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 fi 
 V 
 

 Toronto Public Library. 
 
 Reference Department. 
 
 THIS BOOK MUST NOT BE TAKEN OUT OF THE ROOM. 
 
 c!}tji- A^ M^C 
 
 aduii 
 
^. 
 
 Toronto, May 18, 1838. iSCfOJO 
 
 Letter of Mr. Attorney General to the Editor on the subject of Mr. Bidwell's 
 departure from this Province ; showing that the same was perfectly voluntary on his part; 
 in rontradiction to the assertion of a writer in the Upper Canada Herald, signing himself 
 a U. E. Loyalist, that he had been exiled by the arbitrary mandate of Sir Francis Bond 
 Head, late Governor of Upper Canada. 
 
 To tlie E^ditor of tlie Patriot' 
 
 Sir — There are some Editors of Newspapers, 
 Hnd also some persons unconnected with the 
 Press, who during the period of Sir Francis 
 B Head's administration of the Government of 
 this Province, were loud and apparently sincere 
 in their admiration of his puh:.c conduct and 
 policy — but who, since his departure for Eng 
 land, have assumed a different tone, and have de- 
 nounced his measures, and applied epithets to par- 
 ticular acts of his administration equally discour- 
 teous and undeserved It is not my present pur- 
 pose to inquire into the motives that have led to 
 this course of conduct, which to speak of it in the 
 mildest terms, may be considered as in the highejit 
 degree reprehensible, and is by no means calcula- 
 ted to advance one's confidence in the disinterest- 
 edness and justice of mankind ; but it imposes 
 on those who have discovered no good reason 
 for changing their opinions of the hones', able, 
 and patriotic course of policy pursued by Sir 
 Francis Head, the duty of counteracting as far as 
 they can, the effects of misrepresentations, which 
 with much industry and I ) egret to say, appareiU 
 malignancy, have been promulgated against him — 
 more especially in any case that involves a charge 
 of personal delinquency. It is this feeling that in- 
 duces me tnus publicly to notice the editorial arti- 
 cle in the Kingston Herald of the 8th instant, and 
 the communication that follows it, subacribed " A 
 United Empire Loyalist," on the subject of Mr. 
 Bidwell's departure from this Province, who it is 
 alleged was "expelled" and "banished" in the 
 most " cruel," " arbitrary," and unconstitution- 
 al manner by Sir Francis Head. 
 
 Before adverting to certain facts connected with 
 this case, of which I think it desirable the loyal 
 people of this Province should be informed— and 
 which when placed before them in their true light, 
 will, I think, sufficiently disprove the unjust and 
 unfounded accusations of Mr. Bidwell's friend and 
 admirer, " ^l United Empire Loyalist," against 
 Sir Francis Head ; I cannot withhold the expres- 
 sion of my great surprise, that Mr. Bidwell should 
 attempt to promulgate, or that any man of ordina- 
 ry understanding should adopt the idea, that he had 
 been " expelled the Prvvivce at the arbitrary plea- 
 sure of a Governor.'" No man knows better than 
 Mr. Bidwell, and none ought to know better than 
 the Editor of the Kingston Herald, and his cor- 
 respondent " A United Empire Loyalist"— that 
 not even the QUEEN OF ENGLAND herself, 
 muc'n lees a Governor of one of Her Majesty's 
 distant Colonies could arbitrarily expel a British 
 subject from any part of the British dominions— 
 and however much Mr Bidwell may be blinded to 
 "« truth of his own case, from the peculiar aad I 
 ««""i painful situation in which he has placed him- 
 
 self — anrl however desirous his political parlizan? 
 may he to represent him as a persecuted man, it 
 will be utterly impossible fpr him or any other per- 
 son to convince a single intelligent and honest 
 man of this community, that his expatriation 
 was not his own voluntary act, or that he did 
 not leuve the Province because it was his 
 duty and his interest to do so, and that he 
 was grateful for the pernriission given him to 
 depart unimpeached, and which permission let itba 
 rpmemhered, was granted him by the very persons 
 whose destruction had well nigh been accomplish" 
 ed by men who had been led to the commission of 
 tr<?ason,lhrou2h the persuasion i/f those who encou* 
 raged cf maintained that anti-British policy he'had 
 from his infancy advocated, <f earnestly recommen- 
 ded to the people of this Province for theiradoption; 
 a policy which " A united Empire loyalist'^ seems 
 for some mysterious reason, desirous should be once 
 more planted among us, or at all events, that its 
 chief and most artful supporter should be invited 
 back to the country, that ho might again dissem- 
 inate his principles if he should think fit. and thus 
 again put to hazard that repose and harmony so es- 
 sential to our future and present welfare. I very 
 greatly mistake the character and feelings of the 
 people of this Province however, if he will find 
 many real " loyalists" to join him in his singu- 
 lar and extraordinary design. I agree with 
 "A United Empire loyalist," that there are many 
 loyal subjects among that class of persons who 
 style themselves " Reformers ;" but the number is 
 at this moment very small of those, who now de* 
 sire to recognize Mr. Bidwell as their leader. He, 
 as they know from fatal experience, may lead Ihom 
 into danger and into situations of the most humili- 
 ating difficulty, but when there, they may look in 
 vain for his assistance to extricate them. 
 
 But to proceed to the more important object of 
 this communication. 
 
 The Rebellion as every one knows broke out on 
 Monday night the 4ih December. On the Wednes. 
 day morning following, I met Mr. Bidwell in the 
 street, he told me that he had been anxious to see 
 me, and that he had written me a note to say so — that 
 his olyect in seeking the interview was to tell me, 
 that he felt he must be looked upon with distrust, 
 and that from the circumstance of his having al. 
 ways been identified in politics with the leaders 
 of the insurrection, it was reasonable to suppose 
 that he might be suspected by the Government of 
 being implicated in their treasonable moyeinanta :— . 
 he, however, very earnestly protested bis inno- 
 cence, and declared his perfect willingness to sub- 
 mit himself and all his papers to the closest scru- 
 tiny and investigation. I replieo' that for n.y own 
 part I did not believe that he had either advised or 
 participated in the revolt— and that I was cot 
 
aware that any officer of the Government suspect- 
 ed him. I further told him that there was no de- 
 sire to subject him or his papers to examina- 
 tion, and that 1 felt quite confident that the Go- 
 vernment would not direct any thing of the kind. 
 I then remarked to Mr. Bidwell that although I did 
 not think he was directly concerned in the rebel- 
 lion, he must feel that he ought not to be surpris- 
 ed if, as he suspected, he were looked upon as a 
 disaffected person. His constant opposition to the 
 Government, and the political principles which 
 he had ever professed and upheld, had without 
 doubt, encouraged the disloyal to persevere in that 
 course of conduct, that had resulted in rebellion — 
 but I more particularly alluded to his letter written 
 to Di-. O'Callaghan, Editor of the Montreal Vindi- 
 cator, who had since fled the country for Trea- 
 son, in which letter he expresses himself in the 
 following language : — 
 
 *' Your great and poicerful exertions in the 
 *' cause of liberty and justice I have noticed 
 ^^ ivith admiration and respect; and I look 
 " with deep interest on th^ strugglein Lower 
 *' Canada,between an insulted, oppressed, and 
 *' injured people and their oppressors. A LL 
 «« HOPE OK JUSTICE FROM THE AUTHOR- 
 " ITIES IN ENGLAND SEEMS TO BE EX- 
 " T'r^GUISHED." 
 
 I told him it was impossible to read that letter 
 and not feel a moral conviction that the writer's 
 desigri was to justify the conduct of the disafiecled 
 in Lower Canada, who at that time openly and un- 
 disguisedly declared their determination traitorous- 
 ly to effect their separation from the Parent State ; 
 — revolt had soon aft^r followed in Lower Canada, 
 and it was inconsisle'.t with the terms of his letter 
 to belieTe he had not .proved of it,& most persons 
 undoubtedly believbo .hat such was the fact. Mr. 
 Bidwell replied that his letter was a private com- 
 munication, and that the extract gi\ en was garbled, 
 and that if the context had been published it would 
 not have appeared so objectionable. I said I did 
 not understand how this could well be, but at all 
 events it seemed at variance with the duty of a 
 loyal subject to write in the style he admitted he 
 had written, to a man like Dr. O'Callaghan, who 
 was so notoriously and avcvedly disaffected. I 
 understood Mr. Bidwell to express his regret at 
 having written the letter; which he repeated was a 
 private communication, and had been improperly 
 published ; and that he did not approve of revolt. 
 
 Either the same or the following morning T again 
 met Mr. Bidwell, and mentioned to him thai it had 
 been reported to the Lieutenant Governor, that Dr. 
 RoLPH had left the City and had gone to the Dis- 
 trict of London, and that as he was known to ho 
 an intimate friend, and next door neighbour of Dr. 
 Rolph, and was probably acquainted with his 
 movements, I wished to ask him whether he knew 
 the object of hisyourney to that District. Mr. Bid- 
 well replied that although Dr. Rolph had given out 
 that he intended to go to the District of London, he 
 in fact had not gone there, but that he had gone to 
 the United Slates. I confess I was startled at this 
 information, for at that time I was not aware 
 that Dr. Rolph was in any way implicated in 
 the rebellion, and I could not understand why he 
 should, as he had done« clandestinely leave the 
 country. Mr. Bidwell told me that Dr. Rolph's 
 reason for gonig away was two-fold: — first, he 
 feared he might be apprehended and committed 
 
 8"con'lly, he was afraid that Mackenzie and other 
 traitors might attempt to spnd messages and ad- 
 dress letters to him, and thus apparently implicate 
 him in their schemes, with which he was reaulve.l 
 to have nothing to do. Without impeaching Mr. 
 Uidwell's veracity, neither of the.se reasons ap- 
 peared satisfactory to me. Dr. Kolph h.^d the 
 best evidence given him that he was not suspect- 
 ed, as he had been selected by Sir Francis Head, 
 as the medium of communication between him 
 and the insurgents, and whs commissioned to re- 
 quire them in the name of their Sovereign to re- 
 turn to thoir homes and thfiir allegiance, in which 
 case they would be forgiven. And as to the at- 
 tempts he apprehended on the p rt of the insur- 
 gents to hold correspondence with him, he had 
 nothing to fear if be were disj-osed to act as an 
 honest and loyal man should, viz at once to dis' 
 close the nature of any treasonable communica- 
 tion that might be made to him. However the 
 matter passed from my mind for the moment, and 
 it was not until some time after Mr. Bidwell left 
 the Province that information was given, that 
 too clearly established a guilty correspondence 
 between Dr. Rolph and the traitors. Had I been 
 aware of this fact at the time I wrote to MrBidwell, 
 I do not think I should have written him the pri- 
 vate letter which his friend has published. At 
 the same time I do not wish to be understood th.at 
 I believe that Mr. Bidwell was aware of Dr. 
 Rolph's traitorous conduct. The sentiments ex- 
 pressed in my letter are those which I sincerely 
 felt for Mr. Bidwell ii^the private relations of life, 
 and I am anxious to exclude from my mind the 
 suspicions entertained by others, of his want of 
 sincerity. 
 
 In the course of the conversation which occur* 
 red with Mr. Bidwell on the first or second occa- 
 sion, 1 do not recollect which, he spoke of the un- 
 pleasant situation in which he found himself by 
 the criminal conduct of the political party with 
 whom he had for so long a time been connected, 
 (or rather, Ishould say, with that portion of the 
 party that had joined in the revolt,) and he ex- 
 pressed very strongly his wish to leave the Province; 
 so strongly indeed, that it would not in the least 
 have surprised me at any moment to have heard 
 that he had taken the resolution to remove to the 
 country of his birth. I well remember his saying 
 that he had little hope of being restored to happi- 
 ness while he remained here ; and I did not hesi- 
 tate to tell him that I thought he would do wise- 
 ly to leave the country — that his professed politi- 
 cal op' jions were entirely at variance with the 
 monarchial Institutions of England — and that he 
 must now either abandon those opinions, or bo 
 constancy subject to annoyances and mortifications 
 of a most unpleasant description. I had no right 
 whatever thus to address Mr. Bidwell, but I did 
 so in the spirit of friendly candor : he well knew 
 what my opinions were of his political character — 
 I had fully and freely stated them on various oc- 
 casions in the House of Assembly in his presence, 
 but particularly when I offered an ineffectual re- 
 sistance to his election as Speaker in 1834-5. 
 I then declared ray conviction that he was hostile 
 to British Institutions and to British connection, 
 "and referred to facts in support of this op nion"' ; 
 Mr. Bidwell was of course present, and was 
 surrounded by his friends, who at that time 
 constituted a majority of the Assembly. The 
 sentiments I then expressed I continue to enf''- 
 but just to say that thev '*ere 
 
 ' 
 
and other 
 63 and ad- 
 implicate 
 ,s resolve.} 
 iching Mr. 
 pasoris Hp- 
 1 ll.^d the 
 )t suspect- 
 cis Head, 
 ween liiin 
 ined to re- 
 ign to re- 
 , in which 
 to the at- 
 the insur- 
 n, he had 
 act as an 
 nee to dis* 
 )mmunica- 
 iwever the 
 )inent, and 
 uiwell left 
 iven, that 
 spoiidence 
 lad I been 
 r.Bidwell, 
 im the pri- 
 shed. At 
 rstood that 
 re of Dr. 
 iinents ex- 
 I sincerely 
 ms of life, 
 ' raind the 
 lis want of 
 
 lich occur- 
 cond occa- 
 I of the un- 
 himself by 
 jarty with 
 connected, 
 ion of the 
 and he ex- 
 c Province; 
 a the least 
 have beard 
 ove to the 
 
 his saying 
 d to happi- 
 d not hesi- 
 id do wise* 
 ssed politi- 
 9 with the 
 ind that he 
 ions, or he 
 rtifications 
 ad no right 
 , but I did 
 
 well knew 
 :haracter — 
 various oc 
 s presence, 
 ffectual re- 
 in 1834-5. 
 was hostile 
 ;onnection, 
 I op nion"' ; 
 , and was 
 
 that time 
 bly. The 
 8 to ent''"- 
 
 thev '*ere 
 
 strcngthenpd by the perusal of the extracts from 
 his letter addressed to Dr. O'Callaghan. This 
 declaration J leel myself compelled to make in 
 ';ousequeiice of the publication of my private letti-r 
 to Mr. Bidwell — the piinliug of which, however, 
 I do not myself complain of, if placing It hefoie tlio 
 public has afforded any gratification to .Mr. Bidwell 
 or those interested in his wellare. 
 
 The next and the last time I saw Mr. Bidwell 
 was, as he passed ont of (joveritmcnt House after his 
 interview wiih Sir Francis Head, ai.d on which oc- 
 casion lie declared his intention to leave the Pro- 
 vince for ever I do not reccPcct that I at that 
 time spoKe to him or he to me — I think not — and 
 I certainly was not aware of the nature ol his con- 
 versation with Sir Francis Heavl until I was some 
 short time afterwards told of it by His Excellency. 
 The Correspondent of the Kngston Herald who 
 signs himself " A United Empire Loyalist,^' as- 
 serts that "Mr. Bidwell was morally and virtually 
 compelled to leave the Province by Sir Francis 
 Head" — and that he (Sir Francis) had " kobbeo 
 Mr. Bidwell of ihc ri^hfs andpnv>le<res of a British 
 subject.'^ And applies epithets to Hit Excellency 
 personally, as well as to bis public conduct, so of- 
 fensive and unauthorised as very clearly to prove 
 (in my opinion at least,) that ho is far less the 
 friend of Mr. Bidwell than tho enrmy of Sir Fran- 
 cis. Mr. Bidwell also in his le^itjr of the 27[h of 
 December last, speaks ol his •' banish incut,'' which 
 he says was "cruel and unjust" — and m h's letter 
 of the 12th April, he states he was " ccmpcllfd'' to 
 leave the Province, and that Sir Francis had done 
 him "a great and cruel wrong."' 
 
 Now I will merely ask any dispassionate man of 
 ordinary understanding to peruse the two letters 
 arldressed to Sir Francis Flead by Mr. Bidwell, the 
 first dated at Toronto the 8i.h December, 18:37. — 
 the very day on which he determined on leaving 
 the Province — and the seci^id from Lewiston in 
 the L'nited States, on the Uth of the same month, 
 and then ask himself upon what possitde ground 
 Mr. Bidwell could venture to make the assertions 
 contained in the letters I have refcrrtd to ? Mr. 
 Bidwell is admitted on all hands to be a man of 
 considerable talents, and that he well understands 
 the meaning of the wordo he uses — he also is a 
 cautious man, and is well known never to admit 
 any thing in favour of a poiiiical opponent if he can 
 .ivoid it, — unless, therefore, he be a dishonest or in- 
 sincere man, he meant what he wrote wlien be ad- 
 dre.i8i'd Sir Francis Head, the following letter : — 
 '• Toronto, 8ih December, 1837. 
 
 "Sir, — In consequence of the kind conversation 
 of your Excellency this morning, I have determined 
 to leave this Province for ever. 
 
 I am aware that the circumstances to which your 
 Excellency alluded are calculated to give rise to 
 suspicions against me in relation to this insurrec- 
 tion ; and while they would be likely to render my 
 further residence in this Provincs unpleasant, they 
 make your Excellency's kindness the more worthy 
 of my deep and lasting gratitude. 
 
 I am confident, at the sania time, that the inves- 
 tigations which will now of course be made, will 
 luily icujOVB these suspicions from jour Excel- 
 lency's mind, and will disprove that any such at- 
 tempt was in contemplation. 
 
 I have the honor to be, most respeclfully, your 
 Excellency's grateful servant. 
 
 (Sigi. ') MARSHALL S. BIDWELL. 
 His Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head." 
 
 Here we have the true reason of Mr. BidwfU's 
 determination to leave the Province-the same rea- 
 son that he gave to myself the day previous for de- 
 siring to remove to ai:other country, viz. — That 
 ^^ suspicions existed a gainst Jiiin in relation to 
 the insurrectionary movements tvhich were 
 liktly to render his future residence in the 
 Provittce vnpleasanl" Not one word or sentiment 
 is to be traced in this letter that implies in the most 
 remote degree, that Sir Francis Head desired 
 cruelly and unjustly to banish him — how can Mr. 
 Bidwell or his Inend reconcile this attet-thought 
 — this utterly unfounded assertion with his admis- 
 sion that " His Excellency's kindness was worthy of 
 his deep and lasting gratitude^ Wete it not for his 
 second letter dated Lewiston, the 11th December, 
 Mr. Bidwell or his friends might pretend that he had 
 been coerced into writing that of the 8th, but in 
 this latter communication, when he was freed from 
 all alarms-removed from all undue influence, he be- 
 gins his letter by stating that he " avails himself of 
 the fust leisure ntomcnt at his command,to repeat hit 
 acknowledgments for His Excellency' s personal re- 
 gard and good wishes during His Excellemy's con- 
 versation with him on Friday." This letter con- 
 tains other equally strong expressions of gratitude 
 for the kind treatment he had experienced from 
 Sir Francis Huad ; and although be states that Sir 
 Francis intimated a wish that he should remove 
 froni the Province, he no where isserts or insinu- 
 ates that he was coerced into leaving it. Re- 
 peating, therefore, what I have already stated, that 
 Mr. Bidwell (being admitted to be a person of good 
 understanding and ability) is either a man of truth 
 and honesty or he is not — if he be a man of truth, 
 then upon his own deliberate admission, he was not 
 banished from the Province, but left it because his 
 continuing to reside here would be unpleasant ;— 
 neither was he cruelly or unjustly treated by Sir 
 Francis Head, but the very reverse — if he be not 
 a man of truth or honesty, (which must be the 
 case if he denies the truth of the admission made 
 l)y him in his letter of the 8ih and Ilth December,) 
 I take it for granted no person of respectability 
 will feel much concern or interest about him. 
 
 There is another point of view in which it ir 
 proper that this case should be presented to the 
 public, and u is this : — Assuming it to be tru« that 
 Sir Francis Head, when he met Mr. Bidwell, told 
 him that he was in possession of several letters ad- 
 dressed to him, which he had not opened ; that he 
 was suspected of being concerned in the rebellion, 
 and that unless he agreed to leave the Province, 
 his letters would be opened, and that he would be 
 arrested in consequence of the suspicions enter- 
 tained against him — what ought to have been, 
 what would have been the answer of a man con- 
 scious of innocence and rectitude of conduct? 
 Would he not have spurned the degrading propo- 
 sal, and claimed, as a matter of right, an immediate 
 and solemn investigation into his conduct 1 Would 
 a man pure in his owti mind and resolved on 
 transmitting the inheritance of an honorable name 
 and unblemished reputation to his children, consent 
 to abandon the country in which he had lived from 
 his infancy, rather than encounter a trial upon a 
 false accusation of being a Traitor 1 It seems to 
 me impossible — and I have never yet heard politi- 
 cal friend or enemy of Mr. Bid well, with the excep> 
 tion of " A United Empire Loyalist" say, that 
 they would believe that gentleman innocent, if they 
 supposed he left the Province because he wj 
 
Rfrsid to submit himself to the judgment of the 
 country upon any charge that might be brought 
 against him. In truth, however, Mr. BiHwell was 
 never threatened wilh a prosecution — nor was it 
 ever intended that any should be instituted against 
 him, and this I am convinced he well knew. But 
 althoujjh such was the feeling entertained towards 
 him by his political opponents, is ilnotp quite clear 
 that he was as innocent as they believed him to be ? 
 What is the meaning of this di.-closure made by his 
 friend and apologist "A United Empire Loyal- 
 ist? " "/i the examination of some of the inxurgevts 
 I have been informed it ippcared that they had 
 gone to Mr. Bidwell some time before the 
 
 INSURRECTION TO ASK HIS OPINION ABOUT THE 
 MEASURES RECOMMENDED BY MACKENZIE, 
 
 and Mr. B. replied thit he had no opinion to 
 give— that he had altogether retired from 
 polities!" So then, notwithstanding the duiy of 
 his allegiance — notwithstanding the oath he bad 
 taken to disclose and make known all traitorous 
 conspiracies against his Sovereign, Mr. Bidwell 
 although apprised of the measures recommended 
 by Mackenzie — although he was asked his opinion 
 of them, felt that he discharged his duty to his 
 courtry, by merely staling that *' he had no opinion 
 to give — that he had altogether retired from poli- 
 tics !" If this be true, and most assuredly the com- 
 munication of "A United Empire Loyalist," 
 bears internal evidence of having been compiled 
 from facts " furnished by authority," there is ample 
 grounds for supposing that Mr. Bidwell had other 
 and more cogent reasons for leaving Upper Canada 
 than the desire alleged to have been expressed by 
 Sir Francis Head. Any one wishing to oniain the 
 probable explanation of these reasons will find it in 
 any work upon Criminal Law, under the title 
 •'Misprision of Treason" — of ihis crime Mr. Bil- 
 well was guilty, if as his friend states he was in' 
 formed of the designs of the Traitors before the 
 rebellion, and neglected to disclose them. 
 
 I will now close the observations 1 have felt if 
 my duty to make, by calmly remarking upon the 
 singular inconsistency of " a United Empire Loy- 
 alist," in attempting to agitate the public mind at 
 this moment of all others, upon a matter so little 
 entitled to consideration at his hands, if he really 
 have " no fellowship wilh the leading political 
 opinions" of Mr. Bidwell. It may be, that A United 
 Empire Loyalist is the determined enemy of Sir Y. 
 Head 4- feels gratification in assailing his policy up- 
 on every occasion when he thinks he can excite feel- 
 ings of hostility against it ; but it may be aeked, 
 is it becoming, or is it manifesting a decent respect 
 for the strongly and unequivocally expressed wishes 
 of the loyal inhabitants of this Province of all par- 
 ties, that peace and harmony should be restored to 
 it, to endeavour to rouse into angry and indignant 
 display, the same passions and the same party 
 spirit, that has so recently been subdued, and 
 which while it existed produced the most disas- 
 trous results 1 I feel satisfied that the great body 
 of the people of this Province deprecate the 
 discussion which •• A Ignited Empire Loyalist" 
 is attempting to excite. Every one knows 
 that if Mr. Bidweit has had injury done him, 
 redress is open to him through other and more 
 legitimate channels than angry discussion in a 
 newspaper, and it will be difficult for the Corres- 
 pondent of the Herald to persuadt .iis readers that 
 a disinterested desirp to v)btain jUBiice fur an al- 
 
 leged wrong, is the true reason for his addtess to 
 live puhljc. 
 
 Sir Francis Head is absent from this Pro- 
 vence, having voluntarily resigned the Govern- 
 ment into the hinds of his Soveieign. His ad- 
 ministration is now matter of history, and it is the 
 right of every one to discuss it, and express his 
 opinion upon its merits. The imperfectibiliiy ut 
 human nature forbids the belief that he, at all 
 times and upon all occasions, pursued that course 
 of policy which in the event proved entirely 
 free from error. But there is one point upon 
 which every candid and upright man mast agree, 
 viz his ardent, sincere, and enthusiastic attach 
 ment to British Institutions, and British connec 
 lion. When he arrived in this Province he found 
 a party in the ascenilant whose political opinions 
 he believed were hostile to the maintenance' of 
 the authority of his Sovereicn, and to the real 
 and permanent interests of the people he was ap- 
 pointed to govern. With a noble courage and 
 unflinching resolution he devoted his vigorous and 
 active mind to the redemption of the country from 
 the baneful influence by which it was kept in con- 
 stant agitation, its liest interests betrayed, and its 
 energies paralized. He rommencrd his measures 
 by a calm and dignified appeal to the reason <f good 
 feeling of the opponents of the government; he was 
 met with insult ty-scorn- 4* *>' length the long delu. 
 ded Eiectors saw that they had been yielding their 
 support to the enemies ol their cherished Constitu- 
 tion, dj-not to those who he nesily aimed at advancing 
 their welfare; c?- they called upon Sir Francis Head 
 to relieve ihe.n from the discredit of being repre- 
 sented by men who had so grossly deceived them. 
 He complied with their Piuitions, and a political 
 regeneration was accomplished in this PiovincR, 
 such as probably was never before witnessed in 
 any other Colony, and at the n;>oment Sir Francis 
 Head left Upper Canada distinction of political 
 parties might be said to have been annihilated. — 
 Do we then owe the man who has aflforded us the 
 opportunity of gaining for ourselves these impor- 
 tant advantages, and relieving our character from 
 the foul charge of disloyalty that had been prefer- 
 red against it, no debt of gratitude, no feeling 
 of thankfulness and respect for the good 
 he h.is done for us, and which he did not hes- 
 itate to peril his own person, character, and 
 fortune in achieving ? Is it because a difference 
 of opinion may exist upon some abstract question, 
 or some isolated point of policy, that all which previ- 
 ously commanded our admiration 4" approval, is to 
 be blotted out from our recollection, 4 the moment 
 his back is turned, trie language of applause is to 
 be changed to that of condemnation ? I have too 
 good au opinion of the moral honesty and gener* 
 ous feelings of my fellow subjects in Upper Ca- 
 nada, to believe that they will approve of the at- 
 tempt to fasten such an imputation upon them, 
 however plausibly or earnestly urged : and I en- 
 tertain the confident belief that they will resist 
 every attempt, however speciously made, to draw 
 them into political discussions, which can be pro- 
 ductive of no good, but mdy lead to infinite evil. 
 The public mind requirrs trarquillity and rfpose, 
 and whoever attempts to prevent its perfect estab- 
 lishment is an enemy to his country. 
 
 Your obddient Servant, 
 C. A. HAGERMAN. 
 Toronto, 17th May, 1838. 
 
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