IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) C ^ J 4^ 4^ 1.0 1.1 us itt 12,2 ... I£ Its Kt U 14.0 12.0 1.8 III 1 = i= Iw ^ 6" ► .> /] 'w ^-'y ^4 ^ '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716)872-4503 V i CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. .«? CIHM/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. ■■J!" ^liStSf^* -,:^ Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / institut Canadian de microreproductions historlques Technical and Bibliographic Notas/Notas tachniquas at bibliographiquaa Tha Instituta hat attamptad to obtain tha baat original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua. which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction. or which may significantly changa tha usual mathod of filming, ara chackad balow. □ Colourad covars/ Couvartura da coulaur r~| Covars damagad/ D D D D D Couvartura andommagia Covars rastorad and/or laminatad/ Couvartura rastaurte at/ou palliculte I — I Covar titia missing/ La titra da couvartura manqua I I Colourad maps/ Cartas gtegraphiquas an coulaur Colourad ink (i.a. othar than blua or black)/ Encra da coulaur (i.a. autra qua blaua ou noira) r~~] Coloured platas and/or illustrations/ Planchas at/ou illustrations 1% coulaur Bound with othar material/ Rail* avac d'a Jtras documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La re liure serrie peut causer de i'ombre ou de la dSstorsion le long de la marge int^ieure Blank leavaf added during restoration may appear within tha text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certainee pagea blanchaa ajoutias lors d'une restauration apparaissent dana le texte, mais, lorsque ceU itait possible, ces pages n'ont pas Ati filmtes. L'Institut a microfilmi ie meilleur exempiaire qu'il lui a 4ti possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exempiaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibliographiqua, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans ia m^thoda normai« de fiPmage sont indiquis ci-dessous. D D n Coloured pages/ Pagee de couleur ,-^Vfe, r^ Pages damaged/ Pages endommagies Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaurAas at/ou palliculAes Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages dAcolorAes. tacheties ou piquies ■'1. ;,| ».j Pages detached/ Pages ditachdas Pages Showt Transparence Quality of prir Qualit* inigala de I'impression Includes supplementary materit Comprend du metAriel suppl^mentaira Tha tot Thfl pes oil \\\u Orii b«fl the sioi oth firs sioi ori Pyl Showthrough/ r~| Quality of print varies/ |~~1 Includes supplementary material/ Only edition available/ Seule Mition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un fauiilet d'errata, une pelure, etc.. ont 4ti filmtes k nouveau da fa^on h obtenir la meilleure image possible. The sha TIN whi Ma difl ent bed rigi req me Additional comments:/ Commentaires supplAmantairas: Wrinkled pages may film slightly ^-^t. of focus. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film* au taux de reduction indiquA ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X y 12X 16X 20X •^Ps 28X 32X Th« copy fllmsd hcrt has b««n raproducad thankt to tho gonorotity of: Douglas Library Quran's Univaraity L'axamplaira film4 fut raprodult grica i la g4n4roaitA da: Douglas Library Quaan's Univaraity Tha imagaa appaaring hara ara tha bast quality poaalbia oonaldaring tha condition and lagibillty of tha original copy and in kaaping with tha filming contract spacif icatlona. Original coplaa In printad iMpar covara ara fllmad baglnning with tha front covar and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or iiluatratad impraa- aion. or tha back covar whan approprlata. All othar original sopiaa ara fllmad baglnning on tha first paga with a printad or Iiluatratad Impras- slon, and anding on tha laat puga with a printad or iiluatratad Impraaaion. Laa imagaa suivantaa ont 4t4 raproduitaa avac la plus grand aoln, compta tanu da la condition at da la nattat* da l'axamplaira film*, at •n conformity avac iaa condHlona du contrat da fllmaga. Laa axamplalras origlnaux dont la couvartura an papiar aat ImprimAa aont filmia an commandant par la pramiar plat at an tarmlnant soit par la darnlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'Impraaalon ou d'illuatratlon, aoit par la sacond plat, salon la eaa. Toua iaa autras axamplairaa origlnaux aont fiimto an commandant par la pramlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'Impraaalon ou d'llluatration at an tarmlnant par la darnlAra paga qui comporta una talia amprainta. Tha last racordad frama on aach microficha ahali contain tha symbol — ► (moaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha symbol V (moaning "END"), whichavar appiias. Un das aymbolas suivants apparattra sur la darnlAra imaga da chaqua microficha, salon la caa: la aymboia — ► algnifia "A SUiVRE", la symbols ▼ signifia "FIN". Mapa, platas, charta, ate, may ba fllmad at diffarant raductlon ratloa. Thoaa too larga to ba antiraiy inciudad in ona axposura ara fllmad baglnning in tha uppar laft hand corner, iaft to right and top to bottom, as many framaa as raquirad. Tha following diagrams iilustrata tha mathod: Laa cartas, pianchas, tabiaaux, ate, pauvant Atre fiimis i daa taux da rMuction diff Arants. Loraqua la document ast trop grand pour Atra raprodult an un saul clichA, 11 aat film* A partir da I'angia aupAriaur gaucha, da gaucha A droita, at da haut an has, an pranant la nombra d'imagaa nAcassalra. Las tliagrammas suivants illustrant la mtthoda. t 2 : t 1 . 2 3 4 5 6 L£ vf«. * s> ' J. 'A ■ -i '5f Ff^: I ^'^- ' t ■■) A ne EDITH tfW LORNE PIERCE COLLECTION o/CANADIANA ^een's (/rtiversity at Kingston , * '■V .i% ■ . ^ *'''' ■V.'S- ^^7^ »■' ■Mm^i^^m^ J -I'v '^'''PW^I^nRSWfS^^SP?!^??^* • '.■:-;r?3^W« Extracts. 1010:0:0 JN^mbtrB, 1817* WE would direct public attentioa toapublicatioa in th« last York (U.C.) Gasette, addressed To the Resident Land Ovmen of Upper Con- ada, byfifir. RobsrtGoubi. at, an English gentleman, who is now on a visit to this Province, with the view of ascertaining its Agrictdtural advantage Sf and of collecting nwterials for a Statistical account of the same, which Mr. G. proposes Publishing on his returti to En* gland. Our limits this week will not even admit of an outline of the plan, but we promise the Address in full next Week. */ J^ovember.lUh. To the Resident Landowners of Upper Canada. €»if TytM ur, Queemtoit, October, IS17' I AM a British Farmer, and have visited this Province to ascertMn what advantages it possesses in an Agricultural point of view. After three months residence I am convinced that these are great, — far superior indeed to what the Mother Country has ever held out, either as they concern speculative purchase, or the pro* fits of present occupatipn. Under such impressions, it is my purpose as soon as circumstan- ces will permit, to become a settler ; and in the mean time, would willingly do what laid in my power to benefit the countrj' of my •hoice. U fC^^r^A-t #, ( » ) WBen I speak in this sanguine manner of the capabilities of Camu ia, I take it for granted that certain political restraints to improve- ment will be speedily removed. Growing tieeessity, and the opinioB of every sensible man with whom I have conversed on the subject, gives assurance of this. My present address, therefore, waves all re- gard to political arrangements : it has in view, simply to open a cor- respondence between you and your fellow>subjects at home, whera the utmost ignorance prevails with respect to the natural resource* of this fine country. Travellers have published passing remarks, — they have told won- derful stories, and amused the idle of England with descriptions of the beautiful and grand scenery which Nature has here displayed ; hut no authentic account has yet been afforded to men of capital — to men ofent«*prize and skill, of those important facts which are essen- tial to be known, before such men will launch into foreign specular tion, or venture with their families, in quest of better fortune, across tiie Atlantic. In this state of ignorance, you have hitherto had for settlers chiefly poor men driven from home by despair. These men, iU-informe ) "9 5f7es^^ . i fej iUNlK •ere confidence for adventure here once eitablishtd. The extent ofcalamity already occasioned by the system of the Poor laws, cannot be even imagined Vy strangers. They may form some idea, however, when I tell them, that last winter I saw in •ne parish, (Blapkwall, within five miles of London,) several hun* dreds of able bodied men harnessed and yoked 14 together, in carts* hauling gravel for the repair of the highways ; each 14 men per* forming just about as much work as an old horse led by a boy could accomplish. We have heard since that £1,500,000 has been Vo- ted to keep the poor at work ; and perhaps the most melancholy consideration of the whole is, that there are p^ple who trust to such means as a cure for the evil. While all this is true : when the money and labor of England is thus wasted : when thousands of our fellow subjects are emigrating into the States of America : when wc even hear of them being led off to mix with the boors of Poland, in the cultivation of a country where the nature of the government must counteract the utmost ef- forts towards improvement; — is it not provoking that all this should go on merely from a reigning ignorance of the superior advantages which Canada has in store, and a thoughtlessness as to the grand policy which might be adopted for the general aggrandizement of the British nation. Some have thought the exclusion of American citizens a great bar to the speedy settlement of Canada ; but a liberal system of coloni- sation from Europe, would render this of small* importance. Be- fore coming to a decided opinion on this important subject, I took much pains to inform myself of facts. Anxinute enquiry on the spot vrhere Government has endeavored to force a settlement, satisfied mt -J to the causes of the too notorious failure there. It convinced r *^rt|WM«*a>lPMl|W l^mmm^i ".-^■.fr..-.-^^-. ( « ) whirh bring! out only a part, and that only the vrealest part of lo- ciety— which places poor and destitute individuals in remote situa* tions, with no object before them but grovelling selfishness— no aid •—no example — no fear either of God or man. Is it not possible to create such a tide of commerce as would not only bring with it part of society, but society complete, with all the strength and order and refinement which it has now attained in Britain, beyond all pre- cedent } Surely gd^vernment should afford every facility to a com- /' merce which would not only enrich, but eternally bind together Brit» bin and her Provinces, by the most powerful sympathies of mannera and taste and affection. > Government never can too much encourage the growth of this col- •ny, by a liberal system of emigration. When we come from home we are not expatriated : our feelings as British subjects grow more tvarm with distance, and our greater experience teaches us the mora to venerate the principles of our native land — the country whereiu the sciences have made the greatest progress, and where alone ara cultivated to perfection the arts of social life. At home, we have experienced evils : we know that influences are there, which war against the principles of the constitution and counteract its most be- iievolentdesigns. Here, we are free of such influences, we are per- fectly contented, and a flne field lies open to us for cultivating the best fruits of civil and religious liberty. An enlarged and liberal connexion between Canada and Britain, appears to me to promise the happiest results to the cause of civili- zation. It promises a new u;ra in the history of our species : it pro- mises the growth of manners with manly spirit, modesty with ac- quirements, and a love of truth superior to the boasting of despicable vanity. The late war furnished th e strongest proof of the rising spirit of this country, even under every disadvanatage ; and pity it would le, were so noble a spirit ever again exposed to risk. The late war showed at onct> the atl'ectiou which Britain bears to Canada and the desire which Canada has to continue under the wing of Britain. — • AVben a connexion is estal)lislicd between the two countries, woi-thy Mfbuch manifestations all risk will cease. Britain will no longer- «x;jemi her million, here. This country will not euly be e(|ual t» >tiMW^*^ ' " ( r ) its 6wn defence, but the laat hope of invasion will wither before it* •trcDgth. While Canada remains poor and neglected she can only be a burthen to Britain : wlien improved and wealthy she will am- ply repay every debt, and become the powerful friend of the pares' state. What I conceive to be the first requisite for opening a suitable communication with the mother country, is the drawing nut and publishing a well authenticated statistical account of Upper Canada* This cannot be effected by a single hnnd : it must be the work, and have the authority of many. To give it commencement, I submit for your consideration the annexed queries ; and could these be re- plied to , from every township in the Province, the work would be far advanced. These queries have been shewn to many of the most respectable individuals in the province, and the scheme of collecting materials in this way, for a statistical account, has, by every one, been approved. Some, have doubted whether there exists suAicient energy and public spirit in the remote townships to reply to them. I hope there is ; and certainly no organized township is destitute ')f individuals qualified for the task, if they will but take so much trouble. Some gentlemen have met my ideas so cordially as to offer to col- lect information, not only for their own, but, for other townships* Correct information, however, is not the only requisite : authority is also wanted of that species which will not only carry weight with it to a distance, but remain answerable on the spot for what is od* ▼onced. The desirable point therefore, is to obtain replies teyarate- hffrom each tovmship, and to have these attested by the signature of as many of the respectable inhabitants as possible. To uccuniplish this in the speediest and most »;ii actual manner, a meeting might be iield in each township, and in the space of an hour or two the busi- ■ess might be perfected. The Queries have been drawn out as simply as possible, with a ^iew to the practicability of having them answered in this general way. They embrace only such matters as it must be in tlie power of every intelligent farmer to speak to, and the information to be ob- tained by them will be sufficient to assure farmers and others at home, who have money to engage in adventure, that adventure here, will not only be rational and safe, but that they themselves may sit duw» in Canada with comfort and independence. *>'^ f ■'! i / m .i. r^ '*-;';. 'r'ff- I? if: { 8 ) Althougb to prevent confusion in th t-.,..TN-«»ii>— - i gai^ y ' ( • ) Ut. Name, tUuation and extent of your Towiuhip f 3d. Date of thejir$t'tcttlanent of your Township, nttmUr offtOfU and inhabited houses f "Sd. Nutnber of Churches or MeetingHouses ; number ofVrofesnoi^ at Preachers, and of what Secj^ v Ath. Nundter of Medical Practitioiurs t 5th. Number of Schools, and the Fees per Quarter f 6th. Number of Storaf 7th. Do. Taiernsf 6th. Do. Mills, and of what Description, with the rate ^ Grinding, Sawing, and Carding Wool f 9th. The general character of the Soil and Surface f IQth. The kinds of Timber produced, naming them in Order, as they most abound? m 1 Ith. What Mineralt, if any, Aove been discovered or indicated, Coal, Limestone, Iron, Stone, Plaintcr of Paris, Salt Itock, Salt or other remarkable Springs f I2th, Building Stones, \f any, of what Quality, and how much per Toise they can be obtained at the Quarry f 13th. If Bricks have been made, and their cost per Thousand t lith. If Lime is burned, and the Price per Bushel at the Kiln f 1 5th. Wages of Blacksmiths, Masons and Carpenters ; and the Rate tf their Piece Work respectively ? l6th. Wagei of common Lfdnturers per Annum — per Winter month, per Summer month, per day in Harvest — also, wages of women Servants per week for Housework, and for Spinning f ' 17 th. Price of mowing Grass for Hay : price of Reaping and Cradle- ing Wheat — saying, in each case, if Board and Lodging is included. 18th. Cost of Clearing and Fencing a given Quantity of Woodland^ say Five Acres, by Contract. "* ISth. Present price of a good work Horse, 4 years old: also, a good -■ Cow, Ox, Sheep, of the seme age. 20th. Average quantity of Wool yielded by Sheep ; and what price the Woof now brings per pound? . Q 1' !i I i I, ^1 - jgi%4>-h^-.. ( iO ) 2ltt. "OrtHnary time oftwrpiug ovt Btmts to Pasturif mdofta!dng Hem home, into the Yard or Stable f 2Sd. OrHnanf endurance qftke SUigkii^g teaton ; md of commencing ThugUng in luring? 934. Ordinary season (f Sowing and B^^ping Wheat f Sith, Quantitif of Wheat required to Sow an Acre, and how many Bushebf per Acre are contidered an aoUhge Crop. SSth. Quality of Pasture: 1st, as it respects Feeding, years old tmU gmn xoith a Summet's run ; — Sd, as it respects Milk, and the quality of Dairy produce ; noting the^ price which Butter and Cheese made in the Township wUl now fetch 9 SSth. Ordinary course (f Cropping upon New lands, and qfterwardf when broken vpfrom Grass f stating also, when and for what Crops ma- mare is t^pUedf * ijth. If any land is let on Shares ; to what extent this is practised^ and what the ordinary Terms f 38th. The price of Wild land at thejirst settlement of the Township, its progressive rise, and present price ; also, of laau so far Cleared; stating circumstances as to Buildii^s, proportion Cleared, or peculiari- ty, if any, of Local situation; referring in every instance to actual talest Z9th. Qutmtity of Land now for Sale f 30th. State of Public Roads, and ^capable of much Improioement at a moderate expence ; abo, tfany Water Conveyance ; ortf this could be Obtained, Extended or Improvedt by means of Canals, Locks, SfC. S^c. Z\st. What, in your opinion, retards the Inqnrovement of your Town' $h^ in particular, or the Prcnince in general ;• and what woiUd most contrite to the same f Niagara, Nacember 6th, ISI7. We die uadenigned Magistrates of the District of Niagara, hav- ing observed in the York Gazette of the 30th ult. an Address from Mr. GovRLAV to the Land Owners of Upper Canada, proposing to publish a Statistical account of this Province, do conceive that the same would be highly beneficial, and recommend that Meetings, b« •^*it ( a > Untnfedistely held in the several Towiishi|M, to consider of, ind ply to the Queries therein proposed. Signed THOMAS CLARK, ROBERT KERR, ROBSRT GRANT, JAMES KERBT, SAMUEL STREET, THOMAS DICKSON, ROBERT ADDISON, THOMAS BUTLER, JAMES MUIRHEAD, GEORGE KEEPER. A communication from Queenston, was received too late for to- day, but shall appear in our next. November ^Q 1817. Tqb Communication from Mr. Gourlay, which will be found be« low, was intended for our last paper, but having been received too late we were compelled to defer it till this week. , To THB EdITOS or THE NiAOAKA SPECTATOK. Queetutoti, Nov, 10, ISI7. SIR, I AM gratified with the notice you have taken of my Address to the Land Owners of Upper Canada in your last paper, and glad that you are to give it place in yonr next, as that m .t greatly con* tribute to forward the desired effect When I presented the Address for publication to the Editor of the Upper Canada Gazette, I little thought that either my sentiments or proposals could offend any one ; and, no sooner was it before the public, *ban I had the satisfaction of hearing the design commend- ed by many of the ^rst characters in York,* who even suggested that / — * Here, psrt of the letter has been omitted. t^ / -PNT I l . »' ,H Ulll ii i .^ »»l . ■ ,^ ^ i««( -»«n«*»- 'W' -i.&*^. ( »» ). wacb of the required information could be obtained for me at tb* public Ofticcs. Rendered confident by such support, and finding tbat printed let- ters could be sent free of postage to every part of tbe Province, I ordered 800 copies of the Address and Queries, to be thrown off in a Circular, and dispatched to the Public Officers of every Township,, lest the York Newspaper should not fall into their hands. What 'Was my surprise after all this — after devoting not only my time but my money to such a cause ; what was my suprise to bear from un- questionable authority, on my passage in the Steam Boat from York to Niagara, tbat a Member of tbe Executive Council bad declared himself displeased with my sentiments, and had culled it presump- tion in me, a stranger, to come forward as I had done. Were it matter of private concern, ;t would be much beneath me to notice the whisperings of any one ; but under present circumstan- ces my duty is to speak out, and, once for all, to guard the Public against murmurs which may retard tbe promotion of the' best inter- ests of the Province. any one can seriously challenge my opinions or proposals, let J....1 do so through the medium of the Public prints, setting forth, as I have done, bis profession and his name. By such means all of us may be better informed than we are, and that good n\ay be ob- tained which little fault-finding cannot accomplish. In offeriflg my services to this Province, as Compiler of its Sta- tistics, I offer much labour with small prospect of emolument ; and if there is, in York or elsewhere, any one willing to undergo the drudgery, in whom greater confidence can be placed, most gladly will I resign to him the task ; which indeed I cannot perform unless immediately and frankly assisted in the manner proposed. That I am a stranger is not in every sense correct. My near con- nexions were among the first settlers of Upper Canada, and I am proud to say rank also as its greatest benefactors. Indeed where the memory of the Hon. Robert IIan)iIton is so much revered, it is na- tural for me to claim that Country as my home. A singular concurrence brought into the same page of the Upper Canada Gazette, tbe Regulations of Ibe Strangers Friend Society / ( »8 ) And my Address. It is possible that some of my Remarks may hav» been felt by Members of that Society, as purposely directed against their endeavours ; but so far was this from being the case, that I had committed to paper these very sentiments a month before I knew of such a Society coming into existence, and actually threw in som* words at V(uck, to save the feelings of its well-meaning supporters. My only winPwas to guard the Public against relying in such schemef as conducive to Colonization. Had I entered further into the sub- ject I might have shewn their positive evils, and informed the wor- thy Inhabitants of Canada that the greatest curse of England, the present system of poor laws, had its origin in erring benevolence. While there is opportunity it may be well to leave nothing in my Address unexplained. When iirst written it contained the following words : "The able Resolutions brought forward at the close of your "last Session of Parliament ." It had not entered into my head that the mere expression of one's opinions could give offence ; but having accidentally read the Address to a friend, before I sailed from Nia- gara to York,* I was cautioned against the use of these words, and luckily it was so, for on my arrival in York I found the said Reso- lutions were held in utter abhorrence there, insomuch that they had not even obtained a place in the Gazette. I'o avoid offence I sub- stituted in place of the above words, "growing necessity," which answered my end equally well. The Resolution which I had parti- cularly in view related to the Taxation of wild Lands ; and till that is brought about every effort for giving full scope to improvement here must be abortive. * On the 19th clay of October, 1817, I went on board the Steam Boat at Nlagfara, to cross the lake to York. Our sailing being delayed for a little while, by high wind, I stepped on shore and conversed with the Honorable William Dickson and Mr. M'Donnel, formerly Speaker of Assembly. I took Mr. D. aside, told him that I proposed publishing an Address at York, and read to !iim the first part of it, when he gave me the caution mentioned ill the text. We rejoined Mr. M'D. and conversed further on tlie subject. I told them I should h:ive printed the Address in the Niagara Spectator, but for leaving seen a very improper article inserted in that pap;r : on which Mr. I), said, that this must have happened from inadvertancy, as the Editor was a very good man. I am thus particular for several reasons, but chiefly wish it to be luiderstooil that it was by perfect accident that I went to York with any guard against the supeirilious notions of its inhabitants. I had avoided particular consultation with my friends merely because I wished them inue way to be responsible cither for my acts or opinions in this business. fdi- '>^t x*-*>^ . -J-WT- '*^'Wii^^WP|P I ' '- 1/ ( *♦ ) Thf RuoiutioH which regarded the admissiou of People from A- merira into Canada^ was not only -*■ ( « ) •n of UpiHer Canadit, eigned Roxbiic Gouilat, |(ro|y>iuig |o cole lect owUriaU ipr publishing a Statistical ^iccoiint of this PmviiKe^ are of ofMnion, that the same would b^ of great public benefit, and re- commend Meetings to be held in every Tpwojship, as soon as possi- ble, to consider of the s^me, pfid return answers to the Queries put, attested by the Signature of the Chairmen of such Meetings. Signed RICHARD BEASLEY, GEORGE HAMILTON, HENRY HAGLE, HUGH WILSON, WILUAMHARE, RICHARD HATT, JAMES CROOKS, LEVI LEWIS, JOHN WILSON, ROBERT NELLES. JDecemher 11, 1817* At a meetiag of the Magistrates^ and other idiobitaots of the Dis- trict of London, held at Vittoria the 2d of December, 1817 1 for thjB purpose of taking into consideration the propriety of calling gaoeral meetings on the subject of an Address which appeared in the Upper Canada Gazette of the, 30th of October last, contuning proposal* for publishing a Statistical Account of the Province, Joseph Ryer- son, Esq. in the Chair, the fo^owin^ resolutions were unanimously agreed to. 1st. Resolved — ^Thatitis the unanimous opinion of this meeting that every fecility ought to be afforded to the author of ths^t address, to enable him to complete the proposed work, which, in th|B opinioii of this meeting, will tend greatly to the improvement ^f this Pro- vince in general. « Sd. Resolved — ^That as individuals, wie will give all the support in our power to promote so desirable an object ; and as a first step, we strongly recommend to the inhabitants of the different Town- ships within this District, to call meetings with as little deky as possible, fixing a particular day for the purpose of furnbbing re- plies to the several Queries in that address. 3d. Resolved-^That as dispatch is very desirable, these meetings should be held b» speedily as is consistent withcoiTf ct information. -^ Ml .v# ■(/i,:...,-..^,. '''T ^' fS"^" ear, it, with its epithets, were struck out by my friend, and the words " to me" inserted. Should any one t ike the trouble of looking bock to the letter, as printed, he wil! see what u strangle dlHcreace this inter> '0^' 'M- to ( ir ) cliange of words produced. Instead of making me appear,as in fact* I was, indifferent to all personal consideration, it thrust me forward as doubly presuming. ' <, , , Another part of my letter was also, from false delicacy, greatly altered to my prejudice. I wrote that " I had the satisfaction of "'hearing the design commended by many of the first characters ia "York, among whom were his Honor the Administrator, and the Hon. **Chief Justice," but these words, here marked in Italics, were era- sed by my friend, little considering how very important they were, not only in gaining public -ronlidence to the cause, but as tending at once to justify me, and screen those respectable personages from suspicion and censure. Before my address appeared in the Upper Canada Gazette it was submitted to Colonel Smith, who gave it his fullest approbation ; and immediately after its publication, being told that Chief Justic* Powel also approved of it, and desired to see me, I waited on him and had a most cordial conversation on the subject ; and, it was owing to such respectable countenance, that I ventured on the extraordi* jiary step of sending circulars over the Provmce. One fault there was in my letter : I did not give the name of the unfriendly Councillor ; thereby aflbrding room for unfair surmizes ; and this, upon reflection, gave me pain. The individual alluded to was the llev. Dr. Strachaa. If he has been injured he has a right to call upon me for my authority, and in that case it shall be given him ; for I neither wish to hear nor to keep secrets regarding public concerns. The lapse of time, and the public prints, have too truly manifest- ed that there are men who will run in the face of common sense and discretion, merely to gratify their envy and tlieir spleen. The in- telligent public never could expect tna to reply to the wretched stuff which has been written in opposition to my scheme. Notwithstand- ing every awkward appeur.uice and the machinations both of open and covert enemies, its success has far surpassed my utmost expec- tation. Upwards of forty Reports of Townships, most of them the result of regularly constituted public meetings, have already reach- ed me, besides many letters from individuals; and I do not hesitata D t t \^ .jfe ri^Si. * / ( " ) to 81^, tliat'in no country was lo much valuable information ever ■• speedily got together by such simple means. As I am on the eve of leaving this place, I shall make arrange* ments to have comnuinications forwarded for meat New- York, where I shall remain two or three weeks on my way to England ; and thus friends to the cause who have been tardy, will have the latest chance, of contributing their aid. The materials already collected will,, whenpubKshed at home, arrest great attention ; but my anxious wisli. is, to give every person a fair opportunity of speaking out his sen- timents, and that all parts of the Province may be impartially rep* vesented. The following Townships above Lake Ontario are still unreport* td. In the District of Niagara there are, Niagara, Louth, Grinu' by, Oaintborough, Hwnberatone, WUlougby, Pelham and Bertie. In the District of Gore, Nichol, Woolwich, Dumfries, Glanfurd, Biti' brook, Caittor and Clinton. In the District of London, fVoqdhousef Walpote, Rainham, Houghton, Norwich, Dereham, Blandford and London. In the Western District, Romney, Tilbury, Rochester^ Mersey, Go^field^ Maidatont, Colchester ^ Maiden, and the Hurom Reserve. Some of these may have few or no inhabitants to speak for them, in which cases, I shall be glad if any individual, having the means, will take the trouble to send me a short account of their situation, soil and surface, together with any other fact respecting them whicb may occur as worthy of notice. Oh my part, before taking leave of these Districts, there is a duty: to perform. It is to return my warmest thanks to the inhabitant* for theiF hospitality and kindness, which rendered my last journey, ' of a thousand miles, during the worst season of the year, altogeth- er delightful. Should I be spared to retrace my steps, some twenty years hence, what a change may I behold, if good ^xws are ally ad' ministered!! Yours, &c. ROBERT GOURLAY. t,.* 4 ,. ' # ( " ) January S9, 1818. To THB Editor or thb NiAaARA Sfectator. As I believe the British Act of Parliaraent, SOtb, Geo. III. Chap. 27« 1)&9 never been published in this Province, I herewith Bend you a copy, and trust you will find room for its insertion in your next News-paper, as mutter of utmost importarice to be consider' cd by the inhabitants of Upper Canada at the present moment.— Had I seen this act prior to writing the letter which appeared ia your paper of the 20th November last, I might have corrected my first opinion of the Resolutions brought forward towards the end of last Session of Parliament. Instead of characterising them as " a- ble Resolutions," I might have said, that, in some cases, doubting Vras weakness, and ignorance a fault. Of the spirit of the Act I Was well informed ; but conceived that some ambiguity had arisea from its wording, which called for the language of courtesy to an over-officious Executive. ;./' I wn, &c. ROBERT GOURLAY. Queenston, January S6, 1818. %. % I Jn Act for encouraging new Settlers in His Majesties Colonies and Plantations in America. <*WHEREAS it is expedient that encouragement should be given 'Ho persons that are disposed to come and settle in certain of His **MajeBty's Colonies and plantations iu America and theWest Indies ; "be it therefore enacted by the King's most excellent Majesty, by "and with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and tempo- "ral, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority Of *'the same, that from and after the first day of August 1790, if any *'person or persons, being a subject or subjects of the Territories or ^'Countries belonging to the United States of America, shall comie •'from thence, together with his, her, or their family or families, to « "ses where the same is now by law required." f >,-^'V ■<^i . ^.1. . s;.*': ■»<■,, %''^ ■^J.-K. S. '" -t * - k To the Resident Land Owners of Upper Canada. ^ , Queemtmf February 1818. Gemtlzmeit, I did myself the honor of addressing you through the medium of the Upper Canada Gazette, of the 30th October last, and my ad< dress has been since widely circulated over the Province by va- rious other channels. Its object was to gain the most authentic in- telligence concerning this country for thtt information of our fellow subjects and government at home. The object was important: the meai:s employed were simple and fair : the effect to be produced was palpable. To lull the spirit of party, and quiet every breath which might stir against a measure so chaste and efficient, I forbore all allusion to political concerns. Conscious of being moved by the purest inten- tions, and desiring alike the welfare of this province and its parent state, I dispatched a copy of my address, as soon as published, to be presented to Lord Bathurst, and trusted, that by calm and dis- passionate statement at home, the supreme government, would be best persuaded to amend the errors of original institution. In these I conceive lay the chief obstacles to the prosperity of the Province : in Canada I thought there was but one interest : in simplicity I said " here we are free of influences." Since then three months have passed away. In this time I have travelled more than a thousand miles over the Province : I have con- versed with hundreds of the most respectable people : I have gravely and deliberately considered what I have heard and seen : I have changed my mind ; and, most unwillingly, must change my course of proceeding. This country, I am now convinced, cannot be saved from ruin, by temporizing measures nor by the efforts and reasoning of any individual : if it is to be saved, reason and fact must speedily be urged before the Throne of our Sovereign by the united voice of • 1^ -^^ ','•,■ % ■ r ( «» ) f yjs, loyul and Ueuiuiined people : — if it is to be saved your Parliament now assembled, must be held up tu its duty by the strength und spi- rit of its constituents : h new leaf must be turned over in public con- duct; and the people f Canada must assume a character, without vrhich ull Parliaments iiuliiriUly dwindle into contempt, and becoai* the more tools, if not the sport of executive power. ^ It is but recently that I searched the public journals and otherwise made enquiry as to wliat wiis going on before my arrival in the Pro- vince. Your public men, 1 find, were most lovingly attached to your late Governor. He was praised for hia " mild administration" when he had done nothing ; and, in the midst of mischief, he was fond- led, he was fattened. While yet he must have been laughing in hit sleeve at the subservience of the last Parliament, he found the pre- sent one willing to stifle the remembrance of subserviency ; and whil* it should have been moving impeachment against himself, wrang- ling about the expulsion of one of its own members, for having inadvertantly published the truth. Sure of his friends in favor and in \ office, he could even dash off his last card with eclat ; and dismis- sing Parliament in a stile unheard of since the days of Cromwell, hd could carry home as much Uattery as secure for himself a snug r«- tirement in Downing-street. .» » Though I thus speak let it not be thought that I have any personal pique to gratify. I never saw your Governor : I never conversed with any one of your Parliamentary disputants : I have drawn my picture, not from a partial but full view of the subject : I wish not to flatter, and certainly do not fear. Of all things let it not be imagined that I would stir up any one to anger or to contempt of constituted au'horities. It is my opinion that in all countries, the goodnest of Government keeps pace with the virtuous spirit of the pc* i>le ; and in no country has this spirit less to contend with than neii — Since matters have been allowed to go ao far wrong, I wo'...i cvft the people of Canada, take home to themselves every particle of blame for the past, and remember what has happened only as a guard for the future. Wherever I have enquired. Governor Gore's private characi has been spoken of with respect, and so it is with many private cl'.. 'te r at York ; but is it not also true that the conduct if^ •fpubli., :,: hM be«;ome a standing jest ? nay, if allowed, I will ' ^ prox beer bytl it L-'wli^iiui^;:--; ^.'j!',^i-. -.. # 4 ^=-^1 F *r^ ^ ;*^,- .2 -J L Ji "4 ( M ) prove the fact before the bar of your Pari ament, that good iUith h«« been trifled with, and thut the rights of ptupi i ty have been violated,, by tlte very functionaries appointed to under them h^ red and secure. In my humble opinion, Gentlemen, there ought to be an imme« diate Parliamentary enquiry into the state of this I'rovince, aiid a commission appointed to proceed to Kngtand with the result of such enquiry. This measure sliould not be left to the mere motion of Purliamer > should he pressed by petitions from every quarter,— from ^ . '< 'ia' '>nd public bodies : it should appear, if possible, to. be .lie dnKoituu.j desire of the whole population. This would give CO'. 'd^^ . > to Parliament to proceed without biaii, hesitation oc dread :— it would ensure success to the cause. Before we heard of Governor Gore's favorable reception at home, there v/aa sufTicient call for the declaration of public opinion and for some energetic move, through the whole Province, to rescue it from the thraldom of folly and infatuation. This intelligence, only now received, leaves not a doubt as to the necessity of the case. It show* that the gross manner in which the Canadian Parliament was dis- missed has been misrepresented in England ; and that ministers labor under the most fatal mistakes as to the laws and policy which have made and sustained this country. • Gentlemen, the British Act of Parliament for encouraging tht settlement of the Colonies was made over to you with your constitu- tion ; and your Parliament alone, in conjunction with the British sovereign, had a right to alter it. This Act was framed in wisdom, and under its auspices the desert wilds of Canada began to unfold their treasures for the use of civilized roan. If theoretical opinions could have been entertained as to the policy and soundness of this act before the late war, tlmt trying crisis should have dismissed them for ever. Is it not a fart that three fourths of the population here migrated from the United States since the revolution ? Is it not a fact that one half of these people cume invited by proclamation, and ■with this act, fresh issued from tlie British Parliament, as their security ? Is it not .t fart, that trnmy of these men stood foremost in battle, defending British rights ? Is it not a fact, recorded even in the speech of your late Governor, that this Province owed its safe- ty during the first ya»r o^ invus-i "pressioitt ; and shall also snbscribe the profiBSston of their Christian "belief (Jews excepted) as directed by a statute of William and <'Mary/' Sec. &c. "shall be a sufficient proof of hisor her being there- «by become a natural bom sutyect of Great Britain to all intents and "purposes." Gentlemen, when I read this law my blood warms within me with the feeling that I am of that 'nation which promulgated it, — that nation which did not even allow such a monstrous supposition to appear iq its civil code, as that men could not change their alle* giaRee,^->that nation whose parliament could boast of inducing for- eigners to give up their native allegiance, and accept of ours from thtUnitif fffoar gvoernment, the purity of our rtUffon, the benefit of 9ur UttBt, the advantages of onr trade, and thetecunty of our proper' (y. These, Gentlemen, were glorious boasts, such as none but the British nation could maintain : thes<>. were liberal and worthy rewards, to draw people to our colonies, and thereby to increase the vealth and strength of our country. Such modes of seduction, — such boasts and rewards are not only innocent but usefiil in the most exal- ted sense : they tempt individuals to fly from beneath the rod of op- pression, and thereby diminish the power of despots, — they excite nations to emulate each other in virtue and in peace. Compared to these what are the boasts of war-^wbat the rewards of cc!:quest' They do not seduce but force men from their allegiance : they insti- gate and Keep alive every furious passion : they weaken and impov- erish, not our country only, but, our kind. . m tfvs,k » The grand purpose of Government is the protection of our persons and property ; in return for which we owe it our allegiance, even unsworn. When we remove, in a becoming manner, from beneath this protection, our allegiance is reasonably and fairly at an end. Before I, myself, sailed for Canada, I was importuned by friends to emigrate along with them to the United States : we never thought of its being a crime to pass from beneath the protection of the Bri- tish, to that of the American government ; and my chief reason fur preferring to come to Canada, was, that I had here a wider circle of connections. I knew that my person and property would be protected any where in America ; and as to the form of Government, I ^ave it no thought, perfectly agreeing with the Poet, who says, , : si' • E • » ^ I ■'\£ - ( 88 ) " l?M forma of government let fools contest, ^|:;^v v;,j r >' •• What e'er is best administered is best." '*f,^L i .■><*»--'. Wherever I abide I shall bear true allegiance to government : id whatever country I belong, I shall endeavour, by every honest mean^ tc advance its prosperity : where my treasure is, there also shall be niy heart. tm-i t.ts • Although British statutes and.the practice upon them, have fur generations, recognized and guaranteed the right of individuals to change their allegiance from one government to another, they have not yet sufficiently defined the terms under which the change may be effected. Tacitly, however, all good men admit that this change is not to be trifled with ; and a valuable moral lessson was given on tliis head, in the treatment of those people who deserted from this Province during the war. It was determmed, and most properly, that persons deserting their property in such circumstances should lose it ; and further, that if they aided or assisted the enemy they should be hanged. This lesson was valuable to the Province in the event of other wars. After such a lesson, weak or wicked men, would think more seriously of desertion ; and the free admission of foreigners was rendered much more safe. Canada, indeed, had in many respects gained by the war. Before that event, gjircry one must have doubted her ability to hold out against hostile attack. The is- sue gave confidence on this important point ; and it is notorious that many of the most upright citizens of America were on the wing to settle here, as soon as peace was declared. They had found that e- ven pure Democracy was not immaculate : they had been oppres- sed with taxation to sustain the ambition of conquest : they had seen this uririghteous ambition foiled in all its movements, as if by the hand of an offended Deity : they had seen liberty giving birth to a thousand angry passions and sending forth under her mask the De- mon of licentioissness : they had been terrified with the mobs of Buffalo and Baltimore. When all this was fresh in recollection : — when such people had become not only willing but anxious to be made partakers off/ie advantages and privileges xohich the natural born subjects of this realm do enjoy, then, ftjrsooth, was the time for your Kxecutive to quash the liberal spirit of existing law, to erect an o- dious barrier between kindred nations, and bring contempt and dis". honor on the British nume. .*-*■ tM Oentlemen, I should not dwell so long on this revolting subject <)id it concern only the business of the present day, — did it concern only the value of your property which would have been double at this moment but for the narrow policy which has been pursued, — did it concern only the dignity of your Parliament which was turned a drift merely because it ventured to open the statute book, a;id re- solve between right and wrong. The present time is on the wing : you and your property will soon be parted ; and it may be said that a parliament, which permitted the laws to be set at nought for two long years, could suffer little diminution in dignity. The subject before us demands attention for reasons infinitely more importiOnt than these. It demands attention for the sake of principles which goveritand direct all things for good, now and for ever ; — princi- ples wliich have long been the pride and support of the British con- stitution, — which have nursed up all that is yet valuable iu civilized life. '^' • •' ■ '' ■ . ■ i *' ■ Our constitution, which has been refining for ages, and the spirit of which is purity, has been often lauded, for its effects are irresist- ably impressive, but it has been seldom understood. It is that beau- tiful contrivance by which the people, when perfectly virtuous, sluill become all powerful ; but which reins buck their freedom in propor- tion to their vice or imbecility. The British Constitution sets the law above all men ; and that the law may be reverenced and implicitly obeyed, it has anointed a King to be its grand Executor. That we may look to this person- age with unceasing faith and respect, he is clothed in fiction, and it is acknowledged by the law itself that he can do no wrong. In cour tesy and fiction, every thing belongs to him : in fact little or noth- ing ; anil though he can do no wrong, his i^inistcrs, through whom «very act must proceed, are open to our censure and ainanabic to justice. Nay, in proportion to the intensity of sentiment which di- rects our love and regard for the King, should i)e our wactlifuincps over those delegated by him to disciiargc the sacred trust of the laws, and preserve them inviolate. At home this watchfulness liiis ever given employment to tl'.e most able and virtuous of our stulvsiaen ; and, but for tlicir mictas- ing eQbrts the auibiiion of those in uuthority, would coiivi.ii: their ■ K 'I 1 .«'» ■4iv''' jf ( «8 ) •acred trust to purposes of selfishness, — they would set aside the laws to gratify their own whims and caprice. Here we have had an example : we have been unwatchfiil, and experience the consequent ces. Blame not, therefore, the constitution, neither withdraw from honoring the King : but brace yourselves up to the performance of your individual public duties, and all may yet go well. After what has happened it is not for the people of Canada to be vindictive : it is not for them who have been culpably negligent or pusillanimous to be inveterate accusers. They should drop impeachment against their late Governor ; but while they seek not blood as an atonement for the mischief he has done, they may yet very properly extort hit tears. . , ■ ,. -., .; "• .^■:. , . ti-'t'^r' In thus addressing you, Gentlemen, I can have no little 'selfish object in view — no passion to gratify but that of seeing the land you inherit prosperous and happy. From the day that I first set foot in Upper Canada, now seven months ago, my mind has been devoted to thecontemplalion of its resources, and the benefits which might ac- crue to the whole Britisli nation were these called forth by 9 liberal system of management. The more 1 have known, the higher have I estimated these, both in a moral and poliiicai light ; but the more I become acquainted with the conduct of public afiiurs, the more am I afraid that all will be thrown away unless an immediate and deter- mined stand is made against little policy and reigning abuse. I have not descended to the exposure of piccadilloes which you all know to be innumerable, and base in the extreme : I have struck at great leading principles and the conduct of your leading man. The mischief he has done is irretrievable ; but if his acts receive a due mark of reprobation from the mass of the people of this Province, it will greatly re-establish confidence : it will make future Governors Htore circumspect ; and shake " the insolence of Office" to its lowest grade. In all past times Provinces have been the sport of arbitrary power. Want of public spirit in the people, and a desire to tyrannize, which is greatest in little men, have jointly contributed to this eflFect.* It is an evil however by no means unconquerable, and it will be worthy •f a British Colony to be the ilrst in surmounting it. are I the! genj besi the] witl stro whl "'" r i." "ij**-:!^' , '■-•■ -'S-' If. • ( «» ) • ^his Province, indeed, can no longer be trifled with : it moat prosper or fall. You resisted invasion for three years : you stalled your lives : you sunk your fortunes : you exposed your wives and children to every privation ; and for good cause you did so. You are here as free, if you will, as any people upon earth : you have the power of taxation in your own hands, while Britain, the most generous of nations, bears many of your burdens, and has shed her best blood in your defence. After all this are you to look back upon the struggle of war as mere foolishness ? having repelled an enemy with the sword, are you to suffer a more deadly foe to waste and de- stroy you? are you to pine in ignominious sloth and desert a cau8» which now only wants reason to maintain it. Gentlemen, the pros- perity of this Province needs nothing more than your peaceable ex- ertions to procure respect for the laws and to introduce a new sys- tem of management. I have been told that were Canada united to the States, your prop- erty would rise to twice its present value, arid it is true ; but it is also true that if a liberal connection with Britain was established and a system of business introduced into public oilices here, instead of a system of paltry patronage, and ruinous favoritism, the same property would rise to ten times its present worth. The people at home know nothing of this Province. The Prince Regent never would insult its inhabitants by ihe otfcr of confiscated estates to make good the claims of sufferers by war, did he know how little these will afford, and were he apprized of the truth that under good management the public property of the Province might not only defray every claim, but yield to England a handsome rev- enue. J, Gentlemen, the attention yon paid to my first address was most gratifying to me, but chiefly to be valued as an assurance that yotf are alive to your common interests. The Reports of Townships which I have received, far exceed my first expectations, both in point of number and respectability. They exhibit at once, the physical and moral worth of Canada : they form a muss of informa- tion well calculated to assist Parliamentary enquiry ; and if you press such a measure by petitions, mo^t willingly will I make these Reports over to your assembly. I never wished to have ihem for .* •. '^. '.a: ( 30 ) tlie mere purpose of book-making. I saw before me a great polii* ical end, honorable to myself, profitable to you, and glorious to th« oution. This excited me to action, and most happy I was to find you willing to assist. Let us not cease to act : send in your petir tions for enquiry : press for a commission to go h^me with the re- tiUt; and publish this with your Townuhip Reports in England. — This will break the spell which is sinking the Province to poverty »ad disgrace : it will produce consequences every way splendid. The Governor in chief tells the Parliament of Lower Canada, that "should emigration cojitinue, they might consider of selecting a "Jew good farmers and labourers " and '*btf locating them judiciously ," introduce improved husbandry. Our worthy President tells your Parliament to consider of paying "the fees of location" to emigrants. I have scarcely patience to read such stuff, and shorten it for you as much as possible. It could not be written by the honorable charac- ters whose duty it was to read it. It must be the drivelling produc- tion of some half starved clerk in London, that know^ nothing of this country, — who neither feels nor cares for it. . .: ., Gentlemen, this is the age of commerce, and I advise you to trans- act your own business. I advise you to correspond with your friends at home. I advise you tu sweep your house, and in that case, it shall be furnished in stile from England. .-. -, I know hundreds of able farmers who would immediately come out here, were all as it should be : men who wotdd disdain being selected, — who would come witb money in tbeir hands, and please themselves as to location: — men who would bring the poor under their wing, and keep them employed till they could not only pay fees but purchase cultivated farms. I know some of the best and wealUiiest farmers of England who have gone, within the last year, to the United States, on speculation. I know that you might draw •very cue of them here, if you would but clear the house of vennin and filth, it is quite natural for us to keep up our connexion with home, but we cauuot prefer a laud of lice to a land of liberty. • - llOBERT GOUIILAY. N. B. As many of the inhabitants of Upper Canada may have Mver sccn.thu Bill of lli^hls, tlie jiieat modern charter of British freed to tl| and casit consi I!". V , m-' „,.a*«i3^!■ ^^■ ■-^^■si'Vi*''-^*^**^ ■^^'^ % v'>. •^' .y *. . ( 81 ) ■*<'•• .)■ ■:-;*;, freedom, it may not be improper to inform them, that this secures to the subject the right of petitioning the legislature at all times ; and that it is the uniform practice at home, on extraordinary oc- casions, to express public opinion by. the exercise of this grand ■ constitutional privilege. Upon the present occasiod the annexed ybrm may suit the Inhab- itants of this country, although it would be most desirable to se* • every man or body of men using expressions suitable to his or their peculiar feeling. Whoever wishes well to the Province should not for a moment delay despatching to York ruch a Petition, as the session of Parliament may soon be over. Members of Parliament; are in duty bound to present every Petition sent to their care, which is expressed in becoming language. To the Hon. the Commons of Upper Canada in Parliament aissembUd. The humble Petition of SHEWETH, That God has given to the people of Upper Canada, for an in- heritance, one of the fairest portions of the globe. That Upper Canada is subject to the mildest monarch upon earth, and forms part of that nation, which, for wisdom and power has butshewn every other. H That nevertheless this Province, so happily circumstanced, is in a state of waste and decay. That there must be some great cause or causes which produce ef^ fectsso unnatural. Your Petitioner, (or petitioners,) therefore most earnestly entreats your honorable assembly to make serious enquiry into the same, and take effectual steps towards promoting the prosperity of th« Pro* vince. And your Petitioner shall ever pray. ■■■»■ 'U #* ( •» ) February 10, 1818. 1 I r- To His Honor Samuel Smith, Administeriko the Gov- ernment OF Upper Canada. Niagara, February 17 th, 1818. Dear Sir, It w«s my intention to have been in York at this time, but my joarney has been accidenuUy delayed, for a week. At York, I not only mean to gratify myself with attending the sittings oi Assembly, to note the modes of procedure ; but, as a British subject and a pro* prietor of land in Upper Canadai to bring under consideration, by the exercise of my constitutional right of petitioning, certain mat- ters of vital import, as well to the honor of the Crown, as to the welfare of its subjects. During my leisure, in the mean time, it has occurred, that it may be of some use, to lay before the public, a correspondence which I have had with yourself, and other official characters ; and, to make some remarks on the same. In the course of my travels through this Province, with opportu- nities of knowing the sentiments of the people, beyond what any o- ther individual ever before possessed, I was sorry to find, not in one place, but in every j}Iace, that dissatisfaction, as to the conduct of public business at lork, was cither declared openly, or expressed by language of ridicule and contempt. My own experience is very far from equaling, in point of vexatious delay, that of many others. Ma- ny have had their fortunes at stake : I have only hud my feelings tortured, and my time trifled with. I shall submit the correspondence to the public, in due order ; and ask them to study it well, before they proceed to the perusal of my elucidations and remurks. To Di Hoi He rive that enqj here tok upot him, as I fees, me, wish M meet men! bavii To D SCCO! cons meet > .fr*r- ■\Wf ( «» ) ^ Correipondence, t^e. No. 1. To JoHK Small, Esq. Clsbk or the Exbcutivb Covvcil* De Forraes Hotel, York, SOtk Octobr/t 1817. OSAR SiK, SiNCB I lut saw you, I liave had a conversation with Hit Honor the Administrator, concerning my getting a grant of land. — He told ine that it was first necessary that I should actually be ar- rived in the Province, with the intention ef remuning. I replied, that, my sole object in coming at this time, was to ascertain, by enquiries made on the spot, whether it would be judicious to settle here; and that before I could decide on this point, it was important to know what quantity of land I could obtun from Government ; upon which His Honor suggested, that were the matter laid before him, in Council, I might have a written assurance, that as soon as I returned from England, took the oaths, petitioned, and paid the fees, a certain number of acres, now to be named,^ should be granted me, in the ordinary way. This would suit exactly, as I have no wish for land unless in the event of my really settling here. May I therefore request of you to produce this letter, at the next meeting of Council, and write to me, at Qtieenston, if such arrange- ment is approved, and what quantity of land I may depend upon having granted me. I am &,c. ROBERT GOURLAY. , 't « . No. 2. To John Small, Esq. Secretary of the Executive Council. '] r /■ ^ "" ;'^'- •' ■ York, November 3d, 1817. Dear Sir — Since writing you on the 30th ult. I have had a second c" ..iversation with His Honor, the Administrator, and, after consideration, he thinks it best for me to lay a Petition before next meeting of Council, respecting the cisMrawe of luad. I therefore * i ,r . ' ^.fi -%i^*!i-- Htm ., •■(h.) !««« I ( 8* ) incl i lf#. V'*^ To His Homor Samvii Shith, Abmiwistbmvo thb Gt»- VXRNMI.NT Ot UrrEK CANADA, — IV COUHCK. The humble Petition of Robert Gourlay SHEWETH, That vour Petitioner is a native of Fifeshire, North Britain } and now occupies a (arm of 700 acres of land in Wiltshire. That, your Petitioner, having many friends in Upper Canada, was induced to cross the Atlantic and make enquiry, whether ho could advantageously settle among them. . < That, your Petitioner, after several months residence here, ha« found the country capable of great improvement ; and, with suffi- cient encouragement from Government, has resolved to become A settler. That, your Petitioner weuld be satisfied on this head, with a let* ter, from the secretary of your honorable Council, stati'ig the ^uan> tity of land which your Petitioner may depend on having granted him, should he emigrate to tiiis country, — come forward in the uso* al way, — take the Oaths, and pay the fees. Your Petitioner, therefore, entreats to have such a letter address* ed to him at Queetuton. And your Petitioner will ever pray. :?i ROBERT GOURLAY. No. a. To John Small, Esq. Secretary to thb Executxte Covv> . . . - ciL, York. ,,. . ^ , «-_ Sahjleet, Nov. 18, 1817. DlSAR Sir — My brother, who will deliver this, has determined on remaining a settler iu CanadA, and thinks of petitioning for land. ■».• .^; m^-^^''^^''^*m^^ .iV^-f-' ( M ) Von will therefore be so good as Mlininiiter to him the eathi, al this tfane, and lay when is your next meeting of Council, that we maj have a Petition ready to present. I shall thank yoa also to inform me if my Petition has been laid before the Council, and what was its fate. His Honor, the Admiiv istrator, was to consult with the Council, as to my being furnished with a copy of a Report on the ktate oT the Province sent home, a few years ago, by Mr. Ridout. Perhaps you can say what was de- termined as to I hat, and should my brother not meet with Colonel Smith himself, procure and send it me, if the determination was fti- vourable. Excuse so much trouble, and believe me your's, &c. ROBERT GOURLAV. -.»i* t f lel. USUp No. 4. TaLinvT.CoLoyiLCAMEROv, Secrbtakt to theGovernor, York. ♦ " ' Sattfittt, Nov. 18 1817. Dear SrR — If your leisure has admitted of your drawing out the list of people, whadeserted their homes in Canada, during the war, which you were so good as promise me, I shall thanic you to give it for me, to the bearer, my brother. It is an important mat- ter to know, to what nation these people belong ; and, I suppose, you caa also distinguish which of them returned to the Province, were tried, condemned, or acquitted. If any thing has occurred to you, generally, as to my Statistical enquiries, since I had the pleas- are of seeing you, I shall be much obliged by your mentioning it. I am, &0. ROBERT GOURLAY. iw.ii'j No. 5. ' To His Honor Samuel Sm^th, Administrator, &c. &c. &c. ■ -^ii- M .?. >f <^ Saltjket, Nw. 19, 1817. Dear Sir— My brother, the bearer, is going to York to take the Oaths, preparatory' to presenting a Petition to the Council for a 'l jL ' ""- ' " . !■#-; ? •'- * -' ' " — - ->:«- l> w^>-^mm0m0'<^^* iflMH ' ( 86 ) land, having decttled on remaining iu tb« country. If the Cooncil agreed to let me have Mr. Ridout't Report of the Province, nu^ I trouble you to give him on order for it while b« it at York. After flattering myself, that the addreit which I publiihed re- garding Uie Slutiatical account of the Province, had every one's good will, I was much chagrined to find, that >ome people found fault with it. I have, inconsequence, directed communication! on that head to be forwarded to Mr. Thomas Dickson, Queenston, that no personal dislike to me may impede an undertaking so very necessary for the public weal. i am, with due respect, yours &c. ROBERT OOURLAY. No. 6. To Ills Honor Samuel Smith, AoifiyisTRATOft, &c.&c.&c. York. Burford, Nffo. 27, 1817- Dear Sir, I am sorry to trouble you once more, as to my business here ; but the tardy way in which I get thro' the country, will, I find, so consume my time, that I shall be unable, I am afraid, to get to York before I set off fur England ; and am anxious toiiave a com- munication directed to me, at Queenston, respecting the Petition I left with Mr. Small for presentation to the Council. May I thero fore request this, as soon as the matter is determined ; and, if I am to be allowed to have the perusal of Mr. Ridout's Report of the Pro- vince, it would be very obliging if you would order it to be sent to me at same time. I have the honor to be, yours &c. ' i . ROBERT GOURL AY. 9yrote a Memorandum the above date, to Mr. Jarvis of IV*, requesting to know if he could furnish me with a copy of Governor Simeons Proclamation circulated in the United States — and also ask- ing him to wait on Col. Cameron and enquire, for me, after the list of deserters during thevar. ■<- , ,. I cannot find that a proclamation of the nature you allude to was ever registered in the Secretary's Office. I enquired also of Mr. Cameron concerning it, who was as much at a loss as myself.— Should, however, I be able to procure it for you, I will not fail to Mud it. :; ' ; " Very truly yours, \ (Signed) SAM'L P. JARVIS. vs' '."»■■ No. 9. To His Honor Samuel Smith, Administrator, &c. &c. &c. -■.... ^^ -,,.,,. • . . .. ^°^^- .. ^ - .,.•...•.■ Sand-xich, Decend>er20, 1817> Dear Sir, The zealous manner in which the magistrates and other inhab- itants of a very extensive tract of country, tlurough which I have y — ««»,#>i. "^ff^ tr^v.if' i! mm /!i ( 88 ) fttely travelled, have taken up my propoaals of publishing the Sta* tistics of Upper Canada, has given me the strongest hope, that ttia business may be brought to a respectable bearing ; and, I am en- couraged to ask of yon, if I could obtain a correct M<^ of the Pro- vince from Mr. Chewitt, at York, together with copies of procI». matiops or other papers, which have been published, from the tima since the first organization of the present Government of this Pro- vince ; and Which could be furnished me from the Secretary's Of- flee. ♦ Could I have your assurance of obtaining these, I should take York on my way to England ; and it will be obliging if you wilLdi- rect a reply to be addressed to me, at Queenston, in course of post.. I have the honor to be, with doe respect. ; '" X Yours, &c. ROBERT GOURLAY. t '■>■;« ,vt- "■ '■.isiA;>' ■rk'-'.^.A^. ■ No. 10. To JouH Small, Esq. Clerk ot ths Execotivb Covvciii, '■--■/■^■■r--' ; ■ York. "' '^^ « QuecMton, 9th Janumyy 1818; Dear Sir, I wrote you nearly two months ago, by my brother, request* mg to know if my Petition had been presented to the Council, and what, in that case, was its fate. I received no answer, but attri- buted this to some negligence on my brother's part. May I now re- quest of you, two lilies per the bearer, Mr. Street, saying what hat been done, as I am anxious to know this before I leave Queenston for England. You will also have the goodness to inform me if th» Council has admitted of my seeing Mr. Ridout's Report of the PnK vince. I enclose a Petition for my brother which i shall thank you to present to the Council, first opportunity. Should this occur, while. Mr. Street is in York, he will pay any fees required : if not, h» will leave an order for doing so. .,..,.^-.. I am your's, &c. ROBERT GOURLAV. ( «• ) No. 11. To Robert Govrlay, Esq. Eticuiiuc Council Office, York, GthJmmary, 1818. 1 am eonunanded by His Honor, the Administrator, to inform jou ; that your memorial received the 4th of November last, was read in Council on the 12th of that month, and again this day. — And that when you arrive in this Province, with design to establish yourself in it, as a settler, a Location will be made in proportion to the opinion then formed of your meaps to become a useful settler. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient ' < humble servant, (Signed) JOHN SMALL. No. 12. To JoBV Small, Esq. Sscretaby to the Executive. CovMCiL, York. Queeftston, Joiiuary 21itrary. At no time is it eaey^to set bounds to opinion ; and (opin- ion, **tiai," may be very different from an opinion, now. Throwing out five words, a more definite rule yiU be expressed, " m propw^ iiMtownf tMom :" bttt,evea this requires a little explanation. At first sigbt I only thought of money being the means alluded to ; and that A certain proportion of IibhI would be granted/ for each hund- red or thousand pounds I should prove myself to be possessed of; but a friend has suggested that the wordmeaM may regard the num- ber of my children, or,, the number and strength of my servants a:.d cattle. You will, I trust, lose no time in shewing this letter to Colonel Smith ; and when he considers that I have already waited long, and am now detained here, solely that 1 may obtain explanation as to this business, I think he may deem it of such importaoQe as to require a special meeting of the Council. It is important, not only to me individually, but to thousands ai people in Britain, who may be influenced by my communications on the subject. As soon as the matter is resolved you will have the goodness ttf write to me af Qireefl«ifon. <:* - f ■- I am &c. ROBERT GOURuAY. #^ ElucidatiQii and Bemai'ks. It will be obseved, that in the above correspondence, there is no personal reflection or uncivil language, and, that the requests are perfecty reasonable. The objects are to obtain land, — to obtain the perusal of a Report on the state of the Province, — to obtain a list of Deserters, — to ob- tain a Map of the Province, and copies of papers which have been published. The first concerns private interest, the prime object for leaving my dear family and travelling so far from home : the otl..rs grew outofciixunistances, and bad.in vi©w chielly the public gotni. \S;: ;:s^:- . I«!>"^ -*SJ , > "if-ih ^■^ if. #w ( 41 ....,^, ) ;>"* '*,. -a. Before I petitioned for land, I had written Sir John Sherbrooke, and offered to contiact for the settlement of part of Canada, with British subjects, at much less expense than it had hitherto cost Government ; but I was told, in reply, that my proposal would not answer.* As to a grant of land, my friends advised me not to peti- tion here, but to apply at home for an order. Two Gentlemen, however, who had accompanied me into Canada from England, one an officer of the navy, another a clergyman, had petitioned, and, without, delay obtained land : the first, 1200 acres, the second, 600 *To His Exciuxnct, Sir John Shbrbrookb, &c. &c. &c. Qvebec. (lueenston, UppcT'Canada, September 14t 18ir. Sin, I am a farmer from England, and have visited Cimada to aacertain, how far it would be profitable to cultivate the land here. On my first arrival, I went to the new settlement of Perth, on the Rideaii, to make enquiries there, and had much attention shewn me by Capt. Fow* ler. He intimated that I might have land granted me at Perth, but in no greater quantity than one hundred acres, together. As this would not suit my views, liaving been accustomed to extenbive operations, I then gave up Noughts of the matter, but it has since occurred, that as government is particularly desirous of peopling that quarter, and much is expended m the accomplishment, a contract might be formed which might at once suit me, and furwaid the wishes of government. Capt. Fowler informed me, that the settlement at Perth lay entirely under the direction of the military depart- ment, which has induced me, directly^ to address myself to you. Theques. tion shortly is ; would govemment furnish land to any extent, in propor- tion to the clearance made, buildings erected, and number of people settled, during a given time, allowing the farms to be regulated as to size, and the buildings to be placed, as tiie contractor should incline i You will excuiie, I trust, the libertv now taken, and oblige me mucli by directing a Reply to the Post Office, Q ■\'r -i-*" SiK, To Mr. RonxiT Godrlat, QuEXirdTOR^, Upper Cixini. Quebec, Sept. 29, 1817/^ %. In answer to your letter of the lith inst. addressed to the Commander of .; the Forces, I have received His Excellency 'a directions to acquaint y^ou, that : vw it does not appear to him that the nioile proposed by you of settling and 'M*' clearing land on the Ridcau, by contract, would be desirable. Land is gr.antedat that settlement to emigrants IVom Uniaiu in proportion of one hundred acres to each man, and this quantity will be increased according to * the means and the industry of the settler, from l".m« to tinie, and whicu will be ascertained by an inspection of the progress made on the lirst giant- ^ . I, am. Sir, \o'ir niOi»t otiedt. nervt. ^- . (Signed) CHRISI O. MYEllb\ . * Col. li, Qf. M. iitn. .. . t m $' i w ■■4K. VI #'( ■Mf- !■. ' -e^j" %■:■■■ f % % 't^H ■■* i-* 4^ acres ; and it appeared foolish in mS, comibg as a fanner, to vrhstts Sand was more directly an •bject, to loose any opportunity of doing for myself ; especially as my success might encourage other farmers to Q^igrate here. ^ Being at York, therefore, and introduced to your Honor, I took the steps recorded in Nos. 1 6c S. Yoor Honor, as well as Chief Justice Powell, approved of my address to the Resident Land Own- ers of Upper Canada, in so much, that, I had reason to expect to have access to public offices for papers to assist me. The day after this address was published in York, I saw and bad a very pleasant nterview with Mr. Ridout, the Surveyor General. He agreed with me in- thinking there was great room for iinprovement in the Province, but said that nothing was listened to at home : — that some years ago he himself had- written oat a Report of the Province, sug- gesting improvements, and sent it home, but it was never looked at ;. and, in a most liberal manner, he offered to shew me this, if yott would give me a" order. Thisconversation I communicated to your Honor, vrho seemed most willing to give the order, but said yoit would first consult the Council, and itmnediately made a raemoraiK> dum with your pencil for doing sor As to the list of Deserters, it was asked by me in conversation with Colonel Cameron ;. and he did not seem only wiUing to oblige me with it, but atuaout that 1- should have it to publish, for, said he, " I wish very much you would expose tiie damned rascals." — Now, my object had no view whatever to personal exposure : it was simply to ascertain a most important foct as to the exclusion of. Americans from Upper Canada, viz : whether a greater proportion of them had deserted during the war, than people fibra other parts of the worldv With regard to the Map of the Province, I had alSo, at this early period, thought of it ; and had gone, with a friend, to Mr. Chewett, to speak with himoa the subject, bot uduckily he was from home. w '^''■■^\:l' Myjoomeyto the west was tofiave commenced from Yorkf but, the arrival of my brother from Scotland changed my plan, and made me return to this place, and thence proceed by the Head of the Lake. At York^ I had been told by Mr. SmaU^ that no grant -HW 1 '»•■ »':* ■>«. . ' ''w-^vi'*-' ..rA '■■■■' * ^ % ' ■*■■ ' ■ 'i- ':i -.i^-^^^ m - . ..;>,■ ( 48 ) Mr ^W' ne» •"" •t^. md of atnC It flt ..«(: ; T %: ■* .!^ <«f land eovU be made out to any person, without hit being fenoH« ^lly present during the sitting of Council ; but, on my way to tho ^ iHcad of the Lake, I learned from my friend the Clereyoukn above- .«nentioned, that this was not the case, for after he had taken the * .oaths, he had got his grant without any personal appearance, and >« # mtm now, by the agency of a friend* in the course of having it loca* ited. This information suggested to me the propriety of sending my %< ^brother to take the oaths at York, while he was yet unsettled in business, and had time to spare ; and, his going tiiere, was also of «, 'i' ' consequence to me, in order to hurry matters, as I was «oon to set off ibr England, and had actudly written to my family that I would sail . «bout Christmas. At this time too I pushed on the Statistical enqui- ry more keenly, as the Magistrates of Niagara had volunteered their lupport, and, I had resigned to them the charge in consequence of the iaultr^nding of one of your Councillors. i As I prosecuted my Journey westward, I was delisted with "die jieal which appeared, in every garter, towards what I had proposed, .and, in several places I found, as I passed along, respectable meet* ings gathered together, and actually at work ou iiie business. See- ing things in such a train, I could not resist an inclination to do my utmost for people so willing to help themselves. I ventured to the !i| -very extremities of the Western District, and wrote to Queenston, to have io;eUigence dispatched to my friends at home, that I should not sail -so soon ael had before resolved. One thing I expected to ensure by this delay, was, that, when I returned to Queenston, an- swers to my Petition and other requests, would be iying for me.-^ ^^ In this, I was not only disappointed, but, from the miserable way 1^ in which the posts are conducted in Canada, found that my despatch* li to relieve the anxieties of my family from the change in my plans, was not arrived five minutes before myself; and, that it was now nearly two months, owing to one delay and another, since I had been able to communicate with home. . ' ' - ■ I bring nothing in here without a witness ; and on the score of anxiety, occasioned by accidents and ill regulated posts, I annex ^ below, an extract out of a letter received three days ago fiom my wife ; and that this bane may not be without its antidote, I place by the side of it, aiiother extract, from the same letter, written a week afterwards, upon the r<^ceipt of several of my letters together. i ?■' -*< •:# -.^i-. ,-a**', '-tif'jik- it }lr4 if^. . Up to this hour, I have no answer to m^ petition, — no answer to my requests, for Mr. Ilidout's Report. — Colonel Cameron's list of Deserters, — Mr. Chewitt's Plan ; no: the published papers of the Province. One decisive answer, only; have I received — a verbal one, concerning my Brother's Petition. Mr. Street, who carried No. 10, to York, brought back word, that the Council sat while be was there, — that my letter was delivered io time to Mr. Small ; and, that one of the Clerks told him, that my Brother ahould have no other answer to his Petition than what I had received tu mine. % 0i- ■:: d' 'f. Now, my Dear Sir, you see I have been very circumstantial ; but, the record is one designed to grace the Statistics of Upper Ca- nada ; and, before I leave the country, I challenge all concerned to £nd in it any thing incorrect. One thing, only, I have forgotten ia its proper place. When my brother returned fjrom carrying my let- ters to York, he brought not a single line in reply to any of them ; but, he told me that you informed him, you could hold a Council at any time, and that I had done wrong in writing my Petition, on half a sheet of paper, a misdemeanor, which however flagrant, seems to have been got over by the $th January, 1818. ,. To give full scope to reflection on all this, would be wasting much paper, and exhausting a fund of speculation most fitting the ingeni- ous, at idle hours. For my own part, I cannot even guess as to what has given ofTence, or, upon what principle of good breeding. Gentle- men should refuse civil answers to civil questions. Refusals would -Lave done veiyy well, but evasion is always despicable. «t .?*',*'^'WI45(| * . In the speech read from tlie Throne, it is said, "His Majesty's "Government having countenanced a migration from the United '•Kingdom, to the Provinces of Lower and Upper Canada, it is ex. "pected that great benefit will result to this Colony, from the ac- "cession of an industrious and loyal population, and I recommend to "your consideration, how far it may be expedient to assist the^mi- •, "grants, by providing the means to defray the expense of the loca- "tion and grant of land bestowed upon them, by his Royul Highness ** the Prince Regent, in his Majesty's name." . ,. , . : N^i.,. * ^ I have migrated "from the United Kingdom :" has His Majesty's PiovincialGovernment "countenanced" me ? I have proposed a scheme ,■*•*■;- ¥ mi- ^' ■f(P*f % %■ te« , r to t of ths rbal ried B be all; tno ial ; Ca* d to nia leb< !m ; tlat half s to uch eni- hat tie. «ld ted ex. ac- to ni> ca- ess '•>)' ■■ y'8 U9 '% :j. f 4ii'# ... for introducing "an uidustrunu and loyai populatuM" and, **t1tai great benefits will result to this Colony" from it, is a liope attested by tht signatures of hundreds of respectable people : has liis Majesty's Pro« ^incial G ovemment "countenanced" me ? Neither I nor the people to be brought by my scheme, would require to be provided out of the taxation of the Province, "with means to defray the expense of the lo' "cation and grant of land:" far less would we throw ourselves before the Stranger's Friend Society, or the Comp^isionate Society, to swell the vain glory of little men, whose charity sounds a trumpet before it : but look, above, and see how I am treated ; — look below, and see the anxieties that are created at he te by delays ; and then think, that I am still waiting for an honest answer to my humble Petitibn. O fy ! shame upon it, and fy ! sure, you have altogether lost your- selves in some horrid stygian shade, where the souls of you have been sucked out by the thirsty vampire : — or, does the Council labour under a night-mare ? Has it devoured too much land, and gone to sleep while the crude mass is yet undigested ? How is it, th&t, lov- ing its friends, it shrinks from their embrace ; and, hating its ene- mies, rushes to their snare ? How is it, that it has duties to perform, and cannot perform them f .^ , , .,_ , ,„^ - ^^ . '^j Think not, my Dear Sir, that, for any consideration, I would wound your feelings as a private Gentleman. Every body says you are a good man, and what every body ^ays must be true. Behind my back you have spoken well of me ; and surely I ought not, for slight matters, expose you to pain. I address you in your public ca- pacity, and my most rigid duty calls for my reprehension of practi- ces derogatory to the dignity you represent, and ruinous to every substantial object for which such dignity is set up. I cannot think you wrote the speech which was delivered : I cannot think it was written by any one who cares or feels for Canada. At all events, it must have been penned without thought, and certainly could not be meant as an insult to the Province. I f ''!*;<■•«')?> • *^.v It reached me as I had nearly finished my last address to the Re- sident Land Owners of Upper Canada. It instantly chilled my blood : it checked the flow of my spirits : it altered my style of ex- pression, and sunk me from the lofty to the low. I am ashamed of such style : I am ashamed of resorting to vermin for a comparison ; but nature has made nothing in vain; and the filthy things we al>- «K,f;; I] V '< v/'. I A . ' 1 i: \\' i K !][ ''^ti'^- -\\ m "% (( 4» ) ■.*r \ I ftorJiave been called iatq exi»t«nce, to give us stiitable notiont of tb« cofldvct of public afiilurs at little Yoric, — dull, dirty and disgusting. Awake my Dear Sir! Atvaken all your CpuncUlors ! tell my friend, Ihe faultfinding Honorable and Reverend Doctor, that if he will do jifstice to bis higher duties, I will lee tUi-<) for him on^vATvaAlt "fHiMMVH y" and get the school hotue paii^cd** I was a favourite •tudeot in this very branch at Stv Andrews University, and afterward* .Studied at Edinburgh, under the profoi^nd Mr. Robinson. This u more than twenty years ago ; bui with a little brushing up and a due assortment of fig't and icAm^/m, I could soon shew off as a respectable mountebank. I will even do more than this for the subscribkr. I will teach political eeconomy at York, which has been my favourite pursuit for many years^ By this, I doubt not, that I eould maka «ut profit, not only to£e<: the Church painted out$ide,^ but cleared of jcobwebs vithin : perhaps I might fit it with a steeple and a bell>.ard ipake it look decent beside the paliue of its pastor. ^ ;,^ Colonel Smith ! let us be serious. — You are at present at the head of this Provincial Government. All your interests and affections rest in Upper Canada. Do justice to your country and honour to yourself, while God has given opportunity. Put down every Uttle consideration : calm every personal animosity : extinguish party rancour : unite all the members of the legislature ; and proceed ,te business. In two or three weeks order may be brought out of confu- sion, and several acts passed, of utmost consequence to the peace and prosperity of this delightful land. It can be taking no unfair advaa* tage of the Supreme Government. The constitution of this Pro- C'j^iracted from the Upper Cana4a Gazette o/FebrmtyS, 181&J NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. THE Subscriber intends to deliver a course of Popular Lectures oa JVatund Philonphg, to commence on Tuesday the 17th iiut at 7 6*- deck P. M. should a number of Auditors come forwitrd sufficient to form a class. Tickets of admission for the Course (price Two Guineas) may be bad of WilBam Mhrn, Esq. Dr. Home, or r<,the School Home. The sutplus, if any, after defray in^p the current ezpen'^es* to belaid out in Painting the District School. JOHN STRACHAN. York. 3d Feb. 1818. t Tl " veek. after this was printed in the Nii^ra Spectator, an advertise-^ ment aupearcd in the York newspaper, for "plans and estimates for repair' ing and enlarging the Church," to "raise a Belfry on the west end," aiid t» 'fjtaiBft the whole building on the ouUide.** IUosa ! i^ ' f "'^*^. ' '^y* .--'.»«■- i.* , , k'A t ( « ) vincr .trbvktefl a v«/o to tlw Royal authority against all yoar tetfi: but, if a commiuiou went home to obtain a h« * 'ng and giV« expla* nation, nothing reasonable would be rcfuledt Hie most weighty measure regard* a general taxation of wilj laaidi^ Heretofore the Assembly has injured this cause, by stiltng their BiK the **j4bsentee Bill." The Bill had altogether a difieient view fWittt' what these words import in England ; afid the title of your acf, fdfi I hope you will advance it beyond the' nynlc of a BUI, should W changed. It will rcqairc nothing but calm explanation to render! this Act popular in England : it will reqnire no tuch delay as that of two years, proposed in the former Bill; The people of England, who own lafid here, will press its instant operation, for they will see, at once, the rise which it will effect in the value of their property. The next urgent consideration is to eotrect the senous mistake a* to paying the claims of sufferers in war, out of the forfeited eatiates. You know these will yield but a trifle, after deducting charges ; 1)ut this is not alt. The holding of such lands by individualii, as pro- perty, would breed most unpleasant heart-burnings now, and at a fu- tiire period, perhaps broils of the bitterest kind. The giving aWay of the forfeited estates of Catholics in Ireland, to Protestants, al- though many generations have passed since, keeps open many an evil eye, at the present hour. In Scotland, confiscated estates were much better managed. They were put under the charge of Trustees, and the Rents were applied, annually, to public works and the im- ftroventient of arts. From time to time, some of the estates wera restored to the descendants of the ancient holders ; and, in every way, admirable effects arose out of a policy so judicious and liberal. There is no want of land in Canada, on which money coold ba raised imMdiatefy to pay every claim that is due : even the India" TTiiiiyjirTii ni'iiji purchased and pot under proper management, would Ji^viT towards this. The value of property depends altogether on man>>.gement ; and, hitherto there has been no management in Canada. - One great object more I shall notice, the improvement of the St. I^wrence navigation. Why has this grand object been dropt «utof ihfi Speech &is year, after having been puffed off in that of Governor Gore ? Its accomplishment would be nothing to the Brit- bb nation. In a single week the means could be raised for it at ^.- i^r m w( " '^. ■'/.■sr ..-s/s^ ttji: ■*. '.z^i ^Wrf ,# .;^%'. 4 Lloyd'i, were matters managed as they might be. Capital is much • thing of idea, and rests on confideuce. The British funds are no- thipg but ideal property, held up by confidenre in the future pro- ceeds of skill and industry. It is now a hundred years since my countryman Law, created an immense ideal capital in Paris, merely upon a fanciful scheme of finding gold on the banks uf the Missisip- pi. To raise it by means of well directed industry on the banks of the St. Lawrence, and round the shores of our Lakes, is no fanciful project : it may be calculated on with nicety, and accomplished with ease. I am, Dear Sir, With due respect, Your's, &c. • ROBERT GOURLAY. 11 ■■■ J^'.' Extract 1st. *'Wherc are you, my dear Gourlay ? my heart has failed me at "last, and I dread the worst that can befal me. I look upon my "children, as if they were already fatherless — and pity myself as the *'most forlorn of widows. They tell me of lost letters — and letters "detained — and of husbands who have been years without writing, "and yet come home safe and kind at last ; but nothing of all this "seems to apply to my case ; — for I am sure you will write, as long "as you are alive, and think me so — and so often, that it is not at "all likely that all my letters can be lost or detained. What do I "write for then i Partly because I can find no other employment in "the least interesting, and partly, I suppose, because I still do hope, "in spite of all my heaviness." Nov. 1 6th, I817. Extract 2d. "The people in the Parish wish very much for you back again, "and a party of them were telling John, that they should set the **bells a ringing, if they had you but home ; not for what they would "get, for they did not think you would pay them for that, But for "real joy that yoii were amongst them again."* ' ■ III *The publication of these extracts cost me an etiort; but their aptness . to the business of the inonient wus niaiulitlory ; aiul, nothing ever evincrd to me grater callousness to concct or fine feeliitg', than remarks I havo beared on the subject and nonie intelligence wliich reiichedme from York. The firrt Extract would have wrunjj tiie hearts of the ])i>(»r trifling^ wit^^clies there, who have been sporting with ttiei;- u'.vndut/ atid my kei'iuus Cdnccrns, if they had hearts within thtra. ■ j .... V uch no< >ro- my irely iiip- [BOf ciful shed ( *• ) The abova I have extnetcd, at Mr. OourU/s dttln, out of • Utter addNMed to him from EngUnd, givtn to him out of this Post* OAm, thi 19th iiut. ■ •^ (Signed) ^ THOs. M'CORMICK. QuMoiton, Feb'y. l5th, 1811. For thb Niaoaka Smctatoe. To Mr. Govrlat, SIR, It was with sentiments of surprise as well as regret, that '1 saw your second Address to the inhabitants of this Provinca. With sur- prise, as it professes sentiments so widely different from those you Ant expressed ; and with regret, as it has destroyed the fair pros- ' ' pects thereby offered. Had you persevered in your first intention, this Province might indeed have regarded you as a friend and a pat- ron, and the benefits lilcely to have resulted from your plan, were manifost and great. It was expected to exhibit the advantages of this country, in a light which has never yet been thrown upon them, ,. to a wealthy class of people, who might thereby have been induced * to emigrate from, the United Kingdom, and who, by increasing our pofMilation, and expending their capitals amongst us, would hava greatly added to the prosperity and consequence of the Colony, and secured property and independence to themselves. In your last Ad- dress, the abuses you affect to have discovered in our government are suchj that certainly no man would risk his person and property un- der it ; but perhaps a longer residence and more careful examinbuoa . may induce you again to change your opinion. From my limited knowledge of the inhabitants of Upper Canada, which nevertheless is of much longer standing than your's, I am convinced, that no people under any government, have fewer grievances to complain of, and it is a strong argument in support of my opinion, that no symptoms of discont nt have ever appeared amongst them, except when agitated by persons, who like yourself, have pointed out the ■' means of redressing injuries unfelt, and I should hope, visionary. PJ m •! .*, H I. ( w ) Xfvt cipi9in^«i if ii Vn jwt» th*]^ mwi «>ikiif have long •ubmitted tamely to injuriei and insult* wbich onrgovai^* ment b«a $ sight to oflar, aor any people of ipirit a teot|Nr to bear, and least of all, the most indulged of ao indulgent and mild conitUa- tion ; or your abilities must be supposed transcendant indeed, to en- able you to have discovered, in so short a time, wrongs and abuses to which they have been so long blind. Rut I am sure, they still have at least wisdom and prudence enough to enable them carefully to examine those stated injuries, and perfectly to ascertain their ex- istence, their nature and exteat* before they trouble the House of Assembly, or government of the mother country, with {Mtitions and complaints. The principal, or rather onl]^ grievance you appear to dwell on, is the non-admittance of settlers from the United Slates. Tt^s cai^ b* Mi but gartially, and by a part of the conuaunity who had no access ipu to their wealth, I mean the great laadhoUai^ tb* i^aas of the people being in general to attached to the fannys their own industry and labour have railed out of the wilderneu, that they could not now, by American gold, be induced to part with them. That such a measure would add little to tlie moral improvement aod lojcalty of the Province, and worse than littk to its safety, it a fa4:| no discouteated man w^U deny. Oa the Arst signal of admission, thousands woiJd swarm in on speculation, and in the event of futura inva^ion^ 1 appeal to your own candour to say, whether that loyalty wl)i)rh has OQce preserved this country, would be fouod to have gfUiK cd strength by the acquisition of so many republicans, naturally at- tached to a foreign power— a small share of patriotism must ii« po^ •ess, who would^ ^r private advantage incur such a risque. Your doctrine of the right of changing allegiance, I can by no means subscribe to — and I think it 1i>;hly dangerous to the iimnfonned,wbo may be misled by it, and it has been certainly unequivocally declar- ed by the British guvernmeut, as to the laws of nations, as coptQir ry to the laws of nations, wluch declaration has been acted on in the late war with America, by a number of i en being sent, to England for trial, who were fuiind in arms against their country^ and who. perhaps thought themselves naturalized by the American goveni- meot — I will only add, tliat smce my last arrival, io Canada, I have seen no sympton>s of waste and decay, that appear to have a~ ) ( *i ) , ftrmtfl ytm lo much. To toy Jodgmcnt, It it iMj exhibiting BiArkt «f InereMiiig wtdth, ky fhe erection of building* of every datcri^ tied. WHliid thete. iMt three ytmrt, t«wm have rapidly rtten frbth ihmt aahee, and villages have bem built where there was not a liil- ^ habitation. These, turcly, are not the Symptoms trf waste and 4teo*y. I hold no pkiee mder goremmeat, have received no fatonts tMbi il, nor do I look ihr any : perfectly satisfied with the sittiatioti 1 have chosen, I have seisn no reason ttf r«gret the partiidity fdr this feoontty, its hihabitanlts and its gove^niiictit, which induced me to Mttie in M. I am, tbercrfore, |>«rfeetly disiiiter«st«H in the opinions 1 hdv« givin, and iave the warm interest I have in the welfare df the Mlohy*^lo oae y ni* own #ords, *'I am free from inflnehcc/' I h4ve the honor to be, Sir, , „>*^'-., Vouf moit obedient scfrvaAt, "** * ^ RICHARD LEONARD. JOrumnmd tiitt, Niagara FalU^ IStk february, 1818. I Af^hU ".-'P *-.ii- Foe thb Niagara SrtCTATon. iM**a m. To Ma. GouRLAY, YovR second Address to the people , c this Province, has produc< ed, in the minds of many pers' us, an effect very diiferent from that which you probably expecl< * to excite. It is surely the extreme of anogauce in a straagej- vr^o ac^nowledgM Kknself but a few oMTilhs a resident in, or rather waaiierer ihrougb, the country, to oilier liiat< jalf as tb« saviour of a ; and, in that self-assumed character, to die- tats neaswes, and even words, to its inhabitants. Have we not, in this extaasive ProvMic«i,a single being sufficiently enlightened to dis- tinguish between right acid wrong, or poeeesbik^ sufflcieot ^uiA'\c &pi- xit, or iodependei)e« of mind, to assert his santimenis, that v' <- utust .place our interests in the hands of a man who invited our confidence by an Addresh which explicitly stated nootives of enquiry, his se- cond as directl-y distivuws ? Sir, when motives are reaVyfure, there is seldom, or never, a ne- cessity for deception ; and when we have once been deceived, it is not ] I h:A '^l,^ *%■/"'■• ' \,-.v.-- '■'-;v..;v.. NVT"; "'"*■••> •''"'• ' y'f' '*- ■ .^,-»ii0^ Wf^^i^r^-^^tiJ^^^ V^ f I ■ Sff.-' easy, by a fe^ profesaions of good will, to regain confidence. Yoor second Address accuses the inhabitants of Upper Canada, of want of spirit, want of feeling, want of dignity— of slavish vubmission to « corrupt and tyrannical Government ; and still you profess a most at. fectionate regard for our interests, and an anxious wish to deliver us from the miseries and oppressions to which our own blindness, or, our own depravity have subjected us. If such is really the prev»- lent character amongst us, whence, Sir, arises the tender interest we have excited in the bosom of a stranger i Do you believe us so easily deluded ? Do you suppose us ready to flock round the first ia>:'' dividual who raises the baneful standard of faction in our free and happy country ? no Sir, — you are not the first counterfeit iovitmr we have had. — Other men, with talents and plausibility infinitely more dangerous than you possess, have sought to disturb our tran- quility, and have found a few credulous and discontented spirits a- mongbt us. I hope the detection and exposure«f those men will rescue us from similar credulity. Their falsehoods, their pretences, their arrogance, have been exposed by an abler pen than mine. I shall not pretend to dive into the real motives that htfve influenced your two Addresses to the people of this Province. I hope your mar- nifest inconsistency will suffice, of itself, to awaken doubts of your boasted purity of intention in the public mind. I will not canvass the propriety of the measures you urge, but I hope and believe no such step will be taken without mature consideration ; and surely, not at the instigation of one a^ avowedly loose in political principles as yourself. . i,^^>^ of al ofbl impi tuej Vers the woij beel can| att une pH 4 \ I am no advocate for "paltry patronag^' oT^ruinouafaoouritism;*' but if the first is paltry, its ill effects will not be very extensive ; and that the second cannot have been indulged to a very rvitious de- gree, is evident to every temperate and unprejudiced mind.— If, how- ,. ever, patronage or favouritism do really exist in any degree, it is time to check their influence ; but it is not by inflammatory address- es, or whining petitions, such an end is to be accomplished. — I leave the best means of attaining it to men of long tried integrity, of pub- lic spirit, and deserved popularity, and that kind Providence which has bestowed on us eveiy other blessing, has not left us destitute of such characters as I have described. I had no personal acquaint- ance with your late Governor, but he stands high in the estimation 111 •' *: ) ' ^\ * 4r---^«^ -#'-,;-■'' ■> Jht "> . ' "I*" ' ' "" i t ^m iv 0i m&imi>**mmmiiimit (oat Dtof to* t st- iver ■ or. ■'^ ■■■"■•-■ ( w. .) ..■:-■•;-:, ^ _; •; of ail who have known him. Without entering into the particalan of bis administration, I mutt acknowledge my conviction, that it is impossible for oue mtm Ipng to support two characters, and that the «ame principles ofhunor and integri^, indispensable to private vir- tue, must unavoidably extend their influence to public conduct. Go- vernor Gore may have been itnp^uous, but, of deliberate baseness in the betrayal of the sacred trust reposed in him, his bitterest enemies would blush to accuse him. After your first Address I should have been astonished to find you an advocate for the admission of Ameri- can settlers into this Province, had you not previously disavowed all attachment to yuur own country or your own government — and with unexampled assurance treated the honest principles^of loyalty as a phantom, and the sacred oaths of allegiance, as merely a tempora- ry bond ^^ t ;' Lives there a Man with aoul so dead ^^i^iiWisf, Virho never to himself hath said This is my dear my native land— is a question doubtfully asked by a Poet of your own country, and the spontaneous reply of every feeling and patriotic heart would be, such a man cannot exist. If your last publication has been the effect of mistaken zeal, be ad- yised and acknowledge that it was mistaken. If it was produced merely by the workings of a turbulent and fac- tious spirit, be advised, — and remove to some land of kindred spi- rits, for here are none to support you. \ ; If it was the effusion of disappointed ambition, and a mischievous endeavour to involve tbf public in a private broil, the failure of the attempt will be a sufficient punishment for having made it. A RESIDENT LANDHOLDER. - ■ ^.'i-M.-' :^; February S6, 1818. "il *j.l H A To Major Richard Leonard, Drvmmond Hill, Niagara Falls. *^ '^ ' Niagara, 23d Feb. 1818. Sir, ''■:"" You have caused to be published in the Niagara Spectator, two letters addressed to me, The Editor shewed me these letters, in ■i't ■mi ■4 /^ Y%. /->.; < - ->., ^i.'.-y ', ^ ^ — K > -< > ;f'-..*'*!*- I ^iim*sii '8' ■N*« m ^ ■■'■■Ii: hi is*) ■MMndxipjt, and, on nacbng Uie first, I Mid to limi, it vtt» a weiA ^r •bidl*w)prodiiotion, but,ai itfaftdttraid iigMlture, I *bould ret>ly. SUM itfterwards I net you ih the street, and Mid f lioanMtvPM ; tiiat it wae umgentlemiaRly, and would hot he penAiiiC- tcd i« tbe Hoiue of CoMdotiB of E^aHd, whefe the tttttUMt liti^ lade wae givea to speech. Yqu were immoveable. You saidj, that, you IImI coamltad witl^ a very t^k person and eeveral more of your frien4f ; aud, on 09 account, would retract. I repeated my sorrow} and, 8a)4ii that your conduct would oUige me to be eevete. fe.a^v *, ■ /ii", '■ Now Sir, knowing it to be true, that beating a fool in a mortar,- «ao make him no wiser, I cease to regard you as a maa, aad ehsAl ^t you iq), as an Anatomist does a cfurccns, mereily for the benefit of tbe Spectator. ., ., ^ . . . ,,-- .::.^;: •;,:::a ,*^;n^ji{,iya^ You begin by expressing surprise, which invariably accompanies tbe debut of a Goose ; and tbe regret of such an animal is only laugh- able. Your surprise, is occasioned by your thinking, that my se- cond address professes sentiments different from the first ; but you are too much surprised to think of proof, and forthwith go on to cackle. You cackle through nineteen lines, and then tell me, that, / affect. Sir ! this accuses me of falsehood, and I return yoa th6 compliment. Having cackled over seven lines more, you insinuate, that my knowledge, of th^ Inhabitants of Upper Canada, is inferior, even to your " limited knowledge" ; and I am willing to let the In- habitants decide. Being in happy contentment with your " limited knowledge" you are " Convinced" that no people have fewer grievan- ces to complain of, and talk of " strong argument" to support your opinion ; but, had you been ingenuous, you would have quoted the following passage from my address which is stronger than your ar- gument. " You are here as free, if you will, as any people upon " earth : you have the power of taxation in your own hands, while, " Britain, the most generous of nations, bears many of your burdens^ " and has shed her best blood in your defence." (< \\ t^J X-Jjitl,"^; ) ■^^ " ^:..-% :,--^'^ ^^ ',*■- ■ ' • J ■■ ■; Your ergMdaMt veiU t otinly upw to att«rti9ii» tint ttem «« m «ginipt9m« of 4ise«nUQt ; kut 1(n^ U> U>« «»Mx«d FetUiom «Mt ym will find ti:ai I offer tp prove, in the most soUom manmr, tbat, noi only diicoBt^t, Vat go94 «iiwe ft>v it, (io«s, n9w» afitutJ^y Mint. You go onto lay, that, " my opinion is by no mcmasjlatiering tp " the well informed and respectable part of community". $ir, I never meant to flatter atiy part of the community : my invariable object has been truth ; and I have pointed out the copstitutional, and only peaceable mode, not only of coming at this, b"* * correcting '< ii^wriMand insul^t" (I um yowown laoguagA) " vL^'i bm> Govahi- i« I ^ v>..-jit»^.: -r.i«E]M(n4|K "^■^'►■^■-w^ ( sr ) •f Canada, wou < rf ver be spt a6i(]e, the generous founder of that house, left provision by his WiLt, for maintaining, to the remotest age, the true British hospitality, to which he so nobly gave conn- mencement. — That house, Sir, was seized by our own military, and, by them, burnt down ; yett0tt a penny has been paid in recon>penc« to its owner; and, so much has confidfcnre in property been shaken that the largest Estate in Canada, would find it hard, by credit, to rebuild it. Go, Sir, auJ enquire of Farmers, if they can find a rec>.« dy market for their wheat : go to Storekeepers, and ask, if they can get cash for goods : — tuU me if land has maintained its price : te!l me upon what you rest your hope of safety against being trod under foot by the very republicans, of whom you are alarmed. I, Sir, am seriously alarmed, and most seriously anxious to retain this Pro- 'vince to the British nation. Since I crossed the Atl'^ntic, I have ■een reasons, which make me, even enthusiastic in the cause ; and these reasons, I shall, on a proper occasion untold. They are found- ed upon grand and liberal principles, having in view the most ex* tensive benefits, not onl^ to our nation, but to the human race. Mj first Address iaid t|j|e foundation of my scheme : my second, made a pause, till I could ascertain, if there was spirit, in this country, to maintain the dignity of the law, and to preserve the rights of proper- ty inviolate. Insure me this, and Ctinada shall flourish : — insur* ^ me this, and it shall go beyond the United States, in prosperity, as ■'- the day outshines the night. Having scanned your own letter, let us now proceed to that, of which you were mean enough to be the humble Carrier. This letter, is, no doubt, the work of your able friend ; and it cer- tainly displays mure ability than your's ; although the sum of this ability iv wtpted on the invention of falsehoods and an artful adjust- . insiit €|f tVe mo|Bt malignant insinuations. Regardless of truth, and .Jealous pf reasdii, your able friend hurries from point to point, and iffonld tari^ Die un|Qlpecting, to his own concliisiuns ; but, whoever calmly questions a|Pi4.'Wo^'°^s, as he goes along, will stand in no danger of being deceive J. The letter bears some indications of a disordered imagination ; and the best apology will not hide in it, th* ravings of an angry man. -j. Jealousy, and Envy, and Pride, are the chief movers in this in^t iquitous production ; I '." '■P # '*:■ -^* ■M ■t- :« ^^ ^'«- L ■ 4- s.' -A -^ .-.'« ■ S3- 'J ft #■ "^5, '>,.":•,, f^: .,* *■ »•, "A - .■„ ( 88 ) M- >,*»■) .'*■ ■Wi- . 'iMOiw in tlie l)osoin of tlie reader, against ay ctiafacter and flesfgns. No less tlian three times do these evil pussions wantonly profane the Dame of Satlour. Mark it well ! These Vvere the identicul passions which festered in the breasts of tlie wi|Js.ed, when the great Saviour of the world, bles^c'd it with his instrurtion, and deigned to visit it, with example divine — Oh ! never ending ill. Oh ! human depravi- ty, that will feed for ages, on every charitable, — every honest,— every sincere endeavour to ameliorate our condition, and raise us to heaven. The proiid, envious and jealous spirit of your frietid, tells WCf that I have not only offered myself as the Saviour of the country, but, " in that self-assumed c/taradcr dictated measures, and evtn " words, to its inhabitants." I have told out my mind ; and wfafin I shrink from doing so, let it be said, that my boasted rights as a Briton, are tarnished. In utmost sincerity I have assisted my lan- guage, to make plain my meaning, by giving a form of a Petition ; tut so far from wishing my words to be used, I have said, that "it *' would be most desirable to see every tnan, (^ body of men, Usihg *' expressions, suitable to his, or their peculiar feeling :" and I ndw lay, using some of your friend's words, that if there is " a knowledge "of right and wrung in this extensive Province ;" — if there is " puT)- "lic spirit" or " independence of mind," this is the time to prove it^ My vwtives have never changed ; but the urgency for enquiry ba» grown apparent, and drong, with my experience. The lying spirit of your friend, insinuates, even through the n1«- chaniral mediuiu of a varied type, that my motives are not really pure; then, driving home his insliuuition with an undoubling "necessity " for deception," and, trusting that his reader is " deceived," assails " confidence" in me, by pointing to pr(>fessions," as if I had aban- doned a single one advanced. The lying spirit theniie proceeds to say, that I accuse " the inhabitants of Upper Canada, of want (^ spirit, *' want of feeling, want of dignity, — of Slavish subtiiission to a cor- " rupt and tyrannical Governuienl ;" but, let my w ritings be search- ed from end to end, and it will be found, that this spirit justly me- rits the !Kkiition nf iiiipadciit, to his epithets. 1 have uniformly ex- tolled the Cuiverniueiit ; but its in nislers, most assuredly, I accuse. The spirit of your al/le friend, become perturbed with exertion, now luirts out a volume uiinterrdguLorieb ; and, with returning breath, k^bours on iu his furious vocation. ^^ HeJ attenij ur''ortl most I edlar in^ it] to th« case, ■i: '-'JtiH-- ^ , *■. IL. ■*- m ..^■•„ :^' ( fio ) He, at last, does tne the justice to quote some of my words, arid attempts a £pecies of quibliling aigumeitt, in which he is singularly f. ur'(»rtunatc. — The patronuge and Jarouritism of Upper Canada, are, niostfttrictly, at once, pnltry and ruinous. The nnas.s of the grant« ed land is given to people who never ihinlt of occupying or improv« in^ it. To t/iem it is a jniUrif gift, for it yields ihem nothing ; and to the countrjf it is riiinoiix ; f<»r, such land lies like a putrid car- case, injuring the health and checking the growth of all around it. , The cunning spirit, having sunk the importance of the subject, by his quibbling argum«jit, rises a little in shew of energy, and, tli'?n jlinks, with " long-tried integrity, public spirit, deserved popularity," yea, even with "providence" itself, into utter hopelessness, of check- ing the "influence" oi patronage 'AudfavoimtUm. Having got these matters consigned to rest and oblivion, he thinkf it safe to introduce "your (my) late Governor," from which mode of expression, it seems as if he knew that I have long been a land-hol- der of Upper Canada, while he has but rec ently come to reside her* OiD his late purchase, or more likely, his grant. How does this comport with his repeatedly calling me "a strangtr," "an unknown stranger," and "a wanderer ?" But, let us not lose sight of Gover- nor Gore, with whom he isays, "be had no personal acqnaintanre." He does not choose to enter "into the particulars of bis administra- "tion" which is much to be desired ; and, by admitting that the Governor "wffj/ be impetuous," wishes us to be diverted from the main question, as to " the betrayal of the sacred trust rej)osed in "him." He had no personal knowledge of the Governor; but, he pretends to be quite positive, that he could not be guilty of "delibe- "rate bas^ne^ ;" and, he is not only so well versed in the Governor'* Ci^aracter (without having any personal acquaintance) as to be sure C|f tliis ; but he knows that of his enemies also, and assures us, th^t ^ bitterest *)( them "y^euld blush to accuse him." Now, what is all this, but the farrago of a deceitful spirit labour- ing to blind us. We don't care whether Governor Gore was impet- nous or not: we don't wish to suppose him guilty of deliberate base- ness: we value as nothing your able friend's conviction; and we (tand in no need of the Governor's bitterest enemies to accuse him. 'I'he charge against him is, that he has thwarted the intention of the- Law, and reduced tho value of property, to an immense amount. '*^-^j' :':*;■. ■■'- ■ •I' f r ,* ¥ *' ■•«'■ ^■•4 'i j iiii— .^ m ^ ■Mi^tap T '»■* ( «0 ) ■■'■ !. *^ the wretched deceiTer, after all these attempt!, seeming still con- «cious of their impotence, again vents his wrath at my character •nd prinripleA, and lugs in some verse to his assistance, which clear-^ ly applies, only to biiuself ; for what imd can bt dear to such a v»> ^aboud as this ? « ">;'' It so happened, Sir, that immediately over your own letter in tht ■ewspaper, stood a quotation from one direct from England, exhib- iting some little proof of the estimation I enjoy at home. Sir, ther« sever crossed the Atlantic, one to whom his native land was mora dear than myself; and had I occasion to tell the tale of the misfor- tunes and persecution which have driven ne here, it would start the blood from your heart, however watery and cold. If, Sir, to use the stile of your insolent proteg^, your conduct lias been the effect of mistaken zeal, be advised and acknowledge that it was mistaken. If ' ''St- . ( «1 ) . ■' aibility, on mj account ; and, they have aided me to little, that at this hour I have not been furnished with a Rep^t of this Township, in which so many of them reside. The Magistrates of this Town« •hip were the first to recommend my scheme, and I did them tba honour to consign to their care what I hud begun ; but they met and seemed afraid of telling what they thought in answer to my 31st query ; and here the matter rests, till, I suppose, it is known hovr the wind blows. A worthy Magistrate of the London District was more candid with me. lie frankly said, that they (in his Township) would have answered this query more fully "if they dured ;" and, I know that in Niagara one man clenched bis fist, and aaotber sh«wed his claws, in opposition. Sir, for ten years I have stood by myself the supporter of very lof- to principles in Britain. It bos been my uniform maxim to do all I can as an individual, but never to connect myself with party, ia politics. After I hud dene with schools and colleges, I spent fifteen months travelling over England to inform myself as to its arts and agriculture. During this time, now 17 years ago, I waV etiiployed for some months by Government to make enquiry into th6 means of bettering the condition of the English poor. I dimonstrattd ths principle with which I was charged, and, the adoption of that prin- ciple, with modifications, would have saved millions of money, and encreased the comfort of millions of human beings. My employers shrunk from th# principle, after it whs proved; but I was not so •asily moved. After keeping my eye upon it for eight years, resi- ding in Scotland, as a farmer, upon my Fathers estate, I removed into England, and, taking a farm there, became Overseer of the Poor, and went thro' the whole detail of parish management, that I might be master of my subject, in pract'ce, as well as in theory. After five years experience in this situation, finding my ideas be- coming mature, I began to publish little tracts, signed and dated, from time to time, chiefly \.\> manifest constancy to the object I had in view. These were continued into the third year, and a month be- fore I left home, 1 had a Petition, bearing nearly a hundred signa- tures, presented to Parliament, to bring forward ni}' scheme in a formal and serious manner. This Petition, Sir, was kept out of sight as much as possible by powerful influences, but I am not the man to desert a great cause, where I know I am right, and as soon as I return home it shall be advajiced by further endeavours. It is t '^t ... ^m - ■! II ■ ■»^»^>l^ 'm (. I . ( 6» ) p«rt of my preupt plan tn make Cannda, at once beneficial to tb^ Eiiglisb poor, ami ^fvuluuble exteMioii ul' the BritiHli l:liiipire. Now, Sir, as I liave exliibited motives wbirb I wouM not othor- %ise have done, had I iiDt been |)usbt'il to it by your narrow-minded and vile accasations, it becomes perfectly luittirul for me to sufipcct yonr's ; and, efj^iially fair, to give tbc public a clue by which they may account for the zeal in the cause you base espoused. To your able friend I give the nierit of the plot. An anonymous letter could not answer biy purpose by itself. He knew your wealL- ncsB, pointed out advantages in tiie gatiu , flattered you into the conceit that you could write a letter, und |)revuiled with you to give your full address at Nutgara-fafU, winch wmld murk you from the furthest corner of the earth. Having thus n)ade you his cats-paw, and got your letter atid his printed in the same newspaper, it became an easy matter to enclose this in a blank cover and direct it to Mar* jor Ilalton,* agrnt for I'pper Canada, London. Major H. in duty bound to Governor Gore, for iiaving secured him a good jfc\500 a year out of the taxes of Canada, would lose no time, on receipt, in run- ning to Governor Gore. The Governor would say, my dear Ma- jor, write off instantly to Richard Leonard, Drumtnond Nil/, Niaga- ra-FaUs. Tell him that I am inexpressibly obliged to him for hav- ing 80 manfully taken my part and stood in the way of enquiry.— Tell him that I have now more power over the good tliir.gs of the Province than ever; aud, that 1 will do any thing tn fax our him. — Tell him that he has only to send me the number of any reserve in any township, not located, and an order for it sh.ill be sent hiin from home ; ;ir, if he is a half-pay Ofticer, and would like to be i, Colonel in the Militia, or an Inspecting General, that I could help him to that. Desire Leonard to make enquiry and find out, ij pos- tible, who the Land Holder is who writes for me in the same paper so abl]/ ; and, ascertain if he would accept of any Javour. He is the W. m • It was not perhaps rijjlit to introtliice real names tobviffhtcn a fiction; but, this re-print aiT^irds an ()ppr)rl unity, winch ^i%es me pleasure, f>f stat- ing that Major flalloii ///< ( ••* ) •tndi of good people in the United States arc liable to be hung lh« moment they set foot on British gr(»und. Jf not, a full half of th« adult population of Upper Canada have perjured themselves, and may be fairly put to death whenever they cross the American fron- tier. • " . '^ • . '' '^he law and practice upon this principle, I have told you, are not sufficiently defined ; and, now, that all nations are at peace, i« the very moment to get them settled. It is a duty which ntitiona owe to individuals to define and settle these ; and it is the duty of individuals to call upon nations to do so. In this part of the world, of all others, it is important thatev«ry thing should be clear on this head. Here, for many hundreds of miles, two nations, sprung from the same stock, spcuiting the same language, governed by the same laws, ruled by the same cuHtoms, assimilated by the same nif^niiers, and connected in a thousand ways, by the endearing ties of relationship, arc closely in contact. Good God ! is the narrow boundary between two such Christian nations to flame with eternal hate ? h tht* independent spirit of man to b« confined by the accident of birth ? are we to have no law by which, in safety we may change our abode, — drawn from home by some darling incentive ; or driven perhaps, from the place of our nativity, before the whirlwind of oppression. My principle of allegiance, Canadians, rests upon a more refined and stable basis than an oath ; — upon duty, upon affection, upon the sense of obligations received. These wntiments hold nations toge- ther more firmly than any oath ; and, they are sentiments of which we need not be ashamed, when we come into the presence of him| irho ^ath said, " iviear not at all." ROBERT GOURLAY. • -»«•, POSTSCRIPT. The following Petition, together with a similar one addressed te the Legislative Council, were sent by me, lufit week, to York, in « letter to the Honorable Thomas Clark, requesting him to present the latter to the Council, and to give the other to a member of As- sembly for presentation to that body. A letter juit received from *^^. -fo <*-. ■^r «- . .'^n r -*' ... ■ 'v^'ff^wi- Mt!&i^,''AitiiYSikT^5i\n»t'mtonmma, that ha will mitiMr / preMDt the one, nor give the oAer to be preeented, becauu, he diU fen from me in opinion, »ad thinki, I have done wrong. This if a moit urioue matter, apd must be explained. lAttyear, at tbii time, iht right ofjftitioming was urguM iMfe eeriouely in the British Parliament thaii at any former period. Itwas allowed that no Petition could be refused presentation, which was expressed in becoming language ; and I have seen a member in our House of Commons present a Petition, stating that he did so, in duty to has constituents, although he differed from them in the opinions which tlie petition expressed. It is perfectly plain, that, under such a system as the Borough- roongering system of England, or the Canadian system of patronage and favouritism, onr right oif petitioning, secured to us by the Bill of Rights, would not be worth having, if it rested with the wiU of mem* hers of Parliament. It is plain, that under ihtfrH exercise of this right, no British subject can honestly rebel against Goven oient. When he thinks things ,are, wrong, it is his dttty to express his op- inion, by petitioning ; and as soon as a majority of his fellow sub- jects adhere together in petitioning for any one object, it must, of necessity, be carried. I ask the inhabitants of Upper Canada to examine my petition, word by word. I am not conscious of a single one being out of place. I express my opinion as to enquiry, and ask for an opportunity of proving what I allege to be true. If my request is granted, and I ,^ fail in my proof, it will quief the public mind. If I am denied, it must settle the point, that complaints are well grounded, and that certain people '* love darkness rather than light, their deeds * Ing eviJ." ^ I new notify, that,, my Petitions will be given by Mr. Clark, to any member of the Council or Assembly, who offers to do the duty of -presenting them respectively, and let they that dp so be stiled, the most leort/fi. I am in some hope, that my Honoruble friend, Mr. Clark, will, hilBHlf, come alive to bis doty, and, remember what the Poet says : ■■'•'• .C|ir#'* / Ihrur and ahame from no condition rise : * ' -» f-^-i^^ Act well your part, there all the hnur lies. .ii'tSf^flr-ftii/^-i -.:. .V _.„.-■,„. . '-«..-, ; ^- ... •kJr « R. G. .*. \> "oaHj^'^ f / * ( •« ) . TV #Ac Honor Ah f the Commmt of Upper Caniiddt k Piartiinutit di> MuMti. The HvMble Petition of I^obert Gourlat, Csquike, SHEWE^M: •--. ■ • ■■■ - ■"^.r^'y.,"': ''' '^^ "' "'^^'' ' That yoar Plfitioner ik & British Subject ; and, a propnetor at k«d, in' Upper Canada. y,.^^^,j,,;,,^,^^,^^^^^^^ i That, your Petitioner came to this Province, to coqwirc into th* •tate of his property ; and, to ascertain, wfaethef b« c«uM advan* tageously settle hire. That, your Petitioner has foond his property greatly depreciated, owing to the suspension of law, a general tnal-administration of af- Jhirs, atid, the violation of public faith. That, your Petitioner first discovered, that puhlio faith was vio* Lated, at the new settlement of Perth, when he was there, the first week of July last. That, your Petitioner then conceived, that such violation arose •ut of some misunderstanding, between the Home and Provincial Government : — that in this belief, and expecting to get speedily back to England for explanation, be, not only endeavoured to soothe the minds of the settlers, but sent home a favourable Report of the settlement, which bus since been published, there, in the nevrspapers. ' That, your Petitioner, having recently made an extensive Tour in the western parts of the Province, ^has had occasion to discover, ^ Uiat, violation of public faith was complained of by many, in these |«rts ; and, that a very general spirit of discontent and despondency prevailed throughout. That, in consequence of these discoveries, your Petitioner has since made further enquiry into the practices of the €olonial admin- istration, and, into the causes which have influenced the direction of public atFuirs. . ' •• '^'' That, your Petitioner, having done so with an unprejudiced mind, and in possession of a vast body of mformalion, it is his solemn o- pinion, that a full and particular enquiry ought immediately to be made, by your Honorable House, into the state of the Province, and, ■\k: ■ !i.. ,* « ^t.•' ■. — fc-: i-. *"*.«-.»» . :.i » h"-'^ -v- -•-; •» t (. "y ) that a cocDmissioii should be appointed to proceed to England, for the purpose of lajing the result of such enquiry, before the Throne; in i>rder, to ensure me^^ures, for future peace and prosperity, now endangered. .-Mill J ,■- r,r-A',fi. ■■:'t- '->:,'.. ''.tff "."' '■': "irt i-l'nl?* ,\! * Tl^l> if) the mean tin^e, your Petitioner entreats to be eTc^miacI at the bar of your Honorable House, and, to be allpv^'ed W opportwr ntv uf itubetantiating the ^ts, here, above, alleged* . ^And your Petitioner shall ever pray. Niagara, Feb. 19, 1818. •« " - '■1.-' '.'iliyiw' ROBERT GOURLAV. '•! ■jO.' • ■■■■■■ ' . ■ yjl mil To THB {loiTOa on THE SrSCT^TOII. -^ - .,^ Niagara Fail Mills, Feb. 23rf, 1818. '* .•■ SIR, . ■■ ,- ^' - ^ f In ^our paper of the l^^h inst. under the head of " Elucidation's •od Reinarks" and signed " RoBEaT Gouulat," J perceive a pa- ragraph, in which the following words, viz : '' that my^hrother shqit^il have no other 9asKer to hi$ Petition than Xihat J had receivetl to minr,'' ftre stat.'^d as an answer given to mc by one of the Clerks of the Ex.- «eptive CouQcil at York, to my enquiry reopectiag an applieaftioB for a grant of Land to Mr. Gourlay's Brother, and afterwands deli- vered by me to Mr. Gourlay. I should not have troubled you on a subject in which my name appears merely from accident, did not the words abjve stated appear to me liable to a construction diflTer- ent from those I actually made use of to Mr. Gourlay ; and I have therefore to request that you will be good enough to give this note a place in your next paper, and to acquaint yuu that the words I made use of, and the answer given me at the E.cecutive Council Office, was as follows : that, " tie answer to his Brother's Petition was the tame as that wfiich iias given to his uihh'* -»!.'? ik I am, Sir, Vour humble servant, ?fi 'r } .-^y. SAMUEL STREET. ■■/f . ^M 4 .1! '■ f3 mh 'if» '■*. •*... i<^ 1 •:',Mi^>^ ■•3i ■?;■ ( «8 ) \-"\ i.. To TUB Editor of the Niagara SpscTAToa. iS i^*; >. t ., ,. , i . Niagara, Z4,th FA. \%\^ SIR, ' Mr. Street, of the Fall Mills, has shewn me a letter, addressed to you for publication, in yonr Newspaper, wherein he corrects a mis- take of mine, in his report of what was told him at the Executive Council Office, respecting the fate of my Brother's Petition. The public will observe that there is a little difference in the words (ow- ing to my writing from memory)' but none in the meaning, which in the least affects the point at issue ; and, I am glad that Mr. Street should, with his signature, confirm a proof of the strange way of conducting affairs at York.' That the public may see more clearly what I have been advancing, I annex a copy of my Brother's Peti- tion. It will be recollected, that mine prayed fur an assurance, as to a grant of land, in the event of my coming out here to settle ; and, that the answer was shamefully evasive, considering, not'only the clear intention on the face of the petition, but the previous .trouble which had been taken by me, to make that intention obvious. My Brother's Petition, prayed for a grant of land, he being acta- aUy arrived, to remain a settler, in the country : and I now ask, how could the same answer apply both to his case and mine ? It is plain that he has been treated in this manner because of hi < connec- tion with me ; and that a total disregard of discretion exisib ia the Executive Coiuicil Office. - - '- > .■ ■> ^ . .. - 'J - "t < - 1-^;-;; a t ? I wish the public to understand, that I never petitioned for Afoi- vour from the individuals who are paid by Government for perform- ing the duties of the Executive branch. I petitioned in my right, as a British subject, to be treated in that character, according to my station in life. During this winter I have repeatedly writteq home to my friends to make an offer, directly to Lord Bathurst, fur my contracting to settle the country with British subjects. I now say, that, if Government will give me the management of thecublic Unds of Upper Canada for 30 years, I will maintain, during that time, two regiments for His Majesty : repair and keep in rerpair, all the Forts ; and for the last twenty 'years of the term, pay an annual Rent to Britain, of a hundred thousand pounds sterling. . ROBERT GOURLAY. •HTif^^ '->*'W»t v^.. : -yii!^'*? t'»-^;w^a':>'Vai.iKl|j«* ■ , i ■f 'nf.r nsia. (60 ) To Hit Honor, Samuel Smith, Administering the Government of Up- per Canada : In Council. ,. "The Petition or Thomas GouRLAY, . HUMBLY SHEJVETH : '" -^' That, your Petitioner ia a native of Fifeshire, North Britain,wherc, for upwards of forty years, your Petitioner's Father was the most extenstvf improver of land ; and, for the greater part of that time,' in the commission of the Peace. . . * yjc .^,. That, your Petitioner, was bound apprentice to a writer to the signet in Edinburgh, merely to qualify him for the liberal pursuits of a country life, at home ; but having changed his views, he has now come to Upper Canada, and means to engage in Agriculture, and the general branches of Commerce. That, your Petitioner understands that your Honor, in Council, has a power of granting tlie wild lands of the Crown, to British Sub> jects. _ Your Petitioner, therefore, solicits a grant of such quantity, as, under circumstances may seem meet. . , . « ~ ■ ,-■ ■< ': ' And your Petitioner shall ever pray. " ' '* , (Signed) THOMAS GOURLAY,;;j Y January gtb, 1818. -ii . li i: ERRATJ. a<{J * a, ;.:>.;>....•' •.;: :;. In Major Leonard's letter to Mr. Gourlay, published last week, in the 2d line from the bottom of the first column, for " the most indulged of an indulgent utid mild constitution," read " those enjoy- ing n ' ^t indulgent and mild constitution.". In the 17th line from the top of the 2d column, for " who had no accession," read " who need no accession," &c. In the 27th line from the top of the 2d column, for " discontented," read " disinterested." In the 7th line of "the last paragraph, the words ** as to the larvs nf nations" are to be erased. In the I5th line of the last paragraph, far " arrival inlA Canada," read " arrival in Caniida." •' ■'•' ■ i % \ i '*^--'v^ma» ioR, Upper Canada. "T ,' ' ' ' ■1.. "• ' - ,■,,• ■ 'S'ty ?'4iil(^v '- Niagnra, MctrcA Isf, ISljB.^V #Gb by way of Sacket's Harbour ! The Devil !— " 'tis th« very anor of the moon." My dear friend, Clark, — tbe bravest man m Upper Canada, with tlie stiongcst head and the best beart, bids loe go by way of Sacket's Harbour !— 'bids me slink from -Qny duty'-^ flinch from my guns, when the enemy shakes in bis shoes t Tbe ^evil, I say, and nothing else, could be at the bottom of this. Til shame the Devil : hu's half ashamed already ; and if I am allowed to tell all the truth, as I have ofTcred to do, he'll never again shew fais face in the Province. I'll blow little Yorkiu the air, and " evenf man of respectability" with it, before I go by way of Sacket's Har- bour ! York must be blown a second time in tbe air : filUiy little place ! its atmosphere seems to weaken, aud contaoqiiMiC*f cveiy soul that enhales it. Come, fierc's your letter, my friend. You are angry with mft for publishing my correspondence with the people of York : but, no evidence, in the world, is more fair or convinciifg,,:(han ii series of letters. The exhibition of letters saves the trouble of swearing, and, the less of that, even to secure allegiance, tbe better. I published the correspondence to get all little personal matters out of tbe way before going to York, to give evidence in the great public cause ; and, this correspondence, published, and, uncontradicted in Canada^ will prove all i wish to prove in England, as to the conduct of tbe Executive Council, in such matters. »; /. , ;,*,ii > '»W ni ■■■ „,■-• ■• ; :• >!>..?ii(.i. •' r> s.sp : ■-.: ■■* -rfJ-V. (-■'• - To Mr.SIobert Gourlay, QuEEKSTOir.^' "^ *-^*' cc '. ' V. ;i (Favoured by Dr. Kerr.) ' ' '* - '"* ' • "' •" i ' > York, Feb'y.md, 1818.* J^EAR Sir, ,i ■-■:.: m,.-,, ., ,.■.;. ^ :^ ^>ry/».;r. . .i^^-mm^im^^ Since writing to you this morning, I have re-perused ypur publi- cation in the Niagara Spectator — and have to say, thai I am still inorc displeased with it, as is also every gentleman in York, the more it is looked at, or talked of. — What could have induced you to ^v'S IMfWMMMfM III! Fifimr^Tlii'iB-i null I ■'• ■ ■??»«..:■ ( ■/! ) ^XpoM {lie Preaitlent ftiid otheii, and particularly ydursclf^ in the miuiner jou bave doir., I know not. Until this fair.! error, most folks here, were inclines! to befriend you : I can however now say, that it is my opinion that every man o% respectability will be sby oi you, should you tome here ; and, tliat your feelings may not bffstili further hilrt, I should recommend your remaining on tlie Niagdra side of the Lake ; or, should you wish to go to Kingston (whcf^ there are niany Reports waiting for you) that yoU should go by way of Sackefs Harbour, ♦^;;v,t,-.* • >vh ,^ H " ^ With every wish for your welfare, in which Mr. Dickson joins Ine. I am, dear Sir, your's, &c. ' (Signed) THOMAS CLARK. ■ f». I. * r ,^i'- • ''I-'- ■•*■#'. •ti-'v'* I betray no confidence in publishing this letter. It reveals no se- cret — exposes no private concern : it Entirely regards pablic con- duct, and strongly marks the alarm, created at York, from the ds- velopement of truth : it marks, also, the first sensation, excited in the unguarded mind, from the busy interference of Leonard, and the specious falsehoods of his artful accomplice. Though it is the let- ter of my real friend, it absolutely insul'cs my understanding and my honor. It places me in a dikmma. I must either pocket the af- front, and sacrifice my public duty to private feeling ; or, throw this letter before the public, a powerful evidence in the cause I plead. After consideration, uo man will be more convinced of the urgen- cy of this stf p than yourself. You will say, " Have not I spoken *' strongly to Mr. Gourlay, as to the mismanagement of public af- *' fairs?" " Have not I told him that, if there is no change, the " Province will not belong to Britain for five years ?" — You will say, ** What is private feeling to public duty ?" " What is pain to the ** salvation of life ?" '* What does my friend do to me, but ri') my " face with a little snow, because he tliinks the frost is taking hold ** of my nose ?" argding thus, you will gain a elorious victory over yourself; and, seriously set to work in the caiuie, which is equally great and good. The letter was Hcng out of a window to Dr. Kerr, as he was leav- ing York ; and, coming here, hy easy journeys, he delivered it to me, afternoon of Saturday the 28lh I'ebruary. !. i\ «?5 ^ i * 1 **v ^.^ ^*%A'jf^m- J^:-. ■■* gu:o circumstances which influenced you in writing thii letter. You dined on Monday with th<:, Honorable TbiS;, the Honor- able That, Doct. Thingam, and c thirs. They were no sooner mr t, than the Spectator was talked of. " Well, vhat do you think o( *' it flow?" says the Doctor : "didu't I tell, from the beginning, wi^nt "this fellow was? Here i;. private correspondence publi?t'8<: 3 of Cumida; and, to silence the major- " iTig ofb-ilf-poy other- f" • v^■* ■'i•^/■■i'•^'-■r^-;T .••|^*'^:ftr*>r, be borne down btfore the tide of prevailing opinion. ^ . You coloiij-ed and were sore vexed. — You went home ashamed of 01c ; felt easier when you hud v;ritten me, to get out of the way, by Sacktrt's Harbour: gave the letter to Billy to fling out of the win- ■dow, la the morning, to Dr. Kerr; and, went to sleep. ^ Now, n?y Dear Sir, you will feel a little angry at ray publishing all this ; but on reflection, you will think me pe>fectly correct : you will, indeed, thank me for it. The salvation of this Province depends upon A few of you, now at York, sacrificing every little eonsidcation — tearing yourselves from the fascinations of personal feeling, and, rca//y doing your duty, .,>..;. Is it not notorious, that you and my friend Dickson, were actually the preservers of this Province, when the cuamy first pounced upon it i Did you not instantly, upon the credit of your names, ruit^s means, which Govcri:ment had neglected, to defray the exp^ ; t of defence i Were you not, during the most trying period of tlif •/» the very foremost man, 1. .u most pciiluus ailventurti- ": 00 ■ .tvf-'-''- *-' ;^5ga«ftlB.^v ^.^m.M" .f ( 78 ) not persevere, till tbe very flesh of your body xf&a worn off with fa. tigue i Did jou not come home to us in Britain, wounded and faint — almost without a hope, but that of laying your bones to rest, in ihc land of your ancestors ?-^and all this fur Canada ; 'vhich you £]>.' now abandoning, — wbipt from your post of honour by the tawa (<{ i., ^ arrogant and paltry Schoolmaster ! O God ! give me charity tc> ;irds my enemies ; but, more especially patience with my friends ; and, above all, give me a face of brass, that I may be able to outr stare the whole host of weakness, hypocrisy and deceit, which has er drenched itself in little York, under tbe false banner of, retpect» This'to be sure is imagination : but, here is reality, on my side. You wrote me, in aletter dated 21 st February, from York, desiring that 1 should bring with me to that place " a few Niagara Specta- tors of the 12th," as they were there in demand, and would "now bring 12 dollars a piece" — to come in a black suit to look respectable before the Bar of the House, as the folks there were all in mourning; and, in your first letter of the 2Jd, you bade me give your •• com- pliments to Major Leonard." The following is a copy of my answer. " *' " To THE Honorable Thomas Clark. Niagara, 27 th February, 1818. Dear Sir, . Your letter of the 23d has greatly disappointed me, as I did not expect you to flinch, at this time, from what, I am clearly of opin- ion, is your duty. You will see what compliments I have given your friend Major Leo. ird. in the Spectator. On reading my Peti- tion over and over agtiin, I can see nothing to alter but one letter, in the word allege. I have put in a d, which I shall thank you, carefully to erase, in botli copies, as it may be spared. Instead of buying a new coat to appear in at York, I shall go in my oldest onei to be in character among shabbj' fellows ; and, 1 shall deepen my court mourning, bo.:; u. uf Uie 'vani, of public spirit, by renting it wide at tiic clbnv ; -— ^ . Skills well ptherwise-- ROBER ' GOURL.\Y. ' 'IF ii w- ? t- :r.:^j^} ■^m^ ( 74 ) You accuse me of exposing myself :— leave it so :— let your Re- cusation be recorded with all that I have done in Canada, that fu- turity may judg* of it. Yuu accuse me of exposing the President ; but, why should he not b« exposed, in bis public capacity i En- quire into the practices of our first statesmen at home, and you will find that, as public men, they abuse each other like pick-pockets ; and the very next day crack a bottle together, in the utmost convivi- ality of private friendship. I published u letter of the President's marked private, and for whut reason? It contained not a word of consequence to conceal. The word private was written upon it merely to distinguish it, from an official communication. The letter was a proof of Colonel Smith's attention to me as a gentleman ; and, its publication was called for, in justice to bis private feelings. T From the hour that 1 was introduced to Colonel Smith, I felt th« utmost assurance that he was willing to puy me every attention, and atfurd me every assistance in my Statistical enquiries. I shall ne. ver forget the fiank way in which he talked to pie of my scheme — getting Mr. Ridoubt's Report, and so forth ; and, I am sure that he must have been opposed in Council in his wishes to promote my views : after which, it was his public duty to be silent. It is the very ** error of the moon" to suppose that I have improperly accu- sed the President, or, injured him as a private gentleman; and, it will be his fault if I have not the honor of shaking hands with him at York. My heart is as free towards him as year's. With regard to " others," I presume you allude to the sarcasm aimed at Doctor Strachan. With this man I will not shake hands. You know he was sent out from Scotland by my wife's uncle, some twenty years ago— glad to get into his friend's family, as preceptiu- to the children. By a concurrence of fortuitous events, certainly not from superior ability, he has got on horseback ; and, you know how some people ride, when so mounted. IIus he a single man t» countenance him, as the writer of a certain letter to Lord Selkirk ? — > lias he apologised to the public for that most unbecoming act, which in my opiuion, contributed not a little, to the Red river mas- sacre. Do you remember of my declaring, before I visited York, that I would have uo introduction to tliis little man? Does the Edi" tor of the Gazette lemember, that I wished to see a book at York which ^e had, but declined askiug it ? Does the same person reuiem- ^> ( r» ) ber that I refuted to let him theW the proof bhe!«t, of my first ad* dr«M, to Dr. Strachun, which I most cordially begged the Presi- dent to peruse t All this was before I heard of his. fault-finding with my publication. I wished to steer clear of him, but could not; and, when I last alluded to him, it was in disgust at his advertising, in the newspapers, that the auhacribcr, was to teach philosophy to gtiiht school house painted. What would be thought in London, if an Executive Councillor wus so to bemean himself ^ what would bt thought of the subscriber in one of our universities ? what am I not •ntitled to say of a man, who provokes, with vulgar trifling of this sort, while the duties, for which he is paid by Government, remain unperformed/ — while the petitions of my brother and self lay, for months on the Council table, and are denied a civil answer ? — when all this time I am detained 4000 miles apart from my family ? Dr. Strachan, most assuredly, is iair game before the public. Let him apologize to Lord Selkirk : let him never again intermeddle with the free commercial speculations of any individual : let him never again blow up strife among mankind : let him give up dabbling in politics, and trifling with philosophy : let him resign his seat in council, where no priest should ever have a place : let him, get into a peni- tentiary : let him stick to the altur, where his utmo&t zeal und a- bilily has scope, — and then we shall leave him to God, and bis cojv- aciencc. In the mean time how are we to make such a man feel his misconduct, but, by the lush of satire, — by exposiog htm to the world, — by assailing his unbousided vanity ? — — . I cx^pose nobody without good cause. I exposed your friend Gov- ernor Gore, because he stood the ostensible cause of incalculable mischief to the Province ; but, perhaps I should have told the pub- lic, that he had orders from home for what he did : so the Gov- ernor's secretary informed me. This makes little difference as to tlie conduct which should be pursued. It is propei- to arraign the Gov- ernor ; but, if he can shift the accusation from himself to the prime minister, let him be brought to contrition : let us go home and ar- raign him. Let every thing, and every man, be exposed for the sake of truth, justice and the law. You speak of the folks being " inclined to befriend" me. This argues a misconception which I must correct. My endeavours in the public cause are . ' procure friends, but, to unite men toge- -*hmi ;>r» ( r» ) iher in the bonds of patriotism. If they befriend me, no much the -better ; but, I despise t/tei friendship, who desert the rigorous course of public duty. If I hsd <■ •. t. ' to ;ain mere personal friends, and serve my private endfi \t'_ 'ti.T. rti;t should have teen my con- duct. I knew that buwi^ig hi ' brr.ping by the way, was incom- pauble, with the atti8e, after having known me intimately for years ; — after knowing; I ive drank to the dregs the bitter cup of this world's mibtry, ! nd sto. rt the utmost blast of i^v-^fortunc and persecution, to sustain my honor and my principles, — after knowing that for eight years I have contended with the se- .#- ( rr ) cond Peer or England and pat him, with his whole host of learned luw- yersaud perjured witnesses, to the route ; — after knowing all this and much mure, decibive of my strength of mind, can you really fur u moment suppose that I would care a single fig's end if all tha folks ut York, and you at the head of them, were to " be shy of" me, while I am conscious of doing my duty ? Away with the respec- tability of little York. You, there, pay 10 dollars for a scrap of my writing on Saturday — hear Doctor Strachan preach all Sunday , and, on Monday are ahji of me, because I have published a correspon- dence which, without further ado, will make all the people of Eng* land i/ij/ of the Executive Council. — I'll punish you for it. I'll actu- ally go to York in my old black coot, rent at the elbows, and sit down by the side of you at dinner, among the Honourable Couq- cillora. , , ^ Tell the Honorable William Dickson, that I accept his " wishes for my vvelfare" only on condition that he is not sky of me at York, but maintains throughout the same spirit which he uniformly sup- ported on this side of the Lake. Say that I do not think with him, that Legislative Councillors are appointed to guard the interests of the Ci-own ; if by that, he nieant the Crown only. The ancient Ba- rons i.vrsed up the K!) rtics of the people of Britain, often, in oppo- sition the Crown, and were the grand means of reducing regal au- thority to its present innocuous condition. They are bound in honor to do their I tmost, not to support part, but the whole of the constitu- tion ; mid, by doin^ so, they will always best sustain the Royal dig- nity*. Tell my I' arable friend, further, that I do not swallow down, so cordially as he loes, the rhapsody of Burke, about nobil- ity being " the cheap defonce of a nation." Tell the Honorable William Claus, that I have latel\' "eceivsd a written remonstrance, from some Indian Chiefs of the Grand River, against his conduct ; and shall do justice to it by publication in Eng- land, whether you " take me by the hand" or not. Ttll the Honorable John Strachan, tliat the ]\irfahcst epithet ap- plied to ilie Schoolmaster, who figures in this letter, was borrowed from the lips of an Honorable Lejjiilative Councillor, of Upper Ca- nada. !l 1 M ». .a..... 1 .i^. . . -*»,'»F*'J.^M k ( 78 ) Tell the llonornble Chief Justice Powell, tlmt I have raused tdht published, in the Niii{{iiru Spectator, iit your desire, an extract from Cuvillier's bpeech. The monopoly of placet of jlower and influence it indeed a most terious evil any where ; but, particularly tu in a I'rovinciul Government. The mere publiuhing of any man't opinion will do nothing towurdii removing such a grievance. Vou should protest agHinit it in the Legislative Council ; and, having done thit, as a duty, move for enquiry into the state of the Province, and, for a commitsion to go h«)iue to get this, and all other matters that art wrong, at 8|>eediiy put tu rights at possible. The Clijef Justice would be better than an Angel, were he volun- tarily to rclinquiBb any of the places he has won by bis superior ta- lents ; and, there is no power in the Province to compel him. At home they would see the propriety of raising his pay as a Judge be- yond the present pittance, which would not keep up the dignity of an F.ngliiih gentleman farmer : they would do this, and liberally compound with him for the relinquishment of his other places of dignity. Tell his Honor the Administrator, that 1 have just now bc6n en- quiring for poor Angelique Pilotte, confined io the Jail here, whose ignorance and the inadvertuncy of others, brought her to condemna- tion ; who e.xpcrienced the most cruel injustice ; and, whose inno- rcncy of appearance could not draw from tlie heart of her, too lat* appointed, Counsellor, a single syllable in appeal to the feelings of the jurymen who were to decide her fate. I'ell his Honor tliat I have received answers to letters despatched to England long after I wrote the petition to the Prince Regent, in behalf of this poor neg- lected wretch ; and, that I much suspect the delays of office have drlat/ed the Royal clemency. In telling this,, let Colonel Smith be guarded against thinking that I reproach his private character.— With such a guard you may also say, that by a letter just received from England, (which you, or he, may see if you please) I find that the delay ot answering my petition, which was tiie chief cause of my deptrting from my plan of going home in January, will injur* me more than ten times the value of the largest grant which the Council can bestow, to say nothing «)f an assurance, or merely a ci- vil refusal or explanation, with any of which I should have been perfectly satisfied. I am 10 lit nothing to CO f^ecn a letter vour of a friei he knew of 1 how he coiidi it to lay befo tHg for land. Having nc nothing of wl really wish t! Memb«rs of . at York it fa Administrate disgusting ac feited estates niablc proof ( shut the dooi Mumerout sul Now, my xrords to you not a little, second lettei grief as muc et's Ilurbor. what would ed me to blighted witi •d name, tlM to the ad vat) What hav In return foi only been tr have stood vept his we medium of a petition, i ■s ( ?• ) I am to little arqoainted with Memb«r« of Assembly, tlMit I hav< nothing to roniinuniratc liircrtly to tiny one of them. I have just f\ccn a letter from u Ilepresentutive of thin Dibtrict, asking tlic^A* tour of u frienJ of our's to give a certificate to the Bearer, of what he knew of his commanding the I'ruvincial Artillery Drivers, and how he conductiid himself until the time of liiit resignation, wishing it to lay before the Adminiittrator in Council, «« /le wa$ a^out appljf- ing for land. Having no wish to interfere as to the grant of hind, I shall say nothing of what our friend knew of the driving of the Artillery ; but, really wish that all applications for land were out of the minds of Membvs of Assembly till the public duty, for which they are now at York i» faithfully performed ; nnd, if possible, the unnwer to the Administrator's Speech amended, by u second answer, recalling the disgusting acquiescence us to the payment of claims out of the for- feited estates, which will otherwise go home to England, an unde- niable proof of the contentment of the people of the Province, and shut the door against ull further attempts to procure justice fur the uumeroui sufl'crers. Now, my Honorable friend, I shall conclude with a very few Y'ords to yourself. Your first letter of the 23d Feb'y. astonished nie not a little, and I alluded to it in last week's Spi:(;r.\TUK. Your second letter grieved me to the heart ; but, I have f ot over my grief as much as possible, by making a joke of my escape by Jack- et's Harbor. Suppose, however, I had really taken your advice ; what would have been the consequence ? Would it not have txhibit- ed me to the whole world as a miscreant, whose cunscit tuc \va:> blighted with crime ? Would it not have bartered away, for a bliiiit- •d name, the best hope of my life ? — that of being able to contribute to the advancement and security of human happiness. What have I yet experienced is return forniy hamble endeavours? In return for having ollered my services to this Province, I have no-t only been treated like a blackguard by the Executive Council ; but, have stood the pelting of every fool and syrophuul, who :liose t«) veot his weakness or his spleen against me, tliroii^h the cowardly medium of anonymous writings : — in reluiu for li.iviog sent to York a petition, iu my risjhl us a Briti'sh subject, iuj|iti!i to be allowed «* i ■9^^ '1 V >/- ( 80 ) to prove, what it was my duty ^o avc/, 1 am deserted, degraded, and insulted by my friend ! ! May the monstrous height of all this injustice be the cause of its own downfall ; and, may my friend be the first to triumph over his frailty, by an immediate, a zealous, and a persevering endeavour, to perform those sacred duties, which we have a right to expect, even from the nominal honor conferred upon him by our Sovereign the King. ROBERT GOURLAY. ! \- To, Thomas Dickson, Thomas Butler, James jMuinnBAD, Robert Kerr, Esquires, and the Rev. Robert Addison, Ma< gistrates of the Township of Niagara. Gentlemen, I am this day in humour to expose my friends-; and, here above 1 have pricked up, in a bunch, five of their nanits,^l<) public notice. — " In what have we offended f" say you, standing in amaze, " is the man mad?" — Perfectly reasonable, Gentlemen^ quite cool 1 assure you. ,, . In the Niagara Spectator, of the 13lh November last, yon re- commended attention to my Address to the Resident Land Owners of Upper Canada. I v»as grateful for your .attention to the public weal : I was willing to make over to one of you, in the name of all the M«»istrates of the Distnct, the charge of the Statistical Reports of the Province : I redoubled my eftbrts, in the public cause, hav- ing lightened myself of personal responsibility. Your recommend- ation was of essentia! service : it encouraged others, not only to re- commend, but to act. What became of youi own energy and zeal ? They have yet produced me nothing. I have, indeed, seen a Report of t'lc Township of Niagara, but it iiad neither liead nor tail; and, is now in York, a very proper hiding place for such a weakling — such a lusus naitira:. The value of the Report is little, compared to tbc ron?eqnence of your conduct towards me, and the cause, in which I liavc been sti- mulated to persevere, by the prompt assistance of many hundreds ± ■ ( 81 ) of t)«ople, and tli« most flattering teatimonk* s of their coafidenci in nay endeavours to promote the welfare of Canada. ■"-'»■'■•-' ^r'- At this moment I most heartily free you from blame as individb- als. I believe you have meant me no dishonor : I believe that in^ dolence or procrastination may be in fault ; but, let me ask -what might be said in England were I to ^o home, under present appear- ances, and without explanation i It is not only notorious, that, several of the leading men of this place have opposed my designs, (for what r«ason they know best) but the public prints, here, have been resorted to by anonymous li- bellers, to create low suspicions and misdirect popular feeling, io a degree, which, perhaps, no such occasion ever before called forth. Were I to go home without public explanation, it might be ask- ed of me, ** what was the reason that the Magistrates, who were the " iirst to espouse your cause, withdrew, or became slack in their *' endeavours i surely," it might be said, " there must have beeD " something very wrong on his part, who could not obtain, but by "forced or underhand means, a Peport of the very Township in " 'which were resident oio&t of his relations and fi-iends." Gentle- men, calmly consider this, and come forward, with explanation. — In the Township in which I am best known I challenge you to ac- cuse my conduct, either as a private or public character — either here, or, at home. ROBERT GOURLAY. The fbllowing extract from the Speech of Mr. Cuvillier, in tlie As- sembly of the Lower Province, is copied from the Montreal Iler- fild ; and, the doctrine '.vhich it maintains, should, we think, be treasured up by our readers among the maxims of political (Eco- nomy. Nothing certainly can be more subversive of the grand purposes of legislation, tha« permitting a plurality of places of prolit, trust, and dignity, uniler government, to centre ia the. same person. " lie had. Indeed, been told of many instances of oppression, but he thought the greater part of them irrelevant in the presant in* stance, and perhaps exaggerated— he had firmer grounds to go up- on — b» believed it would not b« (•«nieJ to him that the Judicial M i i I ' 4.*-l> icib-.>'£& ^..4. ■'^is^f. vf- •-«■«'. -waI V,'-. -!-"%.:.>> ^'T ;■ •■"?,' ( 8S ) ■ Powers, particularly those of conflicting Jurisdictions, ought to be disunited and vested in different hands — It was, he believed, the opinion of the most venerable Jurisconsults of the British Nation, that, upon this division of poxeer, depended the security of the Sub" ject, and the dignity and honor of the Crown. — (Mr. C. cited some authorities on the subject.) Not only was the administration of the justice of two conflicting Jurisdictions in the same hands, but the same gentleman to whom he alluded, had at the same time, a seat in the Executive Council, and as such was a Judge in the Court of Appeals, the highest jurisdiction in the Province. — Here then was a re-union of Judicial Offices, the most monstrous, the most danger- ous and the most unconstitutional, in the hands of a single individ- ual, that, of judging in tlie Vice-Admiralti/, in the King's Bench, and in Appeals. When members reflected, that in addition to these, the same individual sat as an Executive Councillor, and, as such, had a share in the direction of the public councils, he would ask, where was the security ci the life, the liberty or the property of the subject ? He believed there was not another Colony belonging to the Empire, in which there existed such an anomaly in the organization of Courts, as in this Province. Our Chief Justices were at once Legislators, Councillors and Judges : they united in themselves the Legislative, the Judiciary, and Executive powers. They were here legislating to-day, to-morrow in Council, and the next day in Court. This one was at one moment administering justice in the Vice-Ad- miralty, and the next he was judging in the King's Bench : that one was at once a judge and a Legislator ; and in fact, one would suppose, by tlier monopoly of places and inconumtjble offices, that these hon- orable personages had not enough to live upon with a thousand a year. If such were really the case, he, for one, would be proud i;i contributing to improve their revenues so as to render them perfect- ly comfortable and independent, as it was absolutely necessary that they should be so. If the Judges had not enough with a thousand a year, for God's sake give them liUeen hundred a year, or more, if necessary ; but let them do nothing but judge, and let them be Judges in one Court only : let us not compel them through indi- gence, to prostitute the dignity of their offices, by grasping every little pLice within their reach, which may in fact, be necessary to enable tbeau to subsist." ( 83 ) be the tion, Sub» lome the the seat rtof was To THE EdiTor of the Niagara Spectator. SIR, I believe the Inh^jbitants of Upper Canada, are not naturally ir- clincd to take part in political discussions, but the addresses of Mr. Gourlay, have lately awakened their attention, and elicited their sentiments upon an interesting subject. T have, as yet, refrained from publicly expressing what my ideas are with regard to this gen- tleman's proceedings, for I preferred being guided in my opinion of their propriety, by the consequences resulting from them, rather than by the impressions they gave birth to at the moment. Though hitherto a silent, I have all along been an attentive observer of INIr. G's measures. I belie^'e I urn unprejudiced, for I feel convinced, that the opposition he meets with originates partly from the effects which the wilful misrepresentations of his enemief have upon the pdblic mind, and partly from the ignorance which prevails concerning his object and motives. The present is an interesting crisis. It has displayed, "n a strong light, several traits of character existing a- ntong the people of Canada, which lay before concealed, because no circumstances tended to elicit them. Future reformers may now re- ceive a lesson, the remembrance of which will serve to guide them in the choice and application of their measures, and teach them that political opposition is oftener the result of individual pride and en- vy, than of a patriotic desire for national good — Mr. G's. first ad- . dress, from the novelty of its object, naturally excited much atten- tion, and man of liberal minds, in their desire for its accomplish- ment, forgot that it was not very conciliatory. The principal de- fect and most offensive thing in Mr. G's. address, was t. tone of superiority which characterized it. He too often told th*. people of Canada, that they were excelled by those of Britain. This was par- ticularly injudicious, for a kind of false pride prevails ijn? ng the in- habitants of this coui.try, and makes them impatient of censure, and inclines them to believe that he who mentions their deficiency, in- sults their dignity. His address tended rather to provoke than con- ciliate the minds of the people. He did not attempt to seduce and flatter them into an acquiescence in his measures, but rather endea- voured to force it b} an allusion to their present deficiencies, and the causes which had retarded the improvement of the Proviiicf . All this, however, ought to have been forgotten, when the importance of his object was considersd, and his capability of accomplishing it ( 84 ) duly estimated. — Notwithstanding the opposition Mr. G. met with, his success was very flattering. Reports poured in from all quar- ters, and it was ibe general opinion, that he had fully succeeded in his plans, when his second address again roused the public attention. Its object was to show that all his exertions would be in vain, nor less ati alteration, and improvement in the political maiiagemeot of the country, immediately took place. — Whether or not the inform- ation Mr^ G. received in the course of his travels, and collected from ^e reports, rendered such a declaration eligible and necessary, can f>e judged of by himself only, as the sources of his knowledge have not been laid before the public. I do not pretend to give any opio- ion about the matter, for I feel myself quite unqualified to do so.— I mean to make my remarks upon the consequences of his measures — ipt upon their propriety. The eflect which a political discussion "would have upon the people of Canada, was not known until after the publication of Mr. G's. address, for the inhabitants of this coun- try, partly f>om inclination, and partly from other circumstances. Lave hitherto inteifered little in the affairs of goyernment. The members of Parliament, after they are elected, never attempt to ascert'^in the opinion of their constituents upon any subject brought under discussion. And they have a good reason for this. The ma- jority of voters are not qualified to judge of the propriety of any pro- posed measure, aod thus tbcy naturally lose all interest in, what they have no influence over. In a newly peopled, and thinly inha- bited country, the form and purity ot' government are comparatively of little importance, for society is then in such a«tate of simplicity, and disconnection, that it is seldom necessary to enforce much sub- ordination among its members. -A man is seldom much interested in the political aiffairs of his coutUry, until they begin to affect him individually, and tl)is does not happen, unless the population is large, and society is organized, and divided into classes. The great object of administration, is to preserve tlije relations which ought to sub- sist between the different orders of society, and to prevent classes, or single individuals, from making encroachments upon the rights, or property of each other. It is net difli':ult to discover why the Canadians are so indifferent about the political state of their country. They enjoy so much independence, and suffer so few national griev- ances and taxations, that they naturally think their condition can- not be better, and therefore fct* no inclination to interfere with their ■■^^m^immm^. ( 85 ) governors, as long as the latter do not interfere with tliem. But if their properties were hurdeitecl, and their liberties abridged by th* Legislature, they would not long remain in their present contented state, nor be so indifferent about the measures pursued by their gov> ernment. It must be evident, that in a ne^Yly sett^# country, th« liappiness of the people is not a certain proof of the purity and ex- cellence of the administration, for the inhabitants, as I have alrea* dy mentioned, are not much exposed to its eif(>f ts. therefore the principal argument which has been used againsty|fr. G's proceedings is of no weight whatever. His opponents tell ^{\\!b, that the inhab- itants of Canada, are in a state of perfect contentment and happiness. This, as far as I' am able to judge, is truly the case, but it is the natural consequence of the blessings and advantages which this coun- try so profusely bestows on those who settle in it. There is no other cause which has contributed to deter the people of Canada, from en- gaging in politics. This country haa drawn its population from bo many different nations, that disaffection to the government is more liicely to occur in individuals, than if tliey were natural born sub- jects. Nothing provokes or insults a man who is not a natural born subject more, than being suspected of disaffection. The possibility of disaffection is so great, that the slightest murmer against govern- ment would almost be considered as a breach of allegiance. Those who are not natural bom subjects, therefore, feel unwilling to ex- fvreis their disapprobation of any measures pursued by government, lest they should be rcg;irded as incendiaries, and promoters of rebel- lion. They have not had sufficient experience in politics to know, that a man may be firmly, and ardently attached to that goveru- meot which he accuses of defects and inconsistencies. These causes have not a little contributed to repress political en- quiry, and it is not surprising that the people of Canada should he startled by Mr. G's. second address. But they have not received it with the liberality they ought to have shown. They seem more oi- fcnded with his presum|)tion, than interested in ascertaining tlie correctness of the charges which he lays against their government. Whatever they may say, I am convinced that all this originates from fdUe pride. They are unwilling to acknowledge that lie has discov- pred abuses, of the existence of wliich they were not previously a- ware. As an objection to the truth of what Mr. G. states in his ud- ./I i ( 86 ) ■ . ilreM, I hear many people urge the following query — *' why wa» not all this found out before i" Put this is no argunaent whatever against the thing, and is the precise exclamation often uttered by foolish and ignorant people after a discovery of any kind has been made. Tb«^.H?ly, " it is astonishiiig, that this was not found out before.'' Dot the people of Canada may feel satisfied that their be- ing behind-i)^nd with Mr. G. in political knowledge, neither shows a want of al^ity, or discernment, hut proceeds entirely from the peculiar cofidition S' society, which, as I have already remarked, yields no e\citem(>f.. to political enquiries. Eviery impartial obscr>'er must acknowledge that Mr. G. has been too precipitate in his measures. He appears to possess more genius ti.an judgment. Me has too much enthusiasm for a reform*^r. The •ndvantage or bad tendency of any line of conduct, darts into his mind ■o rapidly, that while he is pursuing it, other people arc hesitating a^;•vt its propriety ; and, his mode of proceeding shows, that he has less knowledge of the character of the people of Canada, than might have been expected, 'iliough the inhabitants of this country have some reason to be irritated at Mr. G. they ought to treat him with more liberality. Me has been called an incendiary, accused of laxity of political principle, and some have hinted, that his proceed- ings are dictated by disappointed ambition. As far as I can judge, none of these charges are correct. 1 am convinced that his views arc liberal and extensive ; but he has been hurried on by natural precipitation, to pursue a line of conduct ihjudiciously bold. Me has leaped when he should have walked, but let his opponents re. member, that there are scarcely any limits to political discussion in Great Britain. Those individuals who wish to repress Mr. G's. measures, give them additional consequence by violently opposing tiiem. Me would have been much less formidable and important, had he been less regarded. I confesss I am rather surprised at tha tumult he has excited. In Britain he might publish an address si- milar to his last, onre a week, i'vv several months together, and per- haps not rere ive a single reply to it. The people there are so ac- customed to hoar their government abu?ed, that they pay no atten- tion to wliat a single individual 'lays. There woul.' not be such a thing as politirs, if there was no opposition. When the celebrated Dr. Ji)hMson wrote ii-.unphiets,he always wished that they might bti .:§M£.:^i. ^ >a ( 8? ) answered, for, observes he, " the bail has no effect unless it re- bounds." I was not an enemy to the publication of Mr. G's. second Addresa, (notwithstanding my opinion that the style was too bold, and the sentiments rather exceptionable) for I thought it could not be offensive to governinent, unless tlie statements it contained were true. It is not a principle of the Itritish government to repress po- litical discussion. It is a knowledge of public affairs, and a hberul enquiry into them, that gives a people confidence in their rulers, and makes them cautiously, and hesitatingly believe any aspersions thrown out against their administration. It is not my intention to write a defence of Mr. G. but I cannot avoid remarking, that some of his opponents have raised very ill- founded objections to his capability of accomplishing what he had undertaken. They say that his knowledge of the country can- not be extensive frnm his short residence in it. Eut I am convin- ced that his opportunities of obtaining information have perhaps ex- ceeded those of any person now in the Province. If he has made a bad and (|at>gerous use of that knowledge, no one can lament it more than I do. Mr. G. is called a strani;er aiiJ a wanderer, and it is asked why he intermeddles with the ailairs of a foreign country. But Upper Canada is a part of the British empire. It enjoys the same government and privileges as its parent nation. It is in a great de- gree peopled by British subjects, and their descendants. It uses the same language, e.xhibits ihe same manners, and is defended by the same blood and treasure. Surely then a British subject cannot with propriety be styled a foreigner by the inhabitants of this coun- try. I am a native of Hritain — yet I feel nearly as much interest i» Canada and its luhaitanls as I d«» for my parent land. I am not so national as to exclude from my sympathies every part of the world but that in which I was born ; and were I a political character, I Bhould think myself, if not equally qualified, at least as much enti- tled, to^ive my opinion upon the administration of Canada, as upon that of Britain— every feeling of nationality shvuld be banibhed when pohlical subjects are under discussion, for it alone gives rise to many of the petty cavils, and malicious insinuations, which the conten- ding parties often throw out against each other. I do not allude in particular to the disputes concerning Mr. G. with which the news- papers hav8 lately been filled ; tliou;;!i I njust acknowledge that th« /f I. '^ ( 88 ) eontrovcnylias new (alien to a level, not very creditable to eitbw |>arty — It is, to ose Mr. G's words, " dull, dirty and disgusting ;" ■and instead of producing national good, tendtt powerfully to excite in. dividual animosity. I do not feel attached to either side of the question— I- am happy to say, that I am too ignorant to form on o- pinionupon the correctnesa of the charges Mr. G. brings kgainst the administration. I have made no enquiries concerning Ihe gov- ernment since I came to Canada, and luerefore know nothing of tb« abuses which are said to exist in it. — I detest politics, and the more influence I had over thqm, I should feel the less inclined to use it : i would exclaim in the words of Hamlet, ,^ .. ^ The times are out of joint, Oh cursed spitei That I was ever bom to set them right. I am of opinion that, even although there are no I'.buses to reciily. Mr, Gourlay's publications will be of service. They will tend to «xc!te a spirit of enquiry which may be useful in future times ; and I fervently hope, that the next reformer who appears, in (bis coun- try, may in addition to Mr. G's talents and capacity, possess judg- ment und discretion, to guide him in his mode of proceeding ; and that the higher classes of the Inhabitants of Canada, may combine more toleration and liberality, with that character ol bene volencr, probity, and domestic virtue which renders their country, and them- selves, so deservedly pleasing to strangers and travellers. , .- ,. I am Sir, : . ■ your obedient servt. ' • THE TUAVELLER. ..,*■• " . #rc* 19, isi8., ,.,„., ,.,;.„•,„ ** To THE Editor OF the Niagara Spectatoji. ^^ , Jj, , _ ,^ _ t Niagara, l6'».v March, 1818. A .-t.— *lii!ii ^JiM.i^^VJ, 'Snt,' It has been a rule, hitherto invariably followed by me, never to regard the writings of those who deny us their names. I shall now make exception in favour of your correspondent, the Tiavtllcr. TIj« ■««!...ii^!>;'*j|» >■. ■Mi, ( 89 ) . ■incerity which characterises his writing is luapifest ; and, wberfi in the main, there is sincerity, we are willing to let timidity plead for a feigned signature. The Traveller •-^eans to do good, and, with- out a breath of malevolence, labours ir tie caupe of truth. If his labour is in aught deficient, we blame not the man : we try to find for him an appology : we assume the words of the Poe^t, and say, ** Who does the best his circumstance allows / '• Does well" The Traveller's production has sufficient store of the aquaoiterinmo' do, but is wufuUy destitute of the /orfi/er in re : it " darkenetb coun- " sel by words without knowledge ;" or to descend to the figurative language of a seamstress, " it is a knotless thread." To the Traveller I -eturn my sincere thanks for his well meant support. When besei y mean dirty fellows, and assuiled from all sides with filth, it wins no slight regard, — it begets no paltry debt of gratitude to be accosted and protected, by one possessing the man- ners and liberal spirit of a gentleman. I could even wisli the Cana- dian public, for their own sakes, to contrast his style of writing with that of my opponents, — the correct diction of a scholar with language untutored and gross, — the gentle flow of a mild temper with the turbed streams of abuse,— the sentiments of a liberal mind with the base insinuations and low suspicions of blaguardism. From such exercises, taste may begin to gain its distinguishing faculty : bye and bye it may assume authority, — give laws to the m ':.ners of the age ; and lay open the purer sorrces of mental enjoym'' i. As I have attentively perused the aiiicti'res of the Traveller, and taken all in good part, he will in return, listen seriously to mine. — In my throws he will recognise the privilege of a critic, end in my warmth, the zeal of one dvfending a favourite cause. He will en- ter with me into abstraction, and exclaim, " it is the c& ise, it is " the cause, my soul !" — Here's at yoa then, my dear fcllr>w Trav- eller, body and soul of yuu together. The Traveller says that I have " leaped when I should only have " walked": nonsense ! A Traveller! and tliiuk to get throi h tbis heavy umbered country without leaping ! an absolute impossibility! I have had to leap every yard in some places, and then run or gal- lop with utmost speed fo gain sufft quarters before night fall. This' N 'mm^mmm ^w»Wi ■WHP! t!. I I ( so ) it Almost as good a joke a >f i'ilLnd ClaiL's iolemn «oun9«1 to g» bj way or Sockcls Harbor. _^ Too much unihu.siasm for a Rerirmcr ! Tlii* is annther tirhint;j«y of our Traveller. What RrforiiMfr ev«?r succeeded wiihoot entliusi- •snt ? It is the very Mutr qaa nun oi the pnifension. Witliout a dusli of it I might indeed vali ; yen, walk otf tlie course in uH tlie dejec- tion of hopelt:8MWS&, hy way of Sarkets llurbiir. It wiia devoted* ncss to the cause, io other words enthusiasm, which animated St. Paul. Enthusiaaoi is the pure and ardent sjNril of goodness— the opposite of selfishness : it is. to ose the langM^^^e of Ahe evaugelical, the spirit of the Lord, (t wab this spirit which bivathed jn Knox, and completed to as, inScotliind, the wi)rk of refurinatioo : it was thia spirit, which maintained ibc rause of P^^nn, and won to the society of Friends, the privaleges they now enjov,—the privilege of living at peace in the midst of war — the privilej^e of *' swearing not at all." To the aiHucnce of this spirit we owe whatever is dear to peace and liberty, — whatever has been wrested from Itie grasp of arbitrary power — from the wide spreading dominion of hu.'uan iniquity. My friend, the Trr,%-flTer, thinks that " every impartiul observer" must acknowledge d»ui I have " been to "sures," and, P'^ v ''*' credit for " \,piiiu.s" he would deny me "judgment." I'li n\^t pnt «p with it. Strength of judgment I claim as my better part, unJ the Traveller niiiy pick up what genius is to spare betwixt us, for amufjemcnt to himself as he tcalii along. I'll hold fast by my judgment and enthusitism : the one as my helm, th« other as my sail ; and, I'll lejp for health, for the cause, if neces- sary, and for joy when it is triumphant. It was very precipifate in me to be sure to plan ont the Statistical acctiunt of Upper Ciinuda, when 1 had six weeks leisure, sailing a- cross the Atlantic — very precipitate, to make all lie enquiry IciHild, ftr three months befctre I ventured to disci' .e my scheme, ev'en to my' friends — very prnipitutv, t) walk tor weeks over Jjie (Jencsee country leaping no where uulrss when uiiavoid.vlily obliged, m order to muj^e up my mind upon some points connected with my scheme — very, precipitate to cross over the Lake and stop a fortnight to please the people of York, as much as propriety vK>ahl admit, before publish- ing lay proposals, — very pircipitati to travel a thousand miles dur~ \' ■. - iT^ —^ ■ ■ '■; "Br. ■ - •* " ^- -■« ' ■• ( 91 ) ing the worst mbboo of the yenr afler my object, — very preeipHtite t» corresptind patiently for three months with the rxecutrve Council, •bout a nutter which might have been imswerod in three dayl,— > Tery prrcipilatc to send to York, a {letition for presentation to ParliA- raent, prtiyiiig to Lc uHowed to give evidence of facts wbicb nay dnty obliged in«* to aver, — \ttj precipitate to sit c^mly here, replying to the Triiveltcr, whib* I Mtn refused a In'oring as to these ma 'ers, and wbtle the Traveller himself is "convinced my opp'oi toai f ob- ** tainiiiu; inft)rmatian have p*rbaps exceeded those of 4ny per # •* in the Province." O, my dear fellow Traveller ! on' 'And out of the roof shot a li^Je stove chimney of brick. — A person standing near informed me that it was a Church, «nd one Of the Church of JCngknd. I forthwith enquired who was the Cler- gyman : there was none, specially appointed for this place of wor- ship ; but Doctor Strachan, did duty in it odce a month. What ! said I, has this building been erected fo. bO little benefit to the coun- try ! are there no Presbyterians, Methodists, nor Baptists who could occupy it the three vacant Sundays of the.rooAth? "The Doctor, ** Sir," replied my informant, "ovill let nobody preach here but •'himself." ^ *.- (^ A-Ai.e.A This spirit Of intolerance, tlic very opposite of that charity which the scriptures to powerfully inculcate, is that assuredly which lock- ed me o'ut from the Reverend Doctor's good graces ever since I pub- lished my first address at York, without sbowiug him the proof- sheet, or asking his aij^. He Uad, I am told, some scheme of pub- lishing an account of Upper Canada himself. My tor thus galled his kibe. I had unluckily stood up to preack »n his churchy and, quickened the spirit of intolerance, which, when once alive, will kick sans intermission or end. It is much more inveterate and per- secuting than false pride ; but, thank God, all the Clergy Reserves of Canada will not be able to cherish it long on this side of the At- lantic. My information that the little Rector of littlA York, would let no- body preach but himself, has often recalled to my mind a striking contrast of sentiment in one of the greatest characters that ever graced the church of England. One day that I had the honor to dine at the table of the late Bishop of LlandafT, in a large company, I had the satisfaction to hear that Celebrated Bishop declare, that " he was at all times willing to receive to his bosom, any man, of " whatever sect, wH"- woi^Id acknowledge Christ and a future statt "ofrewards an^ punishments." *n^ :" ^^'r v;^€>: My fellow Traveller has allowed the stuff which has appeared ;r! the public prints too much to influence his notions of the character of the people of Canada atld their coiiduct towards me. He has not i< :. U fjiiH.-.-' ( »» )- wiflRcMntly weighed cirrumstances which affect these appearancee. AU over America, neyrspapera can be afforded at half the expeiue which attends them in Britain. The cheapneH of printing, together with a less refined public taste, gives vent and encouragement to what never would appear in England. The American character, in general, has been lowered in the eyes of Europeans, much below its 4nie level, from too great importance being attached to newspaper evidence; and what is more unfortunate^ it really is injured, not a little, hj constant exponure to the rank productions of a too exuber- ant press. Let any one enquire of an English newspaper Editor as to the rubbish which is sent him for publication and he will confeps that floods of the most nauseous kinds are pour d in upon him. Idle» malicious and vile characters are not wanting in England, but, there printing must he paid for by those who insist upon making appear- ance in the public eye, and the printer must be well paid indeed be- fore he risks the good will of his customers by giving place in his paper to any thing disgraceful. ■ f .. -.1' It is a fact, Mr. Editor, that my intention was to have had my first address printed in your newspaper before I went with it to York, but I was disgusted with your having inserted in the Spectar «,toravery improper article, I mean that on the cause of Randal and Phelps. Your publishing such trash as that signed J li. upon my business, was aluo, ih my opinion, discreditable ; and were such abomination as we have seen in Mr. Heron's Gleaner, to ap- pear in an English newspaper, the Eoitor could not, upon his receipts from the public, afford ink sufficient to supply his press : the pub- lic would desert him to a man; and, he would be soon taught that « the better part of wisdom is discretion." Such attacks upon me I regret because they are discreditable to the country, not from any injury I sustain from them ; foi Dr. Johnson's notion quoted by the Traveller as to rebounds being servi- ceable, is very true» The Traveller, tho' he has, so far, aptly ap- plied this quotation, is however very much mistaken in thinking that such an address as my second one to the Resident Land Own- ers of Upper Canada might be published, once a week in England for months without causing " a single reply." I have probably more experience in these matters than my friend, i have on various occasioiMi published addresses in England >t:i P-' ^ • V^' ■..( '■> ■^■'*'*-^ • ■n Sfc^A:-:, ,^*7' Ji'^JR ■i^^^T/' ■i*" f , -.A'ik'v, ."^V .-^:- c »* ) ■^ which have caased reboands. I have been bitterly assailed mil %— Tioas orcuuons throogh the mediant of Newdpapen^ Pampiikts^ and Reviews ; but, I never wrote on a subject so pressingly itu> pnrtant to the pablir as that of my second address to the Ucsidenk Land Owners of Upper Canada. Tho Traveller, good natoredly, tells ns, that be does *' not pretend to give any opinion about tha ** matter," as be feels himself " unqoalihed to do so :" that he doe» '^ not feel attached to either side of tbe question»^ and again is " happy to say" that he is " too ignorant to form any opinion :" yet notwithstanding all tiiis bnshfulness he expresses opinions as if 'he was qnite decided «pon some points which reqiiire much ex peri* ence and penetration, and upon others of high importance, wlier* he is completely wrong. ' • ■--. ;? i-;,-^-": }\i •-■' V' »<« ,u:,^n;;;. Did tfircnmstances exist in England of half the importance to the public as those which culled fortli my second address, we should soon hear of rebounds. The people of England would not allow the grand conrtitutional lawb of the country to be wantonly set aside : tjiey would not silently permit the right* of property to be trifled with, its value sunk, and its security lessened : they would not pass over such a speech from tbe throne as that lately delivered from the throne of Canada without censure : they would soon stigmatise the conduct of their Representatives,' were they to provoke suffering claimants with adulations in reply to such a speech. But it is im- possible for things to come to such a pass in England :- ' ^ people there may be oppressed by rogues ; but they never wll! re to be insulted by fools. The Traveller, in order that he ma} combat tbe ^* false pride'' of the people of Canada, has most unaccountably taken it for granted that this, their ruling passion, was offended with my first address. " It tended," he says, " ratlier to provoke than to conciliate the "minds of the people ;"and he thinks " men of liberal miadi forgot " that it was not very conciliatory." These notions must certainly proceed from a bee of my good friend's brain. I stopt several days at York, after this address was published there, and reckon them a- mong the happy days of my life, for every person who conversed v.ith me on the subject seemed pleased with my performance. Two months ago I publicly named the Administrator and Chief Justice as being at the ^hcad of these. I sliull now give a few more names. f 'f" "#» ',.%•' m -\ yi-~-, f ( OB ) ^ Mr. Grant Pow«U, Mr. (now, Judge) Boul ton and three sons, tlw , &Ie««rs. Jarvises, Col. (^meron, Col. Wells, Captain FitxGiU- iwas, with many others. Immediately after this addreu was in circulation, I set off oi^a journey to the west. The kind reception I met with from the people induced me to remain out double the time, «ud travel duut)le the distance I had first proposed. I wai en* tertained itiost lu»pita}>ly by many individuals to whom this address wus my sole introduction ; and many tavern keepers would accept from roe no pay. Not a single com))laint of the address did I hear from the mouth of a single Canadian during mj journey of a thoi>- sand miles, nor had I the slightest idea of open wa]r against the cause till I read the idle nonsense which appeared in the Niagara Specta- tor. This had no serious efiect : the people laughed at it ; and wtHild laugh again, I believe, were it set forth as any iDdtcation of their national character — any proof of theiryh/«f/>rufe. The notion that my iirst address " tended rather to provoke than to conciliate ** the minds of the people," is a prime sample of the ingenuity which a sentimental man can display. It puts us in mind of the fortifica- tion planned and executed by my Uncle Toby aiid Trim in order, that, during its assault, a systematic muvemcnl mjgbt be made iii the covert ways of the widow Wadmun. Is it not possible that my worthy friend the Traveller m-^y at this very moment be be-labour- ing the " false pride" of the people in order to soften the heart of some Canadian f^r one ? , My first address, will, I am sure, stand the test of time, as a m«>8t unoffending production. J\ny hltle murmurs, save that from the Rector of York, which prevailed before tie date cf my second address, must entirely be ascribed to the declaration »)f my opinion as to the refo against the admission into Upper Canatia of people, from the United States : but that expression of ihy opinion stir- red up no serious enmity. It was after this was universally known, that all the meetings were held, and Townshij) repoits drawn up. The flame blazed nut, or.ly, upon my callii.^; for, en^uir^ iulo the, ^ateofthc Province. This call penetrated deeper lliaa t!ie seat of false pride : it reaches to the couscionce,— it alarmed all who had lately been partaker? of spoil, or, hud yet views of ag^rap-discuienl from the reigning systeai of patronage ami favuurilism. Tl-.e Tra- veller expresses surprise at " the turmill excited," uud it wuiild i ,*■■ . * y . / ■ .risLipai v:"-j4**i* * *' rf ^;.jA' ;^^^ i! f { M ) ^ bave been surprising if each tumult bad arisen merely from tbe ir- ritation of false pride. My amiable friend was not aware of tbe corruption of tbe system, and of tlie true causes whicb made " the " bigber classes of tbe Inbabitants of Canada" destitute of " tolera- '* tion and liberality." Tbe system of patronage and favouritism has of course been most beneficial to tbe higher classes ; and, had my friend gone to York, gifted with a sense of seeing into the breasts ofinen, he would bave perceived that tbe tumult increased, as be drew near to the fire whicb is consuming not only the property, but the morals and spirit of the Province. , ■ ■ •'■& ■ ^ , .The Traveller seems to tbinii that the tumult has been too mucb for us ; and, almost doubting that there are " abases to rectify»' "fervently hopes that the nex^ reformer may, in addition tb my ** talents and capacity, possess judgment and discretion." My heart does not so easily fail me. The tumult excited stiffens e'very nerve and redoubles tbe proofs of necessity for action. If the higher classes are against me, I shall recruit among my brother farmers, seven in eight of whom will support the cause of truth. If one year does not make little York surrender to us, then we'll batter it for two ; and should it still hold out, we have ammunition for a much longer siege. We shall raise tbe wind against it from Amberstburgh and Quebec—from Edinburgh, Dublin and London. It must be level- led to tbe very earth, and even its name forgotten in Toronto. ' In speaking of my second address, the Traveller declines giving an opinion, because he is '' quite unqualified to do so :" Now it would have cost him niuch less pains to have done this than what be has bestowed on his writing.'' The reasoning of my address is as clear as it is incontrovertible, and all I want is to be examined ^t the bar of Parliament regarding the assertions advanced. What Un- derstanding should be puzzled with this ) My friend deceives him- self : he blinks the grand question and blinds himself with confused shadows : he is cumbered about many things and loses sight of tbe one thing needful,— his duty to assist me — his duty to petition fur enquiry when I bave made serious charges against tbe administra- tion, and -when he is " convinced that my opportunities of obtaining " information have perhaps exceeded those of any other person now " in the Province." Why should he or any one question for a mo- ment whether my '* declaration is eligible or necessary V I am K * 'M.' .».■«< ready to ^ piit to the proor, and when that i| over it will be tinnc td talk of ** consequences." Till then all speculative reasoning cia " the effects of political discussioii" ^ith which I am connected, are injurious to my caubc, which is that of the country at large. Even my friend's remarks of themselves tend to no good. They are made upon vague aiid even erroneous suppositions. Political discussions, have! frequently before now, engaged the attention of the people of Canada, and the people have manifested very consid- erable susceptibility. So far from being regardless uf the conduct of their Representatives, I knew a case this very winter, where the people r.jre to meet expressly for the purpose of instructing their Representative as to the conduct he was to pursue in Assembly ; and I have somt hope, that hefdtt another session, there may be 'sutih meetingi in all parts of the Province. The majority of voters here are as well qualified as the majority of voters in England to judge of the propriety of any proposed meusure. ■ They may not have so much general knowledge, but they are aliyrce voten, which 9ine tenths at home are not; and the moment they come to hold meetings and lay down principles of action for their Representaiives in Assembly, .their/influence over public measures will quickly and powerfully be developed. The people of Canada are thinly scatter- ed and the spread of intelligence over the country is slow ; but all tiliis will be changing fur the better, and when th6y become sensi- ble, that, by riding twenty or thirty miles and communing with each' other fur a few hours, they may be able to controul the damning in- fluences at York, they will grudge neither their time nor trouble. The Traveller says, that " a man is seldom much intei-ested in the '* political affairs uf his country till they begin to affect him indivi- " dually, and this does not hap|i^n unless the population is large, aiid "society is organized and divided into classes." This is not very fluttering to our species, m.iking us appear selfish in the extreme. Happily it is not so true as it is plausible. Look across to the United Stales. The people there " enjuy much independence and suffer few " national grievances and taxations," yet we find them all ulive to questions of public interest, and wc see the excellent effects resulting from this patriotic spirit, — we see every tbing pn»spering in their hands. The Traveller talks of the " simplicity and disconnection" of 6«)cic(:y as rendering the purity of government orcomparutivcl/ i f i WrtT i i ■e individuals by the advancement of national improvements. All property whic'li receives benefit contributes ^ proportionate, share of taxation. In Canada there is a laroentaliht odds. While tnwAfo taxation is light* the Resident Land Owners are toiling to encrease the'value of otlMir men's property, and the more thef toil the heavier becomes the load of oppression <— more Itopeless becomes the chance of throwing it oA'. Suppose the present system was to endure till every acre was clear- ed wd occupied. The reserves and aheeotee la^ds wodld then be of hfigh' value and readily yield rents. The rents .would sustain a host 4f idle people, placemen and intolerant priests. ' I'hfe mere waste «f the money would comparatively be a slight grievance' to tht! people whose industry produced it: the evil influences, both moral tmd po- liticalt generated by such a system,^ are far more to be dread^d.-^ They wobld introduce into the country domineering wealth, and cringing poverty, proud looks and bowing sycophancy, tyrants and islaves. ' •Happily the causes whitfh no^ disconnect society in Caniida can- not possibly realize socb consequences. Wuiit of public spirit in the people, and want of energy or narrow views in the Government, may put off, year after year, the necessary changes in the constitu- tion and administration of afiuirs. The reserves may be resoted to give trouble, to breed grumbling and grudging : they may be resened. to give away from tjnie to time, aa/avovrs tp such people ns Mujur Lt'Oii rd, and bis able friend ; but they will not for a century to come, yitil.i '8 to realize the views for which they were most unthiuk- >og\y < gned. Within a much shorter period, the people of Cana- da will see that the present bystcia is incompatible with pro8i>erity and they will change the system ; or, Canada, weighed down with, its imbecility and lumber, will fall beneath tlic duminian of the U- iiit«d Statetj, and tl^e present *' discuuiiecliou" in society, will di*- appear for ever. ..-*'' :.«,'- ' » M»-,» ^'^. liA'--:. (09 ) Now, If f^ take to tMk the Traveller't other word " Maiftlicity." "In a nenrly pwipled and thinly inhabiteri roantry," lays he, ** th« " form and purity uf Guvernment nre comparatively of little import- " anee, for society is then in such a state of «Mfp(ict(jf and discon- *' nection^ that it is seldom necessary to enforce much sotiordinatioji ," among its members.'* Our friend, here views government as d scourge, and seems to intimate, that simple people need little whip- ping. He has also discovered^ that Canadians " feel no inclination ** to interfere with their 43ovemurs, so long as the latter do not in- " terfere with them." This is all very simple to b^ sore. Govern- or Gore did not interfere with the simple Canadians ! so the simpl*: Canadians whipped theninelves and gave him 413000. The Cana- dians were told to give in statements of theis losses by war, to their Governors: a soteosn investigation took place : diicuments were au- thenticated ; and^ tiM claims, thus proved to«be jUirt/'were sent tut England. The Minis.ters desired the Governors in Cjftfiadat to tell (be Representatives of the Canadians, that the claimants should havo the forfeited lUtatcs, to make good their losses. The Governors knew that these Estates would pay little or nothing, bat communi- cated the message as tiie ^raciuua message bf the Sovereign to the Representatives of the people. The Uepreeenttitives also knew that the Estates would come to little or nothing, but humbly bowed and thanked tiM Governors iu the name of the- people^ fliir the mtost gra- cious message. Ctirtaihly all this is the very essence of stmpli^ty : but, whether la the end, if will tend to 'A subordination'' is- rather questionable.. Ui the nxean jtime, however, it cannot be doubted' thht the simple CaoadiHRS **6m\ no inclination to interfere," %nd the Tra- veller tells tts, " they Isave good reason for this,"; fi>r, says be, >' tl **■ majority are not qualified t« judge.'. The Traveller then again thinks ''.it is oQt difficult U> discover why the Ganadianaare sb iudif- *' ferent," because, says he, *' they enjoy so mooh independeiK'ef «t)d ,„" naturally think their condition cannot be better.^' >'^ ' i <^ <,'"V What pure simpricity is that of Upper Canadti i TJ^e Gpyec^prA lave not to enforce subordination : the people whip themselves — have a good reason fof this,, and cahnot be, better. Simplicity turns out a bet- ter fellow than Disconnection: he improves '\Vtth drilling ; and, it is well tiiat we took him last in hand, as he leaves us in good humour. The simplicity and discopaection of ;he Traveller's aphorisms and *»i \A 'jti. "■'l iiiM ■.'*ii4l \^ li" mi ■r ' ( too ) ft ■ , roafoniag u« truly marvellout. They would afford eiuikM srope for amuKDMnt ; bat tht reader niiut take bit own time fur making ftir* thai; diecoveriei* I. -J Itovmirip itie rlbse, tlie Traveller beroniei more and more ■imple, and his nervous system is evidently aflerted. He has made " no '" enquiries conrrrning the' Government since be came to Canada," for be " detests politirs." He not intly declares bis nnjliputhy to a subjiift, upon which be has just' before been very travety lecturing, but takes a prospective view of what woqid happen, were be so un- fortiinatti as to have thfluences over piftHica. In this case be would rant in the words of poor ci-aiiy liunileV. jftow'mucb better fur a rational beiilg to vary a few of tlicse words, iihd exclaim* ((«'«''''<'' oiiTbetiraes are out of joint : Oi-cursV be J.- . . .4, ^.^^ ^,,lf, . j?#r •/^9it-i»^»i»f'B**i»nit>*!Km«'r ^ ^t«3«! ;> ■. 04* fMi« l»i4A'«ui •vNrtK .i itui .;(Ut iJ'fl(fTBi.-*i«H •!art of the controversy has " not been very creditable" to >. pne,. ior in what! particular I have been '* dull^ dirty and disgusting.'^ If kt.fan be, proved, 1 should dso be glad to onderstaod, wherein my iVjadgment' and discretion" have been deficient, i wish my friend iiito.atand.on no ceremony so far as wit ami sarcasm can go, were it only to prove to the tender ennsciencea of the '^higher classes" of Canada, how much we native Britons will bear for the public good : <#to toi^ ud sbalt -l^- t t ( iOi ) t March SO, 1818; 'i ' "JWITJ ?."<'» Sit, To RoaiKt dovkLAT, £•«. -i^ y Waterloo', MarcilJi 1818. •1 . rt I, r 1 In re«ding#a./^«"CAi^.v. oj.. ...Sir,, your ob't. hble. serv't. [,.., ,.•.,-,, }c^y4^.4iH^4m '-'- ••■ JOHN AITLECARTII. : To UU Kttyal Wghitfi^ tleot^t, twice IXe^tnt of i^Viuitd KSig- , livm of Great Britmn and Jrelmd^ ^c. i^t. ^e. 11i6 hnmble Petition of Angeliqne Pilott^i ' ./?'* THAT, your Petitioner is a poor girl in her twentieth year, tiie natural daughter of a Squaw, ' and a native of the Indian Country near Michilimatkinac. >* .,, That beyond tbe castoms and maxims of her own nation, yoor Petitioner knows nothing vf right or wrong : that, she has had no edoration whatever ; nor, the slightest instruction in the priociplrs pf christiln religion. , 11^ ../. .... -""•Ni*.;^.,,.. ■- — • ifM ( io» ; ThiA« nrvirUielm. Abbtit two yeari ago, firodi iiilSral g«od qoal* itirft, the wtu ukeii intti the tervlcc of a wumMi, h«rMlf tk« daugh> tor of an IndMO, and frnin whom %ht c«uld learn nothing of the mo* titneote and maonere ol civilised life : that, in tbie Mrvieei, the waa farriad into France, where the ftirmed an unhappy connection witk if Dritiih Officer, a friend of the faaiilj in which she waa dometti^ catadt lUMi l>y liun becutue pregnant. That, her firet miitrest dying, the waa tent back to ber native conniry, lait tummtr, and baviug atrong recuQinicndatiuna in her favour, waa immediately engaged aa waiting womait, to Miaa Eltaa* beth Hamilton, of Drumniond'a Uland, a nie«e of bar firat miatreaa, with wbora aba forthwith went on bourd a veaael onr'. aailed to Fort Erie, in Upper Canada. ,^ ,^^^4,^ That, during ber voyage, which occupied thVee weeka, your Pe> titioner wte taken in labour, and according to the hotbrioua cvatum of Indian women, afae brought forth her child in concealment :— that, the child being 8till-b«)rn, your Petitioner' ^ ■,T"'>: *• I ^ ^ i ' ■ f...,^:. i0mtM^j' .. ■ --i; • ■ '^■j-.i I 14 f ", r \.! l^: :■■ i ( «64 ) coutittttioo of England entitled her; and nobe wm aflbrdid Iteirj till after she itdod before the court for trial. - mFb///; , iK^sit; • Thatt the Counsel then appointed by the Judge befaig entirely ig- norant of her peculiar case, had no means ofcontradiicting the writ> ten deposition recorded by the Magistrates, as above mentioned, at- thottgh the most satisfactory proof could have been had in contra- diction. It could have been most readily shewn, th&t it is the in- variable custom of Indian women to retire and bring forth their children, alone and in secret. It could have been proved/that your Petitioner, so far from having the unnatural desire of destroying her dflPspring, had carefully provided clothing for her expected child ; and testimony of the strongest kind could have been brought fo|-ward to corroborate her present assertion, that the birth did not take place onshore, a circumstance completely subversive of the written de- position, upon which alone she was found guilty. Your Petitioner, thus helpless — thus unfortunate, could hot pos^ eibly avert the dreadful sentenire of the law ; but such was the feel^ ing of the court, from the mere innocency of her aipp4aranca, thai she was strongly rfcomraended to mercy, both by the* petty jury empanneled for her trial, as well as by the whole body of the grand juryman present on the. occasion ; and whose entreaties halve gained fur her a temporary respite. Your Petitioner has been informed since her condemnation, that the Sovereign of Britain, her great Father, has tlte power of shew-, ing mercy, even to the real perpetrators of crime ; and, that he de- legates the exercise of this power,, in somecases^ to his Represent-' atives in this Province : but, your Petitioner is .also intbrmed, that in' her case, clemency can only be obtained by an application to the Sovereign himself^ ' ;^:.;. s*;- ■»,. ,;.i:-.-.;.:^^. :u;: ^-4.; ^ ■ ^ Your Petitioner is In the prime of life: she isVcoiiscious of iiirio- cence: sfatf is anxious to live, were it but to wipe away by her fu- ture good condnct, the stain so unjustly, — so cruelly cast upon her character, her name, and her nation. She has heard of the regard aiid affection' of her Great Father to the poorest of bis children ; and, fur as the way may lay between ; hi^h as may be the Throne of her Sovereign, she does not despair uf mercy. ■ . For which she most earnestly prays. rj^f-ft^w''^*::,;-.'' , ., • ,.. ' her':Wfe''^*^f' ; (figned) ., ■..V-* ■.!f 'Witness, John Symington. ANGELKiUE X PILOTTE. uiuik. "^^ i rf " i» i -iJW£ -/-r. ;r2".-.is&^i«;<«r-,»«-i^* ( -s* lOff .>^ .fS«ff t^'f- \* ■if''' ■0^ ,6}> ; Niagara, UpptvCaimla, Sipt, 15tti, 1817. ' ■ ' "WE tb« whole Member of tfate Orand Jury, acting on the Ai< ' tiseaqovf holdeti at the above place and time, have permed the Pe-^ ' ti^qa of Angeliqoe Pilotte. We are strongly Inclined to give credit to its asHrtions, and so far as matters fell under our observatioa, ' we find the statement perfecdy correct. We think the case singu, larly'hard, and roost aaxioosly b(^c that mercy will bt txtaadtd to tbe unfortunate wonMli* -- .;mW. Craoka fereBaa,.-V ;<.!"; John Symington, William J. Keir, J. P. . John Clark, George Keefer, J. P. ' '*' Crowd Wilson, J. P. Samuel Street, J. P. J. Warren, J. P. •. i^ Jas. Cummings, t. P. ' , - Henry Nelles, '■■A .{•-aaiut.l-;*-^ ♦*i"i ;'U\ .'s^K baacSwayae, M.IP. David Sccord, M, P. » ■ ■ ■ t A. Nelles, J. P. . ■, .. .-: 'iiV,. ~ Oco. Adams, J. P. *,■ John Ball, J. P. ,. ,,, . Bob«.^ Gcant, J. P. <.' .4 John Ush#r, / Robert NtUes, J. P. Robert Hamiltoo, Wm* H. Merrit. ■ "■ ■ -,..' I, Thomas Clarke, Esquire, one of the Associate Judges on thi trial, and we Magistrates and Principal Inhabitatits of Xkft ZJbOlct of Niagara, having perused the within petitton, do assent to the matter therain slated « and strongly recommend the Petitioner to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent as a proper object of mercy. Signed, George Young, John Crooks, J. B. Mulrbead, W. D. MiUer, Wm. Micklejohn, John Bums, JofanM'Ewin. ^^rs. ,. Thomas Clark, J. P. - * Jas. Crooks, J. P. A. Cameron, >.-'> : , W.Clau8,J.P. - Wm. Dickson, J. P, * James MuirWad, J. P. Robert Dicksoii, - M. Morrison, ,^ . >.j;^„,--. , . We the Officers of that part of His Majesty's 70th Regiment 8ta>^ tioned at "aagara, Upper Canada, deeply participating in the gener* al feeling which has produced tbe respeetabl* support given to the Petition of the unfortunate Angelique Pilotte sentenced to death«-> althou^it may be out, gCeur line of duty 19 titkeany concern iaci* P /: / i S jj •If*'' ''sssm^ mmm'' ^ v^-- r>'''r ■w ■,w ( loa ) vil affatrs of tliis dcEcription, yet an opportunity offering itself and the propriety being suggested by the Pitition being put into our hands, we could notacquitour consciences did ve neglect to add to the a- bove our humble, respectful, but earnest solicitations, that your Roy- al Highness will be pleased to extend your gracious mercy |o the unfortunate, ignorant and unprepared Petitioner. rmfj^,^.'"^- Signed, :.;s;ou:. ■-^' - ■■■^'^,- ^:^^'^W- ^^ -M^^'. Lewis Grant, LtCoi. 70th & Coi.G, A. Goldfrap, Lieut. fOth. ^' ' Thos. Evans, Maj . 70th &Lt.Col. Saml. White, 70th. Thos. Huxley, Capt. 70th Regt. J. Farndon, Asst. Surgeon, 70th. John Tredunirk, Henry Vaviaseur, Capt. R. Engrs. James M'Kay, Lieut. 70th. J. Garret, Surgeon 70th. <^^ -/ . Edward J. White, Lieut. 70th.. Ogden Creighton, Lieut. 70tb. O v'M '#,■ To THE Editor OF the Niagara Spectator. ' VA >./ * Qiteenston, March QS,IBIB. Sm — The above letter and petition will speak for themselves, while a few remarks and reflections on the subject may perhaps hit added with good effect. My principal object for noticing the poor woman's situation Ir your paper of the 12th iast. was to draw immediate attention to it. Her period of respite was nearly expired ; and, without a fresh in- dulgence from the Head of the Government, it was the duty of tba Sheriff to execute the sentence of law. It is hoped that the respite is dready prolonged : if not, surely the production of these papers and the fervour of public opinion will stay an act, which would be at once {"eproachful to government and shocking to humanity. It was no part of my design to censure individuals, although I ia.. deed wished to stir up reflection. From the first dawn of suspicion till the condemnation of Ahgelique Pilotte, I was intimately acquain- ted with every circumstance. — During that period I was myself un. well, or I should have taken an active part in behalf of the poor wu. man ; but I had opportunities of witnessing the anxieties of Miss Hamilton,her mistress, as well as the extreme solicitude of Mr.Clai k, t> save her. A sort of fatality in every stage of the business, geem-. ed to balk «very effort and desire in her favor. > * "' t'f, ) f.-M;!M~'-' ,ii#»'~*w*»'»-r" Since my publication on t>te subject, I have been totd that law- yeirs of tbii country, have been ever-ruled by the judge, and pi*e vent- ed front pleading, an interdict which, to me, appear* most extraordi- . nary, although I have not only witnessed hut felt the outstretching of arbitrary power from the judgment seat. It is the nature of man, to be assuming. ^ and judges will sometimes dictate when they should only listen. Lord Erskine, before he came to be Chancellor of En^ gland, and while he was yet. young at the bar, wai reprimanded by a Judge; but, he was not to be over-ruled, "i know my doty," said he, raising bis voice to an altitude betitting a mind too strong to be shaken, " I kfiow my duty as weir as your Lordship" — ;and made, good his points '^>*^^^* "^ -^^ ; . ' When the fate of a human being is about to be determined, how- ever strong the facts in evidence may be— however clear the path of judgment, surely some little pause — some feeling words are due to- decency. We may not hope, yet still let fall a tear to misery. ^' ^''^ The Counsel of Angelique Pilotte, needed not to beg for piiy : be might have demanded justice.. He stood before the Court, concioae? .% of ignorance in the cause which he was appointed to plead. lie saw- ;> his opponents come prepared to charge. Could he think for a mo« ment that the match was fair i Did the law of England decree that no one shoiild be arraigned without counsel, and mean it only as mockery to distress and poverty ? certainly not. It is the spirit of every British law to be liberal and just : but wh&t liberality — what justice was here ? The writteu evidence might have been forged : the confession might have been extorted : there might have been a ftaw in the indictment : perhaps she who stood at the bar, could not be identified with the person accused. : — a tl^ousand circumstances, might have attended the case, and not one of tKeai could be koowiv to the counseh Assure as it is the right of every one to have coun-^ sel allowed by law, so it is equally sure that such counsel ought to be appointed in time, to enquire into circumstances. Without such op- portunity a counsellor might revolt from the duty imposed : he might protest, as a man, against glaring injustice to a fellow crea^' - ture : be might appeal to the true intention and spirit of the law : he might rouse the very audience to rebellion against such indecen- cy ; and snatch from a Court, thus, polluted, a human Being, expos- ed to peril, by its regardless and unfeeling mandates. 1 ! / ^'rrn ^'^■^:- , ,v.- ".«r^?P^ -;* ' . Xi.**-^ .\\ ( >08 ) it I On like groandc th« jury might have acted and saved the wretch .(rom eoadeihnation. Mr. Applegraph conceives they " were bound *' by oath to find the woman guilty." I lay, no. The extraordiha< jy aatare of the case might have justified them in refiising to give a verdict. There is a tacit condition attached to every oath. In all ^ human compacts there is a reciprocation of duty to be performed.— If pne party fiiflt, obligation in the other is at an end. A court of juatiee hM powier, but that power ceases, if it commits gross irregu- larities, or fails in its duties. The King has power, but what says Paley, one of the soundest authorities that ever wrote f speaking of i the oath of allegiance, he says, " It permits resistance to the King ** when bi# ill behaviour or imbecility is such as to snolie resistance " beneficial to the community." ,,4; .-vs;i,«i.:*:&\t^ ■ J-J*?W' A" judicial sajsra* may be laid, but a jury need not be *' caught." The memorable trial of William Penn gave the world a glorious - proof of what may be effected by a det«*rmined Jury. A most wick- ed Ekecutive, at that time, had influence and power in England. — William Penn was indicted for holding seditious discourse in Grace - €6arch Street, London. The Judge tried, in every way, to coerce ttlMr^iiry, and laid a judicial snare, but the men of the Jury would not >''*be taught. The Judge tried to force them to declare the discourse of William Penn, to be seditious : they were conscious tbat it was i otherwise ; and leaving all notice of sedition out of the verdict, they simply returned, ** that he was guilty of speaking in Grace Church " Street." The Judge would not at first receive this virdict» and confined the jurymen to a room without victuals, in hope that starv- ation would make them yield to his will ; but, he was disappointed : ^hey would ilot be starved out of their opinion : they held ool to the last extremity, and would not, by any compulsion, injure an innocent man. Not only was William Penn set at liberty ; but a triumph was gained over arbitrary power, which probably did more for the cause of freedom, than all the bloody battles that ever were fought. . The wortliy Juryman who addresses me above, seems to attach credit to an opinion which I know very generally prevails : viz. that Indianj^are not amenable to British law. This opinion should be givcntii^ Every foreigner, when he Comes within the precincts of British jurisdiction,enjoys its protection, and must yield to its awards. Th« Indiaus in their own country may appeal to customs of their •iiH'* ■">** -*-— i-^r'sjit*- ^r ( 109 ) own: bere,they,inu8t yield to the reigning authority; and it it a digrace to those intrusted with this authority, that Indians should have murdered among themselves, and been murdered by others, in this Province, not only with impunity but even without invettigatUm. f There ism consideration springing out of the case before us, to which I would particulnrly wish to draw public attention : I mean the difference to the Subject in the benefit from the Sovereign's clemency, in Canada, and Britain. In the latter, an act of clemen- cy speedily takes etfect,— a few days terminate the awful suspense of the wretch who pleads fur mercy : here, there must be a weari- some prolongation of tortured feeling ; probably in every case^ more intolerable than death. No petition can be answei-ed from Britain in less than three months : that of Angeliquc Pilotte has no reply after more than six. Had official duties been i^^r^ly performed, tht prisoner might have been set free long ago. Both I and others htd our private letters answered within little more than four months of the same period, proving that wind and weather w.ere propitious ; and as Mr. Clark took the trouble to have three different copies of the pitition sent to the Administrator to be forwarded by distinct conveyances to England, the chance of accidents cannot be admitted. In London, there is an office always open for the reception of peti- tions to the Throne, that persons, who cannot wait or have a chance of presenting to the Prince himself, personally, at the Levee, may be accomodated in the exercise of their constitutional right. In the present instance the slightest attention to forward the views of the Petitioner might have obtained notice in the Royal ear ; and, who- ever reads the petition and looks at the respectable names attached to it, will decide in a moment that tometekere there has been neglect. No one can doubt for a moment but that the Petition would no soon- er be.read to-th« Prince, than he would grant its prayers. . The carelessness of men in office, and the callousness of feeling, towards the unfortunate, is no new occurrence. Dozens of people have lain in the jails of London for years, waiting the perfbrmance of official duties^, and some have pined out a wl^ole life time, neglected and forgotten, after being committed to durance for some contempt nf the court of chancery, which they nevw understood, and far less suspected to be crime. . ^ \ • i '''¥i (( HtO ) »!/ i< - My opinion is, tfint, w'ero tKft 'pcr>|>te of Canada' to jbiii iii pc tiUon- iiag the Prince and Parliament of England, to atttr the constitutional lact, which retains to the Sovereign the right of pi^rdcyi in cases of taorder find treason,' committed in these Provinces, that this rigiit \vould be readily given up as a worthy addition to the trust and dig- tiity of their Governors. ..<<£ t M This idea struck me, when writing the petition of AngeHque Vi- lotte ; and I had a copy secured for- the express pufpuse of forming H ground npon which to gain public notice, and argue the propriety -of. the measure, in England. I n<>\v leave it to he seriously consider'^ edbylhe people here ; and assure them, that as soon as they can come alive to genuine public feeling and spirit, so as to establish a frank and manly correspondence with their fellow subjects, and the government at home, a new sera wiH commence in the history af Canada; — objects will be obtained big with the noblest consequen- ces; both to the Provinces and mother ccmntry— ^corisecjuences, woft thy of the British name, and dear to the cause of humanity. '/ &-.,'imii'»''f-^^^<^^'^'-'*<^^'^^''**."' '"'^"- ROBERT GOURLAYJ** Htti^%^^^^-^^'*^^'^^'-'^'' ' ' ' ^ ■''■,■•;. ,. ""*: - 5"i^ ••p^ THE EoiToii OT till: Niagara Sri^cTATOft. j «^ v^ , IN your last Spectator, you published a letter from Mr. Oourlay, containing strictures upon that which I addressed to you in the4>re- ceding paptr. After travelling over nearly six columns, my atten- tion was antsted by a postscript, in which Mr. Gourlay, seeming- ly afniiil lest his criticisms should intimidate me from making my' usual public appearance, politely invites me *' to walk out" again. IIu would perceive thst my usual walk commenced immediately af- ter he had finished his extensive ramble, in the course of which, he dilates upon . enthusiasm, judgment, precipitation, false pride, in- tolerance, newspapers, clergy resvrvesi bis addresses, simplicity of^ sociejty, and political indiieiice, and lastly, becomes a versifier, and after disencumbering his mind of all this ferragn, to complete the joke he accuses me of " disconnection." I seldom embrace more than one subject in the course of my walh, and I have of late found considerable ditficuHy ir. pursuing them, for Mr. GoiuJay has gcn- trui wa^ forc U J^:: -Silt"; 1 ^ *■ %T*— ^^-i^ k. ,..a' '*•■ ., ( ^11 ; . • traUy thrown an impediment of four or fivt heavy coiumat in my r wu^. In tha lust Spectator, he brought this large, and po\verful(.ii force in operation against my two. 'J'hough my bruin is not pro)ilic, .., enough to enable me to out-flank him, I am not discouraged, fipr I,^ have rallied, and now commence another attack. And why miii^ for the m,an who talks of spending two or tliree years, in thebutter^ j^' ing, and reduction of such a defencsless place as York — a place the.» props of which he has already undermined, and set fire to — utubt^ owe his scruples to " genius rather than judgement." .^ I have been a great Traveller, and therefore know how disagrce« able it is to ride a stumbling horse. Now Mr. Gourlay cannot con-, ceive in what an uncomfortable, and uneasy manner, I made my way thi^iugh his letter, for he is continually tripping upon a certain ex- pression of mine, which a man of bis agility ought to have leaped over at once. I shall not attempt to make remarks upon one half what he says, for it would occupy so much room in your paper, Mr. . Editor, that you wpuld be inclined to tell me, that '* printing must " be paid for by those who insist upon making appearance in the pub- " He rye." Mr. Gourlay calls my letter a " knotless thread," and seemingly anxious that it should remain so, be proceeds to quibble upon words, and entangles the thread so much, that he evidently loses both ends of it, and seems to forget whut is meant by ciilier of us. If 1 regard his knots at all, I shall treat tbeni in the same way as a certain hero treated the Gordion knot — by cutting them tip. Among other things, Mr. Gourlay tells me, that there is ii bee in my brain, and perhaps it is the confusion of ideas [W'odiici'd by the humming of this little insect, that creates S9 much discunnec- tion in my aphorisms. But if a bee occasions so much disturbance, \M\f great must be the perturbation of Mr. Gourlay's bruin, for there is evidently an " intolerant priest" in it, M'hu " kirks suns *' intermission." My readers may probably have beard of Dr. Spin z- lieim's physiognomical system, which j)roves that the brain is di- vided into diflerent compartments, and that each of tbsss is tiie seut of A. single, and particular propensity, such us enthusiasm, j'^tig- nient, false pride, &c. and tliat when any one compartment i:> e;t- cited, the individual's ideas, conio under the iniiuence of the pr(»- pensity of which it is tie seat. Now,, the kicks of tlie priost liave undoubtedly excited Mr. GniuLiv's diflerrut conij^ai luiouls l»v luins. r Oi 1^ / mr^ »,rfi»M*»«t ■(*.. VzK ( i«« ) I » r'J 'M:i m" Hi Hht touched that of enthusiasm vrith his toe, but before Mr. Gourlay had half finished what he had to say upon the subject, diii disturber of his brain, began with his other foot, to beh^Mur the organ of judgement. The ptiest at last being irritated by Mr. Goorlay's censures, (as h^ well might) probably begun to use both bands and feet, and thus by violently forcing the compartments to- gether, and into one another, he produced the sad confusion of ideas apparent in the conclusien of his persecutor's letter. *' This to be sure is imagination ; but here it reality on my side." There is so much disconnection in Mr. Gourlay's letter, and so much abruptness in his mode of treating the different subjects which it coabraces, that no one can doubt, but that he has been under the kiflueilee of some cause scarlely less powerful than the one I have meationed. It is amusing to observe how Mr. Gourlay's brain is haunted by the individuals who have opposed him. He takes every op- portunity of " belabouring" Dr. Strachan, and seems anxious tu prove his intolerance, by submitting him to the test of persecution. In the course of his letter, Mr. Gourlay, as usual, pays bis devoirs to Major Leonard, and his abk friend, and seems to grudge them the reserves ha thinks they Have the prospect of obtaining. He even makes a circuit by Socket's Harbor, that he may get a hit at Mr. Clark, and have an opportunity of rubbing his face with a little more snow.- Some of the concluding paragraphs afford an excellent specimen of Mr. Gourlay's ingenuity in perverting words and sentences. He coaceals this unfair, though specious practice, under the title of drittiMg. That he has an object in doing this cannot be doubted.— He reviews a production, thath^ may raise a conscription of words from it, which be uses as recruits, and dniU into service, that they may aid him in the battering of little York. After all this drilimg he collects together the forces acquired by it, ^vbich are the folloif- ing: "The Governor's have not to enforce subordination — the " people whip themselves — have a good reason for this and cannot " be better." Bravo ! this is as rational, and intelligible, as some of the political propheciei uttered by the celebrated Joanna Soatb-' coaA. After stumbling along for snme time, Mr. Gourlay unfor* tunately meets with a rouplet from Sh» :/ -V- ( 118 J to be a poet. Bat be disavows this quality, aod in hit attempt loses also bis claim to judgement, for had he much of the latter ha would not have altered Shakespeare. His verses resemble what a certain author calls " prose gone mad," and we may fairly con- clude, that if the seat of a poetic proiptosity ever existed in Mr. Gourlay's brain it must have been kicked to atoms, before he begaa to meddle with the words of " poor crazy Hamlet." . ^^^ But I shall now return to the postcript, in which Mr. Gourlay invites me " to walk out again," and observae, that I have much weakened his expectation of rebounds, which he evidently thinks are essential to the success of his performances, for after the ap- pearance of his first address,' he began the war, by publishing a re- ply to an antagonist who had never publicly attacked him. He bids me be on no ceremeny as far " as wit and sarcasm can go," thus wishing to be assailed by the weapons he is most expert in using, and desirous of having it in his power, to roll back upon his oppo nents, the stones which they themselves aim at him. I shall now tell biin in what respect I think " he wants judgement and discre- tion." He has of late addressed himself solely to individuals, and has by bis personalities in some degree alienated the public mind^. from his great object. Many people almost forget what he is aim- ing at, so anxious are tbey to read his satirical effusions, and hear their friends ridiculed. — Mr. Gourlay surely will not much advance' bis cause by merely amusing the people. Uis late productions have not tended tu impress any conviction upon the public mind, except the conviction, that he is severe, witty, and clever. Mark tha general turn of conversation at present ! " Have you seen the Spectator yet i" says one, " yes," replies another^ — " and who does Mr. Gourlay attack now ?" " He is very severe upon such a op«"— " well it is too bad, but one cannot help being amused, and will he answer it i" " Oh no ! he knows better than to expose him- self agam — Mr. Gourlay has got the whip hand of us all — let us avoid the la&h." His readers thus " blink the grand question, for- getting that it is their duty to petition" and are satisfied if they en- joy a laugh. They are so entertained with the comedy, that they forget the theatre is on fire. I have already expressed myself con- vinced of the purity of Mr. Gourlay's motives, and I shall continue in the same opinion, but is it not possible, that he may be uncon- sciously excited to make such attacks, by those very " fascinations &^^., ( 114 ) of pertonal feeling," which be entreats others to avoid, and tear theinaelves from. Mr. Gourlay, likewise expresses a wish to know in what respect he has been " dull, dirty, and disgusting." I hope he will be aware, that I did not apply this quotation to any senti- ment, or expression of his, but merely to the whole dispute, which, in my opinion, is verging too much towards abuse. But I shall now take leave of Mr. Gourlay, lest I am made moro " nervous," by the increase of" tumult" I anticipate from the " re- bound ;" though I must confess, that the worst nervous .system I have yet experienced, was a severe head-ache, caused by reading one of his longest productions. I shall continue my journeys as u- sual, and hereby warn Mr. Gourlay against stopping a Traveller. If he repeats the offence, I shall assuredly obtain a warrant for his apprehension, from some of th« Magiat rates of the Township of Nia- gara ; and after committing him, they will perhaps be able to reply to his 31st query, by stating, whether or not his imprisonment " retards the improvement of the Province," and if his ^enlargement " would contribute to the same." I am &c. #»' ■.*i THE TRAVELLER. The following extracts from the London Courier, Quebec Cazette and Montreal Hearald, all regarding the policy of Britain to her North American Colonies, will, we are persuaded, engage the most serious consideration of our readers. h^i '^■Pi W- The London Courier of the 20th of December says, " Goveriv- " ment will no longer give encouragement to persons who wish to "proceed as R«'.tlers to His Majesty's dominions in North America, " except to half-pay officers, or persons under peculiar circumstan- " ces ; as many wixo went there the last two years were unable to " cultivate the land allotted to them, and who are now in very •* great distress." ' From the Quebec Gazefte. ^ " The following extract from Bell's Weekly Messenger, a paper of very extensive circulation published in London, appeared in se- FitiMiMi'' ( 119 ) ■*•■' verBl papers in tbii province. I lubjnin an extract from the Etlin- lurgh Rniev) of August last, a Literary Jounud of tbe greatest mer- it and most extensive circulation in Great Brit(|in, as a suitablt accompaniment. Extract from Bcll'a Lmdon Meuenger, '* ■ Our relations with America have become so important ot, at least in a progress of becoming so, tbat we shall defer our consideration of them to an opportunity when weean discuss them by themselves.— Mr. Monroe is a man of great talent and activity, and his movements are riot without an object. We think tbe point of diiTeren^e will be, the affairs of Spanish independeoce. We conceive that .we feel as strongly as any one, for the true glory of this country ;, but it always has been our opinion, and we know it personally to be that •( one of the greatest statesmen this country ever produced, that Halifax,. Canada, &c. are not worth what they would eventually cost England ; ard the true point of wisdom would be to^make the best bargain we could for them to tbe United States. Go they must ; and it is bet- ter to let them go, before another debt of eight hundred niilliona ba added to this country. .*>. -' From the Edinburgh Review of August, 1817> "When discoursing, in 1778i of the terms on which £nglan4 should make peace with the Colonies, he [Franklin] recomnnends at once giving up Canada, not merely as a measure of conciliation but as the best means of removing a bone of contention, and a fertile cause of future wars. Unpopular as the suggestion ma;/ now appear, we suspect many years will not elapse before we see reison to wish that this course had been pursued. Already we have sacrificed large- ly to Canadian interests, by cotnmercial losses in other quarters ; we shall in all likelihood, sustain a long contest for that unprofitable colony, and end by losing it, after adding many a million to our debt in attempting to keep it. The experience of the American war will prove to have been thrown away upon us ; and we shall lose the opportunity of honourably terminating tbe political connection be- tween the colony and the mother country, and substituting for it one of mutual commercial advantage, until our pride gets up ; and being attacked, we feel it impossible, with honor, to vield before we ara iieatea,'' . ' > .-' > f % ■msssmmmm0»^' ( liO ) {. I t The politics of tlie Mcss(^ngf r are sotnetimei one thing, flometimet another, but, generally leaning lu tin !>ide of power. The Edinbnrgh Review it decwIcHly in the opposition. In its |H)litical articlci, n party bias it freqtu ntly disrernable. With respect to America, it often shews a want of information which could hardly be expected in a work of such acknowledged merit. Its articles relating to this country have been unpardonably incorrect. That two British publications like the Messenger and Review, should agree in the doctrine, that the British possessions in North America should be given up to the United States, is unaccountable. Is the state of the public mind in Great Britain, prepared to receive such a propobition P Are the high minded people of England prepared Ut retrogade in the path of power and Empire i Thea " farewell, a " long farewell to all their greatness." In the language of their fa- vourite bard, they may cut off " the Lion's hide and hang a Ciilf's " skin on their recreant limbs." Their wealth will not long survivs their power. It will only augment for their subjugation. England has many brave and loyal subjects in her American pro* vinces, who pride themselves in being British subjects, and glory in their connection with the country of their forefathers ; men, who envy neither the boasted libi rues of the American Union, nor the frothy honorfi of its risinp reputation. — To be handed over to the U- nited States, like so many Russian cerfs or German boors, is an in- Bult for which they were not prepared, so soon after lavishing their . property and exposing their persons in the cause of Britain against these very U. S. Was it to heighten the price at which they were to be sold, that they were called upon to meet the enemies of Eng- land in battle i No ; the proposition of the Messenger and the Edin- burgh Review can have few partisans among the people of England. They have their origin in the brain of some misernM" stnrkholder, trembling for the loss of his i^' gotten wealth, from-an mntfiBe of the national debt; or they are the offspring of e ' ' « 'v ..ated . by a factious opposition to Government to the extent ot loosing sight of the honor of the fairest, and most poweirful empire in the world. But leaving every other topic out of the question ; let us see what ». M be thf political con&cquences to Great Britain of handing ever the Mortb American Colonies to the United States. Wounded feel- leg's nri; never hetii^d ; a loyal population, basely delivered up to bi V} la w si bl ai r, C( ft' £ i< r n I t c ft. i I I '/li . t ■ m m mf. fi*' ■.«'f*«iJiut-,v ^ -i ^t mrn m^ mi- * ( «»7 ) le timet nbnrgh idea, a srica, it xpected g to this Review, n North tuntable. ) receive prepared 'ewell, a tbeir fa- a Cdfi i survive rican pro- glor> in en, who , nor the to the U- ;, is an in- bing their in against they were !8 of Eng- the C«lin- ' England, rkholder, .V tiHte of li'i ..ated jsing sight the world. 8 see what nding ever Linded fecl- xed up to thone they had so recently met in th< field, wuiilf^ rter after be tha bitterest enemies of Britain. She bnjisih, and justly Uoasts, of a na< vy ; but could she think of protertu ' with her n vy, ber Newfound* land fisheries, if the St. Lawrence mid the coasts of N()va-Scutia, were the safe resorts of American Privateers ' With the mam liu)4 she must abandon the hland ; with the Island, the coasts and the banks. She must abandon one of the best nurseries tor her seamen, an e^ t(*n-ive employment for her shipping, she must abandon lh« esiinti il i inplyof fish for the West-Indiu Islands. With the whole coiKt oi .^ inerica, from Davis's Straights, (I beg pardon, the MeS' r.' 'i^er and Review, perhaps mtend to keep possesion of Iludson'ii Buy.) with the whole caost then from Lr4irador to the Giilph of Mex> ico, in the possession of an enemy, she might as well abandon at cncc, the West-India Islands and the whole trade to Terra Ftrma, north of Cape-Roque. Perhaps the eloquent writers of the Edin- burgh Review, will be able to persuade Russia to suffer her to trade to the Daltic. France and II«)Iiand will not annoy her coasts ; and Spain, Itujly and Turkey, particularly after Russia gets a free [nis- sage through the Dardanelles, may allow her to go to the Mediter- ranean. As to the trade to India, America will be able to look to that, once that she has possession of the West-India Iblands. Rut go they must, says the magnanimous writer of theMessenger: let us make the best bargain. Ho it must then, your national honor, your national security. Moke the best bargain with your conquer- ors, with a world that envies and hates you, and take good securi- ties. A. B. From the Montreal Ilcriild, of Fchruary 1%. The public w iH remember that in October last, Mr. Robert Gour- iay, a gentleman lately from England, nnd a relation of the late lion. Robert Hamilton, of Queenston, Upper Canada, addressed a circu- lar letter to the Restdent Land Holders in Upper Canada, requiring such information from them as would enable him to compile a com- pendious Statistical account of the Province, that its intrinsic value might be better known to the Government at home, and to the pub- lic at large ; for which purpose, a copy of the said address was for- warded to the I'krl of Batburst. Hut from recent intelligence there is reason for believing that Mr. Goui lay's plan will not be counte- \m ■fe L-^<»-*. •.»!-.. , ... ■'■'^-gjjf I .r,*"" .^v ■"• -l**;^ ^'^■r'-':'*^ •' t/' » U«li .?►•.'' ( H8 ) Mnced by bis Majesty's ministers, although it would in onr opinion be difHrult to assign just motives for such conduct. We have no< ticed in the Upper Canada Journuls, several communications decid- edly hostile to that gentleman's designs ; and were sorry to observe they were dictated mure by personal hostility and the rancour of party spirit, than by the force of sound reason. Mr. Gourlay was told, that being a stranger he was unfit fur the task, ai\dit was in- decorous in him to meddle with public affairs in the face of so muny superiors ; but the truth seems to be, he was found possessed of supe- rior talents, and that was enough to get him enemies. In the midst of newspaper contention, it should be noticed that Mr. G's. friends were also lavish enough of -^V^rsonal invective ; but to dwell on this unprofitable topic is foreign to our purpose, and should never have been coupled with a subject so important in its nature. The plan of Mr. Gourlay was exceedingly laudable, as far as relates to an im- partial description of the Province, and to the encouragement of British subjects to settle in a country so inviting to the capitalist, the industrious farmer and the mechanic. The Gover.meht at tiome have been unpardonably ignorant of the value of the 'Cauadas, and if the Provincial Governments have hitherto been backward in giv- ing salutary advice to his Majesty's ministers respecting the actual state of things, is this a reason why individuals should be reproach- ed fur devoting their time and talents, in disseminating important truths to our rulers in particular and our fellow subjects in general f Aluch has been sdid for a year past in the Upper Province, respect- ing who should or who should not be allowed to settle in the Cana- das, on taking the oath of allegiance, and otherwise conforming ta the acts of the British Parliament, passed in the i3th George If. and 30lh George III. The first provides for foreign protestants set- tling in the British colonies, and the second freely admits the citi- «ens of the United States into these Provinces. Now these acts still remain in force, and the Americans have not (so far as we can learn) been admitted to settle as formerly, since the late peace with the United States, which has given great offence to their advocates and it would appear with some reason ; for the question is, can a Governor, or pei-son administering the Government, suspend for a fuoment a solemn act of the Legishitur« in a time of profound peace? ^Viiiiout discussing the merits of this important question, we shall cuntcRt ourselves with ubsciving, that after the peace of 17S3, the Ik^y:^'' ->■/•■ • ( no ) . chief British Colonies became independent states, and that the sci of 13th Geo. II. however laudable it may have been, when made, could not be applicable after the loss of the 13 Colonies. After that great event the act ought to have been repealed or amended ; for it might have been foreseen, that those new and independent states would sooner or later be a source of uneasiness to the remaining Co- lonies. But instead of adopting any measure of precaution, seven years aftsr an act was passed, inviting old offenders into the bosom of the community, and all that has occured since, has been looked at with singular indifference by the Legislature of the mother country. After tfie peace of Ghent, all the old acts relating to th» settling of the British Colonies, should have been repealed and new ones substituted, better calculated for their common security ; at the same time giving full power to the Colonial Legislatures to re- gulate the inland trade with the United States ; to improve the in- ternal condition of their respective Provinces, and to give such as- sistance to new settlers from the mother country, as might be deem- ed salutary. With such power in our own hands, and moderate duties laid on our commodities, when landed in Britain, we think the North Ameri- can Colonies can be rendered populous and flourishing, without tha' indiscriminate introduction of American settlers. Such has been our opinion for many years, and so it will continue, until we sea some strong reason for its taking a different direction. But at the same time, believing that a law exists inviting the Americans to settle among us upon certain conditions, we should enter our pro- test against the Government that would suspend it tor an instant. If we have Statutes and Ordinances, let them be strictly acted upon, and if we have a. Constitution, let us enjoy it according to its true interpretation, let not a mockery be made of &o true and sacred a d£ posit. ^priZS, 1818. , J I To THB Editor of thr Niagaba Spectator. ^ ^ Niagara, 27th March, 1818. Sir, . . *-■'■" 'I ■ fl \ w f ^ The Traveller^ I observe, has realized my hope by walking ( 120 ) J^ <' V \4 out, once again, before the public, to shew off his genius, in " wit " and ^sarcasm," — to tell, in whut particular I have been" dull, dir- " ty and disgusting," and to prove, " wherein my judgment mid dit- " cretioH have been deficient." His genius roust first be got rid of; and, for ever. A mere repe- tion of words will not do ; and, Dr. Spurzheim's system is altogether out of place in Upper Canada. I.aim at substantial objects : my fellow Traveller can think of nothing but amusement ^ and, in this he fails ; for, any little titter excited by his wit, is rather an hyme- neal affection of thoughtlessness, than the pleasing corruscation of an enlightened mind. Amusement, fur its own sake, has never been my object ; and, where I have given place to humour, it has been for the express purpose of taking the edge from that keenness, which, in discussing political topics, too frequently cuts into the angry pas> sions, and closes up, with an overflow of spleen, the orifices rf rea- son. Reading even the dullest composition gives me no " headache ;" and, that I can sustain the attacks of wit and sarcasm with unruffled temper, I trust, is now sufficiently proved. I shall therefore, dis- miss thegeniusoftheTraveller,with feelings equally quiescent,as those of my uncle Toby, when he emancipated the fly, caught in his hand, after it had long buzzed about his ears, while inclined to repose. — In his words, I shall say : " go pour devil, there is room enough in " this world both for thee and for me." The Traveller's apology as to the words " dull, dirty and disgust- " ing" is quite satisfactory, as he says they, were not applied to any sentiment or expression of mine, lie places these pretty words to the debit of the " dispute ;" and as, of late, he has been the solitary agitator, they must be made over to his own personal account. — The dispute is indeed " verging too much towards abube," when truth mid common sense are so tortured as in this lust production of the Traveller. Were extravagance of fancy my sole object, I should soon out- match my fellow Traveller. Mis indulgence in this kind of humour, costs his protege. Dr. Strachan, rather too dear. 1 never made the Doctor so littl<". us to find room for his kicking in one of the com- partments of my brain ; hut if His Littleness would repent and sin no more, I should be truly indulgent, and yet mak« a man of him. Out of the brain of Jupiter sprung Minerva : how proud should 1 be •iMrKlffi .. •*'«»^-*te-«»v*.»«~--*-tj^.,H*.^.* > I I n'l ii^mttit'tt 11 in » . - > P, < ( ISl ) to see mj brain-child a match for the Goddess of wisdom ! — ^Ther« is an equipment for unfortunate manunculi, which has probably not yet been heard of in Upper Canada. A poor baby came into this world, and into that part of it called Scotland, three months b«for« his time, and was kept alive by being suited with a pair of berf-ttttk breeches. The repentant Doctor shall have from me, not only breech* es of beef, but a surtout of veal, and moccasins of mutton. The Traveller speaks of my notice of him as an " offence," and viarns me not to stop him again. Honest man ! when did I stop him } — hoping no qffence for asking the question. I was resting on my arms here in Niagara, as quietly inclined as possible, after hav- ing honorably disengs^ed myself from the " attacks" of Major Leo- nard and his Mt friend : when lo ! who should attack me next but my fellow Traveller i I can account for it in no way but this, that the Traveller's ambition has been roused by the " turn ofconversO' ' " tion." " Have you seen tlie Spectator yet," says one, " yes," re plies another, " and who will attack Mr. Gourlay now i will the " Major rally i" " Oh no, he knows better than to expose himself " again."—" Well, it is too bad ! that a Farmer should get the wh^ ** hand of us alt. You , Mr. Traveller, are a Scholar : we know that " you can write, though the Major is a sorry scribe : it has been « long said, that arms must yield to learning, but, who ever heard *' of arms and the gown too, yielding to a rustic ?— surely, you Mr. '' Traveller, will be able to lash him." The love of conquest, thus vivified by flattery, could not be resisted : our worthy Traveller must needs take the field of glory, and forgets his duty to petition. ,1 r " Sad was the hour and luckless Vas the day," ■ n,. When first our simple Traveller went astray ; Ah ! luckless thought that urged him to the fight, ' Ah ! false ambition, never endiiig right. The most serious charge against me, made by theTraveller.comes next to be considered, — the charge of my wanting "judgment and " discretion." He asserts that 1 have " alienated the public mind " from my great object," and seems to ascribe this to my having ad- dressed myself of lute to individuals, and to my having had recourse to personalities. Now, I am not tt) rebut this charge, eyeing the Traveller's assertion and reaboniug, as in the least degree worthy of notice in aubslantiating it ; for the former is notoriously incorrect, B i V & m i 1 nRHpiP^W^" ^*^l^ .-'■r-y.-,--'- 'r ( V A '^• i I i ir 'm ),: ! . if! ) r 'I ;■ i .)• I #. ( ISS ) and the latter silly in the extreme. In duty to the great public cause, I must here be particular. So far from having " alienated the pub- " lie mind fr6m my great object" by my writings, it is notorious that they have tended to conviction of the most beneficial kind ; th« people have been considerably roused ; and whether through my in- fluence or not, — whether the business will be completed or not, it is now certain, that enquiry into the state (tf the Province, has been moved, and carried in Parliament. d, .^ ._^y„ The Traveller addresses himself to an 7A(/tv}(/u»/, viz. the Editor of the Spectatoi, and so do I ; but the difference is, that while nc^ personality can touch him, writing under cover of a feigned signature, be is personal towards me, — using my real name, depreciating my efforts for the public good,bothering serious reflection with mere non- sense, and, endeavouring to throw into ridicule, the most important duty incumbent on the people of this Province, at the present mo- ment, — that of pressing, by petitions, the question pow before Par- liament, to a worth} conclusion, — pressing not only for eni|mry,but for a commission to go home with the result, and for the publicatii>i) iti every thing in England. . •■ ' ,i'/ ' ■ '■' ' . .' i ■. V'' ■' ■• ■ -My addressing individuals, and being personal, ran in no degree make people " forget" what I am aiming at. Were I to bawl in the T^raveller's ear tlie whole day long, or supplicate on my knees, tha( he should take up a peu and write out a petition, I doubt much if I could succeed. To account for this, I have no need to apply my lingers to the protuberances and depressions of the Traveller's skull, after tlie manner of Dr. Spurzbeim, but I may turn up the Scrip- tures where every variety of huinao character is exhibited in colours which never fade, and are invariably true to nature. The perverse- ness of mankind was the same two thousand years ago, that it is now ; and it is nut by changing the formation of skulls, but by the amelioration of hearts, that we may hope for improvement. What could so well exhibit to us tb applause in its manful performances ; for he that wields the weapon of personality must have many enemies. ,^ J^:. The Traveller, by his way of speaking of my addressing individ' uals and having recourse to personalities, wo()ld make believe that I have been culpable towards many persons, but Dr. Strachan is evidently the one, wlio calls fur his particular sympathies. I ara his •' persecutor," I " submit him to the test of persecution /' ^^^ it is clearly I)r. Strachan, who is meant when he says that I *' began the tear hy publinhing a reply to one nho never pvblicly at- ** tacked' me. Now, though I am sorry to use the expression, even to him who has applied to me the words " quibbles," " perverts," " unfair," and " conceals," I must say that this is a scandalous mis- representation. So far from declaring war after my first address, I relinquished the concern for the public good, that no personal dis- like to me should injure it. Two months afterwards, finding that the letter I bad sent for insertion in the newspapers, had been alter- ed in the printing, from my manuscript, I had occasion to publish a second letter of explanation, and for the first time named Dr. Stra- chan. I then publicly offered to give up authorities, in case he thought himself injured by the report of bis having found fault with my proceedings, and said, that " it was presumption in me, a stran- " ger, to come forward as I had done." From the date of that pub- lication, six weeks more passed by before his name was mentioned a second time by me in public ; and for three months before, while I had yet never shewn myself as a combatant, war was waged against me, and the public prints were filled with all sorts of trash, assail- ing me personally, aspersing my character, and endeavouring to foil the proposals of my first address. These were open doings ; but, I was well informed of many secret influences which were working un- der ground, and it was quite notorious, that Dr. Strachan was a bu- sy agitator. He was a man who had in bis publications, set at defi- ;ince, not only public feeling, but private right : be had not confin- ed his attacks to the conduct of British subjects : he had not only attacked I^ord Selkirk, but had ventured in his audacity to assail even the President of the United States. These acts made him a •""■•'- ■f'-v*j^-y^ ■■ 1^l1ri!i'lii!l»''>'*»i*»ii>Mlil wJtJi "M*;ii''. ofiUetf, jtssibly be it is not le highest |e weapon individ" lieve that kchan is ^s. I ara lion/' a^^ s that I tbUclif at' ion, even wrverts," ilous mis- tddress, I "sonal dis- iding that >een alter- publisb a Dr. Str». n rase he fault with e, a stran- tbat pub- intioned a '; while I id against h, assail- ng to foil »; but, I rking un- was a bu- tatdefi- >t coniin- not only to assail >e him a ¥ a .iair subject fur censure : these acts made it the duty of every man v/1rho passed him by the way, to hold up his finger and say aloud, -y , there goes the arrogant priest who would stain his clotb,->-8et at . naught the commands of his Great Master, and, puffed up with ^ vanity, leave the altar for worldly lusts and filthy desires. No privute admonition could put down the spirit of such a man. He tent a copy of his printed letter on the business of Lord Selkirk, to the Bishop of Canada. The Bishop sent it back unopened, which '- was a severe private reproof; but, the Bishop did not go to the extent of his duty. He should publicly have admonished him, and ordered him to make-apology to the man he had injured, before the ^ public whom he had insulted. Such discipline would have sustain- ■ ed the reputation of the Church of England, — done honor to the Bi- ^ shop, and saved the Rector of York from after misconduct. " Not only was it my duty, and had I a right to attack Dr. Stra- " cbfin, as a mure spectator of his puldic conduct ; but before I did at- < tack him he bad by his silence, acknowledged the truth reported openly in the steam boat, and published in the newspapers, of his having accused me of " presumption :" he was one of a corps who e*' had disregarded common civility, — who had neglected public duty, and done infliite mischief to the Province. What miserable weak- ness is it, to think, that after all this I must say nothing against i^:^^ such a character, merely because he never attacked me in print ! I must wait, forsooth, and be attacked by the Traveller, and all sorts of blockheads, who cannot write without losing their wits in phrenzy : — I must wait till this little fellow Strachan, is stuffed in- ' to ore of the compartments of my brain, to kick and sprawl, till his Reverence is delivered by a mun-midwifei and then pled for as a persecuted thing — a piteous " antogonist," a miserable, misbcgotton mannnculus, to whom nothing but the milk of human kindness should be administered. Within the last fortnight, a most curious document has fallen in- to my hands — Resolutions of a tneeting held in the Township of Augus- ta, printed in the Kingston Gazette, and it is well worthy of re pub- lication. " ^A a meeting of a Committee, chosen by the Annual Town " Meeting of the Inhabitants of the Township of Augusta, in the <• Johnstown District of rpp«r Canada, to answer certain queries t ) i P ^1 1i, i ««*y».. .,^.^, ... .... ..-«.*.■ »• ;,=*••,..,. t • ■f'^ ■; 'M^a ^, \U>: { "6 ) '< proposed to tbem in an address published by one Robert Gourlay, " and dated at Queenston, October, 1817— It is unanimously Re- ** solved, " 1st. That it is tlie opinion of this meeting, that Mr. Gourlay's " address contains principles inimical to the peace and quiet which '* the Inhabitants of this Province so happily enjoy. " 2d. That however advantageous the information might be to *' Upper Canada, resulting from proper answers to these queries, and " placed in proptr handu, the present meeting cannot feel themselves *' justified in giving their support to the very injurious consequences " which might result from such information, placed at tfa^e disposal " of a man of Mr. Gourlay's political principles (" Signed) *' Solomon .lones, J. D. C. *\ John Bethune, Clerk, • "II. Walker, C. P. " Qliver Luert, ••'.:' " J. D. Campbell, ':*i. « Tisv ■'\% • 5 . [A true copy."} ' " ; "R.C.Henderson, »^ ■ '^^ -^ " Jacob Heck, *« ^'^^ >*>^^ " J. llcck. ' "J..S. Merwin, " John Simpson, '' ' " Stephen Collins. Augusta, February^ 1818." '-< t* ' ■ ii ,y i'f^ When the Reader ha.s perused the above Resolutills, I wish he would, a second time, look them over and think whether he ever before guzed on such a mont'trous prodnrtion. At the Annual Town Meeting or Augusta, (which, if regularly held, was on the first Monday of January) it would appear that the people wished to have a Report drawn out for me, of their Township ; and, to perform for them this duly, tliey chose a Committee. The Committee were slack in their duty, but at last met in the month of February, and resolved, not only, not to fulfil the duty for which they had been chosen by the people, hat ■unanhticnisly resolved, that, my first " Ad- " dress contains principles inimical to the peace and quiet which the " Inlmbitiints of this Province so happily enjoy." Let the good folks above Lake Ontario, only think of these words being appUed to the address which so universally called forth their efforts and won to me so niurh of their regard ! only think of them being applied to an Address which had gained the good will and confidence of the mass of the jirnylp '\n Angv^i-dk\ ■ . - The second RcscJulion relaxes in favour of my Queries, but, dreads ^m- 4( «< I «>*!-K,. Vih*-' ,-, :■£,■ ( 1«7 ) " the very injurious consequences which might result from such in- <* formation placed at the disposal ot a man of my political princi- " pies." In the preamble, the members of this sapient committee only know, that one Robert Gourlay exists, but, bye and bye, they become clearer sighted with the light of their own Resolutions, and see into this stranger's very mind and principles. Having made so miraculous a discovery, one would have thought it nothing but fiir that the constituents uf Solomon Jones, John Bethune, H. Walker, and CO. should have been apprised of the event^ and that a meeting extraordinary should have been called in the Township of Augusta, to reconsider the signs of the times, and give fresh in< structions to their honorable Committee how to act under circum- stances, new, portentous and imposing. No, the danger was too imminent : there was no time to be lost : to use the Traveller's words *' the theatre was on fire," so the Resolutions were signed, sealed, and without delay, delivered to the Editor of the Kingston Gazette, - that not only the good people of Augusta should hear the tocsin, but that it should sound far and wide, to alarm the whole Province a< gainst danger, and to ward oil' calamity from " the peace and (|uict " which the lubatitants so happily enjoy." f Vivid as was the flash which shot such instant conviction into tho minds of Solomon Jones, John Bethune, II. Walker, and the other if. _ , worthies of Augusta, it was not more vivid than that which exhibit- ed to me the folly and baseness of their conduct ; but, very tittiv di&turbed in mind, I quietly sat down and wrote the following letter. * * -.iH^' To the Editor of the Kingston Gazette. ..i, ;v- ?^- *,' ■fxikr m ••4^- Niagara, 19th March, 1818. SlB, I have this day seen in your paper of the 3d inst. certain Re- solutions of Inhabitants of the Township of Augusta. Be so good, '^y the publication of this letter, to inform these people, tliat if they are honest men, a«d sincere in their endeavours for the public gmxi, I expect they will, upon the same grounds of sincerity, and in jtis- -flp-r- ■# ■'<' •* .i -I '*>.'; i» '''ij .«* •*' ( "8 ) tice to my chtnraeUr, iniuiediutely publish what they think to b« wrong in my " principUi." This will afford m« tn opportunity, which is nothing but fttir, of correcting their errors, and of guard- ing the public agaia.'* the affects of busy malice. I am by no meank anxious ai>o\xt procuring any more Township Reports, as thus* in my possession are quite sufficient for my pur^ y pose. My duty, however, to the public is, to let the people of every quarter of the Province have an equal opportunity of speaking for themselves, as it is evident, that the tide of settlers will flow strong- est to those places of the Province whith are imist fully described. I take this opportunity of infortning the Inhabitants of the lower parts of the Province who have not had an opportunity to read tha ' Niagara Spectator, that alt the writings which have lately appeared in that Newspaper, and some others, upon the most important mirjeet ■^ihat ever engaged the attention cf the public in Canada, are now in the course of being published together in a pamphlet, which will be sold at Stores, all over the Province, by an early day. IIOBERT GOURLAY. It may amuse the public fur some weeks to speculate as to what , reply will be made, and what my political prijici/v/«« will turn out, in ^ reality, to be. Perhaps no reply at all will be £,iven : perhaps the Committee of Augusta may wax contumaceous like the Ex<;rutive Council ; and, because they have once neglected their duty, been Uncivil, and unjust, for this very reason remain obstinate and con- tumaceous, — for this very reason continue to be uncivil, undutiful and unjust. In the mean time I cannot help being a little anxious while the identity of my principles hangs in ditbio, having always held in reverence the admonition uf the ancient Pbilusophcr, " know thy. " self," and, as a solace, have resolved to prepare for the worst, by singing, with the little woman in the Scotch ballad, " t^iis '« no me." The only grave question, is, bow the Committee uf Augusta were prevailed upon to c-ummit such an act of madness. J. D. C. stands fur Judge of the District Court ; and Judge Solomon, is doubly indi- cative of wisdom. C. P. stands fur Clerk of the Peace, and if 11. Walker is an absolute numskull, we may still suppose him quulifivd fur his situation, by sharing the extraordinary endowments of his superior in the law. By some loop-hole of the law, we ibay expect • V IM-. >ik iiplijiiir-i ^njili" ,-:' ,i'. * W»* i«l» »T'* g' ^■^ * >' N ( 4«» ) Joba Dee aod Richard Roe, to fscftpc frunv the verdict of lonacy, ua well a« from the jeopardy of being driven from bench and bar. At to what has excited these luurucd personages, and the eight worthies, without addition, to action, I cannot imagine, as my en- quiries have failed in procuring for pM any particulars, as to their characters or connections. -John Uethune, (flerk, I am fully i^ formed of. lie is the established CUrgyntan of the Church of Eng< laud, in the District of Johnstown. He was educated by Dr. Stra* * cban, and like him deserted the Presbyterwn Church, for that which holds out nitred honors and Clergy Reserves. I have spoken with muny respectable people on the subject, wl\o are well acquainted, butb with the {teverend John Strachun, as well as with this Reve- rend John Itethutte, and every one is fully convinced, that the for- mer bus led the latter into the miserable snure of shewing himself io the world us unworthy uf trust, a fool, a busylrady aad a slander- er. The Niugara Spectator which contained my second Address, # may have got so far as Augusta, before the end of February ; that in vyhich I begun my charge ng^iinst individuals, and for the first fime attacked Dr. Strathaii, could nut possibly have done so. Tho pupil and brother priest, therefore, of Dr. Strachan, began his infa- mous attack upon me before he k^ew of any act of mine against Dr. Strachan ; and completely proves how well I was apprized of the i secret doings which were at work, to injure the caus^ I had^espousr ed«> And what good reason I had to expose the abominations which exist in this Province : indeed, were I superstitiously inclined, I should readily believe, that the whole course of my fute and pro- ceedings has been directed by superior influences, in order to coi^ ft>uiid machinations, deep, vile and iniquitous. . ~ Whoever looks back to the Spectator, uf the 19th Feb. will find, that I intimated to Col. Smith, the Administrator, by letter from Sunfiwich, dated 30th Dec. 1817, the zealous manner in which I had been supported, ijy Magistrates %nd others, and that 1 should take York in my way to England, if he would assure me of having a map of tbi Province, and some puLlished papers: at same time, in conlidcnce that these would be grunted me, I wrote a letter, for insertion in llie Kingston Gazette, notifying that I should pans that way on my return to England, and diiccliiig comniutiicatiu^s to be addressed ft>r me at Kin^styn Po»l-0(riti!. Dr. Strachun left York, 4?. I ..*. • * '« » H < ■ -**»-,•. m ■• V' *■ i^ { "» P to travel thro' the lower parts of the Province, eoon after ray Wttev to the Adminittratur must have reached York, and the cunteiita of which, he, no doubt,, was made acquuinted with. My being tup*- ported by the Magistrates and other Inliabitants, above Lalie Onta- rio, would redouble bis eQbrta to opptse me below ; and never pcr- l^ps was unrighteous zeal more strongly blasoned forth, than in the publicatior4 signed by his pupil and Reverend brother, Bethune. That, all along from York downwards, influences have been ex- erted against me, is obvious from the fact, that in these quarters, not one I'ownship out of tea has been reported to me, in proportion to what have bcec. reported above tiie Lake ; and only three Reports have been sent to Kingston Post-Otiice, up to this time, according to iafornitttion received from Mr. Mucuuluy of that OtIice» . This is fortunate for me. Hail every Township been reported ft the publication would have been too cumbersome for circulation, and had I withheld any Reports inti'usted to my care, and printed others, I must have given offence, and justly exposed myself to leproach. The Reports in my possession art: quite sufficient in number for the grand purpose in view ; and having been obtained without Govern- menr, influence, — without restraint or bias, will have greater weight than any thing of the kind that can again be collected. • *'". ■**' If the Traveller's "-Araf/ucAe" will, permit,. I should now be gUd if he would summon up his best powers of ratiocmatiou,' and apply them to tlic whole case as it stands between me and his Reverend Protege. Let him- sum up all the written evidence, and fully weigh this lust from Augusta,, with the Reverend John -Bethune 's signature '' Jtppended to it : let him walk out for the special purjjose of collect- ing information among the most respectable characters of this coun- try, and enquire, whether '~i their opinion, Bethune has not been instigated to do what he has done, by Strachan : when he has fully weighed and enquired, let him say what is the conviction on his mind — what ouyht to be the feelings of good men towards Dr. Stra- chan, if he is realiy {;iiiUy of instigating his pupil and brother priest, to sucif an act of iiuiiceucy ? — whiit ought to be the conduct. of the public towiu-ds such priests ? certainly every Christian should rise «ip and tall aloud uj^ainst the profanatioii of God's Temple, by ineii sucli asj thv'je. u. 1$mm^MI^mKw-'*>' ' ■v'VW-' #* 4* -'-^, I htv« be«n from my youth np at least a respector of religion, ind a reiprrt for religion, will, I trust, grow in me with uge, and ripen to perfection bet'orp I sinti down into the dust ; but, aa that respect becomes intense, so, I am sure, ought I to reprobate, and expose tO' dhame those ministers of religion, who abuse their sacred trust, and, instead of being messengers of peace, are the harbingers of mischief, and instigators of all uncharitableness. There are certain oflVnces which ought to rouse men above pasbive endurance. Jesus Christ himself gave example of active duty against those who were so re- gardless of decency, as to use, even the outer porches of the temple, for filthy purposes : he overturned their furniture, and drove them- selves out with stripes. The Traveller would come forward as the apologist of Dr. Stracban, and merely because he has less nerve, less information and duller perceptions than me, would allow his mind to sink into the low suspicion, that I must be actuated by lit- tle selfish motives ; — having nothing whereon to rest his suspicions, he imist t'cho buck some of my own words, in a feeble but insidious interrogatory, " is it not possible that b« may be unconsciously e.\- '\cited to make such attacks by those \eTy fascinations of persomU " feeling which he entreats others to avoid ?" I wish the Traveller, for his own sake, to reconsider this intermgatory. lie has nothing to prove : he can have no hope of my reform, even if wrong, for he says, I am " unconsciously excited," and yet he will stain paper with an impression discieditable to nay character and conduct. I did not expect this of the Traveller : it was not for this that I invited him to walk out before the publie. I wished liiin plainly to state l\i& rea- sons for so and so, and to use wit and sarcasm, against me, if h« could find any grounds upon which to stand tor taking honest advan- tage of these. In all my writings I have had proofs to bear me out, reasons to refer to, and fair objects in view, for every liberty as- sumed. Her« is a very improper liberty used, without proof or rea- son, and altogether vile in its object. It jtuts me in. mind of a mos.t invidious and unworthy remark which closes the critique of the Edinburgh Review, on Clarkson's life of Penn. The admiration of the reader is charmed with the jiure persevering spirit of that good man : he feels his very species elevated by the acts of the individu- al, and is roused to a desire of treading in his footsteps : the Ileade* is inspired with hope and laudable enthusiam ; but the Reviewec m M i vf- '1^^ ' "' ■' 'M and the id not rest and lessen ier his ei>- e severity Aly pre- ly fifst ef- tnotbave idividuals, liberty, if I, to speak in me and ' would re- ice to Mr. sd his fac» letters.— varmth of tbisticated a moment i from the ' favoured entlemen^ le genuine the stock I, fruit of y officers, 1 go with- f*^ i-^^y^y^eirt ( 133 ) out public censure,/ca'Ours will not only be thrown away upon them, bnt most grossly misapplied. It may be my duty when I arrive in London, to report Major Leonard's conduct at the Horse Guards. The Magistrates of Niagara, whom I lately addressed, owe to themselves, to me, and the cause in which I am engaged, an act of justice : — that satisfied, feelings will be set at liberty which are now very wrongfully " mpr'uoned." ROBERT GOURLAY. iVC (>:>-' Jjprtt 0, 1818. » . . Tftl :. To the Resident Land Owners of Upper Canada. - . - Niagara, 2d April, 1818. Gentlemen, Your Parliament is broken up !-^a second time broken up, from employment of the roost vital import to the honor uud well-being of the Province ! ! Good God ! what ia to be the end of all this f For my own part, Gentlemen, I had little hope of satisfaction from the sitting of Parliament, aftel- perusing the Administrator's Speech from U^e Throne ; and this little was entirely extinguished with the disgusting reply made to that Speech by your Representa- tives. That a man who had spent the best part of his life in Upper Canada,— whose every interest and aflection rested here, should eyen rtad a Speech, not only containing mean sentiments, but notifying a measure, provoking in the extreme to the feelings of a large body of his sufTering countrymen, was indeed heart-sickening : yet this was not all : — what could we expect — what sensation coold swell io our breasts, when we found men, employed and paid by these very sufferers to guide their affairs and watch over their interests, bowing down to kiss .th€ rod of affliction, and, in return for a most insulting offer, g. anting a receipt in (uU for demands, equally just, and well autlientitated ? Gracious heaven I Did we, the offspring of early civilization — the first hope of genuine liberty — the favoured wards of divine reve- ! * 4i * 1* «« • i^Mif ri .::? W/*'-' 1 ■ ^ >- 'r- ■• ( k^ ( 134 " ) lation, come to this new world, only to witness the degradation of our'kind, and be humbled beneath the rude savage who ranges the desert woods ? — Surely, British blood, when it has ebbed to its low- est mark, will learn to (low again, and, yet sustain, on its rising tide, that generous^— thi^t noble — that manly spirit, which first cal- led forth applausie from the admiring world. It has been my fate to rest here nearly two months, viewing at a distance the scene of folly and confusion, — by turns seriou", and by turns jocular, that the serious might not sink into the melancholy. 1 have advised — I have in duty offered services, but in vain : on went the sport, till yesterday, when the cannon announced to us that the play was over; and, now we have the second Speech of the Administrator, who. has appropriately sunk down from the Throne to the Chair ! , ^ Gentlemen, the constitution of this Province is in danger, and att the blessing*} of social compact are running to waste. For three years the laws have been thwarted, and set aside by executive pow- er ; — for three sessions have your Legislators sat in Assembly,^ and given sanction to the monstrous — the hideous, abuse. A worthy catastrophe has closed this farce of government ;<— your Commons and your Peers have quarrellad, and, the latter wouid assert, that the constitutional charter of Canada may be trifled with. What is to be done ? Do you expect any thing from a new Governor ? — you will be disappointed. Do you expect any thing from a new aet of Representatives ? — here again you will be deceived. Your Mem- bers of Assembly are now at home : compare their characters with those around them, and you will And them equally honest — equally wise— equally independent. Now, that they are returned to society, as private individuals, I sboulo be the very last man to call in ques- tion their worth or their probity : they are probably every way a^ bove par. It is not the men, it is the system which blasts every hope of good ; and, till the system is overturned, it is vain to ex- pect any thing of value from change of, Representatives or, Gov- ernors. ■ It has been the cant of time immemorial to make mystery of the art of Government. The folly of the million, and the cunning of i« /^■■' # t , •-» »■# ,■ '^^^rffBB^WBHHg^ -^^k. ■^^^***'- »^t?j5T'^ ' *^^^*'^^^^W^^^^W^^'i^" # •I. 1 w v \Jk « ( 185 ) the few in power, have equally strengthened the reigning belief; but it is false, deceitful, and ruinous. The people of every nation, may at any time put down, either domestic tyranny, or abuse,— they may at any time, lay a simple foundation for public prosperity ; they have only to \x honest, and, io their honesty, bold. In my last address to you, I said that the British Constitution was " that beautiful contrivance by which the people, when perfectly " virtuous shall become all powerful." Did you mark these words i — did you weigh them i — they are as important as they are true. — We, of all men, have least to oppose us in correcting the errors of our constitution. The British constitution has provided for its own t improvement, in peace and quietness : it has given us the Right of petitioning the Prince or Parliament ; and, this Right, exercised in a proper manner, is competent to satisfy every virtuous desire. My present purpose is not to dwell on theory ; but, to recommend an«f set example in the pmctice of using this glorious privilege. As Individuals, we have a right to petition the Prince or Parliament of Britain ; aqd, we have a right to meet for this purpose in collective bodies. My proposal now ie, that a meeting be forthwith held ia each organized Township, throughout the Province. I shall taite upon mt to name the day for the meeting of the people of this Town- ship of Niagara ; aud say, tLu.t on Monday next, the 13t]i inst. I' shall be ready by 12 o'clock noon, at Mr. James Rodgers' Coffee, house, to proceed to business along with whoever is inclined to joiiv me. The people of each Township slwrnld, I conceive, at meeting, . choose a Representative and Clerk, The Represenatives should as- semble from the several Townships, within each District, on an ap. pointed day, tadraw up.a petition to the Prince Regent; and, whiaU. could sooB after be got signed by every well wisher to the cause. . '" The District meetings should, without delay, hold conference by Representatives, each respectively choosing one, to meet iu a Pro- vincial convention, and who should arrange the whole business, dis- patch commissioners to EngUuid with the Petitions, and hold cor- respondence with them, as well as with the supretno governmeut- Two or three Commissioners would suffice ; and the necessary cost «f cai:r);ing the whole ably and respectably into effect, would require ^ • .* ,■ II*. m # IS. * *.-*i.^«- ■ ",^ .-at- f '-f^^ifn" ' 'v^.'' 'I V / ■ 't- « ( 136 ) but a trifling contribution from each Petitioner. It is not going out of bounds to reckon on ten thousand petitioners, and a dollar from each would make up a sum adequate for every charge. I should re- commend the subscriptions and payments to commence at the first Township meetings, the money to be paid to the Clerks, who should keep in hand one seventh for local and incidental disbursements, and pay over the remainder to a Treasurer, to be appointed in each Dis* trict, by the Representatives, at their first meeting. Beyond ma- king choice of Representatives and Clerks, the less that i» done at Township meetings the better : debate of all thmgs, should be avoid- ed. The Clerks should minute transactions, and keep » list of sub- scribers which should immediately be published in the nearest News" paper within the Province, and, week after week, in the same man- ner, should be reported, additions. The public wo-.ild thus, at onro see the strength and growth of the cause, as well as have vouchers fur the payment of cash. Every transaction should be plain, downright, *^ and open to view or inspection, — every principle should be declared — every proceeding be made known. "^^ The simplicity of all this, and the ease with which it.may be ac- complished, is obvious : to go into more minute detail at present would be wasting time. No man, by joining the cause, can lose^ ' more than a Dollar, and no responsibility whatever is incurred. As I take upon me to name the day of Meeting for this Township uf Ni. agara, so that meeting may appoint days for the meetings of other Townships, and, for the District meeting ; seeing, that it can be matter of no consequence who settles such points, provided the busi- ness thereby has a fair chance of commencement, and thut the whole system of petitioning may proceed without doubt or delay. No man upon such solemn occasion should say " I am greater than another^ " and will not be seen acting with him ;" no one should say '* I aaij "less, and therefore presume not to set mysell forward." On such an occasion, and under such circumstances as the present, every . party, and every personal prejudice, should be put down — every eye should be resolutely bent on the one thing needful — a radical change of system in the Government of Uppor Ciaiada. * I address myself particularly to Land Owners, because their in- terests are most deeply involved : but every man lesideat in Canada Y -^ ..■>■ * ■■#• ( 137 ) -«-every man \rbo m a lover of peace— vrho desires to see this coiiQ- try independent of the United States — who desires to see a worthy conotiction maiutaiaed between this province and Britain; — every man in short who has a spark of sincerity or patriotism in his souI> has now sufficient cause to bestir himself. .,1- There was a time when Israel was famished with intense drought. Day after day, and week after week, the uncovered sun rose, only to frighten the nation, and open more wido the yawning fissures of the scorched earth : — there was yet however faith in Israel ; and the faith of a few brought, at last, salvation to the expiring multi- tude. Let not the ancient record be lost to these modern days ^ — ; let not the signs and figures of the material world be thrown asid.e ns vain emblems, illustrations, and manifestations of the will, the power, and the goodness of God. lie never deserts his creatures while they are true to themselves, and faithful lo him,-— while they honorably put to use the divine gifts of rationality. The course to be pursued, by the people of this Province, at the present juncture is so clear, that he who runs may read : they have only to put trust ip the success of their own virtuous endeavours ; and, success will as surely follow, '4$ day succeeds to night.— Yes, worthy Inhabitants of this Township of Niagara, you m^y begin the necessary work with confidence :- -the little cloud which rose from the horizon, at first no bigger tlian a man's ha,nd, gradually expanded — mantled o- ver the relentless face of a burning sky, and at last showered dowd refreshment on the thirsty land. The good which may result, not only to this Province, but to the general cause of truth, should these proposals be cheerfullj/ and alertly adopted, surpasses all calculation. It would be needless for me now to descant on the subject. If there is really no pubUc spirit in the country, I have already thrown away too much of my time : if there is, let it now be shown, for never was occasion more urgent. If the people of Canada do not now rouse themselves, they may indeed have plenty whereon to exist ; but,to that "righteousness which exalt- " eth a nation" they will have no claim. The farmer may plod over his Helds, — the merchant may sit drowsy and dull, in his store ; but, the life, the vigour, the felicities of a prosperous and happy people uill not be seen in the land . — the superiority of public manage- T t"'- UPdWr^ .':''"^-^Vil \ ( t 138 ) ' btent in the tinitcd Slates, will bother all hopie of competition : America will flourish, while Canada sinks into' comparative decay ; and, another war, will not cnly bring with it waste and destruction^ but ignominious defeat. ' J •' > In the 8chen)e proposed I will accept of no appointment ; but, persons acting in it sliall have my utmost assistance, and I shall ihake clear to them every course to be pursued. As soon as matters come to a head, all information collected by me, shall be at the dis- ptlsal of the Commissioners; and even better consequences may be e!?pected from Ibis popular movement, than any that could have fol- lowed from the Parliamentary enquiry, Lad that been aUowed to proceed. It will shew, that though the rights of Parliament may be trifled with, those of the people of Upper Canada, are nut so ea- sily to be set at defiance. ...,« 'l"he Assembly (»f the Lower Province is to petition the British ' Parliament as to their trade : yeur Representatives are to petition the Regent as to their privileges: when I found my petition set asivle« and despised at York, I dispatched one immediately to be presented to the House of Commons in England, to call attention there, to Canadian ufl'airs : all this will go for little,- if something else is not done. You have read in the Newspapers of my scheme having been discountenanced by ministers at home ; you have read of speculations upon making the best bargain with the United States ivn these Pro- vinces. I know whence all this pioceeds : I know what would o' pen the eyes of the people and governmental home to the true valu» of the Canadas, and put an end to such unnatural — such disgusting surmises ; and all this I shall be happy to explain, as sooo. as ex- planation can be useful. One thing 1 am very sure of, that if the people of Canada will only do their duty as honest men, and as hr,otl)er9, in unity, not only every just claim may be paid by next Christmas, but a foundation may be laid for this Province becoming speedily the niost fl(jurishin_3; etition : decay; Tuctiuii. and as ■ ( *39 ) To TMB E&ITOR OF THE Nl VGARA SPECTATOU, Sin, The imprrssion produced upon my mind Ity the perusal of Mr, Gourhiy's hist letter, was neither luvoiiruble to him nor pleasing tu myseh'. The attack is illiberal, and he has evidently tortured my words into a sense which I am confident no other person will evejr suppose they intended to convey ; and the style will shew, that h« does not so calmly bear " the friendly lush of unsophisticated good humour" as he professes to do. Were I indeed guilty of all he ac- cuses me of, I would conside** myself unworthy to contend with him, but if I did not reply^his reu era might iina.ginc that I silently ac- knowledged the justice of censures^so " discreditable to my charac- ter." Tho' Mr. Gourlay's feejings, when he dismissed my genius, inight have been as quiescent as those of Uncle Toby, they were certainly very different in their real nature. Uncle Toby's breathe44 the spirit of mildness, and forbearance. Mr. Gourlays are so much the reverse, that one would suppose the fly had stung hinj. He complains that I distinhcl him by an attick while resting oii his arms, tike the heroes of old, after having routed the Miijor ; but I am not aware that I attacked him. My tirbt letter scarcely hiid any thing to his charge, and I was rather surprised thut he an- Bwered it. He in reality disturbed me, for he inii'hf natnraily sup pose, that I felt fatigued after " belabouring tJie ftilse privk; of ihc, '• Canadians." Never was a letter written with a better inteullon and the style was such, that I thought it could draw no reply, but i was mistaken, for Mr. Gourlay ^eems to I'uiisiiier oveiy t/p.e Mb- interferes in his cause, as n target set up for him to shoot at. lU would wish his opponents to pass before, hi in, as (he decenclants o Uanquo passed before Macbeth— that he might make Lis rcmu;l<'- npon each, and then see them annihilated. ^ Mr. Gourlay tells me that I was induced to' interfere in his caust by a feeling of vanity, arising from the flattery administered l-v in terestcd persons. He apparently, forf;eta t'.o declaration he onco >nade, " that it isungentlemanly to question motives," and what i- still more extraordinary, he does not seem awaie, that in bi.s \hi\ attack upon me, he says, that I " mean to do good." How incon fistent it is, in him, first t) stal« his belitf tbctt Iain tiiiccre. ■^■n'-' . -■S»«i»*" ( 440 ) in«an to do good, and then to hint that foelifth vaftiity hat Orged me to art 08 I have done. But I would wish Mr. Gourlay to be aware, that although my perceptions are duller than his, I can distinguish praiteof real value, from th»t spurious kind, which might be bes* Cowed by weak individuals, wh.T \ ould wish to make me their tool. In my opinion, flattery bo misappi;* d, is as contemptible as the peo- ple who degrade themselves by offering it. Neither am I So ambi- tious <)f distinction, as to profess sentiments foreign to my heart, that 1 may secure the applause of beings so despicable in their chai-- acter, nor is my " love of conquest" so great, as to make me utt^r accusations, alike repugnant to honor and conscience, merely that I may be complimented upon havitig " lashed" Mr. CoUrlay. I have always expressed my conviction of th6 purity o{ his motives, and Am happy to say I have not altered my opinion, although he is un- generous enough to question nnne, and attribute what I have writ- ten, to the most humiliating kind of vanity that can enter iiito the heart of man. This treatment certainly is not very encouraging, and might almost be offered as an apology for penertetics*. Ite how alludes to the parable of the feust mentioned in scripture. Dut is his treatment of his guests similar to what we may suppose the scripture lord's would be ? or is it such as ran have any chance of alluring others to join the table. Yes, if his guests quietly petition as he directs them, and are silent, he will entertain them with po- liteness, but if they utter a breath against him, or his measures, he turns them into ridicule — he " lashes" them — he " dismisses them " forever." I will not acknowledge that 1 am perverse. On the contrary, my mind is open to conviction of every kind, and always disposed to pursue arourse which has been demonstrated to be right. I go still farther, I confess that I think it was my duty, and tlie duty of every one to petition, but Mr. Gourlay would allow me to do nothing mure. lie calls ihe perverse y because I endeavour to de- fend myself from his attacks— because I find fault with his pro. ceedings — and because I do not support him in ev^ry thing. lie ac- cuses me of " depreciating his efforts for the public good, bother- " ing serious reflection with mere nonsense, and endeavouring to '' throw into ridicule, the most important duty incumbent oti the " people of this Province at the present moment ;" and challenges ine with uttering " scandalous misrepresentations," and " staining paper w>th impressions discreditable to his character and conduct/^ '•S*'-'*'*^*WW*'* ■..#^*p.«si^*««yia*Bip«(*«'r- mi^W^r. ••^•:$m^:^^^SI^J!f^': fgtd me aware, ( 144 ) Let rat tell Mr. Gourlayi that these are the impressions upon hu own mind, not upon mine, or I believe upon that of the public. My lust letter, to use. his own words, wns - ^tiuredly amost, "unoffending production," and any evil which it now contains, is produced by the restless scrutiny of Mr. Gourlay's jealous spirit. The juices of the most healthy plants, ran by misapplied art, and torturing analysis, be converted into a liquid of baleful and poisonous quality. Thus the .malignant effect of evil construction, may alter the spirit of a sen- timent, although the language remains the same. T wish Mr. Gourlay had considered the nature of these accucations more parti- CUlafly, before he laid them against me, for he could scarcely have brought forward any, that I would more unwillingly admit, and which I can more conscienciously deny the justice of. To depreciate the efforts any one makes for the public good, however trifling they may bn, is indeed a guilty attempt ; but when tiie object of him who is depreciated, is national, and tends to promote the happiness of the people, and whan his perseverance, and steadiness prove the justice of his cause — the man who attempts to counteract such en- deavours, must t<'uly be actuated by a damnable spirit — a spirit rtimilar to that of Lucifer, whose " only good is evil." Yet I am charged by Mr. Gourlay, with an attempt which even a traitor to his country would blush to acknowledge himself guilty of. Let me now discover in what instance I have " stained paper with " impressions discreditable to his character, and conduct." I have hinted that he may be unconsciously excited by the fascinations of personal feeling. Me takes the word uuconaciousfy in a sense which seems to increase the injustice of my interrogatory, but he must surely be aware, that if he is unconsciousltf excited, he cannot be blamed ; because the act, in that cu&e, is neither deliberate, nor voluntary. But why lay so much stress upon this ? Is Mr. Gour- lay liable to none of the errors of humanity ? Is he proof against the deceptions of the heart, which betray the most noble, and most en- lightened ? Has he cast the beam out of his own eye, that he may see clearly to draw the mote out of his brother's ? Is it criminal to be under the fascinations of personal feeling ? I am at a loas to conceive what could induce Mr. Gourlay, td style Dr. Strachan, my prolege. I never had any idea of attempt- ing to protect hin;k. In a cause like the present; it is my opinion, 1 tliOS •:^W^* ■igjiiflW*' v^ "^ I i t I ( 14S ) (i l>! - -I 5 th.il he wlirt rf quires protcctinn, ditrs not deserve it, for I wouM wisli ev»ry one to stanil or f.ill by his own n)crit». — I do not recol- iect that [ hiive Hiiiil uiiy lhin<; in favor of Dr. Strachan, and I be- lieve even Mr. CioniKiy wotihl be inclined to nrriise me of triins- i;rc8sinj; the limits of lihrrality and justice, if I ventured to attitrk tvcry indivi(hi!il, who has «i.iIij;i):iHlly of)|>osed him. He nmy b« nsHured, tliut if Dr. Struchan was my protfge, I would use more rfTectiial means ihiui I luivu hitherto ciiiidoycd, to rescue his char* tti-tec from the obloi|uy his accusations attach to it. * * I huve already ment>>ned that I think it was ray duty to pe- tition, and I can assure Mr. Gourlay, that I neither require him to bawl in my ears, nor supplicate on his knees for such a favor. £ut tho' I had done so, what g(>od could have resulted from it, while the Pdrli'\mv.'t>t is in its preseut situation ? Mr. Gourhiy's utmost bawling would not have made them attend to either his petition, or mine. What confidence en be placed intiien, who, when assem- bled together for national purposes, and aware that the prosperity and salvation o&the country depends upon their exertions, waste their timt; in private qujirreln, and idle wrai)i;Iing about privileges^ and petty distinctions, forgetting their duly to the people tiiey re- present, and pursnini; a line ofciiudttrt, which their God, their country, and their conscienci s miiiit equally condemn ? What hopes ..(3»^jM^jB8»»!(Ssj^, ..^..:%y^ ^i.iiiBijiiii!i>»- ' '- ^ ■■"^ II 'iHP^ .' « m.^-^rf0mit~." - ( *« ) adminMtration. Canada it at present in a situation wliich en\U lontllj . for the attention, und interference" of every one. The Britisli govern^ ment baa refused encuurnge mcitt to cniigrunis, and ccttlurs, and it must therefore depend upon itstlf for popuhition, and tncuns of de- fence, agiiinst that enemy whose preparutions, warlike dispositions, and inestiauble 8i:p(stance as follows: " Gen- " tlcmen, your presence here to-day is gratifying to ine, inasmuch " as it is a proof that my call ibr a meeting has been w«U received. " Beyond the publication of my last Address to the Resident Land " Owners of Upper Canadd. I took no step whatever to gain swp- " port. It is conti iry to my principles to --solicit, privately, assist- " ance in the pubUc cause, and, all party work, I disclaim. It is " usual to open the business of public meetings with a speech ; but^ " I am neither a public speaker, nor an admirer of speechifying. It '* too often tends otil) lo stir up the passions and mislead 'he j:iidg- " ment. Every man, I trust, has his mind made up to the ncces- " sity of a grand move in this Province, to rescue it froin the damo- " ing influences, which prevail and bar its prosperity. 1 he movf , " now |)roposed to be made, is equally safe and constitutional. Ifi- •* oH countries, where society h;is formed itself into two clasR«>s — '' the rich hk-J the poor, great jtopular movements arc to be dreaded. 4< 11 !r*a«'<-'^'^« luld feel in- id frightens least do no p ; and, the s excellent, aily by e*- y, I would ORcst niuii's parlour, to remind him of hi» duty, and the importance of the sub- ject. The prior part of the letter is full of pet, bad argument and •elf-deception. The Traveller always writes well ; but, he hae no^ the faculty of reasoning. He assumes premises altogether unwar- rantable, and seems to have no idea of the right structure of a pro- position. He is like many young men that I have known at col- lege, possessed of quick parts and lively imaginations, but who never could get over the yons assinorum. He set <>ut with saying, of my last letter concerning him, that it is " illiberal," and denominates, it an "attatrk." It was neither lY/i^era/ nor aa attack. It was a , defence, and, in answer to an illiberal attack. The Traveller points at much naughtiness in me, but forgets, or, at least avoids, to say V y thing of the words, *^ 'juibl/tes," ** perverts," "unfair" and * ' jnccals." It was his use of these words towards me, which made hini a fair mark for severity. They were improper words and con- veyed illiberal ideas. The use of these words broke the bonds of " unsophisticated good humour," and gave me liberty to benido and severe, if f chose. The Traveller seems to feel severity, as if he was known to the public ; but, in his character of Traveller, he is not known to the public : he is uosecn : he rests incog, he is noth- ing but an unfeeling man of straw. Before the public, on the con- trary, I stand open to view, — a real personage, not for myself, but for the public weal ; and, if severity, even to Mr. Noboily, wiU benelit this cause, it is my duty to be severe. My use of the word *^ perverseness" touches the Traveller deepest in the quick. " Damning" as such a charge may be, I could still maintain my point ; but, I shall do more good by referring to the conduct of others. There are Gentlemen in this very Township who stand well with the world, dres- genteelly, and talk sensibly, whose conduct to me, as well as their refusal to come forward to do their duty as petitioners, is most truly perverse. They acknowledge that all I have said is just atid true : they have even personal re- gard for me : they admit that the situation of public affairs is dis- graceful and ruinous : they say that something ought immediately to be done : they see as clearly as the Traveller that petitioning " can at least do no harm" — that " it must do good ;" but, not- withstanding all this, they hesitate and object from mere trifles. Their objections are not half so rational as those the Traveller for- merly recorded *' why was not all this found out before ?" and *' it ■ IW| H '■•Wf'*'*''''^^-' I ( "8 ) . . " ir astonishing that this wab not found oat before." No : they arc iMAl more fouliah and perverse. They say " why is this man ap> " ik>inted to act in committee }" " why is this other in the commit- " tee styled Etquiret" and " we would sub8cril>e if sooie other per- '' son would subscribe." 1 say, that all this proceeds from the per- verseness of haman nature. Their consciences tell them what is right : they know that it is their duty to come forward, yet stilt they lag behind. They have nothing to say against the cause of truth, and therefore their spleen has vent against personal character or rank in life, as was the case, of old, when those who would not follow Jesus Christ, said " is not this the son of the Carpenter ?" If such persons did not attend the meeting itiis most wanton per- Terseness to be gossiping about and finding fault with any man ap> ^inted by tlie meeting, or, with any honorary title ronferred. — There is only one man iu the committee that I ever knew before the meeting, and I have only once been in- bis company. All the men, for any thing I knaw, are good enuugb men ; but, in fact, tho committee b'^ noihing to do in the business btrt mere trilles, sttcb as reporting the names of those willing to subscribe, and so forth. Tiie Representative and Clerk I am better acquainted with, and more At men for their situation could not have been selected, both as regards honor and activity. Tlie _^ne which I shall now impose on the Traveller for all his evil deeds is not heavy ; but, if he a. grees to it and discharges the debt, it will be a real proof of his nn- cerity in the cause. I suy then, he mnst not only attend his own Township Meeting and do his best there, but he must afterwards come to Niagara and go from house to house : he must Invite every one to set aside trifling and all utKharitableness ; and he must en- deavour to get every one, who has not already subscribed, to give their name and dollar to the good cause, especially magistrates, and all who lay claim to the character of gentlemen. The Traveller must no longer hesitate, from want of *^ hope," as 4o the good he may do as " a single individual." If every one for- bears to |ietition, or aid the cause, from misgiving of this kind, nothing will be done. If every individual had come forward at my call, two months ago, to hold members of Parliament to their du- ty by petitioning, I am quite assured, they would have done their duty : the unity and force of the popular voice would have " com- '" pelled tbftin." He speaks of the men in parliament '' forgetting , . . . „-■,.,■.* /-.5 com- ( M» ) " tb«ir duty to tlie people." I say the people have neglected their pwiiduty, and, if they neglect it still, they will suffer and be insul- ted still. The men in Paiiiamentare like other men, doing *' evil " continually :" all men are apt to pursue " a line of conduct which " their God, their country and theii consciences must equall' :on- •* deran." All men are sprung from Adam, and have a relish for Apples. Members of parliament, when they get into York, are in the Garden of Eden, and cannot forbear *?)- 'bing the forbidden fruit. We must shut the gate of Eden, or, .^ck up the apples : we must no longer expose our men of Assembly to temptation : we must hold over them, for ever, the flaming sword of justice and the law. I have hitherto excused the Traveller, for withholding his real nanne, on the score of" timidity." He must now lay aside timidity,, and, " false pride." Example is better than precept, and the Can- adians will soon get over the sin which most easily besets them, when t' Si e the Traveller walkhig before them, a real man, and rid of '• rjden bashfulness. To prove to the Traveller, that " false pride" is not a failing of mine any more than insincerity, I beg leave to say that I shall be ready, at Jaines Regers' Cofl'ee-IIouse, next Wednesday the 22d inst by 12 oVKick noon, to acccnnpany my fellow Traveller, in his round, over the village of Niagara after subscribers ; and if it is agreeable to him I shall call aloud at every door, " here are two poor Travellers comt hegsingfor your name and a " dollar^ in aid of the great public came." Every man will then ii« liberal : every woman will smile on us for love, of the Traveller. The Devil is fast retreating from this ancient capital : the leuveuoi the pharisees will no longer bt; seen in it : the very list which was once dench&A against me, has at last opened wide to firiends>hip and forgiveness : — indeed it is now doubtful if there is more than one vil- kin in the whole District of Niagara. Before I wrote the letter, which the Traveller calls an *• attp.k," I mean my last letter regarding the Traveller, for now that I re- collect, all my letters, to Major Leonard and others were designa- ted uZ/rtc/a;— before I last wrote of the Traveller, it was matter of consideration with me, what style it s'.iould be njost proper to as* sume in answering him, best to servo the public cause— whetLer the severe, the ludicrous or the confessjonal. As the conjisswuat ttyk rnuy not be compriuhcudcd, I must tirst confcas, that 1 i^ni pri- *'" ""Wwmjssjj^^P ( 150 ) ▼ntely well acquainted with the Traveller- -have the highest regard, not only for his literary talents, but for his goodness of heart, nnd, bating fk conduct over the asses bridge, in inatheiuatics, there is DO man in whose hands I would rather trust my life. Now, before writing my last letter, I had a wish to see him, and consult whether it would not suit best to t«ll the public, that his second letter was intended as a mere burlesque, and that the words, " quibbles'' ** perverts," " unfair" and " conceals," were used only to try, for a week, what would be thought of them — whether the " lalse pride,'* or better sort of pride, of the Canadians, would be offended with them. As it so happened, I missed seeing my friend, to shakt hands as usual between heats, and behold the light nmg of niy wrath, set tire to my good man of straw. It is all for the best perhaps : my good effigy, when burning, shews oft' to perfection. Tlje Tra- veller improves under the lash : he is now actually to petition : his doubts, his delays, his heats, have all given place to good resolu- tions, and rtg)|t feelings. We have met, shook hands, and before several witnesses, he has acknowledged, that the words above quo- led, were tery improper. He will not even have a ^'^fteadacbc" now, though I should oblige him to • ead half a dozen columns : I shall, however, neither put him to this test, nor proceed further than seems necessary to some explanation which may be generally bone- iirial, for ther« are Canadians, not a few, whose reasoning nbwcrs nre not above par, any more tlian those of my ffllow Traveller from Kritain ; and, I should be sorry if any ill befel the public cause through mistakes, in argument, or personal dislikes tome, founded thereon. i V The Traveller says, I tell him, that he " was induced to intei fer* "in my cause by a feeling oi •eanity," and repeats this word three times ; but I cannot, upon search, find the word any where in my letter. He then thinks ilinconsvitcnt in me to accuse him oi vanity ^ after giving him credit for sincerity and good intention. Now, there might be no inconsistency m this, even though correctly stated. It often happens that people are moved by vanity, yetwica/t to do good, and, in the main, are sincere. After all that I have said of Dr. Strachan, i may now acknowledge it possible that perhaps he was »inT;erc and meant to do good. The same legislative (Councillor who called him " arrogant," told nie also, that " he was a good-hearted " little felljw." r»eing good-heaited, sincere, o; .laying no bad in- -■■•■(• Wf^-^'^MM^' i I5i ) and, lere is^ before hether ,er was ibbles" y, for a pride/' with o shak* wrath, icrhaps : The Tra- on : his id resolu- nd before love quo- ch" now, : I shall, Iher than ally btne- ig nbwers eller from (lie cause 3, founded intei fer« word three icre in my 1 of vanity y Now, there stated. It to do good, said of Dr. laps he was ncillor who )od -hearted » no bud in- tenti rt, ;s not enough to excuce a man from romniitting offencew: many have been not only accessary to murders, but actually hava committed murders from errors of judgment. To plctul error »f judgment, would not save such men from the gallows : and, shotikl lor^ Selkirk prosecute Dr. Strachan for libel, as I have heard k whispered he may yet do, the utmost proof of sincerity of disposi- tion or good intention, ought not to stand in the way of justice. Thus, even "ith correct statement, there is.no inconsistency in giv- ing a person credit for sincerity, while moved by vanity or worse passions ; but, the Traveller forgets that the credit he had from me for sincerity was given in my first letter in answer to his fii-st, iuid anterior to the appearance of his second letter, to which my secund was a reply. His second letter may have, at once, changed my o_ pinion as to his sincerity, and exhibited signs of vanity ; but, in fact^ as to vanity, I returned to him, in my 4..vond letter, nothing but joke for joke, and only sung of " false ambition" being the death cf his genius. My worthy friend, getting so far confused in his notions, goes on confounding and confusing, and asks if my "treatment cf " .iiy guests is similar to what we may suppose the scripture Lord's " would be ?" Before answering this question I must first correct the Traveller's language. "The scripture Lord" is generally under- stood to mean Jesus Christ himself: any comparison with him would be profane ; but these words are impri/perly introduced by the Traveller. The scripture informs us only that " a certain man made " 9 feast," a mere n^n, and, in comparing with this mere nuin, I feel easy in saying, that my invitation to petition is equally sincere and pure, ay to its end, as was the invitation to the feast) m the parable. I |hall be sorry indeed, if any fault of mine, and not a few faults I have, should militate i;gainst my sincere ellurt? for good in this cause. The Traveller will, I hope, in future, do every thing for the cause, and rather throw a veil over my faults as an individual, than creala jealousies which may obstruct its progress. Neither 1 nor the Tra- veller are any thing to Uie public as Individuals. — The moment we think only of ourselves, we are trifling with the public cause ; and following this rule, neither his second letter, nor the greater part of his third is " Mnoflendinp." F.ven the question jis to my heiny " liable to none of tin; errors of humanity" and those that follow, are all offending, as neither I nor any one would answer otherwise tlmn inthe negative. It may not he *' crimintil to he under the fascina- " lions of ptrsonal feelius," but why speak ul' it, at all, uiilsss there ^ .■'*>^-viri:*^i^->v-" O^"- "}•.,,'■ ■■: »■■-' ^> ( 152 ) is proo/* of the existence of sucb feeling Wliy pat a question, mere- ly to start a surmise i Surmises concerning my character tiave come from little to great, and the most desperate measures have been ta* ken to blast the good cause, thru' the false slander of my character. Or*y two dayis ago I was attacked on the street of Niagara by a member of Parliament. I was called a traitor, and the leader of a seditious meeting. The only object which I could discover was to provdce me into a brawl, and by this means to throw odium on the patriotic views of petitioners ; but the intention was completely frustrated. I stood the fire of scandal and blackguardism, vith the greatest coolness of temper : I was reviled, but reviled not again : the meeting was held in peace end quietness ; and, I trust, it is only the first of many virtuous and patriotic steps towards getting pay- ment of the just claims of sufferers by war, as well as towards estab- lishing an entire new system of management in Upper Canada. — The cause, I trust, will now prosper the better for its persecutions, and I shall take cnrc of the Member e allowed to disgrace themselves as private men, as much as they did at York, as public characters. I am neither subject to fear nor to passion ; and I trust that Gpd will protect me from murder and all harm. I shall calmly pursue the path of my duty, and I shall try whether personal security is to be held as light in Upper Canada as security in property. I have lived lung in Scotland, ami long in Eng- land ; in both countries I have freely published my sentiments of pul)ltc men and measures ; but, till I came here, no one ever dared to threaten to shoot me, or to strike me ; nor was I ever before slan- dered as a seditious character. If a jury of Upper CuiiHda cannot put a stop to such horrible language and couduct, I should he loth indeed, to bring a single man to this country as a settler. If I iiitd been supported in Upper Canada, frankly from the h^^j|»iIlning, and m no degree above the deserts of my first Address, ships freighted with men and money might by this time, in consequence, have been weigh" ipg anchor on the shores of Europe, for the St. Lawrence, instead of taking their departure for the States of America. By the very last post, I have accounts from England, that a friend of mine, wlnt left home only a fortnight before me, and who is now settled in Indiumi, li:is published an account of tliat country in England, to draw emi- grants thither. Ilis talents are such, that I know his work will take ertect. Three years ago, he published a tour in France, which ia ■.."« ■- less than five months run thro' as many editfons. My friend and ths Ainerican government will, I believe, have much to thank the coun- cil at York, the Legislators and certain Magistrates, not far from Niagara, fur the dastardly, and idiotical conduct by which they have rendered the most extraordinary effort that ever was mode for the public good of this Province, so far impotent, as to lose Hb effects for a whole season, und perhaps forever; for the stream, when one* diverted t6 Indiana, may not easily be brought into its more natural channel. My personal efforts have sow prevailed so far in opposi- tion to the infamous influences against the cause, as to have got th« business on the shoulders of a constitutional meeting, and if the peo- ple are true to themselves in holding orderly and peaceable meetings all over the Province, as I have pointed out, the cause will even yet htive a glorious triumph. In this case I repeat my own words, " not only every just claim may be paid by next Christmas, but a foundation may be laid/or this Province becoming speedily the most flourishing ani wcure spot oh the habitable globe." -f- - > * ROBERT GOURLAY. •mf^- -y. V. S. Since the meeting of the Niagara Township, I have been invited to attend the meetings of several other townships ; but I can only be at one, and, there, 1 should be sorry to dictate. The meet, fngs were directed to be held all on the same days that individuals might not be going from one to ancthcr, and interfereing or voting out of their own Township. All may be sure, I wish them well. The main consideration is to have honest and independent men chosen as Representatives, to attend at St. Catharines, on Monday, the 27th of this month, to deliberate quietly, as to the best steps towards get- ting the claims of sufferers by war paid, and public abuses corrected. I trust, that beside him who tried to disturb the peace of the Niagara meeting, there is not another man so base as to scandalize constitu. tional meetings, or breed in them confusion. It would be well, how ever, fur the people to be on their guard against all who are in th» -habit of going to York, for land, and office/cvours, for none of thes» will like to see honest men petitioning (or fair claims, or the coriec- Jlion of «bU8M, .b^ wbich \iUiai;8 "live, move, and have thtir b«« Ji!fi. 11. G. AT _.««■" S'.-".'. .1 _____ _, .j: .*. » >•' .li .'• ' i'. '^ '^i:,~. ,.Al^'/&*t^ •j»* V *•> I ( 154 ) To THbIpUBUC. IT having l)een stated to me by acme of my friends that the pub" lie mind was impressed with the idea of my having participate in, and sanctioned the recent improper and unwarrantable publicatioui of Mr. Robert Gourlay ; I conceive it a duty which I owe to tb« Government, to the Province, and to myself to declare tliat be- yond publishing a statistical report of this Province, he had neiUier my approbation nor my countenance. ^^ ^ ,..^.1** in making this declaration, I trust that the tenor of my life jhqp tifies my asserting that factious discontent never originated ^ my breast. Having said this much in vindication of my own sentiments, I shall, in order to prevont error in, and rescue from distress the heedless proselytes of Mr. Gourlay *» "one thingneedful" — viz". *** " radical change of system in the Government of Upper Canada," transcribe for their information, an extract from the common law of the British Empire, which bears on the point of unlawful meetings or conventions, viz. " The constitution of Great Britain having " placed the representation of the nation, and the expression of th« " national will, in the parliament, no other meeting or convention, " even of every individual in the Kingdom, would bi a eompftteni *' organ to express that will ; and meetings of such a nature, tend- " ing merely sedition, and to delude the people into an imaginary ** assertion of rights, which they had before delegated to their re" ** presentatives in parliament, could only tend to introduce anarchy " and confusion, and to overturn every settled principle of govertk- " ment," An act of parliament was passed in Ireland, in the yeas 1793* to prevent any such .aectings or conventions ; and a few ig- norant individuals, who in the same year had dared to assemble un- der that title in Scotland, were quickly dispersed, and their leaders convicted ofseditioue practices ; for which they were sentence*! t* transportation. I shall conclude with recfnnmeoding to all, to weigh well, Low t^sy attend to visionary enthusiasts. THOMAS CLARK, Niagara, April 18. 1818. i :;rsci-««i -ir ' • ( 1*5 ) PUBLIC NOTICE. \t the pu5- cipatrd in, iiblicatious )we to tb« that he- ld n^itj^er jiy life jMflP ated ■ , fay BeDtimenta, distress th« viz". " a r Canada," itnon law of t)l meetings tain having ssion of th« convention, i. eompfttent ature, tend- n inaaginarj to their fe- nce anarchj e of govero- in the yeas nd a few ig- issenible un- heir leaders ientcoced t» well, Low CLARK, ' f IN consequence of a handbill having this day appeared, si^td by the Ilonorabla Thomas Clark, of the Legislative Council, in which an attempt is made to stigmatize the principles adopted by the Niagara meeting ; the committee, appointed by that meeting recommend the people of other townships, (where any doubt may exist in consequence of Mr. Clark's handbill) to postpone the elec* tion of their Representatives until a future day uf meeting is adver<< lised. Groat at the necessity is for an instant appeal being made to the •upmiie governnMnt, regarding the state of Upper Canadai tlM committee would, by no means preM tuty measure until its legftlity is proved, and its propriety fairly established m the public mind. They pledge themselves to shew, in a few days, that they are rtet only rightin what they have done ; but, that the Hon. Thomas Clark, is grossly mistaken. (Signed for the Committee.) ROBERT HAMILTON. ' Niagara, Jpril 18, 1818. Till there i$ time for further proof, the following will testify tha •trabge inconsistency of Mr. Clark. To the CUrk of the Township Meeting, 13M April, 1818, «f Niagarti*, QueeHntm, I3th AprU, 1818. Sir, You will herewith receive two dollars, one of which is the sub- scription of the Hon. Thos. Clark, fjr the purpose of defraying the expenses ot carrying a Petition to the Prince Regent, relative to the situation of this Prov-.ice, the other dollar for the same purpose, from your most obedient humble servt. (Signed) W. G. HEPBURNH. WE certify, that we saw Mr. Clark, give the dollar above men- toned, to Mr. liepburne, for the purpose also above epecitied. ,,. ^. CTHOs. DICKSON, (Signed) I J AMES KERRY. L^;:^v:rr-f ^ 'mmmmw^ummm^ •wwswiSB ► *. f'^ "»•''- ...» ( *«0 ) WM V' n f i f' To THl AVORTHT IiriTABITANTI Of TUB DWTKICTOF NlAOARA^ , .• Niagara, Jpril 2l«f, 1818. Gentlemen, TTir. above placards have already tpoken for themselves. It il BOW my duty not only to defend my character as an individual, but to maintain the grand constitutional right of all British subjects — the right of holding meetings hr petitioning the Prince or Parliament. This Right, a Legislative Councillor has dared to question and tra- duce ; but, woe to every attempt, which would lessen the liberties of the people, and vitiate the oracivs of truth. Gentlemen, but for the unnatural, the insiduons, the infamous placard which is now placed before yon, yesterday would have been m day of concord and confidence : -yesterday, the sun of regeneia- tion would have risen to Upper Canada without a cloud ; but, it will yet rise, and shine more bright, triumphant over the luurky clouds of the morning. The historj^ of Mr. Clark's unhappy proceedings, and the de- i^ -#' fence of my own conduct and principles, shall follow after I have first established the weightier matter of the law— our undeniable, and, till now, unquestioned, right of petitioning, and 6f holding public meetings fer doing so. I'he right of petitioning is one of the ^rand articles of the Bill of Rights solemnly passed into law, when the British people had driven one sovereign from the throne and were about to establish in it another more agreeable to their will. No act of Parliament is half so sacred as this— the second great charter of British liberty. It emanated purely from the people, uninfluenced by sovereign power, or unswayed by domineering a: istocracy, and the sera which gave it birth stands emblazoned in history as our glo- rious Revolution. The Parliament of Britain has never questioned this great right of the people,, and the people arc in the constant liabit of exercising their right. The meetings of last year in Eng- land, at some of which ?0,000 people were collected together, were all held under t^^is grand constitutional privil^e, and nut a question was made regarding their legality. The Parliament of Britain ne- ver attempted to suppress even the Spa-fields meetings, which ex- cited in the minds of some, the greatest alarm, and, I, myself, was in the House of Commons when Lord Folkstone presented a petitirtn from one of these meeting's, on the evening of the very day on which, it was held. «*-\ *-',;■' A 1818. e«. It ii dual, but ubjecta — rlianient. n and tra- i liberties infamoui have beea regeneia- 1 ; but, it be luurky id the de- ter I have uideniable, if holding I one of the law, whep e and were 1. No act ; charter of ninfluenced cracy, and as our glo- questioned ie constant Jar in Eng- ether, were t a question Britain ne- which ex- myself, was id a petition ly on which. ( 157 ) ^' ' Vth&t is all this which Mr. Clark hat set before the people of Upper Canada, as a bugbear to frighten them out of the exercise of their most sacred right f What is this quotation frnia the Statut* book i what are these stories Ui us, which concern the Irish rebel- lion and the conviction of Traitors f la it possible that Mr. Clark vtfuld seriously believe that he could for any length of time impose, even upon the ignorant, or appal the timid, with recitals of this na- ture ? Can any man read the act of Parliament which he has quoted^ and not perceive, that it has no eye whatever to peaceable meet- ings. The act clearly specifies the sort of meetings which it was framed to repress — nw?etings " tending merely to sedition, and to " delude the people into an imaginary assertion of rights." In the name of God, I ask, where is the symptom of sedition to be discov- ered in this Province ? Unless from the mouth of the Hon. Thomas Clark, I never heard a breath in Upper Canada which could, by the remotest construction, be applied to any thing of the kind. — The pure and ardent loyalty of the people here hAs been one strong in« ftuence with me in exerting myself towards improving the connec tionof Canada with the mother country, and it excited in me pecu- liar feelings of disgust when I read in the Newspapers that surmises were on foot for bartering away such people, like slaves, to the Unit- ed States. If I am guilty of sedition, why does not the lion. Thom- as Clark do his duty and bring me to trial i Mr. Clark knew of the Niagara meeting, and of my being present there, yet ho sutlers ms to go at large to advise and attend other meetings, — nay, not only am I going at large and doing all tliis, but I dare the highest magis- trate in the Province to lay bunds upon me. There is thu» no ahei,> native for Mr. Clark, but either to do his duty, and arrest me, or t» leave me "alone and thereby satisfy the world that he has been wo- fully imposing on the public by assailing my coiuhict and principles — wofuUy and wantonly scandiilizing the rights of the Canadian peo- ple. Doubting that the ignorant and timid might not be suilicicntly astounded with a quotation of law, Mr. Clark sterns to expect tliat my " heedless proselytes" will be certainly driven from their meet- ings and appalled, ior ever, by a reference to an Irish actof Parliu- mont, and a hint, as to what befcl the ignorant in Scotland. — In tlie year 1793, every body knows, that rebellion was ncaily bursting out both in Great Britain and Ireland ; and every body knows thai soon after this, it did break out in the hitti^r. I myself visited lie- land in the midst of its fiercest rebellion, when I was allowed lo la'ut 1 r. ^^...-^^1 ^^::^-,Mil»::.iattiS;^ ^ii«P«riPii^^ppsp«p^ "^i. ,% ( las ) •nd pMC along, only from bring known lb iIm rommsnder of tlia Kiugs tr«M>|Nt. 1 had, thiiH, lH>Uer o|iportiinitiea tbtin Mr. Clark, of Iwiiig acquiiinled with tbe stutc of that country, and the n«ci(a?e I done any thing of this sort i (lave I Beld •eeret nseatings ? Have I sworn any one to secrecy, or, been an ad' Tocate for oiiths ? liava I or niy proselytes any thing to do with warlike arms i Mtrcy on us, for, by and by, the Honorable Tlioin. «s Clark will Recuse us of sedition ft>r eating our food, and, of trea- son, for meeting together, in church, to put up our prayers to tbe Almighty ! After the punlic, to whom Mr. Clark's placard is dedicated, have |)een so grossly insulted by him, I am persuaded it would be but fur- ther insult, should I say another word on this part of tbe subject. I ooly wish that 1 could here stop and let Mr. Clark rest in quiet a. mong " visionary enthusiasts ;" but my duty, both to myself and th« public, calls loudly for further explanation. From the first paragraph of the placard, it would seem as if I was 4lependent on Mr. Clark, and, that without the approbation and countenance of this very self important personage, I had a right to do notliing in this world. I flatly deny that I am in any way depcndt-nt upon him, or, that at any stage of my Statistical enqui. ries, 1 have l»fen ruled by his advice or authority. My first address » printed at York, was never, till its publication, shewn to Mr. Clark* and with rrspect to my " recent itnproper and unwarrantable publi- cations," who could ever suppose oie under his patronage who now does his " flitfif, to the Government, the Province, and himself," by piotestiiig against tlietn ? Th*" iniiinnations of the placard, ground- less as they may he, are yet nothing to what Mr. Clark has uttered til public regaidiop mc. Yesterday, he attended the meeting of his own Township, and there I am sorry to say, disgraced himself, in a maiinir beyond all precedent. Mr. Clark ttood forward at Stiira- y I iV ' r k- "*.' &* r of tilt Clark, of WiM •till of tbingt the chief leri were ^ga, with ^p«ra- o would tenced to ve I Belrl en an ad* i> do with le Thom. I> of trea- sra to the tted, have ie but fur. subject. I n quiet a. \i and the iS if I was ktion and !i a right any way 111 enqui. address* r. Clark, de publi< fho now self," by ground. uttered ig of his elf, in a It StiUB- ( 150 ) frrd meeting, and declared that I waa a person wholly without lueaaa of auLsistence— ftbat the di>ILir he guve Mr. Urpburne was Bieaat lor my private aid iis a poor mau-^tkat be bod lent me mO' fity in Englditd which 1 had aquandare«i«w wf the nioitey sakseribr •d by petitionsri. Ifa dozen honest men bad Hworn that ■'VIr. Clark was capable of such declurutiuns, 1 would not havu bvli«ved theaa, iMfore the absolute ftctwas proved ; and, 1 trust that nod vrcircum* Stances, the public will exruse my stuti^ig the truth astp my privata •flairs, which, upon any ordinary uecasioo, would be quite ioiper* tinent. •.,. .,, . . ,,.,-•' . ._ ..j, ... I became acquainted with Mr. Clark for the first time, when h« was at home during the war. llti then came to Wiltshire and spent a few weeks at my house. I am the oldest sou of my father, who, at that tiair, was in possession of a landed estate in Scotland worth, with its stock, upwards of 130,000/. Having for some years been involved in a law suit, on a question which unluckily my father bud misconceivQO, he had withdrawn from me bis couiuenancc, and I wnj* .left to the support of other friends in prosecuting my suit. My s *- uation being known to Mr. Clark he volunteered to me a loan of 5Wl. Little more than u year after thia, my father's afl'uirs becama involved. Till the age of seventy-five he bad curried on the most •xtensive agricultural operations of any man in the kingdom'; and for integrity us well as perfect knowledge of business ranked in tha very highest class. When the exposure of aftairs took place, not only my father and family were confounded with the result, but tha whole country was so. It could be accounted f<>r in no way but from the natural decay of age. My father had lu&t his momory, and, for several years, had been the prey of all win o v,-' the wicked- ness to impose upon him. Within a month uflcr I'u: j, seeing that I ^ould no longer expect to return to my native country, and keep up the raok which I hud, from my iufancy enjoy*-.', 1 rt;ai»lvod on gonig .abroad, and had my intention romniuiuoa'ii.Mi to Mr. ('lurk. The fail of my fortuncf inciiused the rancour of the person with whom I was at law. He would consent to po terms i>t iscttU-nient, and 1 had to remain miyu than a year fighting out U»e biiltlt;. My Lawyer* failed to carry my cause before the ossixca. I iobtmilly published «u address, — bud this address put iulu the. hands uf muvt eminent • A' f. s. v>, .. v •-- U i i I if: ■ ■ ' 1/ ( 160 ) •ounseHn London,->with a suitable fee, and thus obtained a confes< ■ion that I was ri{ibt. I then sued in Chancery for a new trial, and carried my point though opposed by five Lawyers, who wasted sev- eral ^ays in pleading^ My cause was a eecond time brought before a Jury, and then I was finally victorious) recovering what I pled for, with interest, and the cc.>ts of three suits. The moment all this was settled, I made arrangements for the conduct of my farming concerns, and came here to look out for future operations ; and) here, I will come with my family as soon as all is settled at home* which my friends are now giving their aid to accomplish. Last Sep- tember, I satisfied Mr. Clark that a fair settlement of my farming concerns would leave me a reversion in capital of several thousand pounds after paying my debts. My delayed departure from this country however, has greatly altered my hopes of this ; but, inde- pendent of my own personal capital, there is a provision for r^v wife and children, of 280/. pr. annum, which my fate or conduct cannot affect. So far Trom being reduced to have my wants here supplied by Mr. Clark's charity, he knows well, that 1 have yet credit at home as far as travelling expcnces require, and that my bill to him, for 501 received last autumn, was duly honored. About two months ago I wished to draw for a larger sura ; not the slightest objection was made to my credit, by Mr. Street, the partner of Mr. Clark » but, as he was not full of cash, he asked me to accept of a tempora- ry supply, and it was agreed to defer drawing on Loudon, vntil I shonld require an additional sum. In the Township of Dereham t own 866 acres of land which belonged to my wife before her mar- riage with me ; but which she Las since made over to me ; and, liowever trifling this may be as to value, it was a very proper ground upon which to claim attention in the Petition which I sent to York to be presented by Mr. Clark to the I'ailiament then as- sembled ; for upon coming to thfc Province I fuund it greatly de* predated, or rather unsaleablt. That I wish to pocket the dollars subscribed by thfi people of Canada for the managemcut of their public interests, is u worthy finish to Mr. Clark's declarations. 1 advised the people to pay thi? into the hands - i^-* ' ^^ If-^ Ait ».r?T -m '^,' A ■^i ( 161 ■V.^'''. ■■'■ ) * -1. sptstit, and such benefit the public of Canada have certainly no right to grudge ; but, it i? as certain, that private emolument, neither , first nor last, has been my spnr in what I have done. I never was ' covetous of wealth ; but I have enjoyed the pleasure of thinking my efforts tended to the happiness of niy fellow creatures ; and, the hope that I may accomplish my purpose of making this Province a safe and honorable retreat for the poor of England, would sustain me through a life time of persecution and scandal. From the con< sideration of what is already said, the public will form some coiu- parison between Mr. Clark and me as to " unwarrantalile publi. " cations," but let ua ^et on to complete exposure, before the final decision is ^iven. It will be remembered that some weeks ago I mentioned, that since I had addressed Mr. Clark as a public character at York, be had taken all in good part and written me several friendly letters. It was so, and meeting together, for the Hrst time, after his return .from York, at Mr. Th')ma8 Dickson's on the 11th of this month, vre shook hands before several witnesses. The day preceding I had heard something of Mr. Clark's doing at Yoi-k, which I thought too berious to pass without notice, and I had then in my pocket a letter calling upon him for explanation. Our accidental meeting, and shaking hands, altered my intentions, as to this, and I committed the letter to tlie Hamcs, that there should be no retrospect after thtf right hand of fellowship had been stretched out. On Saturday last about two o'clock, I had occasion to call at the Printing-Oflice and ibund that Mr. Clark had just sent in the manuscript of his placard. Upon looking to it I was cut to the heart. I immediately went to Mr. Wm. Kerr, his brother-in-law,- -told him what I had soen, and begged of him, to go with me to the lion. Wm. Dickson's, where I thought Mr. Clark would be found. Thither we went, but Mr. Clark and Mr. Dickson had gone to a meeting at Alexr. Roger's Hotel, and, there, we found tliem jn t;jr return, f most earnestly entreat- ed Mr. Clark, on his own account, to withdraw his publication, but in vain : both he and Mr. Dickson were alike immoveable, and I found that tho placard which bea-'s only the signature of one, wai, im fact, the joint production of these two Honorable Gentlen en. Mr. Dickson had prun(*d Mr. Clark's asperities, and had searched out, from hi& law rtposiloi y, the notable quotation which now stands be- ^ !## r ,:» •-- i- V • ■ • ¥■■ -■«. ^ •* •,'■• % r 4: » **r '■♦' f ^. ' *l " '"is" *t «^ ,« ■•. "^xfrntni^mtitm # rm '■- .**--•■ .*.v^' M ^'^;:«' •rf,. • i- ■«* ,'. *'M ( *62 ) «■.. ^f. ..- "If' ■ '►J^,'' To c«ndude, I told thd CentlenMndtut if tliey «, tin- "*i ;#'•>, ■\l ^: ■^ H ff .-<> '/<*y^ fore 08 as a brgbear. persisted in printing the placaru, I should certainly, in return, think myself bound by no delicacy of exposure. Mr. Dickson declared in that case be would never speak with me qnore — so the matter is now '•t issue, and to determine it, I proceed without scruple or dread. ^ The propriety and fitness of every human action must depend on' circumstances. What, in one case, would be very wrong, may, in>iN another, be necessary and proper. My pablication8,for the last two ihoaths, have roused the passions of many unreflecting people against me, and many have formed judgments concerning them altogether erroneous, owing to the partial views taken of the subject. I am not conscious of a word of mine being out of joint. My £rst aiidrcst was studiously laboured to please, yet we have seen the cohc.rt of Augusta, with a judge, a priest, and a scribe, as leaders, come for. ' ward In a formal charge against it : not spurred on by hasty pa tsioili but,' after the mature cogiution of nearly four months. My a^^cond address was of a very different nature. I did not expect that it wa» to gain, at first, universal favour, tho' it had at least one hearty ad- mirer. After carrying tl>e first of it to the press, I called on the )IonoraV;>|(e Wm. Dickson, and read tlie manuscript, as far a» it was then composed. Mr. D. was so pleased with it, that he inunediate- ly took me aside, and desired my acceptance of a c'eeJ for 500 accM (pf land ; which I thanked him for sincerely, butret'u»cd. f v^^ ' My after publications, week after week) sprung out of accidents of the moment, ^d each was calkdfor in its appropriate cbaract<^ and dress. The letter to the Administrator, never would have had ex- istence, but for an accident of my not getting off the week before its appearance, along with the mail carrier, to York, and the publica- tions of Major Leonard, which came forth in the same paper, call- ,^ ed for my re aining here still another week. Before this was print- V ed, Mr. Clark's refusal to « i i#t,» MiviiJ ittU ^ '' '^# liftliey f, think red in is now ^'^- -4 jpiBtid on ay, in asf two against together I am mfdrcss :oh(.rt of ome for. pdisiorit y s^^cond atit wat. earty ad- d on tbe as it was iunediate- cidsntsuir icUf and i had ex- before its publica- per, call- "OS print- and, andf my post, as CJark, last was I lashed I from a him. A ♦ ♦ i^V^ r . ir nfiisal to preuat any petiti«H decently worded/would be provoking ; ' *l<» but, had r time to set forth the disappointment I exparienced on tius %^' 1 ■M"^. occasion, the public wonid rather wonder bow I could joke with Mr. Clark, than blame me for the exposure of trifles, or the use of any language of severity. My whole mind had been bent for 7 months, • on the consideration of the vast advantages which might be gained by a proper improvement of Upper CaBa4a. The object of my first address had been accomplished so far, beyond my utmost ex- pectation, but my experience, in the Province, had convinced me, that I could not honestly use the Township Reports, to draw people abroad, to a countiy where government was so scandalously admi- nistered. No one spoke more openly against abuses, than Mr.Clark ; ilideed, he asked me, one day before going to York, " if it would not justify rebellion ?" and Mr. Dickaon had, about the same time, declared, 'It the mess, here, that if matters were not ordered better he would rather live under the Ammcaa than British Governments Though it was not very decorous, for a Legislative CouncillorJU) ut- ter such a speech, be.ure British officers, or any where else, I shall, before all the world, back this se^itiment : — certainly, if things are not to be altered for the better, in Canada, the United States would be ths niore desirable place of residence. Although I am of this ' opinion, yet, I would not, for a moment, allow, that Mr. Clark's question, under any circumstances, rould be answered in the affirma- tive^ while the right of petitioning remains free to our exercise. Nay, I say m6re, such a question, even without an answer, stands up against INIr. Clark's appeal to '* the tenor of his life ;" and man- ifests that *' factious discontent" has "originated in bis breast." If Mr. Clark could put such a question to me, which I solemnly a(Brm beiore the Omnipresent God, that he did,— if he could put such a question, without even an attempt at reform, ihrough the peaceable exercise of our right of petitioning, what lasguage was '^ *• unwarrantable" for me to usC; towards him, who denied me the benefit of my constitutional right of petitioning, and who would not present a petition to the legislature of this Province, while it was his bounden duty to do so— a petition which was to lay ihe ground work of removing the evils, of which, he and Mr. Dickscn, so loud- ly complained. — evils, which 1 looked upon as completely barririg every good which was. in contemplation, from the success of my sta- i if ^i ■ ■ ■' ' , «i,' '••• '^ jfe 'f '»«'<., '•«^ mi *r" 5K' '-if :.%,:: '% ' :i ;*»:«&■. .% ,*^:' '^kii, -*::.,-£*, .«»({*. *^.;.-, ^■,^' Jf* i. ' ^v ' •<»• .« -fi ' ( 164 ) :f./ tistical labours ? What are their notions of right and vrrong, } mu' altogelber at a loss to discover. If one man only had appeared in all this scene of confusion, — if one man had been the author of the placard, btuck up before us, we migiit have settled our minds to rest with a verdict of insanity but, a conspiracy of mad men never, to T my knowledge, was before beard of. Silly actions, and shallow ll' reasoning may be expected from the rabble ; but, to see such con- ' duct, and such a production existing in, and emanating Tiom, the u- • nited counsel of Councillors, is confounding dnd marvellous in tba extreme. ' One part of Mr, Clark's placard has stirred up doubt, I'find, Id mure than himself and fellow placard maker, I mean, his quotation of my words, "a radical change of system m the government of l^ per Canada." There are some people ao nervous — so very sensitiv^r that reason has nothing to do with tbeir actions and impulses. A worthy Professor of St. Andrew's College, sat one morning in bis eW bow chair, while his wife reached the tea-kettle to the fire. A drop fell OB the professor's leg. He saw the fire and black bottom of the kettle at one glance. The association of scalding was instantly formed and th$> impulse was irresistible : be leaped to the floor in agony and stormed at his wife for the pain he suffered. When he had sufficiently vented his groans and his sple«n, '" sit down" said his patient partner in this world's misery, " sit down and bless your- self, my dear, for the water was but this momejat drawn from tbft* well." '^- ^" ^'''' ^- ' . « » The word, government, may be variously applied : — ^to the frame of government — the constitution ; or, to the mode of carrying on the governraent-~the management — the administration. In Britain we never think of petitioning fur a change of government in the first sense— -a change of constitution. We are all pleased with the con- stitution ; but we roar loudly, and petition often, against the govern- ment, taken in the latter sense — the management — the administra- non. To petition for a change of government in Upper Canada is quite different :— here we may safely petition for a change of govern- ment, in every sense of the word. The goveinmenl or constitution of Upper Canada rests merely on the authority of a British act of Parliament ; and all that is constituted thereby is subject to repeal, by th« same power which enacted it, as tbc words of our constitu- i#i* in m ht iu of be ul so ro in th la br de ej to Pl y< w ll II 8' C h u I ■ -Ai^i:Mk..,.l* ,.■'. .v'«. V I MB eared in r of the 8 to rest >ever, to shallow 'd ich con- I, the u> in the find, ID uotation tofl^ ensitiv^r .♦ ses. A ♦ n his eh ' A drop n of the ^ nstantly floor iu ^hen he 'n" said 88 your- rom tbft«>. i e frame ; on the tain we be first lie con- [jovern- inistra- nada is jovern- Jtution act of repeal, nstitu> ♦ » m- J.^-SS^ ■ >:|' +^ t '4W ) %-«! ^ -4-.| t**, ;**- ^Sr. tional statute expressly indicate. The constitution of Upper Cana- da is to continue only " during the continuance of this act," and should we pelitioii for a change of government here, we do nothing more than is dor.e every day at home, for a repeal or amendment of an act of the British Parliament ; and, though I had not at first contemplated the necessity, I now think it might be very proper to petition for a fresh act, which would free us from Such pests as leg- islative councillors, and perhaps some other councillors to boot : perhaps too, we might petition for a Throne instead of a Chair. If either the one Hon. Gentheman, or the other, had been as wen inclined to examine strictly my words, as they are zealous to blacken my character, and prove me to be a fuol and a rogue, they might have discovered, that these words did not go to the extent, that they, iu the spirit of illiberality, have imagined. I speak of " a change of system in the govevment." What is tn the govemnient, cannot be the government : tbe wine in a bottle, is not th.e bottle. Through all my writings, it will be found that 1 spoke of the system, and sometimes I identified this system, with that which ruled by " pat- ronage and favouritism." The system nf patronage and favouritism in the government of Upper Canada, I have long considered to be the great bane of prosperity, and, without this is put down, all legis- lators sent to little York, will come back better for themselves, but, bringing with them , nothing better for the country. Every one won- ders at the inftaence of Dr. Struchan ; a man of no ability — of no experience in the world ; but they do not consider the nature of the tools which have been put into his hands. — It iiequires no ear to play a hand-organ, and little strength to drive a horse in a mill : yet the one may give spirit to a dance, and the other may convert wheat into flour. I question if Dr. Strachan has not run some liL tie errand, or done some little favour for every Honorable aud net Honorable that ever went up i: little York to legislate. Such " small sweet courtesies" cost the Doctor nothing, and are altogether fas- cinating to Councillors and members of Assembly. On the other hand mark the Doctors ire ! ! ! Look ..; me and tremble, every tmn whd would have a slice of land, — look at me and trenible, every man who would desire to get smoothly on in Upper Canauti- Perhaps, the two Councillors who have posted me as a promoter of sedition) are not quite injmacululej even though " factious discon- ,,^.. #, V.,. 4- ■•■T^**^ *,i:-'- ■-4^^ ■ •^*^*•■T•^• <■■». m *' ^^ '-^'^ ^ ' ■ "-y ^''~^"''\:^ 2M' '''^' m m w .»'ti i#i 1^^ •%•'■ .1^": -si;A., ■■^• m i *M ) .5S twi !Mver originated in ih«ir breMts"— perhaps, tliey would rather (y.i' the Province go to ruin than loae the game of patronage and fa. vouritistn — perhaps, "their deeds being evil," tbej^ vfon]'i "lev? ^ftrkness tatii^ than light.'^ It is trae that Governor <'>cre U gnm, who made tbem Honor-able, and got for Mr. Clark the fno;.gar>l forHiy character and febi- ings, let us try how he w;!! '^tand tku tvtiKrh-ston^ of truti; . It came to my knowledge, by perfect accidci>r., i.at a member of Assembly vas bunUng after land, while the public iitisini;ss for whtcU he was pud to g(t to York, was sliam^^vlly oeg7c;rted. I'r dcr existing cir- cum«toiM-e»; it vi is a duty to expose what wat. geif.g fws, am} to pjw* * hJ!;! i.f i»« peo(>'.e of the r^al cause of their I'lriiiJinent etfertAigx;', goisd V "ptw;. Mr. Dict-.wn, iias since told me, thai Ijf, aiso, was boe;y peuaon'b^ tor lane, wiiile he was at Yoi^. Mr. Dickson bav- »r>!^, sorae /»; ,i 3 ago, 5;sen employed as a Lawyer, by the Indian De- p^anoient, or i^lberwHo fur the Indians on the Grand River, had a iitKt vi laml given him, consisting, I believe, of GOOO acres, by a Council oi' Indians, called together under the influ(-nce of Colonel €lao8. Against this tran^taction, some other Indiaui protested, and Mr. Dickson's title has hung m dvbio. While at York, Mr. Dick- mi'', bada petition drawn i^p to the Prince Regent, to coniirm his ti- tle to this land, and to give weight to the petition. ~ Sir John Sber- brooke, was to favor Mr Dick^ion, with his support. Now, I ask the people of tht& Ptovinre, to pause, and reflect on this transaction. The Indian land is their own, by as sacred a title os any in Canada. If Mr. Dickson's claim '.o the land was fair, why ask the Prittce Regent for what is not his ? why draw in His lixcellency the Com- inander in Chief, to go to the fountain of honour for a favour, which rannot in honour be be8to^Yed ?-- — Here I leave this subject to-day, for I wish the people to pause. . Canadians 1 rouse yourselves ! collectivefy and individually come '^ into action, —save the Province from ruin— yoursalvcs from insult and disgrpxe. Let a party, in every Township, call . \ every house, and ask aid to the canse of trulli ; a^id, let the Scr. ' 3 text be re*. Iieated to every man " he that is nut for us is agji^t^ 4-: ^'3^^ *.>tSi.>^ ^.. m ^ %■*- '■^■^'- - ^'^M ■ uld rather ,ge and fa- ilH "lev?* re U gr»ne, 0*. «i fily of i t.rc con>- ?ri)v>,cc, ' and t'ebl- It came Aucmbty cL he was icisting ci) - mm] W Jji't* , aisio, was rksoo bav- Indian Dc- iver, had a acres, by a of Colooel ^tested, and Mr. Dick, i&rm his ti- Jubn Sber- Now, I ask transaction, in Canada, the Prince ^ the Cons- /our, which ject to-day. lually come from insult very home, text be re*. ^0<- f- ■#«■.-: ■,f * ( 1«7 ) Bouse yourselves, Canadians, for villany is in arms against yoat p6ac3 and prosperity : — rouse yourselves, for all thut was fought for in war — all that was hoped for in peace, is at stake : — rouse your, selves, Canadians, for constitutional right is assailed. One bold and generous effort will yet retrieve your honor,— will retain to you the renown of being honest men and loyal subjects ; for loyalty must not suffer the constitution to be invaded and trod down. Let the royal motto be our pectiliar watch word :— let Canada from hence- forth, bear these words on her shield—" God and our Rioht.''^^ ^ . . ROBERT GOURLAY. ^' ? <%'< 4' ' '»r *♦-•-■ , 1> • •Wi- .i^' ■ ( i > ^4'* "^M i4l ■■^'Wy 4 ?. ^/-f p : t 'M %.. ^:*^¥ * ■*. •■r^. ) * jjr ir.-'*'"".^ *..S>i,.. ^.; » i^iiiiiiwi wiiiWH. II ..-MiSMmi- ^ i M i I » 'i i i n faj^*"