitchod with a detuohnient of tho lOOth ivai- 
 munt, ill Lcmi-l'oats, to intercept tiio pluiulon'rH. At the 
 lower end of Lowj; Island, he uHcertainrd the retreat of tho 
 enemy, and waited patiently for the morniiio;. In the even- 
 inir, utili later, a fourth gun-hoat with a detachment of the 
 41rtt regiment came n[», and liaving parsed the night in 
 l)right aniicipations of glory, the rescuing gnn-hoats pro- 
 
 ded at th 
 
 th( 
 
 Creek'. T 
 
 morning to ijroose 
 had gone well up and had judiciously entrcmched th< m- 
 selves hehind logs, wliile they had adopted the Russian plan 
 of blocking up the entrance to their harbor where the Creek 
 became so narrow that the attacking gun-boats found it ne- 
 cessary to pole up even that far. Lieutenant tScott set his 
 men to work, to remove tlie barriers to his ingress, but a 
 brisk fire soon caused him to desist, and indeed he was very 
 nearly disabled. The only gun-boat that could be l)rought 
 to bear upon the enemy was already disabled, and the con- 
 sequences might have been disastrous but for the gallant 
 conduct of the soldiers, who leaped from the sternmost 
 boats, up to their necks, carrying their muskets high over- 
 head, and charged the enemy on landing, causing them to 
 retreat with precipitation behind their entrenchment. While 
 this was being done, the gun-boats were got afloat and put 
 to rights, and the soldiers expeditiously re-embarking the 
 re-capture of the provisions was abandoned. Captain Milnes, 
 a volunteer aid-de-camp to the Commander of the Forces, 
 was killed. 
 
 A second boat expedition from Kingston failed, Sir Jamea 
 Yeo, conceived that he might out cut of Sackett's Har- 
 bour the new American ship Pike, the equipment of which 
 Commodore Chancey was superintending. He arrived at 
 the mouth of the harbor, but the enemy having accidentally 
 heard of his errand, Sir James abandoned a scheme that 
 could only have been effected by surprise. In July, the 
 American fleet appeared on the lake with augmented force. 
 
228 
 
 YORK — CAriURE OF THE "JULIA & " GROWLER 
 
 181 a. 
 
 Colonel Scott, with a company of artillery and a considera- 
 ble number of other soldiers was on board, en route for Bur- 
 lington Heights. He was n^ost anxious to destroy the Bri- 
 tish stores there, the more especially as the place was only 
 occupied by Major Maule, at the head of a small detach- 
 ment of regulars. Lieutenant-Colonel Harvey, the Deputy 
 Adjutant-General of the army, shrewdly suspecting the de- 
 sign of the enemy, despatched Colonel Battorsby from 
 York, who arrived in time to re-inforce Maule. Scott made 
 no attack, but with the advice, or at all events, the concur- 
 rence of the commodore, did a much wiser thing. The ex- 
 pedition sailed upon York, which Lieutenant-Colonel Bat- 
 tersby had evacuated to save Burlington. A landing was 
 effected at York, of course, without opposition ; the store- 
 houses, barracks, and public buildings were burned, and 
 such stores as were worth carrying away, taken. In Lake 
 Champlain, on the same afternoon. Colonel Murray aud 
 Captains Everard and Pringle were retaliating at Plattsburg, 
 Burlington, Champlain, and Swanton. Commodore Chan- 
 cey having effected his purpose sailed for Niagara, whither 
 he was followed by Sir James Yeo, and /ooked in upon on 
 the 31st of July. Chancey, without loss of time, raised his 
 anchors and stood out of the bay, bearing down upon the 
 Ki'itish squadron. Sir James manoeuvred, keeping out of 
 range, and indeed coquetted with the enemy, until he had 
 an opportunity of pouncing upon two of his vessels, the 
 Julia and Growler^ which he cut off and captured. He still 
 pursued the same tantalizing course of action, and Com- 
 modore Chancey became completely disheartened, when the 
 Scourge of eight, and the Hamilton of nine guns, in endea- 
 vouring to escape from the British, capsized under a press of 
 i3ail, and went down, all hands perishing, except sixteen 
 who were picked up by the boats of the opposing squadron. 
 Immediately after this disaster he stood off for Sackett's Har- 
 bour, and arrived there on the 13th of August. He merely 
 took in provisions, however, and again sailed for Niagara, 
 arriving there early in September. On the 7th the British 
 
1813. 
 
 KNCJAOEMENT ON LAKE ONTARIO — THE Mlt^IIAP. 
 
 229 
 
 fleet appoured olt' the harbour, and Ohancey stood out into 
 the lake. The two fleets manccuvred as before, avoiding 
 close quarters, and indeed, for full five days, hardly ex- 
 changed a shot. But on the 28th of September, the fleets 
 approached each other, and a sharp engagement ensued be- 
 tween the two flag ships. The Wolfe, in which Sir James 
 Yeo's pendant was hoisted, lost her main and mizen top- 
 masts, and only that the Roijal Georr/c ran in betwce!i the 
 Wolfe and the Pike, enabling the former to haul olf and 
 repair, the British flag ship would have been captured. As 
 it was. Sir James Yeo made off with his fleet to take refuge 
 under Burlington Heights.* Soon after, the American fleet 
 took troops from Fort George to Sackott's Harbour, from 
 whence an expedition was being fitted out, in the way, cap- 
 turing five out of seven small vessels, from York, contain- 
 ing 250 men of DcWatteville's regiment, intended to rein- 
 force the garrison at Kingston. 
 
 On the lakes of Upper Canada, the fair face of fortune 
 was turned away from the British. As yet the capricious 
 lady had only frowned, but now she was positively sulky. 
 A serious and indeed dreadful disaster, which could not be 
 afterwards repaired, but entailed loss upon loss to the Bri- 
 tish, occurred on Lake Eric. The British provinces were 
 indeed exposed by it to the most imminent danger. At one 
 blow all the advantages gained by Brocke were lost. On 
 Lake Erie as on Lake Ontario, both the British and the 
 Americans exerted themselves in the construction of war 
 vessels. The groat drawback to the British was the want 
 of seamen. Captain Barclay, when appointed to the com- 
 mand on Lake Erie, in May, took with him fifty English 
 seamen, to man two*hips, two schooners, a brig and a sloop, 
 the rest of the crews being made up of 210 soldiers and 80 
 Canadians. Captain Perry, the American commander, had 
 two more vessels, an equal number of guns, double the 
 weight of metal, and was fully manned by experienced sea- 
 
 • The fleet conslstcil of the IVolfc 23 ; tlic Roijal (korgc 22 ; the MclvUlc 14 ; 
 the Eart Moira 11; th<; Sir Sijdnvy Vwiit/t I'l: and the Iknxfuid 13, 
 
■ #■■ 
 
 280 
 
 r.ARCLAY AND PKRRY. 
 
 1818. 
 
 ■i * 
 r 
 
 If ' 
 
 1 I 
 
 men. Captain Barclay sailed from Amherstburgh and 
 stretched his little squadron across the entrance to Presque 
 Isle. The American squadron, under Perry, was riding at 
 anchor, un ^ble to put out, because the bar at the entrance 
 of the harbour prevented it from crossing, except with the 
 guns out, an operation not considered perfectly safe when 
 done in the face of an enemy. Captain Barclay was under 
 the necessity of momentarily leaving his station, and his 
 opponent. Perry, crossed the bar. Barclay in turn became 
 the blockaded party. He made with all haste for Amherst- 
 burgh and was shut in by Perry. Bl .ay practiced his 
 soldiers at the guns, and learned his Canadians how to han- 
 dle the ropes. He was indefatigable in his exertions to 
 render his crew as efficient as such a crew could be made on 
 shipboard. He yet feared to meet Perry and his picked 
 crews, but his provisions fell short, and he was compelled to 
 put out. The result was a battle, the last thing to have 
 been desired, where so much depended on the issue. Vic- 
 tory was stoutly contested for on both sides. At 11 o'clock, 
 on the forenoon of the 10th of September, the American 
 squadron, consisting of nine vessels, and the British squa- 
 dron, consisting of six vessels, formed in lines of battle. 
 At a quarter before 12, Captain Barclay's ship, the Queen 
 Charlotte, opened a tremendous fire upon the Lawrence, the 
 flag ship of Commodore Perry. The Lawrence was torn to 
 pieces. She became unmanageable. Except the Commo- 
 dore and four or five others, every man on board was either 
 killed or wounded. Perry abandoned her, and the coloura 
 were hauled down ; but he only left one ship to rehoist his 
 flag in another, as yet untouched. He boarded the Niagara, 
 of twenty guns, and a breeze springing up behind his ships, 
 which as yet had not been in action, he obtained the wea- 
 ther gage of the British, and made it necessary for them to 
 wear round. It was in the endeavour to execute this man- 
 oeuvre that Barclay lost the advantage. His inexperienced 
 and, therefore, somewhat awkward sailors, became flurried, 
 and the vessels fell foul of each other. They were tor the 
 
181.". 
 
 THE BATTLE — THE AMERICANS VICTORIOUS. 
 
 231 
 
 most part jammed togetlier. with their bows lacing the 
 enemy's broadside. Captain PeiTy saw his advantage and 
 raked the Detroit, the Queen Charlotte, and Lady Prevost, at 
 pleasure. The Chippewa and Little Belt had been separated 
 from the other ships, and were liotly engaged by the Ame- 
 ricans. The Britisli line was, in a word, broken. The car- 
 nage was now dreadful, and the result awfully disastrous to 
 the British. Barclay fell, severely wounded. Ever}' officer 
 was either killed or wounded. And two hundred out of 
 three hundred and fortv-live men were in a like condition. 
 For three hours the battle raged, but at the end of that time 
 the British squadron was capsized, and Perry, in imitation 
 of Julius Caesar, sent the message to Washington : — " We 
 have met the enemy, and they are ours." Of the Ameri- 
 cans, twenty-seven were killed and ninety-six wounded. 
 
 This was a sore blow and terrible discouragement to Ca- 
 nada. Supplies of provisions were no longer obtainable by 
 General Proctor from Kingston, and Michigan was, conse- 
 quently, untenable. The speedy evacuation of Detroit, and 
 a retreat towards the head of Lake Ontario, became inevita- 
 ble. Commodore Perry could, at any moment, land a force 
 in General Proctor's rear, and entirely cut him oif from 
 Kingston and York, and the lower part of Upper Canada. 
 General Proctor at once retreated, abandoning and destroy- 
 ing all his fortified posts, beyond the Grand River. He dis- 
 mantled first Detroit and then Amherstburgh, setting fire to 
 the navy yard, barracks, and public stores, of the latter 
 place. And he had just done so in time. . As soon after the 
 destruction of the British fleet, as circumstances would per- 
 mit, Commodore Perrj'^ transported the American forces, 
 under General Harrison, from Portage River and Fort 
 Meigs, to Put-in-Bay, from whence they were conveyed ta 
 Amherstburgh, which they occupied on the 23rd of De- 
 cember. Proctor retreated through woods and morasses, 
 upon the Thames, hotly pursued by Harrison. The brave 
 Tecumseh, at the head of the Indians, endeavored to cover 
 his retreat. But on the 4th oi' October, the enemv came so 
 
232 proctor's retreat — Kentucky mounted rifles. 1813. 
 
 
 w > 
 
 close upon the British rear as to succeed in capturing all 
 their stores and ammunition. Destitute of the means of 
 subsistence, worn down with fatigue, and low-spirited by 
 misfortune. Proctor came to the determination of staking 
 all on the hazard of a die. He resolved upon bringing the 
 enemy to an engagement, and took up a position near the 
 Moravian village upon the Thames. Tecumseh and his 
 Indians assumed a position, well to the British right, in a 
 thicket. Prescott di'ew out his right in line on a swamp, 
 and supported it by a field piece, while liis left stretched 
 along, towards the Thames, supported by anotlier field piece. 
 The ground was not well chosen. Between Proctor and his 
 enemy there was a diy or rather elevated piece of ground, 
 covered with lofty trees, Avithout underbrush. On the fol- 
 lowing day the enemy came up. Ilarrisoji drew up his army 
 in two lines, the cavalry in front, and ordered the Kentucky 
 Riflemen, commanded by Colonel Johnson, to charge the 
 British, which they could not so easily or eftectually have 
 done, had the British been either on the summit of the 
 wooded knoll or some distance behind the swamp. The 
 Kentuckians slowly advanced through the wood, receiving 
 two vollics from the British line, before they were out of it. 
 It was then that they dashed forward at full speed, broke 
 the British ranks, and wheeled about. Taken, as it were, 
 suddenly, in the rear, Proctor's men became confused. To 
 resist or to retreat was equally impossible. They could 
 only retreat by forcing the American infantry, in front, and 
 they could only resist by facing the Kentucky Riflemen 
 in the rear, who had already ridden through them and had 
 now raised their rifles to decimate them. The British threw 
 tlown their arras and the Indians, with the exception of Te- 
 cumseh and a chosen few fled, yelling, through the woods. 
 Tecumseh fought desperately, even with the mounted rifles. 
 He sprang upon their leader, Colonel Johnson, wounded 
 him and pulled him to the earth. But, at this moment, 
 .lohnson's faithful dragoons spurred to his rescue. Tecum- 
 seh Wilt* surrounded and pierced with buUetf^. Raising his 
 
1813. 
 
 DEATH OF TliCUMSEII — FLIGHT OF PROCTOll. 
 
 233 
 
 handa aloft, to the great Father of all, this faithful ally and 
 courageous savage, gave one last, stern, defiant look, at the 
 foe, and breathed no more. General Proctor and his per- 
 sonal staff, with a few men, had previously sought safety by 
 flight to Ancastcr. And this remnant of the right division, 
 including Proctor and seventeen otficers, amounting to only 
 two hundred and forty-six men, arrived at Ancaster on the 
 17tli of October. 
 
 Harrison was greatly superior in numbers, and had ca- 
 valry, which Proctor was entirely without. The Kentucky 
 cavalry were accustomed to fighting in the forest, and were 
 expressly armed for it. Proctor did not exhibit ordinary 
 judgment in his selection of ground. lie had hardly time 
 to cut down trees and to entrench himself, and the proba- 
 bility is that he was not aware of the enemy's possession of 
 cavalry, and therefore was less prudent in liis choice of 
 ground than otherwise ho would have been. Harrison, the 
 American commander, had no less than 3,500 men with 
 him, and as he captured only 25 British officers and 609 
 rank and file, all that surrendered, while two hundred and 
 forty-six in all only escaped, the mishap to Proctor who was 
 personally a brave ofliccr, as he had re])eatedly proved, 
 ought not to have excited surprise. But the disaster fol- 
 lowing as it did, and as should have been expected, the ca- 
 lamity on Lake Erie, the Governor-in-Chief was highly in- 
 censed, and nearly sacrificed Proctor to pu])lic opinion. He 
 abused him and his army in no measured terms, in general 
 orders. He contrasted the conduct of the soldiery with that 
 of Tecumseh and his Indians. He charged the Adjutant- 
 General lieiftenstein with gross prevarication. He sneered 
 at the captured, few of whom had been rescued by an ho- 
 norable death from the ignominy of passing under the 
 American yoke, and whose wounds pleaded little in mitiga- 
 tion of the reproach. The officers in retreating from De- 
 troit, Sandwich and ^lalden, seemed to have been more 
 anxious about their ):>aggage than they had afterwards been 
 about their honor. The enemy had attacked and defeated 
 
234 GKNKIUL PKOOTOU KEPRIMANDKD AAU .StSJl'liNDliD. 1813. 
 
 I! > 
 
 Proctor and his riu^ht division without a struggle. Ho 
 could not indeed fully disclose to the British army the full 
 extent of disgrace which had fallen upon a formerly de- 
 serving portion of tho army. Sir George Prevost who had 
 himself behaved so well at Sackott's Harbour, and who af- 
 terwards acted so honorablv towards Commodore Downie, 
 at Plattsburgh, did not spare an oiRcer whom he had him- 
 self raised to the rank of Brigadier-General for previous 
 gallantry in the field, and for distinguished success. Nay, 
 he brought him to a Court Martial. The Court found that 
 he had not retreated with judgment and had not judiciously 
 disposed of his force, considering the extraordinary diffi- 
 culties of his situation ; but it further found that his per- 
 sonal conduct was neither defective nor reproachable. He 
 was sentenced to be suspended from rank and pay for 
 six months. George the Tonrth, then Prince Regent, was 
 still more severe upon the unfortunate Proctor. He con- 
 firmed the sentence and censured the Court for mistaken 
 lenity. 
 
 There was this difference between Sir George Prevostand 
 General Proctor : — Prevost was excessively cautious : Proc- 
 tor was incautious to excess. 
 
 All Western Canada, with the exception of Michillimac- 
 kinac was now lost to the British. The Americans had hot 
 only recaptured Michigan, but the issue of one battle had 
 given them a long lost territory, and the garden of Upper 
 Canada. Harrison did not move against Michillimackinac, 
 being persuaded that it would fall for want of provisions, but 
 went to Buffalo and from there went to Niagara and Fort 
 George, abandoned by General Vincent, who had fallen 
 back, on hearing of Proctor's discomfiture, on Burlington 
 Heights. In retreating, Vincent sent his baggage on before 
 him, followed by the main body of his araiy, some three or 
 four thousand sickly men, and kept his picquets in front of 
 Fort George to deceive the enemy : seven companies of the 
 100th and the light company of the 8th regiment, and a few- 
 Indians, more men than Proctor had altogether, constituted 
 
1813. 
 
 1813. 
 
 THE INTL.NDED .VITACK L'l'ON MO.MKLAL. 
 
 235 
 
 the roar guard, and covered the retreat. The guard was 
 closely pressed by 1,500 of the enemy, under Generals Mc- 
 Clure and Porter, from Fort (jleorge, but the guard managed 
 to keep them in check and enabled Vincent and Proctor to 
 effect a Junction at the heights of Burlington. The rear 
 guard halted at Stoney Creek, but the enemy refused to give 
 battle. 
 
 The result of these operations, in the northwest, so 
 flattered the Americans as to induce the government at 
 Washington to attempt a more effectual invasion of Canada, 
 General Dearborn had been replaced, on account of ill- 
 health, in the chief command of the armv of the north, bv 
 General Wilkinson. The force intended for the contem- 
 plated invasion of Canada amounted to twelve thousand 
 men. There were eight thousand stationed at Niagara and 
 four thousand at Plattsburg, commanded by Hampton, in 
 addition to which, the forces under Harrison, were expected 
 to arrive in time to furnish important assistance. It was in 
 pursuance of this policy that Harrison suddenly left Fort 
 George for Sackett's Harbour. General Wilkinson was 
 concentrating his forces at Grenadier's Island, which is si- 
 tuated between Sackett's Harbour and Kingston, at the foot 
 of Lake Ontario, and the plan was to descend the St. Law- 
 rence, in batteaux and gun-boats, passing by the forts and 
 forming a junction with Hampton, to proceed to the Island 
 of Montreal. The plan was not by any means an injudi- 
 cious one, and its failure was almost marv^ellous. The ex- 
 peditions were checked, and indeed annihilated by petty 
 skirmishes, and that lack of decision, so fatal to military 
 commanders. Hampton advanced on the 20th of Septenjpi 
 ber. At Odelltown he surprised the British picquet, and 
 from thence he took the road leading to L'Acadie. He liad, 
 therefore, to pass through a swamp, covered with wood, for 
 upwards of five leagues, before reaching the open country. 
 Colonel HeSalaberry had done his best with the aid of his 
 Voltigeurs to make the road a bad one to travel on. In the 
 preceding campaign he had felled trees and laid them ac^ross 
 
23G 
 
 DE BALABJillllY AND HIS VOLTKJEUUy. 
 
 1813. 
 
 V 
 
 it, and lio hud dng hcilos here und there, which 80ou eou- 
 taiiied the desired (juaiitity of swampish water and kept the 
 road as moist as couhl l)c wi.shed. It was on the advance of 
 Hampton, guarded l)y a few of the Frontier Light Infantrj 
 and some Indians, under tlie direction of Captain Mailloux. 
 To strengthen Mailloux, Colonel DeSalal)erry with his Vol- 
 tigeurs and the flank companies of a battalion of militia, 
 under Major Perrault, took up a position on both sides of 
 the road among the trees, after the manner of the Indians. 
 Hampton did not like the general appearance of matters 
 and turned off the road, moving with liis Avholo force to- 
 wards the head of the river Chateauguay. DeSalaberry, 
 with his Voltigeurs; also moved upon the Chateauguay. 
 He was ordered, by the Commander of the Forces, to pro- 
 ceed to the enemy's camp at Four Corners, at the head of 
 Chateauguay, create an alarm, and, if possible, surprise and 
 dislodge him. He had only with him one hundred and 
 iifty Voltigeurs, the light company of the Canadian Fenci- 
 bles, and a hun(h'ed Indians, in charge of Mr. Gaucher. 
 / The Four Corners were reached unobserved. But an alarm 
 was instantly given to the camp by the forwardness of an 
 Indian, who discharged his musket without necessity, and 
 without orders. DeSalaberry could now only close up his 
 men and push forward. In a few minutes his brave band 
 ~ were in the midst of the enemy, numbering about four hun- 
 dred, wliom they drove before them, like sheep. His w^eak- 
 ness, in numbers, for only fifty men and a few Indians had 
 come up, was, however, soon apparent, and the enemy came 
 to a halt, and another section of the foe made a movement 
 with the view of out-flanking the assailants. DeSalaberry 
 wisely fell back upon the position, from which he had 
 emerged, upon the camp, at the skirt of the wood, and 
 shortly afterwards the Indians having all fallen back, 
 he retired altogether. The loss was very trifling, but the 
 effect was excellent, both upon the enemy and upon the 
 hitherto untried Voltigeurs. The enemy perceived or sup- 
 posed that he perceived great preparations made to dispute 
 
i8in. 
 
 TIIK BATTLE OF CIIATKAUOIAY. 
 
 2.'17 
 
 Ijis advanca, iiicli by inch, wliilo the Volti_!]^ourM i)or('eivc(l 
 that men arc liardly aware of how much tlicy ;ii-c cajialtk' of 
 doing until tiiey try. DuSahihorry rcturiiod to Chatoau- 
 guay, breaking up llie road in his rear, and having ascer- 
 tained the road by which Hampton was dctcrnnnod to ad- 
 vance, ho judiciously took up a position in a thick wood, 
 on the left bank of the river Oliateauu-uav, two Icacrues 
 above its confluence with English river. Here, he threw up 
 breastworks of logs, and his front and right flanks were 
 covered by extended abattis. His left rested on the river. 
 In his rear the river being fordable, he covered the ford 
 with a strong breastwork, defended by a guard, and kept a 
 strong piccpiet of Beauharnois militia in advance on the 
 right bank of the river, lest, by any chance, the enemy 
 should mistake the road which DeSalaberry designed him 
 to take, and crossing the ford, under cover of the forest, 
 should dislodge him from his excellent position. Fortune 
 favors the brave, when judicious. Hampton, having de- 
 tached Colonel Clarke to devastate Missisquoi Bay, pre- 
 pared to advance. He sent General Izard, with the light 
 troops and a regiment of the line, to force a militia picquet 
 at the junction of the rivers Outaite and Chateauguay, and 
 there the main body of the Americans arrived on the 22nd. 
 Two days later the enemy repaired DeSalaberry's road and 
 brought fonvard his ten pieces of artillery to withiiT seven 
 miles of DeSalaberry's position. He had discovered the 
 ford, and the light brigade, and a strong body of infantry of 
 the line, under Colonel Purdy, were sent forward on the 
 evening of the 25th, to fall upon DeSalaberry's rear, while 
 the main body were to assail in front. Purdy's brigade lost 
 themselves in the w^oods. But Hampton himself appeared 
 in front, with his brigadier, Izard, and about 3,500 men. A 
 picquet of twenty-five was driven in, but it only fell back 
 upon a second picquet, when a most resolute stand was 
 made. Colonel DeSalaberry heard the firing and advanced 
 to the rescue. He had with him, Ferguson's company of 
 Fencibles, and Chevalier Dnchesnay's and Juchereau Du- 
 
238 
 
 EXCELLENT EFFECT OF MUSIC. 
 
 1818. 
 
 V 
 
 chesnay's conipaiiies of Voltiiyeur.s. lie posted the Fenci- 
 blos, in extended order, every man being ut un arni'H lerigth 
 from his neighbor, in the nigiit, in front of tlie abattis*, the 
 right touching the adjoining wood.s in whicli wonio Abena- 
 (juis Indians liad distrilnited themselves. Chevalier J)u- 
 elieanay's company, in skirmisliing order, in lino extended 
 from the left of the Fencibles to Cluiteauguav, and Juche- 
 reau Duchesnay's company, and tliirty-live militia, under 
 Captain Longtain, were ranged, in close order, along the 
 margin of the river, to prevent a flank Are from the enemy. 
 The Americans advanced steadily, in sections, to within 
 musket shot, aud DeSalaberry commenced the action by 
 discharging his rifle. The greatest possible noise was pur- 
 posely made by buglers, stationed here and there, — on the 
 wings, in the centre, and in the rear. It was indeed diffi- 
 cult to say whether the noise of the bugles or of the firing 
 was the most terrific. The enemy wheeled into line and 
 began to fire in voUies, but threw away their bullets, as the 
 battalions were not fronting the Voltigeurs or Fencibles, 
 but firing needless vollies into the woods, much to their right 
 where they suspected men to be. So hot was the fire of the 
 Voltigeurs, however, that the enemy soon found out his 
 mistake, and brought his vollies to bear, as well as he could, 
 in the right direction. Now, some of the skirmishers, under 
 DeSalaberry retreated, and the enemy cheered aud advanced. 
 Again the buglers sounded the advance, and the sound of 
 martial music echoed through the woods, so that it seemed 
 as if 200,000 men were being marshalled for the fight. It 
 was at this crisis that Colonel McDonell arrived with rein- 
 forcements, and the ardour of the enemy was checked. 
 Purdy, long lost in the woods, was now guided towards the 
 ford by the firing and the music. He drove in Captain 
 Brugueire's picquet, which was on the opposite side of the 
 river, and was pushing for the ford. DeSalaberry sent Cap- 
 tain Daly with the light company of the 3rd battalion of the 
 embodied militia to cross the river and take up the ground 
 abandoned by the picquet. He did bo gallantly, driving 
 
l»13. 
 
 Tllb lANAltlANS VlCTUllK'US. 
 
 • > 
 
 89 
 
 buck the AiiierioHr» uclvancfd u;uuri.l, but was ultt'iwarcls 
 compelled to retreat. The eiieiny, as I)iilv retreated, ap- 
 peared on the veri^o of the river. DiSalaberry uave the 
 word to Jiichereaii Duelicsnay to up and at tliuin, and his 
 men, rising from their plaee of eoni-eahiient, poured in u 
 iire upon Purdy's Amerieans, vvliieh vva^ as uncxjteeteii 
 as it was etfeetual. The Americans reeled back and then 
 turned and ran. Hampton seeing Purdy's diseomtiture, 
 slowly withdrew, leaving C'olonel I>eSalaberry, with less 
 than three hundred Canadians, in possession of his })osition, 
 rind with all the honors of victory. The loss was not great 
 on either side. Of the Americans, forty were found dead. 
 The Canadians lost five killed and twenty wouikUmI. For 
 this nicely managed skirmish DeSalaberry was justly loaded 
 with honors, his officers antl men were publicly thanked, 
 and five pairs of colours were presented to the five batta- 
 lions of Canadian embodied militia, by the Prince Regent. 
 
 Hampton retired upon Four Corners, and afterwards re- 
 treated to Plattsburgh, instead of co-operating with Wil- 
 kinson, as intended. 
 
 Simultaneously with Hampton's advance upon Chateau- 
 guay, or nearly so, Wilkinson proceeded down the St. Law- 
 rence, with a flotilla of upwards of three hundred boats, 
 protected by a division of gun-boats, until he was within 
 three miles of Prescott, when he landed his troops, and 
 marched down with them, by land, to a cove two miles be- 
 low Fort Prescott, so as to avoid the British batteries. The 
 boats haviug past during the night, without suffering any ^ 
 material injury from the cannonading of the fort. 
 
 So soon as the American movement was ascertained at 
 Kingston, General DeRottenburg sent the 49th regiment, 
 commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Prenderleath, the 89th 
 regiment and some Voltigeurs after them. At Prescott, 
 they were reinforced by a party of Canadian Fencibles, and 
 the whole amounting to about eight hundred rank and file, 
 was commanded by Colonel Morrison, of the 49th regiment, 
 aided by the Deputy Adjutant General, Colonel Harvey, 
 
240 
 
 WILKINSON S DESCENT OF THE IIAPIDS. 
 
 1818. 
 
 Under tlic oscdrt of a Kinnll ilivision of iruii-boats, com- 
 maiidocl by (hiptiiiii Miilt'astcr, R. X. This corjis of obsov- 
 vation {'Oiitlmicd in imrsiiit of the enemy, and on the 8th of 
 November, came up witli them at Point Iroquois. Twelve 
 liunch'ed of the enemy, under Colonel Maeom]>, had landed 
 on the i)revious du}' on the Briti.sh Hide of the river to drive 
 ott' the Canadian militia, who were collectinij: toijether in 
 considerable numbers, at the head of the Lonsj Sault. Ou 
 the 18th, General Browne's lH\L,'ade, with a body of dra- 
 goons, also landed on the Briti.sh shore ; and the remainder 
 of Wilkinson's troops were hmded at the head of the ISault, 
 under tlie command of Brigadier-Cencral Boyd. 
 
 Colonel Morrison, of the Stli British regiment, liad land- 
 ed at Hamilton, on the American side, on the 10th, took 
 possession of a quantity of provisions and stores for the 
 American army, and also of two field pieces. Nor was Co- 
 lonel Harvey idle. Ho kept ck)se upon the heels of the 
 enemy. Seing them one evening emerging from a wood, 
 he tried the effect of round shot upon them. They did not 
 at all relish it, and went back again. On the same evening, 
 the opposing gun-boats came into collision and some rounds 
 were tired without any important result. Next day Colonel 
 Morrison pressed the American Genei'al Boyd, so closely 
 that he was compelled to stand and give battle. Boyd's 
 brigade consisted of between three and four thousand men, 
 and a regiment of cavalry, Morrison's entire force only 
 numbered eight hundred rank and file. At two in the af- 
 ternoon, the Americans moving from Chrystlor'-^ Pointy 
 attacked the British advance. The Britii-h r tired slowly 
 and orderly upon the position which hi. ' a markec' out 
 for them. The flank companies of tin Jth, the detach- 
 ment of the Canadian with one field piece, f^omewhat in 
 advance on the road, were on the right ; the companies ol 
 the 89th, under Captain Barnes, mth a gun formed in 
 echellon, with the advance on its left supporting it ; the 
 49th and the 89th thrown more to the rear, wtth a gun, 
 formed the main body and reserve, extending to the woods, 
 
1813. 
 
 1813. 
 
 riiKY8TLi;n s farm. 
 
 241 
 
 «j 
 
 d men, 
 only 
 the af- 
 
 Poiiit, 
 slowly 
 e<' out 
 eicich- 
 hat in 
 lies ol 
 ed in 
 t; the 
 gun, 
 voods, 
 
 on the left, whicli were occupiod l)y Volti.jj^oiirs und Indiami. 
 In half an hour the V)attle hecame general. The artillery 
 behaved nobly. Thoy kept up a most steady and destruc- 
 tive fire, and when the American cavalry attempted to 
 charge, thej^ were literally nvowcd down and were com- 
 pelled to wheel about. The infantry charged the enemy's 
 guns and captured one at the point of the bayonet. The 
 Americans had not, apparently, room to act. They were too 
 much cooped up. They attempted to turn the Jiritish flank, 
 but the Voltigeurs and Indiajin, ttecure behind the trees, 
 poured forth a deadly fire and drove them back. The ene- 
 my then concentrated his forces with the view of pushing 
 forward in close column, but the royal artillery, concen- 
 trating their tire upon the solid mass, the Americans re- 
 treated, leaving the British to pass the night without molest- 
 ation, on Chrystler's Farm. Indeed, the American infantry, 
 after leaving the field, re-embarked in great haste, while the 
 dragoons trotted after General Browne, who was on his way 
 to Cornwall, entirely unconscious of disaster. At the bat- 
 tle of Chrystler's Farm, the enemy lost in killed, Brigadier- 
 General Carrington, who fell at the head of his men, and 
 three other officers, and ninety-nine men, and they had one 
 hundred and twenty-one men wounded. 
 
 On the side of the British, Captain Xairne, of the 49th 
 regiment. Lieutenants Lorimier and Armstrong, and twen- 
 ty-one men were killed, and eight officers and one hundred 
 and thirty-seven men were wounded, while twelve men were 
 missing. 
 
 General Wilkinson proceeded down the Sault and joined 
 Browne, near Cornwall. Hamptgn was confidently expect- 
 ed. The commander-in-chief had positively instructed his 
 general of division to form a junction with the army from 
 Sackett's Harbour at Cornwall, and he had not come. "Wil- 
 kinson, sick in body, and not a little mortified by the late 
 defeat, did not know very well what to do. To retreat by 
 the way he came was not quite so easy as to advance. The 
 rapids presented innumerable difficulties in the way of 
 
 a2 
 
242 
 
 THK ATTACK UN MONTREAL ABANDONED. 
 
 1813. 
 
 ascent, with an enemy lining the hanks of the river. And 
 that which was more anuo^'ing forced itself strongly upon 
 his mind — the Canadians were both loyal and brave. His 
 agony was most excruciating when he received a letter from 
 Hampton to the effect that the Plattsburg-Grand-Junction- 
 Invading-Anny was marching as expeditiously as circum- 
 stances would allow out of Canada ; that, in a word 
 it had been defeated and was in full retreat upon Cham- 
 plain. An anathema was about to be coupled by the 
 worthy and much irritated commander-in-chief with the 
 name of Hampton, when Wilkinson recollected that he too 
 had been checked in the most extraordinary way, in the 
 very outset of a scheme so well calculated to subdue a coun- 
 try, only occupied by three thousand soldiers, scattered over 
 a frontier of upwards of a thousand miles, and numbers of 
 militia, formidable enough in the woods, but no match for a 
 well disciplined, well provided, and numerous army, in the 
 open field. The British regulars, elated with their late suc- 
 cess, were in his rear. A kind of highland glen was not far 
 in advance. He was fairly puzzled, and altogether wanting 
 in that energy and decision so necessary for success in war. 
 He called a council of his officers and communicated to 
 them his fears. It was unanimously resolved that, for the 
 present season, the attack on Montreal should be abandoned 
 and that the army should cross the river to the American 
 side and go into winter quarters. And accordingly the at- 
 tack was abandoned. The Americans embarked again, and 
 were taken to Salmon River. The boats and batteaux were 
 immediately scuttled; the troops were made comfortable in 
 long log huts or barracks^ with astonishing celerity, and 
 the camp, at French Mills, was as speedily as possible en- 
 trenched. Thus ended a campaign for which the Ameri- 
 cans had made extraordinary preparations, and of the suc- 
 cess of w^hich high expectations had consequently been 
 formed. The failures of Hampton and Wilkinson were in- 
 deed so disgraceful and so humiliating to the Americana 
 that they were only compensated for, in kind, by the no lees 
 
1813. 
 
 GENERAL DRUMMOND — UPPER CANADA, 
 
 24S 
 
 stupid, disgraceful, and humiliating failures of the British at 
 Plattsburg and New Orleans, with which the American war 
 was, for both Americans and British, unfortunately con- 
 eluded. All chance of invasion, on a grand scale, being 
 now completely gone, the Canadian militia were disbanded 
 for the winter. 
 
 In December, Lieutenant-Gcneral Dnimmond assumed 
 the command of Upper Canada. He at once proceeded to 
 the head of Ontario, with the view of regaini» g possession 
 of Fort George. He ordered Colonel Murray to advance, 
 which the gallant colonel did, and the American General, 
 McClure, prepared to evacuate the fort. McClure set the 
 village of Newark, the ancient capital of Upper Canada, On 
 fire, agreeably to his instructions from the American Secre- 
 tary at War, with the view of depriving the British army of 
 comfortable winter quarters. He was indeed ordered to lay 
 waste the countrj'^ as he retreated, if retreat became neces- 
 sary. It was on the 10th of December, a bleak, cold winter 
 day, that McClure fulfilled his instructions. One hundred 
 and fifty houses, composing the flourishing village of New- 
 ark, were reduced to ashes, and four hundred women and 
 children were left to wander iu the snow or seek the tempo- 
 rary shelter of some Indian wigwam in the woods. On the 
 12th of December, the British troops occupied Fort George, 
 there being only five hundred men in all, militia and In- 
 dians, and not long afterwards the gratification of revenge 
 presented itself to the British and vengeance wjis taken 
 accordingly. General Drummond followed up the occu- 
 pancy of Fort George by an attack upon the American fort 
 at Niagara. On the night of the 18th of December, a de- 
 tachment of the royal artillery, the grenadier company of the 
 Ist Royals, and the flank companies of the 41st and 100th 
 regiments, under Colonel Murray, crossed the river Niagara, 
 and were veiy quietly put on shore at the Five Mile Mea- 
 dows, the name of the landing place indicating the distance 
 from the fort. All was still. Every order was conveyed in a 
 whisper. Neither musket clattered nor f^abre clinked. The 
 
244 
 
 ASSAULT AND CAPTURE OF FORT NIAGARA. 
 
 1813. 
 
 I 1 
 
 \l ' 
 
 100th regiment went off in two divisions, one under Cap- 
 tain Fawcett,* and the other, under Lieutenant Dawson, 
 stealthily. They seemed to be creeping past the trees, with 
 the softness of a tiger's tread. The wormlike thread of 
 men wound round picquet after piequet, and throttled the 
 sentries on the glacis, and at the gate. The hearts of the 
 sentries sank within them. They had hardly breath enough 
 left, so terror-stricken were they, to reveal the watch-word, 
 or nerve enough to point out the entrance to the fort. But 
 the watch-word was obtained ; the entrance was pointed 
 out; and the 100th regiment were inside of Fort ll^iagara 
 before a single drum had rolled or a bugle sounded. By 
 the time indeed that the garrison were alarmed the whole 
 British force were in the fort, and, after a show of resist- 
 ance, the Americans surrendered. Only one officer and five 
 men on the part of the British were killed and two officers 
 and three men w^ere wounded in this adroitly managed as- 
 sault. The enemy lost in killed two officers and sixty-five 
 men, and twelve rank and file were wounded. Three hun- 
 dred men were made prisoners. In this affiiir the colonel 
 of the 100th regiment, Hamilton, behaved with distinguish- 
 ed gallantry. 
 
 The rule of General Drunmiond in Upper Canada had 
 auspiciously commenced. This aftliir was not only brilliant 
 but well managed. The fort was a prize of no ordinary 
 worth. It contained an immense quantity of commissariat 
 stores, three thousand stand of arms, a number of rifles and 
 several pieces of dismounted ordnance. On the works were 
 twenty-seven heavy guns. 
 
 The greatest possible precautions were adopted to secure 
 success. Major-Gencral Kiall followed Colonel Murray, 
 with the whole body of Western Indians, stout, athletic, 
 
 * A rather interesting anecdote is told of Captain Fawcett. About the end of 
 the war he had been wounded in the heel, and was staying, in 1815, at Mrs. 
 Matthew's boarding house, in Montreal. At the table d'hote there was a raw- 
 boned young English merchant, who remarked that Fawcett, to have been 
 wounded in the heel, must have been running away. Fawacett's Irish blood rose 
 to hig forehead, and on the spur of the moment he tolled the thoughtles.^ English- 
 man with hi.s crutdi. 
 
1813. 
 
 NOCTURNAL ATTACK OX BLACK ROCK. 
 
 245 
 
 brave men, inured to fighting, the let battalion of the Roy- 
 als, and the 4l8t regiment to support him, in case of need. 
 Success had been achieved without the general's aid; but 
 instead of resting satisfied with that which had been already 
 accomplished, Kiall wisely pushed on before the news of 
 the capture of the fort could be spread about, on Lewiston, 
 where the enemy, in some force, had erected batteries, with 
 the view of destroying Queenston. Seeing Riall coming up 
 in their rear, the enemy were compelled to retreat, and they 
 abandoned their position with such precipitation, that two 
 field pieces, with some small arms and stores fell into the 
 hands of the British. It was now that the burning of New- 
 ark was to be revenged. The Indians and the troops were 
 let loose upon the enemy's frontiers and Lewiston, Man- 
 chester, and the country around were laid in ruins. Deter- 
 mined to follow up his success, Drummond proceeded to- 
 Chippewa. He fixed his head-quarters there on the 28th of 
 December, and on the morning after was within two miles 
 of Fort Erie. Without loss of time, he reconnoitred, and 
 finding the enemy's position at Black Rock assailable, he 
 determinedupon a second nocturnal attack. General Riall 
 accordingly crossed the river, with four companies of the 
 King's regiment and the light company of the 89th, under 
 Colonel Ogilvy, and two hundred and flftj^ men of the 41st 
 regiment, and the grenadiers of the 100th regiment, under 
 Major Frend, together with about fifty militia volunteers 
 and a body of Indians. The landing was effected about 
 midnight. As before the advanced guard proceeded cau- 
 tiously but were not quite so successful as before in pre- 
 venting alarm. They surprised a picquet and captured not 
 the whole, but the greater part of it. They did still more. 
 The bridge over the Conguichity Creek was secured in spite 
 of the repeated efforts of the enemy to dislodge the assail- 
 ants. But all did not yet go well with the British. The 
 boats required to bring over a second division had necessa- 
 rily to be tracked up the river as high as the foot of the 
 rapids below Fort Erie. Unfortunately they took the 
 
246 
 
 THK RETRRAT OF THE AMKRICAXS. 
 
 IHia. 
 
 I * 
 
 \k • ■* 
 
 ground and could not be got oft* for a long time. Indeed, 
 morning had dawned before the royals, intended to turn 
 the enemy's position by attacking above Black Rock, while 
 Riall's division attacked below, suftered so severely from 
 the fire of the enemy that a landing was not effected in suf- 
 ficient time for the full accomplishment of General Drum- 
 monds purpose. Riall, nevertheless, moved forward and 
 attacked the Americans. They were strongly posted and 
 in considerable force, but Riall drove them out of their bat- 
 teries at the point of the bayonet, turning the enemy's one 
 twenty-four, three twelves, and a nine pounder upon the 
 now retreating foe. Riall, following up his successes, pur- 
 sued the fleeing enemy into Bufialo. There they rallied, 
 but it was only for a moment. They drew out a large body 
 of fresh infantry, exhibited some cavalry, and fired a few 
 rounds from a field piece, unlimbered on a height command- 
 ing the road. The British still pushed on and the enemy 
 again gave way. They retreated notwithstanding their re- 
 inforcement so hurriedly that the six pounder brass gun on 
 the height, an iron eighteen, and an iron six pounder were 
 left behind. At last they reached the woods and Riall con- 
 sidered that for one day he had done enough, on land. But 
 not yet fully satisfied, he detached Captain Robinson with 
 two companies of the King's regiment to destroy three armed 
 vessels, part of Perry's squadron, and their stores, if it were 
 possible to do so. These vessels were at anchor a short dis- 
 tance below Buffalo, and Captain Robinson did as he was 
 ordered to the letter. 
 
 From the time of the landing at Black Rock until the full 
 accomplishment of the object of the expedition, with one, 
 not unimportant, exception, the Americans lost from three 
 to four hundred men in killed and wounded, and one hun- 
 dred and thirty men taken prisoners, while the British loss 
 WAS thirty-one men killed, and four officers, sixty-eight men 
 wounded, and nine men missing. 
 
 The exception to the full accomplishment of the object of 
 the expedition, that is to say, the burning of private property, 
 
1813. 
 
 TERMINATION OF TIIR CAMPAIGN. 
 
 24( 
 
 was an exception to the general rule of the British army. 
 But as evil, in some cases, must be done that good may fol- 
 low, the rule, now laid down by General Drummond, was 
 to pillage, burn, and lay waste, in retaliation for Newark. 
 In accordance with this new rule, therefore, General Riall 
 set about doing the only thing which he had left unaccom- 
 plished, the destruction of private property. Buifalo and 
 Black Rock, previously deserted by their inhabitants, were 
 set on fire and entirely consumed. Clothing, spirits, flour, 
 public stores, and, indeed, everything which could not be 
 conveniently carried off, fell a prey to the flames. 
 
 Thus was the campaign of 1813 terminated. 
 
 It might not unnaturally be supposed that during all this 
 fighting, business would have been nearly at a stand. But 
 so far from such being the case, the war had contributed in 
 no small degree to bring Canada and its capabilities into 
 notice. And it could not be otherwise. So large an expen- 
 diture as that required for the maintenance of the regular 
 soldiery and militia must have made money plentiful, and 
 such as were engaged in trade, whether in Quebec or Mon- 
 treal, undoubtedly profitted by an expenditure almost neces- 
 sarily profligate. On account of the militia alone, the pro- 
 vince expended .£121,366, and the expenditure of the com- 
 missariat department must have been enormous. But the 
 grand source of wealth was the establishment of a kind of 
 National Bank, with specie, to redeem its paper, in the vaults 
 of the Bank of England. The circulation of fifteen hun- 
 dred thousand pounds worth of army bills, all redeemable 
 in cash, with interest, could not have failed to enrich a 
 country in which there were not more than 350,000 inhabi- 
 tants, the greater Humber of whom were actually in the pay 
 of Great Britain, while they had the privilege of attending, 
 unless in extraordinary cases, to their private pursuits. 
 That Canada prospered during the war is undeniable. 
 There was a considerable falling off" in the number of ves- 
 sels cleared at Quebec in 1813, in comparison with the pre- 
 vious year, and which was in some degree attributable to 
 
t I 
 
 / 
 
 248 
 
 PUOSPERITY OF CANADA DURIxXa THE WAR. 
 
 1813. 
 
 I > 
 
 It" 
 
 the risk attendant upon crossing the Atlantic, while the 
 great frigates of the United States were pemitted to prowl 
 about, but the provincial revenue had, nevertheless, in- 
 creased in the course of one year to tlie amount of X30,006, 
 while the provincial expenditure alone was nearly X200,000. 
 Indeed, Montreal, the temporary head-quarters of the com- 
 mander-in-chief, and literally alive with troops, who all ate 
 and drank heartil}^, was making rapid progress in the way 
 of commercial advancement, Mr. Molson gave some indi- 
 cation of the general pi'osperity by placing upon the St. 
 Lawrence a second steamer. On the 4th of May, 1813, the 
 arrival of the Sivifisure is noticed by the Quebec newspapers. 
 The Swiftsure had twenty-eight passengers, besides a Ser- 
 jeant with six privates of the royals, having three Ameri- 
 cans, prisoners of war, four deserters from the 100th regi- 
 ment, and one deserter from the American army, in charge, 
 on board, and had been twenty-two hours and a half in 
 running down. She had a good engine with a safety valve 
 for blowing off surplus steam. The ladies' cabin had eight 
 reposing berths. The gentlemen's cabin was thirty feet in 
 length by twenty-three in breadth, and contained ten berths 
 on each side, and two " forming an angle with the larboard 
 side." The cabin w^as capable of lodging forty-four persons, 
 and the steerage could accommodate about 150. The Smft- 
 sure was in length of keel 130 feet, her length upon deck 
 was 140 feet, and her breadth of beam was 24 feet. 
 
 Lower Canada was then a wheat growing and even wheat 
 exporting country. So early as 1802, Lower Canada ex- 
 ported 1,010,033 bushels of wheat, besides 28,301 barrels of 
 flour, and 22,051 cwt. of biscuit. In 1810, the value of the 
 exports from the St. Lawrence was Xl,200,000 sterling. 
 And the farmer of Lower Canada profitted in 1814 by the 
 presence of the floating army population almost to as great 
 an extent as the merchant. Both animal and vegetable 
 foods were largely in demand. 
 
 Sir George Provost, as soon as the temporary cessation of 
 uujtive hostilities, in his immediate neighbourhood, would 
 
1813. 
 
 PARLIAMENT — IPPIOR CANADA. 
 
 249 
 
 wheat 
 la ex- 
 rels of 
 of the 
 >rling. 
 y the 
 great 
 letable 
 
 ion of 
 Tould 
 
 permit, called a meeting of the Parliament of Lower Ca- 
 nada, for the denpateh of business. Two sessioiiH of parlia- 
 ment had been held in Upper Canada, since tlie commence- 
 ment of the war, one was opened l)y Major General Brock, 
 on the 3rd of Febmary, 1H12, when eleven Acts were 
 passed, and the other by Major General Roger Hale Sheafte, 
 during which other eleven Acts became law. They show 
 the temper of the times. An Act was passed in General 
 Brock's rule'ship, granting a bount}^ for the apprehension of 
 deserters from the regular forces ; another granted £2,000 
 for the repair of roads an«l bridges ; a third amended the 
 militia law ; a fourth regulated the meeting of sleds on the 
 public roads ; a fifth allowed ,£502 for clerks and the con- 
 tingent expenses of parliament ; a sixth granted £5,000 for 
 the purpose of training the militia; a seventh extended an 
 Act granting a certain sum of money to Ilis Majesty; an 
 eighth granted £1,000 for the purchase, sale, and exporta- 
 tion of hemp, and £423 for the purchase of hemp seed and 
 payment of bounties ; a ninth afforded relief to certain per- 
 sons entitled to claim lands ! a tenth amended an Act for 
 the laying out of highways ; and an eleventh provided for 
 the appointment of returning officers. While General 
 ■Sheaffe was l^resident of Upper Canada, an Act was passed 
 to facilitate the circulation of the Lower Province Army 
 Bills. They were to be received in payment of duties and 
 at the office of the Receiver General. A second Act was 
 passed to empower Justices of the Peace to fine and, in the 
 event of non-payment, to distress the properties of persons 
 offending against the militia laws ; a third Act prohibited 
 the exportation of grain and other provisions and restrained 
 the distillation of spirituous liquors from grain ; a fourth 
 gave a pension of £20 a year to such persons disabled in 
 the war, as had wife or child, to be continued to the widow 
 or the fatherless, in the event of the death of such disabled 
 persons, and disabled bachelors were to obtain, so long as 
 they were unable to earn a livelihood, £12 a year ; a fifth 
 prevented the sale of spirituous liquors to the Indians; a 
 
'il>« 
 
 m 
 
 h 
 
 V 
 
 A 
 
 250 
 
 THE PAHLIAMEXT OF LOWKR CANADA. 
 
 1814. 
 
 Bixth continued the Act to provide means for the defence of 
 the province ; a seventh repealed the Hemp Encouragement 
 Acts; an eighth continued the Duties Agreement Act; a 
 ninth amended an Act for tlie better regulation of town and 
 parish ojSicers ; a tenth amended and repealed in part the 
 Act for quartering and billetting the soldiery; and the 
 eleventh granted for the clerks of parliament .£88 Is. 9d. 
 The debates of course were neither animated nor of parti- 
 cular interest. 
 
 In 1814, the parliament of Lower Canada was opened by 
 the Governor General, on the 13th of January. Sir George 
 could meet the legislature with hearfelt satisfaction and 
 pride. The Canadians had acted nobly, both in the field 
 and out of it, while they entertained for himself, personally, 
 a feeling of respect, which he had done his utmost to win, 
 and which it was his aim to preserve. In the speech from 
 the throne, he congratulated parliament, particularly on the 
 defeat of the enemy at Chateauguay. He alluded triumph- 
 antly to the brilliant victory over Wilkinson at Chrystler's 
 Farm. He rejoiced that, notwithstanding the various events 
 of the past summer, by which the enemy had gained a foot- 
 ing in the Upper province, the theatre of war had recently 
 been transferred to American soil, and that Magara, Black 
 Rock, and Buttalo had been wrested from the enemy by 
 British enterprise and valour. He was proud beyond ex- 
 pression, at the determination manifested by the Canadians 
 to defend to the last extremity one of the most valuable 
 portions of His Majesty's dominions. He trusted to Cana- 
 dian loyalty and patriotism in the expectation that the sacri- 
 fices which the war might yet require would be patiently 
 submitted to. And he would faithfully represent to His 
 Royal Highness, the Prince Regent, the loyalty, zeal, and 
 unanimity of His Canadian subjects. The Houses trembled 
 with emotion. A thrill of intense satisfaction ran through 
 every vein. Sir George had touched that chord in the hu- 
 man heart, which was never touched in vain. He had 
 spoken of patriotism ; he had acknowledged that the brave 
 
1814. 
 
 THE PPKRCH AND THK UKI'I.Y. 
 
 251 
 
 were brave imloed ; und he liad adiuittcd tliat tlioso wholiad 
 been represented im troasonuble witic loyal lo tbe core. 
 The House of Assomhly ex{>ro.SHed tlicir sincere acknow- 
 ledgements. They felt themsehxvs to liave been rescued 
 from most unfounded imputations tliat had been industri- 
 ously attempted to be fixed upon them. They were grateful 
 to His Excellency for the good opinion he had formed of 
 them. They would cheerfully co-operate with His Excel- 
 lency in maintaining the iionor and promoting the service 
 of their gracious sovereign. And they further gratefully 
 acknowledged that His Excellency, in his anxious desire to 
 fonvard the prosperity and to preserve the integrity of the 
 province, had been guided by a just and liberal policy to- 
 wards His Majesty's Canadian subjects, by which their loy- 
 alty, zeal, and unanimity had been cherished and promoted, 
 and they were so impressed with the sense of it that, when 
 His Excellency should withdraw, which they hoped would 
 never be, from the administration of the government of 
 Lower Canada, he would carry with him the good opinion 
 and affection of the people over whom he had ruled so 
 conscientiously, so honorably, and so justly. Sir George 
 Prevost could not be othenvise than well satisfied with the 
 addi'ess in reply to his speech. Kindness and conciliation 
 had not been thrown away, but had been met with respect 
 and affectionate regard. 
 
 The House proceeded almost immediately to business, 
 and had not been long so employed, when His Excellency 
 sent a secret message, asking for an increased issue of army 
 bills, to meet the public requirements. The House at once 
 auth-orised an issue to the extent of fifteen hundred thousand 
 pounds. Afterwards the Assembly adopted a bill to amend 
 the militia laws, which the Legislative Council refused to 
 concur in ; then a bill was passed to diqualify the judges for 
 sitting or voting in the Legislative Council, which the 
 Council also refused to concur in, on the plea that the bill 
 was an interference with the Prerogative of the Crown, and 
 with their privileges ; next a bill was passed in the Assem- 
 
2o-2 
 
 rrUU'OSF.D INCOMK TAX. 
 
 1814. 
 
 bly and no2:ativod ]»y the Council, to grunt Mia Majesty a 
 duty on the income arising from civil ofKees, and on pen- 
 sions, to be apjilied for tlu! defence of the province, in the 
 war with the U'nited States ; again the 7\s?enibly adopted a 
 bill for the appointment of a [trovincial agent in Great Bri- 
 tain, whicli the Council also set aside. Surprising as so ob- 
 vious an antagonism between the Legislative Council and 
 Legislative Assembly may seem, it is easily accounted for. 
 The Council were, many of them, placemen, and indeed the 
 immaculate and confidential secretary to Sir James Craig, 
 Mr. Witsins Kyland, also Clerk of the Executive Council, 
 had himself a seat in the LTppcr House, although Mr. Robert 
 Peel, ditiering in opinion with Sir James Craig, did not 
 think that the situation which Mr. Ryland held was quite 
 compatible with a seat in the Legislative Council. Mr. 
 Ryland has ftivored the present generation, through the in- 
 strumentality of a near relative, with a brief review of the 
 political state of the province of Lower Canada, from which 
 some interesting facts can be gathered. He states that the 
 Assembly knew that their bill for disqualifying the Chief 
 Justice and Justices of the Court of King's Bench from be- 
 ing summoned to the Legislative Council, would be thrown 
 out in the Upper House, but that the introduction of such a 
 bill in the Assembly served the purpose which the party 
 who introduced it had in view : it impressed the mass of the 
 people with a disrespectful idea of the judges, preparatory 
 to a grand attack upon the w^hole judicature of the pro- 
 vince. In the bill for appointing an agent to Great Britain, 
 Mr. Bedard, the person who had been under confinement 
 on a charge of treasonable practices, had been named as 
 such agent, and a salary of X2,000 per annum assigned him. 
 Mr. Ryland knew that the Council would throw out the bill. 
 But, says that gentleman, the Council were thwarted, as Sir 
 George Prevost acceded to a request of the Assembly for 
 the appointment of two such agents, whom he accredited to 
 His Royal Highness, the Prince Regent, and the Legislative 
 Council passed several resolves expressive of their astonish- 
 
1814. MK. IlYLANIi AM) THi: I'llUVISCIAI. I^KCRETARY. 253 
 
 ment. The Council hunibly coMHidorod His Excelluncy'a 
 acquiescence with tlu* wishes of tlie Assembly to be an une- 
 quivocal uhandonnieut of the "Uiglits" of the Legislative 
 Council, and a fatal dereliction of the tirst principles of the- 
 constitution. And with regard to the income tax, proposed 
 by the Asscnd)ly, Mr. Ryland slates that the whole saving 
 that would have been eti'octed by it, would only have been 
 X2,500 a year, and that the olHccrs of the government who 
 had the utmost difficulty in subsisting on their salaries, 
 would have been, by such a measure, re<luce<l to extreme 
 distress! Now, it is a noticeable fact, in connection with 
 this matter, that the Provincial Secretary, at the period al- 
 luded to, was an official in the Colonial Office, and had 
 never seen Canada, although he afterwards received from 
 the province a pension of of «£400 a year, in consideration 
 of his long and valuable services ; and it is in a high degree 
 amusing to fiud Mr. Ryland informing this functionary 
 "decidedly" and "frankly,', that he had acted wisely in not 
 asking for an increase of salary, although it was a different 
 thing to sollicit additional assistance in an office where the 
 public business was constantly increasing ! Mr. Ryland and 
 a few other such cormorants could not tolerate the imperti- 
 nent interference of the House of Assembly with their 
 means of subsistence. Xay, it will even appear that Mr. 
 Ryland took it upon himself to privately lecture Sir George 
 Prevost's successor upon the impropriety of following a 
 certain course of action, and that he actually succeeded in 
 dissuading the Governor from his original purpose. 
 
 The Assembly, thwarted as it had been by the Council, 
 still pursued its reformatory course. Much time, indeed,, 
 did not elapse until Mr. Stuart again brought forward hia 
 motion to take into consideration the power and authority 
 exercised by the Provincial Courts of Justice, under the de- 
 nomination of Rules of Practice. His motion was almost 
 unanimously carried. And who this Mr. Stuart was, Mr.. 
 Ryland tells. About 1813, says the Clerk of the Executive 
 Council, " Mr. Bedard, the jud^e, came to Quebec, for the 
 
251 
 
 Mil. JAMKs .STLAUr AND CJIIKF JlrfTICi; siKWKLL. 
 
 1811. 
 
 pupose of advirt'mo: tiiu moiwuros to be piUHiuMl. Imt not 
 haviiitf a seat in tho Assoin'jiy, tho principal manngcment 
 was loft to an Anglo-American Barrister, named Stuart, 
 who had been a [»upil of the proKunt Chief .Tustico, (Sewoil) 
 when he lu'id the situation of Attornoy-(ienoral. This 
 gentleman obtained from Lieutenant-Governor Milnes tiie 
 appointment of Solicitor-General, from wliich he was dis- 
 missed by {Sir James Craig, in consequence of his pursuing 
 a line of conduct, which the latter considered utterly incon- 
 sistent with his duty as a servant of the Crown." What 
 the particular line of conduct pursued by Mr. Stuart was, 
 that so much offended Sir James Craig, even time and Mr. 
 Ryland have not yet revealed. Perhaps " the Anglo-Ame- 
 rican IJarrister" did not bow sufficiently low to contidential 
 Secretaries and Executive Clerks, lie would have found 
 such obsequiousness difficult. Af r. Stuart was both vigorous 
 in mind and body, and was very far from being a common 
 man. He stood more than six feet high, and was built in 
 proportion. His shoulders were broad, his chest ample, and 
 his arms long. His head was immoderately large. His 
 countenance w^sis commanding and his bearing dignified. 
 He spoke with great fluency and with astonishing concise- 
 ness. His eye was large, his forehead prominent, lofty and 
 broad, with great depth between the brow and the occiput, 
 his nose was long and aquiline, M'^ith tho nostrils open ; his 
 mouth was large, but the lips were thin ; and the chin was 
 square and somewhat prominent ; viewed, in profile, the 
 whole head was wall-sided. He was no man to be trifled 
 with, and none other than a fool would at any time, have 
 thought of doing so. The Chief Justice Sewell, also an 
 Anglo-American, was also an exceedingly talented man, but 
 still a man quite of another stamp of mind, to that of Mr. 
 Stuart. Mr. Sewell was thoroughly polished. No man 
 could so well bow to power or so well bend an inferior to 
 his will as Mr. Chief Justice Sewell. To see him in the 
 street was to see him in the least, the lowest, and, conse- 
 quently, the worst point of view. He was knowing, wel! 
 
1814. 
 
 THt; KILLS ul I'UACTICK. 
 
 255 
 
 rc'iul, unci wt'll bred. He cuuUi become sanustic, but never 
 condescended to bo furious. If lie was at all Hvcopbantic, 
 it was bis will rather than his nature to bo so. On the 
 beneh, ho loomed largo, b(!i)io- long in Ixxly, and looked 
 stately and agreeable, lie ccnild he stern, but sternness was 
 less natural to him than coneealnient. lie never told all he 
 knew, nor did his face ever betray tlie innermost recesses o 
 his heart. On tlio whole, Mr. Sewcll was a good man, and 
 he was an excellent Chief Justice. Such are the characters 
 of the complnimint and the defendant in this cause. Mr. 
 Stuart carried great weight, when on the right side, in a 
 House of Assembly, steadily ])ent upon fair legislation. 
 Not only did he carry his motion about taking into consi- 
 deration the power and authority exercised by the Courts of 
 Justice, through the medium of Rules of Practice, at vari- 
 ance with the law and the liberty of the subject, but the 
 House ordered the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, and the 
 Prothonotaries of the Courts to produce the Rules of Prac- 
 tice, or certified copies of them, for the immediate use of 
 members. The House wont into committee and talked the 
 matter over, then rose, and reported progress. The Rules 
 of Practice had not been very lo'ig in use. They were 
 made for the Court of Appeals so recently as 1809, and the 
 example was so excellent that the Court of King's Bench 
 followed it. The Legislative Assembly not only considered 
 the rules an infringement upon their privilege of law-nuxk- 
 ing but an infringement upon the civil rights ot His Majes- 
 ty's subjects and subversive of the laws of the province^ 
 rendering the enjoyment of liberty and property altogether 
 insecure and precarious, and giving to the judges an arbi- 
 trary authority. And the Assembly without further cere- 
 n_ony proceeded to impeach the Chief Justices of Quebec 
 and Montreal, at the instance of Mr. Stuart, the Anglo- 
 American Barrister. It was said that Jonathan Sowell, 
 Chief Justice, had traitorously and wickedly endeavored to 
 subvert the. constitution by the introduction of an arbitrary, 
 tyrannical govenittient against law; that the said Jonathan 
 
256 
 
 RESOLUTlUNlS AIMED AT .lUXATHAN fcliWELL. 
 
 1814 
 
 Sewell had disregai'ded the authority of l*arliament, and 
 usurped its powers by making regulations subversive of the 
 constitution and the laws ; that Jonathan Sewell had libel- 
 lously published such Rules of Practice ; that Jonathan 
 Sewell had substituted his own will for the will of the legis- 
 lature ; that Jonathan Sewell being Chief Justice, Speaker 
 of the Legislative Council, and Chairman of the Executive 
 Council, had mali'Mously shmdered the Canadian subjects of 
 the King and the House of Assembly, and lia<l poisoned and 
 incensed the mind of Sir James II. Craig, the Governor-in- 
 Chief, and had so misled and deceived him that he did on 
 the loth of May, 1809, dissolve the parliament, without any 
 cause whatever to palliate or excuse the measure, the said 
 Governor-in-Chief having been at the same time advised to 
 make a ^^neech in gross violation of the riglits of the As- 
 sembly, grossly insulting to its members, and misrepresent- 
 ing their conduct; that to prevent opposition to his tyranni- 
 cal views the said Jonathan Sewell had counselled and ad- 
 vised Sir James Henry Craig to remo'o and dismiss divers 
 loyal and deserving subjects, from oiti* es of profit and emo- 
 lument — now the head and front ot Mr. Sewell's offending has 
 come nebulously to light — without the seniblance of reason 
 to justify it; that to mark his contempt for the representatives 
 of the people and for the constitution, he had procured the 
 dismissal of Jean Antoine Panet, Esquire, who then was, 
 and for fifteen years preceding had been Speaker of the As- 
 sembly, from his rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the militia, 
 without any reason to palliate or excuse the injustice ; that 
 he had induced P. E. Desbarats, tlie law printer, to establish 
 a newspaper gtyled the " Vrai Canadien," for the purpose 
 of vilifying such members of the Assembly as were obno- 
 xious to him ; that with the view of extinguishing the 
 liberty of the press, and destroying, therefore, effectually, 
 the rights, liberty, and security of His Majesty's subjects in 
 the province, and suppressing all complaint of oppression, he 
 had, in March, 1810, advised and approved the sending of 
 an armed force to break open the dwelling house and print- 
 
1814. 
 
 THE IMPEACHMENT. 
 
 257 
 
 ing office of one Charles Lefran9oi8, there to arrest and im- 
 prison him, and seize and bring away a printing press, with 
 various private papers, which measure of lawless violence 
 was accordingly executed, the said press and papers being 
 then in the Court House of Quebec, with the knowledge 
 and approbation of the said Jonathan Sewell ; that Jona- 
 ihan Sewell had advised the arrest of Messrs. Bedard, Blan- 
 chet and Taschereau, upon an unfounded pretext ; that Jo- 
 nathan Sewell had instigated the oppression of the old and 
 infirm FrauQois Corbei), by which the old man lost his life ; 
 that Jonathan Sewell iiud instigated Sir James Henry Cuaig 
 to issue a proclamation causing the public to believe that 
 Mr. Bedard had been guilty of treason, and that the pro- 
 vince was in a state approaching to open rebellion ; that 
 Jonathan Sewell had read the wicked proclamation in the 
 Court House, to influence the Grand and Petty Juries ; that 
 Jonathan Sewell had abused his powers simply with the 
 view of paving the way for American predominance in Ca- 
 nada ; that with the view of annexing Canada to the United 
 States he had entered into a base and wicked conspiracy 
 with one John Henry, an adventurer of suspicious character, 
 for the purpose of sowing dissension among the subjects of 
 the government of tho United States, and producing a dis- 
 mem>>erroent of the Union; and had given artful advice to 
 Sir Jam'is Craig, inducing him to send Henry, the adven- 
 larn, on a secret mission, which had exposed His Majes- 
 ty's government to imputations reflecting on its honor, and 
 that he had labored to promote disunion between the legis- 
 lative Council and Legislative Assembly, and had fomented 
 dissensions in the province to prevent a reliance on the loy- 
 alty and bravery of His Majesty's Canadian subjects. Mr. 
 Chief Justice Monk was impeached as an accessory. 
 
 With the view of effectually prosecuting the impeachment, 
 the House appointed Mr. Stuart its agent, and directed hira 
 to proceed to England, to press upon His Majesty's ministers 
 the necessity of giving heed to the business. £2,000 were 
 
 awarded for the pavment of the expenses of Mr. Stuart, but 
 
 b2 
 
258 
 
 AN UN'PLEASANT POSITION. 
 
 1814 
 
 the Council expunged the award from the revenue bill, and 
 there was no more about it, until the House went to the 
 Castle with their Speaker, who presented an address to the 
 Governor General, requesting him to transmit the impeach- 
 ments, and suggested the propriety of the Chief Justices 
 being suspended from the exercise of their powers until the 
 pleasure of the Prince Regent could be ascertained. Sir 
 George Prevost was somewhat taken by surprise. He was 
 in an exceedingly delicate[or rather interesting situation. It 
 was an unpleasant, if not a disagreeable part, which he was 
 required to play. It was, in a word, to make complaint to 
 the Prince Regent of his predecessor. Sir George, however, 
 blandly said that he would take an early opportunity of 
 transmitting the address, with the articles of accusation 
 against the Chief Justices, to His Majesty. With regard to 
 the suggestion of the Honorable House of Assembly, con- 
 cerning the suspension of the Chief Justices, he did not 
 consider it necessary to go to that extreme. The Legis'i- 
 tive Council had not even been consulted with regard to tho 
 articles of accusation ; and he could not think of suspend- 
 ing two officers of such rank, on the complaint of only the 
 third branch of the legislature. 
 
 In the Assembly, when the Speaker had returned to the 
 chair, there were murmurs, both loud and deep. Mr. Jamea 
 Stuart, seconded by Louis Joseph Papineau, both deter- 
 mined men, and of consummate ability, moved that the 
 charges exhibited by the Assembly against Jonathan Sewell 
 and James Monk, Esquires, were rightly denominated, 
 Heads of Impeachment ; that the House had the right to 
 advise the Governor General without the concurrence of the 
 Legislative Council ; that the House in pointing out the 
 existence of gross abuses, had performed the lirst and most 
 essential of its duties ; that in framing and exhibiting the 
 heads of impeachment referred to in the address to His Ex- 
 cellency, the House had exercised a salutary power, vested 
 in it by the constitution ; and that His Excellency, the Gov- 
 crnor-in-Chiof. had violated the constitutional rights and 
 
1814. 
 
 CHIEF JUSTICES SEWELL AND M-jXK. 
 
 2ry.) 
 
 privileges of tlic House, by his answer to the adilress. But 
 afterwards, to show that a feeling of respect -was vet felt for 
 His Excellency, greater than any of his predeocf'-ors had 
 ever experienced, the House resolved, uotwithstandinsr the 
 wicked and perverse advice whi'^h he had received, that His 
 Majesty's faithful Commons of C-anada had not, in any res- 
 pect, altered the opinion they had ever entertained of the 
 wisdom of Uis Excellency's administration, and they were 
 determined to adopt the measures deemed nccessar}'^ for the 
 support of the government and the defence of the province. 
 The Governor-in-Chief was, liowever, not by any means 
 pleased with the pertinacity of the Assembly. There were 
 evidently men in the House, who would neither be forced 
 nor persuaded out of certain measures. He hardly knew 
 how to act in tlie emergenc}^ and with his usual caution he 
 did nothing. The Chi<f Justice Scwell went to England for 
 the purpose of repelling the accusations against him, and as 
 he was only the instrument of!, not under any circumstance 
 the author of a wrong, English public opinion, of course, 
 went strongly with him. The Executive Councillors, the 
 merchants, and the other principal inhabitants of Quebec 
 presented addresses to His Honor, intimating the high opi- 
 nion in which he was held, and alluding to his conspicuous 
 ability, comprehensive knowledge, patient candour, liberal 
 respect for the opinion of others, and his equality and gen- 
 tleness of temper, pointedly and flatteringly. Mr. Chief 
 Justice ISIonk was similarly treated by the influential inha- 
 bitants. The Assemblv continued, not with standinii: the war 
 exigencies of the times, in their factiousness, as their per- 
 sistence in some measures was considered. They again 
 passed a bill appointing a provincial agent to Great Britain, 
 who was to reside in London, after the manner of an am- 
 bassador. Mr. Bedard, the Judge of Three Kivers, who had 
 figured somewhat conspicuously in Sir James Craig's time, 
 was named as the agent in the bill. It was sent up to the 
 Legislative Council for concurrence. And it had not been 
 long there when it occured to the House of Assembly that 
 
260 
 
 LONDON AGENTS OF THE. PROVINCE. 
 
 1814. 
 
 two agents would be better than one, as the Council, desi- 
 rous of sending one of their own members to England, 
 would thereby be induced to concur in the expediency of 
 despatching agents to London. But the Council begged 
 that the Assembly would mind its own business and not 
 interfere with any bill before the Upper House, unless a 
 conference w^as officially asked for by the Legislative Coun- 
 cil, when any suggestion from the Assembly would be at- 
 tended to. The Upper House never encroached upon the 
 privileges of the Lower House. The agent was not appoint- 
 ed. The Houses could not agree upon a messenger, and 
 although the Governor promised to send two messengers to 
 London, at the public expense, if the Assembly desired 
 it, no one is to this hour very certain whether the address of 
 the Legislative Assemblj^, to the Prince Regent, ever reached 
 his royal fingers. These were the principal matters with 
 which the time of the House was occupied, but the oppor- 
 tunity was not overlooked of voting the thanks of the House 
 to Colonel DeSalaberry and his ofiicers and men under him, 
 for their distinguished conduct at Chateauguay, and to Co- 
 lonel Morrison, of the 89th regiment, and to the officers and 
 men under him, for their exertions at Chrystler's Farm, in 
 the defeat of Wilkinson. 
 
 On the 17th of March, the parliament was prorogued, and 
 80 ended the seventh parliament of Lower Canada. Sir 
 George Prevost in his closing speech, was not so flattering 
 in his allusions as in opening the session.. He had seen 
 with regret a want of unanimity and despatch, and a want 
 of confidence in himself, which had been attended with se- 
 rious inconveniences to the public service, in both Houses. 
 He lamented the course of proceeding adopted by the As- 
 sembly, which had occcasioned the loss of a productive re- 
 venue bill, to wit, tacking to the bill the clause for the pay- 
 ment of a London agent, which had caused its rejection by 
 the Upper House, and a consequent misunderstanding by 
 which the bill had been lost. He regretted that in sacri- 
 ficing the libpial appropriations for tlio defence of the pro- 
 
1814. 
 
 dcsi- 
 gland, 
 icy of 
 egged 
 d not 
 tiless a 
 Coun- 
 
 be at- 
 011 the 
 )point- 
 3r, and 
 gers to 
 iesired 
 lres8 of 
 eached 
 •8 with 
 
 oppor- 
 
 Ilouse 
 er him, 
 . to Go- 
 ers and 
 arm, in 
 
 ed, and 
 a. Sir 
 ittering 
 id seen 
 a want 
 ivith se- 
 Ilouses. 
 the As- 
 3tive re- 
 ;he pay- 
 3tion by 
 ding by 
 in sacri- 
 the pro- 
 
 1814. 
 
 THE PROROaATION — FvUSSIAN MEDIATION. 
 
 261 
 
 vince they had been swayed by any considerations, which 
 seemed to them of higher importance than the immediate 
 security of the province or the comfort of those engaged in 
 its protection. He earnestly entreated the gentlemen of the 
 Legislative Council, as peace was not obtained, to impress 
 on all around them, by precept and example, a respect for the 
 laws by which they were governed, as well as a just confi- 
 dence in those who administered them, and to cherish and 
 encourage that spirit which had hitherto proved the firmest 
 barrier against all the attempts of the enemy. And as the 
 parliament was about to expire, and he should avail himself 
 of an early opportunity of appealing to the sense of the 
 people for the election of a new Assembly, he recommended 
 the honorable gentlemen and gentlemen to give the inhabit- 
 ants of the province a true idea of the nature and value of 
 the constitution which they possessed, so that their choice 
 of representatives might fall on those who would endeavour 
 faithfully to uphold it, and so promote the safety, welfare, 
 and prosperity of the province. 
 
 Sir George Prevost evidently threw out some hints to the 
 Legislative Council, which could not have been particularly 
 palatable. 
 
 In Sir George's speech there was an allusion to peace not 
 being at hand. Sir George made that reference doubtless 
 in connection with the fact that Rusit^ia had oftered to medi- 
 ate between the contending powers, with reference to an 
 amicable settlement of their ditferences. Indeed commis- 
 sioners were appointed to negotiate, by the United States. 
 Messrs. Gallatin, Adams, and Bayard were named. But 
 Great Britain declined the proposal, though the Prince Regent 
 ofiered a direct negotiation either at London or Gottenburg. 
 The offer was accepted, and Messrs. Henry Clay, Jonathan 
 Russell, and Albert Gallatin, were added to the commiss- 
 sioners already in Europe, and sailed soon after for Gotten- 
 burg. Lord Gambier, Henry Goulburn, and William Adams 
 were appointed on the part of the Court of St. James, to 
 meet them. Tlie placu of meeting T\iis; subsequently changed 
 
262 
 
 CAPTUIIK OF THE " EriSEX.' 
 
 1814. 
 
 ? ■■'-: . 
 
 to Ghent, in Flanders, and the conference met in August. 
 But while the conference sat the war was carried on. 
 
 The first fight of moment in 1814, occurred on the Pacific 
 Coast. The American Commodore Porter had been cruis- 
 ing in the frigate £ssex, for some time, in the Pacific, with 
 wonderful success. lie had with him as a consort, a cap- 
 tured whaleship, which he had armed with twenty guna, and 
 named the Essex, junior. Captain Hillyard, in the British 
 frigate Phcebe, accompanied by the sloop of war Cherub, had 
 been sent in search of the successful cruiser, and on the 9th 
 of February, gained intelligence to tlie efli'ect that with two 
 of her prizes she had put into Valparaiso. The American 
 was no match, even with the aid of the whale ship, for two 
 such vessels, and kept in port, the British vessels keeping 
 up a strict blockade for six weeks.* At length, on the 28th 
 of March, tired of the blockade, Porter attempted to escape, 
 when Captain Hillyard succeeded in bringing her to action, 
 in the roads of Valparaiso, before she could get back, and 
 without the aid of her lesser consort. The American ship, 
 in the hurry to escape, had spread evei'y stitch of canvas, to 
 run past the Fhcebe, and as she was doubling the point a 
 squall struck her, carrying away the main topmast. Both 
 ships immediately gave chase, and being unable to escape 
 in his crippled state. Porter attempted to regain the harbor. 
 Finding this to be impracticable, he ran into a small bay and 
 anchored within, pistol shot of the shore. The contest, 
 which was a most unequal one, now commenced. Both the 
 attacking vessels at first got into raking positions, and did 
 great execution. Nevertheless, Captain Porter fought gal- 
 lantly. Iliilyard's ship having sustained serious damage in 
 her rigging, and having become almost unmanageable, on 
 that account, hauled ofl' to repair damages, leaving the 
 Cherub to continue the action. Hillyard manoeuvred delibe- 
 rately and warily. He knew that his c^ntagonist was in his 
 power, and his only concern was to succeed with as little 
 loss to himself as possible. Hijlyard again attacked, and 
 
 fc?(.i ;=riv tlir Anierk'ans. Mr. Alifcon s^ays three weeks. 
 
1814. "FRULIO" A "UUP11KU6' 
 
 'EPEUVlliR 
 
 A "PEACOCK." 
 
 263 
 
 the £ssex hoisting her foresail and lifting her anchor, man 
 aged to run alongside of the Phcebe. The firing was now 
 tremendous, and the Essex's decks were strewed with dead. 
 Both attacking ships then edged off, and fired into the 
 EsseXj at convenient range, until she struck. The Cherub 
 raked the Essex, while the Phcebe exchanged broadsides with 
 her. The Essex had twice taken fire during the action. 
 The loss on board the Essex was fifty-eight killed, thirty- 
 nine wounded severely, twenty-seven slightly, and thirty* 
 one missing. On board both British vessels only five were 
 killed and ten wounded. It is said that there were nearly a 
 hundred sailors on board the Essex, when the engagement 
 commenced, who jumped overboard, when it was likely 
 she would be taken ; that of these forty reached the shore, 
 while thirty-one were drowned, and sixteen picked up when 
 on the point of drowning, by the British. On the other 
 hand it is alleged that when the Essex took fire aft, a quan- 
 tity of powder exploded, and word was given that the fire 
 was near her magazine. It was then that Captain Porter 
 advised as many as could swim to make for the shore, which 
 they did, or tried to do, while those who could not swim ex- 
 erted themselves to extinguish the flames, which having 
 done, the action was renewed, until fighting was impossible. 
 When Porter summoned a consultation of his oflicers, only 
 one appeared — Acting Lieutenant McNight. 
 
 Early in February, the American sloop of war Frolic, of 
 22 guns, was captured by the British frigate Orpheus, after 
 two shots had been fired. But by way of compensation, the 
 British brig Epervier, Ci* 18 guns, towards the close of April, 
 surrendered to the American sloop of war Peacock, of 22 
 guns, and on the 28th of Jane, a most desperate encounter 
 took place between the British sloop of war Reindeer, "^ of 18 
 guns, and the American sloop, Wasp. The preponderance 
 of force was here, in a most extraordinary degree, in favor 
 of the Americans, but, notwithstanding this advantage, 
 
 * Taken verbatim from Alison. The Wasp, whose Captain, Blakeley, was an 
 Irishman, was lost in the same year, during a cruise, and no trace of her gallant 
 captain or crew was ever oblaintd. 
 
264 
 
 TU£ '^ RKINDUEK" and *' WAi^P. 
 
 1814. 
 
 I . 
 
 
 Captuin Mauaers, of the Reindeer, one of the bravest oflicera 
 who ever trod a quarter deck, the moment he got sight of 
 the American vessel gave chase, and as soon as it was evi- 
 dent to the American captain that he was pursued by the 
 Reindeer alone, he hove to and the action commenced. 
 Never were vessels more gallantly commanded and fought 
 on both sides. The engagement lasted, yard arm to yard 
 arm, for half an hour, at the end of which time the Reindeer 
 was so disabled, that she fell with her bow against the lar- 
 board quarter of the Wasp. The latter instantly raked her 
 with dreadful effect ; and the American rifles, from the tops, 
 picked oft' almost all the officers and men on the British 
 deck. But Captain Manners then showed himself indeed a 
 hero. Early in the action the calves of his legs had been 
 shot away, but he still kept the deck ; at this time a grape 
 shot passed through his thighs, but though brought for a 
 moment on his knees, he instantly sprang up, and though 
 bleeding profusely, not only refused to quit the deck, but 
 exclaiming, "Follow me, my boys; we must board!" 
 sprang into the rigging of the Reindeer, intending to leap 
 into that of the Wasp. At this moment two balls from the 
 American tops pierced his skull, and came out below his 
 chin. "With dying hand he waved his sword above his head, 
 and exclaiming, " Oh God !" fell lifeless on the deck. The 
 Americans immediately after carried the British vessel by 
 boarding, where hardly an unwounded man remained, and 
 so shattered was she in her hull, that she was immediately 
 after burned by the captors. Never, says Alison, will the 
 British empire be endangered while the spirit of Captain 
 Manners STirvives in its defenders. 
 
 There was some correspondence in the early part of 1814, 
 relative to the prisoners captured at Queenston, supposed to 
 be British subjects, and therefore sent to England to be 
 tried for treason. The American government confined an 
 equal number of British prisoners, who were to be retaliated 
 upon, unless the British government consented to exchange 
 thom the same as other prisoners, and the Canadian govern- 
 
1814. 
 
 PRISONIillS — 8X11 UEGT. — INDIANS. 
 
 265 
 
 toveru- 
 
 meat coufined General Winder and a number of otiier offi- 
 < era and men, as hostages for the fortlicoming of the British 
 prisoners, and in retaliation for their continement. The 
 whole matter ended in smoke. The traitors were not made 
 examples of, and negotiations and retaliations ceased. 
 During the winter, stores of every kind were forwarded to 
 Kingston, from Quebec and Montreal. In February, the 
 8th regiment, and two hundred and twenty seamen, arrived 
 overland from Fredericton, New Brunswick. The Indians, 
 Ottawas, Chippewas, Shawnees, Delawarcs, Mohawks, Saiks, 
 Foxes, Kickapoos, and Wincbagoes, came to Quebec to in- 
 form the Governor General that they were poor and needed 
 arms, but would fight to the last drop of blood for the Bri- 
 tish against the Americans, who had taken away their lands, 
 General Prevost was, of coure, exceedingly glad to hear it, 
 and having expressed his regret for the death of Tecumseh, 
 he loaded them with presents, entertained them for two 
 days, and then sent them oft' to prepare for the campaign. 
 
 The Americans had not by any means been idle during 
 the winter. They too had been making preparations, and 
 when General Macomb crossed Lake Champlain on the ice, 
 with his division, from Plattsburgh, about the end of March, 
 serious doubts began to be entertained in Canada, with re^ 
 gard to the probability of another invasion. The general 
 soon removed all doubts. He crossed to St. Armand and 
 remained there unmolested, while General Wilkinson pre- 
 pared to assault Odelltown and Lacolle Mills. As soon as 
 Wilkinson was fully prepared for the assault, Macomb 
 joined him, and the Americans, numbering about five thou- 
 sand men, entered Odelltown. Despatches were immedi- 
 ately sent oft* by the oflicer in command of the stone mills 
 at Lacolle, to Isle-aux-Noix for aid, and Captain Broke with 
 a picquet of the 13th regiment, was sent to him. Major 
 Handcock set about making such preparations as he could 
 for the defence of his temporary block-houso, or rather 
 stone tower, at Lacolle. Wilkinson did not immediately 
 advance, but halted to reconnoitre. He made a feint too, 
 
I 
 
 2C« 
 
 Tin: ATTACK UPON hACUl.l.K. 
 
 1814. 
 
 upon Burtonvillo, which ho snftbred u few grt'iiudiers and 
 some light iiit'untry to check. He wanted possession of La- 
 colle town, and accordingly, early in the afternoon, he de- 
 termined upon taking it by aHsault.. The Americans got 
 into the woods with the view of surronnditig the block- 
 house and of simultaneously assaulting it on all sides. La- 
 colle opened iire, but the Americans only replied by a cheer, 
 and continued to advance. But the cheering was not of 
 long duration, as the effect of Major Ilandcock's fire was 
 not by any means elevating to the Americans. It was so 
 heavy and so hot, and so well directed that the eliect was 
 most depressing, and the enemy retreated, in some confu- 
 sion, back to the woods, from which they had emerged. 
 Thus repulsed the gallant Americans thought of battering a 
 breach in the tower of Lacolle, with the aid of a naked 
 12-pounder, or battering gun, unprotected by an earthwork. 
 The result was that the artillerymen being within musket 
 range, were picked off with great facility, and with such 
 marvellous rapidity, that it was no easy matter for the enemy 
 to load and fire. The cannonading was, nevertheless, kept 
 up for two hours and a half, but as little attention was paid 
 to aim, under the exciting circumstances, only four round 
 shot struck the mill, doing no harm at all. It would have 
 been prudent for the gallant Handcock to have kept the 
 enemy for some time longer, in the snow and cold, keeping 
 up so harmles a fire of artillery. But it occurred to him 
 that the gun might be spiked, and he ordered the flank com- 
 panies of the 13th regiment to charge the enemy, in front. 
 The trees stood still, and the Americans retired a little, 
 pouring a deadly fire upon the 13th, as they advanced in 
 line through deep snow, as well as they could, which was 
 not by any means very well. As the Americans still perti- 
 naciously kept in the woods, the 13th could not, by any pos- 
 sibility, charge. They might have pursued the enemy indi- 
 vidually, and the dodging and twining and twirling of the 
 combatants would have been something extraordinary. But 
 the 13th thought better of it and wisely retired, in good 
 
1814. 
 
 TJIE KILLKO AND WOlNDED — rhUXDBR. 
 
 207 
 
 order, upon the mill. At tliis moment, however, the grena- 
 diers of the Fencibles and a company of the Voltigeurs, 
 arrived from Burtonville, and were ordered by Major Iland- 
 cock to support the retiring 18th, and charge again. The 
 whole now advanced in colunnm of sections upon the gun, 
 which the Americans had spiked during the lirst charge, 
 and on which the Americans in the woods wore ready to 
 concentrate their tire. The enemy did not pull a trigger 
 until the 13th, Voltigeurs, and Fencibles were within twen- 
 ty-live yards of their centre, when the further advance of 
 the sortie was checked by the lire of musketry so hotly 
 poured in upon them on all sides. They were instantly re- 
 called. But the Americans being by this time wearied, cold, 
 and hungry, and now deticient in artilleiy, while they were 
 as unable to cany the mill by storm, as the Britisli were to 
 charge in the woods, retreated about live in th^ afternoon, 
 unmolested, and afterwards fell back upon Champlain and 
 Plattsburg. The Americans lost in this attempt to carry a 
 stone tower, bravely defended, 13 in killed, 123 in wounded, 
 and in missing 30. The British lost 10 killed, 4 missing, 
 and 2 officers and 44 men wounded. 
 
 The Americans, while they were near Cornwall, under 
 Generals Brown and Boyd, in the autumn previously to re- 
 crossing the river, plundered some merchants ot all their 
 goods, wares, and merchandise, found en route for Upper 
 Canada. But the American government had stipulated for 
 their i-estitution with Colonel Morrison, of the 89th, and 
 Captain Mulcaster, of the Koyal Navy. Whether the re- 
 peated checks that they had lately received from the British, 
 in consideration of their unwelcome, but not looked for, 
 visits, had soured the authorities, south of 45 ® ., or no, it 
 was now intended to sell the plunder for the benelit of the 
 government of the United States, as British goods being 
 rare in the American market, high prices w^ould undoubt- 
 edly have been obtained. To prevent a consummation, not 
 in the least devoutly wished for by the British merchants, 
 Captain Sherwood, of the Quarter Master General's Depart- 
 
1 
 
 r \" ^^ 
 
 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 1.0 
 
 1.1 
 
 11.25 
 
 |50 ^^* 
 
 u 
 
 US 
 
 Ki 
 
 u 
 
 2.5 
 2.2 
 
 12^ 
 
 ■ 40 
 
 ■ 2.0 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 Corporation 
 
 23 WIST MAIN STMIT 
 
 WIUTiR,N.Y. I45M 
 
 (7I6)«72-4S03 
 

268 
 
 RECAPTURK OF PLUNDER AT MADRID. 
 
 1814. 
 
 meat, suggested the id«a of plundering them back again. 
 Accordingly, Captain Kerr, with a subaltern, twenty rank 
 and file of the marines, and ten militiamen, crossed the ice 
 on the 6th of February, during the night, from Cornwall to 
 Madrid, on Grass River, with horses and sleighs innumera- 
 ble. The merchandise, or a great part of it, was secured, 
 packed in the sleighs, and carried off. Indeed the inhabit- 
 ants of Madrid made no opposition to Captain Kerr, but on 
 the contrar}^ looking upon the expedition as rather smart, 
 were considerably tickled, and positively helped the British 
 to load their sleighs and be gone. Jonathan, fully alive to 
 the ludicrous, chuckled as he thought upon the astonished 
 countenances of the United States' ofiicers, who were 
 charged with the sale of the goods, when they should have 
 ascertained their unlooked for disappearance. The inhabit- 
 ants were, of course, not molested, and indeed living but a 
 few hundred yards from the British shore, were only very 
 moderate Americans. 
 
 There was also, during the winter, a skirmish at Long- 
 wood, in which the British, who were the assailants, retired 
 with a loss of two ofiicers and twelve men killed. 
 
 The campaign opened with the opening of the navigation, 
 in May. Sir James Yeo, with the co-operation of that ta- 
 lented, skilful, and excellent officer. General Drummond, 
 planned an attack upon Oswego, with the view of destroy- 
 ing the naval stores, sent by way of that town for the equip- 
 ment of the American fleet in Sackett's Harbour. The Bri- 
 tish fleet having been strengthened by two additional ships, 
 the Prince Regent and the Princess Charlotte^ General Drum- 
 mond sent on board of it six companies of DeWatteville's 
 regiment, the light companies of the Glengary militia, and 
 the second battalion of the Royal Marines, with a detach- 
 ment of Royal Artillery, and two field pieces, a detachment 
 of a rocket company, and some sappers and miners. This 
 expedition left Kingston on the 4th of May, and arrived oft' 
 Oswego about noon on the day following. It was then 
 however, blowing a gale of wind, from the northwest, and 
 
1814. 
 
 1814. 
 
 CAPTURE OF OgWFdO. 
 
 2G9 
 
 ^ again. 
 ty rank 
 I the ice 
 nwall to 
 numera- 
 secured, 
 inhabit- 
 •, but on 
 r smart, 
 3 British 
 alive to 
 tonished 
 ho were 
 uld have 
 1 inhabit- 
 ng but a 
 )nly very 
 
 at Long- 
 s, retired 
 
 vigation, 
 
 ■ that ta- 
 
 immond, 
 
 destroy- 
 
 le equip- 
 
 TheBri- 
 
 lal ships, 
 
 1 Drum- 
 
 itteville's 
 
 itia, and 
 
 a detach- 
 
 achment 
 
 8. This 
 
 rived oft' 
 
 as then 
 
 est, and 
 
 it was considered expedient to keep off and on the port, 
 until the weather calmed. It was the morning of the Gth, 
 before a landing could be offeotod, when about one hund' ?d 
 and forty men, under Colonel Fischer, and two hundred 
 seamen, under Captain Mulcaster, Royal Xavy, were sent 
 ashore, in the face of a heavy tire of grape and round shot 
 from the enemies' batteries, and of musketry from a detach- 
 ment of the American army, posted on the brow of a hill 
 and partially sheltered by an adjoining wood. The British, 
 nevertheless, charged the battery and captured it, the enemy 
 leaving about sixty wounded men behind them, in their hur- 
 ried retreat. The stores in the fort were taken possession of, 
 the fort itself dismantled, and the barracks were destroyed. 
 In this successful assault, Captain Iloltaway, of the ^larines, 
 was killed. Captain Mulcaster was severely and dangerously 
 wounded in the head, and Captain Popham was wounded 
 severely, two officers of the line and two other naval offi- 
 cers were wounded. Eighteen rank and file of the army 
 and marines were killed, and sixty wounded, and three 
 sailors were killed and seven wounded. The naval stores, 
 however, were not captured, as they had been deposited at 
 the Falls of the Onondago, some miles above Oswego. The 
 troops were re-embarked and the tieet sailed for Kingston 
 on the 7th of May. 
 
 Sir James Yeo being still very anxious about the naval 
 stores which the enemy were so industriously collecting at 
 Sackett's Harbour, determined to try if possession of at 
 least a part of them could not be obtained. Accordingly, 
 he blockaded Sackett's Harbour, and on the morning of the 
 29th of May, a boat belonging to the enemy, laden with a 
 cable large enough for a ship of war, and with two twenty- 
 four pounders, forming one of a flotilla of sixteen boats from 
 Oswego, containing naval and military stores, was inter- 
 cepted and captured. Captains Popham and Spilsbury, 
 having with them two gun-boats and five barges, were im- 
 mediately sent in search of the other boats. They soon 
 learned where the missing boats were. Fearing capture, 
 
270 
 
 TIIK SANDY CREEK BUSINESS. 
 
 1814. 
 
 1)' 
 
 
 the Americans had taken shelter in Sandy Creek. It was 
 resolved to root them out, if possible, and accordingly the 
 British gun-boats and barges entered the Creek. Captains 
 Popham and Spilsbury immediately looked about them, and 
 found the enterprise to be rather hazardous. The creek 
 was narrow and winding. An attack was, nevertheless, de- 
 termined upon. For about half a mile the assailants pro- 
 ceeded cautiously up the creek, when, as they turned its 
 elbow, the enemy's boats were in full view. The troops im- 
 mediately landed on both banks and were advancing when 
 the sixty-eight pounder carronade in the foremost boat was 
 disabled, and it was necessary to bring the twenty-four 
 pounder in the stern of the boat to bear upon the enemy. 
 But no sooner had an eftbrt been made to get the boat round 
 than the enemy took it into their heads that the attacking 
 party designed to make oif, and advancing hastily in consi- 
 derable numbers, rifles, militia, cavalry, regular infantry, 
 and Indians, the British, unable to retreat, were overpow- 
 ered, the captured being with difficulty rescued by their 
 humane American enemies, from the tomahawks and scalp- 
 ing knives of the Indians. 
 
 On Lake Champlain an attempt was made on the 14th of 
 May, to capture or destroy two new American vessels build- 
 ing at Vergennes, by Captain Pring, of the Royal Navy, 
 but finding the enemy prepared to receive him more warm- 
 ly than courteously, Captain Pring desisted and returned to 
 Isle-aux-Noix. 
 
 About the end of June, the Americans concentrated at 
 Buffalo, Black Rock, and other places, on the Niagara fron- 
 tier, for the invasion of Upper Canada, only waited for the 
 co-operation of the fleet, which had not, as yet, come out 
 of Sackett's Harbour. The army was commanded by Ge- 
 neral Brown, however, an officer, of considerable judgment, 
 and now not by any means inexperienced in the art of war, 
 who could not remain long inactive. On the 3rd of July, 
 he despatched Brigadiers Scott and Ripley, with their two 
 strong brigades, to cflfect a landing on the Canada shore. 
 
1814. 
 
 1814. 
 
 RIALL^ DEFKAT. 
 
 271 
 
 It was 
 jgly the 
 captains 
 em, and 
 e creek 
 less, de- 
 lta pro- 
 irned its 
 oops ira- 
 lor when 
 Doat was 
 nty-four 
 
 enemy, 
 at round 
 .ttacking 
 in consi- 
 infantry, 
 Dverpow- 
 
 by their 
 id scalp- 
 
 B 14th of 
 ;l8 build- 
 il Navy, 
 re warm- 
 urned to 
 
 crated at 
 ira fron- 
 for the 
 [ojne oat 
 by Ge- 
 Idgment, 
 lof war, 
 |of July, 
 leir two 
 shore. 
 
 They lauded from boats and l)attoaux, at two difloront points. 
 One brigadier landed above Fort Erie, and the other below 
 it, the brigades being two miles apart, and the fort in the 
 centre. Captain Buck, of the 8th regiment, was in command 
 of Fort Erie, and, oddly enough, although he had put it in a 
 tolerably good state for defence, he at once surrendered it, 
 and his garrison of seventy men, to the enemy. Scott and 
 Ripley now marched on Chipi>ewa, and were making prepa- 
 tions to carry that post when they were met by General 
 Riall, with fifteen hundred regular troops, and a thousand 
 Indians and militia, and offered battle. The offer was no 
 sooner made than accepted, and at five in the afternoon, a 
 battle was commenced, which proved disastrous to Riall. 
 The enemy were overwhelmingly numerous. Riall's mili- 
 tia and Indians attacked the American light troops vigor- 
 ously, but they were unable to cope with Kentucky rifle- 
 men, sheltered behind trees. Death came with every rifle 
 flash, and the militia and Indians must have given way, had 
 not the light companies of the Royal ^cotts and 100th regi- 
 ments come to their relief. Now came the main and, on 
 the part of Riall, ill-judged attack. He concentrated his 
 whole force, while the Americans stretched out in line. He 
 approached in column, attempting to deploy under a most 
 galling fire, and the result was, as might have been antici- 
 pated, fearfully disastrous. With 151 men killed and 320 
 wounded, among whom was Lieutenant-Colonel, the Mar- 
 quis of Tweedale, the British were compelled to retire. Ri- 
 all's object in retiring was to gain his intrenched camp, but 
 General Brown, who now commanded the Americans, dis- 
 covered a cross road, and Riall, abandoning Queenston, fell 
 back to Twenty Mile Creek. The loss of the American? 
 was 70 killed and 9 officers and 240 men wounded. This 
 was the most sanguinary of any battle that had been fought 
 during the war, and the enemy, gaining courage, advanced 
 gradually, and made demonstrations upon Forts George and 
 Mississaga. On the 25th of July, Brown, not considering 
 it expedient to advance and, unsafe to stand still, retreated 
 
rt—r-;;rT- 
 
 272 
 
 TirS HATTLK OF CHII'PEWA. 
 
 1814. 
 
 I" 
 
 I 
 
 upon Chippewa, the villaojo of St. David's having been pre- 
 viously set on fire, by a Lieutenant-Colonel Stone, whom 
 Brown compelled to retire from the army for his barbarity. 
 General Kiall now again advanced, when the enemy wheeled 
 about and endeavoured to cut liim oft' from his expected re- 
 inforcement. But he failed in doing so, General Drummond 
 having come up with about three thousand men, of whom 
 eighteen hundred were regulars. The enemy was five thou- 
 sand strong, but General Drummond seized a commanding 
 eminence wliich swept the whole field of battle. Nothing 
 daunted, however, by this superiority of position, tlie Ameri- 
 cans resolutely advanced to the charge, and the action, which 
 commenced about six in the evening, soon became general 
 along the whole line, the brunt of the battle falling, never- 
 theless, upon the British centre and left. General Riall, 
 who commanded the left division of the army was forced 
 back with his division, wounded, and made prisoner, The 
 centre firmly maintained their ground. It was composed of 
 the 89th, the Royals, and the King's regiment, well sup- 
 ported by the artillery, whose guns, worked with prodigious 
 activity, carried great havoc in the enemy's ranks. Brown 
 soon perceived that unless the guns were captured, the bat- 
 tle was lost ; and he consequently bent all his energies to 
 the accomplishment of that object. He ordered General 
 Millar to charge up the hill and take the guns. The order was 
 vigorously obeyed and five guns fell into the hands of the 
 Americans, the British artillerymen being positively bay- 
 oneted in the act of loading, while the muzzles of the Ame- 
 rican guns were within a few yards of the English battery. 
 It was now night and extremely dark. During the darkness 
 some extraordinary incidents occurred. The British having, 
 for a moment, been thrust back, some of the British guns 
 remained for a few minutes in the enemy's hands. They 
 were, however, not only quickly recovered, but the two 
 pieces, a six pounder and a five and a half inch howitzer, 
 which the enemy had brought up, were captured by the 
 British, together with several tumbrils ; and in limbering 
 
1814. 
 
 1814. 
 
 IIIE BATXhK CUMliNliEU. 
 
 27". 
 
 een pre- 
 !, whom 
 arbarity. 
 wheeled 
 Bcted re- 
 immond 
 >f whom 
 Lvc thou- 
 laanding 
 Nothing 
 e Ameri- 
 1, which 
 ! general 
 ', never- 
 al Riall, 
 8 forced 
 er, The 
 iposed of 
 ^ell 8up- 
 odigious 
 
 Brown 
 
 the bat- 
 
 ergies to 
 
 General 
 
 ►rder was 
 
 is of the 
 
 ely bay- 
 
 le Ame- 
 
 battery. 
 
 iarkness 
 
 I having, 
 
 Lsh guns 
 
 They 
 
 the two 
 
 lowitzer, 
 
 by the 
 mbering 
 
 I. 
 
 up the Britisli guns, at oiio period, one of the oncniy'ti six- 
 poundor.s was ]>iit, by mistake, upon a Britisli limber, and 
 one of tlie liritisli six-[ionn(lers was liiuberod on one of the 
 enemy's. fSo thai altliou^-h American g'lns liad l)een cap- 
 tured, yet as tlic Americans had captured one of the British 
 guns, the Britisli only ,ii:ained, by the dark transaction, one 
 gun. It was now U o'clock, and there was a short intermis- 
 sion of iirin<i^. Apparently the combatants sank to rest from 
 pure exhaustion. It was a terrible repose. The din of bat- 
 tle had ceased, to be succeeded by the monotonous roar of 
 the Great Falls. The moon had risen and at intervals 
 glanced out of the angry blackisli looking clouds, to reveal 
 the pale faces of the dead, with still unrelaxed features, 
 and some even yet, as it were, in an attitude of deii- 
 ance. The field of strife was one sea of blood, and the 
 groans of the wounded and the dying sent a shudder through 
 the boldest. Occasionally the Hash of a gun or a few bright 
 flashes of musketry revealed more strikingly than even the 
 moon's pale rays, the living, the dying, and the dead. 
 Short as was the respite, the enemy was jiot idle while it 
 lasted. Brown was busily employed in bringing up the 
 whole of ills remaining force, and he afterwards renewed the 
 attack with fresh troops, to be everywhere repulsed, with 
 equal gallantry and success. Drummond had not neglected 
 to bring up Kiall's wing which had been previously ordered 
 to retire. He placed them in a second line, with the excep- 
 tion of the Royal Scots, with which he prolonged his front 
 line, on the right, where he was apprehensive of being out- 
 flanked by the enemy. The enemy's eftbrts to carry the hill 
 were continued until about midnight, when he had sutt'ered 
 so severely from the superior steadiness and discipline of the 
 British that he gave up the contest and retreated with great 
 precipitation to his camp, beyond the Chippewa, which ho 
 abandoned on the following day, throwing the greatest part 
 of his baggage, camp equipage, and provisions, into the 
 rapids. lie then set tire to Street's Mills, destroyed the 
 bridge at Chippewa, and, in great disorder, continued his 
 
 c2 
 
•271 
 
 ;ii;i;i; *.>v loiir i;uil. 
 
 If^U. 
 
 IM' 
 
 
 rotreut towards Fort Kv'io. (iencnil Druniuoinl (IoiuoIrhI his* 
 light troops, cuvalry, and Indian.s, in pursuit, to harass his 
 rear. 
 
 Tho Americans lost, i!i this fiercely contested struggle, at 
 least 1,500 men, in killed, wounded, and prisoners: among 
 the wounded were the two generals commanding, Urown 
 and Scott. There were o,UUO Americans engaged, and only 
 2,800 British. General Drummond received a musket ball 
 in the neck, but, concealing the circumstance from his 
 troops, he remained on the ground until tlie close of the 
 action. Lieutenant-Colonel Morrison, of the 8lHh regiment, 
 Lieutent-Colonel Pearson, Captain Robinson, of the King's 
 regiment, in command of the militia, and several other offi- 
 cers were severely wounded. The British loss, in all, was 
 eight hundred and seventy men, including forty-two made 
 prisoners, among whom were (leneral liiall and his staff. 
 
 The Americans, now under the command of General Rip- 
 ley, retreated upon Fort Erie, and intrenched themselves in 
 its neighborhood. Gen'l. Gaines then assumed the command 
 at Fort Erie, having come from Sackett's Harbour, in the 
 fleet which was to have co-operated with the army, now 
 cooped up in Fort Erie and altogether indifferent to such 
 co-operation. The fleet went back again. 
 
 Still following up his successes, General Drummond laid 
 siege to Fort Erie and the intrenched camp near it, and 
 while he was doing so, three armed schooners, anchored off 
 the fort, were captured by a body of marines, who pushed 
 off in boats during the night, under Captain Dobbs, of the 
 Royal Navy. General Drummond did not simply sit down 
 before Fort Erie and the entrenchment, he did his best to 
 effect a breach, and with that view kept up a constant fire 
 from the two 24-pounder field guns which had proved more 
 than ordinarily useful at the battle of Chippewa. It was 
 not long indeed before he considered an assault practicable, 
 lie made the necessary preparations, and on the fourteenth, 
 three columns, one under Colonel Fischer, consistmg of the 
 8th and DeWatteville's regiment, and the flank companies 
 
18U. 
 
 Tlli; A^SAfl.T. 
 
 _ I -I 
 
 <»t' the HDth ami lOOth rcj^MiKMits, with a ilutaohmnii of urtil- 
 lerv, a socoml iiinler t'olouol J)niimiioii(l, of tlio 104il) reixi- 
 ment. ma"le {\\^ n\' tho llaiik coinpniiios oftlu' -Ust aiul lU4ili 
 rc^'iineiits, with a tow s!';i:in'ii and luaniu's, in ohargo of 
 Captain I.)()hl)>!. aii'l tho orhcr und-T Colonel Scott, consi-t- 
 iM,;LJ^ of his own ro_o:iuient, the lOlJnl, und two companies of 
 the rovah. Colonel Fischer's column u'ained in).ssession of 
 the enemy's liatti.'ries at tlio point assi^^ncd I'oi* its attack, 
 two houi'.s bet"oroUayli,L;'ht, inn the o!lu'i'colnmn.s wt;ru behind 
 time, having' p)t ontanicied \>y niai-chiiiL;' too near the lake, 
 l)etv\'Oon tiio nx-ks and the water, and the enemy hein.Lf now 
 on the alert, opened a heavy tiro upon the leading column 
 of the second division which threw it into coni'nsion. FivS- 
 clier's column had in the meaiiwliilo almost sueeccded in 
 eapturinc^ the fort. They had actually crept into the main 
 fort through tlie embrasures, in spite of every oifort to pre- 
 vent them. Xay, tluw lurned the guns of the fort upon its 
 defenders, wdio took refuge in a stone building, in the in- 
 terior, hud continued to resist. This desperate work continued 
 for nearly r.n hour, when a magazine blew up, mangling 
 most horribly nearly all the assailants within the fort. Ot 
 course there was a panic. The living, surrounded ])y tlie 
 dvius: and tiic dead, the Victims of accident, believed that 
 they stood upon an iid'ernal macliine, to which tlic matcli 
 had only to be placed. No effort conhl rally men imi)ressed 
 with sucli an idea. There w;is a rush, as it were, from ine- 
 vitable death. Persuasion fell on the ears of men wlio could 
 not hear. Persuasion foil upon the senses of men translixed 
 with one idea. Persuasion would have been as eifectual in 
 moving yonder blackened corpse into healthy life, as in 
 moving to a sense of duty to themselves, men who could 
 see nothing but the deadness around them, and whose minds 
 Raw only, under all, the blackess of immediate destruction. 
 Those who were victors, until now, literally rushed from the 
 fort. The reinforcements of the British soon arrived, but 
 the explosion had again given the defenders heart, and they 
 too, having received reinforcements, after some additional 
 
27C 
 
 A IJHITIHH FLEET ON THE AMERICAN COAST. 
 
 1H14. 
 
 i< 
 
 I^^m;^ i. 
 
 struggling, for the mastery, the IJritiHli withdrew. The Bri- 
 tish loss amounted to 157 killed, 308 wounded, and 180 pri- 
 sonorH, among the killed being Colonels Seott and Drum- 
 mond. The American loss was 84 in killed, wounded and 
 missing. 
 
 A reinforcement was shortly afterwards obtained from 
 Lower Canada. The Gth and the 82nd regiments came in 
 time to compensate for previous losses, but (ilcncml Drum- 
 mond did not consider it expedient to make another attack. 
 His purpose was eqiuvlly well, and perhaps better obtained 
 by keeping the whole Amencan army of invasion prisoners 
 in a prison selected by themselves, on British territory, and 
 from which it was impossible to escape. 
 
 While these things were transpiring in Upper Canada, 
 public attention was irresistibly drawn in another direction. 
 About the middle of August, between fit\y and sixty sail of 
 British vessels of war arrived in the Chesapeake, with troops 
 destined for the attack on Washington, the capital of the 
 United States, Britain having now come to the determina- 
 tion of more vigorously prosecuting tlie war. Three regi- 
 ments of Wellington's army, the 4th, 44th and 85th, were 
 embarked at Bordeaux on the 2nd of June, on board the 
 Moyal Oak seventy-four, and IMctalor and Diadem^ of sixty- 
 four guns each, and, having arrived at Bermuda on the 24th, 
 they were there joined by the fusiliers, and by three regi- 
 ments, from the Mediterranean, in six frigates, forming 
 altogether a force of three tliousand live hundred men. 
 General Ross commanded the troops ; Admiral Cockbum 
 the ileet. Tangier's Island was fii*st taken possession of, 
 fortifications being erected, structures built, and the British 
 flag hoisted. The negroes on the plantations adjoining were 
 promised emancipation if they revolted, and fifteen hundred 
 did revolt, were drilled, and formed into a regiment. They 
 were useful but exceedingly costly, for on the conclusion of 
 peace the proprietors of the negroes were indemified, and 
 His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia, tlian whom 
 juo one better knew the value of a serf, being tlie referee. 
 
1811. 
 
 ADMIRAL CUCKIIUIIN A <JUNEUAL UOba. 
 
 577 
 
 regi- 
 
 uwiirdcd the enormous Hunior X250,000, or nciirly Xl/iO lor 
 each iio^ro tlmt hud plained hia freedom, iin tlie comneiisa- 
 tioii udcjuate to the injury which the urgency of war nuidc 
 it necoHHary to inflict upon the cultivators of human farm 
 Htock. 
 
 The troops under General Uo«rt were landed at IJenedict, 
 on the Pawtuxet river, torty-seven miles from Washington. 
 On the 21st they moved towards Nottingham, and on the 
 following day they reached Marlhorough. A flotilla of 
 launclies and barges, commanded by Admiral Coekburn, 
 ascended the river at tlio same time, keeping on the right 
 Hank of the army. There are two rivers by which Wash- 
 ington nniy be approached — the I'otomac, which discharges 
 itself into the upper extremity of the bay of Chesapeake, 
 and the Pawtuxet. The object which tlio British mili- 
 tary and naval commanders had in view when the Pawtuxet 
 was deciilod on for the route by which a dash was to be 
 made on the capital city of the American republic, was 
 greater fiicility of access, and the destruction of Commodore 
 Barney's powerful flotilla of gun-boats, which had taken 
 refuge iu its creeks. This flotilla, snugly moored in a situ- 
 ation only twelve miles from AVashington, was fallen iu 
 with by Admiral Coekburn, on the 23rd. The Americans 
 then seeing that it must be captured set fire to it and fled. 
 Out of sixteen fine gun-boats, fifteen were totally con- 
 sumed, but one gun-boat missed destruction and it, with 
 thirteen merchant schooners, was made a prize of. The 
 troops now marched rapidly forward. There were about 
 3,500 men, with 200 sailors to drag the guns, to oppose Ge- 
 neral Winder, who, with 1G,G00 men, had, on the faith of a 
 hint received from Ghent, taken measures to protect the 
 capital. When the British approached, however. General 
 Winder had only 6,500 infantry, 300 cavalry, and 600 
 sailors to work the guns, which were twenty-six in number, 
 while the British had only two. He took up a position at 
 Bladeusburg, six miles from Washington, so as to command 
 the only bridge over the little Potomac, by which it could 
 
278 TIIL MHilSLATlMC CAl'lTAl. oK THK \ . .S. CAI'TI IIKD. I8lk 
 
 V^ 
 
 bo <'r(jss<;(l, Mtid tlic lii<rliw;iv to WuHliiimtoii lii-iiiii; <lir(.'('tlv 
 lliroiiirb liix centre. IJc diivcti'il all lils urlillerv upon tho 
 bridi^o. I'ut- tin* men now oit|)f);e(l to llie Anu'riean.s knew 
 woll liow lo cari'v bridiivs. (Jeneral lioss, liavinu; I'onnod lii«< 
 troop.s into two coluiiuis, (]ii' one under Colonei Tliornton, 
 and tlie oilier under ('(»l(iMel iJrooke, ordered the Uridi^o to 
 lo he cro-'sod. Hardly was the ordvr <j,-iven. when in Kpite 
 of artillery and nunketrv, Thornton's column liad dashed 
 aeross, carried a lortilied house at the opposite Hide, and be- 
 ing quickly followed by tlie other division, had spread out 
 sharpshooters on ei(h''r think. T!ie militia of the L'nited 
 Status s'»on p>t into eoul'iision, and soon at't<M- fled. IiKb'ed 
 Commodore Barney and his sailoivs ni;ide the most jti'allant 
 rosistance, but he was soon over])owered, wounded, and with 
 a fxreat part of the soanuMi under liim Tell into the hands of 
 till") British. Ten L;iins were taken, tho \>hole army was to- 
 tally routed ; and tho enemy were Heeijiij^ past WashiuL^ton, 
 to tlie heiglits of Ceor2:etown, liorso and foot, as fast as fear 
 could carry them. The (hiy was op})ressivcly liot, and the 
 British armv nninlluenced bv I'ear were not al)lc to continue 
 their advance until the cool o[' the eveuin^L!;. They had not 
 "suiiered" at all. The entire loss was only 01 killed and 
 185 wounded. Bv eidit at niii'ht thev were within a mile of 
 AVashinsrton, and tho main bodv halted. With only seven 
 hundred men General 1-ioss and Admiral Cockl)urn were in 
 the capital of a republic nnmberiiiiT^ eight millions of iidia- 
 bitants, and proud of having in arms the inconsiderable 
 number of eight liundred thousand men, to do with it as 
 Commodore Chaneev and General Dearborn had done to 
 York, the capital of a territory containing ninety-five thou- 
 8and inhabitans, man, woman, and child ! half an hour af- 
 terwards, or pay a ransom. The ransom was refused and 
 the torch was applied to arsenals, store-houses, senate house, 
 house of representatives, dockyard, treasury, war office, 
 president's palace, rope walk, and the great bridge across 
 the Potomac. In the arsenal 20,000 stand of arms were 
 ronmm^d. A fngntf" and a rdr»op of wnv, nfloat, were burnt. 
 
>. 1814. 
 
 1814. 
 
 Tin; DKSTllLl'TlU.N uV Till: LlItKAKIl..-. 
 
 •270 
 
 <lirc'(;tl\' 
 upon tlio 
 MS know 
 niu'd liis 
 liorntoii, 
 n'idi^o to 
 
 ill 8i»iti» 
 
 (laslicd 
 , and 1)0- 
 road out 
 L' Unilcd 
 
 Iiidoofl 
 
 iU'allaid 
 ind u'itli 
 liaiids of 
 : wjis to- 
 liinLj-ton, 
 ^t us t'car 
 and tlic 
 oiii'muu 
 liad not 
 lied and 
 
 inilo of 
 Iv Hcvcn 
 
 Avorc in 
 of iidia- 
 iderablo 
 h it as 
 done to 
 '0 tliou- 
 lour af- 
 ed and 
 R house, 
 
 office, 
 
 across 
 13 were 
 
 burnt. 
 
 •JU(] cauMou and 1U'),<)(>0 rounds of ball (•artridire \\\'i\' lakni 
 and destroyed, and (Jcneral Ross and Admiral C'ockburu 
 wont bat'k at their Ici-ure to IJenedict. In conueetioii with 
 this most uxtruordiiuirily successful enterprise retleetiii:LC the 
 iii^liest credit on iicneral Uoss, there had been soiue ouicrv 
 about exteiidins^ ihi' ravai^es of war to pacitie [jublic build- 
 ings. Indeed tlu* barbarity of destroyiiiL' the k'uislative 
 buildin<(s, the White Jfouse and tln^ public libraries of 
 \V"ashini(ton Inis been harped uj^on most sentimentally and 
 injudiciously. The destriu'tioii of some books, scra[>ed to- 
 erether bv a new couutrv and, therefore, of no vcrv uivat in- 
 trinsi(! value, is looked upon by tho literati <tf this and of a 
 past age, as a crime, and one of jLreater magnitude than the 
 destruction of a village iu (\iiada. on th' -0(h of Decem- 
 ber, with the thermometf^r ut zero, a::vl tlic siu)\v two feel 
 in d'jpth upon the ground, wonic; :ui(l children even being 
 left to gather food and galliei- warmth wiiere best they 
 might. It is not cojisidered that a palace or even a church 
 or parliament building may be converted into a barrack or 
 that, in some cases, oven the desiruction of a citv mav be 
 necessary. The Americans had burglariously entered ui»on 
 a war with the view of stealing Canada from its lawful 
 owner, and being caught and stayed in the act, were lined, 
 but refusing to pay, wei'c distressed by the loss of public 
 goods. Tho Americans, who were the suft'erers, very natu- 
 rally represented an act, which had so Iminiliated them, as 
 barbarous, but how any otber jjorson could object to such a 
 proceeding on the score that it was oidy worthy of a Goth, 
 ia difficult of conjecture. It is certainly a pity that tine 
 edifices should be destroyed, and it is no less a pity that 
 thousands of young men should bo destroyed or mutilated, 
 and that hundreds of thousands of tlieir relatives should 
 mourn because of ;var ; but so long as war is possible, and 
 possible it ever will be, until the amalgamation of the dif- 
 ferent species of the different nations, of the different tribes, 
 and of the different tongues who inhabit the earth takes 
 place, at the millenium. soon after which this great globe 
 
280 
 
 CAPITULATION OF ALEXANDRIA. 
 
 1814. 
 
 itself is to be dissolved with fervent heat, and all its magni- 
 ficent palaces, gorgeous temples, and stupendous towers arc 
 to pa- ? away for ever, will there be a waste and destruction 
 of life and property at wliich extreme civilisation shudders. 
 Educated men will doubtless mourn the loss of fine libraries 
 and of grand cathedrals. English taste doubtless regrets 
 that churches, the remains of which are yet so striking, 
 should have been destroyed by indiscriminating fanaticism, 
 but the man of sense will recollect the idolatry that has 
 passed away with them, as with the rarthenon, and he will 
 weigh the gain to a people witli the loss sustained by merely 
 men of taste. And, beyond question, men of peace can 
 paint the horrors of war vividl}', and deny its necessity, but 
 the man of ordinary understanding will not scruple to say 
 that as war in the cleme]\ts is sometimes necessary for a 
 healthy atmosphere, so war among men is needful for the 
 preservation of even a shadow of liberty to the individual, 
 and that injury to public buildings, to trade and commerce, 
 must result from it, for a time. 
 
 Immediately after the capture of Washington, Captain 
 Gordon, in the frigate Seahorse, accompanied by the brig 
 Eurijalus, and several bomb-vessels, entered the Potomac. 
 Without much difficulty he overcame the intricacies of the 
 passage leading by that river to the metropolis, and on the 
 evening of the 27th, the expedition arrived abreast of Fort 
 Washington. The Fort which had been constructed so as 
 to command the river was immediately boml)ardcd, and the 
 powder magazine having exploded, the place was aban- 
 doned, and with all its guns, taken possession of by the 
 British. Proceeding next to Alexandria, the bomb-vessels 
 assumed a position which effectually coiumanded the ship- 
 ping in the port, and the enemy were compelled to capitu- 
 late, when two and twenty vessels, including several armed 
 schooners, fell into the hands of the British, and were 
 brought away in triumph. There was some difficulty, how- 
 ever, in bringing off the prizes. To cut ofi' the retreat of 
 the British squadron, several ])atterics had been erected by 
 
1814. 
 
 1814. 
 
 DEATH OF (iENlillAL llOSS. 
 
 281 
 
 3 magni- 
 wers arc 
 itruction 
 liuclders. 
 libraries 
 regrets 
 striking, 
 laticism, 
 that has 
 I he will 
 y merely 
 sace can 
 sity, but 
 le to say 
 try for a 
 il for the 
 Llividual, 
 mmerce, 
 
 Captain 
 he brig 
 otomac. 
 8 of the 
 1 on the 
 of Fort 
 0(1 so as 
 and the 
 i aban- 
 by the 
 (-vessels 
 le ship- 
 capitii- 
 armed 
 1 were 
 y, how- 
 treat of 
 ctcd by 
 
 the Americans, and these, now manned by the crews of the 
 Baltimore flotilla, opened lire upon Captain Gordon and his 
 prizes. Tlio expeditionary and the captured vessels were, 
 nevertheless, so skilfully navigated, and the fire from the 
 bomb-vessels was so well directed that not a single ship took 
 the ground, and the Americans were driven from their guns, 
 the whole squadron being thus permitted to emerge from 
 the Potomac, with its prizes, in safety. 
 
 An expedition was next litted out against Baltimore, and 
 the fleet moved in that direction, reaching the mouth of the 
 Patapsco on the 11th September. The troops were landed 
 on the day following the arrival of the fleet, and, while the 
 ships moved up the river, marched upon Baltimore. For 
 the first six miles no opposition was oftered, but as Balti- 
 more was approached a detachment of light troops were 
 noticed occupying a thick wood through which the road 
 passed. Impelled by the daring for which he was distin- 
 guished. General Ross immediately advanced with the skir- 
 mishers to the front, and it was not long before the general 
 received a wound, which so soon proved fatal that he 
 had barely time to recommend his wife and fiimily to the 
 protection of his king and country before he breathed his 
 last. The command, on the death of this energetic oflicer, 
 devolved upon Colonel Brooke. The British light troops 
 continued to come up and the enemy fell back, still skir- 
 mishing from behind the trees, to a fortified position stretch- 
 ing across a narrow neck of land, which separated the Pa- 
 tapsco and the Back Rivers. Here, six thousand infantry, 
 four hundred horse, and six guns were drawn up in line, 
 across the road, with either flank placed in p. thick wood, 
 and a strong wooden paling covering their front. The Bri- 
 tish, however, immediately attacked and with such vigour 
 that in less than fifteen minutes the enemy were routed, and 
 fled in every direction, leaving six hundred killed and 
 wounded on the field of battle, besides three hundred pri- 
 soners, and two guns, in the hands of the British. On the 
 foUowiug morning, the British were within a mile and a 
 
I I 
 
 i 
 
 I ' 
 
 !i 
 
 2S-2 
 
 TlIK ATTACK ON liALTlMOUE. 
 
 1814 
 
 lialf of Baltiniore. There li<j round flfteeii thousand Anie- 
 riesins, witli a huge train of artillery, manned by the crews 
 of the frigates lying at Baltimore, strongly ponted on a 
 Bcries of fortified heights which encircle the town. To 
 charge a force of sucli macrnitude with three thonsand men 
 would liave been extrenielv hazardons, and Colonel Brooke 
 determined upon a night attack ; but, as the night fell, and 
 Brooke w^as arranging his men for the contemplated assault, 
 lie received a letter from Admiral Cockburn, informing him 
 that tlie enemy, b^' sinking twenty vessels in the river, (a 
 mode of defence since adopted by Russia,) had prevented all 
 further access to the ships, and rendered naval co-operation 
 impossible. Under such circumstances, Brooke withdrew, 
 without molestation, to his ships. 
 
 To the British, the operations on the seaboard, so far, had 
 been as eminently successful as the operations in Upper 
 Canada had been. In the northwest, there was one post 
 which did not fall, and the fall of which was looked upon 
 with indifference by the Americans when Michigan was re- 
 covered, after the defeat of the British fleet on Lake Erie. 
 Contrary to the expectation of the eneni}-, that post, which 
 was at Michillimackinac, had been reinforced early in the 
 spring. Colonel McDonell, with a detachment of troops, 
 arrived there on the IStli of May, with provisions and stores 
 for the relief of the garrison. He did not remain idle when 
 his chief errand was accomplished. In July he sent otf 
 Colonel McKay, of the Indian Department, with 650 men, 
 Michigan Fencibles, Canadian Volunteers, Oilicers of the 
 Indian Department, and Indians, to reduce Prmric-du-Chien, 
 on the Mississippi. On the 17th of Jul}^, McKay arrived 
 there. The enemy were in possession of a small fort, and 
 two block-houses, armed with six guns, while in front of 
 the fort, in the middle of the river, there was a gun-boat of 
 considerable size, in which there were no less than fourteen 
 pieces of ordnance. McKay was superlatively polite. He 
 sent a message to the commander of the fort, recommend- 
 ing an immediate surrender. But, as McKay had only one 
 
1814 
 
 1814 
 
 FRAir.lK DL CHIK.N AND STK. MAlllK. 
 
 283 
 
 and Anie- 
 the crews 
 Htt'cl on a 
 3\vn. To 
 isand men 
 icl Brooke 
 tfoll, and 
 ed assault, 
 •rning him 
 le river, (a 
 3veuted all 
 (-operation 
 withdrew, 
 
 so far, had 
 in Upper 
 1 one post 
 oked upon 
 ;an was ro- 
 jake Erie. 
 3st, which 
 arly in the 
 of troops, 
 and stores 
 idle when 
 e sent oft' 
 (350 men, 
 ers of the 
 ■da- Chien, 
 ly arrived 
 fort, and 
 n front of 
 un-boat of 
 11 fourteen 
 olite. He 
 3ommend- 
 l onlv one 
 
 L/ 
 
 gun, the Aniorican promptly refused, and was not a little 
 ironical in his refusal. McKay, hiu'hlander as he was, could , / 
 stand anything hut irony, and he opened iire with his soli- 
 tary gun ui)on the gunboat, by way of returning the com- 
 pliment. With this only iron in the lire, he soon gave such 
 proof of metal that tlie giin-boal cut ber cable and ran 
 
 McE 
 
 tb 
 
 d batter 
 
 down stream. 
 
 the evening of the 19th, he was prepared w ith his one gun 
 to bombard the fort. The enemy seeing tlie earthworks 
 doubtless imagined that McKay's park of ai'tillery was more 
 considerable than it was, and without waitiuir: lor a sinsrle 
 round ho hoisted a white fti:g in token of submission, when 
 McKay took possession of the fort. It contained only three 
 officers and seventy-one men, but the ex[iloit was a gallant 
 one, nevertheless, and of essential service in securing British 
 influence over the Indian tribes. 
 
 The Americans on being informed that Mi(;hiilimackinao 
 had been reinforced, and perhaps anticipating that further 
 mischief to them might ensue, sent Colonel Croghan with- 
 out loss of time to capture it. Crogliau dispatched Major 
 Holmes upon Stc. Marie to plunder the Xorth AVest Com- 
 pany of their stores. The miscreant was only too success- 
 ful. Not content with plunder only, he set tire to the build- 
 ings and reduced them to ashes. He gave further proof of 
 the possession of a cruel and barbarous disposition, by cn- 
 jo^'ing the uiuivailing efforts of a poor horse to extricate 
 itself from a burning building to which it had been inhu- 
 manly attached, to be burnt to deatli, after having been 
 employed the greater part of the day in carrying oft' the 
 plunder from the stores. This wretch, accompanied by nine 
 hundred men, of a stamp similar to himself, eft'ected a land- 
 ing near Michillimackinac, on the 4th of August. But the 
 reception given to him was of such a nature that he speedily 
 re-embarked, leaving seventeen dead men, besides his own 
 inanimate remains, to be buried by the people in the fort. 
 Jilichillimackinac was not yet, however, quite safe. There 
 were on the lake two American armoil \ esself^, the T''/)rs,^- 
 
, I , 
 
 284 
 
 MOOSE ISLAND TAKEN POSSESSION OF. 
 
 1814. 
 
 ■1 , 
 
 J 
 
 m 
 
 t : I 
 
 and Scorpion, each carrying a long twenty-four pounder gun, 
 on a pivot, and manned by thirty-two men, which intercept- 
 ed the supplies intended for the garrison. It was most ne- 
 cessary to destroy or get hold of them, and this not unim- 
 portant business was entrusted to Lieutenant Worsley, of 
 the Royal Navy, and Lieutenant Bulger, of the Royal New- 
 foundland Regiment. These two gallant officers proceeded 
 to the despatch of business with praiseworthy alacrity. On 
 the evening of the 3rd of September, one vessel was boarded 
 and captured, and on the morning of the 5th the other craft 
 was captured. Michillimackinac was now sufficiently safe. 
 The war, which was no longer, on the part of the British, 
 a merely defensive one, was now being offensively prose- 
 cuted with vigour in several quarters, almost simultaneously. 
 AVahington had been taken and Baltimore assailed on one 
 side ; and Fort Erie, containing the American array of the 
 "West, was closely invested. It was now determined to prose- 
 cute hostilities from Nova Scotia, which then included New 
 BrunsA\ick, upon the northeastern States of the American 
 Union. With this view, Sir John Sherbrooke sent Colonel 
 Pilkington in the RamUies, commanded by Sir Thomas 
 Hardy, to take possession of Moose Island, the chief town 
 of which is Eastport, commanded by a strongly situated 
 fort, on an overhanging hill, called Fort Sullivan. The fort 
 was, however, only occupied by Major Putnam, six other 
 officers, and eighty men, and was taken possession of on the 
 11th of July, without resistance, the garrison being made 
 prisoners of war. As soon as the news of this successful 
 cntei'prise reached the ears of Sherbrooke, he determined 
 upon personally undertaking another expedition. On the 
 26th of August, he, accordingly, embarked, at Halifax, the 
 whole of the troops at his disposal, in ten transports, and in 
 company with the squadron, commanded by Admiral Grif- 
 iiths, sailed for the river Penobscot, on the 1st of September, 
 when the fort at Castine, commanding the entrance to the 
 river, was evacuated and blown up. The American frigate 
 John Adama, was in the river and, on the approach of the 
 
1814. 
 
 1814. 
 
 THE PEXOKPCOT EXPEDITION. 
 
 2sr, 
 
 mder gun, 
 intercept- 
 i most nc- 
 not unim- 
 Vorsley, of 
 loyal New- 
 proceeded 
 crity. On 
 as boarded 
 other craft 
 eutly safe, 
 the British, 
 /ely prose- 
 iltancously. 
 iled on one 
 rmy of the 
 ed to prose- 
 jludcd New 
 1 American 
 ent Colonel 
 ir Thomas 
 chief town 
 ly situated 
 The fort 
 , six other 
 n of on the 
 made 
 successful 
 etermined 
 11. On the 
 alifax, the 
 •rts, and in 
 Imiral Grif- 
 •eptember, 
 nee to the 
 an frigate 
 >ach of the 
 
 lemg 
 
 Heet, she was run np the river as higli as Hampden. TIio 
 ])etter to protect her from capture lier ijuus were taken out 
 and, at some distance below Ilanipdeii, batteries or earth- 
 works were erected, in which all the guns of the IVigate 
 were placed. The capture or destruction of the Jo/at Adamfi 
 was, however, determined upon, and Captain Barrio, of the 
 Dragon, with a party of seamen, accompanied by Colonel 
 John, at the head of six hundred of the GOth regiment, was 
 sent oft' to eftect it. For a short time the l)atteries resisted, 
 but the attack being well managed the Americans gave way, 
 and, having set fire to the frigate, fled in all directions. 
 The expedition pushed on to Bangor, which surrendered 
 without resistance ; and from thence they wont to Machias, 
 which surrendered by capitulation, the whole militia of the 
 county of Washington being put on their parole not to 
 serve again during the war. The whole country between the 
 Penobscot and the frontier of that part of Nova Scotia, 
 which is now New Brunswick, was then formally taken pos- 
 session of, and a provisional government established, to rule 
 it while the war continued. 
 
 About this time, the army in Canada was re-inforced by 
 the arrival of several generals and officers who had acquired 
 distinction in Spain, and by the successive arrival of frigates 
 from the army which had been so successfully commanded 
 by the illustrious "Wellington, and with which he had in- i z' /' 
 vaded France. In August, Sir George Prevost had been 
 re-inforced with sixteen thousand men from the Garonne. 
 There were, consequently, great anticipations. Even Gene- 
 ral Sir George Prevost dreamed of doing something worthy 
 of immortality. And such expectations v/ere natural. "With 
 a mere handful of troops, General Drummond had proved 
 how much an intelligent and decided commander can do, 
 and Sir George Prevost, with some of the best troops in the 
 world, was about to prove, to all the nations in it, how good 
 blood may be spilled, and material and treasure wasted by a 
 commander inadequate to the task either of leading men to 
 victory or of securing their retreat until victory be after- 
 
 ■;p 
 
 ..? 
 

 281) 
 
 INVASION OF Till: rMTrji .-TATLS, 
 
 \^\\. 
 
 .'V-i 
 
 wards ol)tjniicd. tSir (loorLfc Pn.'V()>t (letcniiiiicil upon llie 
 invftsion ol" tlic Stato of Xow York, and as if uaval co-ope- 
 ration was ab.soluk'ly iiecossarv to traiispoi*t his troops to 
 Plattsbnr£r, Sir Geoi-o-e Trevorft iir!2:od upon Commodore Sir 
 James Yeo to equip the Lake Chamjilnin iloot with the 
 greatest expedition, Tlie commodore replied that the 
 squadron was completely e(piii>pod and liad more than 
 ninety men over the number required to man it. And 
 under tlio su[>iwsition that Captain Fi.schcr. who had pre- 
 pared the ilotilla for active service, liad not acted with 
 promptitude in giving the Comuumder-in-Chief such in- 
 formation as he desired, Sir James sent Captain Downie to 
 supersede him. Sir George, who seemed to have some mis- 
 givings about this fleet, and was still most anxious to bring 
 it into active service, finding Sir James Yeo, who knew His 
 Excellency well, cpiite" impracticable, applied to Admiral 
 Otway, who, with the AJax and Warsj^iic, was then in the 
 port of Quebec, for a re-inforcement of sailors from these 
 vessels for the Lake Champlain flotilla. Admiral Otway 
 did as he was retpiested to do. A largo re-inforcement of 
 sailors were immediately sent off to Lake Champlain, and 
 Sir George having sent Major-Gen cral Sir James Kempt to 
 Upper Canada, to make an attack upon Sackett's Harbour, 
 if practicable, concentrated his own army, under the imme- 
 diate command of General DeRottenburg, between Laprai- 
 rie and Chambly. He then moved forward, towards the 
 United States frontier, with about 11,000 men to oppose 
 1,500 American regulars and as many militia, under Gene- 
 ral Macomb, whose force had been weakened by 4,000 men, 
 sent off under General Izzard, from Sackett's Harbour, to 
 re-inforce the troops at Fort Erie. Prevost, who had with 
 him Generals Power, Robinson, and Brisbane, in command 
 of divisions, men inured to fighting, and well accustomed to 
 command, met with so inconside.iable an opposition from 
 the Americans, that General Macomb admits that the in- 
 vaders "did not deign to fire upon them." His powerful 
 army was before Plattsburg, only defended by three re- 
 
1814. 
 
 IS14. mi; liiuTisii I i.i:i:i i.i:ri:\Ti'.i. in i. \kk cii wiim.mn. "JST 
 
 upon llie 
 •al co-opc- 
 troopH to 
 nodore Sir 
 with the 
 that the 
 uore than 
 II it. And 
 hud piH> 
 iiotcd with 
 ?t' such in- 
 Downic to 
 5 some niis- 
 )us to bring 
 3 knew His 
 o Admiral 
 then in the 
 from these 
 liral Otway 
 ircement of 
 ain, and 
 s Kempt to 
 Is Harbom', 
 the inmie- 
 |ccn Laprai- 
 •wards the 
 II to oppose 
 ,nder Gene- 
 4,000 men, 
 [larboiir, to 
 lO had with 
 command 
 ustomed to 
 ation from 
 [hat the in- 
 [is powerful 
 three re- 
 
 doubts and two hIoek-li()(i>cs; ho liml Ikhm ponnittod, for 
 three days, to l)i'ini'' up his iiciivv jirtilhM-v ; ho had a foivt' 
 with him ten times o-reater than that wliicii, under Coh>nel 
 Murray, took possession of it, in l.^l:>; and yvt Sir Gooip? 
 Prevost hesitated to attack IMattsbur;.':, until lie could obtain 
 the co-operation of Commo(b)re Downio, coninnindiuc: tiie 
 Conjiancc, of 30 guns, the Linnet, of 18 guns, the CfuM, of 
 10 guns, the Finch, of 10 guns, and 12 gun-boats, containing 
 16 guns ! because tlie enoniy had a squadron consisting of 
 the ship Sdrnfor/a, of 20 guns, the brig .E"i/lc, of 20 guns, tlio 
 schooner Ticoialcrojia, of 17 guns, and the cutter Prdde., of 7 
 guns. Tlie Ih'itish Commodore Downie was not quite ready 
 for sea. His hirgest vessel, the Confmncc, had been recently 
 launched, and was not liuishod. He could n(»t perceive 
 either the necessity for such excessive haste. ]Ie would 
 have taken time and gone coolly into action, l)ut he had re- 
 ceived a letter from the Commander of the Forces which 
 made the blood tingle ia his cheeks. Sir George Prevost 
 had been in readiness for Commodore Downie's expected 
 arrival all morning, and he hoped that the wind only had 
 delayed the approach of the squadron. The anchors of the 
 Conjiancc were immediately raised, and with the carpenters 
 still on board, Commodore Downie made all sail. jSTay, ho 
 seemed to have forgotten that ho had a fleet of brigs and 
 boats to manage, so terribly was he excited by Sir George's 
 unfortunate expression in connection with the wind. The 
 Conjicmce announced her approach on rounding Cumberland 
 Head, by discharging all her guns one after the other. The 
 other vessels were hardly visible in her wake, and still Cap- 
 tain Downie bore down upon the enemy's line, to within two 
 cable's length, without firing a shot, when the Con^ancecame 
 to anchor, and opened fire upon the enemy. General Prevost 
 had promised to attack the fort as soon as the fleet appeared, 
 but instead of doing so, Sir George very deliberately order- 
 ed the army to cook their breakfasts. The troops cooked 
 away while Downie fought desperately with a fleet which, 
 as a whole, was superior in strength to his, and which was 
 
288 
 
 THE FIOIIT A THE SURRENDER. 
 
 1814. 
 
 i 
 
 
 ■•» 
 
 rondcrcd eminoiitly HUi>erior by tlie yhaiaetVil defectioM of 
 tlie ^mi-bouts maimed by (Canadian militia and soldiers of 
 the 3'Jtli ren^imeiit. Dovvnie kei>t up a terrilic fire, with 
 only his own fri<j^ate, a brig and sloop, wholly surrounded as 
 he was, by the American lleet. The bri<i^ Finch bad taken 
 the ground out of range, and the whole of the gun-boats, ex- 
 cept three and one cutter, had deserted him. lie was, nev- 
 ertheless, on the very point of breaking tbe enemy's line, 
 when the wind failed. As before stated, lie cast anchor, 
 aud with his first broadside liad laid half the crew of the 
 Saratoga low. The Chubb was soon, however, crippled and 
 became unmanageable. She drifted within the enemy's 
 lines and was compelled to surrender. The whole fire of 
 the enemy was now concentrated upon the Conjiancc, aud 
 still the latter fired broadside after broadside with much 
 precision and so rapidly that every gun on board of the Sa- 
 ratoga on one side was disabled and silenced, although she 
 lay at such a distance that she could not be taken posses- 
 sion of. But Captain Downie had fallen. The Conjiance 
 was now commanded by Lieutenant Robertson, who was 
 entirely surrounded and raked by the brigs and gun-boats 
 of the enemy, while the Saratoga, out of range, had cut her 
 cable and wound round so as to bring a new broadside, as 
 it were, to bear upon the Conjiance. It was in vain that the 
 Conjiance attempted to do as the Saratoga had done. Three 
 ofiicers and thirty-eight of her men had been killed, and 
 one oflicerand thirty-nine men had been wounded. Lieute- 
 nant Robertson was at last compelled to strike his colours, 
 and Captain Pring, of the Linnet, was reluctantly obliged 
 to follow the example. In all one hundred and twenty men 
 had fallen, and the cheering of the enemy informed the 
 British army that the fleet for the co-operation of which Sir 
 George Prevost had so unnecessarily waited, was annihi- 
 lated. " You owe it. Sir, to the shameful conduct of your 
 gun-boats and cutters, said the magnanimous American 
 Commodore, McDonough, to Lieutenant Robertson, when 
 that officer was in the act of presenting his sword to him, 
 
1814. 
 
 1814. 
 
 THK HKTKKAT — SIK GKORUF. rRKVO.><T. 
 
 2ft9 
 
 it'ection of 
 jokliers of 
 fire, with 
 )imdo(l as 
 had taken 
 ■boats, ex- 
 1 was, nev- 
 ny's line, 
 .t anchor, 
 row of the 
 ppled and 
 3 enemy's 
 lole fire of 
 HancCy and 
 kvith much 
 of the Sa- 
 liough she 
 en posses- 
 Conjkince 
 who was 
 gun-boats 
 ad cut her 
 oadside, as 
 in that the 
 le. Three 
 dlled, and 
 Lieute- 
 lis colours, 
 tly obliged 
 wenty men 
 brmed the 
 which Sir 
 as annihi- 
 ict of your 
 American 
 son, when 
 >rd to him. 
 
 tliat you are performing this otiice to me ; for, had they done 
 their duty, you must Inivc perceived from the situation of 
 the Sarafor/a that I could hold out no longer; and, indeed, 
 nothing indiu'od me to keep up her colours but my seeing, 
 from the united tire of all the rest of my squadron on the 
 Coiifiancf^ and her unsui»portod situation, that she must ulti- 
 mately surrender." Sir (foorge Prevost had by this time 
 swallowed his breakfast. He had directed the guns of the 
 batteries to open on the American squadron, but ineffoetu- 
 ally, as they were too tar off. Orders W(>ro at length given to 
 attack the fort. General Uobiuson advanced with the view 
 of fording the Saranac, and attacking the works in front, 
 and General Brisbane had made a circuit for the pur])(>se of 
 attacking the enemy in the rear. Kol)inson's troops, led 
 astray by the guides, were delayed, and had but reached the 
 point of attack when the shouts from the American works 
 intimated the surrender of the fleet. To have carried the 
 fort would have been a work of easy accomplishment, but 
 the signal for retreat was given ; Robinson was ordered to 
 return with his column ; and I'rcvost soon afterwards com- 
 menced a retrograde movement, wliich admits barely of ex- 
 cuse and could not be justified. So indignant indeed was 
 the gallant General Robinson that it is asscirted he broke his 
 sword, declaring that ho could never serve again. The 
 army indeed went leisurely away in mournful submission to 
 the orders of a superior on whom they coidd but look with 
 feelings akin to shame. Four hundred men, ashamed to ])e 
 known at home, in connection with a retreat so uulooked 
 for and so degrading, desei'tod to the enemy. And it is 
 little to be wondered at, that murmui-s in connection with 
 the name of Prevost and Plattsburg, were long, loud, and 
 deep. Sir George felt the weight of public opinion and was 
 crushed under it. He resigned tlie government of Canada 
 and demanded a Court Martial, but he had a judge within 
 himself, from whom he could not escape, and whose judg- 
 ment weighed upon '' a mind diseased," in the broad noon- 
 day and at the midnight hour, with such oveii|->owering 
 
 d2 
 
■ i 
 • I 
 
 290 
 
 CIIAUACTKK OF hIR UKOKUi: I'KF.VO:^!. 
 
 ISM. 
 
 I • 
 
 "! 
 
 weight l.liiit till' iicrvoiiri system bcrainc rclaxcil, ami «leulli 
 at last reliovc'tl u luuii, wlio, only that ho wanted (U'cinion of 
 purpoHC, was aniiahlo, kind, woll intentu)n('tl, and honest, of 
 a load of gTlef, before oven the sontenee of a ( ■ourt Martial 
 eould intervene to ameliorate his sorrows. It is extremely 
 to be regretted indeed that so excellent a Civil CJovernor 
 ahonld have been so indifierent a militarv eoniniander. TUit, 
 entirely ditierent (^ualifieations are recjuired in the civilian 
 and in the soldier, it is indeed on record that the (Jroat 
 Duke, who \va;i the idol of the British people as a soldier, 
 was the reverse of being popular as a statesman. He was* 
 ever clear-headed and sensilde ; but his will would never 
 bend to that of the many. Desirous of huma!i applause, ho 
 could not court it, though he was yet vain of his celebrity, 
 and studied to be celebrated, knowing the value that attaches 
 to position and to fame. 8ir George J*revost was a man of 
 exactly an opposite disposition to that of the Great Duke. 
 To be great, he flattered little prejudices and weak conceits. 
 He never forced any measure or an}' o[tinion down another 
 person's throat. He was content to retain liis own opinion 
 and ever doubted its correctness. Personally, he was brave, 
 but lie was ever apprehensive. 
 
 l!i defence of the retreat of Sir George Prevost, the opi- 
 nion expressed b}' Lord AVellington to Lord Batliurst, in 
 1813, is quoted. Wellington advised the pursuance of u 
 defensive policy, knowing that tliere were not tlien men suf- 
 ficient in Canada for offensive warfare, and because by pur- 
 suing a defensive system, tlie difiiculties and risk of ofien- 
 sive operations would be tlirown upon the enemy, who 
 wouhl most probably 1)0 foiled. This opinion was verified 
 to the letter. On tlie other hand, the authoritv of Welling- 
 ton, who says to Sir George Murray, that after the destruc- 
 tion of the fleet on Lake Champlain, Prevost must have 
 returned to Kingston^ sooner or later, is valueless, inasmuch 
 as His Grace in naming Kingston, had evidently mistaken 
 the locality of tlio disaster, and must have fancied that 
 riattsburg was Sackett's Harbonr. He says that a naval 
 
1811. 
 
 ISlt. 
 
 A(»:r.'<vTro\ of pukvost uy siu .ia<. yf.o. 
 
 -MU 
 
 11(1 (loutli 
 
 Jc'lHlOU of 
 
 lonost, of 
 •t Martial 
 'Xtroiuely 
 (lovernor 
 (U'f. TUil, 
 o civUiaii 
 he (Ircat 
 a solilior. 
 Ho wan 
 iild never 
 plaurtc, ho 
 celehrity, 
 it attaches 
 s a man of 
 L>at Duke. 
 k conceits, 
 n another 
 n opinion 
 vvaB brave, 
 
 ;t, the opi- 
 Lithurst, in 
 la nee of a 
 11 men suf- 
 se ])y pur- 
 k of often - 
 ■my, who 
 verified 
 Welling- 
 le destruc- 
 uBt have 
 inasmuch 
 mistaken 
 icied that 
 |at a naval 
 
 fiupcriorify on tlio Canadian lakes is a shx" qm unn m war on 
 the frontier of Canada, even shotdd it be doftMisivc. But 
 Lake Cluunjihiin is not one of the C'linadian lakes, and, 
 tluMvfore, this jiistitieation of a military mistake is somei 
 wlnit far-fotched. Sir (a.'ori,a' Provost failed beeause he I'oared 
 to meet tliL' fate of Biirtijoyne, and he incurred dtrp and 
 lastini; censure because, when it was in his jjowcr, lu' did 
 nothini^ to retrieve it. IFistoric trntli, says tlie historian of 
 Europe, compels the expression of an ()})inion that though 
 proceeding from a laudable motive — the desire of prevent- 
 ing a needless elfusion of hunum Idood — the measures of' 
 Sir George Prevost were ill-judged and calamitous. 
 
 Sir James Yeo accused Sir (tcorge I'revost of having un- 
 duly hurried the squadron on the lake into action, at a time 
 when the Con fiance was unprepared for it ; and when the 
 combat <lid begin, of having neglected to storm the batte- 
 ries, as had been agreed on, so as to have occasioned the 
 destruction of the flotilla and caused the failure of the ex- 
 pedition. 
 
 The result of the Plattsburg expedition was exhilarating 
 to the Americans. It seemed to bo compensation for the 
 misfortunes and disasters of Hull, of Hampton, and of Wil- 
 kinson. In the interior of Fort Erie even a kind of con- 
 tempt was entertained for the British. In their joy at the 
 discomfiture of Downie and the catastrophe of Prevost, 
 they began to look with contempt even upon General Drum- 
 mond, who had cooped them up where they w^ere. Hardly 
 had the news reached these unfortunate besieged people 
 than a sortie was determined upon, and such is the effect of 
 good fortune that it infuses new spirit, and generally insures 
 further success. In the onset the Americans gained some 
 advantages. During a thick mist and heavy rain, they suc- 
 ceeded in turning the right of the British piccpiets, and made 
 themselves masters of the batteries, doing great damage to 
 the British works. But no sooner was the alarm given than 
 re-inforeements were obtained, and the besiegers drove the 
 besieged back again into their works, with great slaughter. 
 
L'92 
 
 Four KniK Bi,(»\v\ ri». 
 
 1814. 
 
 t 
 
 f 
 
 The loss on each aide wan about equal. The Ainericans h^st 
 509 men in kiUod, wounded, and misNing, including 11 otii- 
 cerd killed and 23 wounded, wliilo tlie Jiritinh lo^s wai* 3 
 officers and 112 men killed, 17 Dtticors and KJl men wound- 
 ed, and 13 officers and 808 nu'U misslny;. On tlie 2l8t of 
 September, (ieneral Drumniond, finding the low situation 
 in which liis troops were engaged very nnliealthy, ])y reason 
 of continued rain, shifted his quarters to the neighborhood 
 of Chippewa, after in vain endeavoring to provoke the Ame- 
 rican General to battle. General Izzard had, meanwhile, 
 arrived from Sackett's Harbour with 4,000 troops from 
 Plattsburg, but General Brown, having heard tliat Sir James 
 Yeo had completed a new ship, the St. Lawrence, of 100 
 guns, and had sailed from Kingston for the head of the lake, 
 with a re-info rcement of troops and supplies for the army, 
 Commodore Chauncey having previously retired to Sackett's 
 Harbour, instead of prosecuting the advantages wliich the 
 addition of 4,000 men promised, blew up Foii: Erie and 
 withdrew with his whole troops into American territory, re- 
 alizing the prediction of General Izzard, that his expedition 
 would terminate in disappointment and disgrace. 
 
 It indeed seems quite evident that tlie supremacy, wliicli 
 Sir James Yeo, an officer at once brave, prudent, and per- 
 severing, had obtained upon the lakes, contributed, in some 
 measure, to the total evacuation of Upper Canada by the 
 Americans. He did not conceive that with a couple or 
 more of armed schooners he could sail hither and thither, 
 and eftect daring feats, but carefully husbanded the means 
 at his disposal, took advantage of circumstances, and ob- 
 tained the construction of vessels so nmch superior to those 
 of the Americans that it needed not the test of a battle to 
 decide upon superiority. Indeed had he been afforded suf- 
 ficient time, two or more such vessels, and even larger, 
 would have been placed on Lake Champlain, and Sir George 
 Prevost might have made such progress in subduing New 
 York that peace might have been dictated on more flatter- 
 ing terms to Great Britain than they were. 
 
1814. 
 
 •icaiis lost 
 »^ 11 ofll- 
 
 .Os*rt WttB S 
 
 u wouud- 
 10 2t8tof 
 
 situation 
 bv reason 
 fliborhood 
 
 the Ame- 
 leanwhile, 
 )ops from 
 Sir James 
 jce, of 100 
 if the lake, 
 tlie army, 
 o Sackett's 
 which the 
 t Erie and 
 rritory, re- 
 expedition 
 
 acy, wliich 
 t, and per- 
 id, in some 
 da by the 
 t couple or 
 id thither, 
 the means 
 -es, and ob- 
 or to those 
 a battle to 
 flforded suf- 
 en larger, 
 Sir George 
 duing New 
 ore flatter- 
 
 1811. 
 
 NLW ORLEANS — (JENKRAL JACKbON. 
 
 293 
 
 Tiie fleet and army, which hud beeti hiitHtMl at Baltimore, 
 by the sinking of twenty Hhips iji the Patnpaco, toolmtruet 
 the navigation of the river, nailed for New Orleans. The 
 squadron arrived ort' th(» shoals of the Mississippi on the 8th 
 of December. Six gun-boats of the enemy, numned by two 
 hundred and forty men, were ])repared to dispute with the 
 boats of the fleet, the landing of the troops. To settle thia 
 difficulty. Admiral Coukburn put a detachment of seamen 
 and marines, under the eomnuind of (Japtain Lockyor, who 
 succeeded in destroying the whole six, after a ehaso of 
 thirty-six hours. The pursuit, however, luul taken the boats 
 thirty miles from their ships; their return was impeded 
 ])y intricate slioals and a tcmpe^^tuous sea, and it was 
 ii- ' until the 12th that tiiey could get back. It was only 
 on the 15th that the landingof the troops commenced under 
 adverse (circumstances. The weather, how <'xtraordinary 
 soever it may seem, was excessively cold an<l damp, and the 
 troops, the blacks more especially, suiiered severely. Four 
 thousand five hundred combatants, and a considerable quan- 
 tity of heavy guns and stores were landed, and on the same 
 evening an attack, by the American militia, was repulsed. 
 Sir Edward Pakenham arrived next day, when the army ad- 
 vanced to within six miles of New Orleans. New Orleans 
 was then, as it now is, the emporium of the cotton trade of 
 the United States. Comparatively with the present day, the 
 population was inconsiderable. There were not more than 
 17,000 inhabitants. But it was a place sure to become of 
 importance, from its situation, and was even then a place of 
 considerable wealth, and. from the nature of its chief ex- 
 port, was one of the principal sources of revenue to the 
 American government, in the Union. The defence of this 
 town was entrusted to General Jackson, aftenvards Presi- 
 dent of the United States, and whose elevation to the chief 
 magistracy is as much to be attributed to the skill and hero- 
 ism displayed by him in the defence of the chief cotton 
 mart as to anv other cause. Jackson was a shrewd, obsti- 
 nate, and energetic man. On ascertaining that the British 
 
294 
 
 NATLKi: Ul THE DEfE.NCliiis OF .NEW OllLEAXfe. 1814. 
 
 had luntled, he threw every possible ohstacle in the way of 
 their advance. The weather was cold and damp, and tlie 
 soil was low, and wet, and muddy. A few days' delay in 
 such a situation would make nearly one half of an invading 
 force ill and dispirit the other half. Jackson sent out a few 
 hundreds of militia, every now and then, to harass his ene- 
 mies, and in the meanwhile he stirred up the 12,000 troops 
 under him, to work vii^-oroasly in the erection of lines of 
 defence for the city. Indeed, in a short time, he awaited 
 an attack, with confidence, in a fortilied position, all but 
 impregnable. His front was a straight line of upwards of 
 a thousand yards, defended by upwards of three thousand 
 infantry and artillery, and stretching from the Mississippi 
 on the right, to a dense and impassable wood on the left. 
 Along the whole front of this fortified line there Avas a ditch 
 Avhich contained live feet of water, and which was defended 
 by flank bastions, on Avhich a heavy array of cannon was 
 placed. There were also eight distinct batteries, judiciously 
 disposed, mounting in all twelve guns of different calibres, 
 while on the opposite side of the river, about eight hundred 
 yards across, there was a battery of twenty guns, which also 
 flanked the whole of the parapet. The great strength of 
 the American position was strikingly apparent to General 
 Pakenham. It seemed so very strong indeed that he con- 
 templated a siege. But then the ground was so cold and 
 damp, and the climate so unhealth}*, that he could not sit 
 very long before a town, likely to be reinforced, and capable 
 of being strengthened by the construction of lines of de- 
 fence, within lines of defence, to almost any extent, if not 
 completely invested. And more, I*akenliam had not guns 
 sufficient for regular approaches. Pakenham was, however, 
 a good officer, a man of energy, judgment, and decision, 
 lie set all hands instantly to work to deepen a canal, in the 
 rear of the British position, by which boats might be 
 brought up to the ^lississippi, and troops ferried across to 
 rarry the battery on the right bank ot the river, a work of 
 exlraordinarv labour, ^vhich wa> not accomplished until the 
 
1814. 
 
 le Avay of 
 and the 
 delay in 
 invading 
 out a few 
 s his ene- 
 lOO troops 
 )f lines of 
 3 awaited 
 1, all but 
 pwards of 
 thousand 
 ^lississippi 
 the left. 
 :as a ditch 
 i defended 
 innon was 
 udiciously 
 it calibres, 
 it hundred 
 which also 
 strength of 
 
 General 
 it he con- 
 cold and 
 
 lid not sit 
 id capable 
 nes of de- 
 cnt, if not 
 
 1 not guns 
 , however, 
 
 decision, 
 nal, in the 
 might be 
 across to 
 a work of 
 d until the 
 
 1815. 
 
 PAKKNHAM — TllK ASSAULT. 
 
 296 
 
 evening of the Gth of January. The bouts were immcdi- 
 diately brought up and secreted near the river, and disposi- 
 tions made for an assault at live o'clock on the morning of 
 the 8th of January. Colonel Thornton was to cross the 
 river, in the night, storm the battery, and advance up the 
 right bank till he came abreast of Is^ow Orleans ; while the 
 main attack, on the intrcnchments in front, was to be made 
 in two columns — the lirst uiuler General Gibbs, the second 
 led by General Keane. There were, in all, about six thou- 
 sand coml)atants, including seamen and marines, to attack 
 double their number, intrenched to the teeth, in works 
 bristing with bayonets, and loaded with heavy artillery.* 
 When Thornton would have crossed, the downwad current 
 of the Missipsippi was very strong, so strong indeed that 
 the lifty boats, in which his division was embarked, were 
 prevented from reaching their destination at the hour ap- 
 pointed for a simultaneous attack upon Xew Orleans, in 
 front and rear. Pakenham, as the da}' began to dawn, grew 
 exceedingly impatient, and, at last, having lost all patience, 
 as it was now light, revealing to the enemy, in some de- 
 gree, his plans, he ordered Gibbs' colunui to advance. A 
 solemn silence pervaded the American lines. Tliere was 
 indeed nothing to be heard but the measured tread of the 
 column, advancing over the plain, in front of the intrcnch- 
 ments. But when the dark mass was perceived to be within 
 range of the American batteries, a tremendous tire of grape 
 and round shot was opened upon it from the bastions at 
 Voth ends of the long intrciichment, and from the long in- 
 trenchment itself. Gibl^s' column., however, moved steadily 
 on. The 4th, 21st, and 44th regiments closed up their ranks 
 as fast as they were opened by the fire of the Americans. On 
 the brow of the glacis, these intrepid men stood as erectly 
 and as firmly as if they had been on parade. But, through 
 the carelessness of the colonel comnmndin<r the 44th roin- 
 ment, the scaling ladders had been forgotten, and it was 
 impossible to mount the parapet. The ladders and fascines 
 
 '' Alif^uus ili.it'.'iy i>f Euroitc. 
 
.•I f 
 
 '296 
 
 GALLANTRY OF THK 93RD KKGI.MKNT. 
 
 1815. 
 
 
 
 were sent for, in uU liaste, but the men, on tlie summit of 
 the glacis, were, meanwhile, as targets to the enemy. They 
 stood until riddled through and through, when they fell back 
 in disorder. Pakenliam, unconscious that Colonel Mullens, 
 of the 44th, had neglected his orders, and only fancying that 
 the troops being fairly in for it, were staggering only under 
 the heaviness of the enemies' tire, rode to the front, rallied 
 the troops again, led them to the slope of the glacis, and 
 was in the act, with his hat otf, of cheering on his followers, 
 when he fell mortally wounded, ])ierced, at the same mo- 
 ment, by two bu'ls. General Gibbs and General Keane also, 
 fell. Keane led on the reserve, at the head of which was 
 the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders, a thousand strong. Un- 
 daunted by the carnage, that noble regiment dashed through 
 the disordered throng, in front, and -.vith such fury pressed 
 the leading files on, that without either fascines or ladders, 
 they fairly found their way b)' iiiounting on each other's 
 shoulders into the work. .But they were then cut down to a 
 man. The fire from the enemy's riHes was terriiic. it was 
 almost at the same moment that Colonel Ranney penetrated 
 the intrenchments on the left only to be mowed down by 
 grape shot. An unforeseen circumstance had too long de- 
 layed an attack which could only have been successfully 
 made in the dark, and General Lambert, who had succeed- 
 ed to the comn'and by the death of Pakenham and the 
 wounds of Gibbs and Keane, finding it impossible to carry 
 the works, and tliat the slaughter was tremendous, drew olt 
 his troops. Thornton had been altogether successful on the 
 left bank of the Mississippi. With fourteen hundred men 
 this able and gallant olhcer repaired to the point assigned to 
 him on the evening of the 7th, but it was nearly midnight 
 before even such a number of the boats as would suffice to 
 transport a third part of his troops across, were brought up, 
 Anxious to co-operate at the time appointed, he, neverthe- 
 less, moved over with a third of his men, and, by a sudden 
 charge, at the head of part of the 8r)th regiment and a body 
 of seamen, on the llank of the work^«, lie succeeded iu 
 
1815. 
 
 1815. 
 
 THK DEFEAT — TIlUKNTUN SLCCES:sFL L. 
 
 297 
 
 iminit of 
 I. Thev 
 fell back 
 Mullens, 
 yiug that 
 ily under 
 t, rallied 
 acis, and 
 bllowers, 
 ame mo- 
 'eane also, 
 hicli was 
 ng. Un- 
 1 tlirough 
 y pressed 
 r ladders, 
 ;h other's 
 down to a 
 c. Jt was 
 onetrated 
 down by 
 ) long de- 
 ccessfully 
 I succeed- 
 and the 
 e to carry 
 drew olt 
 'ul on the 
 red men 
 isigncd to 
 midnight 
 suffice to 
 3ught up, 
 neverthe- 
 a sudden 
 id a body 
 ceded in 
 
 making himself master of the redoubt with very little loss, 
 though it was defended by twenty-tAvo guns and seventeen 
 hundred men, and amply provided with supplies. And 
 when daylight broke, he was preparing to turn the guns of 
 the captured battery on tlie enemy's iiank, which lay en- 
 tirely exposed to their fire, when advices were received from 
 General Lumljcrt of tlio repuljic on the left bank of the 
 river. Thornton was unwilliuii' to retire from the batterv, 
 but Colonel Dixon, who had been sent by General Lambert 
 to examine it and re])ort wliether it was tenable, having re- 
 ported that it was untenable unless with a larger force than 
 Lambert could spare, he was recpiircd to return to the left 
 bank of the river, and the troops at all })oints withdrew to 
 their camp. 
 
 Defeated, far advanced into tlie enemv's country, an armv 
 flushed with success, (loul)le their strength in front, and 
 with fifteen miles of desert l)etween the ]')ritish armv and 
 their ships, it was not long l)efore General Land)ert came to 
 the conclusion that instead of renewing the attack, retreat 
 was now desirable, and that the sooner he retreated the more 
 safely could it be done. For this, under the circumstances, 
 inevitable retreat, Lambert gathered himself up. He sent 
 forward, during the early part of the night of the 18tli, the 
 whole of the field artillery, the ammunition, and the stores 
 of every kind, excepting eight heavy guns, which vrere des- 
 troyed. AVith the exception of eighty of the worst cases, 
 whom he left to the humanity of General Jackson, who dis- 
 charged that duty w'th a zeal and attention worthy of th& 
 man, he also removed the whole of the wounded ; and, in- 
 deed, accomplished his retreat under the most trying cir- 
 cumstances, with such consummate ability, that the whole 
 force under his conmiand, were safely re-embarked on the 
 27th. 
 
 The defeat, which was neither attributable to want of fore- 
 sight, to incapacity, of any sort, or to lack of bravery, how- 
 ever humiliating it was, but entirely to the accident which 
 delayed a night attack until daybreak, was in some deq-rce 
 
• ■ '-If 
 
 208 
 
 CAPTLKE OF FUllT UOYKR — Till': I'KACE. 
 
 18K 
 
 ri 
 
 ? 
 
 roiiijicii^ited for by tlie capture of Fort Boyer, near Mobile, 
 comniauding one of tlie mouths of the Missirsippi. Fort 
 Bovor was attacked T)v the Laud and sea forces on the 12th 
 of February, ant], with itf^ a-arri.-^on of 8G0 men and 22 guns, 
 was compelled to yield, when further operations were stayed 
 by the receipt, on the very next day, of intelligence that 
 peace between Great Britain and the United States had been 
 concluded at Ghout. 
 
 It is asserted, with regard to tlie storming of Xew Orleans, 
 (hat Pakenhaui. displayed imprudent hardihood, in the at- 
 tem}>t to achieve by force, what might have been gained by 
 combination ; and that the whole mischief might have been 
 avoided by throwing the whole troops instead of only 
 Thornton's division, on the right bank of the river, and so 
 liave rendered unavailing all Jackson's formidable arrange- 
 ments. Pakcnham's disaster was, however, not the result 
 of imprudent hardihood, but purely the result of accident in 
 the time of attack, and in the neglect of Colonel Mullens, 
 to whom the duty of bringing up the fascines and ladders 
 was entrusted. Pakenham well considered the difiicultes 
 which he had to encounter. lie would have carried the 
 American entrenchments by a covj) de nmin, had he not per- 
 ceived that the oi)eration would have been extremely ha- 
 zartlous. lie would have sat down before the city and have 
 advanced under cover of first one parallel and then another, 
 had he not [jcrceived that as he approached so the enemy 
 could have retired within successive lines of entrenchment. 
 Nay, he saw that the most probable mode of speedy and 
 successful assault was by a simultaneous attack upon the 
 enemv during the night, in the front and in the rear of their 
 intrenched lines. He further knew that the attack in rear 
 would depend ft)r success, in a veiy great measure, upon the 
 skill and intrepidity of the officer entrusted with its execu- 
 tion, and he accordingly selected an officer possessed of botli 
 these essentials in the person of Colonel Thornton. And 
 with respect to the effect of having landed his whole force, 
 on the right bank of the river, whore success, though too 
 
 H" 
 
18 lo. 
 
 I8I0. 
 
 DErENCli OF PAKEMIAM !< CuXDLTT. 
 
 209 
 
 Mobile, 
 li. Fort 
 tho 12th 
 22 guns, 
 re staved 
 'lice that 
 lad been 
 
 Orleans, 
 11 the at- 
 ained by 
 ave been 
 of only 
 r, and so 
 arrange- 
 he result 
 cident in 
 Mullens, 
 . ladders 
 liiiicultes 
 Tied the 
 not per- 
 mely ha- 
 xnd have 
 another, 
 le enemy 
 lehment. 
 cdy and 
 pon the 
 r of their 
 V in rear 
 upon the 
 ts cxecu- 
 i of both 
 1. And 
 :)le force, 
 ough toi^ 
 
 late, did attend the efforts of Thornton, it is to be re- 
 membered that Colonel Dixon reported to General Lambert, 
 when the battery on that side \vas in Thornton's possession, 
 that it could not be retained evt'n, v/itliout more men than 
 Lambert could spare to ro-inforce him. The defeat at New 
 Orleans was only humiliating to Great Britain in the result, 
 not in the conception, and it (!;mnot fairly be laid to the 
 charge of Vakeuham that he oidy exhibited heroic valour, 
 coupled with imprudent hardihood, or that he despised his 
 « leiny. 
 
 However the heroic defence of New Orleans and the dis- 
 astrous retreat from Plattsburo- mnv have elated the Ame- 
 ricans and mav vet ccratifv their natural vanity, there are 
 men in the United States, fully alive to the consequences 
 which could not have failed to have resulted from the defeat 
 of Pakenham, had the Avar continued. The British govern- 
 mont had able generals without number, well-trained and 
 experienced soldiers, and ships also without number, to 
 bring to bear upon a country almost pecuniarily exhausted, 
 mid suffering from internal dissensions, on the conclusion of 
 a war which had, as it were, brought out the immense re- 
 sources for war, which w^ere almost latent in England 
 during the American war of independence. That the United 
 States was on the very verge of dectruction is evident from 
 the fact that during the continuance of the war, the general 
 government of the United States and the States govern- 
 ments w^ere at variance. There was an apprehension that 
 the affairs of the general government were mismanaged, 
 and, to many, it appeared that a crisis was torniing, which, 
 unless seasonably provided against, would involve the coun- 
 try in ruin. That apprehension particularly prevailed 
 throughout New England. Indeed, Massachusetts proposed 
 that measures should be taken for procuring a convention of 
 delegates from all the United States to revise the constitu- 
 tion, and more effectually to secure the support and attach- 
 ment of all the people, by placing all upon the basis of fair 
 representation. Such a convention actually did meet at 
 
300 
 
 Tin: HARTIOUD CONVENTION'. 
 
 I8I0. 
 
 t 
 
 •flP'^ 
 
 mm*' 
 
 IJartt'ord. After a HesHion of tliree weeks, u report in which 
 several alteratioiM oi' tlie federal eonstitution were sug- 
 gested, was adojit(Hl. Representatives and direct taxes were 
 to be apportioned to the nunil)er of free persons ; no new 
 ytate was to bo admitted into tiie Union without tlie concur- 
 rence oftwo-tliirds ofbotli houses; Congress was not to have 
 the power of hiving an embargo for more than sixty days; 
 Congress was not to interdict commercial intercourse, with- 
 out the concumMice of two-thirds of botli houses ; war was 
 not to be declared without the concurrence of a similar ma- 
 jority; no person to be thereafter naturalised w'as to be 
 eligible as a meml)er of the Senate or House of llepresenta- 
 tives, or hold any civil office under the authority of the 
 United States ; and no person was to be twice elected to 
 the presidency, nor was the ].*resident to be elected from the 
 same State two terms in succession. The report was a di- 
 rect censure of the government, who with the alliance of 
 France only contemplated to annex Canada to the United 
 States. It was so understood. The Hartford convention 
 was looked upon by the democrats of the Union as a trea- 
 sonable combination of ambitious individuals, w^ho sought 
 to sever the Union, and were only prevented from doing so 
 by the somewhat unexpected conclusion of peace, which 
 disembarrassed the administration, and SAvept away all 
 grounds upon which to prosecute their designs. But the 
 positive truth was that the public mind was excited to a 
 pitch bordering on insurrection by the situation of the 
 country. The war had been singularly disastrous ; the re- 
 cruiting service languished ; the national treasury was al- 
 most penniless ; the national credit was shaken, and loans 
 were eftected at a ruinous discount ; the New England sea- 
 board was left exposed to the enemy ; and the officers under 
 the general government, both civil and military, were filled 
 by men contemned by a vast majority of the people in the 
 north eastern States. Before the war, the foreign trade ot 
 the United States was flourishing. The exports amounted 
 to X22.000.000, and the imports to »(;28,000,000, carried ou 
 
1815. 
 
 in which 
 vere sug- 
 ixes were 
 ; no new 
 e concur- 
 ot to have 
 xty days; 
 rse, with- 
 
 war waa 
 nilar ma- 
 vas to be 
 presenta- 
 ty of the 
 lected to 
 from the 
 was a di- 
 liance of 
 le United 
 invention 
 as a trea- 
 sought 
 doing so 
 3, which 
 away all 
 
 But the 
 nted to a 
 n of the 
 1 ; the re- 
 r was al- 
 nd loans 
 and sea- 
 !rs under 
 ere filled 
 >le in the 
 
 trade oi 
 mounted 
 rried ou 
 
 1815. 
 
 CONSKQUEXOKS OF TUB W.\U. 
 
 301 
 
 in 1,300,000 tons of s^hippino,-. After the war, the export .•* 
 had sunk to i:l,O00,0OO, and the inipc^rts to loss tluui £8,000.- 
 000, to say notliing of the losses by c'ai>tui'c. This too was 
 the casein Aincricit, while the sinews of war were iuereus- 
 ing instead of drying up in (ireat Britain. Vet England 
 was not wholly unatteoted by tlie war. There wei-e great 
 distresses in England, conserpient upon the Anierieaii Em- 
 bargo Act, in 1811, and it was not until eommeree had dis- 
 covered some new channels in tlic markets of Hussia, Ger- 
 many, and Italy, that these great distresses were fully 
 abated, while the war had the furtlier and lasting effect of 
 producing manutactures in the United States, to permanent- 
 ly compete with those of Birmingham and Manchester. 
 The treaty of peace which was signed at Ghent, on the 24th 
 of December, 1814, was ratified by the Tresideut and Se- 
 nate of the United States, on the 17th of February, 1815. 
 It was silent upon the subject for which the war had "pro- 
 fessedly" been declared. It provided only for the suspen- 
 sion of hostilities ; for tlie exchange of prisoners ; for the 
 restoration of territories and possessions obtained by the 
 contending powders, during the war ; for the adjustment of 
 unsettled boundaries and for a comb incd effort to effect the en- 
 tire abolition of the traffic in slaves. 
 
 All parties in the United States, welcomed the return of 
 peace. It was somewhat otherwise in Canada. The army 
 bills had enriched the latter country ; and the expenditure 
 of the military departments had benefitted both town and 
 country, without cost. When peace came, this extra ex- 
 penditure rapidly declined. But the war had further and 
 pei-manently proved of advantage to Canada, inasmuch as 
 it drew public attention in Europe, to the country, and 
 showed to the residents of the United Kingdom that there 
 was still in America a considerable spot of earth, possessed 
 of at least semi-monarchical institutions, with a good soil 
 and great growing capacity, which could be defended and 
 preserved, as British property, for a time, notwithstanding 
 the assertions made, previous to the war. that the countrv 
 
«02 
 
 TIIK CANADA MIMTIA DI-SBANDED. 
 
 I8ir,. 
 
 I ' 
 
 R* ' 
 
 was ii) a 8tato of dormant insurrection. Tlic war restored 
 conlidcnco and promoted emiici'^tion to Canada. 
 
 The Canadian Militia, Yolli^<^eurs, Chasseur.s, Drivers, 
 Voyagcurs, Dorchester Dragoons, and the IJattalion Militia, 
 in both provinces, were, by a General Order, issued on the 
 1st oi'*Mareh, to be disbanded on the 24th uf that month, 
 not a little proud ol' J)etroit and tlie River Kaisin exploits, 
 of tlio battles of Qucenston, JStoney Creek, Chateangna}', 
 Chrystler's Farm, LacoUe, and Lundy's Lane, and of tlie 
 capture of Michillimaekinac, Ogdensburgh, Oswego, and 
 Niai^ara, bv assault. 
 
 The eighth |)arliamcnt of Lower Canada was summoned 
 for the despatch of business, on the 21st of January. Li 
 this new parliament, there were James and Andrew Stuart, 
 and for tlie county of Gaspe, a George Brown,* and in all 
 there were fifteen members of British extraction — not much 
 less than one half of the entire House, which, in all, num- 
 bered fifty members. After the opening speech from the 
 throne, the House proceeded to the election of a Speaker. 
 The Honorable Jean Antoinc Panet, was no longer eligible 
 for election, having been removed to the Legislative Coun- 
 cil, and the chair of the Assembly fell upon Louis Joseph 
 Papineau, a man of superior manners, of considerable in- 
 dependence of character, of fluent tongue and impassioned 
 utterance, of extraordinary persuasive powers, and of com- 
 manding aspect. He was accepted by Sir Gorge Prevost, 
 and business began. A vote of thanks was unanimously 
 accorded to Mr. Panet for his steady, impartial, and faithful 
 discharge of the speakership for twenty-two years, during 
 the whole of which time he had upheld the honor and 
 dignity of the House, and the rights and privileges of the 
 people. One of the first measures which occupied attention 
 was the militia law. An Act was introduced by which it 
 was so far amended and revised that substitutes were per- 
 mitted to persons drafted for service. A grant of new du- 
 ties upon tea, spirits, and on goods, sold at auction, was 
 
 * Tills wjiH the father of the pelebratcd Felicia Hemans. 
 
LSI'). 
 ' restored 
 
 Drivers, 
 II Militia, 
 ^d on the 
 t month, 
 
 exploits, 
 te.'uiguay, 
 ,nd of the 
 •ego, and 
 
 Aiiimoned 
 
 nary. In 
 
 ;w Stnart, 
 
 md in all 
 
 not much 
 
 all, num- 
 
 from the 
 
 , Speaker. 
 
 3r eligible 
 
 ive Coun- 
 
 Joseph 
 
 rable in- 
 
 :)assioued 
 
 of com- 
 
 Prevost, 
 
 nimously 
 
 . faithful 
 
 during 
 
 )nor and 
 
 es of the 
 
 attention 
 
 which it 
 
 rere per- 
 
 new du- 
 
 lon, was 
 
 181;-) 
 
 MKETlXii ol- I'AItLIAMr.NT IN LOWKH I'AXADA. 
 
 
 made; one thou^:jnd jioundi^ griuited for tlio ]iromotion of 
 vaccination as a preventative ol' ^^nlulI ]k).\ ; .i;2."j,000 "Wiirf 
 granted for the construction of a caiinl bctwcL-n Montreal 
 and Lachinc ; a bill wa.s introduced granting the Speaker of 
 the House an animal salary of <£1,000 ; an<l another was 
 passed granting a similar salary to the tSj>eaker ot'tho Upper 
 lloucjc. Of these bills all wore fiiuiily adopted or sanctioned 
 with the exception of those granting salaries to the two 
 Speakers. That conferring a sahiry upon the {Speaker of 
 the Legislative ^Vssembly, was reserved for the royal sanc- 
 tion", but was afterwards confirmed, wliile that ctmfcrring a 
 salary upon the Speaker of the Upper House, was lost in 
 the Lei>-islative Council, because the members of that body 
 considered it iiifm dajnitalc, to receive any direct remunera- 
 tion for their legislative services, the more especially as, 
 with few exceptions, the Speaker and members were 
 already salaried, either as eTudges, Bishops, or Clerks of the 
 Executive Council. In the course of the session the expe- 
 diency of sending to London a kind of agent or and^assador 
 for the country, w^as again discussed, and its expediency de- 
 termined upon by the Assembly, but the Legislative Coun- 
 cil impressed with the idea that the Governor General 
 should be the only channel of communication with the im- 
 perial authorities, refused to concur in any bill framed with 
 the view of securing the services of any such agent, who 
 could not bo more than a delegate from the Assembly, and 
 whose acts could not be considered binding on the govern- 
 ment of the province. The matter was then referred to u 
 select committee of the Assembly, who reported that the 
 necessity for an agent appeared evident, each branch of the 
 legislature having a right to petition the King, the Lords, 
 and the Commons of England; that although the Governor 
 could transmit such petitions to the foot of the throne, he 
 could neither transmit nor support such petitions w^hen 
 transmitted before the House of Lords or before the House 
 of Commons, solicit the passing of laws, nor conduct many 
 affairs wich might be conducted by a person resident in 
 
nu4 
 
 AN AGENT — PtHI.IC OI'IXION. 
 
 181;-). 
 
 . «.-:■ .SJJ» 
 
 • 'i-i«.' 
 
 Great Britain. AVitliont an ii<!;out tho Assoinlily would be 
 deprived of tho rii!;lit of petition. An agent was especially 
 neeessjiry to tlio pooplo of the province, because endeavours 
 were even then l)einiC made to prejutlice the imperial gov- 
 ernment, and the British nation against Canada, and endea- 
 vours were being ma<le to effect a cliange in the free consti- 
 tution which had been confcnuMl upon Lower Canada, by 
 means of a union of the two Chmadas, the langunge, laws, 
 and usages of the two provinces being entirely distinct. It 
 was further urged tliat uneasiness would cease Avlienever a 
 resident agent was a]ipointcd, and as an additional reason 
 for the appointment of such an agent, accredited to the 
 Court of St. James by the province. Huch an agent would 
 have all the weight of a foreign ambassador, and his repre- 
 sentations could not fail to meet with attention. But the 
 agent to have such weight could not merely have been the 
 representative of one branch of the legislature, but of the 
 three branches. He must have been the authorised govern- 
 mental agent of the province, the government of the pro- 
 vince being in the coniidence of the country. Unfortu- 
 nately such a state of things did not prevail. The colonists 
 had neither voice nor shared in the government of the coun- 
 try. The Legislative Assembly nearly compensated for the 
 lack of newspapers. It poured into the oar of the govern- 
 ing party the complaints of the people, suggested reforms, 
 and insisted upon the obtainment of them. And the As- 
 sembly might have better obtained a hearing for themselves 
 in England, by the establishment and maintenance of a 
 single newspaper in London, than by the nomination either 
 of a Hume or a Roebuck, to represent Canadian grievances 
 to the representatives of a people who were ignorant of the 
 exact nature of such grievances, and could not, therefore, 
 press them upon parliamentary attention. The pertinacity 
 with which the House of Assembly of Lower Canada ad- 
 hered to the idea of an agent for the people of Lower Ca- 
 nada, is not matter of surprise, for, it is beyond all dispute 
 that the governent of the province stood between the people 
 
i8ir>. 
 
 rtoukl be 
 •specially 
 ideavours 
 LU'ial ^ov- 
 id ondea- 
 )e consti- 
 anada, by 
 _<jo, laws, 
 tinct. It 
 ho 11 ever a 
 id reason 
 :cd to the 
 ?nt would 
 liis repro- 
 But the 
 been the 
 )ut of the 
 k1 govern- 
 ■ the pro- 
 Unfortu- 
 colonists 
 ;he conn- 
 ed for the 
 ic govern- 
 reforms, 
 d the As- 
 lemselves 
 ance of a 
 ion either 
 rievances 
 mt of the 
 therefore, 
 ertinacity 
 anada ad- 
 lOwer Ca- 
 ll dispute 
 he people 
 
 IHl;-). 
 
 il'MlVU'K OK PLATK TO Sill OKOHOK I'HKVoST. 
 
 ;',():> 
 
 of Canada and tlic people and government of Knglaiid, to 
 the groat prejudice and injury of the conntry- In this case, 
 Jill address, founded on the Assembly's report, was drawn 
 up to be transmitted by the GovernoiMii-Cliief to the Prince 
 liegent, praying tliat His Royal lligness might give instruc- 
 tions to his Governor of Canada to recommend the ai)point- 
 ment of a provincial agent to the imperial legislature. 
 The Assembly persisted in the heads of impeachment exhi- 
 bited by the Commons of Canada against the Chief Justices 
 Sewell and Monk, and persisted in nominating James ytuart, 
 Esquire, one of the members of the House, to be the agent 
 of the House, in conducting and managing the prosecutions 
 to bo instituted against them, if His Royal Highness the 
 Prince Regent permitted these impeachments to bo sub- 
 mitted to a tribunal, competent to adjudge upon them, after 
 hearing the matter on the part of the impeachments, and on 
 the part of the accused. It was while these things were 
 being done in the Assembly that the treaty of peace was 
 officially announced to the House. The Assembly granted 
 eight days' pay to the officers of the militia, after the time 
 already noticed as determined upon for the disbandmcnt of 
 the provincial corps ; an annuity of six pounds was pro- 
 vided for such rank and iile as had been rendered incapable 
 of earning a living ; a gratuity was made to the widow and 
 the orphan : and it was recommended that grants of land 
 should be made by His Royal Highness, the Prince Regent, 
 to such militiamen as had served in defence of the province 
 during the war. And more, the House, entertaining the 
 highest veneration and respect for the character of His Ex- 
 cellency, Sir George Prevost, whoso administration, under 
 circumstances of peculiar novelty and difficulty, stood high- 
 ly distinguished for energy, wisdom and ability, and who 
 had rescued the province from the danger of subjugation to 
 her implacable foe, unanimously granted and gave a service 
 of plate not exceeding .£5,000 sterling value, to Jlis Excel- 
 lency, in testimony of the country's sense of distinguished 
 
 talents, wisdom, and ability. Sir George Prevost felt 
 
 V.2 
 
30ij 
 
 (•|IAI{ACTK1{ 01' l'IU:VO.ST AS A (ioVJlUXuK. 
 
 I. Si;'). 
 
 strorjgly tlielnghcomplinieiit whi(!l» had been paul to liim a.s 
 a civil ruler. And he deserved it. Surrounded na he wus 
 bytlie selfinhne.ss of otlicials, the sycophants of tlie colonial 
 ofHce, and the scandalizers of himself and tlio country, and 
 tormented by the suspicions of the Assembly, which were 
 the result of such sycophancy and scaiwhil, Sir Gcori^e pur- 
 sued a most straightforward and honoral)le course as a Gov- 
 crnor-in-C/hief, expressed his gratitude, and would transmit 
 the address to the Prince Regent, to be governed by Ilia 
 commands. The Regent approved of the donation and was 
 rejoiced tliat Sir George had deserved it ; but the Legislative 
 Council would not assent to the bill !* The House afterwards 
 resolved tliat on the opening of the next session of par- 
 liament it would take into consideration the expediency 
 of granting a pecuniary compensation to the Honorable 
 Jean Antoinc Panet, for his long and meritorious services as 
 Speaker ; and an Act was passed granting £500 to the Sur- 
 veyor General, Joseph Bouchette, Esquire, to assist him in 
 publishing his geographical and topographical maps of Up- 
 per and Lower Canada. At the prorogation, Mr. Speaker 
 Papineau intimated to the Governor that the House had 
 bestowed their most serious attention on the recommenda- 
 tions submitted to them. A great part of the expenses oc- 
 casioned by a state of war had been continued by the Reve- 
 nue Act which they had adopted. They had indemnified 
 such of the citizens whom the love of their king and coun- 
 try had induced to accept commissions in the provincial 
 corps, until they should bo advantageously enabled to re- 
 sume their civil professK^iS, which they had abandoned on 
 
 * It is hero worthy of note that the late Lord Raglan, then Fitzroy Somerset 
 — sometime between the abdication of Napoleon and Waterloo, and before his 
 lordship had lost his arm — was in Quebec, having been sent to Canada, it was 
 supposed, privately to ascertain how matters were, and especially as a spy upon 
 Sir George Prevost, against whom many complaints had been made by the 
 reigning officials. 
 
 A lady, still living, well remembers the late Commander-in-Chief, of the Bri- 
 tish army in the Crimea, being in Quebec. She saw him in Mountain street, 
 aiid the object of his visit was no secret. 
 
LSI;-.. 
 
 ISK) 
 
 fM>««i: OF Tin: SESSION' — TFIi: LACIIINK CANAL. 
 
 1507 
 
 . to him u:4 
 aa he wiis 
 
 10 eoloniul 
 intry, and 
 liich were 
 orgo pur- 
 as a Gov- 
 
 l transmit 
 10(1 by IIiB 
 
 11 and was 
 Leiiiislativc 
 afterwards 
 on of par- 
 xpcdiency 
 Honorable 
 services as 
 to the Sur- 
 sist him in 
 ips of Up- 
 r. Speaker 
 Louse had 
 ommenda- 
 penses oc- 
 
 the Reve- 
 ideninified 
 and coun- 
 provincial 
 )led to re- 
 do ned on 
 
 roy Somerset 
 id before his 
 anada, it was 
 IS a spy upon 
 made by the 
 
 f, of the Bri- 
 jntain street, 
 
 the dei'laration of war. Tliey had afforded relief to tlie fa- 
 milies of such of tlieir countrymen as had fallen, and to 
 tliose wlioae sufferini^s for life, from honorable wounds, fur- 
 nished livin^^ evidence of the zeal which had animated His 
 Majesty's Canadian subjects, in the defence of the rights of 
 that empire to which it was their calory to belong. TiiO 
 events of the war had drawn closer the bonds which con- 
 nected Ureat Jji'itain with the Caiiadas. Although at the 
 epoch of the declaration of war tiie country was destitute 
 both of troops and money, j'ct from the devotion of a bravo 
 and loyal, yet unjustly calumniated people, resources sulli- 
 eieut for disconcerting the plans of conquest devised by a 
 foe, at once numerous and elate with contidence, had been 
 derived. The blood of the sons of Canada had llovved min- 
 gled with that of the brave soldiers sent for its defence, 
 when re-inforeements were afterwards received. The mul- 
 tiplied proofs of the efficacious and powerful protection of 
 the mother country and of the inviolable loyalty of the peo- 
 ple of Canada strengthened their claim to the free exerciso 
 and preservation of all the benefits secured to them by their 
 existing constitution and laws. The pursuits of war were 
 about to be succeeded by those of peace, and it was by tho 
 increase of population, agriculture and commerce, that the 
 possession of the colony might become of importance to 
 Great Britain. It was with lively satisfaction, therefore, that 
 the House heard His Excellency recommend to their consi- 
 deration the improvement of internal communications, and 
 they ^\'ere only too proud to second His Excellency's enlight- 
 ened views by large appropriations to facilitate the opening 
 of a canal from Montreal to Lachino, to assist in the open- 
 ing up of new roads, and to acquire such information as 
 might enable them afterwards to follow up and extend that 
 plan of improvement. 
 
 Sir George Prevost then closed the session. He praised 
 the liberality with which the public service had been pro- 
 vided for; alluded to the benefits promised by peace; in- 
 formed parliament that he had been summoned to return to 
 
.■ I ► 
 
 ;jO» 
 
 J'KOUhKtiS — KKCALL vb JilH CiKOhOfc; l'hKVO!?T. 
 
 1 »!-">. 
 
 i . 
 
 :^M\ 
 
 England tor the purpose of repelling iiccusatiouB atiecting 
 hifi military character, which had been preferred by the late 
 naval commander-in-chief, on the lakes, in Canada, and 
 while he would leave the province with regret, lie eagerly 
 embraced the opportunity afibrded him of justifying his re- 
 putation ; and yet, however intent he might be on the sub- 
 ject which so unexpectedly summoned his attention, he 
 would bear with him a lively recollection of the firm support 
 he had derived from the Legislature of Canada, and should 
 be gratified to represent personally to His Royal Highness, 
 the Price Regent, the zeal and loyalty evinced by every class 
 of His Majesty's subjects in British America, during his 
 administration. 
 
 There were one or two measures introduced into the As- 
 sembly during the session just closed worth mentioning, en 
 passant; as showing the progress really made by a " factious" 
 Assembly. A bill was introduced, by Mr. Lee, for the ap- 
 pointment of commissioners to examine the accounts of the 
 Receiver General, though, apparently, because Mr. Caldwell 
 presented a petition to the Assembly, complaining of the 
 insufficiency of his salary. Mr. Lee also introduced a bill 
 to establish turnpike roads in the vicinity of Quebec, but 
 was unable to carry it because of the outcry made by the 
 farmers and the population of the parishes around Quebec. 
 
 There were 1,727 marriages, 7,707 baptisms, and 4,601 
 burials in Montreal ; 653 marriages, 4,045 baptisms, and 
 2,318 burials in Quebec ; and 260 marriages, 1,565 baptisms, 
 and 976 burials in Three Rivers, during the year 1814. The 
 revenue amounted to ^204,550 currency, the expenditure 
 to £162,125 sterling; and 184 vessels were cleared at 
 Quebec. 
 
 On the 3rd of April, Sir George Prevost left Canada for 
 England, through New Brunswick, by way of the River St. 
 John. He received several valedictory addresses speaking 
 of him in the highest terms, from the French Canadian po- 
 pulation, but the British who were annoyed about Plattsburg 
 tjtood aloof, whilo the office holders secretly rejoiced that his 
 
Uslf). 
 
 181 
 
 ). 
 
 I-F.OL-LATIOX IN L'Pl'IUi CANADA. 
 
 noi) 
 
 aticctiiig' 
 )y the late 
 lada, juicl 
 lie eagerly 
 ig his re- 
 n the sub- 
 ention, he 
 111 support 
 lid should 
 Highness, 
 every class 
 luring his 
 
 ;o the As- 
 tioning, eii 
 "factious" 
 for the ap- 
 mts of the 
 '. Caldwell 
 ng of the 
 uced a bill 
 lebec, but 
 le by the 
 d Quebec. 
 Hid 4,601 
 tisms, and 
 baptisms, 
 814. The 
 cpeiiditure 
 cleared at 
 
 vaiiada for 
 River St. 
 speaking 
 ladian po- 
 .^lattsburg 
 d that his 
 
 rule had tcrniinatcd. Lieut.-Guncral Sir Gordon Drumniond 
 succeeded Sir George Prevost in the government of Lower 
 Canada, the Lieutenant-Governorship of Up^or Canada be- 
 ing again in the hands of His Excellency, Francis Gore, Es- 
 quire. General Drummond convened the parhament of 
 Upper Canada on the IStli of February, 1814. The first 
 Act of that parliament was one to repeal part of the laws in 
 force for raising and training the militia. All the male in- 
 habitants of the province, from 16 to 60 years of ago, were 
 liable to militia duty, but no person over 50 years of age 
 was to be called out except on occasions of emergency. The 
 militia were not to be ordered out of the province unless for 
 the assistance of Lower Canada, when actually invaded, or 
 in a state of insurrection, or except in pursuit of an enemy 
 who had invaded the province, or for the destruction of any 
 vessel either built or building, or for the destruction of any 
 depot or magazine, formed or forming, or for the attack of 
 any enemy invading the province, or for the attack of any 
 fortress in the course of erection or already erected, to cover 
 such invasion of the province. Justices of the Peace were 
 authorised to impress carriages and horses ; twenty shillings 
 a day to be paid for every carriage with two horses, or oxen 
 with a dnver ; fifteen shillings to be paid for every carriage 
 and two horses or oxen ; and for every horse employed 
 singly, seven shillings and six pence was to be paid a day, 
 on a certificate from the officer employing them, to the Col- 
 lector of Cii^tonw, xad received by the Receiver General of 
 the pi'OT*';f c. A penalty was imposed on persons using 
 traitorcas or disrespectful words against His Majesty or 
 against any member of the royal ta • ^ , or for behaving 
 with contcTiipt or disrespect to the Governor while on duty. 
 Death was to be the punishment for exciting to sedition or 
 mutiny ; and either death or fiich other punishment as a 
 Court Martial might award, wns th'3 punishment to be 
 awarde-l for being present at nny m^joting without endeavor- 
 ing to suppress it, or ^'ive 'n+bimatlon, or for deserting to 
 the enemy. And Quakers, Men* ni^tt^, and Tankers, were 
 
• •• I > 
 
 310 
 
 STATE OF PAllTIKo IN UPPER CANADA. 
 
 181 
 
 0. 
 
 > 4 
 
 ui^^iit! 
 
 to pay ^10 for their exemption from militia servitude, the 
 Act to be continued until the next session of parliament. 
 An Act was passed providing for the circulation of army 
 bills ; £G,000 was appropriated for the construction and re- 
 pair of roads and bridges ; an Act was passed to ascertain 
 the eligibility of persons to be returned to the House of 
 Assembly ; an Act was passed to continue the Act granting 
 to His Majesty duties on licenses to hawkers, pedlars, petty 
 chapmen, and other trading persons; every traveller on loot 
 was to pay £5 for his license, and for every boat £2 10s. ; 
 for every decked vessel .£25 was to be paid ; for every boat 
 XIO ; and for every non-resident <£20 ; the Act to be in force 
 for two years ; an Act was passed to detain buch persons as 
 might be suspected of a treasonable adherence to the ene- 
 my ; an Act was passed imposing a duty of 3s. 9d. ^ '^. ual- 
 lon on the contents of licensed stills ; and the Act to pro- 
 hibit the exportation of grain and restraining the distillation 
 of grain from spirits was continued. 
 
 General Drummond again met the parliament of Tapper 
 Canada, on the 1st of February, 1815. There were much 
 the same kind of wranglings in the Assembly of Upper Ca- 
 nada that distinguished the parliament of Lower Canada. 
 There were two parties, one highly conservative and another 
 violently radical. In Upper Canada the conservatives had 
 the majority. In 1808, Mr. Joseph Wilcocks, a member of 
 the Assembly, was imprisoned for having libellously alleged 
 that every member of the first provincial parliament had 
 received a bribe of twelve hundred acres of land. The 
 " slanderous" accusation first appeared in a newspaper styled 
 the Upper Canada Guardian or Freeman's Journaly edited by 
 the Joseph Wilcocks, who was a member of the Assembly. 
 Mr. "Wilcocks grievously complained of the Messrs. Boulton 
 and Sherwood, who were ever on the watch to prevent any 
 questions being put that would draw forth either inaccuracy 
 or inconsistency from the witnesses. Mr. Sherwood attack- 
 ed that great blessing of the people, the freedom of the press 
 and, being a good tory, called it, to the great horror of Mr. 
 
 
1815. 
 
 1815. 
 
 THE NKV.yrAPEK A PESTILENCE IN THE LAND. 
 
 311 
 
 itiule, the 
 arlianient. 
 n of armv 
 on and re- 
 ) ascertain 
 House of 
 t granting 
 lars, petty 
 ler on toot 
 t^2 lOs.; 
 every boat 
 je in force 
 persona as 
 the ene- 
 d. ^ r^. ii-al- 
 Lct to pro- 
 iistillation 
 
 ^ of I.^pper 
 ere much 
 LJpper Ca- 
 
 Canada. 
 
 id another 
 
 Ltives had 
 
 nember of 
 
 y alleged 
 
 nent had 
 
 md. The 
 
 per styled 
 
 edited by 
 
 Assembly. 
 
 . Boulton 
 
 event any 
 
 laccuracy 
 
 )d attack- 
 
 the press 
 or of Mr. 
 
 P 
 
 "VVilcocks, a pestilence in the land. Indeed, Mr. AVilcocks 
 was deeply and painfully sensible that Little York abounded 
 in meanness, corruption, and sycophancy, and notified his 
 constituents accordingly. Such a condition of things was 
 only natural in a small community, having all the parapher- 
 nalia of "constitutional" government. 
 
 In 1815, the progress of Upper Canada is indicated by the 
 fii'tit bill of the session — an Act granting .£23,000 for amend- 
 ing and repairing the public highways of the province, and 
 awarding ^25 to each road commissioner in compensation 
 for his services. There were in all eighteen Acts passed. 
 Provision was made for proceeding to outlawry in certain 
 cases. An Act was passed for the relief of Barristers and 
 Attornies, and to provide for the admission of Law Students 
 within the Province ; £100 was granted to Mr. Sherift" Mcr- 
 rltt, of the Niagara District ; a new Assessment Act was 
 passed ; the Act to provide for the maintenance of persons 
 disabled, and for the widows and children of persons killed 
 in action was explained and amended. Isaac Swayze, Es- 
 quire, having been robbed of X178 5s. 8d., was exonerated 
 from the payment of it ; X6,000 was granted for the rebuild- 
 ing and repair of gaols and Court Houses in the "Western, 
 London and Niagara Dist icts, each .£2,000 ; an Act was 
 passed to remove doubts with respect to the authority under 
 which the Courts of General Quarter Sessions had been 
 orected and holden ; an Act to license practitioners in phy- 
 sic and surgery throughout the province, providing for the 
 ;ippointment of a Board of Surgeons to examine applicants, 
 and imposing a penalty of j£100 for practicing without li- 
 cense, but excepting from the application of the Act such as 
 had taken a degree at any University in His Majesty's domi- 
 nions, was passed ; .£292 was granted to repay advances on 
 team-work, and for the apprehension of deserters by certain 
 Inspectow of Districts ; .£1,500 was granted to provide for 
 the accommodati'.)n of the legislature at its next session ; 
 £6,090 was granted for (he uses of the incorporated militia ; 
 £111 lis. 7d. was grant.e<l for the Clerks of Parliament ; 
 
1 ' 
 
 312 
 
 THE BROCK MONUMENT — GORE S RETURN. 
 
 1815 
 
 £1,700 was appropriated to the erection of a monument to 
 the memory of the late Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, ; the 
 Quarter Sessions Act was again amended ; £400 was repaid 
 to the Honorable James Bayley, which he had paid for 
 hemp delivered to him as a commissioner for the purchase 
 of that commodity ; and an Act incorporating the Midland 
 District School Society. On the 25th of April, Lieutenant- 
 General Sir George Murray, Baronet, superseded Sir Gor- 
 don Drummond, K. C. B., in the command, civil and mili- 
 tarp, of Upper Canada, and on the let of July, in the same 
 year, the civil and military command of the Upper Province 
 devolved upon Major-General Sir Frederick P. Robinson, 
 K. C. B.^ who held the reins of government until the return 
 of His Ea.c!. •'Cy Francis Gore, who had been absent in 
 England durin^, the war, on the 25th of September, 1815. 
 
1815 
 
 nument to 
 •rock, ; the 
 kvas repaid 
 L paid for 
 3 purchase 
 e Midland 
 ieutenant- 
 d Sir Gor- 
 and mili- 
 i the same 
 • Province 
 Robinson, 
 the return 
 absent in 
 r, 1815. 
 
 1816. 
 
 DRUMMOND ADMINISTRATOR-IN-CUIKF. 
 
 ?>1^ 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 It was in the character of Administrator-in-Chief that 
 Lieutenant-General Sir Gordon Drummond assumed the 
 government of Lower Canada, on the 5th of April, 1816. 
 The army bills were called in and honorably redeemed in 
 cash, at the army bill office, in Quebec, and as if to show 
 how beneficial the war had been to the country, first one 
 new steamer ariived at Quebec, and then another from the 
 already flourishing city of Montreal. The Malshane, built 
 by Mr. John Molson, of Montreal, at that port, appeared at 
 Quebec on the opening of the navigation, and was speedily 
 followed by an opposition steamer built by an association of 
 merchants in Montreal, and named -.— The Car of Com- 
 merce. The inhabitants of Canada were, at this time, under 
 400,000 in number. About seven-eighths were of French 
 descent, and the other eighth was composed of English 
 Irish, Scotch, Germans, Americans, and their descendants! 
 Of the latter, the Scotch were the most numerous, and in 
 their hands nearly the whole external trade of the country 
 was placed. The French Canadians were chiefly agricultu- 
 rists, but they had also a large share in the retail and inter- 
 nal trade. There was, at this period, no manufactories of 
 note in the province. The manufacture of leather, hats, 
 and paper, had been introduced, and Sfofe du pays, manu- 
 tacturcd by the larmors, con.stitutcd the garb of the Cana^ 
 
\rw^ 
 
 314 
 
 TllK KOADS — Tllli L\1IA1JITAN1\S. 
 
 181a. 
 
 • ■» 
 
 » 
 
 
 dians 'ronerally. There ^vcrc two iron works in the vicinity 
 of Three Rivers. Thei'c was nothing more. It is said, not 
 without reason, that one of the i\\Yt improvements in any 
 country slionhl jje tlie making of roads, and tlie speedy mak- 
 ing of roads, botli in Upper and Lower Canada, was one of 
 the good effects of the war. Ah'eady there was a, road from 
 Point Levi across the portage of Temiscouata, from thence 
 to the forks of the Aladawaska, from thence to tlic Great 
 Falls, from thence to Fredericton, in New^ Brunsw^ick, from 
 thence to St. Johns, on the Bay of Fundy, and from thence 
 to Halifax, which was 618 miles long; there was a road 
 from Quebec to Montreal, 180 miles in length, from thence 
 to the Coteau-du-Lac, 225 miles, from thence ta Cornwall, 
 226 miles, from thence to Matilda, 301 miles, from thence 
 to Au^^;^ a, 335 miles, from thence to Kingston, 385 miles, 
 from thence to York, 525 miles, from thence to Fort Erie, 
 500 ni'^^s, ^ n thence to Detroit, 790 miles, and from 
 thence to Michillimackinac, 1,107 miles ; there was a road 
 en route to Boston, via St. Giles, Ireland, Shipton, St. Fran- 
 cois, and the Forks of the Ascot, to the lines, 146 miles 
 long; and there was a road from Laprairie, opposite Mon- 
 treal, to Isle-aux-!N'oix, which w'as 28 miles long. Canals 
 were contemplated to overcome the difficulties of the La- 
 chine, Cedars, and Long Sault rapids, and indeed there was 
 an eye to those improvements which never fail to develop 
 the riches of a country. The landholders at this time were 
 mostly French Canadians. There were some thousands of 
 acres, however, which had been granted to the British po- 
 pulation since 1706, occupied or settled upon by Americans, 
 that is to say, former residents of the United States. Land 
 was not by any means valuable, on account of the great dis- 
 tances from convenient markets, and the consequent length 
 of time which it took the distant farmer to bring his pro- 
 duce to market. It was this drawback that produced in the 
 Canadian the pernicious habit of merely producing enough 
 for the consumption of his own family, and for the keep of 
 liis own farm stock. Farm lands were ^icldom held upon 
 
1815. 
 
 1810. 
 
 Tin: riu:xcn canaman cuakacter. 
 
 315 
 
 id vieiuity 
 1 sakl, Mot 
 tits in any 
 »et!y mak- 
 vas one of 
 road from 
 m thence 
 tlie Great 
 /ick, from 
 tm thence 
 vas a road 
 •m thence 
 Cornwall, 
 im thence 
 385 miles, 
 Fort Erie, 
 and from 
 vas a road 
 . St. Fran- 
 146 miles 
 site Mon- 
 Canals 
 the La- 
 liere was 
 ,o develop 
 ime were 
 u sands of 
 Iritish po- 
 mericans, 
 s. Land 
 great dis- 
 iit length 
 his pro- 
 :ed in the 
 g enough 
 e keep of 
 eld upon 
 
 lease. The cultivators were the bona fide proprietors of the 
 soil, suhjcct to a very inconsiderahle annual rent to the seig- 
 neur and to a fine of a twelfth upon a change of proprietor 
 by sale, a condition which, as a matter of course, would in 
 time become intolerable and demand that remedy which lias 
 since been applied. In Lower Canada, the lands held by 
 Roman Catholics, were subject to the payment of a tythe or 
 a twenty-sixth part of all grain for the use of the curate, and 
 to assessments for the building and repair of churches. Now 
 with regard to the character of a people, who, not long after 
 this period, exhibited an intolerance of tyranny and injus- 
 tice, it may fairly be said that the French Canadians are 
 naturally of a cheerful and lively disposition, but very con- 
 servative in their ideas. Outwardly polite, they are not un- 
 frequently coarse in conversation. If the Canadian evinces 
 respect, it is expected that he will be treated with respect in 
 consideration therefor. Ilis chief shortcoming is excessive 
 sociability. When once settled among friends and relatives 
 he cannot leave them — absence from home docs in truth 
 only make the heart grow fonder of home associations. He 
 is active, compactly made, but generally below rather than 
 above the middle size. Ills natural capacity is excellent, 
 but when the mind is unimproved and no opportunity has 
 been afforded for the acquisition of new ideas, little can be 
 expected from even the most fertile understanding. All 
 improvements have been the result of observation, there be- 
 ing nothing original in any one, nor an iota new under the 
 sun. It is in the application of the natural elements only 
 in which one individual excels another, his capacity for ex- 
 cellence, of course, favoring observation. As the bee sips 
 honey from the flower, so does man inhale the poetry of na- 
 ture, daguerreotyping it upon his understanding, cither from 
 the mountain's top, from the summit of the ocean wave, or 
 from the wreck of battle ; so does the astronomer learn 
 from the firmament itself the relative proportions and dis- 
 tances, the transits, ecli[)ses, and periodical a[)pearances of 
 otluT worlds, Ihjni Iliat in whi<-li ]{o liv(?.>. moves, und hi\:^ 
 
316 
 
 PAULJAMEXT — WATiaiLOO. 
 
 i8J(>. 
 
 V • 
 
 * ' » 
 
 ri 
 
 his buiiitr ; and ^o tlic niun of scioiico collects ami combiiios 
 the vory clomoiits thomselvoH, oitliur to purposes of destruc- 
 tion or towards the progress, improvement, and almost per- 
 fection of hunuin nature. The Canadian could only reason 
 from his own experience, and that was so exceedingly limit- 
 ed, that his backwardness in enterprise is less to be won- 
 dered at than the eagerness with which he copies the enter- 
 prise of others. The Canadian, like the native of old France, 
 is a thinking animal. lie is ever doubting, ever mistrustful. 
 In spiritual matters, he is guided by his curate, who, if he 
 wishes to stand well with him, must meddle with nothing 
 else. And who will say that such a people are incai>able of 
 improvement ? Railroads, intercourse with others, and time, 
 will yet make the Canadian think for himself much sooner 
 than they will influence others, more naturally confiding, 
 generous, and credulous than he is, but whose very energy 
 and bravery only cover a multitude of sins. 
 
 Lieutenant-Ceneral Sir Gordon Drummond met the par- 
 liament of Lower Canada on the 26th of January, 1816. 
 He informed the two Houses that the Regent had committed 
 to him the administration of the government of Lower Ca- 
 nada, that he had entered on the duties of his trust with a 
 deep sense of their importance and with a more earnest de- 
 sire to discharge them for the gr^neral advantage of a pro- 
 vince in the capital of wliioh he had been born ; the King 
 was no better in health, but had no corporeal suffering and 
 only continued in a state of undisturbed tranquillity ; Buo- 
 naparte had been exiled and the family of Bourbon restored 
 to the throne of their ancestors ; Waterloo had consum- 
 mated the high distinction obtained by the British forces 
 under Wellington. He recommended the renewal of the 
 Militia Act, and in consequence of many discontented ad- 
 venturers, and mischievous agitators, from the continent of 
 Europe, having thrown themselves into the neighbouring 
 States, he strongly recommended the immediate revival of 
 the Act for establishing regulations respecting aliens, with 
 8uch modifications an oircumstancOH might render it proper 
 
"I81f>. 
 
 ijsu;. 
 
 MV NATIVl-; CliV. 
 
 .317 
 
 combiiica 
 f dcstriic- 
 Imost por- 
 ily reason 
 igly limit- 
 
 be won- 
 the entcr- 
 Id France, 
 istrustful. 
 vlio, if lie 
 
 1 nothing 
 3ai>able of 
 
 and time, 
 L'h sooner 
 confiding, 
 ry energy 
 
 t the par- 
 
 'ly, 
 
 1816. 
 
 ommitted 
 
 ower Ca- 
 
 ist with a 
 
 irnest de- 
 
 of a pro- 
 
 the King 
 
 ering and 
 
 ity; Buo- 
 
 restored 
 
 consum- 
 
 sh forces 
 
 7a\ of the 
 
 ented ad- 
 
 itinent of 
 
 hbouring 
 
 revival of 
 
 ens, with 
 
 it proper 
 
 tt» adopt ; the c'\«!cutivo govuniuicnt hud icdeciucd its 
 plerlge by culling in and jiayiiig with cash tlic army l>ills 
 which wore in ciivulutioii ; a rilatemeiit of the revenue and 
 expouditure of the past year wonld be laid before the As- 
 sembly ; the I'riiice Regent viewed with much pleasure the 
 additional proof of patriotism attbrded by the sum voted 
 towards the completion of a proposed canal from Montreal 
 to Lachine ; Ilia Majest3''s government duly appreciating 
 the many important objects with which the canal was con- 
 nected, were interested in its early execution ; and he 
 awaited only further instructions upon the subject to carry 
 it into effect. lie pressed upon the attention of both Houses 
 the importance of further promoting the internal improve- 
 ments of the province. lie trusted that this session of par- 
 liament would be distinguished for accordant exertion and 
 for efficient dispatch in conducting the public business ; and 
 for his own part, he could assure honorable gentlemen that 
 ho would most cordially co-operate in every measure which 
 might tend to advance the interests and promote the welfare 
 of the province. His Excellency the Administrator-in-Chief 
 made allusion to his native city after the manner of a some- 
 what notorious, if not a celebrated judge of the present 
 time, who was accustomed to boast in the Assembly of be- 
 ing the representative of his native city. Sir Gordon, how- 
 ever, only meant to be conciliatory, and indeed there was no 
 objectionable egotism in a governor putting himself forth 
 as a colonist by birth, or in one sense placing himself on a 
 level with the governed. The pit}' is that so few governors 
 had even that interest in Canada which, to however limited 
 a degree, must have weighed with Sir Gordon Drummond. 
 The House was glad that a native of Quebec had so distin- 
 guished himself as a soldier, and indeed in all else, echoed 
 His Excellency's speech. 
 
 The transaction of business had hardly begun when a 
 message was received from the Administrator-in-Chief. His 
 Hoyal Highness, theRegent, had commanded His Excellency 
 to m;die known his pleasure to the House of Assembly on 
 
1! . I 
 
 ."48 
 
 Tin; A.S.SEMLLY CliXSl KKD. 
 
 18 KJ. 
 
 f . 
 
 |i ' 
 
 the Ru1)jcct of c'Oitaiii clinrges prefurreil by the IIou>;o ngniinst 
 tlio Chief Justices of the province and of Montreal, in con- 
 nection with certain cliars^-es against u former governor, 8'r 
 James Craii;. Tlic Regent was r)leased to sav that the acts 
 of a former governor could not be a subject of enquiry, whe- 
 ther legal or illegal, as it would involve the principle that a 
 governor might divest himself of all responsibility on points 
 of political government; the charge referred by the Regent 
 to the I'rivy Council, was only such as related to tlie Rules 
 of I'racticc, established by the Judges, in their respective 
 Courts, and for which the Judges were themselves solely 
 responsible ; and the Report of the Privy Council was that 
 the Rules of Practice complained of w^ere made not by the 
 Chief Justices alone, but in conjunction with the other 
 Judges of the respective Courts, as rules for the regulation 
 and practice of their respective Courts, and that neither the 
 Chief Justices, nor had the Courts in which they presided, 
 exceeded their authority in making such rules, nor had they 
 been guilty of any assumption of legislative power. Fur- 
 ther, His Excellency was commanded to express the regret 
 with which the Regent had viewed the late proceedings of 
 the House of Assembly against two persons who had so 
 ably tilled the highest judicial offices in the colony, a cir- 
 cumstance calculated to disparage their character and ser- 
 vices, in the eyes of the inconsiderate and ignorant, and so 
 diminish the influence w^hich a judge ought to possess. The 
 other charges with regard to the refusal of a WTit of Habeas 
 Corpus, by Mr. Chief Justice Monk, of Montreal, were con- 
 sidered to be totally unsupported by any evidence whatever. 
 The message from the administrator, by order of the Regent, 
 had been somewhat too soon communicated to the Assem- 
 bly for "accordant exertion" in legislation. A call of the 
 House was ordered for the 14th of February, and the i^jes- 
 sage was to be referred to a committee of the whole on that 
 day. That day came and the committee of the whole re- 
 ferred the message to be reported upon by a select commit- 
 tee of nine members, and the report of the committee was 
 
1811). 
 
 isli). 
 
 uissohninN or j»aiii,i AMKNT. 
 
 :Uli 
 
 ag'uiiist 
 1, in coii- 
 Tiior, S'l' 
 t the acts 
 iry, wlic- 
 )le that a 
 311 points 
 Regent 
 ;lie llulcs 
 ospeetivo 
 es solely 
 was that 
 ot by the 
 the other 
 egulation 
 either the 
 presided, 
 had they 
 er. Fur- 
 he regret 
 edings of 
 had so 
 ny, a cir- 
 and ser- 
 it, and so 
 sess. The 
 ' Habeas 
 VQVQ con- 
 hatever. 
 Regent, 
 e Assem- 
 lU of the 
 the i][ies- 
 e on that 
 vhole re- 
 commit- 
 ttee was 
 
 V 
 
 to tlic ollbct tliat a liiunhio reprosentiition rnul potilii)ii to tho 
 Kogont must be prepared, and tliat l)otV>iv doiiii;" so, tlu- 
 souse of the llotisc, as exprosseil in a coniuiitteu of tliu 
 whole, shoukl be obtained. Accordingly, the House again 
 resolved itself into connnittee, on the -itli, when it was re- 
 ported that the House in inipcacliing the Chief Justices was 
 influenced by a sense of duty, by a desire to maintain the 
 laws and constitution, and l>y a regard for the public inte- 
 rest, and for the honor of Ilis Majesty's government; that 
 the House was entitled to be heard, and to have an oppor- 
 tunity of adducing evidence in support of the impeach- 
 ments ; that the opi»osition and resistance of the Legislative 
 Council prevented the appointment of an agent from the 
 Assembly, to maintain and support the charges ; and that a 
 petition should be presented to the Regent, appealing to tho 
 justice of Ilis Majesty's government and praying that an 
 opportunity might be aftbrded to the Commons of Canada 
 to be heard and to maintain their charges. The resolutions 
 were adopted by a very large majority of the House, and a 
 special committee was appointed to prepare an address in 
 accordance with the resolutions. But before this could be 
 done. Sir Gordon Drummond, in accordance with his in- 
 structions, dissolved the House. He prorogued the parlia- 
 ment on the 26th, because his reasonable expectations, with 
 regard to their diligent application to the business which he 
 had recommended to their attention had been disappointed ; 
 because the Assembly had again entered upon the discus- 
 sion of a subject on which the pleasure of the Regent had 
 been communicated to them ; and because, ho, therefore, 
 felt it to be his duty to prorogue the present ^ . i luimcnt, and 
 to resort to the sense of the people by an immediate disso- 
 lution. Only one Act received the royal assent, that to re- 
 gulate the trial of controverted elections. 
 
 The writs for the new elections were issued in haste. In- 
 deed 80 early as the month of March, they were completed, 
 the greater number of the members of the previous Assem- 
 bly having boon re-elected. But before even the elections 
 
■6'20 
 
 (iKNKUAL WlL&OiN .VIkML\Is«TUATUU. 
 
 l«hi. 
 
 ■■; .•.-♦• 
 
 Imd boon t'uMii»lclu(l, (^uticnil Dniruiikoiul wiis tiotltiod of the 
 u])iK)iiitmoiitot' Sir Jolm Hlierbrooku, the Liciitoiiuiit-Gov- 
 onior of Novu Hcotiti, to tlio (iovornor-Genuralnliip of IJri- 
 ti«li North America, uiul loaving Mujor-Uunerul Wilson in 
 temporary cljar<^c of tlie govorumont, lie sailed for Ensjlaiid 
 oil tlie 1st of May. 
 
 It is impossiblo to 8i)eak of Sir Gordon Drtimmond H 
 government. The measures which he proposed were well 
 calculated to benefit the country. He was thwarted, possi- 
 bly in good intentions, b}' the commands of the imperial 
 government, requiring him imperatively to obtain the sub- 
 mission of the colonial legislature to Downing-street dicta- 
 tion, without remonstrance. A colonial legislature, tethered 
 as it is, and ever will be, until the Governor is elected by 
 the people, to English administrative incapacity might, with 
 no lack of prudence, have been permitted rope enough to 
 wander round the tethering post, so that it w^oiild only have 
 been at considerable intervals that the effect of the tr ' ors 
 would have been in any degree galling or even felt. 
 
 In 1815, the revenue of Lower Canada amountea to 
 £150,273 currency, the expenditure to £125,218 sterling, in 
 which was included £16,555 for the erection of the gaol in 
 Quebec; £26,439 for militia services; and £35,325, the pro- 
 portion of duties to Upper Canada. Only 194 vessels of 
 37,382 tons, were cleared at Quebec, not taking into account 
 ten now vessels of only 1,462 tons altogether, hardly equal 
 to the tonnage of a single vessel of the present day. 
 
 Sir John Sherbrooke did not arrive at Quebec until the 
 21st of July. He was then received with all the honors due 
 to his rank and station. Every body was as obsequious as 
 anybody could be, and great things were, of course, expect- 
 ed from the new man. Nor was Sir John deficient in abi- 
 lity. He had been most successful in his government of 
 Nova Scotia, and he had been most prudent in his negotia- 
 tions with the people of Maine. He had too an opportunity 
 for acquiring popularity immediately on his arrival, and he 
 did not suffer the opportunity to escape him. The wheat 
 
 i ' 
 
i«u;. 
 
 1816. 
 
 INl'UllMATlON I'OK Till: roLoNlAL SKCKUTAKY. 
 
 321 
 
 lifcl of the 
 luiit-Gov- 
 \[) of IJri- 
 ^Vilsoii in 
 ' England 
 
 jiid U 
 
 kvoro well 
 ed, \iom\- 
 ! imperial 
 1 the Hub- 
 •cet dicta- 
 !, tethered 
 elected by 
 light, with 
 enough to 
 only liavc 
 the tf ' ors 
 t. 
 
 ountea to 
 terling, in 
 le gaol in 
 5, the pro- 
 vessels of 
 to account 
 dly equal 
 
 until the 
 Lonors due 
 iquious as 
 3e, expoct- 
 nt in abi- 
 rnment of 
 negotia- 
 •portunity 
 al, and he 
 he wheat 
 
 crop had failed in the lower part of the diwtrict of Queheo. 
 The davs thouirh warm as usual were sut'cecded by cold 
 frosty nights, which killed the wheat. There was indeed a 
 prospect of a famine. Keprosentations of anticipated dis- 
 tress, came pouring in upon him from first one parish and 
 then another. A less decided man would have called upon 
 the provincial parliament to have acted as became the emer- 
 gency. Sir John threw open the King's stores, and on his 
 own responsibility, advanced a large sum of money from the 
 public treasury, for the purchase of such supplies jis tiie im- 
 perial store-houses did not afl'ord. The season, in Lower 
 Canada, he knew was a short one, and to have procrastinated 
 would have been fatal to the farmer. 
 
 Xor was Sir John less prudent in other matters. lie saw 
 the mistake committed by his predecessor with regard to 
 the impeachments and he endeavored to avoid any similar 
 mistake. lie wrote to England lor instructions, taking care 
 to inform the Minister of State for the Colonies of the true 
 state of public opinion in the province. He represented 
 that the appeal to the people by Sir Gordon Drummond had 
 entirely failed ; the people were irritated at the appeal to 
 them under such circumstances ; the dissolution of a parlia- 
 ment was not, in his opinion, at any time calculated to do 
 much good, but was often seriously productive of evil; in a 
 small community it was more difficult to correct public opi- 
 nion than in a larger one ; he would carry out whatever in- 
 structions should be given to him ; but these were his views 
 and he would await an answ*er. He w ent still further. He 
 informed the Colonial Secretary that Chief Justice Sewell 
 was unpopular, not with the Assembly alone, but with all 
 classes of the people. No matter whether the feeling pro- 
 ceeded from the acts and calumnies of designing dema- 
 gogues, it existed. It was indeed believed in the Palace of 
 the Roman Catholic Bishop, and in the cottage of the hum- 
 blest peasant, that Chief Justice Sewell had outraged their 
 feelings of loyalty and religion. When Attorney-General, 
 
 Mr. Sewell had maiulained doctrines and snjiportod uu*u- 
 
 i-2 
 

 6IP. JOHN SHERBUOOKK S NOTIONS. 
 
 1816. 
 
 
 
 It 
 
 HLires that clashed with the religious opinions of the Cana- 
 dians. A dislike, amounting to infatuation, had been con- 
 firmed by the part which he was supposed to have taken 
 in the government after his promotion. It was this gi'adu- 
 ally increasing dislike which had led to his impeachment. 
 Sir John believed that a hearing to both parties, on the im- 
 peachment, even had the decision been the same, w^ould 
 have been conducive to the peace of the province, as it 
 would have deprived the party hostile to the Chief Ju<itice 
 of a pretext of complaint, by which, in a free countr}% the 
 people wdll always be interested. The impression was that 
 the government of England had come to a decision on an 
 ej'pavte hearing. Chief Justice Sewell should have been 
 permitted to retire on a pension. That step w^ould have had 
 the eifect of getting rid o<^ a grievance. Agreeably to his 
 instructions, he would support the Chief Justice even should 
 the wrath of the Clergy be the result. He would also culti- 
 tivate a good understanding with the Roman Catholic 
 Bishop, but neither argument nor coercion could destroy 
 public opinion. Prorogation might succeed prorogation, 
 and dissolution, but there would be a I'evolution in the 
 countrv sooner than a change in the feolincs of its inlia- 
 bitants with regaitl to Chief Justice Hewell. He w^ould 
 suggest the appointment of an agent in England, as had 
 long been desired, and as had been effected in almost every 
 other colony. The opposition to this measure was even 
 ascribed to the Chief Justice. He would further suc^'eRt 
 that Mr, Stuart should be detached by motives of self-inte- 
 rest, from tlie party with w^hom he acted, and which it was 
 supposed, would dwindle into insignitieanee without him. 
 If the Attorney-Generalship should become vacant, it might 
 be offered to him. The most fruitful source of all the dis- 
 sensions in Canada was, nevertheless, according to Sir John 
 Sherbrooke, the want of confidence in its executive gov- 
 eriment,* not so much in the personal character of the 
 
 * True, .ind which an elective g^overnmmt will altofjother remove, to the great 
 advantage and enduring honor of Great Britain. 
 
1816. 
 
 the Cana- 
 beeii con- 
 ive taken 
 lis gi'adu- 
 3achment. 
 )ii the im- 
 le, would 
 ince, as it 
 ef JuiStice 
 intn% the 
 1 was that 
 ion on an 
 ave been 
 
 have had 
 \y to his 
 en should 
 also culti- 
 
 Catholic 
 i destroy 
 ^rogation, 
 )n in the 
 ' its inha- 
 le would 
 d, as had 
 lost every 
 \vi\H even 
 {' suggest 
 ' sclf-inte- 
 ieh it was 
 lOut him. 
 , it might 
 1 the dia- 
 
 Sir John 
 tive gov- 
 ter of the 
 
 to the prreat 
 
 1817 
 
 1. 
 
 TIII5 NKW PARLIAMEKT. 
 
 32? 
 
 Governor as in the Executive Council, who have come to be 
 considered the Governor's advisers, and who are watched 
 with a .jealousy that hampered every governmental opera- 
 tion. To remove the distrust, the Speaker of the Legisla- 
 tive Assembly should, ex qijido, bo a member of the Execu- 
 tive Oonnoil. 
 
 Sir John had stated a series of truths, since made appa- 
 rent, by the disclosures of Mr. Kyland. 
 
 The new parliament was convened for the dispatch of bu- 
 siness, on the loth of January, 1817, when Mr. Papineau 
 was re-elected ^Speaker. The Governor then formally open- 
 ed the business of the session, by stating that having ascer- 
 tained that the crops had tailed in several parts of the pro- 
 vince, he had taken steps to prevent the mischief that threat- 
 ened the country, the i»artieulars of which should be laid 
 before the parliament ; that he relied upon the liberality of 
 the Assembly to make the necessary provision for defraying 
 the expenses already incurred ; that he felt assu.-ed such 
 further aid would be granted as necessity might require ; 
 that he would lay before the House a statement of the reve- 
 nue and expenditure of the province : that ho felt it to be 
 his duty to call early attention to the renewal of tlie militia 
 and several other Acts, which either had expired or were 
 about to expire; and he intimated that the advintages to re- 
 sult from every improvement calculated to open up the 
 commerce of the country and encourage agriculture were of 
 themselves sufficient to i-ecommend that matter to their 
 attention. The Assembly replied in the usual way and im- 
 mediately afterwards appointed the committees. There was 
 a grand committee of grievances, a committee on courts of 
 justice, a committee on agriculture and commerce, and a 
 special committee of five members to keep up a good un- 
 derstanding between the two Houses, hitherto antagonistic. 
 Immediately after these committees had been named, a 
 message was received from the Governor, intimating that 
 the Regent of the United Kingdom and of the Empire had 
 been pleased to assent to the bill granting a salary of X'1,000' 
 
• ■•'■I ' 
 
 824 
 
 SUSPENSION OF MR. JUSTICE FOUCilER. 
 
 181T. 
 
 
 Ii ' 
 
 a year to the Speaker of the Assembly. The House then 
 voted j614,216 to relieve the distressed parishes, with the 
 view of making good the advances made by the Governor, 
 and also voted the additional sum of .£15,500, wdth the same 
 view, and X20,600 more, for the purchase ot seed grain, for 
 distribution among such as could not otherwise procure it, 
 to be repaid at the convenience of the recipients. This bus- 
 iness being settled, Mr. Cuvillier presented to the House 
 articles of impeachment against Mr. Foucher, a Judge of 
 the King's Bench, at Montreal, for malvereation, corrupt 
 practices, and injustice. A committee was ^/ointed to ex- 
 amine into these charges, and having reported adversely to 
 the Judge, the House prepared and adopted an address to 
 the Regent, asking for Mr. Foucher' s removal from office j 
 and that justice should otherwise be done. The House fur- 
 ther requested the Governor-in-Chief to suspend Mr. Fou- 
 cher, while the charges made against liim were pending. 
 The Governor complied with the request of the House, by 
 desiring Mr. Foucher to abstain from taking his seat upon 
 the Bench, until the will of the Regent should have been 
 ascertained. The Legislative Council were most indignant. 
 They remonstrated against the suspension of Mr. Foucher. 
 Every public officer was by the assent given to the act of the 
 Assembly, liable to be put to the expense of going to Eng- 
 land before lie could even get a hearing, if at the mere dic- 
 tation of the Assembly, a public officer w^as to be suspend- 
 ed. The Assembly replied that, if suspension could not 
 take place, offenders, out of the reach of ordinary courts of 
 justice, could not be brought to trial, and that an illegal, 
 arbitraiy, tymnnical, and oppressive power, over the people 
 of the province, would be perpetuated. And so the suspen- 
 sion did take place. The judges were in very bad odour in 
 those days. They were between two fires. If they thwart- 
 ed the government, they were dismissed, and if they an- 
 noyed the people they were impeached. Another complaint 
 was made against Mr. Chief Justice Monk. He, it was al- 
 IcgcrT. by the family of the late Fran<:ois^ Corbcil. had ex- 
 
181T. 
 
 181 
 
 I. 
 
 THF. CIITF.K .irSTIOr: UF MONTrjKAL. 
 
 825 
 
 Lise then 
 with the 
 lovernor, 
 the same 
 grain, for 
 rocure it, 
 Chis bus- 
 le House 
 Judge of 
 , corrupt 
 ted to ex- 
 rerselv to 
 iddress to 
 ►m office^ 
 louse fur- 
 Mr. Fou- 
 pending. 
 [louse, by 
 seat upon 
 lave been 
 ndignant. 
 Foucber. 
 act of the 
 g to Eng- 
 mere dic- 
 suspend- 
 ould not 
 courts of 
 n illegal, 
 he people 
 le suspen- 
 odour in 
 y thwart- 
 they an- 
 omplaint 
 it was al- 
 had ex- 
 
 ceeded his authority, by issuing a warrant for the arrest and 
 imprisonment of Corbeii, on a charge of treasonable prac- 
 tices, well knowing that such charges were notoriously false, 
 and, by so doing, had accelerated or caused the death of 
 Corbeii, the disease of which he died having been con- 
 tracted while in prison. Mr. Samuel Sherwood also com- 
 plained, on his own behalf, against the Chief Justice of 
 Montreal. It appeared that he had been prosecuted and 
 imprisoned for libel, in having burlesqaed the pamphlet 
 published and circulated by the Chief Justices in Montreal 
 and Quebec, to show to the public and their friends that the 
 impeachments against them had fallen through. At the 
 trial for the libel, Mr. Chief Justice Monk presided. He 
 seemed to be both prosecutor and judge. The jury box 
 was packed. The court was specially held. The indict- 
 ment against Sherwood had been framed on suspicion. In 
 the pretended libel the name of James Monk was thirty 
 times mentioned, and y^et James Monk, in the character of 
 Chief Justice, sat upon the Bench. He took a lively inte- 
 rest in the prosecution. He had fiercely assailed a member 
 of the Bar, who had smiled during the reading of the in- 
 dictment, and threatened to remember the smile in his ad- 
 dress to the jury. Such an example of a judge, sitting in 
 his own cause, was not even afforded by Scraggs or Jefi'e- 
 riea. Mr. Sherwood had been falsely imprisoned, arbitra- 
 rily held to excessive bail, his liberties, as a British subject, 
 violated, and his privileges as a member of the Assembly 
 had been set at nought. The petition was referred to a se- 
 lect committee, and no more heard of. Yet it had an effect. 
 Chief Justice Monk was compelled to explain and to defend 
 himself. 
 
 There was yet another similar matter to be proceeded 
 with. There was the revival of the impeachments to be 
 taken in hand. The House had been clumsily baulked in 
 their attempt to remonstrate with the Regent concerning 
 his will and pleasure, as far as his royal will and pleasure 
 related to the impeachments of Chief Justices Sewell and 
 
1 
 
 K 
 1 
 
 
 ■ 1 
 
 / .. 
 
 •■ 
 
 
 V 
 
 
 
 '> 
 
 . ' 
 
 . * 
 
 
 i 
 
 • ' 
 
 
 • ■ ■" 
 
 
 
 e 
 
 
 
 > 
 
 .t 
 
 32U 
 
 SUB ROSA NKUOriATlON. 
 
 181 
 
 I . 
 
 Monk, and there seemed to be a sub rosa disposition to get 
 rid of the disagreeable aftair by management. Mr. Stuart, 
 keen-sighted as he was, both saw and felt that the tools, 
 with which he worked, required sharpening up. The}- had 
 been handled. They had been in other hands than his. 
 They had apparently been rendered almost unlit for use. 
 He would, however, move for a call of the House, on the 
 2l8t of February. The cards had been admirably shuffled. 
 The Panets, Vanfelsons, Gugys, Ogdens, Vezinas, Tasche- 
 reaus, Malhiots, Cherriers, were all wonderfully intermingled 
 in an adverse vote. The motion was rejected by a vote of 23 
 nays to 10 yeas. Mr. Stuart tried the 20tli of Februar}\ 
 Still it would not do. The Assembly had become suddenly 
 tired of impeachments. Again, the matter was tried on the 
 following dav, when the House consented not to revive the 
 impeachments but to reconsider the message addressed to 
 the Assembly on the 2nd of February last, by the late Ad- 
 ministrator-in-Chief. Mr. Stuart had some business to trans- 
 act in Montreal, and he left Quebec to attend to it. During 
 his absence the impeachments were forgotten ; his measures 
 were paralysed by siih rosa negociation ; Mr. Sewell was re- 
 compensed for the ill-treatment he had experienced, and the 
 government was relieved of anxiety. The Speaker of the 
 Assembly was informed that for this parliament as well as 
 for the last parliament he would be permitted to receive 
 j61,000 a year, and that Mr. Sewell, who, as Chief Justice, 
 was Speaker of the Upper House, might be recompensed 
 for his ill-treatment, by the attachment of a salary of .£1,000 
 to an office which it was designed he should hold for life. 
 The Assembly, accordingly, applied to His Excellency to 
 allow their Speaker ,€1,000 a year, and to confer some signal 
 mark of the Royal favor on Dame Louise Philippe Bade- 
 lard, widow of Mr. Speaker Panet. His Excellency, the 
 Governor, unhesitatingly complied with the request of the 
 Assembly, the more especially as on the request of the 
 Council he had' consented to a similar salaiT being paid to 
 .their Speaker, and he had further pleasure in authorising 
 
 
181- 
 
 181' 
 
 MANAGKMKNT OF TlIK C0-MM0\5. 
 
 327 
 
 on to get 
 r. Stuart, 
 he tools, 
 riiey had 
 than his. 
 it for use. 
 se, on the 
 shuffled. 
 , Tasche- 
 armingled 
 vote of 23 
 Februarj\ 
 I suddenly 
 ied on the 
 revive the 
 dressed to 
 e late Ad- 
 s to trans- 
 . During 
 measures 
 11 was re- 
 d, and the 
 vcr of the 
 as well as 
 to receive 
 >f Justice, 
 ompensed 
 of £1,000 
 for life, 
 iellency to 
 me signal 
 »pe Bado- 
 encv, the 
 icst of the 
 est of the 
 ig paid to 
 utho rising 
 
 the payment of a pension of £800 a year, to Dame Louise 
 Philippe Badelard. The whole was most cheerful ly agreed 
 to by all the parties interested, and thus was the Legislative 
 Assembly of Lower Canada betrayed and dealt with for' 
 the consideration of a few thousand pieces of silver. On 
 the 17th of Marcli, Sir John Sherbrooke intimated by mes- 
 sage that he had conferred upon the two honorable Speakers 
 the salaries of £1,000 each per annum. Two days after- 
 wards, Mr. Sherwood moved that the message of the late 
 Administrator-in-CMiief should not be considered until the 
 27th of March, and that a call of the Mouse should be made 
 for that day. ]SIr. Ogden, however, bluntly moved for the 
 discharge of the order of the da}-, and that the subject 
 should not be takeji into consideration at ali during the 
 session. The debate was loud and long continued. James 
 Stuart and Andrew Stuart wore brilliant ; the Gugys, the 
 McCords, and the Ogdens, were dumb. The Vezinas, the 
 Vigers, the Panels, the Languedocs, and the Badeaux, had 
 changed sides. Night came and still the debate continued, 
 the midnight hour was passed and yet the war of words was 
 fiercely going on, and morning came only to find the im- 
 peachments, which the Assembly had so long cherished, 
 finally buried in oblivion, by 22 votes in favor of the abrupt 
 motion of Mr. Ogden, while there were only 10 votes 
 against it. Mr. Stuart was abandoned. There was now a 
 greater than he to lead the Assembly. Sir John Coape 
 Sherbrooke thoroughly understood the materials with which 
 he had to deal, and he dealt with them accordingly. The 
 Assembly had no longer independence : spirit, self-respect, 
 power was sacrificed for tluit which gives wisdom to the 
 foolish and judgment to the weak. The sum of £55,000 
 was appropriated for the improvement of roads, canals, and 
 bridges; £2,000 was voted for the encouragement of inocu- 
 lation with vaccine virus as a preventative of small pox ; the 
 revenue for 1816 was £144,625 ; the expenditure £75,638, 
 less £24,495, the proportion of duties payable to Upper Ca- 
 nada for 1815 ; the expensel^ of the legislature for the fame 
 
■ I' 
 
 'I ■ 
 
 
 ;iiIK BANK.< OF QIKBKC AND MOXTKEAL. 
 
 181 
 
 1. 
 
 period were i;3,203 currency ; the salaries of the judges were 
 now ,£1,000 currency per annum each, and yet at the disposal 
 of the legislature there was the sum of X140,153.* The 
 session was closed on the 22nd of March, by receiving the 
 thanks of the Governor General for the extraordinary appli- 
 cation to business which had distinguished this session from 
 any preceding session of the parliament of Lower Canada. 
 
 In the course of the summer (1817) three hundred and 
 three vessels with five thousand three hundred and seventy- 
 five new settlers had arrived at Quebec, and banks were 
 established both in Montreal and Quebec, named after the 
 cities in which they were set afloat. About the 16th of 
 November it w^as remarked that the Montreal Bank had 
 commenced with quite an unexpected confidence from every 
 part of the community, so much so that the merchants were 
 realising more convenience from it than they ever antici- 
 pated; and that since it had commenced business, the pro- 
 fits were reported to have been immense. ■ . 
 
 In 1816, a settlement of emigrants was begun, under the 
 direction of the militar}', in Bathurst, Drummond, Beckwith 
 and Golbourne. The first settlers of Canada had a free pas- 
 sage afforded them from the United Kingdom, and were 
 provided with rations and tools on their arrival in the co- 
 lony. In 1816, rations and tools were furnished to 2,000 
 emigrants, who came out at their own expense, and in 1817 
 multitudes came out in the expectation of being favored in 
 the same way, but were disappointed, nothing having been 
 given to them but 100 acres of land each, which many of 
 them were too poor to occupy.f There were not yet seven 
 persons to the square mile, in the Upper Province. There 
 were only twenty places of worship and thirty-five resident 
 preachers:— fifteen methodists, five baptists, four quakere, 
 three presbyterians, three Roman Catholics, three episco- 
 palians, one tunker and one menouist — in the "Western, 
 London, Gore, and Niagara districts, with a population of 
 
 • Cbristio's History, page 290. 
 
 t Gotirlay's Cniiarla. ^)age .ViH, vol. /, 
 
1817. 
 
 181 
 
 1.4 
 
 YuUK A.\I> KlN'<i.Slu\. 
 
 320 
 
 \cre& were 
 Q disposal 
 J.* The 
 iving the 
 ary appli- 
 sion from 
 r Canada, 
 dred and 
 i seventy- 
 inks were 
 after tlic 
 lie 15th of 
 3ank had 
 ram every 
 lants w^ere 
 -er antici- 
 s, the pro- 
 
 undcr the 
 Beckwith 
 a free pas- 
 and were 
 in the co- 
 d to 2,000 
 in 1817 
 ■avored in 
 ving been 
 
 many of 
 yet seven 
 There 
 e resident 
 
 quakers, 
 ee episco- 
 "Westcrn, 
 Illation of 
 
 e. 
 
 20,977 souls; antl there wero for the same popuhilion. 20 
 medical practitioners, 132 schools, 11-1 tavonis, 180 stores, 
 79 grist-mills, and 110 saw-mills. The Ilonio district coii- 
 itained 7,700 people ; the Ncwciistlo, 5,000 ; the Midland, 
 14,853; the Johnstown, 9,200; the Eastern, 12,700; and 
 .the Ottawa, 1,500 ; the total population of Upper Canada 
 being then estimated at 83,250 souls. York, the capital of 
 the Upper Province, situated on a beautiful plain, in a rich 
 soil, and temperate climate, was, at this period, more than a 
 mile and a half in length. It was laid out in regular streets, 
 lots, and squares, having the garrison, and the site of the 
 parliament house on its two wings, and a market near the 
 centre. There was a public square open to the water. 
 Many neat and some elegant houses had been erected. The 
 town had a mixed appearance of city and country. King- 
 ston was yet the town of most note and indeed, in every 
 respect, tlie most entitled to civic consideration ot' any town 
 then in the province. Parallel with its spacious and conve- 
 nient harbour were the streets, at convenient distances from 
 each other, and intersected, at right angles, by cross streets, 
 dividing the town into squares. One square was an open 
 public area in front of the Court House, and gaol, and epis- 
 copal ehurch. The market was held in that area. But 
 there were other public buildings in Kingston, besides the 
 Court House, gaol, and episcopal church. There was a new 
 catholic church, a barracks for the troops in garrison, an 
 hospital, and a residence for the commandant. The town 
 consisted of 300 private dwelling houses, a number of ware- 
 houses and stores, about 50 shops, in which goods were sold, 
 several public offices, a respectable district school, a vahni- 
 ble library, mechanics' shops &c. The Court House, gaol, 
 Catholic Church, and the principal dwelling houses were 
 built of the bluish limestone obtained in large quantities in 
 the middje of the town ; but were more substantial than 
 elegant in design. Kingston wanted a populous back coun- 
 try then, and still wants it because the soil is stoney and not 
 therefore so well adapted for agricultural operations as the 
 

 sao 
 
 FIK5T 8Ti:\MKK.S O.V THK LAKKS. 
 
 181 
 
 « . 
 
 h. 
 
 soils ot other parts of tlie province. The Upper, as well a& 
 the Lower province had protitted by tlie circulation of army 
 bills and by the requirements of the troops. Government 
 transactions had given a spirit to trade and industry, and 
 only for a system of <>'()vernment, which, as far as any gov- 
 ernment can do, crushed enterprise and fettered trade, both 
 provinces would have so tiourished immediately after the 
 war that tlie reaction which the withdrawal of a few troops 
 produced would scarcely have been felt. As matters stood 
 the provinces were already tlourisliing, and schemes of im- 
 prov6ment were everywhere in contemplation. Steam na- 
 vigation, which had proved so useful on the St. Lawrence, 
 and had, as it were, drawn, the two chief cities of the Lower 
 Province more closely together, was about to be attempted 
 on Lake Ontario. Already the keel of a steamboat, to be 
 170 feet on deck, was in process of construction at the vil- 
 lage of Ernest-town, for certain gentlemen resident in King- 
 etcm. If possible, tlio new boat was to transport both goods 
 and passengers for the whole extent between Queenston and 
 Prescott. It was, however, feared that the rough water of 
 the lake would be too much for any steamer to contend 
 against. The Americans were also building a smaller 
 steamboat at Sackett's Harbour. A year later and the 
 steamboat Walk-in-ihc- Water, plied between Black Rock, 
 near Buiialo and Detroit, on Lake Erie, occasionally to M.i- 
 chillimackinac. 
 
 The legislative aiFairs of the Upper Province have as yet 
 hardly warranted comment. There were so very few people 
 in the province for whom legislation was necessary, and 
 there was so much sameness about the business transacted 
 in parliament that comment was barely needful. At first 
 sight it seems that all went smoothly. There could not 
 have been factionists where there were no French people 
 entertaining seditious ideas and cherishing revQlutionaiy 
 projects. But Red-tapism is everywhere the same. In 
 Upper as in Lower Canada, there were only two legislative 
 branches, a Lower, or People's House, a Crown, or Upper 
 
181' 
 
 i8r 
 
 GOVi;i{\.VIKNT uK riM'KU CANMjV. 
 
 8;il 
 
 a-5 well as 
 Dii ofarray 
 [)vernment 
 iistry, and 
 s any gov- 
 :ra(le, both 
 
 after the 
 tow troops 
 tavA stood 
 [lies of iin- 
 
 iSteam ua- 
 Lawrenee, 
 the Lower 
 
 attempted 
 boat, to be 
 
 at the vil- 
 iit in King- 
 both goods 
 enston and 
 h water of 
 o contend 
 
 a smaller 
 r and the 
 ick Rock, 
 ally to Mi- 
 
 lave as yet 
 few people 
 3sary, and 
 transacted 
 At first 
 could not 
 ch people 
 glutionaiy 
 same. In 
 legislative 
 or Upper 
 
 Hoiiso. Thore was* also a ctMtiiin anioiint of ('n»wii influ- 
 ence in the Lower House, wliich made coustitulional guv- 
 ernment a shum. Tlio freedom of speech was not eren per- 
 mitted to some momhcrs of the Assembly ; and it was quiie 
 impossible to hint at corruption in those times, I'ar less to 
 insist upon the nomination of a corruption roinmittt;e. Tlien; 
 was a continued interruption of harmonious intercourses be- 
 tween the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assem- 
 bly. As the Assembly of Lower Canada liad done and had 
 been treated with regard to an oifer to defray the expenses 
 of the civil list, so precise!}' had the Assembly of Upper 
 Canada acted, tind so had tliey been treated, wlien an ex- 
 actly similar oifer was made. And why ? because the le- 
 gislative and executive functions wei'c united in the same 
 persons. His Majesty's Executive Council was almost wholly 
 composed of the members of the Legislative Counc^il. Both 
 Councils then consisted of the Deputy 8u})erintcndent Gen- 
 eral of the Indian Department, the Receiver General, the 
 Inspecitor General, the Chief elustiee, the ISpeaker of the 
 Legislative Council, and the Honorable and Reverend Chap- 
 lain of the Legislative Council. The Upper House was the 
 mere instrument of some designing confidential secretary 
 to a weak-minded or, at least, credulous governor. Nay, it 
 was said that *•' rufiian magistrates" abounded in those days 
 along the banks of the St. Lawrence, from Brockville to 
 d/ornwall, inclusive, the Lieutenant-Governor being held in 
 leading strings, by the Honorable and Reverend Chaplain 
 of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada and one of His 
 Majesty's Executive Councillors for that province.* It is 
 indeed asserted that after the passage of the Sedition Act of 
 1804, the misrule of Upper Canada came to a pitch so ex- 
 traordinary, that it was exclaimed against from the Bench, 
 while a jury applauded. Governor Gore appeared to have 
 been creating at the same time, and with the same efltcct, 
 those ti'easonable practices which were so pleasing to Mr. 
 
 Gourlay, pagi.- 512, vol. 2. 
 

 (132 
 
 PMU.SlX'lTin.NS I'mU uPlMON .S SAKK. 
 
 i«r 
 
 Witftliis Ryliiiul, ill TiOwor Canada, and wljicli liud evidently 
 been stirred up, by the uien-in-oftice, with the view of de- 
 priving both provinces of tlio " exact image and transcript 
 of the British eonstiliition," witli which tlic Canadas liad 
 been favored in 1791. Until the invasion, in 1811, political 
 discontent was loud and incessant, as well in Upper us in 
 Lower Canada ; and it was the misrepresentations of the 
 governing party and the outcries of the governed in both 
 provinces, that induced thegovernmejit of the United states 
 to make war, on false pretences, upon the government of 
 Great Britain. There were persecutions for opinion's sake 
 in Upper as in Lower Canada. The newspaper was as 
 odious to the government in one province as in the other. 
 In 180t>, a sherift' of the Home District, in opposition to the 
 will of the Governor, voted at an election. lie lost the 
 shrievalty for his stubborn independence. Thrown upon 
 his own resources, he established a newspaper, which he 
 called The Up'per Canada Guardian^ or Ficcman's Journal. 
 Jle spoke with considerable freedom of the governor. lie 
 attacked the ministerial party. He exhibited abuses with 
 wonderful dexterity and skill. The ex-sherift', Joseph Wil- 
 cocks, was rapidly rising into note. It was time to restrain 
 him. A Captain Cowan was induced to be his persecutor. 
 The truth rapidly becoming dangerous to those whose busi- 
 ness consists in concealing the truth, cannot always be told 
 with safety. Wilcocks alleged that the Governor or his Ex- 
 ecutive Council had bribed several members of the Assem- 
 bly with land, to induce them to vote against the interests 
 of their constituents. Captain Cowan knew that the asser- 
 tion was without foundation. "Wilcocks was prosecuted but 
 was acquitted, gained popularity in return for his persecu- 
 tion, and ultimately obtained a seat in parliament. There 
 was no more freedom for Wilcocks in parliament than out 
 of it. For some extra freedom of speech on the floor of the 
 House, he was thrust into prison. Nevertheless, he acquired 
 an ascendancy in the Assembly, to the great regret of the 
 ininibterialists. He became still more the object of govern- 
 
l.sl' 
 
 1817. 
 
 JOSKI'II U'lLCOCKS, M. P. P. 
 
 ;133 
 
 , evidently 
 iew of de- 
 transeript 
 iiadas liad 
 I, politieal 
 'ppcr as lit 
 3119 of the 
 ed in both 
 ited 8tatc8 
 }rumeut of 
 ion's sake 
 or was as 
 the other, 
 tion to the 
 lost the 
 rown upon 
 , which he 
 's Journal. 
 prnor. lie 
 )uses with 
 )8eph Wil- 
 to restrain 
 jcrsecutor. 
 diose busi- 
 lys be told 
 or his Ex- 
 le Assem- 
 interesta 
 the asser- 
 ecuted but 
 .8 persecu- 
 It. There 
 t than out 
 ■oor of the 
 e acquired 
 ret of the 
 f govern- 
 
 mental wrath, and when the war broke out, he was deprived 
 of his paper. In 1812, he fought as a volunteer against the 
 Americans, lie was present at the battle of Queonston. 
 lie did all that within him lay, for his country and for his 
 king; but the government of the province hated and perse- 
 cuted him, so that starving and exusperiited,* he deserted to 
 the enemy, carrying with him a corps of Canadians. Joseph 
 Wilcocks, who was an Irishman of good family, and who 
 was persecuted by the ofKce-men of Upper Canada, to the 
 prejudice and without the knowledge of the British govern- 
 ment, was driven into hostile opposition to JJrituin by the 
 most petty and contemptil)le tyranny of a few fellow colon- 
 ists holding office, and was killed during the siege of Fort 
 Erie. Had war occurred while Sir James Craig held Bedard 
 in gaol and kept the Canadicn printing press in the vaults 
 of the Court House, at Quebec, it is difficult to say whether 
 a feeling very difterent to that elicited by the prudent man- 
 agement of Sir George Brevost, might or might not have 
 been exhibited. The government of the province should 
 from the very outset have been only responsible to the 
 people of the province, and Great Britain have only main- 
 tained in acknowledgement of her supremacy a military 
 protectorate of British North America. But Francis Gore, 
 Esquire, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, again met 
 the parliament of that province, on the 6th of Januaiy, 
 1816. The business done consisted in an Act to alter the 
 time of holding Courts of Quarter Sessions in the London 
 and Johnstown districts, an Act to repeal part of the Act 
 constituting the counties of Prescott and Russell a separate 
 district, under the name of the District of Ottawa ; an Act 
 to make more eft'ectual provision for the collection of the re- 
 venue ; an Act to provide for the appointment of lleturning 
 Officers ; an Act to extend tlic jurisdiction of the Court of 
 Requests ; an Act to provide, for a limited time, for the ap- 
 pointment of a Provincial Aid-de-Camp, to be appointed by 
 
 * Ooiirl!»v, page 316, vol. 'i. 
 
•.. .''I' 
 
 884 
 
 ACTS OF IIIK ll'l'ini CANADA MltJ I.-I.ATCKIi. 
 
 1817. 
 
 the Governor, siiid to liavo ton Hliilliiii^s a cUiy in wur, ami 
 tivo sliilIiM_i''.s a diiy in fx-aco ; an A«'t to provi(ii> ,£10r> a your 
 tor tho A(ljntunl-( itnioral uf Militia; an Ai-t to ojuililo the 
 iiovornor to o.stahli.ili ono or moro additional ports of entry ; 
 an Act tororniinorato Williiim Dunimor I'ovvtdl, Esquire, in 
 tho sum of i:l,<)t)U, for las ^orviccs in ascertaining titles to 
 hind ; an Act rcpoalinLT part of an Act; for !:;ranting ito His 
 Majesty an a<lditional <hity *>n shop and tavern licences ; an 
 Act to ann'iid an Act to prevent danni;i>'c to travellers on tho 
 hiii'hways ; an Act to grant relief to C'atJjerine McLeod, 
 wlu)se !son was ]<illed in war; an Act to relieve Charlotte 
 Overholt wliose hushand liad heen peculiarly killed; an Act 
 to extend the limits of tho town of isiagara ; an Act grant- 
 ing £li)\), as a ]»rovision for tlie contingent exi)enses of both 
 Houses of Parliament ; an Act to relievo persons holding 
 lands in tlie district of Niagara, whose title deeds, convey- 
 ances, or wills, had been destroytid when the enemy burnt 
 the town ; an Act to continue the Act for the appointment 
 of Keturning O.^Kcers ; an Act to alter and extend the pro- 
 visions of tho Act granting i)ensions to the wndows and 
 children of persons killed in the king's service; an Act au- 
 thorising the construction of a gaol and Court House in the 
 town of York ; an Act to erect the District of Gore out of 
 certain parts of the Itome and Xiagara Districts ; an Act 
 granting ^£425 4s. 6d. to several ins[)ectors who disbursed 
 that amount for teamwork and the apprehension of desert- 
 ers ; an Act to revive the Act attbrding relief to persons en- 
 titled to claim lands in the province, as heirs or devisoc' of 
 the nominees of the Crown, in cases where no pp jnt had 
 issued ; an Act to grant annually, for four y ^470, as an 
 
 increase to the salaries of certain ofHcers of , Council anu 
 Assembly ; an Act granting £513 for the repair of certain 
 highways ; an Act appropriating £800 for the purchase of 
 books for the formation of a library for the use of both 
 Houses ; an Act to continue an Act to facilitate the circula- 
 tion of Lower Canada army bills ; an x\ct appropriating 
 cC2,500 ajinually for defraying the expenses of the civil ad- 
 
i. 1817. 
 
 Ill wur, aiiil 
 t:l Gr> II year 
 omiMo tli»; 
 ts of entry ; 
 Esiiuire, in 
 ufT titles to 
 ting to Mis 
 L'cnocH ; an 
 Hers on the 
 e McLeod, 
 [i Clmrlotte 
 led ; an Act 
 I Act grant- 
 i.ses of both 
 ma holding 
 ds, convey- 
 nemy burnt 
 ippointment 
 iud the pro- 
 widows and 
 an Act au- 
 oune in the 
 Gore out of 
 ets; an Act 
 disbursed 
 u of desert- 
 persons en- 
 devi HOC" of 
 T>v lit had 
 v-lTO, as av 
 'ounoil anu 
 I- o' (-ertain 
 purchase of 
 use of both 
 the circula- 
 )propriating 
 the civil ad- 
 
 1817. 
 
 Cn.VTlM I;D. 
 
 1111- 
 
 niinistrution of the jxoveninient ; an Ad tu iiici-case tiie 
 salaiy of the pre.sent kS|)eala'r of tiie A^si-nibly, and to re- 
 mutjerate tlio present iSpeaker for past sorviees, granting 
 X800 as four years' additioniil salary, and, in future, X'200 
 to be paid unnually, in a<lditit)n to the foi'nior annual pay- 
 ment of c£:iO0 ; an Act regulaling the inulo between the 
 llhited States and the province', permitting the (lovernor to 
 make regulations as to duties, hut not [trohibiling tlio ad- 
 mission of wheat, tionr, ])e:is, beans, oat.-», barley, and all 
 other artich's of provision and travellers' baggage; an Act 
 to continue for a limited tinu* the provisioiud agreement en- 
 tered into between Upper and Lower Canada, relative to 
 duties; an Act ap])ropriatiiig XMih 7s. 8<1., to remunerate 
 Elizabeth Wright, whose husband was a tailor, for uiilitia 
 clothing; an Act ai»pro[»riatiiig X1,000 as an encouragement 
 for the cultivation of lu'inp ; an Act regulating the police 
 within the town of Kingston; an Act granting to Ills Ma- 
 jesty duties on licences to hawkers, pedlars, and petty chap- 
 men, and other trading i)ersons ; £10 to l»e the cost of a 
 license to a person travelling on foot; XIO for every horse, 
 ass. mule, or other heast of burden ; X't for every other 
 beast; £50 for a decked vessel; £40 for eveiy boat; and: 
 for everv non-resident of the province £50 a vear; an Act 
 providing a salary of £500 a year for a I'rovineial Agent in 
 (freat Britain, to correspoiul with the Governor and with 
 the Speakers of the Legislative Asseml)ly and Legislative 
 Council, who was to be ren\oved on addresses i'rom the Le- 
 gislative Council and Legislative Asseuil)ly ; an Act grant- 
 ing £6,000 to His Majesty for the use of common schools ; 
 to the Home District £600 annually ; to the District of New- 
 castle £400 ; to the Midland District £1,000 ; to the District 
 of Johnstown £600 ; to the Eastei-n District £800 ; to the 
 London District £600; to the Gore District £600; to the 
 Niagara District £600 ; to the AV^estern District £600 ; and 
 to the Ottawa District £200; an Act granting £21,000 for 
 the building and repairing of bridges and for the repairing 
 of highways ; an Act granting £1.000 to defray the ex- 
 
r^F^ 
 
 300 
 
 THE PUOllOiJAIION. 
 
 1817. 
 
 pauses of uiiy coiiiinii5sion for ascertaining titles to lands m 
 the Niagara District ; and an Act to repeal and amend part 
 of an Act for laying out and repairing the public liighvvaya. 
 
 Parliament was again assembled on the 4th of February, 
 1817, by Governor Gore, during the session of which an Act 
 was passed providing for the representation of the commons 
 of the counties of Wentworth and Ilalton in parliament ; 
 also an Act to establish a police in the towns of York, Sand- 
 wich, and Amherstburg; an Act granting to His Majesty 
 =£2,578 for the administration of justice ; £900 for the 
 Lieutenant-Governor's Office; =£737 lor the Office of the 
 Receiver General ; X2,300 for the Surveyor General's De- 
 partment; X650 for the Executive Council Office: <£86 for 
 the Crown Office ; .£90 for the Attorney General's Office ; 
 iJlOO for the Secretary's Office ; j£200 for the Registrar of 
 the Pi'ovince ; XG20 for the Inspector General's Office ; 
 .£620 foi pensions to wounded officers ; j£400 for four cler- 
 gymen ; .£50 for one minister of the Gospel ; <£200 for re- 
 pairs to Government House ; and £500 for casual and inci^ 
 dental expenses ; an Act to establish a market in the town 
 of Kiagara ; an Act to repeal, amend and extend the Act 
 granting pensions to persons disabled in the service, and to 
 the widows and children of persons killed in war; an Act 
 granting £1,576 Os. 8d. for the clerks and for the contin- 
 gencies of the last session of parliament ; an Act in part 
 repealing and in part altering and amending an Act pro- 
 viding for the appointment of parish and town officers ; an 
 Act to continue the Act making provision for certain she- 
 riffs ; and an Act to enable the commissioner of gaol deli- 
 very and Oyer and Terminer to proceed, although the Court 
 of King's Bench be sitting in the Home District, for which 
 thev are commissioned. 
 
 This parliament was prorogued suddenly and unexpect- 
 edly, on the 7th of April, 1817. The sudden prorogation 
 was resorted to because the Assembly had, on. the 3rd of 
 April, resolved itself into a committee of the whole to take 
 into consideration the state of the province. The propriety 
 
1817 
 
 1817. 
 
 ruUKIdN PUOTKSTAVr.S — PRORuviATIOX, 
 
 •>ot 
 
 to lands m 
 mend part 
 higlivvaysv 
 Fel)ruary, 
 ich an Act 
 ! commons 
 arl lament ; 
 ork, Sand- 
 is Majesty 
 >0 for the 
 ice of the 
 leral's Dc- 
 ; : ^36 for 
 I's Office; 
 ,egistrar of 
 I's Office; 
 four clor- 
 200 forre- 
 and inci^ 
 the town 
 d the Act 
 ice, and to 
 ir ; an Act 
 ic contin- 
 Lct in part 
 1 Act pro- 
 fficers; an 
 srtain sho- 
 ' gaol deli- 
 , the Court 
 for which 
 
 unexpect- 
 rorogation 
 he 3rd of 
 ole to take 
 ? prop rie Iv- 
 
 or expediency of preventing immii ration from the United 
 States, was to be discussed ; the management of the Post 
 Office Gstablishmeiit was to be examined into ; the manner 
 of the disposal of tlie Crown and, Cleray Koserves was to be 
 looked at; and the granting lands to tho volunteer Hank 
 companies, and the incorporated militia wlio served during 
 the late war, was to be investigated. It was resolved to 
 present an address to the Lieutenant-Governor, requesting 
 him to inform the Assembly, whether any orders had been 
 received from England, making an allotmont of land.-^ to the 
 volunteer ami incorporated militia, who served during 
 the war. The Assembly further resolved that an Act had 
 been passed in the reign of George the Second, for natu- 
 lizing sucli foreign protestants as were then or should there- 
 after be settled in any of His Majesty's colonies in North 
 A.meriea ; that an Act had been passed in the thirtieth 
 year of the reign of George the Third, for encouraging new 
 settlers in His Majesty's Xorth American colonies ; and that 
 these Acts were expressly enacted for facilitating and en- 
 couraging the settlement of His Majesty's American domi- 
 nions. 
 
 The good resolutions of the Assembly were, however, 
 frustrated by His Excellency the Governor, who, having as- 
 sented to several bills, and reserved for His Majesty's plea- 
 sure, a bill for a Bank and another to enable creditors to sue 
 joint debtors separately, summoned the Commons to the Bar 
 of the Legislative Council, and thus addressed the Parlia- 
 ment : — The session of the legislature has been protracted 
 by an unusual interruption of business at its commencement 
 and your longer absence from your respective avocations 
 must be too great a sacrifice for the objects which may re- 
 main to occupy your attention. I come to close the session 
 and 80 permit you to return home. In accepting the sup- 
 ply for defraying the deficiency of the funds which have 
 hitherto served to meet the charges of the administration of 
 justice, and support of the civil government of thid province, 
 
 a2 
 
T 
 
 3^8 
 
 dt;uand s I'akliamektaky uhvi.. 
 
 1817. 
 
 i . 
 
 ■ ' ' 
 
 I'' <: 
 
 It . 
 
 I have groat satif^faction in acknowledging the readiness 
 manifested to meet this exigence. 
 
 In this session of parliament, Mr. James Durand, a mem- 
 ber of the AssembW, for Wentworth, was accused of hav- 
 iii'T issued an address to his free and independent electors, 
 which was a libel upon tlie Lieutenant-Governor, and a 
 gross, false, and malicious libel on the members of the late 
 House of Assembly. Mr. Durand admitted the publication 
 of the address, but denied that he had spoken disrespectfully 
 of the Governor, and asserted, on his honor, that he never 
 had any intention of doing so. If any gentleman, how- 
 ever, believed that he had abused him, whether intention- 
 ally or unintentionally, he was prepared to give him that 
 satisfaction which was due from one gentleman to another. 
 Mr. !N"ichol was surprised that any gentleman should have 
 made an appeal to the laws of honor. The people of Went- 
 worth had sent Mr. Durand to parliament to be their legis- 
 lator, not their gladiator. Mr. Jones adduced authority 
 from Blackstone to prove the right of the House to enquire 
 into the libel — to prevent bloodshed. Mr. Durand contended 
 that the House had no authority to try him, and even if it 
 had, the jury should be impartial, whereas several members 
 of the House felt themselves to be implicated in the charge 
 against him. Mr. Nichol considered that honour demanded 
 that all the members should remain to decide the question. 
 Mr. Durand protested against his accuser, and spoke flatter- 
 ingly of the Governor, whom he had not calumniated. Mr. 
 Speaker rose to say that no explanation to the House would 
 do away with the malice of the publication. The paper was 
 before the world, wiiicli would draw its own inferences. Ho 
 thought there was no doubt about its being a libel on the 
 Lieutenant-Governor and the Honorable the Legislative 
 Council, but he was not prepared to say how far the House 
 could take cognizance of a libel against any former House 
 of Parliament. A false, scandalous and malicious libel was 
 accordingly reported. Mr. Nichol moved for Mr. Duraiid's 
 <^'omrnitta] to ;raoI. Mr. McNabb moved in amendment. 
 
1817. 
 eadinesa 
 
 , a mem- 
 
 l of hav- 
 
 electors, 
 
 , and a 
 
 tlie laUi 
 
 blication 
 
 pectfully 
 
 lie never 
 
 m, liow- 
 
 itention- 
 
 lim that 
 
 another. 
 
 lid have 
 
 )fWent- 
 
 ir legis- 
 
 luthority 
 
 > enquire 
 
 >ntended 
 
 ven if it 
 
 nembers 
 
 e charge 
 
 imanded 
 
 uestion. 
 
 ! flatter- 
 
 d. Mr. 
 
 e would 
 
 iper was 
 
 es. lie 
 
 on the 
 
 ^islative 
 
 3 House 
 
 House 
 
 bel was 
 
 urand'R 
 
 drnc.nt. 
 
 1818 
 
 DUllAXD IMPRISONED — WYATT VS. GORE. 
 
 339 
 
 that Mr. Durand be required to appear at the Bar of the 
 House and apologize, the apology to be published in the 
 Upper Canada Gazette, Si. Catherines Spectator^ and the Mon- 
 treal Herald, which amendment was lost by a majority of 
 three against it. The original motion was carried by the 
 same majority, when Mr. Nichol moved for the commitment 
 of James Durand, Esquire, to the common gaol of the dis- 
 trict, during the session, which was carried in the affirma- 
 tive, by a majority of four! 
 
 His Excellency, Francis Gore, soon after this returned to 
 England, and was prosecuted in London, by the Surveyor- 
 General of Upper Canada, whom he had deprived of office 
 maliciously and without cause. The Court in London gave 
 Mr. Wyatt, as plaintiff, damages to the amount of £300.*. 
 Governor Gore was succeeded in the administration of Upper 
 Canada, by the Honorable Samuel Smith, on the 11th of 
 June, 1817. The Little Pedlington proceedings of the Up- 
 per Canada parliament, during this reign, are hardly worthy 
 of remark. The same spirit still continued to actuate both 
 Council and Assembly, and the Governor lorded it over 
 both. The voice of the people was remarkable for nothing 
 but its weakness. 
 
 Sir John Sherbrooke met the parliament of Lower Canada 
 again on the 7th of January, 1818. He informed the Houses 
 that he had distributed the seed wheat and other grain, for 
 which a large sum had been voted during the previous ses- 
 sion, so immediately that the relief had been attended with 
 the happiest consequences. He had been commanded by 
 the Regent to call upon the provincial legislature to vote the 
 sums necessary for the ordinary expenditure of the province. 
 He would lay before the Assembly an estimate of the sums 
 required. He would also submit the accounts of the reve- 
 nue and expenditure for the past year. And he anticipated 
 a continuance of that loyalty and zeal which had prompted 
 the Assembly to offer to meet the expenses of the govern- 
 
 — ,.— ... ■ .1 -- — _.. ■ ... I. ...I ^ ■■ ■ ■ . . ..—I . — — ■■■ - ■-..^■1 . 1^ , -.11 
 
 ' It is not u little curious that the judge in sumuiing up the evidence in this 
 case speaks of Upper Canada being an island. 
 
■M ''if 
 
 340 
 
 LOWER CANADA CIVIL LIST, 
 
 1818. 
 
 ' r 
 
 % 
 
 §. 
 
 r. ■■■• 
 
 ;! 
 
 ment. The Assembly were proud that their offer had been 
 accepted. The public was satisfied that the settlement of 
 the civil list, and the controul of the public expenditure, 
 should rest with the Assembly, and the reply to the speech 
 from the throne was a simple affirmative. Sir John Sher- 
 brooke had informed Lord Bathurst that the permanent ex- 
 penditure actually exceeded the revenue by nearly the sum 
 of £19,000 a year ; and that there was a debt due to the 
 provincial chest from the imperial treasury of £120,000. 
 The salaries of the clergy and pensioners never had been 
 laid before the Assembly, but had been thrown into a sepa- 
 rate list, and although paid in the first instance out of the 
 civil chest had, nevertheless, invariably been provided for 
 out of the extraordinaries of the army. He further inform- 
 ed the secretary for the colonics that, in his opinion, it was 
 desirable that the civil list should be wholly provided for by 
 the province. Lord Bathurst did not fail to take into consi- 
 deration the accumulation, during four years, of the annual 
 excess of the actual expenditure, beyond the appropriated 
 revenue of each year. He quite concurred in the opinion 
 expressed by Sir John Sherbrooke, that the annual settle- 
 ment of the accounts of the province and the government 
 at home would have been at once the most expedient course 
 and most likely to prevent any interruption of a mutual 
 good understanding. Short accounts make long friends. As 
 related to the past, it was a question whether the legislature 
 might not fairly be considered as having sanctioned the ap- 
 propriation, the extra appropriation of the funds, by not ob- 
 jecting to it, when submitted to their notice, or whether any 
 further measures were required for legalizing the appropria- 
 tion itself, or for repaying the debt, which, under other cir- 
 cumstances, might be considered due to the province. With 
 respect to some part of the expenditure, the silence of the 
 legislature must be interpreted into an approbation of it, for 
 they could not but think themselves bound to make good 
 the deficiency of the funds appropriated by themselves to 
 «pecifio objects. Huoh as the charge for the Trinity House. 
 
1818. 
 
 1818. 
 
 TIIK INbTllUCTlONS — FULCnEU. 
 
 341 
 
 and the payment of the ofKeers of the legitslature, whicli 
 had uniformly exceeded tlie funds raised under the Impe- 
 rial Acts. He saw no objection to considering the silent 
 admission of ^he accounts, submitted to them, as an implied 
 approbation of the accounts themselves, and of the manner 
 in which they had been discharged. But with respect to 
 the future, he considered it advisable that the legislature 
 sliould be annually called upon to vote all the sums required 
 for the annual expenditure of the province. The House was 
 to be prepared for the probable contingency of voting that 
 part of the civil list which provided for the stipends of the 
 Roman Catholic Clergy, and omitting the other part which 
 had reference to the Protestant establishment. The Gov- 
 ernor in such case was to use every means in his power to 
 prevent a partial provision from passing the Upper House, 
 and if it did pass there, he was to withhold his assent. He 
 called the Governor's attention to the necessity of vigilantly 
 watching and guarding against any assumption, on the part 
 of the Legislative Assembly, of a power to dispose of mo- 
 nev, without the concurrence of the other branch of the 
 legislature. This great concession, with which every body 
 was so pleased, was due to the sagacity of Sir John Sher- 
 brooke. He saw how easily it was to be turned to favorable 
 account. He saw that the Assembly would be extraordina- 
 rily well pleased ; and he further saw that the full power of 
 the public chest was all that the Assembly required to be 
 fully in the power of the government. In a word, they only 
 needed the money power to corrupt and to be corrupted. 
 
 An address to the Governor was next adopted, requesting 
 His Excellency to state whether or not the Prince Regent 
 had forwarded to him instructions concerning the impeach- 
 ment of the Honorable Louis Charles Foucher, one of the 
 Judges of the King's Bench. Sir John Sherbrooke had had 
 a conversation with Mr. Ryland on the subject. The Clerk 
 of the Executive Council, and member of the Legislative 
 Council, had even put his opinion in writing, respecting the 
 mode in which it might be most advieable to carry into exc- 
 
342 
 
 ADJUDICATION OF IMrEACllMl::^'Iij. 
 
 1818. 
 
 cutiou the instructions contained in the despatch of Lord 
 Bathurst, dated on the 5th of July, 1817. lie was strongly 
 of opinion that the advice given to Sir John to convey a 
 judicial power to the Legislative Council, by commission, 
 was founded in error. The House of Assembly had ac- 
 quired, by dint of perseverance, and a gradual exercise of 
 privilege, during a period of six and twenty years, some of 
 the most important privileges that attached to the House of 
 Commons, one of which was the power of preferring im- 
 peachments against such public officers of the Crown in the 
 colony as they might deem deserving of punishment or/ re- 
 moval from office; and, as a counterbalancing influence, in 
 the case of Mr. Justice Foucher, and in all similar cases of 
 impeachment by the Assembly, the adjudication of the 
 charges preferred against the party accused was to be left to 
 the Legislative Council, it being added to the instruction, 
 as a reason for the concession, that the party accused could 
 sustain but little injury from a temporary suspension, while, 
 if ultimately pronounced guilty, the advantage of an imme- 
 diate suspension was unquestionable. Mr. Ryland con- 
 ceived that no other power or privilege was, however, in- 
 tended to be conveyed by the despatch to the Legislative 
 Council than that of sitting, as grand jurors of the pro- 
 vince, upon accusations brought by the Assembly against 
 the public servants of the Crown, and that if the charges 
 brought by the Lower House were considered by the Coun- 
 cil as valid. His Majesty would then exercise the Royal Pre- 
 rogative, either by suspending from office or dismissing 
 from his service the party accused. He was strongly of 
 opinion that a communication of the substance of that 
 despatch by a solemn message to both Houses of the Provin- 
 eial Parliament, would be the utmost that either House 
 could reasonably require to enable them to proceed to a final 
 adjudication, as far as the Crown intended they should pro- 
 ceed, upon accusations preferred against individuals b}^ the 
 Assembly. He was astonished at the line of argument 
 adopted before His Excellency for the purpose of forcing an 
 
1818. 
 
 1818. 
 
 MR. UYLAND S OPINION. 
 
 ;il3 
 
 analogy between the Court of the Lord Iligli Steward of 
 England and that which it was proposed to establish in Ca- 
 nada. The High Court of Parliament took cognizance only 
 of crimes committed by Peers of the realm, upon indict- 
 ments previously found in the infeiior Courts. He con- 
 tended that Sir John Slierbrookc was not empowered to 
 constitute any tribunal but for the trial of offences recog- 
 nised as such by statute or common Law. If Mr. Justice 
 Foucher was accused of any such oifence, the ordinary tri- 
 bunals of the country could take cognizance of it and in- 
 flict punishment. Mr. Ryland was deeply impressed with 
 the idea that the longer or shorter continuance of the pro- 
 vince as an appendage to the British empire would be de- 
 pendent on the events of the present or coming session of 
 parliament. Mr. Ryland did not relish the idea of the Legis- 
 lative Council being deprived of its constitutional character ])y 
 the supposition even that it might be compelled to adopt a 
 course of proceeding contrary to its own judgment. He 
 thought that the Legislative Council ought to be made par- 
 ties to any accusation adduced against a public officer bj'^ 
 arrangement. There was no precedent for a commission, 
 and indeed, Mr. Ryland was in everj' way opposed to the 
 plan of leaving to the Legislative Council the adjudication 
 of charges preferred against public officers by the Assem- 
 bly. Sir John Sherbrooke could not understand the reason- 
 ing of Mr. Ryland. He agreed with the Clerk of the Exe- 
 cutive Council that a great change w^as to be brought about 
 in the system of the provincial government, especially with 
 respect to its finance ; but, when it was considered that the 
 mother country was "at present" struggling with pecuniary 
 embarrassments, it was not surprising that ministers should 
 call upon the colonies to contribute to their own support. 
 It was very obvious that, ever since the present constitution 
 had been given to Lower Canada, the House of Assembly 
 had been gradually obtaining an increase of power, whilst 
 the Legislative Council remained in statu quo. The proper 
 balance had consequputly been lort and ho knew of no bet- 
 
■•:. ' •■■I 
 
 344 
 
 Tllb: CHAMHLY CANAL. 
 
 1818. 
 
 i * 
 
 ter mode of giving new weight and importance to the Up- 
 per Ilouflo than the measure devised by the Prince Regent 
 that as often as the House of Aaseml)!}' should impeach, the 
 Legislative Council should adjudicate upon the case, and 
 the Council having declared that they had not the power to 
 do so, some more formal instrument than a letter from the 
 Secretary of State to the Governor, to invest the Council 
 with the necessaiy authority to act, would be required. Ta 
 the address of the Assembly an answer was given in a mes- 
 sage to both Houses. The message intimated that the ad- 
 judication of impeachments by the Asseml)ly was to rest 
 with the Legislative Council ; that the Regent trusted that 
 the Council would discharge the imj)ortant duties which thus 
 devolved upon them in such a manner as to give satisfaction 
 to all classes of people in the province ; and that the Gov- 
 ernor, not having had instructions, as to the manner in 
 which the adjudications were to be conducted, would apply 
 to the Regent for instructions and communicate them as 
 soon as obtained. The House of Assembly did nothing, as 
 the wisest course to be pursued, and the Council, now 
 almost raised to a level with the House of Lords, in its own 
 estimation, expressed its thanks in a series of resolutions 
 offered by Mr. Ryland, for the confidence which His Royal 
 Highness had reposed in it. Mr. Ryland and some other 
 members of the Council were most anxious to adjudicate 
 upon Mr. Foucher's impeachment at once ; but, says the 
 Clerk of the Council, in a letter written subsequently to 
 Colonel Ready, the resolutions offered by me, which would 
 have been adopted by a majority of the legislature, were 
 stifled or repressed by artful and solemn asseverations made 
 in the House for the purpose of inducing a belief that 
 the state of the Governor's health was such that a further 
 agitation of the business might endanger his life ! And so 
 ended the Foucher impeachment matter for a time. An 
 Act was passed for the incorporation of a company to con- 
 struct a navigable canal, on the Richelieu, from Chambly to- 
 St. Johns, a work subsequently undertaken and completp<i 
 
 U 
 
1818, 
 
 1818. 
 
 THE liSTIMATK.S — ST. I'ETliR STRKET, QUKBEC. 
 
 34') 
 
 the Up- 
 c*e Kegent 
 Deacli, tbe 
 
 case, and 
 
 power to 
 
 from the 
 
 ! Council 
 
 ired. To 
 
 in a mes- 
 
 at the ad- 
 
 as to rest 
 
 sted that 
 
 'hich thus 
 
 itisfaction 
 
 the Gov- 
 
 anner in 
 
 uld apply 
 
 them as 
 
 )thing-, as 
 
 icil, now 
 
 n its own 
 
 solutions 
 
 is Royal 
 
 ae other 
 
 [Ijudicate 
 
 says the 
 
 ently to 
 
 h would 
 
 re, were 
 
 ns made 
 
 lief that 
 
 1 further 
 And so 
 
 le. An 
 ' to con- 
 imbly to- 
 mpletcd 
 
 ])y the province, on a veiy inadoqiuito scale, inasmuch as 
 the canal was only suiHcicntly large for hattcaux, instead of 
 being of a size which would have permitted steandjoat com- 
 munication between (Quebec, via Sorcl, and the towns on 
 Lake Champlain. The estimates for the civil list amount- 
 ing to X73,G4(), were voted aftei" a del^)ate of a week ; a night 
 watch and night lights were provided fur in Montreal and 
 Quebec ; an Act was i)assed for the encouragement of agri- 
 culture, and commissioners appointed to improA'e the com- 
 munication, by water, between Upper and Lower Canada; 
 an attempt was made to indemnify the members of the As- 
 sembly; and the public accounts being submitted, the reve- 
 nue for 1817 appeared to have been £108,925 currency, and 
 the expenditure j£116,020 sterling, including £19,420 owing 
 to Upper Canada for duties in 1816. The expenses of the le- 
 gislature amounted to .£10,173, including £3,945 for books 
 purchased for the library of the Assembly. 
 
 Sir John Sherbrooke, was so very ill that he found him- 
 self unable to go down to the Council Chamber to prorogue 
 the parliament, lie was, therefore, waited upon by the 
 members of both Houses, at the Castle of St. Lewis, and 
 there the prorogation took place sans cercwonk. 
 
 Business hatl been rather brisk this year, but out of j'yar- 
 liament, and away from St. Peter street, there was no stir of 
 any kind. The newspapers contented themselves with re- 
 tailing news from the continent of Europe, six months old, 
 and the inhabitants of town and country unconcernedly 
 watched the rising and the setting of the sun, or endeavored, 
 as an antidote to the tedhim ritce, to count the number of the 
 stars at night. Three hundred and thirty-four vessels of 
 76,559 tons burthen, including 0;e vessel built at Quebec, 
 cleared at the port, and a duty of 2^ per centum was levied 
 on goods, w^ares, and merchandise, amounting to £672,876. 
 There was one matter, which, however, created a little talk 
 about town. Mrs. Montgomerv, widow of the late General 
 Montgomery, who fell on the night of the 31st of December, 
 1775. while leading on a storming party of Americans at the 
 
T 
 
 3-16 
 
 DLSINTEllMliXT OP MONIOOMEKY — IIICIIMOND. 
 
 18T8. 
 
 1 
 
 * . 
 
 t* - 
 
 • ■♦ 
 
 Pres-dc-Ville, Que])cc', npplieil to Sir John Sherbrookc for 
 the remains of licr liusband, wliicli luul been ])unc(l sonic- 
 whoro in tlic neii^liborhood of a powder magazine. The 
 rerjuest was complied witli. On the IGth of June, the ex- 
 humation of the body, in the presence of Msijor Freer, who 
 was on the staff of the Governor, of Major Livingston, a 
 near relative to JMrs. Montgomery, and of bome other p]r»ec- 
 tators, took [)laoe under the direction of Mr. James Thom- 
 son, of the Ivoj'al Engineer l)ci)artmont, one of the follow- 
 ers of General Wolfe, who forty-two yefir.s previously to the 
 application for the body had buried the General with his two 
 Aides-de-Camp, Cheeseman and Meriierson, beside him, 
 where the military prison, near St. Lewis Gate, now stands. 
 Sir John Sherbrookc was, at his own request, recalled. 
 His health had been indifferent for some time. He was re- 
 lieved of his government soon after he had requested to bo 
 so by His Grace the Duke of Richmond. Sir John sailed 
 for England on the 12tli of August, with his character either 
 in a military or civil point of view untarnished. Ilichmond, 
 Lennox and Aubigny, the new Governor-in-Chief, had been 
 Lord Lieutenant General of Ireland. His hereditary rank, 
 his previous po'^itiou, as well as his present station obtained 
 for him a consideration greater than any mere military 
 knight could reasonably look for. He was accompanied by 
 Major-General Sir Peregrine ^laitland, K. C. I>., his son-in- 
 law appointed to the Lieutenant-Governorship of Upper Ca- 
 nada. His Grace was looked upon indeed as a semi-deity. 
 But the Duke was exceedingly poor, and perhaps owed his 
 own appointment as well as that of his son-in-law, as much 
 to the influence of the Duke of Wellington, who was his 
 friend, as to his own. He summoned the legislature of Ca- 
 nada together on the 12th of January, 1819, but merely in- 
 timated that the Queen had died, and adjourned the public 
 business, out of respect to Her Majesty's niemor}--, until the 
 22nd of the month. The opening speech on that day was a 
 wretched affai r. The Duke did not recommend anything 
 beyond a provision for the expcni^es of the civil government, 
 
CD. 
 
 18T8. 
 
 1810. 
 
 Ills (JKACE lUli l»Ulvi: OF ItlCJlMuNDri bl'LLClI. 
 
 3i: 
 
 r])rookc tor 
 iiricd somc- 
 azinc. The 
 rune, tlic cx- 
 [• Freer, who 
 jivingston, a 
 other fX'GC- 
 nnes Tlioni- 
 [' the follow- 
 iously to tliti 
 with hia two 
 beside him, 
 now stands, 
 ist, recalled. 
 He was re- 
 [ucstcd to be 
 John sailed 
 iracter either 
 Richmond, 
 ef, had been 
 ditary rank, 
 ion obtained 
 ere military 
 )mpanied by 
 his son-in- 
 • Upper Ca- 
 se mi-deity. 
 )S owed his 
 LW, as much 
 ho was his 
 Liture of Ca- 
 merely in- 
 d the public 
 y, until the 
 it day was a 
 d anything 
 :ovcrnracnt, 
 
 which the illness of Sir John Sherbrooke had prevented him 
 from completing; and the reply to his Grace was as tame 
 as Ilia Grace's speech. It was very like two individuals 
 in meeting, saluting each other with the words — "good 
 morning, Sir," — "a good morning to you, ISir," — '■^ .s/mbm 
 diichcm," as the Jew has it, to be returned with ^^alah-him 
 shalom," "peace be unto 3'ou," — "with you be peace." His 
 Grace was not slow in submitting the estimates of the ex- 
 penses of the civil government for the year 1819. Instead 
 of £73,040 currency, as before, the estimate was now X81,- 
 432. The House could not understand the sudden increase. 
 Was it necessary to pay jC1o,000 extra for a Duke ? That 
 was gracious goodness to an appreciable extent! The esti- 
 mate was referred to a select committee, who were to make 
 as ostensible as possible the necessity lor the increased de- 
 mand, and if that could not be done, to say why not. The 
 committee reported that the interests of the counti-y would 
 best be served by making an unqualiiicd reduction of those 
 sinecures and pensions, which, in all countries had been con- 
 sidered the reward of iniquities, and the encouragement of 
 vice, and which had been and still were subjects of com- 
 plaint in England, and would, in Canada, lead to corrup- 
 tion, and that too while the estimates contained the item of 
 j68,000 sterling a year, to be placed at the disposal of Ilis 
 Majesty's representative, for rewarding provincial services, 
 and for providing for old and reduced servants of the gov- 
 ernment and others. Mr. liyland had already been in cor- 
 respondence with the Duke's Secretary, Colonel Heady, and 
 hence the provision in the civil list for decayed servants of 
 the government. AVlien this manoouvre failed, an attempt 
 was made to obtain a permanent provision for the civil gov- 
 ernment of the province, during the reign of the sovereign,, 
 and that failing, another was made to vote the civil list 
 money en bloc ; but the Asssembly w^ould only listen to one 
 proposition, however democratic it might be, and that was 
 to vote the civil list annuallv, item bv item, ro that the 
 House might incrca.-'e or diminish particular salaries at wilk 
 
K' . I. 
 
 SJS UKJECTIoN OF THli: CIVIL LfST— LACHINIi TANAL. 1810, 
 
 l< ' 
 
 
 Tli(5 AHsombly tlieu went tliroiiuh liio civil li«t, affixing to 
 each otHeo a salurv. and [)asHini^ over without any appropria- 
 tion such otiicoH as woro citlicr positive siiicfiires or little 
 else. A bill wu8 introduced and carried tIirou,i:h the third 
 reading:, grantiuLi; lo oiKees partieulariy specitied, particular 
 Kalaries. It Avas sent to the Le^'islative ('ouneil for concur- 
 rence, and was there at onee rejected. The (.'ouneil looketl 
 upon the Tnod(i ado])ted l)y the bill of ,ifrantin<;' a supply to 
 His Majesty as nnprecedentcd and unconstitutiunal, as an 
 assumption of the prerogative of the Crown, as calculated 
 to prescribe to the Crown the nunil>or and deserijjtion of its 
 servants, and as certain to make the Crown oHicers depend- 
 ent on an elective body, whereby they mio-ht be made in- 
 strumental in overthrowing tlie Crown itself. Thus was the 
 civil list bill lost. A company was incorporated to construct 
 u canal between ^lontreal and Lachine. <£o,000 was appro- 
 priated towards the apportionment of lands to the militia 
 who had served during the war; and Pierre Bedard, P]s- 
 quire. Judge for the district of Three Kivers, was impeach- 
 ed ])y Mr. C. R. Ogden. Mr. Ogdeii accused Bedard of 
 prostituting his judicial authority to the gratification of 
 personal malice ; of tyranny; of imposing fines upon his 
 enemies on preteuce of punishing contempts of Courts ; of 
 uttering expressions derogatory to the other judges of the 
 Court in wliich he sat ; of having accused the barristers of 
 Three llivers frequently of- high breaches of moral and pro- 
 fessional rectitude; of having wickedly imprisoned in the 
 common gaol of Three liivers, Charles Richard Ogden, Es- 
 quire, then and still being His Majesty's Counsel for the 
 said district, for an alleged libel and contempt against the 
 provincial Court, in which Mr. Bedard was the judge ; for 
 having illegally fined Pierre Vezina, Esquire, an advocate 
 practicing in Court, ten shillings, for pretended contemptu- 
 ous conduct ; and for having grossly and unjustifiably at- 
 tacked the character of Joseph de Tonnancour, a barrister. 
 The articles of impeachment were referred to a committee 
 which reported in favor of the judge, and the House (\\d 
 nc»t. therefore, impeach him. 
 
li CANAL. 1810. 
 
 list, affixing to 
 t iiiiy ai)i»i'opri{i- 
 iiocuivrt or littlo 
 rou,i:li the third 
 •iruid, jiartifuhu- 
 ncil for eonciir- 
 C'oiuic'il hiokc'd 
 tin<;' a sujiply to 
 itntiuiial, as an 
 1, as calculated 
 L»scri]>tion of its 
 ohicers depend- 
 ;ht he made in- 
 , Thus was the 
 itod to construct 
 ,000 was appro- 
 Is to the militia 
 3rro Bedard, Es- 
 «, was impeach- 
 iscd Bedard of 
 ^•ratification of 
 Hues upon his 
 s of Courts ; of 
 r judo-es of the 
 ic barristers of 
 moral and pro- 
 prisoned in the 
 jird Ogden, Es- 
 Counsel for the 
 ipt against the 
 the judge ; for 
 re, an advocate 
 ded contemptu- 
 injustifiably at- 
 )ur, a barrister, 
 to a committee 
 the House did 
 
 1.^19. 
 
 ADDITIONAL IM I'llAi'IlM MNTS 
 
 :!4J> 
 
 While this wa-* going on a mi'ssagc was recdvod from His 
 ("Irace tlic (}overMor-iii-('liicl', a»'(|uaiiitiiig tlie incmhers of 
 the Legislatives (^omicil that tlie i'omnuuids of the Priiico 
 liogcnt had been r(>('eived respecting the iM'ocrcdlngs of llie 
 Assembly against .Mr. Foucher. The Uegciit dirt'cted that 
 the Assemhly, ])revious to afiy ulterior proceeding, should 
 lay before the (.}o\'eruor-in-C'hicf such dotMinu'iitaiy evi- 
 dence as they might consider adeipiate to su|>port the 
 charges which they had hrought iigaiiist Mr. .Iiistice Fou- 
 cher, and that copies of such duirges, of hiicIi docuincntai-y 
 evidence, and of the examination alreadv taken and annex- 
 ed to the charges should be then transmitted hv His Clrace 
 the Governor-iu-Chief to Mr. Justice Eoucher for liis an- 
 swer and defence, which answer and defence would be sub- 
 mitted to the Assenddv for their reply, Avlien the whole of 
 the documents would be submitted to the liegent for such 
 further course as the case might require. The Legislative 
 Council were quite shocked ut this message. They had 
 been told that thpy might adjudicate upon cases of im- 
 peachment, and now it was commanded that they should 
 gather evidence and send it to the liegent for adjudication. 
 The Council dutifully remonstrated, feeling it due to itself 
 to state to His Grace that at the time of receiving the late 
 Governor's message it was prevented from taking more 
 upon itself than to return its humble thanks for the " de- 
 cision" of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, on the 
 subject of its address of the 3rd of March, 1817, by repre- 
 sentations made in the Council, that the state of His ICxcel- 
 lency's health was such that a further agitation of the busi- 
 ness at the moment might eiulanger his life. But the House 
 confidentl}- relied on the communication, contained in the 
 message, that the "arrangement" therein announced with 
 respect to the adjudication of impeachments by the Council 
 was final. If representations had subsequently been made 
 tending to withdraw from the Council the favor and. confi- 
 dence of the Crown, all doubt would be removed by the 
 communication which thev solicited from His Excellencv as 
 
3'>0 SOMM FKELIXiJ KVIXCED liY THE LE(JISLATIVK COUNCIL. 1819. 
 
 
 to the Royal intervention, and the House would linally l»e 
 able, with His Grace's powerful support, to secure tlio full 
 and free exercise of a privilege, without which the balauco 
 of an admirable constitution would be destroyed, and the 
 second estate of tlie provincial legislature be reduced to in- 
 significance and contempt. The answer to this address was 
 most euipluitic. Mr. J u?tice Foucher was ordered to resume 
 his functions as a Judge of the Court of Kino-'s Bench, at 
 Montreal; and the Duke turning from the Council, drew 
 the attention of the Assembly to the necessity which existed 
 for a reform in tlie judicature. The Assembly had indeed 
 already expressed an opinion to the effect that it was neces- 
 sary for the independence of the judges that they should 
 not be withdrawn fi'om their judicial duties by holding any 
 other offices in the civil administration of the government. 
 The House of Assembly paid verj little heed, however, to 
 the recommendation of the l)uke. There was, indeed, no 
 ministry in the conlldence of the majority to originate any 
 business in the Lo^^'er House, and for one of a minority, the 
 creature of the government in the Assembly, and without 
 the shadow of influence in it^ to take the matter up, would 
 have been worse than useless. The Lower House was, in- 
 deed, like a ship without a helm. It was uncontrollable. 
 All that a governor could do was to look upon the most po- 
 pular man in the Assembly, as if he were a minister of State, 
 and govern in such a manner as to suit his views. The ex- 
 pediency of erecting the Eastern Townships into a judicial 
 district had been represented to the Assembly at its previous 
 session. It was considered a denial of justice to recjuiro 
 people situated as the Eastern Township farmers were, in a 
 new and rather far off country, wdien the want of good roads 
 is considered, to sue and be sued in the Courts of Montreal, 
 Three Rivers, or Quebec. But they stirred not. They 
 merely appointed a committee to draw up a statement of 
 the receipts of the provincial revenue of the Crown, and of 
 the disbursements by the lieceiver General from the date ol 
 the constitution to 1811); and also a statement of all the 
 
COrNCTL. 1815). 
 
 iild liiially l>e 
 'cure tlio full 
 L'h tlic balauco 
 03'Cfl, and the 
 reduced to in- 
 is address was 
 crcd to resume 
 lo-'s Bench, at 
 Council, drew 
 ' wliicli existed 
 ly had indeed 
 t it was neces- 
 t they should 
 by holding any 
 le government, 
 d, however, to 
 ras, indeed, no 
 originate any 
 a minority, the 
 and without 
 itter up, would 
 louse was, in- 
 luncontrollable. 
 n the most po- 
 nister of State, 
 ews. The ex- 
 into a judicial 
 at its previous 
 lice to require 
 ers w^ere, in a 
 of good roads 
 ;s of Montreal, 
 d not. They 
 a statement of 
 Crown, and of 
 lorn the date ot 
 ent of all the 
 
 1810 
 
 A. PAIL, STRAIIAN, AM) UATl. i^ VAi^E. 
 
 8;U 
 
 appropriations made by the legislature, and of tlie amount 
 paid upon each of them by the Kcceivcr GencM'al, the ba- 
 lance to be stated and the monies to bo counted. There vras 
 ovideutly a suspicion in the minds of some oi' the members 
 of the Asseml)ly tliatthe National Banlv had been paying 
 interest out of the new deposits and that tlic managers were 
 living in ^be same style of novelty. However that may 
 have been, the business of legislation was now concluded, 
 and His Grace the Duke of ]iichmond, Lennox and Aubi- 
 guy, Govcrnor-iu-Chief of Canada, and Captain (General of 
 British North America, came down lo the Legislative Cham- 
 bers in State. He took his seat upon the throne (piickly. 
 lie seemed to speak to his attendants testily, lie sent for 
 the Commons impatiently. And he looked sternly. Colo- 
 nel Ready, as soon as the Commons had appeared, handed 
 His Excellency, who was not particularly gracious, a paper 
 to read. " Gentlemen ot the Legislative Council," were 
 the first words uttered, and all eyes were upon the Duke. 
 " You have not disappointed my hopes. I thank you for 
 your zeal and alacrity. Gentlemen of the Assembly : — It is 
 with deep concern that I cannot thank 3'ou in connection 
 with the result of your labors and of the principles upon 
 which they rest. You proceeded to vote a part of the sum 
 required for the expenses of 1819, but the bill of appropria- 
 tion which you pn.' tared was founded upon such princijjles 
 that it had been rpost constitutionall}' rejected by the Upper 
 House, and tho government has been left without the 
 supplies necessary for the support of the civil administra- 
 tion for the ensuing year, notwithstanding the voluntary 
 ofter given to the King in 1810." His Grace had recom- 
 mended by special message the consideration of the Judica- 
 ture Act so that it might be amended, and the Assembly 
 had not even proceeded with it so far as to enable the Gov- 
 ernor-in-Chief to transmit the result of the parliamentary 
 proceedings to the King's ministers, with the view of ob- 
 taining the opinions and assistance of the law oilicers of the 
 Cn^wM in England. He did trust, therefore, that at an earl} 
 
ii'd 
 
 A TK,<TY SI'HKCH J'HO.M TlIK TIIR<.>\K. 
 
 181i>. 
 
 (lay in the next session tlie matter would be procoeckd with, 
 lie liad assented to the militia bill with relnctancc. It was 
 not necessary that the otli(!ei's should be natives of the pro- 
 vince. Tlicre were many half-pay officers of tlie army who 
 were much better fitted fur holdin"- commissions in the mill- 
 tiathan Avealthy habitants were; and llicre were clerks, and 
 other enterprising young men about cities and towns, who, 
 on any emei'gcncy, were equally as v.ell ada})ted for officers 
 of iliilitia as any scujaciir whatever. The population of the 
 province attbrded excellent matei'ials for a defensive army, 
 but a general and proper selection of officers was necessary 
 to make it formidaljle to an active and enterprising enemy. 
 The selection of officers must only belong to the executive 
 power. This speech did not raise the Duke of Richmond 
 in the estimation of the Commons of Canada. Some were 
 inclined to laugh at His Excellency, while not a few were 
 offended. His Grace had been evidently tampered with. 
 He was not looked npon as a free agent. AVhile perfectly 
 willing to defray the expenses of the civil administration, 
 the Commons felt no disposition to build up a pension list 
 or to be in any way burthened with life annuities to officers 
 of the imperial army, for whom the imperial government 
 was bound to provide. All the officers required in the civil 
 government of the countrj^, the Commons were prepared 
 amply to remunerate, but they were not at all prepared to 
 award salaries for the perpetuation of sinecure offices, the 
 holders of which had never set a foot in the country. The 
 Commons, in a word, desired to have some control over the 
 government itself, as, in a free countrj^ all power should pro- 
 ceed from the people. This was denied to them. They 
 were required to do whatever the government desired, and 
 refusing obedience, they were castigated, castigated by the 
 representative of the sovereign of a free country, of which 
 C/anada formed a part. In spite of this rugged mode of 
 governing, the country was nevertheless, making progress. 
 Business was brisk. The population was rapidly increasing. 
 A steamer had been placed on the Ottawa, The Rideau 
 
 
:^,oe(led with, 
 ncc. It was 
 3 of tlie pro- 
 LC army who 
 s iu the mili- 
 e clerks, and 
 towns, who, 
 I for officers 
 hition of tlie 
 ;nsive army, 
 ras necessary 
 .sinjji; enemy, 
 the executive 
 3f Richmond 
 Some were 
 )t a few were 
 npered with, 
 ule perfectly 
 hiiinistration, 
 a pension list 
 ies to officers 
 sfovernment 
 id in the civil 
 ere prepared 
 1 prepared to 
 offices, the 
 ouutry. The 
 itrol over the 
 3r should pro- 
 them. They 
 desired, and 
 igated by the 
 try, of which 
 ged mode of 
 ing progress, 
 ly increasing. 
 The Rideau 
 
 
 is 117. 
 
 hlIir:Al CANAI. — I'oi'l'LATlDX — BANKS. 
 
 
 (.'anal t*^* <'oniiect iho Ottawa with Lake Ontario, at Iviiig- 
 aton, had been commen'Td. at the cxi)ense of the imperial 
 government, as a militan- work. Quebec contained 11,008 
 houses, and a population of 15, "i")! souls, of wlioni ll,;t01 
 were Roman Catliolics, and 8,2GG were Protestants. Four 
 new vessels had hocu built at (Quebec in the course of the 
 past year, niul -lUO ve'ssels of l)l-,<!o7 tons of shipping had 
 been cleared at the port of (^uebee, whila merchandise to 
 the amount of £772, 87 •■) had been imported. The gross 
 revenue amounted to £.)8,332 sterling for Lower Canada, 
 and ,£18.078 sterling for Upper Canada. The expenditure 
 amounted to j£127,371) sterling, including £9,720 for the 
 purchase of seed wheat in 1817 ; £4;"), 270 in payment of 
 army bills: £14,988, the fifth of the whole duties collected 
 for 1817 and due to l"^pper Canada, by agreement. The cost 
 of more leo'islation \vas this vear £18,420 currenov. In 
 1819, from the opening of the navig.ntion to tlu^ 12th of 
 October, 012 vessels had arrived, aiid 12,434 in. migrants 
 had come to enrich the countrv bv their labor and benefit 
 trade by their necessities. 
 
 In the Lower Province tv.o Banks had already been estab 
 lished ; there was 'low o]ie in operation at Kingston, in 
 Upper Canada. Ft is not a little c.irious, however, that 
 when elibrts were first made t) establish the Kingston Bank 
 the current of public opini(Ui set so strongly against the 
 measure, that although sup[iorted by men of int^'Uigence 
 and respectability, it wa-i al)andoned without tlie presenta- 
 tion of petitions to rhe legislature. A bill, as nuiy ha\'e 
 already been perceived, was, aovertheless, passed, for the 
 incorporation of the baid:, but reserved for IIi> Majesty's 
 pleasure by Governor Gore. The roads, in rpiur Canada, 
 were at this period so indifferent that tiiere were out few 
 common carriages, while the inns were so inditi'erent that 
 in the summer season travelling was for the most part ar- 
 complishod by water. Indeed the J'acilities afforded by 
 water for tnivollinu' in some vei'v <'n]|sider.d)lo decree im- 
 
 h2 
 
354 
 
 I'PPKR CANADA — MR. GOLKLAY. 
 
 1819. 
 
 I 
 
 peded the improvemeut of the roads, between towns situated 
 very far apart. 
 
 Sir Peregrine Maitland having assumedjthe government of 
 Upper Canada, met the parliament of that province, for 
 the first time, on the 12th of October, 1818. His "maiden" 
 speech from the throne was noticeable for the remark that 
 parliament would feel a just indignation at the attempts 
 which had been made to excite discontent and to orffanize 
 sedition, accompanied by the hint and suggestion that 
 should it appear to parliament that a convention of dele 
 gates could not exist without danger to the constitution, in 
 framing a law of prevention, parliamentary wisdom would 
 be careful that it should not unwarily trespass on that sacred 
 right of the subject to seek a redress of his grievances by 
 petition. Mr. Robert Gourlay, of Craigrothie, Fifeshire, 
 in Scotland, had emigrated to Upper Canada, with the view 
 of settling himself and family and indeed of making a set- 
 tlement in some suitable spot. Mr. Guthrie had peculiar 
 ideas with regard to emigration, free.trade, and liberty of 
 speech. He was a democrat, but not, ]>y any means, a re- 
 publican. He was not politically connected with either 
 Cobbett or Hunt, although he seems to have known both of 
 these gentlemen. He was not in the habit of attending 
 such meetings as those that were held at Spa-fields and 
 were then termed "radical" meetings, although he had 
 been at a meeting in Spa-fields. He had been both in Ire- 
 land and in the United States, but he was neither an Irish 
 rebel nor an American revolutionist. He had only a bee in 
 his bonnet, which has since buzzed in the bonnets of a very 
 great number of men, whose loyalty or patriotism has not 
 been even doubted, and, who, consequently, have never 
 been marked "dangerous" by a colonial Justice of the 
 Peace. Mr. Guthrie conceived that Canada was capable of 
 absorbing about 50,000 of the poor of England, Ireland, 
 and Scotland, annually ; that a land tax was preferable to 
 taxes on trade and manufactures, eppeelall}' in a new coun- 
 try ; that there should bo three description of roads — pro- 
 
1810. 
 19 situated 
 
 srnment of 
 ivince, for 
 "maiden" 
 jmark that 
 3 attempts 
 ;o organize 
 istion that 
 ,n of dele 
 ititution, in 
 lorn would 
 that sacred 
 Bvances by 
 , Fifeshire, 
 th the view 
 aklng a set- 
 ad peculiar 
 I liberty of 
 naeans, a re- 
 with either 
 own both of 
 f attending 
 a-fields and 
 gh he had 
 both in Ire- 
 er an Irish 
 nly a bee in 
 ^ts of a very 
 m has not 
 have never 
 ;tice of the 
 s capable of 
 ,d, Ireland, 
 referable to 
 new coun- 
 Iroads— pi*0" 
 
 1819. 
 
 MR. GOrRT.AY S 8CHPMBS. 
 
 3*^ 
 
 oo 
 
 vinciul, district, and township ; that it would be advanta- 
 geous to connect the lakes of the St. Lawrence together, 
 and permit the free navigation of the Canadian inland wa- 
 ters from Lake Superior to the sea; that free trade should 
 exist ; and that there should be no hindrance to the expres- 
 sion of public opinion, however oflensive to the authorities 
 such public opinion might be. Mr. Guthrie arrived in Car 
 nada in the summer of 1817, and after looking around him, 
 determined upon establishing himself as a land agent. He 
 had, in truth, conceived schemes for a grand system of emi- 
 gration, and set about obtaining statistics with the view of 
 setting forth the capabilities of the country to the people of 
 England. He addressed the landowners of Upper Canada 
 for information. He sent circulars to the people, hut unfor- 
 tunately made allusion to the able resolutions brought for- 
 ward at the close of the last session of the provincial par- 
 liament. He brought the matter before the parliament it- 
 self, but that body having been suddenly prorogued, by 
 Governor Gore, the idea of a convention suggested itself to 
 Mr. Gourlay. The Executive of Upper Canada took alarm. 
 The desire, for a knowledge of the condition, circumstances, 
 and requirements of the townships and districts, was in con- 
 nection with some radical schemes for upsettini:; British au- 
 thority in the Canadas. Mr. Guthrie was misrepresented 
 and, with the view of creating a general panic, he was ar- 
 rested. Nevertheless, deputies were chosen and a conven- 
 tion was held at York. In this convention the political 
 restraints to which the colonists were liable wore fully dis- 
 cussed. There was undoubted mismanagement on the part 
 of the executive government, and Gourlay advised a peti- 
 tion to the Prince Regent, soliciting the appointment of a 
 commission from England to make enquiries. Such a pro- 
 posal could not fail to give offence. Gourlay was arrested 
 and carried before the most virulent of his political enemies. 
 He was tried and twice acquitted, but the London Courier^ 
 of the 8th of July, 1818, arrived, in which he was alluded 
 to aa " one of the worthies, who had ejicaped after the dis- 
 
. . ■ 
 
 85C 
 
 GOURLAY ARIIERTED. 
 
 1819. 
 
 graceful proceedings of Spa-lields." That was enough. Mr. 
 Gourlay was brought before a magiBtrate, Mr. Dickson, 
 M. P. "Do you know Mr. Cobbett?" asked tlie magis- 
 trate. "Yes," answered the culprit. "Doj'ou know Mr. 
 Hunt?" "Yes." "Were you at Spa-lields?" "Yes." 
 " Were you ever in Ireland ?" " Yes." " Were you lately 
 in the Lower Province?" "Yes." " Were you lately in 
 the United States ?" " Yes." " Was it you that wrote tlie 
 article in the Spectator, headed " Gagged, gagged by jingo ?" 
 "It was." Then," said Mr. Dickson to his fellow magis- 
 trates, " it is my opinion that Mr. Gourlay is a man of des- 
 perate fortune, and would stick at nothing to raise insurrec- 
 tion in the province." He was committed to gaol charged 
 Anth treasonable practices ! There was then, indeed, no 
 real liberty in the province, and Mr. Gourlay had made use 
 of words which only could be used safely in England. The 
 magistracy were completely in the hands of the Executive 
 Council, and a considerable number of both Houses were 
 inclined to do whatever they were ordered. Indeed there 
 were few politicians in the country, politics not having yet 
 become a trade. The Commons replied to Sir Peregrine 
 Maitland just as he wished. They were convinced that a 
 convention of delegates could not exist without dans^er to 
 the constitution. Kay, they even went further, and on the 
 19th of October, presented an address expressing just in- 
 dignation at the systematic attempts that had been made to 
 excite discontent and organize sedition in the province, and 
 they deeply regretted that the designs of one man should 
 have succeeded in drawing into the support of his vile ma- 
 chinations so many honest men, and loyal subjects of Ilis 
 Majesty. A bill was passed indeed to prevent the organiza- 
 tion of persons, who might degrade the character of the 
 pi^ovince, and after assenting to several bills Sir Peregrine 
 Maitland clewed the session by thanking parliament for the 
 seasonable aid of "An Act for preventing certain meetings 
 within the province."' He conceived that if the people were 
 aggrieved they could send a petition to the foot of the 
 
1811>. 
 
 1810. 
 
 GOUKLAY S EJKCTMLNT — PARLIAMENT. 
 
 
 iigh. Mr. 
 Dickson, 
 e magis- 
 now Mr. 
 "Yes." 
 oil lately 
 lately in 
 wrote the 
 y-jingo? 
 w magis- 
 m of des- 
 insurrec- 
 charged 
 idecd, no 
 made use 
 md. The 
 Executive 
 uses were 
 eed there 
 laving yet 
 Peregrine 
 ed that a 
 danger to 
 lid on the 
 just in- 
 made to 
 ince, and 
 u should 
 vile ma- 
 cts of His 
 organiza- 
 ter of the 
 Peregrine 
 lit for the 
 meetings 
 ople were 
 iot of the 
 
 throne. The Surveyor Cieiieral's Department was to be 
 uliolished. He was ju'oud of the sentiments expressed by 
 the House of Assembly and would send them to His Majes- 
 ty's government. Had the public mind been tranquil, he 
 would have brought before the Houses a few objects of ge- 
 neral importance, one of which w^as a remedy I'or the une- 
 qual pressure of the road laws. Mr. Gourlay was retained 
 in gaol, then ordered to leave the province, and, on refusing 
 to go, was tried for disobeying an Act of parliament. He 
 was forcibly ejected from the province, and it w^as not until 
 J 847 that the province of Canada offered him redress in the 
 shape of a pension of some fifty pounds a year, Mr. Gourlay 
 being then resident in Scotland. Governor Maitland again 
 met the parliament of Upper Canada on the 7th of June, 
 1819. lie informed the parliament that the Queen had closed 
 a long life, illustrious for the exemplary discharge of every 
 ]Hiblic and private duty ; that the Regent had authorised 
 the governors of both Canadas to bestow lands on certain of 
 the provincial army and militia, " which served " during the 
 late war ; that recent purchases from the natives had been 
 so far effected, as would enable him to set apart tracts in 
 the several districts, to accommodate such of their respec- 
 tive inhabitants as w^ere within the limits of the royal in- 
 struction ; but that he (Governor Maitland) did not consider 
 himself justified in extending that mark of approbation to 
 any of the individuals, who composed the late convention of 
 delegates, the proceedings of ■^'^'^hich were properly the sub- 
 ject of very severe parliamentary animadversion. The 
 royal assent had been given to the bill for the establishment 
 of a provincial bank, but, from some delay, it did not arrive 
 in time for promulgation, within the period limited by law ; 
 the form of an enactment would, therefore, be necessaiy to 
 render it available. He was deoply impressed with the 
 necessity of an amendment to the road law ; neglected grants 
 of an early day were becoming a serious evil. The exemp- 
 tion of any land belonging to individuals, from the opera- 
 tion of the assessment law, was found to be detrimeutal : a 
 
358 
 
 aoVliRNOK MAITLAND AND THIi CONVIiMIUN. 
 
 1819. 
 
 * T 
 
 new bill so modified as to protect tlie land from sale by dis- 
 tress until due notice could be given to the proprietor 
 would receive His Majesty's assent. The public accounts 
 would be laid before the House of Assembly with the esti- 
 mates for the ensuing year. The growth of the province in 
 population and wealth, justified a reasonable expectation 
 that the measures adopted to encourage it would receive the 
 fullest suppport : and the expediency of affording the new 
 settlers, situated remotely from the great lakes and rivers, 
 an easy approach to market was apparent, and with other 
 matters w^ould, he hoped, be attended to. The speech in 
 reply was satisfactory, but there was an under current of 
 public opinion, not quite so satisfactory. It was considered 
 that Governor Maitland had exceeded his authority in with- 
 holding in part that which the Regent had instructed him 
 not to withhold at all. Conventions were not illegal. The 
 right to meet and discuss public measures had never been 
 called in question. The convention was composed of men 
 who were altogether loyal. To upset the government of the 
 province or to get rid of imperial authority was never con- 
 templated. All that the members of convention desired 
 was the repeal of several grievances, and they meant only 
 to petition the Regent for their removal. The executive in- 
 fluence in the legislature was overwhelming and mischievous. 
 The governor had not only the disposal of eveiy civil office, 
 and of every civil and military commission, but of land to 
 a boundless extent. That influence had been repeatedly 
 misapplied. The lamentable efl'ects of such a misapplica- 
 tion of influence had been too frequently witnessed. Public 
 duty w^as neglected. The whole face of the country was 
 pining with disease. ]!!N"ature was everywhere struggling 
 with misrule. And civilization itself was on the decline. 
 In Upper Canada the image and transcript of the British 
 constitution was now only reflected by Major-General Sir 
 Peregrine Maitland, and five executive councillors. Legis- 
 lation was embraced in a governor's speech from the throne. 
 About the time of the prorogation of the fsession. His 
 
1819. 
 
 1819. 
 
 DEATH OF THE DUKE OF RICHMOND. 
 
 869 
 
 le by dia- 
 •oprietoiii 
 accounts 
 I the esti- 
 •oviuce in 
 ;pectation 
 jceive the 
 the new 
 nd rivers, 
 ith other 
 speech in 
 jurrent of 
 onsidered 
 y in with- 
 Licted him 
 ^al. The 
 ixer been 
 id of men 
 ent of the 
 lever con- 
 n desired 
 ant only 
 ive in- 
 Ichievous. 
 ivil office, 
 f laud to 
 speatedly 
 sapplica- 
 Public 
 |ntry was 
 ruggling 
 decline. 
 British 
 eral Sir 
 Legis- 
 throne. 
 ion. His 
 
 Grace, th/ Duke of Richmond, came to Upper Canada, on 
 a tour of inspection. His Grace and his son-in-law went to 
 Niagara together. Important internal improvements were 
 contemplated, and the two governors were desirous of ascer- 
 taining how they might be effected. The Duke, after a 
 short stay in Upper Canada, bade farewell to his relative, 
 and, with Colonel Ready, his secretary, was on his way to 
 Quebec, when, somewhere between Kingston and Montreal, 
 he became seriously ill. It is not very certain what ailed 
 him. Ho was said to have been bitten by a fox. However, 
 he died, in a few hours, of excruciating suffering. He sup- 
 ported, for the brief period, a disease, supposed to be hy- 
 drophobia, with undaunted constancy, and yielded up hia 
 spirit on the 28th of August, 1819. His remains were 
 brought to Quebec, and there interred with great pomp and 
 ceremony, beneath the altar of the Church of England Ca- 
 thedral, but as yet no monument has been erected to his 
 memory. 
 
 The administration of the government of the province of 
 Lower Canada was, on the death of the Duke of Richmond, 
 assumed by the senior member of the Executive Council, 
 Mr. Monk, and President Monk issued his proclamation to 
 that effect, on the 20th of September. He summoned the 
 legislature to meet for the despatch of business on the 21st 
 of February, 1820. Mr. Monk had, however, hardly as- 
 sumed the government when Sir Peregrine Maitland arrived 
 in Quebec, from Upper Canada, to take the administration 
 of affairs into his hands, according to instructions which, on 
 his appointment to the Lieutenant-Governorship of Upper 
 Canada, he had received from the imperial government. 
 He did not stay long. He merely advised Mr. Monk, whom 
 he left in charge of the government, and on the 9th of 
 February he set out again for Upper Canada, to dissolve the 
 parliament. The existing parliament had been very refrac- 
 tory and had been admonished even by the late Governor- 
 in-Chief The Parliament was dissolved and writs for an 
 election, returnable on the 11th of April, issued. Gaspe 
 
?>G0 AXTAliONIfJM — MAITI.AND AND TlIK L. C. AH.SKMHI.Y. 1820, 
 
 t . 
 
 I. fr 
 
 \mi\ij; very rcrnoli'Iy ^<irlIill('d wa.s an cxft'i'tiu)). Tlie (iusiiH 
 writ was not retuniitUK' until tiiu 1st of June. Nt)tliinic wius 
 ifiiincul to \\\r ii'lniiniMtration l»y tin- resort to tlissolution. 
 Tiio new parliament was even more liostilo to the ^i A'orn- 
 ment tlian the old one. The )>e()|>le ai»))rovo(l of the course 
 i>nrsue(.l hv Hie late Asseinhlv in the matter of the eivil list 
 and indeed approved of their ]»roeee(lin,ffs g:enerally. tSir 
 Peregrine returned to (^uehee on tlie iTth of Mareh, after 
 he had prorogued the parliament of L^pi)er Canada, ami 
 having assumed the management of the pul)lie business, lie 
 convened the parliament on the 11th of April, the very day 
 on which tlie writs were returnable, (lasjte oidy excepted. 
 He oiR'.ned the Ifouse with a speecli renuirkable for notbing 
 hut its brevity. Mr, l*apinoau was re-elected Speaker and 
 the choice approved of. But tliis was no sooner done tban 
 the Assembly found themselves incompetent for tbe transac- 
 tion of business, 'riie House must, bv law, consist of liftv 
 members, and only forty-nine bad been retn rned. The Gaspe 
 writ was not returnable until the 1st of June, There was 
 no House. Business could not legally be carried on. A 
 juessage came down from the (lovernor recommending the 
 renewal of certain Acts of the legislature. The House paid 
 no attention to the message. The Honse at last resolved 
 that it could do no business. The twelve months within 
 which u session was necessary would expire on the 24th of 
 April, and there could bo no return of the Gaspe writ until 
 the 1st of June. The Governor was informed of his "lix," 
 but was by no means pleased. He did not believe in such 
 nonsense as the unavoidable non-return of a single mem- 
 ber being a matter of such importance as the Assembly ul- 
 leged. He begged that they would go on with the public 
 business. The House would not budge. A message came 
 from the Legislative Council, and the messenger knocked, 
 luit the door of the Assemblv remained closed. The gov- 
 ernment had dissolved the parliament stupidly and the par- 
 liament meant stupidly to dissolve the government. It was 
 the 21th of April when the news of the death of King 
 
A', 
 
 1820. 
 
 1820. 
 
 AltKIVAI, OF Lour) DAI. lint. -I K. 
 
 3lJl 
 
 thiiiu!' WHS 
 issolntioii. 
 10 ; /verii- 
 tlic course 
 civil list 
 rallv. yir 
 ircli, jit'ttM' 
 
 IKUlil, iUnl 
 
 isiiiess, lie 
 e very day 
 excepted, 
 or iiotliini^ 
 eaker and 
 done tluiii 
 lie t ran sac- 
 list of iifty 
 The Gaspe 
 There was 
 ed on. A 
 dinjjj the 
 ouse paid 
 resolved 
 s within 
 le 24 th (d' 
 writ until 
 lis "iix," 
 c in such 
 ffle mem- 
 cmhlv ul- 
 le public 
 sasjc came 
 knocked. 
 The tcov- 
 d the par- 
 It was 
 1 oi' Kinf; 
 
 («eorL!;e the Tliird reached Quehec, by way of Xew York, 
 when the Administrator was olt'ercd an excuse tbrunotlier 
 dissolution, by wliicli the accident threatcn((d by the previous 
 dissohition could be escaped. I'arlianient was dissolved, 
 duriui^ the tiriu!^ oi' minute uuns and tlie tolling of bells; 
 and a new king was proclaimed by ihe sheritl', after a salute 
 of 100 guns had been iired, on the Thice d' Amies, in pre- 
 sence of the (Jovernor, tiie lu-ads ol'dej»artments, the troops 
 and a crowd of people. There was no other occurrence of 
 moment until the arrival of the now (Jovenior (ieneral, the 
 Karl of Dalhousie, who arrived from Ilalitax, wliere he had 
 administered tlie m>vernment of Xova Seolia. on the 18th of 
 dune, in H. "SI. S. jVcirrrts/fe. Lord Dalhousio was a soldier. 
 lie had been altogether educated in the camp. To the 
 trickery of diplomacy he was (piite a stranger. lie had not 
 long arrived when the general elections took place. Mr. 
 Papineau, the Speaker of the late Assembly, was at the 
 hustings addressing a Montreal constituency. How strong 
 the feeling was in favor of British constitutional rule in 
 comparison with the Bourbon fasliion of ruling colonies, the 
 Earl of Dalhousie learned from Mr. Papincau's own lips. 
 A great national calamity had made it imperative upon Mr. 
 Papineau to court the favor of his constituents a second 
 time in one year. A sovcreiii;!! who had reic:ned over the 
 inhabitants of Canada since the day in which they had be- 
 come British sulijccts, had ceased to breathe. To express 
 the feeling of gratitude which was due to him, or to say 
 how much his loss was mourned would be impossible. Each 
 year of his long reign had been marked by new favors be- 
 stowed on the country. A comparison between the happy 
 situation of Canada at present, with the situation of Canada 
 under "our" fore-fathers, when George the Third became their 
 legitimate monarch, would sufficiently indicate the extent of 
 the calamity which Canada had sustained in the death of 
 Ihe good old king. Under the French government the rule 
 was arbitrary and oppressive. Canada had been neglected 
 by the French Court, and mal-administered bv the French 
 
IMAGE EVALUATION 
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 3«>2 
 
 r.U'lNKAU :S bl'EKCH AT SIONTIIIML. 
 
 1820. 
 
 L 
 
 Vicerovrj. The fertility of tlie soil, the salubrity of the cli- 
 mate, and the extent of torritory which might even then 
 have been the peiiceful abode of a numerous and happy po- 
 pulation was not considered. Canada was looked upon as a 
 mere military po^t. The people were compelled to live in 
 perpetual wai-fare and insecurity. There was no general 
 trade. Trade was in the hands of companies. Famine was 
 of frequent occurrence. J^ublic and private property were 
 insecure. Personal liberty was daily violated. Year after 
 year the inhabitants of Canada were dragged from their 
 homes and families to shed their blood, and carry murder 
 and havoc from the shores of the great lakes and the banks 
 of the Mississippi and Oliio, to the coasts of T^Tova Scotia, 
 Newfoundland, and Hudson's Bay. And now, how changed ! 
 The reign of law has succeeded to that of violence. Reli- 
 gious toleration ; trial by jury; the Habeas Corpus ; and the 
 right to obey no other laws tlian those of our own making, 
 have taken the place of perpetual warfare and perpetual in- 
 security. Such was the news received b}' Lord Dalhousie, 
 on his arrival, and that too immediately preceding a deplorable 
 period of agricultural distress in both of the Canadas ; 
 when the absence of all demand for wheat had compelled 
 several farmers in the district of Montreal to send hay, oats, 
 and vegetables, in boats, down the river, for the chance of a 
 nuxrket at Quebec ; wdien in some of the parishes of Mon- 
 treal, which formerly sold great quantities of wheat for ex- 
 portation, farms partly cleared, with a log house and barn, 
 had been sold at sherift"s sales, for less than the usual law 
 expenses incurred to eifect the sale ; and when one immedi- 
 ate consequence of this distress was expected to be on the part 
 of the farmers a compulsor}' resort to family manufactures for 
 their supply of clothing, as they must soon otherwise have 
 been without the means of protecting their bodies against the 
 inclemency of the seasons. Commercial operations had, how- 
 ever, been tolerably brisk. 585 vessels of 147,754 tons had 
 arrived from sea, in 1820, and 7 new vessels had been built 
 at Quebec. ,€074,556 worth of merchandise had been im- 
 ported. 
 
1820. 
 
 of the cli- 
 even then 
 [ happy po- 
 i upon as a 
 d to live in 
 no general 
 ^^aniine was 
 •perty were 
 Year after 
 from their 
 pry murder 
 1 the banks 
 ova Scotia, 
 w changed ! 
 )nce. Reli- 
 U8 ; and the 
 vn makings 
 (crpetual in- 
 , Dalhousie, 
 a deplorable 
 3 Canadas ; 
 compelled 
 d hay, oats, 
 chance of a 
 ics of Mon- 
 leat for ex- 
 e and barn, 
 usual law 
 ne immedi- 
 on the part 
 ifacturcs for 
 erwise have 
 against the 
 ishad, how- 
 4 tons had 
 been built 
 I been im- 
 
 1820. DALlIOLXIIi's OrtMNG PAIM.IAM IN TARV bl'KKCn. o'O^i 
 
 Lord Dalhoubie met the K*<iirilati:re of Jiinver Canada on 
 the 14th of Doceniber. Mr. I'apiueau was ro-clected Speaker 
 and approved of when the GDvernor-in-Chiif opened the 
 business of the session. liis LortLship made a semi-theatri- 
 cal allusion to the death of tiie late king : mixing it up with 
 the death of the J)uke ol" Richmond, whom he had known 
 and honored during thirty year.-*, when h-j immc'(]iately des- 
 cended to pounds, shillings and pem-o. lie called attention 
 to the accounts of the general e\i)onditiire for the past two 
 years; he would lay before the Asscml)ly the accounts of the 
 expense animally incurred in tlie administration of the gov- 
 ernment, and he would add a statement of the annual pro- 
 duct of the permanent taxes, and hereditary territorial reve- 
 nues of the Crown. liy these documents the Assembly 
 would perceive that the annual pernnuuMit revenue of the 
 province was not ecjual to the amount of annual pernument 
 charges upon the provincial civil list, but was deficient in 
 about i;22,000. The king had commanded him to sav that 
 having, from past experience, the fullest conlidence in the 
 loyalty and sense of duty of the Canadian people, he ex- 
 pected that a proper and permanent provision would be 
 made to supply the deliciency, so that the civil government 
 of the province might be su.stained with honor and advan- 
 tage to his subjects, lie had made a tour of the province, 
 but could not take upon himself to point out with conlidence 
 those measures of improvement which would prove of the 
 most advantage to the country, lie concurred, however, in 
 all that had been said on the subject by the late Duke of 
 Richmond, and the Duke's recommendations were worthy of 
 consideration by the parliament. A permanent revenue law 
 or a revenue law not liable to be suddeidy changed, would 
 benelit trade. Agriculture should be encouraged. The mi- 
 litia laws should be renewed. The waste lands should be 
 settled. A tide of immigration had set in, which promised 
 to continue. Many of the new comers were poor, cind some 
 had been grievously aillicted with sickness. Not a few had 
 abundant moans. The settlement of flieso imtnigranta 
 
 . 
 
3'!1 FACILITIE.'? FOK MAM I ACTl KINU IN 1,(»\VLU CANADA. 1820. 
 
 1^' 
 
 1 ) 
 
 whoiild not have l)C'en iuiitedeil by tlio want of legislative 
 aid. There were firrciit advaiitjig-ea to be derived from a new 
 population. Lower Canada, lie was aware, had a popula- 
 tion sutfieiently numerous to settle the waste lands. Tliere 
 were, undoubtedly, prejudices aajainst the introduction of 
 strauii^ers to l>e overcome, and there were tdso prejudices in 
 the minds of strangers, afi'ectinp; their settlement in Lower 
 Canada, fertile as it was, olferijig us it undeniably did, so 
 many facilities for manufacturing operations, and present- 
 ing, as was a[)j)arent, so wide a field for internal trade. In- 
 ducements should be held out to new comers, with the view 
 of making them spread more wideh'. Parochial churches 
 should be erected, lioads affording access to distant wood- 
 lands should be laid out. For himself, lie would assure the 
 Assembly tluit he had no object in view but the good of 
 the countrv. The Assemblv liked the frankjiess of the 
 
 I' • 
 
 Governor-in-Chicf They had no idea, liowever, of perma- 
 nently appropriating, in the then uncertain state of trade, 
 an amount for the civil list, exceeding half the usual amount 
 of tlie whole revenue. They would vote annually, in ac- 
 cordance with their promise to Sir John Sherbrooko, all 
 the necessary expenses of the government if His Excellency 
 ])leased, and no more. With regard to permanent taxes 
 the\' believed such a mode of taxation to be impracticable. 
 They w^ould, however, investigate the effects that might re- 
 sult from a long duration of the revenue laws. They would, 
 if it w^ere possible, inspire the commercial classes with conli- 
 dence. Legislation was then proceeded with. The civil 
 list was lirst considered. The estimate divided the list into 
 classes. There was the Governor-in-Chief andhisstaft*; the 
 Legislature and its officers ; the Executive Council and its 
 officers ; the Judges, Sheriflts, Clerks of Courts, and Tip- 
 staffs ; the Secretary and Registrar of the Province ; the 
 Receiver General and his clerk ; the Surveyor General and 
 clerks; the Surveyor of Woods ; the Auditor of Land Pa- 
 tents ; the Inspector General and clerks ; and the contingen- 
 cies of the whole. The estimate amounted to .£44,877. The 
 
CANADA. 1820. 
 
 it of k'gisilative 
 vod from a new 
 luul a popula- 
 i liiiultt. Tliere 
 introduction of 
 o prejiidiccH in 
 nieiit in Lower 
 Icniably did, so 
 !, and prescnt- 
 rnal trade. In- 
 , with the view 
 ochial churches 
 ) distant wood- 
 ould a.ssure the 
 >ut tlie good of 
 anknesft of the 
 Dver, of pernia- 
 state of trade, 
 3 usual amount 
 mnually, in ac- 
 ^herbrooke, all 
 Hid Excellency 
 rmanent taxes 
 impracticable, 
 that might re- 
 . They would, 
 .sses with conii- 
 th. The civil 
 ed the list into 
 id his staff ; the 
 Oouncil and its 
 Lirts, and Tip- 
 Province; the 
 )r General and 
 r of Land Pa- 
 the contingen- 
 ► X44,877. The 
 
 1S20. HON. JOHN xriL=ox — ArprARANcn Axn iiiaractf.r. ZC,7> 
 
 Assembly proceeded to the discussion of the items ^o?j amort'. 
 Item after item was read owv and coniiiK'niod upon, nni<-h 
 after the present fashion. Jolin Xcilson was tlion a meml)cr 
 of the Assembly. Mr. Xoilson was then as nuu'h an eco- 
 nomist as Mr. Mackenzie is or pretends \o l)e now. lie was 
 wisel}' jealous of the government. Mr. Noilson, the editor 
 of the Quebec Gazelle, was in tlie hi,i;'hest degree intelligent. 
 He was honest and, consotpiontly indc[»endent. He could 
 say more in a sentence thanC'harlcs Richard Ogden could 
 combat in a speech. He wan a tall, spare man, with rugged, 
 but yet prepossessing features. He liad always two black 
 eyes, overshadowed by a low protruding foreheail. From 
 the occiput to the os fronti'^, his head was quite level and ex- 
 traordinarily long. It was possildy due to Mr. Xeilson's 
 intelligence that, after some reductions had been made, the 
 re(piired supply was voted, not in a ])ill, providing for the 
 payment of stipulated sums to certain individuals, but in a 
 bill in whi(^h allowances were made for six ditferent depart- 
 ments and a supply voted for the whole. Tiie sum voted, 
 notwithstanding certain reductions was more than the esti- 
 mate. £46,000 sterling was appropriated towards defraying 
 the expenses of the civil government. X3,;08-J, the charge 
 upon the pension list, and XI, 543, the annual cost of the 
 militia staff were added to the civil list. The supply was 
 voted en hloi\ or almost so, with the view of reconciling the 
 Legislative Council to an annual appropriation, and because 
 that House had objected to the previous supply bill in which 
 certain sums were ai)propriated for the payment of certain 
 functionaries. Nevertheless, the bill was rejected by the 
 Legislative Council. The bill had not made a permanent 
 provision for the civil list, and it interfered with monies al- 
 ready appropriated. The Council resolved that it would not 
 proceed upon any bill of supply, which should not have 
 been applied for by the king's reprfjseutatlve ; the Council 
 woiild not proceed upon any bill appropriating public money 
 that should not have been recommended by the king's repre- 
 sentative ; the Council would not proceed upon any bill of 
 
.160 QrAIlRKI, Hj- THK I{0L'.-i;3 ABttLT THE t'lVII. I.I.ST. 1820. 
 
 >( , 
 
 I9'. 
 
 appi'Ojti-iation. for rnoiiov isr^ned, in conse<]UCMiee of on ad- 
 dross of the Assembly to the kincj's representative, unless 
 upon some oxtruordiiiury emeri^^enoy ; the Council would 
 not proceed upon any aj^propriation of pnldic money for ajiy 
 salary or pension hereafter to bo created, unless the quantum 
 of such salary or pension had been recommended by the 
 king's representative; and the Council would not proceed 
 upon any bill of appropriation for the civil list, which 
 should contain speciiications therein, by chapters or items, 
 nor unless the same should be granted during the life of the 
 king. The Assembly were also quite resolved as to the 
 course to be pursued by them. They wouM pass no bill of 
 supply without speciiications, nor for any period longer than 
 a year. They would not pass any bill at all for the puqDOses 
 of defraying the expenses of the government, unless the 
 right of applying and a^jportioning by vote, the monies pre- 
 viously appro[)rijited towards the support of the civil gov- 
 ernment, was also conceded to them. This quarrel between 
 the two Houses was an exceedingly interesting one. The 
 members of the Upper House, or the majority of them, felt 
 themselves to be personally interested — and were uneasy, 
 while the Assembly, having no other interest in the matter, 
 than principle and a sense of expedienc}'^, could maintain 
 their position, without flinching, for almost any length of 
 time. l!fay, the Assembly were positively generous. As 
 the rejection of the supply bill had left the Executive with- 
 out the means of defraying the civil expenditure for the 
 year, the Assembly tendered the sum of i!46,060 sterling to 
 His Excellency, pledging themselves to make good the 
 amount by a bill at the ensuing session. But His Excel- 
 lency would not have it. He was of opinion that the grant, 
 now proposed, was wholly ineffectual without the concur- 
 rence of the Legislative Council. There was no answer. 
 Mr. Neilson moved, and the Assembly resolved that, the 
 speech of His Grace the Govemor-in-Chief, on the 24th of 
 April, 1819, contained a censure of the proceedings of the 
 Ap.«iombly : that all censure of any proceeding of the As- 
 
I. I.J ST. 
 
 18*20. 
 
 1820. 
 
 MR. .\N1)ULW eiTAKT — TIIIi; tJlI'I'l.U:.-:, AO. 
 
 3U( 
 
 !tiee of an ad- 
 tative, unless 
 'ouiieil would 
 iionpy for su\y 
 Hi tlie quantmn 
 ?nded by the 
 1 uot proceed 
 ii list, which 
 )ters or items, 
 the life of the 
 ved us to the 
 pass no bill of 
 •d longer than 
 ' the purposes 
 t, unless the 
 le monies pre- 
 the civil gov- 
 arrol between 
 ig one. The 
 of them, felt 
 were uneasy, 
 n the matter, 
 iild maintain 
 ny length of 
 lenerous. As 
 ecutive with- 
 iture for the 
 sterling to 
 :e good the 
 His Excel- 
 at the grant, 
 the concur- 
 no answer. 
 3d that, the 
 the 24th of 
 dings of the 
 r of the As- 
 
 sembly, by either of tlm brancliCH of the K'nisluturt', was an 
 assumption and exercise of power contrary to law, a lircach 
 of the undoubted riglits and [trivilcit'cs o\' the House of As- 
 sembly, and subversive of the coiisritutiori of ilio govern- 
 ment, as by law o;-<tablished in the province ; aii'l that it was 
 the undoubted right of the .\ssenihly, in voting aids or sup- 
 plies, or ofl'ering money bills for the consent of tlie other 
 branches of the legislature, to ado[)t sncli order or mode of 
 proceedings, as it might tind confornniblo to it.s rules, and 
 to propound such matter as in its judgment Khouhl peem 
 fitted and most conducive to the peace, welfaiv, and good 
 government of the province. 
 
 Mr. Andrew Stuart, a man of brilliant attainments, was 
 busily engaged in the exposure of the enormous abuses that 
 had prevailed in the improvident and prodigal grajits of the 
 Crown lands. A bill was brought forward in the Assembly 
 for more eftectnally ascertaining the state of the })ublic funds 
 in the hands of the Receiver General. The Receiver Gene- 
 ral was to account annually to the legislature for his expen- 
 ditures, and he was to tell over, for its disposal by the As- 
 sembly, the balance which he should have remaining in 
 hand. He was to be allowed a commission on all monies 
 paid into his hands, in lieu of a salary. And he was not to 
 be engaged in trade. The bill did not, however, receive a 
 third reading, and the Receiver General still continued to 
 carry on the business of a lumber merchant. A bill was 
 also introduced for the trial of impeachments by the Legis- 
 lative Council, but was afterwards relincpiished. An eftbrt 
 was made to obtain a per diem allowance for the members 
 of the Assembly, but it was not successful. IVIr. James 
 Stuart was named agent for the province in London, and 
 the sum of X2,000 was voted to defray his expenses in that 
 capacity ; but the appointment was set aside by the Council, 
 because a Mr. Gordon, who held a situation in the Colonial 
 Office, had been previotisly appointed agent for the province 
 by the Executive government, with a salary of X200 a year. 
 Several messages, relative to public improvements were sent 
 
R— ^ 
 
 368 
 
 Tin: LACIIIN'F. CANAL — SINECrRE OFFICES. 
 
 IM'JI. 
 
 I 
 
 clown to tlkc Assoim1)I_v In tlio fourso of tlio sosKioii, Init tlie 
 IloiiKO only promisi'd to consider lliom next HCrit^ion. One 
 bill, ot' givjit iiiipoi'tnnco, av;is, liowi'Vfi', pusst'd: — Iliat to 
 open a canal between Montreal and I^acliine, at tlie pnblic 
 expense. In-i'ore tlie cio^io of tlie st.'ssion the House repiv- 
 Hente<l tliat if a LieuteJiant-(}ovcrnor of the Province, with 
 a salary of i;i,r>00 a yoiw, was necessary, he .should be resi- 
 dent in the province ; tliat the Jjieutenant-(lovernorshij) of 
 Gaspe, to which a salary of j£300 a year was attached, was a 
 sinecure; that the Secretary of the I'rovince, witli a salary 
 of oG400 a 3'ear, resided in London, while him duties were 
 performed by a deputy, who only received tlie fees incidental 
 to the office ; that the agent of the province, who received 
 £200 a year, did nothing for his salary, and had no services 
 to perform, being merel}' the agent of the Executive; and 
 that it was tlie opinion of the Assemljly that no salary 
 should be allowed to any of the members of the Executive 
 Council, non-resident in the province. It was further re- 
 presented that tlie offices of Judge of the Vice-Admiralty 
 and Judge of the Court of King's Jieiich were incompatible, 
 and that the offices of Judge of the King's Bench and of 
 French Translator to the Court could not ])c hehl by the 
 same person. The exaction of fees, too, by the Judge of the 
 Vice- Admiralty, while he received a salary of £200 a year, 
 in lieu of fees, was improper and contraiy to lav.-. And the 
 Governor-in-Chief was re<]uested to eifect remedies. On the 
 17th of March, the session was prorogued. Lord Dalliousie 
 couhl not express his satisfaction at the general result of the 
 Assembly's deliberations. lie regretted that the expecta- 
 tions of His Majesty, with respect to the civil list, had not 
 been realised, lie was disappointed. The administration 
 of the civil government had been left without any pecuniary 
 means, but what he should advance upon his own personal 
 responsibility. Individuals v/ould suffer under severe and 
 unmerited hardships, caused by the want of that constitu- 
 tional authority necessary for the payment of the expenses 
 of tlie civil government; the improvements of the country 
 
RS. 
 
 18iil. 
 
 1821. 
 
 ADDITIONS TO TUU UXUCUTIVU COUNCIL. 
 
 860 
 
 ision, Imt tlie 
 HC'Hjjioii. One 
 isc'd : — that, to 
 , !it tlio public 
 T I on so rep IV- 
 'rovimo, with 
 liould bo resi- 
 ►voniorship o{ 
 ttacbod, waK a 
 , with a salarv 
 i duties were 
 f'oos incidental 
 Avlio received 
 ad no services 
 vecutive; and 
 hat no salary 
 the lOxccutive 
 v'as further re- 
 iee-Admiralty 
 incompatible. 
 Bench and of 
 e held by tlio 
 Judge of the 
 X200 a year, 
 V. And the 
 \\Q^. On tlie 
 )rd Dalhousie 
 result of the 
 the expecta- 
 11 st, had not 
 dniiuistratiou 
 my pecuniary 
 own personal 
 r severe and 
 lat constitn- 
 the expenses 
 the country 
 
 were nearly at a stand ; and the executive government wsla 
 palsied and powerless. "When parliament should be again 
 summoned for legislation, it would be summoned to decide 
 whether government should bo restored to its constitutional 
 energy, or whether the prospect of lasting misfortune was to 
 be deplored by a continuance of the present state of things. 
 The Assembly inwardly chuckled as the Governor concluded 
 his speech. All that they wanted had been in part effected. 
 The government had acknowledged itself to be constitution- 
 ally dependent on the Assembly for its energy and for its 
 pecuniary means. It was hoped, indeed, that sooner or 
 later, the propriety of permitting the Assembly to vote the 
 supplies, after its own fashion, would be conceded. 
 
 Shortly after the prorogation, Mr. Papineau, the Speaker 
 of the Assembly, Mr. Hale, a member of the Legislative 
 Council, and Colonel Ready, Civil Secretary, were added to 
 the Executive Council. * 
 
 On the 7th of July, the construction of the Lachine Canal 
 was commenced. 
 
 In the course of the summer, Lord Dalhousie proceeded 
 on a tour to Upper Canada, returning by the Ottawa, in 
 August. 
 
 The legislature of Lower Canada was again opened 
 by the Governor-in-Chief, on the 11th of December. He 
 brought under the consideration of parliament the state of 
 the province, recommending immediate attention to its 
 financial affairs, with the view of making a suitable provi- 
 sion for the support of the civil government. He had adopt- 
 ed a course for the payment of the current expenses of 
 government as consistent as possible with the existing laws. 
 He had been commanded to recommend that a provision for 
 the civil list should be granted permanently, during His 
 Majesty's life. He felt assured that the Council would at- 
 tend to the recommendation, and he would not advert to 
 topics of far inferior importance, for the present. The 
 Council considered it to be their paramount duty to adopt 
 
 what had been established in the British parliament, as a 
 
 i2 
 

 U 
 
 \i ■ 
 
 \ . 
 
 370 
 
 THE CIVIL LIST ANTAdONISM. 
 
 1S21. 
 
 constitutional prin<ii»l(', tlu; ,i(nintin<^ of tho civil list dnrini^ 
 tlic litb ot'tlic kini:;. Tlio Assembly were not so submissive. 
 They roriuested His Kxcolloncy, tlio (lovcrnor, to convey to 
 the kini^ that they liad received witli all due humility the 
 communication of llis Mji'iesly's recommendation that such 
 provision, as should ai)})ear necessary for the payment of the 
 expenses of the civil list should be i^ranted permanently, 
 during His Majesty's life, as well as the information that 
 such was tlie practice of the Uritish parliament, an<l that the 
 recommendation would have due weight with them. The 
 Governor on receiving the achlress of the C/ommons, in re- 
 ply to his spee(;h from the throne, was not particularly well 
 pleased, lie assured tlic Assembly that until the expenses 
 of the government were provided for, in the manner he liad 
 indicated, that there would be neither luirmony, union, nor 
 cordial co-operation in the three branches of the legislature, 
 and that the real prosperity of the province wonld bo decid- 
 edly arrested. The Assembly were quite indift'erent as to 
 consequences. They had a duty to perform to their consti- 
 tuents, and meant to perform it. The estimates of the civil 
 list were sent down. The House asked the Governor to lay 
 before it his instructions. The Governor refused. His in- 
 structions were confidential and he would not suffer any 
 part of them to become the subject of discussion by the 
 House. A motion to grant a permanent civil list was made 
 and negatived. There were only ti.ve ayes to thirty-one 
 nays. The House adhered to the opinion that the supplies 
 ought to be voted and appropriated annually, and not other- 
 wise. The Governor was requested to mention tlie circum- 
 stance to the King, and he promised to do so. The Assem- 
 bly proceeded to the transaction of other business. The ex- 
 pediency of having an agent to represent the interests of tlie 
 people, not the Executive of Canada oidy, in England, was 
 next considered. It occurred to the House that some mem- 
 ber of the imperial parliament migM be induced to accept 
 the agency, and it was resolved that Joseph Marryatt, Es- 
 (juire, M. P., should be requested to act as such agent. The 
 
1S21. 
 
 I list (Inriiii? 
 siihiuisHivc. 
 :o convoy to 
 uimility tlic 
 »n tliat ftucli 
 mont of the 
 erniancntly, 
 luitioii tluit 
 uihI tliat the 
 tliein. Tlie 
 moiiH, in re- 
 iculurly well 
 he expenses 
 nner he had 
 ', union, nor 
 i logi.shituro, 
 lid be decid- 
 itfercnt as to 
 their consti- 
 i of the civil 
 '^ernor to hiy 
 cd. His in- 
 )t snfter any 
 ision by the 
 4 was made 
 3 thirty-one 
 the suppHes 
 lI not other- 
 the circum- 
 ^he Asseni- 
 s. The ex- 
 srests of tlie 
 gland, was 
 3ome mem- 
 1 to accept 
 irryatt, Es- 
 igeut. The 
 
 1821. MK. MAIUIYATT, M. I'. — .STOl'l'ACJli oK Till) SI I'l'LIKS. iill 
 
 resolution of the Assembly was transniiltod lo Mr. Nbirryutt, 
 who was also \)\\\ m possession of (lio civil list dillienKy, 
 with iiisti'iietitms ivlalivo to liie coui-se of action which it 
 was expected he would udopl. The C.mncil felt annoyed. 
 They looked upon the appoinlniuut of Mr. Manyatt us u 
 dangerous assumption of legislative power by the Assembly 
 alone. They considered it a breach of the constitution, a 
 breach of the king's prerogative, a breach of the [U'ivileges 
 of the Legislative C/Ouncil, and as a something which tend- 
 ed to subvert the constitution of the province. This protest 
 had the elfect desired by the Council. Mr. Marryatt would 
 not act. Unless the Council concurred in his a}»[>ointment 
 he could have no weight with the government in Knghuid, 
 uor would he be even acknowledged. There was nothing 
 now to bo done but to starve the govennnent into submis- 
 sion. The government was not to be coucpiered by assault. 
 The Assembly determined upon cutting oil' the supplies en- 
 tirely. The revenue Acts were, one after the other, suttcred 
 to expire. No appropriation was made even for the current 
 expenses of the year. A revenue of thirty thousand pounds 
 a year, or more, part of which belonged to Upper Canada, 
 was sacriliced. The Governor might make advances to the 
 officers of the government, on his own responsibility, or not, 
 as he pleased. But the House would hold the Receiver Ge- 
 neral personally responsible for all monies levied on His 
 Majesty's subjects, paid over by him on any authority what- 
 ever, unless such payments should be authorised by an ex- 
 press provision of law. If anything could arrest the real 
 prosperity of the province, it was now arrested. Some 
 members of the Legislative Council took alarm. Afraid 
 that their resolutions of the previous session interfered with 
 the privileges of the Assembly, tliey wished to rescind them. 
 The Assembly, in the opinion of a section even of tho 
 Council, ought not to be diet ited to. The Commons had 
 exclusively the right of dictating their own terms and con- 
 ditions, with regard to all aids to the Crown. And the ol)- 
 ject, tor which such uid.s were sought, was of no couse- 
 
372 
 
 Tin; HON. .JOHN lUrilAlll».-i()N'. 
 
 1821. 
 
 i . 
 
 •/ . 
 
 (liuinco. an fai i\h tlioir lij^lit wuu coiicenifd. Tlie majority 
 ol' tlio Coum'll took ((uiti! nnothcr view of tlio matter. One 
 monibor was particulurlv Hevcro on the Asseinblv. The Ilo- 
 iioraMc .folm Kichardsoii, cons i do red tlio coiirso jtuirsut'd bv 
 tilt' Assunilily. as uiwoiistitiilional and overbearing, lie 
 (•liaract('fis«?d tln'ir pretensions as biibversive of the preroga- 
 tives of the Crown, and indicative of a desire to have the 
 absolute control of the government. Their proceeding.-* 
 were revolutionary. From day to day secret coinmitteoM 
 wore in session, (grievances were mischievously hunted up. 
 Their measure} were precisely similar to those which pre- 
 ceded the fail of Charh's the First, and thtJ French revolu- 
 tion. And, at that very moment, thine was a conmiittee of 
 the Assembly sitting, the members of which were in con- 
 sultation, about replacing the distinguished personage who 
 resided at the Castle of St. Lewis. Mr. Richardson was 
 being quietly listened to by several members of the Assem- 
 bly. They resolved to move in the nnittcr. The sayings 
 and doings of Mr. Richardson were accordingly biought 
 under the notice of the Assembly. Mr. Quirouet informed 
 the Lower House that he had heard the Honorable John Ri- 
 <'har<lson, one of the members of the Legislative Council 
 say, in leply to the Honojablo Mr. Dobartzch, who hnd 
 moved for the rescision of tlie rules relating to the civil list, 
 that there was a secriit committee sitting in the House of 
 Assembly, deliberating on the appointment of a governor of 
 their choice, and on the removed of the person now in the 
 castle; and that the oommittee, which was, perhaps, one of 
 public safety, sat without the knowledge of several members 
 of the House, a thing without example in England, except 
 in the time of Charles the First. A committee of five mem- 
 bers was appointed to obtain further information. Tlie 
 committee ascertained that everything reported by Mr. Qui- 
 rouet was true. A spirited debate ensued. The conduct of 
 Mr. Richardson was looked upon as atrocious. Mr. Ri- 
 chardson too was the senior member of the Executive Coun- 
 cil, and on liiia the government of tlio province might de- 
 
1821. 
 
 riie majority 
 natter. One 
 V. The Ho- 
 ; purhiiod by 
 )Caring. He 
 tlie prerogri- 
 to have the 
 jtrocet'ding.s 
 t'OinrnitteeM 
 y hunted up. 
 I which pre- 
 ench revolu- 
 •onimittee of 
 were in con- 
 raonage who 
 lardfiOJi was 
 the Aasem- 
 IMiG sayings 
 ^ly bjought 
 ct inlbrincd 
 j\v. John Ki- 
 ivo C^ouncil 
 1, wlio hfid 
 \u' civil list, 
 e Hou.sc of 
 governor of 
 now in the 
 a\Miy one of 
 il members 
 md, except 
 live mcni- 
 tion. Tl»e 
 )y Mr. Qiii- 
 conduct of 
 . Mr. Ri- 
 tive Conn- 
 might de- 
 
 I.S21. 
 
 hk.^I'otk; t'oNiM'ti ui mi: A!<si:mijlv 
 
 ■>i -I 
 
 volve. He was entirely unworthy of eontidetue. IK- was 
 the enenjy of his counlry. It was resolved tliat his language 
 was false, Rcamlalous, and malicious; that h" had Ihom 
 guilty of a high contempt of the Assembly; tli;:t If li.id 
 math! an o<lious attempt (o destroy llis Miijesty'.-* (onlid< ik'- 
 in the fnlelity and loyalty of the Assembly, ami of the pm- 
 ]>leof the province, and that he had been guilty of a breach 
 of the rights and privileges of one l»raneh of the legislature. 
 It was further resolved to inform the Legislative Council of 
 the Assembly's o[>inion of the discourse of llie Jlonorablc 
 John Richardson, with the reipiest that the Council wnuM 
 inquire into the (ihurgo which thej prcicrred against him 
 and were prepared to substantiate, ^o that the Jlonorable 
 John Richardson might be a(' piati;ly pi''ii.>hed. And ii 
 was still further resolved thi;t the Go ei nor (.General slioidd 
 Lo informed of the I'belous language </J'ihn Honorable .lohn 
 Richard.soii, and of the desire of the Assembly that he 
 should be removed and dismissed from every place of honor, 
 trust, or profit, which ho niiglit hold under the Crown. 
 Tlie.se resolutions of the Assembly, respecting the conduct 
 of the Honorable John Richardson wore taken by special 
 messengers to the Governor and to the Legislative Council. 
 The Governor considered the resolutions undignified. They 
 were as much a breach of the privileges of the Council as 
 the remarks of Mr. Richardson would have been a breach of 
 the privileges of the Assembly if uttered anywhere else 
 than in the Council. Mr. Richardson had a perfect riglit to 
 express himself freely in parliament. Freedon. of debate 
 was as necessary to the Upper as it was to the Lower House. 
 He distinctly refused to dismiss Mr. Richardson from any 
 office of honor, trust, or profit, which lie might hold. The 
 Council, so far from proceeding to punish Mr. Richardson 
 for his outspokenness, looked upon the resolutions of the 
 Assembly as a flagrant breach of its privileges, and would 
 take no measures with regard to the language made use of 
 towards the Assembly, by Mr. Richardson, until the Assem- 
 bly apologised to the Council for its interference with the 
 
.t 
 
 ,. » 
 
 It'' 
 
 1*1 
 
 |l • 
 
 874 
 
 MESSAGE FROM THE GOVERNOR. 
 
 1821. 
 
 riglits of tlic Legislative Council. Mr. Richardson even re- 
 peater the substance of liis observations in the debate whicli 
 had given offence, in still stronger language. He had little 
 to fear, and he knew that tlic Assembly had taken a position 
 which they could not sustain. He held no office under the 
 Crown. He was a legislator and Executive Councillor, but 
 not a placeman. Indeed the Assembly were becoming 
 ashamed of themselves. Instead of attacking the Council 
 in return for the attack made upon them, they had taken it 
 for granted that their proceedings were not liable to be com- 
 mented upon at all. They pretended to represent public 
 opinion and yet would not tolerate the expression of any 
 opinion adverse to themselves. But public opinion prevail- 
 ed. They were compelled to edge out of their difficulty 
 by representing in a resolution that it was the incontestable 
 right of the Assembly to prevent any breach of their privi- 
 leges, by every consitutional means in their power. So the 
 matter rested. 
 
 A message came to the Assembly from the Governor. It 
 had reference to certain grievances submitted by the Assem- 
 bly to the King. The Governor had been commanded to 
 inform the Assembly that the Lieutenant-Governor had been 
 ordered to repair to Quebec, and to reside in the province 
 during his tenure of office ; that a Lieutenant-Governor for 
 Gaspe was necessary and should be provided for ; that the 
 successor to the Provincial Secretary should be a resident 
 officer, but that the present absent incumbent was not to be 
 dispossessed without adequate compensation ; and that the 
 present agent of the province, in the colonial office, had not 
 been guilty of misconduct, and the office of agent which he 
 held was not to be abolished. The message was anything 
 but satisfactory, and the Assembly grumbled audibly. 
 
 Another message was sent to the Assembly informing the 
 House that the Governor intended to apply the territorial 
 and casual revenues, fines, rents, and profits, which were 
 reserved to the French King, at the conquest, and belonged 
 to the King of Great Britain on the surieuder of the coun- 
 
1821. 
 
 son even rc- 
 ebatc which 
 [le had little 
 en a position 
 c under the 
 incillor, but 
 'C becoming 
 the Council 
 had taken it 
 [e to be com- 
 esent public 
 ssion of any 
 nion prevail- 
 5ir difficulty 
 ncontestablo 
 f their privi- 
 ,ver. So the 
 
 overnor. It 
 
 ^ the Assem- 
 
 nmanded to 
 
 lor had been 
 
 he province 
 
 Tovernor for 
 
 )r; that the 
 
 e a resident 
 
 as not to be 
 
 md that the 
 
 ice, had not 
 
 it which ho 
 
 8 anything 
 
 libly. 
 
 forming the 
 
 territorial 
 diicli were 
 
 belonged 
 If the coun- 
 
 1821. 
 
 EFFECT OF CUTTING OFF THE SUPPLIES. 
 
 375 
 
 try, the monies raised by statutes of the imperial parliament, 
 and the sum of ,£5,000 sterling raised by the provincial sta- 
 tute 35th George the Third, chapter 9, towards the support 
 of the civil government and the administration of justice. 
 And he called upon the Assembly, as they had refused the 
 civil list, to defray the cost of certain local establishments, 
 the expenses ef the legislature and the necessary expense of 
 collecting the revenue. The Assembly assured the Gov- 
 ernor of their great satisfaction that he had not questioned 
 the constitutional doctrine which they had enunciated, that 
 the public money should only be applied conformably to law. 
 They were indeed sorry that the standing rules of the Coun- 
 cil prevented their House from entertaining even the hope 
 that its invariable disposition to provide for the necessary 
 expenses of the civil government could have its proper and 
 legal eftect. But they would grant no supplies whatever. 
 This maua3uvre might have been most successfully prac- 
 tised upon the government of Lower Canada, if it had not 
 also affected Upper Canada. The supplies of Upper, as 
 well as of Lower Canada, were cut off. Quebec was the 
 only seaport the two provinces had. It was in Lower Ca- 
 nada that the duties on imports were levied. Of these im- 
 port duties Upper Canada was now entitled to a fifth, instead 
 of an eighth, as at first agreed upon. And if the whole was 
 sacrificed, the value of a fifth of the whole would not amount 
 to much. The government, and, indeed, the whole people 
 of Upper Canada were annoyed at the loss of revenue in- 
 flicted upon the country, for the sake merely of principle. 
 But that was not all. Upper Canada was already so rapidly 
 increasing in population that a fifth of the whole duties 
 collected was not looked upon as her fair share of receipts. 
 Her commissioners desired a larger share of the incomings. 
 Lower Canada would not grant the increase and there was 
 auotlicr diliiculty between the provinces. The subject was 
 brought under the consideration oftlio imperial parliament, 
 by Upper Canada, through the instrumentality of an agent, 
 in London, appointed to communicate with the government 
 
376 
 
 TUB PROROGATION — RYLAND'S ADVICE. 
 
 1822. 
 
 r • 
 
 It • 
 
 at home. The parliament of Lower Canada was prorogued 
 on the 18th of February. Lord Dalhousie was satisfied that 
 no benefit to the public could be expected from a continu- 
 ance of the session, and had come to prorogue the parlia* 
 ment. He regretted that the supplies had been withheld, 
 but neither the civil government, nor the officers of justice, 
 nor any of the oflSlcers of the government or of the courts 
 would be at all affected. The mischievous effects of their 
 proceeding would fall upon trade and of course be highly 
 injurious to His Majesty's loyal and faithful subjects, who 
 should know how to bring about a remedy. He was much 
 pleased with the conduct of the Council. The Governor 
 General had received an idea from Mr. Ryland, with which 
 he was quite delighted. It now seemed to His Excellency 
 that he would soon bring the Commons of Canada to their 
 senses. Had Mr. Ryland been called upon to point out a 
 remedy for the existing difficulties in the government, he 
 would have said to lord Dalhousie : — either unite the legis- 
 latures of Upper and Lower Canada, or, by giving a fair re- 
 presentation to the townships, secure an English influence 
 in the House of Assembly. Perfect the constitution by cre- 
 ating an hereditary aristocracy, for which the Crown Re- 
 serves were originally set apart, and make the Legislative 
 Council so respectable as to render a seat therein an object 
 of ambition to every man of character and talent. Exercise 
 decidedly the patronage of the Romish Church, and give 
 the Romish Bishop clearly to understand that the slightest 
 opposition on his part to this regulation would put an end 
 to his allowance of ^1,500 sterling per annum. Admit no 
 more coadjutors, secure a permanent revenue, adequate or 
 nearly adequate to the expenses of the civil government. 
 Ascertain to a farthing the monies that actually are or ought 
 to be in the Receiver General's chest. Give to that officer 
 an adequate salary, and take effectual means to prevent one 
 shilling of the public monies from being employed by him 
 in future in commercial speculations. Accomplish these ob- 
 jects, as you easily may, and be assured that good sense and 
 
1822. 
 
 1822. 
 
 LEGISLATIVE UNION OF THK PROVIXCES. 
 
 ;i i 
 
 i prorogued 
 atisfied that 
 
 I a continu- 
 tlie parlia* 
 
 II withheld, 
 3 of justice, 
 ' the courts 
 cts of their 
 le be highly 
 bjects, who 
 i was much 
 le Governor 
 with which 
 
 Excellency 
 ada to their 
 point out a 
 irnment, he 
 e the legis- 
 ag a fair re- 
 li influence 
 tion by cre- 
 Crown Re- 
 Legislative 
 n an object 
 Exercise 
 , and give 
 e slightest 
 ut an end 
 Admit no 
 dequate or 
 vernment. 
 e or ought 
 hat officer 
 Irevent one 
 ed by him 
 these ob- 
 sense and 
 
 upright intentions, on the part of Ills Majc.-^ty's representa- 
 tive, will thereafter be fully adequate to 2;ct the better ol' 
 eveiy difficulty that has hitherto attended the provincial 
 government. This scheme of a remedy for existing ditlr- 
 culties was submitted by the Earl of Dalhousie to the gov- 
 ernment of England. A bill was indeed introduced into 
 the imperial parliament, for a legislative union of the two 
 provinces, and for the regulation of trade in Canada. A 
 majority of the Commons of England would not, however, 
 listen to the proposal for a legislative union of the provinces, 
 for which no desire had been expressed by either Uiiper or 
 Lower Canada. The sense of the inhabitants of the Ca- 
 nadas should first have been obtained. To this opposi- 
 tion the imperial ministry were compelled to yield, and 
 therefore that part of the bill which related to the union waa 
 relinquished. The other part of the bill, afterwards known 
 as "The Canada Trade Act," became law. By it the 
 claims of Upper Canada were recognised, and to guard that 
 province against the caprice of the lower province, all the 
 duties payable under Acts of the legislature of Lower Ca- 
 nada, on imports, were to be permanently continued, accor- 
 ding to the latest agreement, in July, 1819. The two tem- 
 porary provincial Acts, 53 and 55, George III, chapter 2, 
 and 85, George III, chapter 3, including that which had 
 been suffered to expire were revived, and became permanent 
 Acts, only liable to repeal or alteration, by Lower Canada, 
 with the concurrence of Upper Canada. New duties on im- 
 ports by sea could not be imposed by Lower Canada without 
 the consent of Upper Canada, without the special interfe- 
 rence of the imperial parliament. It was no wonder that 
 Lord Dalhousie spoke ironically of the effect to be produced 
 by the stoppage of the supplies. The measure was not, 
 however, judicious. It was in the highest degree irritating 
 to Lower Canada. It was a positive grievance, and indeed 
 it was a partial destruction of the constitution, at the in- 
 stance of a placeman. There was one good thing in the 
 Act. The power of commuting the seigniorial or feudal 
 
-378 
 
 AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE IN DISTRESS. 
 
 1822. 
 
 k 
 
 V - 
 
 tenure ijito free uirI eoniiuoii soccaire was jjrivcii to the cen- 
 sitaire in transactions with tlic crown. 
 
 This rude assault upon tlie Commons of Lower Canada 
 came at an unfortunate period. Both provinces were suffer- 
 ing. Agriculture and commerce were in distress. Agricul- 
 tural and commercial distress had also alHicted the mother 
 country. I'eople were unwillingly- idle, and consequently, 
 discontented. The regulations then existing in Great Bri- 
 tain, with respect to tlie importation of grain and Hour from 
 the Canadas were alleged to amount almost to a prohibition. 
 To the operation of these regulations Canadian distress was 
 attributed. Unless relief were speedily obtained, the cer- 
 tain ruin of the entire farming and commercial interests 
 was expected to ensue. The difficulties occasioned by the 
 obstruction to Canadian navigation, in winter, rendered it 
 impossible for the Canadian farmer to compete fairly or with 
 a reasonable chance of success, in the English markets, 
 with the United States. American produce was admitted 
 into Lower Canada, for consumption, free of duty, to the 
 prejudice of Upper Canada, and was a direct violation of the 
 reciprocity which ought to exist between the two provinces, 
 as it depressed the price of Upper Canada produce, and ren- 
 dered nugatory the laws existing for its protection. And 
 unless the flour of Upper Canada should be admitted into 
 the English market on terms of greater favor, the imports 
 from Great Britain would entirely cease. The Upper Cana- 
 dians wished the repeal of the corn bill. They wanted the 
 monopoly of the supply of the West Indies. They desired 
 a corn bill for themselves. And they did not know pre- 
 cisely what they desired for the riddance f»f their distress. 
 It was at this season that the " Canada Trade Act" came 
 into force, and that the propriety of uniting the two pro- 
 vinces was to be considered by the people. In Lower Ca- 
 nada the contemplated re-union of the provinces was not 
 relished. Upper Canada was indifferent and perhaps rather 
 in favor than opposed to the scheme. To Lower Canada it 
 forboded the loss of caste, usages, and religion, while to 
 
RESS. 1822. 
 :cn to the cen- 
 
 Lowor Canada 
 ;es were sufter- 
 •ess. Agricul- 
 }cl the mother 
 consequently, 
 ^ in Great Bri- 
 and Hour from 
 a prohibition. 
 a,n distress was 
 lined, the cer- 
 rcial interests 
 asioued by the 
 r, rendered it 
 D fairl}' or with 
 ^lish markets, 
 was admitted 
 )f duty, to the 
 iolation of the 
 wo provinces, 
 duce, and reu- 
 ection. And 
 admitted into 
 the imports 
 Upper Cana- 
 Y wanted the 
 They desired 
 Dt know pre- 
 leir distress. 
 Act" came 
 he two pro- 
 n Lower Ca- 
 lces was not 
 erhaps rather 
 er Canada it 
 on, while to 
 
 1822. 
 
 THE TNION BILL. 
 
 nio 
 
 Upper Canada it indicated only a more extended sphere of 
 legislative action, and the direct control of the general reve- 
 nue for improvements^. The Union Bill was well conceived. 
 The Governor was to have erected the townships, previously 
 unrepresented, into counties, of six townships each, with a 
 member for every county. The qualification for a scat in 
 the Assembly was to be the unincumbered possession of 
 landed property to the value of ,£500 sterling. The Houso 
 was to consist of not more than one hundred and twentv 
 members, and of not more than sixty members for either 
 province. Four ministers were to have seats in the House 
 and to have the liberty of speech without the right of 
 votes, in the shape of two members from each of the Exe- 
 cutive Councils of Upper Canada and of Lower Canada. 
 The duration of the parliament was to be five years. There 
 was to be no power of imprisonment for alleged contempts 
 given to either House. The proceedings of both Houses 
 were to be recorded in the English language, and in fifteen 
 years afterwards, the English language only was to be 
 made use of in debate. The free exercise of the Roman 
 Catholic religion was to be respected, subject to the king's 
 supremacy, and to the collation or induction into cures — a 
 privilege until then enjoyed by the Bishop superintending 
 the Romish Church in Canada. Here was Mr. Ryland's 
 scheme to the letter. It gave evidence of some ability. It 
 was the scheme of a lifetime, of one zealous in the cause of 
 the Church of England. How the Lower Canadians were 
 to have been induced to consent, is not easily guessed at. 
 It is true Mr. Ryland intimates that the Bishop's salary 
 could be withdrawn, and that no more coadjutors should be 
 allowed. But the Bishop was not the only clergyman of 
 the Church of Rome in the province, and the See of Rome 
 has its instruments in every ecclesiastical grade. The priests, 
 as a body were very much annoyed at the Union Bill. 
 They did not fail to declaim against it. Nor were they to be 
 blamied. The French Canadians were indeed, to a man, op- 
 posed to the union. The English population were, of 
 
380 
 
 THE CHURCH — POLITICAL RIGHTS. 
 
 1822. 
 
 *ft 
 
 it. • •■ 
 
 
 [t ■ 
 
 courfle, in favor of tlic scheme. Ilorriticd at popery, an 
 Englishman honestly believed that popery had no rights in 
 a country possonscd by a protestant king. It could be tole- 
 rated but not legally maintained. Of course when the King 
 became Bishop of the Church in Canada, the Pope was vir- 
 tually deposed, and the deposition of the Pope in England 
 is indeed the most essential diiference between the Church 
 of England and the Church of Rome. The people of Mon- 
 treal were most actively in favor of Mr. Ryland's admirable 
 scheme of religious conversion. Of 80,000 people who had 
 come into the province since the American war scarcely a 
 twentieth part had remained within the limits of the pro- 
 vince, the rest having been induced by the foreign character 
 of the country in which they had sought an asylum, and the 
 discouragements they experienced, to try their fortune 
 in the United States. The division of the Province of 
 Quebec, into Upper and Lower Canada, had been impolitic. 
 Had a fit plan of representation been adopted the British 
 population would have now exceeded the French, and the 
 imports and exports of the country have been greatly beyond 
 their present amount.* It is not a little extraordinary to 
 find that the English speaking inhabitants of the province 
 complained of the unreasonable extent of political rights 
 which had been conceded to Lower Canada. Mr. Neilson 
 was not of these complainants. Mr. James Stuart was. The 
 Canadians had deserted Mr. Stuart and he now deserted 
 them. Mr. Neilson had not been yet deserted by those 
 whom he had served, and he had not therefore cause for 
 desertion. Messrs. Neilson and Papineau went home in 
 charge of petitions against the contemplated union of the 
 provinces, while Mr. Stuart went to London with the peti- 
 tion of the unionists in his pocket. The mob was merely 
 prejudiced. There was no politics in* the heads of the ordi- 
 nary people, whether of French or English extraction. But 
 the English hated the French, and the French disliked the 
 English, because neither understood the other. It was 
 
 * TO'day an agitation has beg^n for a repeal of the prenent Act of Union. 
 
1822. 
 
 it popeiy, ail 
 
 d no rights in 
 
 could be tole- 
 
 rhen the Kinar 
 
 Pope was vir- 
 
 )0 in England 
 
 in the Churcli 
 
 Bople of Mon- 
 
 d's admirable 
 
 ople who had 
 
 var scarcely a 
 
 ts of the pro- 
 
 jign character 
 
 ylum, and the 
 
 ;heir fortune 
 
 ) Province of 
 
 een impolitic. 
 
 I the British 
 
 inch, and the 
 
 reatly beyond 
 
 aordinary to 
 
 the province 
 
 itical rights 
 
 Mr. Neilson 
 
 art was. The 
 
 ow deserted 
 
 ed by those 
 
 cause for 
 
 ent home in 
 
 union of the 
 
 dth the peti- 
 
 was merely 
 
 of the ordi- 
 
 iction. But 
 
 disliked the 
 
 3r. It was 
 
 of Union. 
 
 'e 
 
 1823. 
 
 ANTIPATHIES — INCREASIXG DliUCLLTIES. 
 
 881 
 
 enough for the Englisli spoaking population that the gov- 
 ernment was English, to secure their sympiithies to the gov- 
 ernment, and it was enough for the French speaking part of 
 the population to know that tlie Assembly was chiefly 
 Franco-Canadian to secure their sympathies to the Assem- 
 bly. Lord Dalhousie and the red-tape-nobility looked upon 
 both only as m?ta«7^g. His lordship was the emperor; the 
 judges, the bishops, .and the secretaries, were the marshals 
 and princes of an empire of serfs — of crown serfs and of 
 serfs of the soil. But, however that mav have been, two 
 events of some importance had occurred. The Lieutenant- 
 Governor of the province. Sir Francis Burton, had arrived 
 at the scene of his labors, and Sir John Caldwell, the Re- 
 ceiver General, had become insolvent towards the province, 
 in the sum of X100,000. The difficulties of Lord Dalhou- 
 sie's reign were on the increase. The union and intended 
 extinction of Lower Canadian nationality was not a matter 
 to be so easily eftected as at first anticipated. Ilis lordship 
 again assembled parliament on the 10th of January, 1823.. 
 The Clerk of the Assembly informed the noble Earl, at the 
 head of the government, that the Speaker, Mr. Papineau, 
 had gone to England. The Governor ordered the Assembly 
 to elect another Speaker in his stead. They did so, and 
 their choice fell upon Mr. Vallieres de St. Real. The choice 
 was approved of. Lord Dalhousie thereupon opened the 
 session. He told the Houses that an Act had been passed 
 regulating the trade of Lower Canada with the United 
 States of America, and the intercourse between Upper and 
 Lower Canada, an adjustment of the differences subsisting 
 between the two provinces being provided for. He further 
 intimated that the imperial government contemplated the 
 union of the two provinces, but had withdrawn the measure 
 until the next session of the imperial legislature, with the 
 view of ascertaining the sentiments of the Canadian people 
 on the matter. He hoped that the subject would receive at- 
 tention, and the deliberations of the parliament be distin- 
 guished for moderation. He had been somewhat embar- 
 
382 
 
 PARLIAMENT A(!AIN IN SESSION. 
 
 1823. 
 
 
 rasscd by the sto^jpacco of tlio nupplios, l>ut liiul done an 
 iiiucli as ho could to avert incoiivoiiiouco, by paying up tbo 
 usual expenses for tlie half year then current, tliougli lie had 
 not felt himself justified in doing so beyond that period, and 
 there consequently remained a very considerable arrear due 
 to the public servants. A full statement of the receipts and 
 expenditures for the year would bo laid before the Assem- 
 bly, together with an estimate of the probable expense in 
 the present year of those local establishments for which the 
 Assembly were bound in duty to provide. He trusted that 
 the whole linancial accounts would be brought to a clear 
 and iinal arrangement. He was convinced that the Assem- 
 bly regretted that the progress of the public interests had 
 been interrupted. And without dwelling upon the past, he 
 would earnestly recommend them to consider the incalcula- 
 ble injuries which had been accumulated on the province, 
 while the executive branch of the constitution remained dis- 
 abled from exercising its just and legitimate and most use- 
 ful powers. The Assembly were pleased to learn that the 
 imperial parliament had suffered the measure for the union 
 of the two provinces to lie over until the opinion of the Ca- 
 nadian people had been ascertained, and indeed they fairly 
 echoed in their reply the Epeecli from the throne. A call of 
 the Assembly was ordered for the 21st of Januaiy, to consi- 
 der the union question. The Upper House, with the excep- 
 tion of the Ilonorables John Richardson, Herman W. Ry- 
 land, Charles W. Grant, James Irvine, Roderick McKenzie, 
 and Wm. B. Felton, were decidedly opposed to the con- 
 templated union. The Assembly believed that the union of 
 two provinces, having laws, civil and religious institutions, 
 and usages essentially different, would endanger the laws 
 and institutions of either province ; and that there would 
 thence result well-founded apprehensions respecting the sta- 
 bility of those laws and institutions, fatal doubts of the fu- 
 ture lot of these colonies, and a relaxation of t'^e energy 
 and confidence of the people, and of the bonds which so 
 strongly attached them to the mother country. The resolii- 
 
1823. 
 
 1823. 
 
 sill V. mUlTuN — DISTUICT OF ri'H. I'RANCIS. 
 
 
 luul <lonc art 
 paying up tlio 
 •liongh he had 
 lat period, and 
 blc arrearduc 
 iie receipts and 
 re tliO Assem- 
 ble expense in 
 i for wliicli the 
 [e trusted that 
 iicrht to a clear 
 iiat the Assem- 
 i interests had 
 on the past, he 
 r the incalcula- 
 11 the province, 
 n remained dis- 
 ) and most nse- 
 learn that the 
 e for the union 
 luion of the Ca- 
 |eed they fairly 
 me. A call of 
 uaiy, to consi- 
 ith the excep- 
 srman W. liy- 
 [ick McKenzie, 
 d to the con- 
 lat the union of 
 lis institutions, 
 anger the laws 
 there would 
 lecting the sta- 
 ibts of the fu- 
 ,f t'.e energy 
 nds which so 
 The resolu- 
 
 tions of both Houses were embodied in addresses to the 
 Kinjjr and Parliament of Great Britain. Those to the King 
 the Governor was requested to transmit, and those to the 
 two Imperial Houses of Icgishition were forwarded to the 
 delegates of the anti-unionists, Messrs. Neilson and I'api- 
 iieau. 
 
 A message was sent to the Assembly, oilleiully informing 
 the House of the amval of Lieutenant-Governor Sir Francis 
 Burton. The message contained another ])it of information 
 to the effect that it was necessary that a residenco should be 
 provided for His Excellency. It stated still further that a 
 furnished House had been taken for His Excellency, at a 
 yearly rent of .£500, for which it was desirable that the As- 
 sembly should provide. And the message concluded by re- 
 commending the addition of .£1,000 a year to the salary of 
 His Excellency, which was then only £1,500, so that with 
 .£2,500 a year, and house rent free, he might live in becom- 
 ing style. The Assembly cheerfully voted these extra al- 
 lowances to the Lieutenant-Governor. A bill was this ses- 
 sion passed, erecting, for judicial purposes, the Eastern 
 Townships into the Inferior District of St. Francis. There 
 was to be a provincial court in the district, and a resident 
 judge, who was to have jurisdiction in personal actions of 
 ^£20 sterling. A Court of Quarter Sessions in the district 
 was also established. The bill was introduced into the As- 
 sembly, and passed, to increase the representation, by giving 
 the Eastern Townships a representation precisely as recorja- 
 mended in the contemplated Act of Union ; but the Assem- 
 bly, to counterbalance the effect which might result from the 
 introduction of six new members into tlie Assemblv, also 
 created an overbalancing number of new French constitu- 
 encies. The Council consequently rejected the representa- 
 tion bill. Then the estimates of supply were submitted by 
 message. They had been classed into two schedules. One 
 comprehending the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, certain 
 officers attached to the Governor-in-Chief, including the 
 provincial agent in London, the Surveyor General and con- 
 
88 1 
 
 THK CIVIL l.LST. 
 
 182J5-. 
 
 \k 
 
 • •% 
 
 h' 
 
 liii_i(t!nc'ies of his department ; the jiuige.s and otficers of the 
 Courts; tho FiXeoutive Councillors (XlOO ji year each) ; the 
 Clerk oi' the Council, and the contin/jencios of his oflice and 
 of the coininittce of audit ; tlio Inspector General of Ac- 
 counts; the Itccciver (Jenoiars department; and the Clerk 
 of the Terr.'irs, llie whole sum to be sup] "lied beinp: Xo2,088 
 lis 3d. 8tcriin_(^. The second schedule included the local 
 estiiblishmcnts — the I('<;islature and its oflicerr; ; the cost of 
 printing the law.s ; the salaries to public cicliool masters ; tho 
 pension lint ; rents and repairs of public buildings, and the 
 salaries and disbursements in connection with sucli build- 
 ings; the expense of collecting the revenues : the expenses 
 of the Trinity House; tho militia staff and contingencies; 
 the expenses for criminals and houses of correction ; and 
 miscellaneous expenses, such as the salaries of the Grand 
 Voycr and others, the grants to residents on Anticosti, for 
 the assistance of shipwrecked seamen ; and the assessments 
 on public buildings, in all amounting to ^30,225 sterling. 
 The Assembly voted the local schedule but not the other. 
 Indeed they protested against being required to do so in the 
 particular manner required. The Assembly next passed 
 bills to reimburse and indemnify His Majesty for monies 
 expended without tho sanction of the legislature. The 
 Council didnot think itdecorous to speak of "indemnifying" 
 the King and rejected the bills. There was yet another 
 money bill to pas? the Council. A bill to defray the ex- 
 penses of the local establishments, in w^hich the different 
 items of expenditure were specified, was sent up for concur- 
 rence and was only not rejected on account of the distress 
 to individuals which its rejection would have caused. The 
 Assembly had appropriated monies for the payment of the 
 local establishments, which was to be taken from the general 
 funds of the province. The Council passed the bill under 
 protest because by the term "general," appropriated as well 
 as unappropriated monies might be indicated as under the 
 control of the Assembly. An attempt was made to induce 
 the Council to agree to the nomination of Mr. Marryatt as 
 
1«25V 
 
 1823. "TIMKS" MUKL — KMPTINKSS OK TIIK I'UUl-lC CHl'.Sl. 8S'i 
 
 ufficers of the 
 ar each) ; the 
 his oflice and 
 [?ncrul of Ac- 
 md the Clerk 
 )einp i:32,088 
 led the local 
 1 ; the cost of 
 [masters; the 
 ings, and the 
 ii siicli build- 
 tlie expenses 
 ontingcneies ; 
 rrection ; and 
 of the Grand 
 Anticosti, for 
 le assessments 
 ,225 sterling, 
 lot the other. 
 do so in the 
 next passed 
 for moniea 
 llaturo. The 
 jidemnifying" 
 |s yet another 
 |efray the ex- 
 tho difierent 
 ip for coucur- 
 If the distress 
 aused. The 
 ment of the 
 the general 
 e bill under 
 iated as well 
 s under the 
 de to induce 
 Marryatt as 
 
 agent for the province, but the Comicil refused, and the 
 Assembly allowed the nuitter to drop. To rcudor the pro- 
 ceedings of the Assembly still more attractive, a breach of 
 privilege case occurred again this session. The Montreal 
 Times, a stiiKshly unionist paper, had do:ilt harshly both 
 with the Assembly au<l Council, in speaking of thc!si' two 
 august bodies, as anti-British. The Council was quite in- 
 different to the imputation, l)ut the Aftscmbly ]»ronounced 
 the assertion of the 'J'iiii(.'< to In,' a false and scandalous libel 
 upon the House, and a breach of its privileges. In accord- 
 ance with this judgment, Mr. Speaker was instructed to 
 issue warrants for tlie arrests of the editor and publishers of 
 the Times. One oit'endcr, Mr. Ariel Bownum, was taken 
 into custody, but Mr. J']elward fSparluiwk, the other oilender, 
 could not be found. Mr. Bowman was not long a prisoner. 
 He escaped from custody soon after being taken, and nei- 
 ther of the offenders were subsequently caught during the 
 session, so that both eluded the itunishmeut due to an of- 
 fence which was verv heinous onlv in the si<2:lit of the As- 
 sembly. After this imj)ortant nuittcr was disposed of, the 
 Governor General intimated that he had advanced X00,000 
 to the Receiver General, out of the military chest, to enable 
 him to pay the expenses of the civil government, for the 
 half year ending in May, 1822. He called upon the House 
 for re-payment. The reply was pertinent. The House 
 would at once have authorised the Receiver General to re- 
 turn the money out of the sum of j£100,000, the balance of 
 the public money which should have been in his hands, if 
 it could have been done, but a balance being due to the 
 province, the Asembly could onl}' look upon the accommo- 
 dation afforded to the Receiver General as a personal favor 
 to that officer. Indeed the Assembly voted all the sums re- 
 quired for other public purposes, without taking into any 
 account whatever the emptiness of the public chest. The 
 financial affairs of the province were in a curious condition. 
 "My earnest entreaties," says Lord Dalhousie to Mr. Val- 
 
 U&res de St. R6al, " to ascertain the ctatc of onr flnaucee, 
 
 k2 
 
t • • 
 
 38(3 Tllli FfN-ANTKH— Tllh; RKCHIVKK UKNKRAL. l«l!?i. 
 
 \ui\'o boeii iiiiuvailiiijj:. Whilst tho loo:iHlature has Uvvn con- 
 tending about t'onns, tlio Hulwtaiico of tlio tiva.suiy has been 
 used, an<l tbo']»roviiici' now sfands without any funds wliieh 
 can bo called its own, or, worse than that, it has incurred a 
 debt to the military eliest of . 4:80,000, adviinred in lS2i', and 
 ,<J30,000 more advanced this sunuucr of 1S23, to whicli must 
 bo added the amount of all unpaid ap|)ro[)riations in last 
 session, a sum not less than i:iMO,00, exclusive of the grant 
 of the Cliambly Canal : 
 
 Our debt contracted is X(JO,000 
 
 Appropriations of 1823 unpaid 24,000 
 
 Ournecessary expenses for 1S24 70,000 
 
 Our probable appropriation, including the 
 
 award to Upi)er Canada 25,000 
 
 i:i 70,000 
 
 And our revenue to meet this 90,000." 
 
 Tho recent declaration and exposure of the Receiver Ge- 
 neral undoubtedly did shew the evils arising from not annu- 
 ally setthng tho public accounts. The Receiver Gereral 
 had not, however, positively wasted the public revenue. 
 
 Largely engaged in business he had built sawmills, dammed 
 rivers, and constructed viaducts. lie was an enterprising 
 man of business, and doubtless his enterprise had indirectly 
 enriched the province, although as far as the immediate re- 
 covery of the money was concerned, for the payment of the 
 civil expenses of the government, the investments had been 
 somewhat selfish and rather injudicious. The Receiver Ge- 
 neralship should not have been in the hands of a person 
 engaged in trade. That was the mistake, and it was one, 
 which the Assembly even had endeavored to remedy when 
 perhaps it was too late. 
 
 There were still some other matters of finance meriting 
 legislative attention. The "Canada Trade Act" of the 
 imperial parliament had wonderfully deranged the seige 
 operations of the House. The Assembly was now on the 
 defensive, the governor of the province having been very 
 /considerably re-inforced by the energetic mcaaures of the 
 
IS'J.i. 
 
 TI!K LAtHJNi: AM» I'llvMISLV CANALS. 
 
 387 
 
 iinpoiMHl aMlli()i'itio<, ft \\".\h not oven ('(tiiHiih'rrd priuloDt 
 to niakc t'lirtln'r /.i,!.'/-:!!; iii»|trojK'lio-i. The Assi-niMy rcsolveil 
 upon keupin!.!: uitliiu tlu-ir own liiu's inid to deloutl llicm- 
 Bolves lis well as tlit\y could iVoni tlio visforouf^ .sorties of tho 
 enemy, led on hy Mr. Iiyland. TIk'v ivrjurstod that oo))ics 
 of any addresses to His Mnjcsty l>y tlif L(."rislativo Council 
 of Lower Canada or by llu- Parliament of Upper Canada to 
 the Kint^, or his representative in Lower Canada. niic;'iit bo 
 laid bi^^bre tlunn. The (Jovernor sent to thein an able re- 
 port of a j(Mnt eoniiniltee of the Jie_<ii-;lative C(»uneil and 
 lie^islativo A-senibly of l'[ip(M' Canada, alludinii!; tc> tho 
 fruitless ne<i:otiations, whirh had been <'arried on between 
 the duties' eoniniissioners of the two [irovlnei's, a doeumcnt 
 w) : ■•1 had had sneh wei'j,ht with the imperial parliament a?? 
 to liUve led to the passa,i;'e of the Canada Trad ' Act. Th<' 
 Assembly seanne(l the ]i:ipor caivfuUy but did notliinfi:. 
 They only said that the Aet would receive their mo^t se- 
 rious attention in the next session ot the pfU'liament. They 
 were rather inelined to do l»usiness on a more liberal pcalo 
 than they had manifested at the previous session. An Act 
 was passed to enable the province to commence the con- 
 struction of a canal between the town of St. Johns, in Ca- 
 nada East, and the villa^v of (Miambly, which the company, 
 incorporated in 1818, had been unable, for want of funds to 
 commence. Fifty thousand ])0unds were approjiriatod for 
 this purpose. They voted also twelve thousands i»ounds as 
 an additional approprialion towards the construction of tho 
 Lachine Canal ; two thousand one hundred pounds for tho 
 encouragement of agriculture ; eight hundred and fifty 
 pounds were granted to the Montreal General Hospital So- 
 ciety ; two hundred pounds were awarded to the Education 
 Society of Quel)ee ; Chief Justice Monk was pensioned in 
 the sum of five hundred and fifty pounds sterling a year ; 
 and Mr. Justice Ogden was voted a retiring annual pension 
 of four hundred and fifty pounds sterling. The House then 
 applied to the Governor for a copy of his instructions rela 
 tive to the application of the Jesuits" Estates Keveuuea for 
 
888 
 
 THE PROROGATION — UNION OF THE PROVINCES. 
 
 1823. 
 
 .! 
 
 I > 
 
 It 
 
 educational purposes ; but tlie Governor refused to comply 
 with the Assembly's request, because he had not been spe- 
 cially permitted to lay his instructions before the Assembly. 
 The business of the session was concluded, and Lord Dal- 
 housie went down in State to the Legislative Council Cham- 
 ber, to prorogue the parliament. In his closing speech he 
 expressed the satisfaction with wliich he had witnessed so 
 much diligence and attention to the business of the countrv. 
 He was exceedingly well pleased to have had to give the 
 royal assent to the Acts passed to facilitate the administra- 
 tion of justice, to encourage agriculture, to construct canals, 
 to assist trade, and to aid charitable and educational insti- 
 tutions. He thanked the Assembly for the supplies. He 
 regretted that offices for the enrcgistration of property had 
 not been established. He had transmitted the addresses of 
 both Houses on the subject of the union of the provinces to 
 the king. And he assured the Houses that he esteemed the 
 result of the session at once honorable to parliament and 
 useful to the countr3^ 
 
 There was still much anxiety in the country about the 
 contemplated union. Messrs. IS'eilson and Papineau had 
 hot, however, been idle in London. They had strongly 
 pointed out to the imperial government the probability of a 
 relaxation of the energy and confidence of the people of 
 Lower Canada and of the bonds which so strongly attached 
 them to the mother country, if the union was consummated, 
 and their representations weighed with the government, for 
 not long after the prorogation of the Lower Canada parlia- 
 ment it was officially announced by Lord Dalhousie that His 
 Majesty's government had, for the present, determined to 
 relinquish the proposed measure for the legislative union of 
 the provinces. 
 
 The parliament of Upper Canada was opened on the 23rd 
 of March. Governor Maitland, in his opening address, 
 fipoke of the temporary diminution of receipts from Quebec, 
 fl)s having interfered with the prosperity of the province. 
 He recommended the eetiiblishment of an additional circuit 
 
VINCF.S, 
 
 1823. 
 
 efused to comply 
 lad not been spe- 
 re the Assemblv. 
 :1, and Lord Dal- 
 e Council Cham- 
 losing speech he 
 had witnessed so 
 5S of the country. 
 I had to give the 
 ) the administnir- 
 construct canals, 
 (ducational insti- 
 le supplies. He 
 1 of property had 
 . the addresses of 
 • the provinces to 
 t he esteemed the 
 3 parliament and 
 
 )untry about the 
 :I Papineau had 
 y had strongly 
 probability of a 
 of the people of 
 trongly attached 
 8 consummated, 
 government, for 
 r Canada parlia- 
 Ihousie that His 
 determined to 
 lislative union of 
 
 ined on the 23rd 
 )ening address, 
 
 [ts from Quebec, 
 
 the province. 
 
 Iditional circuit 
 
 1823. 
 
 THK PUBLIC ACCOUNTS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 S89 
 
 and of a second assize. He probably addressed the House 
 for the last time, and he took the opportunity of remarking 
 that he had ever found them guided in their deliberations 
 by a scrupulous attention to the interests of the people as 
 by a proper regard for the honorable support of His Majes- 
 ty's government. And he concluded by alluding to the 
 contemplated union of the two provinces which, if effected, 
 would extend the field of legislation. In the course of the 
 session, the Assembly represented to the Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor that they found the travelling expenses of the Judges 
 too high, and that the salaries of all the officers of the gov- 
 ernment and of the courts were too high. It was recommended 
 that there should be retrenchment, and it was suggested 
 that the scale of remuneration, which existed previous to 
 1796, was sufficient. The Governor would not hear of a re- 
 trenchment, which could only have the effect of placing 
 respectable men in the situation of struggling against actual 
 penury, with the gloomy prospect of starving in old age. 
 A second representation was made by the Assembly, to the 
 effect that confusion resulted from the manner in which the 
 public accounts were kept. There was a want of detail 
 which should be obviated. Sir Peregrine Maitland was 
 iiuite indignant at this representation. He was answerable 
 for the necessities of the public, and the House of Assem- 
 bly approached him with the deliberate intention of misre- 
 pre 'onting his administration. Any information, solicited 
 by the Assembly, to be afforded by him, as an act of cour- 
 tesy, would have been most cheerfully afforded. He did not 
 care for secrecy, and any information desired concerning the 
 public accounts he would, at any time, on a proper applica- 
 tion, afibrd. The House respectfully informed His Excel- 
 lency that they had not the slightest intention of misrepre- 
 senting his administration, but merely ventured to suggest 
 an improvement in the mode of keeping the accounts. So 
 the matter ended. The parliamentary session was rather a 
 protTacted one. The Kingston Bank Bill had been a long 
 time before the House, and almost at the close of the sea- 
 
r ' f ■'.' 
 
 390 
 
 QOL RLAY S ENLIGHTENED VIEWS. 
 
 1821?. 
 
 
 * . 
 
 I- 
 
 I" 
 
 Bion some amendments were made to it. An Orange So- 
 ciety Bill was thrown out of the House, by the casting vote 
 of the Speaker. 
 
 Mr. Goiirlay, when in Upper Canada, in 1819, strongly 
 / recommended, in a letter to the Niagara Spedaior, the advi- 
 sability of constructing canals for the improvement of the 
 navigation of the great lakes and the St. Lawrence. His 
 views were most enlightened. He advised the construction 
 of canals on a scale to admit vessels of 200 tons burthen, 
 large enough to brave the ocean, and not inconveniently 
 large for internal navigation. Should it be deemed advisa- 
 ble, savs ^Ir. Gourlav, to have lar2:er vessels in the trade, 
 any additional expense should not for a moment be thought 
 of as an objection. The Lachine Canal is to admit only of 
 boats. This may suit the merchant of Afontreal, but will 
 not do for Upper Canada. Iiuleed I am doubtful if our 
 great navigation should at all touch ^lontrcal, and rather 
 think it should be carried to the northward. As to the line 
 within the province, my mind is made up, not only fiom in- 
 quiries commenced on my first arrival here, but from consi- 
 derable personal inspection of the ground, as well between 
 Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, as below. My opinion is that 
 the navio'ation ouirht to be taken out of the river St. Law- 
 rence, near the village of Johnstown, in Edwardsburgh, and 
 let into the Ottawa, somewhere below the Hawkesbury Ra- 
 pids ; probably in that part of the river called the Lake of 
 Two Mountains. By a bold cut, of a few miles, at the first 
 mentioned place, the waters of the St. Lawrence might be 
 conducted to a command of level, which would make the 
 rest of the way practicable, with very ordinary exertion. 
 The idea which has been started by some of raising the na- 
 vigation by two stages, first into Lake St. Francis, and 
 thence to the higher level, may do for boat navigation ; but^ 
 for vessels of a large scale it is greatly objectionable. Any 
 benefit to be gained from the lake considered as part of the 
 canal already formed, would be quite overbalanced by the 
 want of a good towing path. .\ boat navigation may. 1 
 
s. 1821^. 
 
 An Orange So- 
 f tlie casting vote 
 
 n 1819, strongly 
 'pectator, the advi- 
 provement of the 
 , Lawrence. His 
 I the construction 
 !00 tons burthen. 
 )t inconveniently 
 >c deemed advisa- 
 5!«els in the trade, 
 3ment be thought 
 
 I to admit only of 
 ontrcal, bnt will 
 
 II doubtful if our 
 iitreal, and rather 
 d. As to the line 
 
 not only fiom in- 
 but from coni^i- 
 as well between 
 y opinion is that 
 le river St. Law- 
 wardshurgh, and 
 lawkesbury Ra- 
 Icd the Lake of 
 miles, at the first 
 vrenee might be 
 .'ould make the 
 dinary exertion. 
 f raising the na- 
 St. Francis, and 
 navigation ; but., 
 ctionablc. Anv 
 d as part of the 
 'balanced by the 
 Ivigation may, I 
 
 1823. 
 
 CONSTRUCTION OF SHIP CANALS RECOMMENDED. 
 
 391 
 
 think, with benefit to the parts adjoining, be brought up so 
 far as Milrush, through Lake St. Francis, and thence be 
 taken into the line of the grand canal. The advantages to 
 Upper Canada from a navigation on a large scale would be 
 infinite. Only think of the difference of having goods 
 brought here from England, in the same bottoms to which 
 they were first committed, instead of being unshipped at 
 Quebec, unboated and warehoused in Montreal, carted to 
 the ditch canal, and there parcelled out, among petty craft 
 for forwarding to Kingston. Then again at Kingston tum- 
 bled about for transport across Lake Ontario ; and again, if 
 Amherstbugh is the destination, a third time boated, un- 
 boated, and reshipped. Think of the difterence in point of 
 comfort and convenience to the merchants here. Think of 
 the greater despatch. Think of the saving of trouble and 
 risk. Think of being unburdened of immediate commis- 
 sions and profits. Think of the closer connexion which it 
 would form between this province and England. Think 
 of the greater comfort it would afford to emigrants, and how 
 much it would facilitate and encourage emigration. With 
 navigation on a large scale, shipbuilding would become an 
 object of great importance here, and new vessels might be 
 ready loaded with produce to depart with the first opening 
 in the spring. There arc bnt few vessels trading from Eng- 
 land to Quebec, which make two voyages in a season, and 
 then it is with incrca:: 3 of risk that the second voyage is per- 
 formed. Every vessel could leave England, proceed to the 
 extremities of Lakes Michigan or Superior, and get back 
 with ease in a season, or every vessel could leave Lakes Erie 
 or Ontario in the spring, proceed to England, get back here,. 
 and again take home a second cargo of produce. In time 
 of war what security would such a scale of navigation yield. 
 It would put all competition on the lakes out of the ques- 
 tion. Upper Canada would then possess a vast body of tho- 
 rough bred seamen and ship carpenters, with abundance of 
 vessels fit to mount guns, not only for their own individual 
 defence, but to constitute a navy at a moment's notice. !& 
 
892 
 
 REALIZATION OF A DREAM — MR. MERRITT. 
 
 1823. 
 
 h ' 
 
 a commercial competition too, the Great Western Canal of 
 the States would be quite outrivalled by such a superior 
 navigation. Upwards, except at the Falls of St. Mary, 
 where a very short canal would give a free passage, naviga- 
 tion is clear for more than a thousand miles, and when po- 
 pulation thickens on the wide-extended shores of the 
 Upper Lakes, only think how the importance increases of 
 having the transport of goods and produce uninterrupted by 
 transhipment. Such was Mr. Gourlay's dream in the jail of 
 Niagara. It is now reality. Ships of war, American and 
 British, have passed from Lake Ontario down the St. Law- 
 rence to the ocean, the ship Eureka embarked passengers 
 for California, at Cleveland, in Ohio, and passed down the 
 St. Lawrence to sea, safely reaching her destination on the 
 Pacific, and sea-going vessels have been built in Kingston 
 to ply between that port and Liverpool direct. Steamships 
 pass up the St. Lawrence canals and down the St. Lawrence 
 rapids. Canada is advancing with giant strides, small 
 as her beginning Avas. It was in November, 1823, that 
 George Keefer, J. Northrop, Thomas Merritt, William Chis- 
 holm, Joseph Smith, Paul Shipman, George Adams, John 
 Decoes, and William Hamilton Merritt, advertised in the 
 Upper Canada Gazette tliat, as freeholders of the district of 
 Niagara, they intended to petition the legislature at the next 
 session of parliament, to incorporate a company for the 
 purpose of connecting the Lakes Erie and Ontario, by a 
 canal capable of carrying boats of from twenty to forty tons 
 burthen, by the following route : — To commence at Chip- 
 pewa, ten miles above the mouth of that creek, on the fana 
 of John Brown, from thence to the head of the middle 
 branch of the twelve mile creek, at G. Vanderban-ack's, 
 from thence to John Decoes, passing over to the west branch 
 of the twelve mile creek, on the farm of Adam Brown, and 
 continuing along the said stream to Lake Ontario. From 
 the Chippewa to Grand River, either from the forks of the 
 Chippewa, through the marsh, or from Oswego, whichever 
 may prove most advantagepus, — and for the erection of ma- 
 chinery for hydraulic purposes, on the entire route. 
 
RITT- 
 
 1823. 
 
 1823. JOHN CHARLTON FISHER, LI.. D., KIKO'S PRINTER. 393 
 
 restern Canal of 
 such a superior 
 is of St. Mary, 
 yassage, naviga- 
 1, and when po- 
 shores of the 
 lice increases of 
 minterrupted by 
 mi in the jail of 
 American and 
 wn the St. Law- 
 rked passengers 
 assed down the 
 jstination on the 
 uilt in Kingston 
 >ct. Steamships 
 ;he St. Lawrence 
 it strides, small 
 her, 1823, that 
 , William Chis- 
 Adams, John 
 ertised in the 
 f the district of 
 ture at the next 
 mpany for the 
 Ontario, by a 
 ty to foi-ty tons 
 ence at Chip- 
 ek, on the fann 
 of the middle 
 anderban-ack's, 
 he west branch 
 ,m Brown, and 
 ntario. From 
 e forks of the 
 o, whichever 
 rection of ma- 
 oute. 
 
 V( 
 
 There was a beginning by men whose names are familiar 
 to the Canadians. These were some of the pioneers of im- 
 provement, and some of them yet living have to combat the 
 vulgar or interested reproach of being possessed with ideas 
 of Utopian schemes. But it is time to turn again to the 
 baser things of Lower Canada. Lord Dalhonsie, who had 
 paid a visit to Nova Scotia, immediately after the proroga- 
 ^' on of the parliament of Lower Canada, returned to Que- 
 ■jCC in August. In October he established a new official 
 Gazette. The commission of King's Printer given to Mr. 
 Samuel Neilson, in 1812, was revoked, and Dr. John Charl- 
 ton Fisher, who had been the editor of the Albion, published 
 in New York, was commissioned as the printer in Canada, 
 to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. Dr. Fisher was a 
 man of gentlemanlike exterior, of good address, of superior 
 educational acquirements, of fair mental capacity, and, in a 
 word, a gentleman and a scholar. He was an Englishman, 
 and passionately loyal. But he was no match in shrewd- 
 ness for Mr. Neilson, who was now more bitterly opposed to 
 the government than ever. Dr. Fisher was, however, be- 
 yond any question, better suited for the management of a 
 court journal than Mr. Neilson could have been. Mr. Neil- 
 son was a colonist and deeply imbued with that spirit of 
 independence which is natural to the resident of a country 
 far removed from the extreme.; of majesty and miseiy. Dr. 
 Fisher had been the resident of a town in England, an offi- 
 cer of the English militia, and having had long to live on 
 smiles, he smiled again to live. He was a courtier. 
 
 There was a considerable immigration both in 1822 and 
 1823. In 1822, 10,465 immigrants had arrived at Quebec- 
 This year 10,188 immigrants had arrived. Nearly 60 fami- 
 lies, consisting of 200 persons, the majority of whom were 
 Quakers, had come from Bristol, in England to settle in 
 Upper Canada. 
 
 The legislature of Lower Canada was again summoned to> 
 meet for the despatch of business, on the 25th of Novem- 
 ber. It was the last session of the parliament. Lord Dal- 
 
894 
 
 Sl'STEN^ION 01' MK. CALDWKLL. 
 
 1824. 
 
 housie in openliiijj tlie session apologised for the statements 
 about financial flitficnldes, which he was obliged to make so 
 frequently. He entreated the House to proceed with the 
 public buaincst* harmoniously. He recommended the fur- 
 ther consideration of the judicature bill, and his message of 
 the 4th of February, calling attention to the expediency of 
 enacting a law for the public registry of instruments con- 
 veying, changing, or affecting real property, with a xiew to 
 give greater security to the possession and transfer of such 
 property, and to commercial transactions in general, which 
 had been overlooked in the previous session. And the As- 
 sembly proceeded to business. Thereupon Lord Dalhousie 
 officially informed the House that he had suspended the 
 Receiver General from the performance of the duties of his 
 office. The Governor had directed his attention after the 
 close of the previous session, to ascertain the state of the 
 funds upon which large appropriations had been granted, 
 and there appeared to be «£9G,000 in the hands of the Re- 
 ceiver General. But when His Excellency had called upon 
 that officer to declare whether he was prepared to meet war- 
 rants to that amount, various accounts and statements 
 she\ving claims on the part of the province, on the imperial 
 treasury, and the military che.^t, the payment of which into 
 his hands would enable him to meet the demands of the 
 government and, in time, to pay up the actual balance of 
 his accounts with the public men, were submitted to him. 
 He was not then prepared with the balance required to meet 
 the warrants for the public salaries, and he requested that 
 the warrants might not be issued until the 1st of July, when 
 the revenue of the current year would place funds in the 
 chest. Lord Dalhousie agreed to the Receiver General's re- 
 quest, concerning the time of issuing tire warrants ; but the 
 question as to the repayment of the sums claimed by the 
 Receiver General as due to the province, being one on which 
 His Majesty's government alone could decide, Mr. Davidson 
 was sent to England, on the part both of the government 
 and of the Receiver General, with voluminous papers to be 
 
1824. 
 
 1824. 
 
 LOUD DALIIOUSIK S KXPLANATIUN. 
 
 89o 
 
 the statcmentB 
 jed to make so 
 3eed with the 
 LMided the fur- 
 his message of 
 expediency of 
 truments con- 
 with a view to 
 -ansfer of such 
 general, which 
 And the As- 
 ord Dalhousie 
 suspended the 
 le duties of his 
 ition after the 
 le state of the 
 been granted, 
 nds of the Re- 
 ad called upon 
 d to meet war- 
 nd statements 
 n the imperial 
 of which into 
 emands of the 
 lal balance of 
 iiitted to him. 
 uired to meet 
 jequested that 
 of July, when 
 funds in the 
 General's re- 
 ■ants ; but the 
 limed by the 
 one on which 
 r. Davidson 
 government 
 papers to be 
 
 submitted to the Lords of the Treasury, ^\^len, however, 
 Lord Dalhonsie returned to Qncliec iVoni Nova Scotia, he 
 was informed by the Receiver General that he was unable 
 to meet any further warrants to be drawn upon him. Under 
 such circumstances it onlj' remained for the Governor-in- 
 Chief to appoint a commission of two gentlemen to inspect 
 and control the operations of the lieceivor General ; and he 
 took upon himself the responsibility of grunting loans from 
 the military chest, to meet tlic urgent necessities of the civil 
 government. But two days before the House had been as- 
 sembled, no intimation having been received from the im- 
 perial authorities, that the claims ad/anced by the Receiver 
 General, on the part of the province, would be admitted, he 
 had been compelled to suspend the Receiver General until 
 the pleasure of the king should be known with regard to 
 him, or, at least, until arrangements should be made for re- 
 placing the deficient balance in the public chest. Mr. Cald- 
 well was to be pitied, if not excused. Ills father, his pre- 
 decessor in the Receiver Generalship, had left him a defalca- 
 tion of X40,000 to be made good from a salary of X500 a 
 year. Mr. Caldwell was compelled to engage in trade, and 
 he did engage in trade successfully. He acquired large pro- 
 perty. His estate at Lauzon was worth £1,500 a year, but 
 then he bought his estate, to make good his father's deficien- 
 cies, by trading on the public monies, and he entailed the 
 estate on his son, to prevent its falling into the hands of the 
 province, with whose means he had improved it, previously 
 to announcing that he was a defaulter towards the province 
 to the extent of £96,117. This was not honorable and de- 
 serves neither pity nor excuse. The courts of law would 
 not countenance the entail. The pretended entail was dis- 
 missed in the Canadian courts and dismissed in the courts 
 of law in England. It was not to be supposed that Mr. 
 Caldwell could keep an estate improved at the public ex- 
 pense, on the condition only of paying, during his life, 
 £1,500 a year, out of it, to government. But Mr. Caldwell 
 had a claim upon tlie province. He had paid out large 
 
■ I 
 
 396 
 
 THE DEFALCATION — TEA SMUGGLING. 
 
 1824. 
 
 1 . 
 
 It, 
 
 ■♦ 
 
 suras of money, for which he was as much entitled to 3 per 
 cent as was the Receiver General of Upper Canada. He 
 and his father liad received a million and a half, the per 
 centagc on which, at 3 per cent, was £40,471, which ought 
 in equity to bo allowed him. Jie w^ould pay, moreover, 
 £1,000 a year, in the event of his restoration to oflice, witli 
 a provision, b}' the legislature, suited to its responsibility. 
 Now it does seem that if Mr. Caldwell was prepared to pay 
 80 many thousands a year, on certain conditions, there was 
 no necessitv for his default. The IIouso would have no- 
 thing whatever to do with Mr. Caldwell. He was not their 
 officer, and he was a defaulter. The imperial government 
 were bound to make good the Receiver General's defalca- 
 tion, and they would address His Majesty on the subject. 
 They did so. Tt was alleged that Mr. Caldwell was an offi- 
 cer of the imperial government, over whom the provincial 
 government had no control, and that he had lost to the pro- 
 vince £9G,117 13s. and one farthing, which it was right 
 that the government of England should make good to the 
 government of Canada. The xYssembly proceeded to an- 
 other matter. On the motion of Mr. Bourdages a commit- 
 tee was appointed to consider the propriety of erecting an 
 equestrian statue " hi memoriom ilbistrisshni viri D. Georgii 
 Prcvosf, Baroneti, llnjusce Frormc'm, Guhernatoris, Atque 
 Copiarum Dncis Cuvadannn Servaiorif." The statue was 
 never erected, the excuse being simply " no funds." The 
 subject of tea smuggling was brought before the House- 
 The revenue had been seriously aitccted b}* the illicit im- 
 portation of Bohay, Souchong, and Oolong, from the United 
 States. Canada was desirous of obtaining "Gunpowder" 
 from other and more profitable sources, and addressed the 
 king to know if tea could not be obtained direct, either by 
 some arrangement with the East India Company, for an an- 
 nual supply, or by granting to His Majesty's subjects the 
 benefit of direct importation. The king's ministers advised 
 the East India Company to have no more colonial tea diffi- 
 cultic!', and tea sufficient for the consumption of the pro- 
 
 i • 
 
1824. 
 
 :itled to 3 per 
 Canada. Ho 
 
 I half, the per 
 , which ought 
 iV, moreover, 
 to oliice, with 
 roHponsibility. 
 epared to pay 
 nB, there was 
 uld have no- 
 wfiH not their 
 
 government 
 iral's defalca- 
 n the subject. 
 
 II was an offi- 
 the provincial 
 )Bt to the pro- 
 I it was right 
 I good to the 
 ceded to an- 
 es a commit- 
 •f erecting an 
 \n D. Georgii 
 
 atoris, Atque 
 statue waa 
 iunds." The 
 the House- 
 he illicit im- 
 11 the United 
 unpowder" 
 dressed the 
 |ct, either by 
 for an an- 
 ubjects the 
 ters advised 
 ial tea difli- 
 of the pro- 
 
 1824. FREE NAVltiATION dF TIIK ST. I.AWKKNCK DKMANDED. 307 
 
 vince of Canada wus^ annually sent to Quebec, in the com- 
 pany's ships, until the coni[>aiiy ceased to be concerned in 
 the tea trade. Messrs. Xcilson and I'apincau had returned 
 to Quebec from London, and hud reported that the consi- 
 deration of the union of the provinces would not be resumed 
 without previous notice being given to the 'tdiabitants of 
 the province. The Canada Trade A(!t was discussed and 
 defended by Mr. Papineau on the plea of necessity. The 
 supplies were then considered, voted as befu'e, item by itan, 
 and twenty-five per cent disconnted on every salary, to make 
 up for the Receiver General's defalcation. The Legislative 
 Council rejected the supply bill as soon as it appeared in 
 their chamber, and implored His Majesty to consider the 
 6tate of the province, out of tenderness to his lo_yal subjects 
 in Lower Canada, and to grant a remed}' for the withhold- 
 ing of the supplies. But there was a subject of somewhat 
 greater importance brought to the attention of the par- 
 liament in a message to Congress by the President of the 
 United States. The American government claimed the 
 right of freely navigating the St. Lawrence from their terri- 
 tories, in the west, to the sea. It certainly was a pity that 
 the right was not conceded. The whole province of Canada 
 would have gained by the increase of shipping to its waters. 
 The Council were, however, mucli alarmed and addressed 
 the Governor, deprecating such a concession, as contrary to 
 the law of nations, in simijar cases ; dangerously calculated 
 to affect the dependence of the colony, on the parent state ; 
 as having a tendency to systematize smuggling and as per- 
 nicious to British interests, in a v^ariety of ways. They had 
 further learned that Barnharts' Island, in the St. Lawrence, 
 situated above Cornwall, in the L^pper Province, was to be 
 conceded to the Americans. They were apprehensive that 
 the navigation of the St. Lawrence, between Upper and 
 Lower Canada, was to be impeded or placed at the mercy 
 of the States, and they suggested a reciprocal right of navi- 
 gation, during peace, of the several channels of the St. 
 Lawrence, south of the forty-fifth degree of north lati- 
 
nr»8 
 
 pi;rrisiiNi-;sd oi thij luwkk canada a.«s'i:mi!I.v. 
 
 \H2t. 
 
 i. . 
 
 N ■. 
 
 tu»ie, ulthDiii^li tiu\y l»a»l pniyed tlio Uinu; not lo ,i^nint the 
 reoiprouiil lijjflit of iiiaviifjition in tlio St. Liiwronco, north of 
 that hititudc, in tiino of peace. The Assembly paid no at- 
 tention to tlie mutter. 
 
 Tiie Lower IIou;^e, however, was bcglnninf? to be, on the 
 whole, somewhat factions!}' disposed. I'or the most part, 
 the positions assumed by tlie Commons of Canada, were 
 correct positions, but tliey were not incapable of doin*;- mis- 
 chievously silly thini^s. Indeed, while jealous to an ex- 
 treme, of power in otliers, they claimed extraordinary pow- 
 ers, riifhts, and nrivile2;es for themselves. Thev would not 
 have their proceedings commented upon either l)y the Gov- 
 ernor, the Legislative Council, or the press. Tlie slightest 
 attempt to curb them was a breach of pri\ilege, a simple 
 remonstrance was something inalicious, false, or libellous. 
 They were occasionally pettish. A war losses Act had been 
 passed in Upper (-anada. The brunt of the war of 1812, 
 had fallen upon the inhabitants of the Upper Province. 
 There, whole villages, had been burned, by the enemy, and 
 grain fields laid waste. It was only right to indemnify the 
 sufferers. Upper Canada was, however, totally de^itute of 
 means. The cost of her civil government had been alto- 
 gether defrayed out of the imperial treasury, until very re- 
 cently. She only received, for all purposes, a fifth of the 
 duties on imports collected at Quebec. To enable the gov- 
 ernment of Upper Canada to carry out the objects sought 
 to be attained by the passage of the A\"ar Losses Act, the 
 British government had consented to a loan of X100,000, 
 the interest on one half of which the British government 
 guaranteed. The other half, .£2,o00, was to be provided for 
 by Upper Canada. How to manage it was the difiiculty. 
 Already the government had been compelled to resort to 
 the miserable stratagem of heavily taxing traders, so that 
 any dumb inhabitant of the province, and every implement 
 of trade appeared to be the absolute property of the gov- 
 ernment, distributed among the people for a consideration. 
 Neither a man's ox nor ass was his own. He paid to gov- 
 
M15I.Y. 
 
 iSL't. 
 
 1S24. 
 
 OCCL'l'ATlONS TAXKD IN L IM'KIt CANADA. 
 
 3it0 
 
 t lo tfViiui tho 
 ?no(', north of 
 y paid no ttt- 
 
 r to 1)0, on the 
 le most part, 
 Canada, were 
 of doing mis- 
 Dus to an ox- 
 ordinary po\v- 
 lev woidd not 
 er l)y the Gov- 
 Tho slightest 
 ilego, a simple 
 ie, or lihollous. 
 s Act had been 
 ) war of 1812, 
 >per Province. 
 10 enemy, and 
 indemnify the 
 lly dojrtitute of 
 ad been alto- 
 until very re- 
 , a fifth of the 
 liable the gov- 
 •bjects sought 
 isses Act, the 
 In of X100,000, 
 h government 
 e provided for 
 the diiRculty. 
 led to resort to 
 [aders, so that 
 f implement 
 •ty of the gov- 
 considcration. 
 e paid to gov- 
 
 t-rnniont a oonsidcraticMj, not fur the land on wliicli the cattle 
 grazed, nor on the profit:^ wlii< li tiiey yielded, hut I'or nsing 
 them. It \va^^ a similar kind of stnpidlty to that which in 
 IScotland and England refn.scd to jionnit a man to make a 
 pair of trowsers, sole a boot, or sn't up typos, however capa- 
 ble ho might have boon, unless ho had served an aj)i)rentico- 
 ship to the craft of seven years. It was not considered that 
 while tho horses of a ploasniH; carriage would be a proper 
 source of revenue to a government, a carter's horse is not a 
 proper subject for taxation. It was not considered that the 
 laborer should give of the fruits of his labor an olicrinir to 
 the State which countenances and protects him, while labor 
 is not to be prevented by taxation. It was not ronMiderod 
 that while manufactured goods are properly dutiable, it is 
 unwise to tax the raw nuiterial. An occupation ought not 
 to be taxed. It is a wrong policy to tax an auctioneer, a 
 pedlar, a carter, a merchant, a tavern keeper, or an editor, 
 because of his occupation; but the stutls which are traded 
 in may very properly be taxed. Yet occupations were taxed 
 in Upper Canada, and, of course, rather to the disadvantage 
 than advantage of tho province. It would not do to increase 
 the taxation on inn keepers, pedlars, hawkers, boatmen, and 
 on public carriages on land or water. The only way in 
 which money could be raised Avas by the imposition of high- 
 er duties on imported goods, and the Upper Canada Assem- 
 bly therefore requested the Assembly of Lower Canada to 
 impose new duties on imports sufficient to make up the an- 
 nual interest on the war losses loan, required from Upper 
 Canada. But the Lower Canadian Assembly would not im- 
 pose new taxes upon imports for any such purpose. They 
 sympathised with the sufferers, but as all the disposable re- 
 sources of both provinces had been employed in resisting 
 the unjust charges of the war, it was not now^ expedient to 
 increase the taxation on imported goods, such as wines, re- 
 fined sugar, muscovado sugar, or by so much per cent, ac- 
 cording to value, on merchandise. The Assembly of Lower 
 Canada would not do anything in furtherance of the views 
 
1 k 
 
 ' ' 
 
 t 1 
 
 , 1 
 
 \ 
 
 ' i 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 I** ' 
 
 400 
 
 DRWVUACKS OS I .M I'OKT.VTIONS. 
 
 18*J4. 
 
 of those who hucl mtulo aiu'li repr«!Hi'!iiati()ii.«! to Cnghuid as 
 harl loj to the "Ckinmhi Tnulc A«-t." Thrj did not ot* 
 coursje say ao. Thty, however, iiiiniediutely afterwards, 
 passed u vote of thanks to Sir James Nhu'k'iiitosii and some 
 other iiioinhers of tiie lIoLijie of L'omnioiis, wiio had sueceod- 
 ed in persuadinj? His .\[ajesty"s ministers to relin(|uish their 
 support of a bill introdueed into tlie im[)erial parliament in 
 1822, with the view of alterinu; the estahjislied constitution 
 of C/atiada, and the remains of which hill was the " Canada 
 Trade Act." l'i»per Canada had another way to obtain 
 money from Lower Canada. The l^p[H'r had a claim upon 
 the Lower i)rovince. There were arrears of drawbacks duo 
 by Lower Canada upon importations into Upper Canada 
 during the war, of whicli no exact entries had been made at 
 the Custom ILouse. The " Canada Trade Act" had provided 
 that the amount due was to be decided by arbitration, and 
 arbitrators appointed, in 1828, liad awarded to Tppcr Ca- 
 nada £12,220. Upper Canada applied to Ijord Dalliousie 
 for the money, but his lordship was so embarrassed with 
 financial difficulties that he was com[»elled to refer the mat- 
 ter to the Assembly. The Assembly would not pay the 
 same sum twice. The Governor had used the money in 
 paying the public ofticers of Lower Canada, inasmuch as the 
 award had been made in 1823, and from the time of the 
 award the amount due to Upper Canada was not at the dis- 
 posal either of the government or of the Assembly, but 
 should have been paid to Upper Canada. The Governor 
 had virtually suspended iu9 execution of the Canada Trade 
 Act and had, in consequerice, exposed Lower Canada to the 
 misfortune of a renewal of the difiiculties with Upper Ca- 
 nada. Lord Dalhousie was pestered with considerable in- 
 genuity. The Assembly of Lower Canada were rapidly 
 becoming conservative or non-progTessive. They reported 
 against any attempt being made to abolish the seigniorial 
 tenure, or change any of the institutions of the country, tho 
 continuance of which was granted by the capitulations of 
 the colony. They were liberal enough iu mattero which did 
 
[624. 
 
 TllK OLKIUJN UKf-iKKVK.S. 
 
 w\ 
 
 nut poculiarly iatoru.sL the; b'l-oiich-CaiuiUiuii populution. 
 The Cliureh of Sootliind, in CuuatUi, huvini^ applied for a 
 proportion oi" tho hinds rosuivcd I'or the clergy of tho pro- 
 testuiit elnuvhc'b, width had hithorto Ixjen oxcluHivoly 
 oluinied hy thu clergy i»f tho Cliiuvh of England, in Canada, 
 tho Awtienihly nt once consented and addre^ised the king on 
 the aubjeci. They were Htrungly of opinion that even pro 
 t08tnnt dissentern, from the Chureheri of Kngland and Hcot- 
 hmd had an equitable claim, if not an equal right to enjoy 
 the adviintagoH and revenuet^ to aritic from the renerves in 
 proportion to their nunibor.s and tlnir usefulness. The 
 Church of Kngland, in Ciimida was wroth. It was a pretty 
 thing, indeed, for u llonian Catholic House of Assend)ly, to 
 presume to represent to the King of Great Britain, and the 
 head of their churcli, that the word " I'rotestant" was not 
 exclusively the property of tlie Church of England. It wiw 
 high time to close the session, and accordingly, the Gov- 
 ernor-in-Chief went down to the Council Chamber, on the 
 9th of March. He was not pleased. He said, in his proro- 
 gation speech, that he did not think the session would prove 
 of much advantage to the public. Ho would most respect- 
 fully tell both Houses his sentiments upon the general re- 
 sult of their proceedings. A claim had been made to an 
 unlimited right, in one branch of the legislature, to appro- 
 priate the whole revenue of the province according to its 
 pleasure. Even that portion of the revenue raised by the 
 authority of the imperial parliament and directed by an Act 
 of that parliament to be applied to the payment of the ex- 
 penses of the administration of justice, and of the civil 
 government of the province, the Assembly claimed the 
 control of. By the other two branches of the legislature 
 that claim had been denied, but it had, nevertheless, been 
 persisted in by the Assembly, and recourse had been had to 
 tho unusual course of withholding the supplies, except on 
 conditions, which would amount to an acknowledgment of 
 its constitutional validity. The stoppage of the suppliep 
 had t-aused incalculable mischicl to the province ; but thf> 
 
-102 
 
 PARLIAMENT CLOSED — TYKANNY OF MAITLAND. 
 
 1824. 
 
 ,1 
 
 I . 
 
 1/ 
 
 • •* 
 
 country was, neverthelessi, ])o\verfully ailvancing in improve- 
 Tnent. The people, generally, were contented. lie had 
 hitherto averted the unhappy consoqnenees of the stoppage 
 of the supplies, hy taking upon himself certain responsibi- 
 lities, but as his advice with regard to the payment of the 
 civil list, had been, even yet, unavailing, he would in future 
 guide the measures of the government by the strict letter 
 of the law. He thanked the Councirfor the calm, firm, and 
 diornified character of their deliberations. And he ferventlv 
 prayed that the wisdom of the proceedings of the Legisla- 
 tive Council would uiake a just impression upon the loyal 
 inhabitants of the province and lead tliem to that tem- 
 perate and conciliating disposition which is always best 
 calculated to give energy to public spirit, to promote public 
 harmony, and ensure public happiness, the great advantages 
 which resulted from a wise exercise of the powers and pri- 
 vileges of parliament. The Goveruor-in-Chief of Lower 
 Canada was on his knees fervently praying for that which 
 was not very likely to happen. Energy or public spirit does 
 not ordinarily spring from the temperate and conciliatory 
 tone of such inhabitants of a province as Lord Dalhousie 
 would have considered loyal. 
 
 It is desirable to know what Sir Peregrine Maitland 
 was about in Upper Canada. He had made a speech to 
 parliament which he considered to be his last. It was 
 little wonder — Sir Peregrine Maitland was intolerably t}^- 
 rannical. He had gagged Mr. Gourlay. He had destroyed 
 conventions. He had suppressed public meetings. And 
 he had been censured for it by Sir George Murray. In 
 1822 the Honorable Barnabas Bidwell was returned to the 
 Upper Canada Assembly as a reformer. Mr. Bidwell was a 
 man of very considerable ability. He was eloquent, and 
 his ideas of civil and religious liberty were liberal. Born n 
 British subject, during the period of the revolution, but too 
 yo'ing to take apart in it, he remained in the United States, 
 after the declaration of independence. It was not lonji" 
 before he attained an elevated station in Congress. His 
 
 r ' 
 
 It • 
 
.ITLAM). 
 
 1824. 
 
 icing in improvc- 
 tented. He had 
 1 of the stoppage 
 rtain responsibi- 
 3 payment of tho 
 ? would in future 
 the strict letter 
 le cahn, firm, and 
 And he fervently 
 ^8 of the Legisla- 
 n upon the loyal 
 m to that tem- 
 I) is always best 
 > promote public 
 great advantages 
 ? powers and pri- 
 i-Chief of Low^er 
 ig for that which 
 public spirit does 
 and conciliatory 
 ord Dalhousie 
 
 grine Maitland 
 
 ade a speech to 
 
 last. It was 
 
 intolerably ty- 
 
 e had destroyed 
 
 ings. And 
 
 ?e Murray. In 
 
 returned to the 
 
 . Bidwcll was a 
 
 eloquent, and 
 iberal. Born a 
 :>lution, but too 
 
 Tnited States. 
 
 was not lonji" 
 
 ■ongress. U\s 
 
 13 
 
 1824. TIIK IJIDWELLS AND BUODKURS OF ll'PER C\SAU\. 403 
 
 talents, however, ('«.>ii|>lcd with his inde[)eii(k*n('c of spirit 
 and love of trutli made him enemies. A hostility so vin- 
 dictive was raised against him by his political enemies, that 
 he removed to I'i>per Canada, in disgust, there only to meet 
 wMth similar treatment, the r-jsult of similar causes. No 
 sooner did the [leople of Upiier Canada begin to yhow an 
 appreciation of his talents, than the X'pjior Canadian oligar- 
 chy saw in him a formidable rival to be got rid of by any 
 means. A special Act was [)asse(l to incapacitate Mr. Bid- 
 well from holding a seat in the Assembly, lie was to be 
 considered an alien and to be treated as an alien as the Act 
 directed. Mr. Barnabas Bidwcll was expelled. The spirit 
 of opposition to a bad government was not, however, less- 
 ened by such a course of action. .N(!W champions of the 
 people's privileges arose. (Jolonial red-tapism and colonial 
 empinc aristocracy could with dvthculty sustain itself. Mr. 
 BidwelTs son was brought to the hustings by the sui)porters 
 of his father. lie was nut, without difficulty to obtain a 
 scat. At the tii*st election, the returning officer, one of the 
 original Timothy Hrodeurs, coEtrived to give his adversary 
 a majority. A protest was entered, however, and after dis- 
 timruishijifir himself in an able defence of his riichts at the 
 Bar of the House, the return was set aside.* Another elec- 
 tion euMied, and the returning officer n^fused to receive any 
 votes for Mr BiJwell, on the; ground ol" his being an alien. 
 The rctrin " a. jgaiu prote.=;ted against, and the election 
 aguiu pet aside. At last a fair ciectio-i was allowed, ivhen 
 Mr. .bitivvell, junior, was triimi])hantly returned to parlia- 
 ment. In ?824, many other reforn ,mbers were elected 
 to parliament, and on several question?, there was a decided 
 iiiajority against the faction. A aeu expedient was hit 
 upon to get rid of these intruders. An " Alien Hill." to 
 make aliens of those who had taken rid vantage of the va- 
 rious proclamations to Cnit,"! Et,)pire loyalists to enter and 
 settle in the province »va.- at^ iopu'd t<» he rarrit r| Sir Pe- 
 ve^'rine Maitland v.mi hi.- ad\i-«'is wero ii(,.it rcntcnt \^•ith in- 
 
 " Well'i r*rtijauiuu:i. pap*:' 16- 
 
I- 
 
 ( , 
 
 It • 
 
 li' .. •; 
 
 * '. ' " ^ 
 
 1 ''^ 
 
 1 . 
 
 101 w. li, ,\I.\cKl';^•/l^: — aitk/hanck and ciiaiiactkk. 1821. 
 
 tcrdicUiig ]il>eit>' of speech aiul liberty o\ aetio'i They 
 utteinpted to seize the propei'ty and very nieaiiri of thos^e \o 
 wliom the tUith of the government was pledged lor protec- 
 tion. Tiiey Jittempted to sweep out of the eouutiy those 
 who had received their tith:^H to lands, thirty years back, and 
 luul, for that length of time oecnipied their farms. And 
 tiiey, oon.se(picntly, attempted to alienate, «nnd so get rid of 
 me)i who had enjoyed, tor a great length of time, tlv full 
 privileges of British subjeets, and who were British su.bjects 
 in svmi»athv and in realitv as in law. Indeed it was only 
 by the united exertions of the people tliat the calamity was 
 turned aside. The concoctors of the scheme took nothing 
 l>y their motion. I^ad tliey succeeded, the advantage wouhl 
 only have been teuiporary, an<i the reaction moi f r.iblo 
 than it was. Maving failed in a design, which the word 
 ini(piitou8 is scarcely sutHcient to characterise, the House 
 of Assembly decidedly assumed a progressive or reform cha- 
 racter. It was -while this sillv, as well as unjust measure 
 was being attem])ted to be carried that an attsick of a novel 
 kind was nnnle upon Mr. William Lyon Mackenzie. Mr. 
 Mackenzie had some yeai-s previously emigrateil to Toronto, 
 from Dundee, in Scotland, wliere he had been engaged in 
 business, as a merchant's clerk. An excellent accountant, 
 be wasprol>abl} instrumental in causiing it to be pointed. out 
 to Sir Peregrine Maitland that the public accounts of Upper 
 Canada were not properly kept. He wcudd have liad at any 
 rate no Jiesitation m doing so. V'ery small in stature, he 
 had a large head, ornamented with a moderately sizt^d and 
 sparkling light blue ey*-, and with a no.se peculiarly .short, 
 and in comparison with his other features, altogether ridicu- 
 lously small. His nose was in wonderful contrast with a 
 massive fore head a))d well-shaped mouth, which even wlien 
 his tongue stood still, rare as that occurrence was, ever 
 moved. He was pecidiarly thin-skinned. The blue veins ot 
 his fair face made him seem to have been tatoocd. Mr. .Vlac- 
 konzio was thru aslo»iishingly active, persevering, and intel- 
 liy,oni. as he siijl is. A nioi'c ;iblc or a more indefatigable 
 
ACTKK. 1821. 
 
 I«:i4. 
 
 MACKKNZIl'; PEKSKOUTLJi. 
 
 40/ 
 
 ox])Oser ol ooloiiial alnisos coukl not have ;n>peaiv(l ut u 
 more lltting tiiiio. lie was undoubtedly the no-lit man 
 in the right plaee. ik' Ijad engaged m business, und ]»ros-- 
 pered, in York. Tic wati, at tliis periuil, the [iroprietor of a 
 pevioditijil ealied tiie Cnfnnud Adroai/i, wlierein the corrup- 
 tionists ot' tlie period v/ere unniaske<l wirli veiy little eere- 
 leration. The "corrui'lionis^ts,"' very natu 
 
 nionv or consn 
 rally, desired to put him down. It was a matter, however, 
 daily beeoming more dillieulr u> put a man in prison and 
 toss him out of the eountry on the ['lea that he entertained 
 opinions whieh he miglit gis'e expression ic, and revolu- 
 tionize tlie eountry. It was suspected, indeed, by the mag- 
 nates, that the state of feeling in the country waw siieh that 
 prosecutions couhl not be maintained against Mr. Mackenzie. 
 It was even believed that they would increase Ids popularity. 
 Mr. Mackenzie travelled often to [»ick up infoi-mation. lie 
 went abont not so much to create u public opinion a^ to 
 ascertain it. lie was at Niagara wdh thin view when a mob 
 of "•gentlemen" stormed his printing tillice in York. Like 
 all other assaults of the kind, it \\'as, oi* course, a night at- 
 tack, and being well managed was quite successful I It waa 
 not. In the broad light if day, the press was captured and 
 destroyed, and the type ot' the Colo'n'ad Ailmratv seized and 
 thrown into Lake Ontario. Nor was this all. Mr. Macken- 
 .'•iiie's tamily and his infirm old niother received (he most 
 brutal treatment.* The authorities took very little notice 
 of the occurrence. Ihit .Mr. Mackenzie ai>pejde(.l to a .jury, 
 who, "to tlie no snudl discomtiture of the tories, from Sir 
 Peregrine Maitland, down to the lowest menial enndoyed in 
 the i>olitical shambles." gave exemphiry damages. Thi.'i 
 had some effect, but not the weight which punishment for 
 the crime would have produced. Tlie risk of having to pay 
 for damages w^ould certaiidy not have prevented similar vio- 
 lence. The em]»loyeofi or relatives of the E.xecutive Council- 
 lors, the Judges, the Att^rnies, and vSolicitoi's Ueneral, and of 
 such distinijnished families at home would have continued 
 
 Wull'sCauailiana pat>' \M 
 
406 
 
 prt:s,« mtzzlinos. 
 
 18i24. 
 
 r 
 
 
 K ' 
 
 to destroy pren.so.s to thih day, aainine; more \)\ ihc su|)pros- 
 sioti of truth iind tlu* [)reventioii of i'voa disciisHion, than 
 they lofit in daniagen, had not an obstach? 8tood in thoir way, 
 which it was dangerous to ontMiunter. The liberal press took 
 up a bold position. The speeches in tlie Assembly, by the 
 leading independents, told upon tlie country. A spirit of 
 retributive justice liad been stirred up, whicli awed and in- 
 timidated the ruling compact. Open violence could not 
 again be resorted to. The subtleties of the law were, how- 
 ever, brought into requisition. Under a show of justice 
 and a j)retended bridling of licentiousness, the press might 
 be liiu .led or compelled lo play one monotonous liymn of 
 praise 1/ Hu powers above. Tlie lilx i laws were sufficiently 
 odious to u I 'iplisb anything. Mr. Mackenzie was prose- 
 cuted for libel. r*rosecution fallowed prosecution, and 
 where truth constitutes a libel, it is surjirising how ho es- 
 caped. The juries would not convict. The eyes of the 
 whole country had been ojtened, find tlic conspiracies against 
 the public liberties were obsen'able. Besides, Mr. Macken- 
 zie defended himself, and gave his perseiMitors nothing to 
 boast of in the rencontres. IFe never tailed to improve 
 these occasions, lie entered into every swindling transac- 
 tion with greater severity thati he could have done in his 
 newspaper. Mackenzie always succeeded in an appeal to 
 the people. There were others of his class not so fortunate. 
 A gentleman named Francis Collins, lately arrived in the 
 country, from Ireland, with a small competency, cstablish.ed 
 a newspaper which he called The Quhn/icn Freeman. Mr. 
 Collins commented on the ruinous policy of the administra- 
 tion. But he did it too fervently for the tories. Sir l^ere- 
 grine Maitland, the Governor, o]-dered him to be prosecuted, 
 and upon what gro\inds tnay be gained from the fact of tlie 
 trial being put oW, and the proceedings afterwards disconti- 
 nued. The end was answered. Smarting under a sense of 
 ill-usage, he became more severe upon the government, and 
 perhaps did ascribe to them more than was true, lie wa.'^ 
 prosecuted by Mr. Attorn^n' (teneral Hobitison, a womlcr- 
 
1 S-J4, 
 
 .'■IK J. H. KoIU.N.'idN — PATIKNOr: or nI'l'Rr:sslOX. 
 
 4U( 
 
 I'uUy able mail tlien, and now Sir John Tit'vorly UoV)iiisoti, 
 and Chief Justice in Canada Wet<t, and witii the aid of 
 Messi's. Justices Ilaffernian and Slienvood, a verdict of guilty 
 wa.s bi'onglit in asrainst hini. According to a '• resolution" of 
 the House of Assembly an •• o|i])ressive and unwarrantable 
 sentence" was pas^^ed uj>on him. Wheiln'r or no, he was 
 thrust into prison. The .House of Assembly applied to tho 
 Governor for his release in vain. It was not until the king 
 came to hear of his situation that he was releaeed, with a 
 broken constitution, which brought him to the grave in the 
 flower of liis manliood. It was so that Sir Pereo-rine Malt- 
 land and the clique who surrounded him persecuted the 
 press, with the view of concealing I'rom England the true 
 state ot' public opinion, in the colony. Men submit to ter- 
 rible injustice before tliey rebel. An able despot might so 
 numage as to intlict almost unheard of cruelties upon indi- 
 viduals without driving a population to arms. ^len with 
 wives and families and properties, however inconsiderable 
 in value such properties may be, are unwilling to risk their 
 all, at the tap of the drum, until wrought u[i to it by despe- 
 ration. There is a feeling of respect for authority, a regard 
 for that which is believed to be law, a peculiar sense of duty 
 towards the State in most men, v.liich prevents them from 
 assuming a position even of firmness in the assertion of their 
 rights. In a colony there arc thousands who bring with 
 them I'ecolleetions of home and of home institutions, and 
 who cannot be brought to believe that an English gentle- 
 man will pursue a coursi^ of yxdiey, as the governor of a co- 
 lony, wliicli the Queen of England has too much good sense 
 to assume, even if she could do it, in the United Kingdom. 
 Indeed, if a glance is taken behind the curtain, English 
 statesmen will be noticed to have been liberal and well in- 
 clined towards the colonists, and have only eired when pur- 
 posely misled by those whom they had appointed to places 
 of which it was and is a serious mistake for any ministry to 
 have the pati-onage. Sir Peregrine Maitland did not con- 
 fine his persecuting operations to gentlemen who gathered 
 
40H 
 
 RECALL OF STK P. MAITLAND. 
 
 IS24. 
 
 I , 
 
 I 
 
 ■ ■♦ 
 
 statistics, or prinrcd neAvnpapers, and wrote [(olitical articles, 
 comin('ntiii;i»" on an administration tor which lie only was 
 vosponBiblo to tlic Secretary of State for the colonies, lie 
 was not satistied with having seen a printing press desii-oyed 
 and the type:^ of a newspaper office sunk in Ontario, but 
 must needs throw a bnildina- l)elonging to a private gentk^- 
 njan over the Falls of Niagara. lie was recalled because, 
 in the supposition that the law was too slow for redress, 
 and impatient of contradiction, as some military men are, 
 he caused an armed force to trespass on the property of a 
 gentleman named Forsyth, on the plea that liis land be- 
 longed to the (/vovvn. Tlie property was situated at the 
 Falls of Magara. A building stood u]»on a part of the land 
 claimed fortj:ie Crown by Sir I'eregrinc. The soldiery -tum- 
 l)led tli*. ouilding over the precipice, and the land was free 
 of all incnmbraneos. The House of Assembly interfered 
 in this .. 'ttL. ooo. They attempted to obtain the evidence 
 of the otilicers engaged in the business, but the government 
 would not permit them to testily, the consequence of which 
 was that the Assembly imprisoned them for contempt. So 
 far was their reluctance to give evi<lence carried, that the 
 Serjeant-at-Arms was compelled to enter by force the house 
 in which they had luirricaded themselves. The king was 
 niade aware of the whole i>roceedings, Mr. Foi'syth's claim 
 for redress acknowledged, and Sir Peregrine Maitland re- 
 called. It was not too soon. Before this, Ilis Excellency 
 manage<l to juggle Mr. Robert Randall, the agent of the 
 people to lllngland, against tlie alien bill, and who was, 
 thereforti, one of the proscribed, out of his ample estates on 
 the IS^iagara frontier, and out of his valuable mill privileges 
 on the Ottawa, by the formality of law, so that he was left 
 bankrupt and penniless, and died in sorrow. Indeed any- 
 thing in t^e semblance of a lil)eral was in those days pros- 
 cribed in a country possessed of the image and transcript of 
 the British constitution. A j)eninsular olHccr, Captain Mat- 
 thew, a member of the x\ssendily, who would not receive 
 *" new light" at command was set u] urn by spies. The ob- 
 
 I ' 
 
1824. 
 
 MATTHEWti. — UILLIS — KOIUXeON. 
 
 U}9 
 
 ject was tho conteniptibio otic of robbinti; liiiv. of hi^•, half- 
 pay. A Hpv declared tliat lie had once hoard iiiiu call lor 
 "Yankee Doodle," at a l»hiy in the metropolis. It was a 
 p;rievons oii'enco, cei'tainly, even had it been true. But it 
 was enou^ch to <leprivc a man who had .served liis country in 
 battle of his half-pay. Indeed, he only could get it back 
 airaiu on condition of repairini!: to Etui:land. Ite w^ant there 
 to seek redress and died. There were yet other stifferer.s. 
 Mr. Justice Willit? had been elevated from the Enirlish bar 
 
 dr 
 
 b 
 
 thi 
 
 to the Bench of Upper Canada, inerc were nut tnree 
 Judjjes of the King's Bench, in the country, the Chief Jus- 
 tice Cfimpbell and two Puisne Judges. The Chief Justice 
 went to England in search of a knighthood. Mr. Willi.s 
 was not in favor at Court, lie had ytudionsly abstained 
 from niixi?)g himself up with politics. He had indeed re- 
 fused to be an obsequious .lefierics, and was looked upon, 
 therefore, as opposed to the administration. When term 
 time came, the Chief Justice being in England, Mr. AVillls 
 refused to go on with tliC l)usi]UiS8 of tlie Court, because 
 there Avas no one to decide in case of a difference of opinion 
 l.ietwcen him and his brother Justice. It was enough. Sir 
 Peregrine Maitland dismissed lilm, and appointed Mr. Ha- 
 german, pro fcmpori\ in his stead. The newly appointed 
 Judge must have been surprised at his elevation. lie was 
 at the very moment of his ap])olntment discharging the 
 onerous and important duties of an officer of the Customs 
 at Kingston. Mr. Willis appealed to the English govern- 
 inent and was sustained in the position which he had as- 
 sumed, but Instead of being reinstated In Canada, another 
 otHce was provided for him In Demerara. The Chief Jus- 
 tice shortly afterwards returned from England as Sir Wil- 
 liam Campbell, and resigned to make w'ay for the election 
 of Mr. Attorney General Robinson. Hagerman was suc- 
 ceeded by Mr. M'Aulay, a barrister of six years standbig, 
 and very cheerfully accepted the humbler office of Solicitor 
 General. Again tlie House of Assembly Interfered with 
 Sir Peregrine Maitland, They represented that Willis had 
 
^^ 
 
 'mmammtm 
 
 410 
 
 TUK UKXTKY uF CAN'ADA. 
 
 lSii4. 
 
 •f 
 
 I . 
 
 V' 
 mi 
 
 J 
 
 beon grof*sly ill-used, and explained the cause. It was with- 
 out ettect. The beuutics of colonial irresponsible f^overn- 
 nient were iny disoiu'nible in Upper ('anadii. where there 
 were no seditious, J^ni^lish-hating, Freneluneu, as in Lower 
 Canada. A private £?entlenian, two editors of newsi)aper.s. 
 a member of parliament, a ca]>tain in tlieanny, and ajudtre 
 had experioneed some of the beuetits deiival)le from a con- 
 stitution, the verv trauscriiit and imai-'e of that of Great Bri- 
 tain, managed by a (leneral of Division aiid u clique of 
 placemen. The clique were, on the whole, men of genteel 
 education and refined tastes. Tliev formed an exclusive 
 circle of associates. Officers of the army, on full i»ay, were 
 admitted to the society of their wives and daughters, and 
 no one else but one of themselves, and indeed the gentry of 
 the country consisted of the Oovernor, the Bishop, a Chief 
 Justice, the Clerk of the Executive Council, a few of the 
 leading merchants, who were members of the Legislative 
 Council, i^r wlio were the descendants of an Executive 
 Councillor, or of an Aid-de-Cam}», the Colonels of Engi- 
 neers and Artillery, with such of the other otiicers of these 
 corps who cared for the society of an honorable possessor of 
 waste lauds or Timber Broker, and the ofHcers of the regi- 
 ments of the line. In the principal towns tlie clergy of tlie 
 Church of Scotland were sometimes looked upon as gentle- 
 men. Elsewlicre, in common with the clergy of dissenting 
 congregations, they were only on a footing Avith those many 
 respectable people wlio cultivated farms, kept shops, or 
 owned steamboats. The banker had not even yet reached 
 that scale of importance which would have entitled him to 
 be considered one of the gentry. Among Governors, Bish- 
 ops, Cliief Justices, Clerks of Council, and officers of tlie 
 army, it would have been wonderful had there not been men 
 ot literary tastes. These tastes did prevail and required gra- 
 tification. Li Lower Canada, it was suggested to Lord Dal- 
 liousie that it would do him honor were ho to be the founder 
 of a Literary aiid Historical Society. Lord Dalhousie — 
 who was a really excellent nuin — although a blundering gov- 
 
1S-J4. 
 
 ISliK 
 
 Till-: IJTFRAltY ANl) II IS Inliir \ i, -OCllTV. 
 
 411 
 
 It was vvith- 
 isiblo i^overn- 
 . whore tluTO 
 11, ji8 in Lower 
 )t" nowspa]>er!S. 
 y, i\nd ajiuli^e 
 )k' iVoin a con- 
 t of Great Bri- 
 iiitl a clique of 
 men of genteel 
 1 an exclnsive 
 full pay, were 
 laughters, and 
 d the ijentry of 
 Bishop, a Chief 
 I, a few of the 
 the Legislative 
 :' an Executive 
 onelB of Engi- 
 itiieers of these 
 ble possosftor of 
 rsi of the regi- 
 clergy of the 
 ipon as gentle- 
 y of dissenting 
 th those nianv 
 vcpt shops, or 
 en yet readied 
 ntitled him to 
 vernors, Bisli- 
 officers of the 
 not been men 
 required gra- 
 d to Lord Dal- 
 |be the founder 
 Dalhousie — 
 nndering gov- 
 
 ernor in Lower ('.ituula. where he iiad such men its Neilsoii, 
 Stuart, rHplnean and even the supiili' V'ullirre.s to thw;irL 
 him — and anxit)us to benelit tlie colony as nineli :;s he coiihl 
 at once took the liint. He founded it in Quebec, nnd be- 
 came its j>ntron. It was fouiuled for the purpose «)f investi- 
 gatinir {toints of history, iniiuediately conneeted with the 
 Oanadas; to discover and reseue from the unsparing hand 
 of time the records whieh remained ol' the earli<'.st hi-^torv 
 of \ew^ France; to preserve such d(Huments as might be 
 found amid the dust ol une.vplored de[»ositorles, and which 
 might prove important to general history and to the parti- 
 cular liistory <tf the province. Tlie Society lias not been 
 unproductive of good. Indeed it aequirecl at one time oven 
 a distant reputation. There have been both able and edu- 
 cated men connected with it. The Reverend J.)aniel 
 Wilkie, LL. ])., one of the most eminent teachers of youth, 
 which the countrv has vet known, a man of irrcat learnin'% 
 and capable of [trofound thought, contributed many valua- 
 ble papers to it. The Jlonorable Andrew William (.'ochran, 
 an accomplished scholar, was its President. Tlic Skeys, 
 the Ladgleys, the Fishers, the Sewells, tlie \'aHieres, the 
 Stuarts, the l>lacks, the Sheppards, the Morrins, the Dou- 
 glasses, the lievereml J)r. Cook, the liisliops Mountain, the 
 (ireens, the Farlbaults, and indeed all the men of learinng 
 and note in the country were associated with it. But it is 
 decaying. The men, a greater ])art of whom were, in a 
 political sense, injurious to the country, who were ca])able 
 of holding up such a society, are being supplanted by more 
 I»raeticable men of inferior literary acquirements, such as 
 the Camerons, the Richards, the Smiths, or the Browns. The 
 literature of the country is increasing in quantity and dimi- 
 nishing in quality, and so it will continue to do until the 
 wealth of the country becomes more considerable. The 
 means for the obtainment of a simply classical education 
 are now at the very door. There are universitit.'s in Quebec, 
 Montreal, Kingston, and Toronto, but there are yet oidy a 
 very few men with time sufficient at their disposal, even in 
 
^^^ 
 
 TT" 
 
 . I. 
 
 > ■♦!• 
 
 ', * • • 
 
 41-2 
 
 DKPAHTl'UK OF LOHI) UALIlUUrilK. 
 
 1824. 
 
 winter, to boconio icolandically louriied. The rt<iciety 
 slionld, however, bo iniiiiitaiiied, aiul it would rt;lle«.'t credit 
 on any ^overnniont to vote it a yearly grant n|' at least 
 JjSUO. Lord Dallionnie wan a benevolent and [)ersonully 
 upright man. Among other good tliing.s whivh lie did, un- 
 connected with i>olitieH, waB the gil't IVoni the Jesuit^?' En- 
 taten Fund of .€800, and a large donation out of his privy 
 purrfo to assibt in the enlargement of 8t. Andrew's Church ; 
 which at an expenne of ^2,300 wan completed in 1824. An 
 a gentleman, no man could luive been more re8})ccted than 
 the Earl of Dalhousie was. There wuh nothing despicably 
 mean Rbout him. lie was liable to be deceived by othern. 
 lie never intentionally deceived himself or others, lie did 
 not like the French. Ho did not like diplomacy. The 
 trickeries of the hustings were distasteful to him. He re- 
 joiced in being a good soldier and an honest man, and he 
 would have been glad had all the world been as he was. 
 He should not, however, have been the Governor of Canada, 
 or the Governor of any colony with a constitution, which 
 could only be successfully worked by the most skilful ma- 
 noeuvring and adroit trickery. His Lordship sailed for Eng- 
 land on the 6tli of June, 1824, and the government of Low^er 
 Canada devolved on the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Francis 
 Nathaniel Burton. 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
1824. 
 
 The society 
 Id relleet credit 
 rant of at least 
 and perHOiially 
 huh he did, ini- 
 :ho Je.siiits' E.s- 
 ut of Jiis privy 
 drew's Church ; 
 3d in 1824. A.s 
 re8})0cted tiian 
 ling despicably 
 iivcd ])y otherH. 
 )therH. He did 
 ploniacy. The 
 to him. He re- 
 st man, and he 
 been as ho was. 
 rnor of Canada, 
 itution, which 
 )st skilful ma- 
 > sailed for Eng- 
 imcnt of Lower 
 or, Sir Francis