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L-ll, I .jM ■ K .^- I I . M . TOBftJlTOr PRINTED BY C. DONIiEVY,. MIRROR OiFICE, "»«vv^*>''>.'vv^vno»v«yvv-i^*A~"vvvv-»->^»"iA-'--^'vvwSi-v .-^^■vwi ,;. ■■-*" ^^o .« X« i 1,' • it 1 -'I'-tiY: •\LiUL/"4 -««sp^ 'tr -'~^^^-*' THE ORIGIN, COMPOSITION, AND FUTURITY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN CANADA. ir I'f. •:\Na In order to give a correct idea of the relative position of political parties ir. Canada, it is necessary to take a retrospect and briefly to trace the history of events from a some- what remote period. Lower Canada, in consequence of the events of 1837 and 1838, had lost the con- stituton which it had enjoyed since 1791, and the Imperial Government had substi- tuted to it, an or^pranization designated a " Special Council," an anomalous and ex- ceptional state of things which could only be transitory. In 18^ the Parliament of the Empire voted the new Constitutional Act, which re-unitefl, under one Govern- ment, the two Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, separated since 1791. Eng- land, in a political point of view, was wrong in acceding to this first separation of the Provinces, since it tended to foster, on American soil, the developement of institu- tions of excessive mobility and which might be engrafted on any nationality and thrive there. One element alone is sufficient, under every zone, to favor their growth, that element is — Interest. England had been wrong in permitting the simultaneous development of two separate nationalities, arrayed, as it were, against each other — of two societies, essentially differing the one from the other in their ' institutions, their laws, their manners, their instincts, and their prejudices ; and she was again wrong, and far more so, in 1840, when, in order to crush one nationality, the only real and en- during foundation to her power in the new world, she re-united into one the two Pro- vinces which had grov/n fifty years older in the possession of those opposite institutions, laws, manners, instincts, and prejudices. Adopting the counsels of a perfidious man. who deceived himself in his cruel calcula- tions, she sought to attain her end by violent measures and by extermination, whilst she might infallibly have found what she sought in good gorernment; and whilst justice alone ought to have been the basis of her domination on the broad and free shores of the St. Lawrence. The Act of 1841, by its odious division of electoral districts, gave a preponderance to the English race, and placed the Franco- Canadians, with all their political, social, and religious institutions, in a condition of political dependance upon it. The popula- tion of Lower Canada was by one-third larger than that of Upper Canada, and yet the latter had the same numberof voices in the Elective Chamber. English boroughs were favoured, and valueless localities containing scarcely a few hundred souls, could elect representatives, whilst Electoral Districts, having a population of forty thousand souls, were entitled to elect but one. The injustice did not stop hero. Constitutional tyranny had so far been perpetrated ; it now re- mained to complete the measure, that un- constitutional tyranny should be exercised. Lord Sydenham, altered, by proclamation, the limits of the cities of Quebec and Mon- treal, fixed from time immemorial, by the proclamation of another governor, Sir Alu- led Clarke, and excluded from them the almost totality of the Freoch population !:il,' that could, indubitably, hare given the vic- tory to the liberal party, and thus have con- vinced England, that that party was sup- ported and upheld, at the great centres of information, commerce and influence. In other localities, such as the tvo Counties of Terrebcr>oe and Montreal, Lord Sydenham triumphed through brute force, an^l by shed- ding the blood of peaceable citizens. In the legislative session of 1841, which was the first under the new Constitution, the Governor General not only had a majority, but, out of eighty-four members, composing the Legislative Assembly, only twenty-one were franco-Canadians, two of whom were partisans of the constitutional despot. The franco-Canadians were not, however, des- pondent, and, after solemnly protesting upon the records of the House against the par- tiality and injustice of the Constitution, they, lik • wise men, resolved on taking a part in public affairs, and await the supervening of better days. To stand aloof from the Con- stitution would have been suicidal, they, thereiore, did no such thing, and time has shown that they w.rre right. Lord Sydenham's majority was composed of the English Tories of Lower Canada, and of men designated as the Liberals of Upper Canada. These were favorable to the Union, and hence the Governor General, by means of corruption i '\ violence, had them elected iij the very ' --holds of toryism, 6uch as Toronto an i . • igston. The Upper Canada Tories, hereiuiore the supreme rulers, were adverse to the Union, because it deprived them of the Government ; and the Tories of Lower Canada were favorable to it, because it preserved their power, and, particularly, because it was to consumate the total ruin of iranco-Canadian nationality and influence. .Lord Sydenham obtained his Parliamentary majowty especially by offering, in^ the way of ameliorations, thirty-six millions of francs to the coretousness of the fluctuating popu- lation of Upper Canada, which is incessantly recruiting and renewing itself by immigra- tion. A few distinguished liberals preserved their public integrity amidst so much cor- ruption, and the names of a Baldwin, a Price, a Durand, wiJl be handed down, hon- oured and respected, in history. But in the middle of his triumphs, Mr. Ponletl Thomp- soa (afterwards Lord Sydenham) felt that his incongruous majority was wanting in those elements of cohesion that might war- rant its enduring, for any length of time.— Hence did he endeavour, mere than once, to draw over to his side Mr. LaFontaine and with that gentleman, the franco-Canadians. Unable to do this, he attempted, but in vain, to compromise Mr. LaFontaine in the eyes of his party. Thio majority, composed of elements so strange and repugnant, and having no other aflii'.ity amongst themselves than hatred of a common object and covetouonees, was about breaking up when Lord Sydenham descended to his grave. His successor at once understood that he could not govern without the concurrence of the franco-Cana- dians, whose union, independence, disinter- estedness, and elevation of sentimerrty, were neither unknown nor unadmired. Overtures were several times made to Mr. LaFontaine to obtain that concurrence, and after four times coming to the charge, new concessions being made on each occasion, Mr. LaFon- taine now, for the second time, leader of the* Adminstration, and Mr. Morin, the Speaker of the Elective branch of the Legislature,, accepted office with Mr. Baldwin, the pre- sent Attorney General for Upper Canada. — This ocurred during the first few days of the- Session of 1842, and the Parliament was* prorogued to give the new ministry time to- prepare their measures. B'H Sir Charles Bagot died before the the"- ^ meeting of the Legislature, and Sir -ia Metcalfe- came out as his successor. Sir Charles Metcalfe, for a long time ac- customed to despotic G^K^ernment, and sul. mitting very distastefully to the suggestions of a responsible ministry, whilst he, more- over lent an ear to the advice of irresponsi- ble persons and intriguing men, «uch as Messrs. Wakefield and Higginson, made certain important appointments without con- sulting his responsible advisers, who were directly accountable to the people for thosa appointments. The Ministers protested and retired. Their conduct was approved of by nearly three-fourths of the Elective Cham- ber, which declared that the right of consult- ation was as much an attribute of the Min- istry in Canada as of the Ministry in Eng- land. Sir Charles Metcalfe, who ivas re- warded for this autocratin conduct by & Peerage, appealed to the people of Canada. The elections were more of a personal than of a political character, if we may so speak, for at the very time that the recent peer was loudly protesting, through the press, agamst any design on his part to impair the consti- than once, ntaine and I!anadians. tut in vain, in the eyes lements so g no other a hatred of Hiess, was Sydenham uccessor at lot govern inco-Cana- e, dlisinter- letrts-, were Overtures LaFontaine 1 after four :onces»ion3 ^lr. LaFon- lader of the* he Speaker Legifilature,. tn, the pre- Canada. — days of the- ament wa» rtry time to- 5ir Charles meeting of 13 Metcalfe- ig time ac- it, and sul. ' suggestions t he, more- rresponsi- n, «uch as ison, made without con- who were )le for those rotested and raved of by live Cham- t of consult- of the Mia- itry in Eng- ho -ivas re- iduct by lu of Canada, srsonal than &y so speak, int peer was ress, against r the consti- tution, and that he charged the Ministry with having sought to make a political tool of him, he lavished his treasure with a pro- fuse hand upon all our benevolent institutions and upon all enterprises of public utility. He was, however, affected by a destroying malady that was soon to terminato his ex- istence. He died of a cancer in the face, that inflicted upon him most acute suffer- ings, which he bore with a silent courage and a calmness of resignation beyond all praise. All these circumstances conspired to draw to him the sympathies of all those who believed in the smcerity of his protest- ations, and in his avowed respect for Minis- terial Responsibility, and who did not understand and foresee that upon the result of the then contest depended the perpetuation of the old despotism, or the establishment^ for ever, of constitutional government in its plenitude. The Tories of Upper Canada, "vvho had protested with all their might against popular government, ranged them- selves, with ironical joy, around this other Charles H., and they carried an electoral triumph because they were the only compact element of Lord Metcalfe's party. The returning officers had been artfully chosen, and by means of several dishonest decisions, they gave a majority of two or three votes to the Governor General. Almost the whole of Upper C .nada ranged itself under his banner, whilst Lower Canada almost wholly took possession of the Opposition benches. — The Opposition was formidable, both in point of numbers «.id of talent, whilst the Ministry was composed of men, either new in public life or of patent incapacity. The former, had they willed it, might literally have arrested the march of Legislation and of Government. They, however, willed it not, and preferred a contest, more rational and more p.itriotic, which ultimately pre- vailed throughout the country. The Tories, during the "three years that they were in power, attempted several times, but unsuc- cessfully, by their inexperience, to gain over the French Canadians ; they prostrated the public credit ; threw the country into inex- tricable financial embarrassment, and led it to the very verge of bankruptcy. They lost themselves through their impotency and corruption ; and tne General Elections of 1847 and 48 gave a brilliant victory to the liberal party, and recalled to power the p*m- cipal elements of the Ministry of 1842 and 1843 The change of Administration took plac9 at the commencement of the session of 1848, after a vote of the Elective Chamber, which placed the Tories in a humiliating minority. The new Administration prorogued Parlia- ment in order to prepare their measures. This overthrow of one party and elevation of another, took place without commotion. The adversaries of the new administration confiessed that it was composed of the strongest and most homogenous elements that could be found in the Country, and it may be said, that if they did not like the Cabinet, they had at least confidence in its integrhy, hs ability, and expeiience. Peace reigned throughout Canada, and the new Government laboured with all is energies to extricate the Country from the financial em- barrassment into which it had been plunged through the unskillfulness of the preceedi.ig Administration. Never had the Tories, as yet, found them- selves so fractioned as a party ; for scarcely could they, when mustering all their forces, command eighteen votes in the representa- tive branch, and, unhappily for them, they had no bond of Union to keep them together. A leader was wanting who, by his superi- ority, might silence petty jealousies and group his party around him, himself pre- eminent in their midst. Sir A. McNab seemed disposed to take the command ; but hardly more than two or three consented to accept as their leader a man who, at be8t,but understood some of the minor Parliamentary tactics. Some of the memlwjrs of the late ad- minitration separately manifested the same desire by their disdainful and negative si- lence. — in this morbid state of existence they awaited the session of 1849, which was the most stormy and the longest since the Ses- sion of 1792. At the commencement of the Session the Tories, numerically null and deficient in cohesion, were bewailing their impotency, when all at once they thought they had dis- covered the way to power. — It will be teiidily understood that we allude to the Rebellion Losses Bill. — The Tory press multiplied falsehoods in relation to that measure, and the Electric Telegraph carried them to the extremities of the Province with the rapidity of lightning. The agitation became ex- treme in Upper Canada, and in the English districts of Lower Canada. The Opposition knew that they could succeed best by kind- ling a war of*^ races, and hence, in both 4 houses of Parliament, through the press, at public meetings, everywhere, they raispcl the hue and cry that tiie Governor General was rewarding French rebels, and, there- fore, punishing the Anglo-Saxons for their loyalty and devotion to the empire. They moved that the hateful bill would not pass, and made prodigious efforts completely to «top the progress of Legislation. The House of Assembly sat without adjournment for twenty successive hours. Clubs were busy without, plotting in the dark, and threaten- ing vengeance. The bill was sanctioned on the 25ih of April. — A shriek of angry pas- sion burst forth. Lord Elgin, who had but consulted his position and obeyed his duty as a constitutional Governor, was insulted in leaving the Parliament buildings ; eggs and stones were thrown at him. On the night of that day a meeting was held on the Champ de Mars, and the multitude of gen- tlemen rioters and fii bankrupt merchants raoved towards the Parliament buildings which soon after exhibited but one immense conflagratic J. The hideous light was re- flected over the whole vault of the Canadian sky, and the shouts, no less hideous, of the barbarian rioters were re-echoed on the ex- treme shores of the St. Lawrence and in the depths of the forest— they there inspired in- vhich is the total number of the Representatives composing the As- sembly. Of these 51 raerabers, 18 belong to Upper and 33 to Lower Canada. Clear- grilism or disappointment, had alineated five members from the Upper Canada portion of the liberal party, and annexation had depriv- ed the same party of three members in Lower Canada, so that without those losses, the liberal party would now possess titty nine members out of eighty fotu. But whatever befalls, it may hereafter count upon from thirty-two to thirty-six votes in Lower Cana- da. The Liberals of Lower Canada are call- ed "the French party," by their political adversaries, because the great majority of them are French Canadians. Nevertheless, they have at all periods of the constitution, elected a certain number of men of other ori- gins, for they chose their representatives withoiit any regard to their language, their origin or their religious belief; what they solely and essentially inquired into is identity of political principles. In this respect their liberality and their good sense are proverbial. They have a raarkt'U antipathy to religious proselytism, and you very seldom hear Ihem ask a man what religion he profes- ses, unless it be in order to avoid saying any thing that might, unwittingly, wound or of- fend. Favorabie as they are to all useful and gradual reforms, they still are raoehr at- tached to the institutions of their fathers ; it is that noble and patriotic sentincent which has been their preservation in times passed, and which will prove their safeguard for the future. From time to time, some partial di- visions may exist among their ranks. The posHessioii of power, to which they were un- accustomed, and of which they do not seem as yet to appreciate all Ihe advantages ; the impossibdity that public men should be able to satisfy all wants, all wishes, all hopes, and all personal ambitions,to reward all politi- cal services,to carry out all projects originating in times of strife and in opposiition, all those may, perhaps, for a time perplex them, and lead to differences. But they know that their position is exceptional on the continent of North America ; they know that a work of demolition is going on around them ; they know that they can be saved but by union and by unity of sentiments and principles, and a common danger would combine the sx hundievi and .'.fty thousand French Cana- dians of Lower Canada as but one man, but one minu, ready to act as a lever to edify or overthrow, at the pleasure of that potent and united will. They are undoubtedly, by their nature and the circumstances attach- ing to their existence, the only elements of cohesion, of strength and of durability in Canada, the Upper Canadian population, incessantly renewing itself by immigration arrd from its natural mobility and its in- stincts, passing alternately from the extreme of toryism to the extreme of radicalism. No party, whatever may be its strength, can dispense with computing with the French Canadians ; they form the corps de 'elite around which at all times may bo drawn up in line of battle the dispersed frag- ments of^ the liberal party of Upper Canada whenever they aim either at the attainment of power or at presenting a formidable fror as an opposition. Will England her' comprehend that her strength and her e tence in America are alone dependant that social element ; upon French Can: nationality, so steadfast in its dogmas a institutionsand sentiment of self-preserv and that she ought to the utmost of her favor the developement of that natir inytead of repressing it, as she has do nearly a century and of bruising it the hammer of despotism ? . ' We remark in Upper Canada, ev • -.4. the liberals, and perhapti more ' ' v^- 'n^ V \ ( \ M th«» liny others, • rvligioua r^nalioiMn in- «upiM)r:«ble auii nrovukiii^, {wirtioularly Htr Catnolicii whuseek but to piactico iii |i««oo a rolij>;i(m whivU ha» exisitx) Uvr how n««rly <\von»y ot»iituriea. Tlie or^.xns oi l'le«r-i;nt« i!«m lmv«* ill thiM rosjvtcl displaytHi luorauiew- lenoe llmu «iU lh« rt>*!. Not only w rctwbyie- rmniiiin, whio'i «pi*«»ra to Ihi lluur itomiiiHttl rvligioua iiiffHui^ni, tha only wvratiip wliioli, «llH>o^^u^ luthttin, ouight to viijoy l\\. They h«vt» pro> olttiiiUHi thxi; UpiHtr Oaiiaia um tii« iiiteU leotvial or^aii oi tho country, aiui lor^^oiiiiiK that they w«m absolutely iin|H>ioiit without tho Ktouoh t^auatliaiis they without pnivoi^a- tio<) luvisl\tHi insult U)Hn) thoin. Thtfy hav«i Mttao^ked all thoir institutions aiu'. pWi'ttii IhonKoelvos to thoir obliteiution \vhHM>vor •uoh a (Kuver wotiM b<» in thou haiuls. It ia ©vidoul that tht»y havo uo sottloil aireotiou Hiul that th^y aiH bliuiily advanciiit; towards the vH>i\(i«wst of moro im}K»*sibiliii«»s. To convinoo one's »t»lf of this it suttiot»a to rt»ail tbw labours of the lovellui^ ooininitli*»ot last Bf'saioii, oallttd \h» roiuinittHt) of Kettonoh- luent oroattfd by a vutu of the House at the instance of th» (lovernintnif, miif oodiiiomhI injudioiously of the most iiiooiiKruoua atul chaotio inatorittls. lUit if the Clear-(Jrit% always su^HXMin^ that they ahouKi funda* mentally suoslihite thoiiMelves in- the pl«o«» of the Liberal* u^')>erly so eallet)^ do »«>t oo> aloM-^e with the V'lonch Canadians of lwer« ful instinct of >>dlNproservatioii >vill su|me«l to the Kieneh CanaiUans the eiiergetio rejeo* turn ot suohaoitaiitioi.) with whoiuwill they ally theiUHelves i Would it be with the Tories of Lower Cutuula f But then lhe«e- are luinterioally null. The Kreiwh element^ the tir^t ooiutition of whuse alliance will be- lt condition essential to ite e)ii«tenee, will unite with that element, which will be ite K>st ^uarranteo for suoh an existenoe.and that stujMil radioalisin, calltsi tUuii-pili*»»^ will writhe in its iinixitenoy, and in the ounvttt- sions ot despair. We have thus suMinolly shown the ori];ri>i« oomi-HVihion nnd prtujHKits of political pailiee in Canada. v,= ,,i■x^!. 1 '■ .1 ' -^4v..«>t -J V **^ n c o t! Clour -(Srits, houUi fuiutti- iD-lhd pl«o«» »*K do n*" ♦'^^ iana of Lowttr that (Hwlitioa ttH^By»tomati- Ills, xhmt nn- Hu «INpow«r> will SU|lV«Mll loitltftio rt)i«o> hoiuwill tney b« with tho ul than thti«o- «iwh etvaiwiit,. iauo

h will tM it» )tai)OP,iiiul that r- if ri/ Mills will a tho cuuvttl- [>wn lh» ori(pn, lolitioiU J^l4«» h' 'i \..*h. i- ,f -r ECONOMY IN THE GOVERNMENT OF TItK PROVINCE. Ever aiuce the birth of tho Lonjjiu«, th«t Mti^ninary ftlxHtioa whioh sprsuii; (loiw tlu) a«hoA of tho UoiiHOi* of I'arliumoiit, aiul now ith)inl>or!i }H«AoofullY itt tho tomb, by tho •iilo of ila youuijor sistor, AnuoxiUioii,- il\o Tory proM, Ami with it, its holpiuuto, tlu> or^jni) of tM«»«r-lJriti.«iU,that olVspriujj of vioooit and wounilo^l pi iilo, n\«kin^' it* i»pp«»«i'«noe oi\ the hold of biittio liko tho Aialv*, alV»r tho %ht ia ovor, to si^oil tho doad ;uul plunder tho vanqni.shod, bo thoy fiionda or foos, Imvo not cottHOil to irnvhum tlvionnhont tho longth and brosiihh of tho land, that tho pnblio o\- jVMulilnro is onorinotij*, and to uiH'n!«o tho {ir^jMMU administration of inoivasina tho M-ovinoial iU>bl at their pU>asnit>, foi tho nnr- ptr.4o of oivatinvf doj'H'ndanlN and oxtoudinij ihviir intbionoo, a.H.wor, liko ihoir oitnlooossors*, solely oconpnHl in advhnoiui; tnoir own iu- teroM.'*, and liko thorn, di^ixviod to go on wasting; tho pnblio monoy. Tho Vr»>vinv i»l dobt has, donbtlos;*, hoen considorably incroatoil jiiiuw iho Unitm, bnt not, as it is pro!ondod, in ort>atin>j for tho iftsptMisiblo «x»ontivo addilionid |>iitronas^o, through tho inorwasa of salario.-* and innlli- plioalion of otlioos. No ; tho«u>{moiitaiion of that tloht arises frt>m the K»ans which havo bean appliovl to tho oonstrnotitm of publio works, unomiallod in ij'riiiulonr anil tho ad- miration of l'oroi){nor» ; pnblio woik.-*, whioh from tt;eir »noimout diineusions and thoir no I»ss gijjantio destination tkw n snbjsot of astonishment to the ureal nation whioh is our nei^hbonr. Canada, despite the ola- moura of thcaa who prophecy •• Rnin anno oan dony at the present day that tho tMiormou."* oKsfados to the t^stahlish- inont of a n»oan» of oi>iunuu»ioati(>n frtnn tho ivwm to oni inlan*l soas*. whioh haj*oond tho watovj* of tho St. l.awronoo, fwm tho vory htad of lako Miohigan to the tH'f'an. •hit if onr trade ts no Uwiijor arrested by the rapids aovl oajtoados of tlio St. Lawrence, nor oven by tho fouuidablo Kails of Niajjara, rt>a.M)nablo raon will iindtMMtuiil that tlu\«o *»bstach>!» have not vlisappomod lvt>fort> iho inevo will of iluwo iu powoi, anvl that to re- move thorn by moans of .>ijj[anlio works, it has cast more than throo millions of monoy, for which the country is now payiujj inter- est. Novorthelos.s, ij« thoro a man in tho country at all capable of approcirtling this jirt»at nntlortakini;, whowtmM venture to as- soil that without hcrtlobt, an*!, consequently, without her canals, (lunula would bo morn pitvsperous and bolter able to rival iit pro j;rt\ss the noi^jhUnuinu lopublic ? ('•no man alone, wo are awaie, Vias pr^itoutlod that the dimensions of onr Canals i\w ovtravagant and disprojHntiouato to tho wants of the trade. This man, who but lately expre».<*tl A wish to sOxH all our public woiks blown on, is now more than sixty, yet should Hmvi- dence f^\M\X him a few years longer life, oommeive, which will furnish unceasinji employment to our canals, will show the falsity of hia views and of hia petty ind nar- row Ideas. Which platt was* the wiser? To eom- 10 r \ mence as they did with the Erie canal, in the United States, on so small a scale that it has been enlarged three times in fifteen years, or to coiistruct, as we have done, Canals which will bo sufficitint for the waiits of the trade, however enormous, for at least half a century to come ? Any one at all conversant in matters of this nature, will unhesitatingly answer, iLat the plan which Canada has adopted, is by f^i° the more economical and better one. Our object, in laying before the public certain facts founded upon figures the cor- rectness of which is incontestible, is not to convince the few evil-minded persons who sigh after ruin for the sole pleasure of being true prophets, and for whom the prosperity of theit country is a constant cause of in- tense suffering, bnt to place upon their guard such well-disposed persons as maybe exposed from want of information, or from not having sufficiently studied the subject, to echo the cro; kings of those who have but one cry, that of Destruction, which they represent, however, in the most seductive «hape and under the most sounding names. Annexation for a moment made its appear- ance full of life, seemingly, and the mon- ste--, clad in the filthy rags of Socialism, aiti3r having laid its foul paw upon national feeling and the finest and holiest institutions of the country,has expired from want of food and fuel, like the bankruptcy and incendia- rism which gave it birth. The League, we have already stated, is another child of in- cendiarism and ruin, and is now a ruin h- self. Next came that other monster, Clear- gritism, a financial harpy which lays its de- structive claws upon men and things. How long shall this anomalous being last ? God only knows. Every ambitious fool, every man who has been foiled in his expectations, and who is able to write, like a new vender of drugs, offers his panacea, which, without the slight- est doubt> will prove a cure for all the ills of the country, and for " all the past, present, and future evils " of our political society. These politico- social charlatans may be divi- ded into two classes. Some pretend that by diminishing the nurnber of public functionaries by one half, & their salaries in the same proportion, a reduc- tion of one half the public expenditure will be obtained ; the others, on the contrary, as- sert that this sort of economy is hardly prac- ticable, oris but a slightly palliative remedy, and that the only mean.s of cure is to apply tbe scalpel to the system itself, which is de- fective. But all these economists, both great and small, old and young, do not state by what this system is to be replaced ; they do not tell us how it can be possible to alter it without bringing on an infinitely worse state of things. Thus, both of them torture public opinion, either to further their own purposes or to parade their visionary notions, and all of them labour, some intentionally, others unwittingly, to revivtj those extravagant pro- jects which the good sense of the people, it is true, has treated as they deserved, whenever they have been mooted, but which cannot fail to arouse fears in the minds of strangers as to the stability of our political institutions, and thus coiisideiably to affect the public credit. But let us proceed to facts, and see what our position was on the eve of the Union of the Provinces ; let us inquire by referring to the Legislative records, whether, apart bom the public debt, incurred for the coiKstruction of public works, the increase of grants for the instruction of youth, the administration of justice, the Sessions of Parliament^ the en- couragement of agriculture and the support of benevolent institutions,— the public ex- penditure, as far as regards the administra- tion of the government, has in fact increased disproportionately to the increase of the popu- lation and the resources of the country. We have, in a statement forming part of appendix No. 3 to the 6tli volume of the journals of the Legislative Assembly for 1847, (with the exception of a few items the head- ings of which show that they do not form a portion thereof,) the lleccipts and Expendi- ture of Lower Canada from 179i, and of Up- per Canada from ISvJl, to tha periotl of the Union. If we take the year 16^40, as a point of departure, foi both Provinces, and estab- lish the amount of their respective popula- tions, of their annufil revenues and of their permanent expenditure at the period of the Union, we shall easily discover how the pro- vincial debt has gradually increased to its present projxjrtions, and ascertain whether, as tWe agitators afhrm, it be possible consid- erably to diminish it, anil if so, the particu- lar items which might be reduced or entire- ly done away with — admitting that we con- tinue to pay the interest of the debt punctu- ally ; that we maintain the administration of justice on such a footing of independence as to place it beyond the reach .i* suspicion ; n live is to apply f, which is de- lists, botli great ) not state by aced ; they do iible to alter it ely worse state 1 torture public • own purposes lotions, and all ;ionally, others xtravagant pro- the people, it is ved, whenever which cannot ids of strangers cal institutions, feet the public s, and see what )f tiie Union of ! by referring to ther, apart from the construction ;e of grants for dnninistration of iamentj the en- and tlie support •tlie public ex- the adrniiiistra- iii fact increased lase of thepopu- e country, forming part of volume of the serahly for 1847, items llie head- ey do not form a s and Expend i- L792, and of Up- 19 periotl of the • 1&40, as a point noes, and estab- ipective popula- les and of their he period of the vrer how the pro- increased to its certain whether, possible consid- ■ so, the particu- iduced or entire- ingthat we con- the debt punctu- adniinistration of independence as ch .1 suspicion ; that we give to the instruction of the people and to agriculture that encouragement which is due to them and which they have a right to expect from the country ; that we continue to our benevolent institutions the assistance which they have up to this moment received ; that we maintain the various departments on an efficient fooling, and give to the public officers who are indispensable to the service of the administration, incomes proportionate to the importance of their duties, and suffi- cient to place ther^ beyond the reach of temptation, and of that corruption or want which begs for bread, and unblushingly and fearlessly rears its shameless front at this very day, in the numberless public depart- ments of the United vStates, and in thd very eouncils of the government; a most demor- alizing state of things which bears far more heavily on the people than the system of reasonable salaries. From an approximate calculation, based upon the census of 1831 and 18-44, the popu- lation of Lower Canada at the period of the Union of the Provinces, might have been 650,000 souls ; and that of Upper Canada 436,436 ; forming altogether 1,086,436 souls. The Revenue of Lower Canada for 1840 was £184,132 9s. 04d., and that of Upper Canada for the same year, £123,351 14s. 9d., terming a total of £307,484 3s. 91d. currency. The permanent expenditure of Lower Canada at the same period (see statement A) amounted to the sum of £143,312 4s. 4d., leaving a disposable balance ot £40,820 4s. 8d. ; a less considerable one, however, than there had been for several years before the suspension of the Constitution, in consequence of the enormous sum applied at that period to the outfit and support of an armed police force. But as this item for the support ofthe police, and which amounted in 1S40 to £35,430 4s. 4^d., is not to be considered a permanent o»ie, it must be deducted from the total Provincial expenditure ; in its stead, however, we must place in the column of permanent expenditure the amount of the expenses of the Legislature, which was sus- pended at this period in Lower Canada, and which amount, if we take the average ofthe ten last preceding years, was £15,000. This leaves a balance of £20,430 4s. 4^d. out of mill the United Provinces. Things were very different in Upper Canada at the same period, that Province having to pay (see statement B) an annual interest of £57,724 Os. 5^6. on the debt incurred for the construction ot her pub- lic works ; her civil, judiciary, administrative and other expenditure, amounted to a further sum of £107,353 16s. ll^d., forming a total which, with the grant of £33,779 lOs. Od. towards the public works for the current year, rendered it impossible for that Province to meet its permanent expenses and continue its works. The only dowry she brought into the common fund, therefore, was an empty coffer and a liability of nearly one million. Thus it happened that on the 9th of Feb- ruary, 1841, the Province of Canada with a population of 1,086,436 souls and an annual revenue of £.307,484 3s. 9d., had to pay a sum of £357,258 Is. 7d. for the expenses of the current year, in aceoidance with the budget submitted to both Houses during the first Session ofthe Parliament of the United Provinces. This, by reducing the police expenses, became an easy matter, and by raising the tariff of duties during the Session from 2.^ to 5per cent.,^ a liisposable balance the item of Police, and by adding this balance to that mentioned above, there will be left a total annual disposable balance in Lower Canada of £61,250 98. 04, which by theUnion Act, became part of the consolidated fund of local im4>rovements, had not the Lower was created, which could be applied towards the payment of a portion ofthe interest cm the subsequent loan which we shall now con- sider, and which was raised in order to con- tinue the public works. At the very opening of the first Session, Lord Sydenham, wiio wanted a majority and was determined to have one at any price, presented his golden calf, the million and a half, a bait which produced a magic effect upon all who thirsted for general and particu- lar improvements. Out of the members of a (so-c;illed) Reform representation, he con- trived to make, with the exception of Mr. Baldwin and half a dozen other men of honor, so many docile creatures who left their Lower Canada allies in the lurch and bowed them- selves down before the idol, saying amen to all the iniquitous proposals ofthe shameless despot. This wholesale purchase of the Up- per Canada representation was effected by means of a half-million which was voted for roads, harbors, and improvements of every nature in Upper Canada, and for which half million. Lower Canada has obtained as yet no equivalent. The zeal ofthe Upper Canada members, both Tories and Reformers, at this period was such, that they would have ab- sorbed the whole ofthe million and a half in 12 Canada Tories by uniting with the French Canadians, turned the scale in favor of grants for the purpose of completing the iine of communication between the ocean and the great lakes, the very object which had served as a pretext for the union of the Provinces: The union must be effected, it was said, because Lower Canada refuses to take her nhare of this undertaking which has become a necessity. We crave indulgence for these details which «ay at first sight appear a digression, but are intimately connected with the history of the increase of the Provincial debt, and are so many important facts which occurred duiing a memorable period which must not be lost sight of. Let us however, if possible, forget this unfortunate epoch of ouv history and continue our narration. At the period of the Union, before this million and a half had been added to the debt already incurred by Upper Canada, Parliament had, as we have already statecr, to provide for the wants of both Provinces, which amounted to the sum of £357,258 Is. 7d. The million and a half once voted for public improvements, and spent as s matter of course, together with many other sums which have been since voted for the same purpose, the Provincial debt must needs nave increased from year to year, until the present day, when it rather exceeds four millions ! — With such a debt on our hands, with iHterest to pay on it, is it astonishing that our expenditure has increased to so enormous an extent ? The figures in the annexed statement will explain better than we can in words what appears a mystery to those ignorant men who will not give them- selves the trouble of studying the question, or to those impostors who knowingly misrepre- sent it in order the better to attain their evil purposes. f E.1MANENT f:XPENSES CHARGEABLE UPON THE CONSOLIDATED FUND AND PAYABLE DURING THE YEAR 1849. Interest on Provincial debt. . . £182,727 19 11 Sinking Fiind....^ 75,000 Charitable Institutions, grants for Instruction, Agriculture, Penitentiary, Indians, Militia Pensions and Geological Ex- plorations 93,704 6 7 Expenses of the Legislature.. 64,001 7 1 Adnr?inistration of Justice. ... 02,740 14 2 Civiland Judiciary Pensions. 7,027 17 7 Militia 2,034 11 1 Executive & its Department* 32,08111 2 Printing of the Statutes, (about ' - £5,000) and vau-jus other items, such as re.nt of Epis- ' t copal Palace, Losses' Com- mission, Montreal Registry -, . Office Commission, Mon- treal Central Board ofHealth rent and* repairs to Public Buildings, Assistance to in- habitants of Gaspe, &c. .. . 16,593 6 Total amount paid on perma- nent expenses of 1849 £525,913 8 Z Having taken the year 1840 as the point of departure, and the budget of 1841 for comparison, in order to obtain a correct result, we must add to the above amount the sum of £39,489 14s. 7d. being the unpaid balance of the budget of 1849, as the above- statement contains only the sums paid during- the year, and several iti^ms were not claim- ed or' were only in part paid* Amount brought down £525,913 8 2 Unpaid balance of budget of 1849 39,489 14 7 Total amount Budget of 1849. £565,403 2 9 do. do. 1841. 357,258 1 7 Increase from 1841 to 1849.. £208,145 1 2 Now, it is not necessary to enter into any abstruse calculation in order to prove that the fignres placed opposite the respective heads of expenditure will show on comparing them with statements A & B, that the excess of expenditure for 1849 over that of 1841, does nut proceed from the increase of the salaries or of the number of officials, but almost solely from the following causes : — Mrst, — The debt incurred for the construction of the public works, the Interest on whicVihas been increased since 1840 by new loans from £57,724 Os. 5id. to £182,727 19s. lid., (see the Budget) forming an augmentation of £125,003 19 5i Secondly,— SinK-ng fund 75,000 7Air(i/y, Education, 1849,£39,603 do. 1840, 18,536 Increase £21,067 Fourthly, Agriculture '49 £8,585 do. »40 2,137 Increase £6,448 Fifthly, Administration of Justice, 1849 £62,740 do. 1840, 45,907 locreaae £16,833 16^93 6 E:525,913 8 2 as the point t of 1841 for ain a correct ve amount the ig the unpaid ), as the above' ms paid during' 'ere not claim- £525,913 8 2 39,489 14 7 £565,403 2 9 357,258 1 7 £208,145 1 2 I enter into any ' to prove that the respective V on comparing that the excess r that of 1841, increase of the f officials, but ng causes : — T the j ks, the Teased from 7 19s. ing an £125,003 19 5i 75,000 )3 16 £21,067 J5 , , .,. 17 .£6,448 10 )7 .£16,833 ft Sixthly, — Sessions of the Legwlature, 1849, £54,001 do. 1841 23,421* Increase £274,931 Let us now take up in their order these six classes of increase m the Provincial ex- penditure, and examine whether it be possi- ble to interfere with them with a view to economy. Let us see how far it may be 13 Thirdly, — Since the Union of the Provin- ces, a sum of £50,000 has been set apart yearly for the support of elementary schools, and this independently of the grants in favor ' °" of private institutions. Can our economists suggest any saving in this item ? I>o they consider the people sufficiently enlightened to do without thi? grant ? Se)f-conj>tituted apostles of the people, do you believe that your ministry obliges >ou to effect in the name of the people a saving which will arrest their progress? This item also, must possible to relieve the people froni this heavy ,i,erefore remain as it is, for you are silent addmonal burthen, it is indeed worth our ^^j ^ow your heads, (strvile sycophants a» while to make the trial, inasmuch as from y are,) before the wants and the will of the what we have first seen, the progressive in- pgople crease of the expenditure in the items Fourthly, - Agriculture, the principal above mentnned, has amounted within a means of material existence to the immense J!f"'A,Aao,'^i^}lV^^^^° formidable sum majority of the people of Canada, in like manner as Education is their intellectual food, requires stimulus and encouragement as well as the latter, if you wish to see it pros- per and attain that perfection which is indis- pensable. Will you deprive i* of that stimu- lus? No, say you ; and it is probable also, that tlie representatives of the people who have received a more direct missfon and a more genuine apostleship than yours, wou!'? feel inclined to vote for a higher grant than that authorised by law. This is, therefore, another item which we must take care not to of £274,931 Os. Od 1. In the first' plaqe is there any way in which we could {',et rid of the obligation to pay the interest of our debt? Is there any secret by which we may attain that object, which no statesman of any country has yet found out, and which is only known to the economists of the new school? If there be any such, let it be pointed out at once, fur we are sure that no one in Canada would dare to pronounce the word repudiation/ This hideous cry once uttered by a nation her honor and credit are irretrievably lost, J*qu"j![J and let her then beware of her future wants. 5,h|y. The administration of Justice, we The debt has been incurred, and the bor- admit, costs an enormous sum at the present rowed money applied to its object ; these are day. The decentralisation of the judiciary facts. If the cuiials did not exist, we should tribunals and the local administration of have to find means to make them, for they JiiPti '-e were long demanded by the people, are indispensable to the prosperity of Canada. The Legislature has satisfied this demand We shall be told tiiere has been waste, by c eating new districts, and increasing, at True, but there still would be wa^'^ had we the same time, the jurisdiction of the Cir- to begin them over again, i-.otwilhstanding cuit Court5. Justice has been brought to the experience we have acquired ; besides the door of the litigants to save them costs that cannot dissolve an existing obligation and travelling expenses ; the public chest, nor annul a solemn contract. Pay then, we however, has suflfered by the change, as it jnust, there can be no difficulty on this head, became necessary to appoint more judged, Secondly, — The sinking fund is a neces- and consequently to pay more. These ob- aary consequence of the debt; it is no more servations apply to Lower Canada; for, possible to do away with it than to cease previous to the Union and up to 1846, the paying the interest on that debt. Without cost of administering justice m Upper Ca- thi's fund our public securities would soon nada were paid by the difTerent localities, fall in value ; we have an interest in keeping It was only in 1846 that ihe ministry of the this day, with shameful injustice, charged them upjn the Consolidated Fund of both Pro- The Union took place, and was es- vini'.es. it up, and it is our duty to maintain guarantee in favor of our creditors. • But the Members indemnity for 1841, .,.,_, i-i.--. (£6,800) is not included in this sum, not having lablished upon this basis ; that the contract- been paid out of the Contingencies of the Legis- ing parties should remain with their recipro- lative Assembly, as it was in 1849. oal advantages and disadvantages as they : then stood. Lower Canada had suffered sufficiently in oth'ir respects; the Union Act, it would seem, had done it enough of injustice, and laid upon it a sufficiently heavy load ; and, surely, the clauses of the contract, and the trifling compensation and return they granted, might have been abided by. But the evil is done, and Lower Ca- nada is saddled with the 'burthen until the economists relieve her of it. If they do so, we shall be rejoiced at their success. 6thly. The increase in the expenditure of the Legislature is enormous. Here, per- haps, a saving may be possible, although if we may judge from the past, there is very little probabilhy of it. But the matter rests in the hands of the representatives of the people, and it is the duty of the people themselves to stale what economy they wish for. After examining as we have done, each head of increase in the public expenditure since 1841, it appears to us next to impossi- ble to effect any reduction therein, a? the increase is owing to new obligations which we cannot avoid performing, and to that of paying the mterest on onr debt. Neverthe- less, this examination brings out a very im- portant fact, — there is a considerable de- crease in the administrative expenditure since the Union : Thus, the budget of 1841 amounted to £357258 Of which, was paid for inteiest, during the same year 57724 economy somewhere and that the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada had to pay, be- fore the Union, an annual sum of £66,786 (being the difference between the two bal- ances which we have above shown) for tiie expenses of their administration, from which the Province of Canada has been re- lieved by means of savings which have been gradually effected in the various branches of the public service since the Union. Should proof be asked in support of our assertion, the following will bear us out :. Jn addition to his salary the Governor of Lower Canada received his share of forfeit- ures and fees of different kinds ; he was, also, a military officer, and, as such, was in the receipt of a large income, thus- making his salary higher than that enjoyed' by the Governor Geneva! at the present diay.. 1st. The salary of the Governor of Lower Canada, for 1840 was. .£5000. Oi That of the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, payable out of the General Revenue 2222' 0> Do. do. out of the Casual and Territorial Revenue 3232 6 3 J Total in 1840 £10454 6 3ji Salary of the Governor General in 1849 7777 15 4 Saving in 1849 of £2676 10 Hi 2nd. Both Civil Secretarys' depart- menis in 1840 .£ 6353 1 10 Civil Secretarys' departments in 1849 1925 8 4 Leaving for administrative expen- diture a balance of £299531 Whereas in 1849 the budget being 565403 if we deduct the total interest on the debt and the addi- tional grants which may be considered as indispensable, according to the above statement. £274931 Together with the interest paid on the Upper Canada debt which was deduct- ed above, but must now be entered Saving in 1849 of £4427 13 6 3rd. Prov. Sec. and Registrar 1840 £6048 17 9i 2 9 Do. do 1849 5367 14 4 Saving in 1849 of £ 681 3 5i 4th. E.xtcutive Council in 1840, Upper Canada, out of the General Revenue £ 1590 6 9 Do. do. Casual and Terri- torial Revenue 168 6 8 Lower Canada, in do. do. ... 2235 Total in 1840 £3994 13 5 Executive Council, in 1849 2847 4 4 57724 £332655 We have, for the expenses of the administration in 1849, a balance of only s £232748 Thus clearly showing that there has been Saving in 1849 of £1147 9 5th. Receiver General's Depart- 1 ment in 1840, Upper Canada, out of the General Revenue of the Province £3341 13 Do. Casual and Territorial Revenue..... 333 6 S e Provinces I to pay, be- of £66,786 lie two bal- shown) for ration, from las been re- which have the various e since the pport of our r 1)8 out :. Governor of e of forfeit^ s ; he was, luch, was in hus- making oyed' by the> day. ;5000. 0) 2222' ft 3232 6 31 [0454 6 31 7777 15 4 £2676 10 Hi ; 6353 1 10 1925 8 4 £4427 13 E6048 17 5367 14 6 91 4 681 3 51 1590 6 9 168 6 » 2235 £3994 13 5 2847 4 4 £1147 9 1 £3341 13 333 6 S •,'i''« 15 Lower Canada in 1840 1222 4 5 Total in 1840 £4897 4 1 Receiver General's Dep't 1849. . . 2056 Saving in 1849 of. £2841 4 1 6th. Crown Lands and Surveyor General's Departments in 1840, 'Upper ^Canada, out of General Revenue £2033 16 7 Do. Casual and Territorial Revenue , 3298 13 111 Lower Canada in 1840 2958 6 41 Total in 1840 £8290 16 11 Orown Lands Dep't in 1849 £6908 16 9 ^., Less, Mr. Boutil- lier's salary 666 13 4 6242 3 5 Saving in 1849 of £2048 13 6 It may be well to remark that the Crown Lands I)epc;.rtment does not only comprise the two departments of that name, which existed in Upper and Lower Canada, before the Union, but it includes also the two Sur- veyor Generals' Departments. We must ■also observe that as Mr. Bouthillier, the late Assistant in this department, has been since transferred to the Customs, the annual ■expenses have been consequently reduced by £666 13s. 4d. 7th. Pensions, Lower Canada, in 1840 £3825 2 21 Upper Canada, from General Revenue 4306 9 7 Casual and Territorial do., 2615 4 7 Do. do. 1849 1900 Increase in 1849 £78 13 2 Before tho establishment of a Board of Works, all public works were perforraeil under the supervision of Commissioners, who were allowed five per cent., vhich was certainly a much more expensive plan, and one which gave less security to the public. It would be easy to take up, in the same manner, all the items of public expenditure and prove, that in what may be called the expenses of administration, a considerable saving has been effected almost everywhere, but let us merely recapitulate the six heads which we have above examined, and the facts will strike even the dullest understand- ing :— 1st. Saving on Governor General's Salary £2676 10 It 2nd. Civil Secretary's Dep't 4427 13 6 3rd. Prov. Sec. & Registrar's dep't 681 3 5 4th. Executive Council 1147 9 1 5th. Receiver General's Dep't. . . 2841 4 1 6th. Crown Lands Dep't 2048 13 6 7th. Pensions 3718 18 91 £17,541 13 31 From'the saving above mentioned effected under these six heads, we must deduct : — 8th. Increase of ex- penses of Inspector General's Dep't. . £1390 5 7 9th. Increase of ex- penses of Depart- ment of . Public \\ori.L8 £ 7k 13 2 £1468 18 9 Pensions in 1849. £10746 16 .. 7027 17 41 7 Saving in 1849 of £3718 18 8th. Inspector General's Depart- ment in 1840, Upper Canada, out of the General Revenue £1229 8 Do. Casual and Territorial Revenue 384 18 Lower Canada in 1840 905 1 1 91 01 Totalin 1840 of ,.£2519 17 9i InspectorGeneral's Department in 1849 3910 3 4 Increase in 1849 of £1390 5 7 The fees which were payable in the Cus- toms' Department beft^'e the Union, have since been done away with. flth. Department of Public Works 1840 £1821 6 10 Saving on the above items in 1849 £16072 14 6i In merely comparing, however, as we have done, the amounts of expendhure in 1840 with those of 1849, we do not obtain the exact amount saved, which is, in fact, much greater 'han would appear, inasmuch, as before the Union, many of the officers attached to the Departments we have just considered, were in the receipt of various fees, commissions, forfeitures, and emolu- ments of di ierent sorts to a considerable amount, while at present not only have the salaries been reduced 20 per cent., but the fees have also been entirely done away with. It is not to be wondered at, that the ex- panses of the offices of the Inspector General and Board of Works have increased by £1468 18s. 9d., inasmuch as before the Uniou the number of Public Works was very 16 small, and the provincial revenue which is collected under the immediate surveillance of the Inspector General, is now double what it then was. Lei it be remembered that the population of the Province, which in 1840 •was only 1,086,436 souls, is now at least 1,600,000, having increased by more than one half in ten years, and it will then be a matter of surprise that the expenses of these Departments have not increased in a greater proportion. Whoever looks fairly at these facts, must confess that some economy has been practised. Now, we do not think it necessary, in or- der to satisfy the candid reader, to go on ex- amining farther into the various branches of the public expenditure, in order to point out to him each item of saving which has been effected since 1840 ; but there is a class of public functionaries whose position in the government, and whose income have been a constant subject of attack, especially since the present administration has been in power; we refer to the Attorneys General. A few detaiis respecting the situation of these offi- cials may be of some interest. There is nothing very astonishing, how- ever, in these furious invectives «f the press and these violent philippics against the At- torneys General. Are not these eminent persons at the head of their profession, and of the country ? Do they not occupy a very high position in the opinion of their fellow- countrymen ? Is not tiiat sufficient to rouse the jeabusy of every ambitious person, no matter what class he may belong to ? We do not intend to discuss whether it would be more advantageous that these otficers should or should not wrm part of the administration. The question we are discussing, being pure- ly one of finance and economy, we merely wish to draw the attention of the reader to their saUiries. The salary of each of the Attorneys Gene- ral is at present £1,100 per annum, with £250 for Contingencies, out of which they pay for their messengers, stationery, post- age, &c. We know that the latter sum is insufficient to meet these expenses ; and we know moreover, that £100 per annum is barely sufficient to cover the deficiency. This would then only leave to the Attorneys General a salary equal to that of their other colleagues, the contingencies of the latter be- ing provided for by the Province. This gross allowance, however, of £1,350 mr annum, ceemB to be a thorn in the side ol many per- sons, who accuse these laborious and emi- nently useful men of enjoying their incomes in luxury and idleness. Never at any other period than the present, were these salaries so cried out against as enormous : have the present admin i3tra*<'on increased them? Let us take up the subject a little farther back ; let us consult the public accounts be- fore and after the Uriion, and ascertain whether the economists have any grounds for their bitter complaints, and how these high functionaries were paid formerly. During the three years immediately pre- ceding the Union, we find in the journals of the special council that the sum of £12,307 15s. Od was paid to the Attorney General for his salary and contingencies, which, on an average, gave an annual income of £3,- 692 6s. Od. to the Honorable C. R. Ogden, independently of another trifling sum of £9,600 19s. id. for extraordinary services. We need not inquire into the nature' of these services ; they are sufficiently explained Ivy the period at which they were performed. So that according to these figures, the cor- rectness of which is incontestible, Mr. Og- den received, in every year, three times the annual salary enjoyed by Mr. LaFontaihe. This difference is eiTormous, and yet it shows- but a portion if the advantages attached to this office in Mr. Ogden's time. At that period the Attorneys General were not obliged to devote the whole of their time to the public service ; they were not responsi- ble ministers ; they quietly carriied on their private practice, from which they received heavy fees, in consequence of the position which their office gave them at the Bar and in the opinion of the public ; nor were they even obliged to give up their practice and sacrifice their private interests- to go and re- side fifty or a hundred leagues from their homes. The contrast between the si'.uation of the Attorneys General of the old school and those of the present day, is very great, doubtless because the system of constitution- al government has been introduced into the country ; and it is doubtless, in consideration of this change, and by way of reward^ that these self-coijstituted spokesmenof a grateful coun/ry,load with abuse men who daily make enormous sacrifices for the public good. The Uriion Act put a stop to the prodigali- ties of the old regime. The salaries, never- theless, remained very high ; but they were afterwards reduced one-mth, as we hav« already stated. 17 }us and emi- :heir incomes at any other hese salaries mou8 : have eased them ? little farther accotinta be- nd ascertain any grounds nd how these )rmerly. lediately pre- tie jonrnals of m of X12,307 jrney General es, which, on come of £3,- C. R. Ogden, fling sum of lary services, aturo of these explained l;y re performed., ires, the cor- bie, Mr. Og- iree times the . LaFontaitie. id yet it shows- ages attached ime. At that ral were not f their time te ) not responsi- arried on their they received )f the position at the Bar and nor were they r practice and 8- to go and re- ues from their >n the si'.uation the old school , is very greats of constitution- Dduced into the n consideration Df reward,- that \enof a gratefuC vho daily make public good. ^ otheprodigali- salaries, never- ; but they were 1, as we bav« It is intended, we have heard, to reduce them again by one fifth, should the Imperial Government consent ; at all events our min- isters have made that declaration in the House. As for ui||^ur opinion is well knew i on this subject ; we have fcxpressed it more than once. We have shown the danger of yielding at every moment to the foolish cries of ambitious men, of gradually bringing down the ministers to a level with persons who are without capacity as politicians or as professional men, by reducing their salaries, and of preventing men of high intelligence in the country from ever taking the manage- ment of public affairs. Ministers must re- member that government will be necessary when they are gone, and must consequently avoid rendering it impossible to be carried on. They will, therefore, think twice before yielding to so disorganizing and so dangerous a measure. Besides, neither this promised reduction or any other which may follow, will be a sufficient sacrifice in the eyes of demagogues, and ambitious and incapable men wiu always cry out for reduction, in order that salaries and public honors may be so lowered in value as to be placed within their reach. These interested pa- triots will serve the country for the tove of their country, and " for the sole honour of serving it," as one of our demagogues cv- pressed it in the House the other day. If then, as every one understands, no con- cession -will stay the fury of the destructives, if it be impossible to dispel the storm, and if it be necessary sooner or later to weather it, why not do seat once, while the immense majority of the population of the country are still in their senses and have not yet felt the destructive influence of these preachers of a new doctrine. Do not the people understand that they ought to mistrust a patriotism so disinterested in appearance, and that false shew of ec'inomy practised by our neighbors, which reduces the salary of a Governor be- low that of a merchant's clerk, and which is intended to make the people believe that.they pay nothing, and yet enables the public func- tionary, by maans of his secrets of office, to realize a splendid fortune after he has held his place for three years. Canada is to be pitied if this system of government should obtain ; experience will teach her when it becomes too late, that the seeds of corruption and public ruin have been sown in her bosom. When we have before us this plain state- 3 ment of the rsvenae and expenditure of the Province, when we see that economy has really been practised, and will be gradually continued, (with due circumspection, how- ever) by a prudent administration, what are we to think of and what should we care for tho pretensions of a few brawling fools who contend that the public expenditare may be reduced one half? Have we not snflicient proof before our eyes that they know nothing at all of the matter, and have no idea what- ever of administration ot government ; or can we not perceive that they are so anxiotis to §et up an agitation, that they shamelessly eceive the people, by pretending to com- miserate their misfortunes in order the bet- ter to impose upon their credulity ? They are aware that a question of finance is the most delicate and most advantageous one as a subject of agitar ! n ; hence it is tfcat thoy have adopted the Word economy as their rallying cry. This was Ledrti Rollin's war- cry before he was allowed in the name of the French people (whose happiness was of course thereby ensured) to nandle the national funds. It will be" the cry of all demagogues who may come after hiin, until, by the aid of barricades, they ride in their carriages as up- start aristocrats, and despise the demagogues who are obliged to walk, and who will cry out in their turn that the people pay too dearly for the said carriages. We shall not say : reduce by one-half the number and salaries of the public officials, nor is that what the agitators of dismiss the whole agitators of every sort require ; but we »ay ; '" " personnel of the Administration, from the Governor-General to the lowest menial, and let the angels of heaven take the helm of the Government into their hands. (Perhaps it would be better to leave it in the hands of the hungry Clear-Grits or of their younger com- panions in Socialism who might steer at night by their " brilliant pillar of lighi and go ahead at a pace which should keep time to the beating of theirgreat hearts.") What saving will then have been effected? not one-eighteenth of the whole public expendi- ture. People of Canada, those who promise you that the public expenditure may be reduced by one-half, or even by one-third or by one- fourth, are fools or knaves, and just as dan- gerou«t one as the other ; the former would thrust you into the pit through ignorance, while the latter would ientrap you into it 18 like the fox in the fable, in oMer to make use 'of your shoulders to get out of it. After the events ol February, a great cry was got up in France ai;ainflt the civil list and the government. To pacify the peoples reduction was attempted. The budget con- Bisted of nearly eighteen hundred millions of .'raucs; the moderate.salariesof a great num- ber of efficient officers, fathers of families, were reduced, and the enormous bu(iget was dimiiushed by /our millions of francs. What I a mockery ! . The only reduction which can be effected for the present, will bo in the salaries of the ministers, of those men who labour the most, have the greatest responsibility, and whose ,fituationsare the most precarinus: the saving effected on their salaries wdl amount to i; 1,000 or £1,700. To this may be addeil the reduction which is fo lake place in the salaries of the Judges; but this, of course, • can otdy be in prospedu. ^ Aher having; sliovn in the clearest manner .possible, and in such detail as to tire out the reader, the folly of the vetrenchinent argu- ments, after having; thoroughly exposed the absurd propositions of those vvho,as ihey say. wish to reduce by one-half the salaries of the parasites, (ventrus) (for such is the term applied by 'hem to everyone holding any office whatsoever) pretending thevebj to effect a saving oi one-half the public expen- diture for the advantage of the people whose fancy they tickle with their tiresome ami stupid notions of economy ; we shall now examine the arguments advanced by those who are opposed to the system itself, which in their opinion is rotten at heart, and must be immediately replaced by a sounder and more sensible one. > We have already stated that those who complain of the exi.-.ing slate of things, and cry out for merechange, propose nothing posi- tive, nothing definhe nor tangible, far less practicable instead ofthe systf^^m they find s . odious; unless we consider as practicable Mr. Merritl's production contained in the leport of the Finance Committee. But we need not study this projett very deeply, in order to become convinced that it is defec- tive in itself, Huconnecteil in its details and has no practical end if the object of the ex minister be to lighten the burthens which press upon the people. The means he proposes were they at all practicable, would only alter the moile of levying the taxes witiioiit diminishing the expenditure. On the other hand, the anthor, who confines himself ex- clusively within financial abstractions which practice invariably modifies as it does all other abstractions, iieema not to have given the slightest conaideratidpin hiy plan, to the manners and cuwoms, walnts and wishes of the people of the country, in whose behalf and in whose name however, he has brought all his financial and other acquiiements into play. Nor has he taken into co"^ ' - ration their institutions and the tie-- -h bind them to Entjland, matters w . he does not seem to think of any importance. Mr. Menitt's plan, in onr opinion may bo summed up in these few words : •' Whether your manners and customs and yonr institu- tions and the peculiar circumstances in which you are placed, be or be not incom- patible with the chanire, follow the example ofthe Slate of Nt^w Yoik 'u\ everything: try and resmnble her as if you were her other self, because she is the most perfect Slate of the very best Federal Republic ; and aspire to nothing belter, for you will have then at- tained the perfection and vUima ratio of Immnn institutions." But if in this famous scheme we can trac& no unity of principle, no connexion between its paits, and nothing practical in an eco- nomical sense, we can at least see at the first glance that its tendency is at variance with the notions of the immense majority of the people. The abolition of all duties of Cus- toms is recommended on the pretext of re- moving impediments to trade, a measure which, according to Mr, Merrift, is to draw the whole commerce of North America throuijh our canals and to increase the Reve- nue from them to such a vast extent; as that in the year 1860, they shall not only pay off the pr'ncipal and interest of onr debt, but ilefray also the whole Provincial Expenditure. We are not however told, how in the mean time, and while we are waitinir for this yolilesj aue, we are to meet every half year, the interest payable in London on our de,bt. This is a very ijrave omission in the piiianlic schemes of the ex-Commissioner of Pnblio Works, and one which would iiave very serious corls^•qnences for the conmiy. According to Mr. Menitt's scheme, the expenses of the administration of Justice are to be defrayed by the municipalities, who are also to nrnish the ai(t hitherto granted to Charitable and Educational In- stitutions; apian which would, of course, work admirably, more especially in those bimself ex- actions which IS it does all o have Riven 9 plan, to the mil wishes of whose behalf e has brought acquiiements into 00"^ ' - e tie-- !h ers w . he rnportance. )inion may be ; " Wheiher j-onr institu- innslances in b« iiol inrom- r the example rf I Jibing : try ere her other erfeot Slate of ; and aspire have then at- ima ratio of i we can trace jxion between al in an eco- see al the first variance with lajority of the duties of Cus- pretext of re- e, a measure rift, iti to draw ui-th America sasethe Reve- ^xtent; IIS that it only pay off onr debt, but 1 Expenilifnre. V in tile mean iitiii-!.^- Pi 1689 8 4 400 18 5 1,730 6 «l Upbtr Cana- ' iht Casual '1840. £ a. D. 3232 6 3) 168 6 8 600 333 6 8 384 17 9f 384 18 Oi 3298 13 Hi 1148 3 2 1436 10 7J « 40 9846 11 2630 1 2615 4 1958 1 4323 4 2196 7 6727 5 7J Oi 7i 9 5 8i 9i 57 17 lOJ 829 Al 884 6i 17 3 235 8 4 6f 3,347 10 lOJ ^>Ai:Ui4^ .);.•«,* }.r>¥f5BW .i**4to>.fcVii^-^ a* THE ST. LAWRENCE ROUTE. ^ For a long time a struggle has been carried on between the St. Law fence route and the ■everal other routes which intersect this magnificent river at variou8 points, leading to different parts in the United States, and principally to Boston, New York, and New Orleans. We cannot exactly tell to which side victory will finally incline in this com- mercial contest ; what we do know is this, that if we have but the will, and if England but prove faithful to us, the triumph will bo ours, for nature and the deep fresh waters of the majestic St. Lawrence are with us. But whence comes it that the St. Lawrence has been hitherto depreciated ? It ie owing to the many reasons into which we are about to examine in the course of the present article. Suffice ii to say in the meantime that the most beautiful river in the world has been calumniated by superficial observers who, nevertheless, have done it immense injury to the advantage of the stranger, be- cause they were vested with an official and Bcientifio character. Thus it was that Mr. Stevenson wrote as follows to the British Government in 1838: — "The navigation of the Gulf of St. Law- " rence, through which ihe river flows into " the Atlantic, is full of risk. To the dangers "occasioned by the masses of ice which are '* constantly found floating on its broad waters " throughout nearly half the year, must be " added the thick, impenetrable fogs of its « rocky shores and dreary islands that offer " neither hope nor shelter to the ship-wreck- "ed mariner." After this solemn judgment, pronounced in the face ot the world, under the imperial authority, against the St* Lawrence, can it be « matter of surprise to see it judged unfavor- ably by the very men who have an interest in depreciating it. Thus, the editor of Hunt's Merchants* Magazine, after quoting Mr. Ste- Tenson, remarks : — "New York happily occupiesr a middle "position between the insalubrious heat of " tha Miisiuippi and the ezcessiye «old oi " the St. Lawrence, and excels them both by "the excellence and extent uf its market. " Will the commerce of the lakes turn away " from this favored port and from the safe: " route of the Erie Canal and the Hudson, ic^ '' expose itself to the hazardous navigation oi " the Gulf of St. Lawrence ?" And if he adds, after putting this question' for the purpose of answering it in the nega- tive, — " Thut is even possible to a certaia extent," is it not because the St. Lawrence possesses advantages with which it is neces- sary to contend whether they will or nut? It is these advantages that we now proceed to analyse. If we take Chicago as a point of depart- ure, situated as it is at the extreme end of Lake Michigan, we will have the following results: — From Chicago to New York 1600 milei. From Chicago to Quebec 1600 " But Quebec is by 360 miles nearer to Great Britain than New York. We have therefore for New York. . . 1960 miles. Quebec 1600 " In favour of Quebec 360 Vessels going to New York, will have to pass through 668 feet of lockage, 81 locks and 364 miles of canal. Those that descend to Quebec will only have to pass through 5383 feet of lockage, 49 locks and 28 miles of canal (70 in ascend- ing-) A steamboat of six hundred tons can make the voyage from Chicago to Quebec in ten days, six from Chicago to Port Maitland, and four from Port Maitland to Quebec. The passage from the same place (Chicago,) to New York is made in sixteen days, of which ten are from Buffalo to New York. This gives a difference of six days in favor of Quebec. But, observes Mr. Tache, in his report of the Department of Public Work* for 1848 :— " Although the advantages of the St. Law~ "reuce appear incontastible, the Coramii-' I) a **»ion«r« are of opinion ihey hare r?pres«»nt- "e:i4> ltir«i(i<;li \Ue>o "Tespective routes, alluwivl six tiavs of ** navigHt'on fioiii Chii'a;;ot'.>llie tool ot Lako ** Kiie, while tlie pa}isa::e is viitually the ** same for Aint'ritMU ve^st^ls anJ oni:«. 'i'iit're- '' fure, ill ui'iler the bclier to inuli'rMaiitl tiie " iinpuitniice of the Canatlian roi.le, it i:$ *' necessary to lake another |H)iiii of (ieparl> "' nre. ; it is from Port Maitlutiil on the one "side, ami '^rom nutlaluon the othi^r, tiiat we ** must, in justice to our route, tix the |X5iii!.s ** of ilepartuie, because it i-» at ttiese two "points alone that the natural (lifficnllit's " «'(«nineiioe whicli have lo Ih* vanqui.slietl **on eillier siile. A car^o ol threo humlred "toil", arrivinj; at Bullalo, will hare to lie •'re-rthippeil in five small barren which will "take twelve ilavs, geneiaily sjHMkniir. to "arrive at New Yoik, while a similar caruo, " perfectly omiro ami without beiit;; tliMuib- " eti in ine sli^liteM, wi.l pass lhroii:;!i llu» ** VVellaiul Cnnal and arrive in four days, at " Quebec, that is, in one-third thi* time " wliicli the car|)e, this vessel " with a fair wind would have reiiched the " Banks of Newfoundland l)efore the rar:ro " thai passed through the Krie Canal had " been dischar!,'ed at New York." The vessels which navii;ate the I2iie Canal, «,ro on an average ot alxMil sixty tons, vrhil ec. The cargo will undergo only ori? tranship* meiU from Chicago to Liverpool, and thus will much time and money be sprfM^ A barrel of flour costs from Butlalo to Albany: — FPBiaht 31 cents. Ctnal Tolb 46 " " ' Total n " From Mailland to Quebec: — Frei;.'ht 20 cents. Canal Tolls 15 " Total 33 " IIKH'IIN FftKIOIIT. A cwt. of iiieichanilise costs from Albany to Hniiiilo: — Fr.ijlit 15 cents. Caiiil Tolls 24 " Total ■ 39 " or $7.80 per ton. A fwt. from Quebec to Mailland, costs: — Frt- iuht 5 cenu.. Canal Tolls 10 " Total 13 " or $3 per ton. So we have $t.SO in favour of the St. l/iwrciu't', without counting the storage at Albany and Hiiirilo,nMd the lieighl from New York to Albany. Yes, aiul the cool deep waters of St. L;iwroMi't% no matter what .Mr. IVWilt Cliiiion may say to tho contrary, preserve grain and Hour tnnoh better than tl"-* warm, irniildy water of the Krie Canal. The Misxis-iippi and its tributaries, which water a valley of 7S5.->(X),(K)0 snperlii-ial aeres, cajiabltMif containing a population of 50,()00.(KI(» ol souls, acoordiiig to IVlr. Kee- fer's calcnhilions, piosent dangers and in- convenieiicrs whicii the genius of man will never be able to ovi>rcotno. 'J'iie river itself, narrt)W imd not very deep, runs with a uniform rapidity of three mill's an hour. When its waters ait' swelled by poriodioal floods, they drag with them in their course large trunks of trees which \^\c\\ the bottom at almost every point and adhere there by their heavi- est ends ; the other extremities inclined to- wards the current and invisible to the eye of tlie navigator, present themselves like so many lived laiicfs to the ve-^sel ascending tho stream and pierce it immodiatolv. These trunks ol trees, to which the old Canadian royip^um gave the picturesquo name of chiro.'s, destroy in this manner about a hundred vessels a year, or a tilth of nil the vessels that navigate the Mississippi ; an annua! loss of :noro than a million ot dollars. The pieminin of insuraiico averages from twelve to fifteen per cent, nnd the greater part of the steam boats, the only vessels that nnvii:ate oi that can navicatc effectual- ly the Mississippi, cost more than tliey yield. The capital which repraseiiti these tesMle^ . 29 centt. .33 >' from Albany ..15 cent*. ..24 » .39 •« nnd, costs: — . 5 cenu.. . 10 " ..13 " ir of the St. irt storatre at rill from New iti rnul deep ler wlial Mr. 1 10 colli mry, I hotter tliaa Erie Canal, tarios, which 5iiperHi'ial r»opulrtlion of tit ivl r. K>e- Lrers ami in- of man will e river itself, itlia nniform '. Wliuii its 1 Hoods, thpv largo trniiks rn at almost their lieavi« inclined to- 10 ilie eye of Ives like so il ascondinjf n mod lately, ieli the old picfuiesqno miner ai>out fthofniltbe lissiippi; ati Mini dojlnra. nraires from the greniOT n\y veasels te effect un I - > they yield. 23 •ecordinffto Mr. Keefer, is exhau!«ted every fouth year. Tho cost of t.aiispoit of a bar- rel of flour from Cinciimatli to New-Orleans is two shillinsjs and siv peniu'. The flimate is likewise aiioth(>r obstacle to the future success of tho Mississippi route ; tohacoo, wheat, llour, poik, lard Imltcr, chetise, &c.., U'como dania;L;L'd by the action of a warm teniperaturo ; and, in. t lis res- pect, tho route is much inferior even to the Erie Canal. . ' '' So f.ir, then, tho Sf» Lawrence possi>sscs immense advantaijos over all other routes possible; but whence comes ii lliat wilh these ailvanlaees so little of tlio prodiice of the West has hithcrlo pa-sed linoimU our in- comparable canals' This is tlie question which w^! now proceed to solve. Tho reason why the Wosioni traders keep aliwf from the St. Lawrence can only be found in the relative prices of transatlantic freiuht Irom No.v Yo-k and fmm Qiu'hec; and this dilleienco in the prices from New York »nd from Quebec must bo such as to compensate the disadvantULres alleiidiuL' the Erie Canal lonie. Hut why is the Ireiiiiil sd hiirh at Queltec and Montreal ? Hocanse the premium of insurance is nnreasoiKihly high, and there is no rolnrn iVei^rht. And tho insurance is hij>h because the damroisof the (iiilf have been exair^erated, and we have no rolnrn froiirht bt'canse the advan- taurefl of this ijiand navi'jablo hi.'»h-way over all others, to leaii.to tho ceiiiro of Ninth America, and ol those vast territories into which the old world pours in successive waves the sui'ioraliundanctMif its [lopnlation, are not sniiici nitly known in Kiiiope. When ther;* was a (piestion a i>'Oi)d while since of buildinuf tho jjie ("anal, the colo- braleii DeWilt Clinton proiiruiiKcd in favour of the direct ronle tVom Ibillaloto i\ew-Voik against that of Oswf' Dniled Slate* toset her. This opinion iniL'ht appear at first piylit to be exa^r^eialed : to be con- vinced that it is not, it issniiicient lo cast a frianoe over tho immense extent of tho val- ey of tho St. Lawrence svhich ascends, deep and naviiiable, even lo ll.o very henit oi the ferlile oikI boundless plains of the we8t, and to the no less fertile and boundless valley of the Missisippi. Tiio extent and importance of this com" meico is uiiivei«illy acknowledaied ; takiiig, thcrelbre, into oonsideration tho existence of our ina:;ni(icoiit canals, which have cost millions of money, one inijLj;ht reastuably ask why I his very trade which, befflft the bnildiiiu;of tho Krie Canal, followed its na- tural route, takes it.s* course towanls New- York, and eve.. drap:s in its train auonsidor- ablo poition of tho products of Upper Cana- da. .'I'liis iie:>lect most not bo allriliuted to tho price of iniorior lieijiht, for, as wo have shown, the IVoryht fiom Lake Erie to Qneliec is by ono-half le>s than what it costs lo New-Ycrk or any other part of tho IJnilod States. We repeat iho que^ion, then, why does the transport of a bartel of llmr from Moiilieal to Liverpool by the way of Now- York, civ>l less than by the St. Lawrence? The uiiswot is this, because the iVoiyhl of a barrel of flour from Montreal to Livorpo(d by th(! St. Lawrence is 3s. 9d., while Irom New-York lo Liveipool 'tis only Ls. 3d. This dinerence, as we liavo already ob- served, is owini; to iho want of a return Ireiiilu. Out of 1151 vessels which an ived at the port of Quebec in 1850, ns many as 7})'S were in ballast. It is worthy of exami- nation why tliis absence of a leiurn freifiht to (inebec exists, while (lieat Hritain fur- nishes her largo contingt.Mil to that of New- York. . A thoioii;;:h knowIedL'eof lIiB St. Lawrence will easily coiiviiico tho most sceptic that th(> dainrcis attendinir tho navinulion of the Si. Lawrence have boi>n enormously exag- <_'eialeil and (hat nothiiiir can jnslify tho o.v- orl'ilaiit rates of insurance. Tho followin;^ lablo, for whicli we are iiideblinl lo IVlr. Lindsay, Soorolary of the Trinity lli>nse of (inehcc, imlicales tlur nnniber of vessels that arrived at the Port of QuoluM'. in a periiul of ten years ; the collec- tive ton iiau'o of these ves.■^els ; the nnmborof shipwrecks that occurred in lb > Hivor St. Lawrence frym IMII to 1819 .nchisively f the number for each of these years and for each month ofiKuiouiion in each year taken separately ; the average of vessels loft each yi'ar, and each month of iiavi^alion iu eauh year. I'libli' .rciTtfrrfi.'? (he rrssdit enpufccd in ike Trade of bluebcc, imlicaltng ike nuinbet 34 wrecks in each month. of voyages in the years 1840 to 1849 number of ressels belonging to Pollock respectively, and the^ numbir of ship- Gilraour and Co. that frequented the Port of Quebec during a period ol eleven years, f lom 1839 to 1849 inclusively j their collective tonnage for each of these eleven years and for the whole together ; also the number of ship-wreck^ during that period. Table indicating the number of vessels en- gaged in the Trade of Quebec, each year, from 1839 to 1849 inclusively, he- longing to Messrs. Pollock, Gilmour ^ Co., of Glasgow. i g £. - » oooooooooooooooooooo .aicioc' Tonnage •^^ 1 lU ' 1 ;_, 1 H' 1 0> ■(>. CO W ^ CO bO it^ CO o< 1 April. May. June. July. 1 3 K' 3s| oi|i.&o*>.'w*-cow 51 ««w-m: : : m: I August. ^1 a, Q- n\ CO0>K>hS>-'* ^CoCn- 1 Septem. October. Novem. 00- Oioohsos' —bowl 3 ri SI . . . . 1.^ . . . 1 • • • • CO • • CO • to 1 Decemb. f» CO Total number of vessels lost. CO M ^ ^ CO CO ^ _ tc ^ I"* i-»coajk3b"-«cO"bi*» 0>t^'fc>'Oaicoo>cno>u Per centage of vessels lost. 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 o 27 29 28 20 43 49 61 61 45 59 56 It will be seen from this table that the greatest number of ship-wrecks occurred in the month of November, the last and most rigorons of the navigation season. Total 11 458 Kemarks. 18614 20312 19892 13422 The 31342 36234 39147 36980 33477 44007 47170 Carlton lost on Mani- cuagan shoal. The Pekin lost at Riviere an Renard (Foi River.) 340697 This wealthy company never insures its And in vessels, for the amount of premium which it truth what kind of vessels, what captains, would have to pay each year would exceed what crews have we had these late years ? by far its annual loss. Its vessels are of the Frequently, it must be acknowledged, ship- first class, and, as it is deeply interested in wreck was a speculation ; the captain was losing as few of them as possible, as much either ignorant or a drunkard; the crew care is taken in selecting'their crews as intheir equally profligate or incapable. Good ves- construction. Above all, the company takes sels had no difficulty in finding. a cargo, care that the vessels should have passed while the bad ones remained unchartored through the Gulf before the season of storms ^till the season of tempests, of snow storms, and dangers. Hence it is that in a period of of thick fogs; and they perishdd on our eleven years, out of 458 vessels which (re- coasts aa they would have perished else- quented the Port of Quebec, it has to reckon where under simihar circumstances. At but two ship- wrecks, to wit : the CaW/on on present there is a visible change for the bet- Manicuagan shoal, and the" Pekin at Riviere ter 5 the vessels are better built, the captains au Renard (Fox-river.) are better chosen and more respectable ; I f you cast a glance over Captain Bay- hence it is that shipwrecks hjve decreased field's admirable 8ea»charts, you will discov- in proportion. During the year 1850, Quebec er good harbours on the Straits of Belle-Isle ; had to deplore only two ship- wrecks, and good anchorage and good soundings along oconrring as they did during the summer the south shore of the St. Lawrence, where season, they must be attributed to a want the water becomes gradually and uniformly of precaution rather than to any natural de- shallow up to the lieach. So that with good fects in the navigation of the river. anchors and the sounding-lead, the first and At present, let us compare this general last lesource of the prudent marmer, the rivei table with the following, which indicates the navigation presents no real dangers. A Tea- S5 g to Pollock ted the Port of jn years, fiora eir collective ven years and he number of 1. of vesseb en- Quebec, each nclusively, be- , Gilmour If Kemarks. 'he Carlton »t on Mani- aagan shoal, he Pekin loat Riviere ao enard (Fox iver.) ir insures its urn which it 'ould exceed sis are of the interested in )le, as much ws as intheir npany takes jave passed in of storms 1 a period of i which fre- asto reckoa Carlton on n at Riviere aptain Bay- will discov- Belle-Isle ; ilings along nee, where 1 uniformly t with good ie first and Bt, the river rs. A Te»- •el ts frequently lost because the sounding- lead was left lying idly on the deck, or bc- «ause *he captain, in his hurry to arrive at Port, compelled the pilot to weiirh anchor and net sail, in the middle of a dark night or a dense fog. If the pilot could be freed from the captain's influence, as reiranU his living, the proportion of ship-wrecks would be con- siderably less than they have hitherto been, and in a short time the St. Lnvvrt/nce would regain its reputation for security. Does not the tide, which flows into the river for a distance of ninety miles above Quebec, ascending and descending at an average speed of four knots an hour, ijive to this magnificent Route mvaluable advan- tages by making up for the inconstancy of the evei-varying wind? Many persons would be surprised at learn- ing that the St. Lawrence route is the most direct and shortest from the West to Europe, for hitherto they have been in the habit of judgnigofthe relative position of the coun- tries of America accoiding to Mercator's pro- jection of maps; but by alancinar ata ulobe and by tracing the map lately published by au- thority of the Legislature of the S:atB of Maine in order to indicate tlio position of the rail road which this State purposes to build from Portland to the Gut of Canso, running through New-Brunswick and Nova-Scotia, the only map we know of which do»?s justice to the geographical position of the St. Law- rence, — one will be readily convinced of this truth, hitherto unknown in a commercial point of view. Paris is further North than Quebec, which is situateil in latitude 46', 49' 12", a latitude many de-rrees south of Great Britain. In going from America to Euiope, it is evident that the shoitest route must be that whose two extreme points are under the same latitude. Hence it is that Quebec is by many hundred miles near- er to Europe than New-Yoik. England has just learned that the traverse of the Atlantic, by means ol steam, would be shortened by one-half, by passinj Ihrnn^h the straits of Bel!e-Isle,^nr by Cape-Breton, wliere there is an abundance of coal : that the quantity of coal would be lessened oue- hnlf, and consequently the freiaht wnulil buin created by o.ie-haif. Why, then, with all these aort trade? Is it the inter- est of tl e Imperial Government to aid us ; or ougtit we to have recourse to difTeienlial duties? Seeins that our Canals are at pre-iciit nearly ronnpleted, and lliat we are on the point of beinir able, at the cost of a trifliiiof outlay, to afford a passage fmm the vast Lakes to the ocean, to vessels carijing from 4,000 to 5,000 barrels of flour, why cannot fTei<>ht be taken on cheaper condition^, by this pame route, fiom Toionio or Oswe;uo even to New-York, than by usinsthe narrow Frie Canal or rail- roads ifor the same pur- poses? Once that we shall have opened tnis export trade from the vast prodncitis; enuntries of the West to Europe, in how short a time would DeVVitt Clintcn's prophelic fears be realized ! Lower Canada is almost indifferent about t^ie granting of reciprocity, and it will inter- est Upper Canada only so lonar as the cost of trnnsportintj its produce to the European markets, by whi'^h the American markets are reiTulated, shall behiirheral t.he maratirne ports of Canada than at N. York ; and this diffffenco exists because the inipoit an 1 ex- I'Ort trade has taken its way through the S at«s ; and this trade has taken its way If rmizh the Slates because Great Britain and tl e United Slates have jjiven it an impulse in that direction by means of peeuniaiy en- courajjement ! At present, however, Eng- land, after having powerfully contributed by her <try succeeded in arresting the annexation movement last winter." He wishes to starve us into annexation. In the face of such ea;otism, in the pre- sence of i)rovocatious and hostile intentions so audaciously expressed by a Iriendly peo- people, what should England do? VVhat ouiiht wo to do ourselves Willi the incompara- ble advantages which our geographical posiHk tioii and our majestic river aflbrd us? The Americans themselves are the first who have sliown us how much neaier to Europe vve are than they. If the Imperial Government ap- pears disposetl to abandon Liverpoo', an im- mense commercial mait, which the New- World has calieil into existence, in order to choose a comparatively «le**eiled poit in Ire- land because it happens to be nearer than the ottier to America, what is there to preve-.. it from abandoning New Yoik and direct its course in a straijihi line towards the St. Law- rence, which is the most direct ami shortest route to the centre of the vast producing and consumingcountrieK. of the West. To oHaii. this result, at leastuto hasten it, two things are essential, to win the enconraarement of a line of steamers *o sail from Great Britain to the St. Lawrence, and, for the w nter, Jha rail-road from Queliec to Halifax, which would gradually and indifinilely be prolong- ed toward:* the West. ^ werer, Eng» ontribnted by ior commerce most delicate intere! e annexation wishes to , in the pre- ile intentions iriendly peo- do? What le incompara- raphical posi-4 rd us? The Srst who have » '^'^^:; PUBLIC TNSTOUCTION. Before the Union of the Provinces, the Legislature of Lower Canada voted annually considerable 8um» fur the encouriiirement cf elementary scfiools, to the snpjiort of which the people contributed but volinitarily. Since the Union, parliament has devoted to this object an annual urant of 200,000 dollars, at prfetterit equally divided between Upper and Lower Canada, and has made provision for imposin;^ a direct tax on the inhabitants for the benefit of public instruction. That a locality may hav»* a riijht tw paiticip^ie in this grant, it is necessary that a sum equal to that, annually erranteil by government, be levied by a direct tax on the people of that locality. AmoiijGf the numerons public functionaries who form the Provincial Cabinet, it is to be regretted that one specially charged with the department of public instrnction is not to be found. It is an important hiatus and one that considerably impedes the progress of public instiuction. Let us hope, however, that Canada will shortly enjoy the ser- vices of H minister of public instruction and of ns;ricuUure. Up|)er antl Lower Canada have each a differently organized system of public iin^triic- tioij. In Upper Canada this systena is in- Tolved with that of munici|>al authority ; in Lower Canada, it is altoaether apart from it. In each section of the Province, there is a principal functionary called a Superintendent of education, acting separately, and indepen- dently of c e another, inconsequence of the difference in the organiaalion of public in- struction in each section. The following are the principal features of the law which governs public instruction in Lower Canada. 1st. The establishment of elementary schools in each locality under the contiol of commissioners elected by the inhabitants of buoh locality. The powers and dntie* of these commissioners are : to take charge and possession of all effects belonging to the schools of their locality. They can acquire TOO /cable and immoveable property to a limiled extenU They engage the teachers, Ml-- regulate the course of studies, decide all dis- putes relating to the public schools, and cause a sum equal to that ^rranled to their locality by irovernment to be raised by a tax on the inhabitants. Besides elementary 8ch(H)ls, tfiey can establish a model-school, and fix the amount which each house-hold- er shall contribute for every child of age to attend the schools over and alwve the tax on his immoveable property. Finally, they are charp.ed to sue for such sums as may be ne- cessary for the support of the schools, and to divide their locality into districts. 2iid. Honorary visiJors established by law to visit the schools. — This arrangement is a dead letter. 3id. Nomination of a superintendent for Lower Canada with a yearly salary of $2,000^ besides the expenses of the office. It is the duty of this officer to tMviile between each locality, according to its population, the sum granted by government, to examine the ac- counts-sent in by the commissioners, and to make an annual report to the Le<.Msiature. 4th. In each of tho cities of Quebec and Montreal, a Board composed of fuuiteen persons is charged with examining thequali" fications of teachers. Unfoilunalely, this important provision is rendered a complete nullity, because the teacheis are not as yet obliged to undergo an examination. In Upper Canada, the organization of pub- lic instruction is in every respect superior to that of Lower Canada. Its principal provi- sions are theii!e over the Teachois' county associati')ns : 8th. the establishment of a j;eneral Board of publi; instruction. This Board is charged with the establishment and cotitrol of a Normal School : 9th. $6,000 taken annually from the funds voted by the Leui^lalure ft.r the sup|-M)rt of the Normal iSclinnl and the salaries of its professors; $4,000 drawn from the same source and grunteil each 5'ear as aid to the teacthers who attend this school : lOlh. the Governor in Council is autliorized to take annually from the Upper Canada poition of the school grant, a Hum of $12,000 for the purchase and pus- port of school libraries. ■ Tablf, indicn ing the Progress of Public Inslruction in Canada. LOWER CANADA. Total No, ofelemer'ury schools in 1849. " " model " " . . " " Colleges am! Cntholic Institu- tions liir the higher branch- es ol education Grand total of educational establish- ments* 2,509 • The number of private schools in Lower Canada, not being accurately known, is omitted in this calculation ; consequently, the number of children attending them is not included in the 123,180 mentioned in the Table. "i 2,416 75 18 Total No. of children Trom 5 to 16 jeara attending elementary schools. . 123489 " " of Students in the Institutions for the higher branches of edu- cation about 3,500 Amount allowed to elementary schools £14,500 Amount granted hy Government for school-houses* £ 3i),511 6 Amount paid by the inhabitants for ditto £ 53,210 15 2 Total No. of school-houses for which aid has been given by government 915' In nearly ail the parishes, libraries have been founded, throui/h the solicituile, zeal, and ofTerings of the Clergy and the inhabi« tants. UPPER CANADA. Total No. of elementary schools in 1849. 2,871 " " model " ".. 1 " " normal " " .. 1 " " private " " .. " 157 " " Colleges " " . . 7 " " Academies and grammar schools 39 Grand total of educational establish- ments 3,077 Children attending elementary schools.. 138,465' " " private do... 2,648 " " model do... 40a " " academies and gram- mar dilt- 1,120 " " Colleges and Univer- sities 772 Grand total of students and scholars. ... 144,409 Adult population 725,879 Population between the age of 5 and 16. 355,478 Total number of m'\le teachers of ele- mentary schools. 2,505 " " female 707 Number of School Libraries. . . 605 " of Volumes in these libraries. . 1 1 ,624 " of School-houses 1,972 Roman Cathelic Teachers a35 Total annual salarv of Teachers £,107,713 Method of instruction: individual, simultane- ous and monitorial. •This amount is composed jf the various sums allowed from time to time since 1841, to aid in the building of school-houses, which surnn were taken from the annual grant to Lower Ca- nada for the encouragement of elementery edu- cation. 16 yean fhools.. 123,189 tions for of edu- 3^00 ry £ 14^00 nt £ 3^,511 6 hts £ 53,210 15 2 hich aid has 915 ibraries have alicitiiile, zeal, )d the inhabit n 1849. 2,871 1 1 " . . • 157 7 amtnar 39 ablish- 3.D77 :hooIs.. 138,466 Ho. . . 2,648 do. . . 40O I gram- 1,120 Jniver- 772 irs — 144,40& 725,879 ind 16. 355,478 of ele- :hool8. 2,505 707 605 ries. . 11,624 1,972 a36 ....£,107,713 Dal, simultane- f the various since 1841, to 8, which sums to Lower Ca- imentery edu' CATHOLICITY IN CANADA. Should history make menl ion hereafter of Canada, it will testify that it owes its exist- •encH to secular priests and to the Jesuils, as France does to her Bishops, and En-jland «o her monks. Thijs.ihe first centnrythat fullowed the avs ns, on the one siiia[st us the precious liahl of science ; and ot'tiiis task it has worthily acquitted it- «elf even to this day, with the most perfect disinterestedness. At present it is aided in the good work by numerous colleges, nearly all of which were founded by Ecclesiastics. During the ninety yenrs that have rolled by since the conquest of the country down to the present time, Canada has made rapid progress in the way of ameliorations; con- siderable cities have sprun;: up ; commerce has e\tended itself; forests have been trans- formed into verdant plains and fruitful gar- den? ; the population has risen to the num- ber of 1,600,000 souls. During the year just ■ended 200,000 children h ve attended the numerous schools throtuhout the Province. With regard to its material progress, we are happy to be able to prove by the followii g •tatistieal details, that the interests of the Ca- tholic roliafion have not been neirlected. The dio(!ese of Quebec, established in 1674, by Pope Clement X., embraced all that part of America wiiich lies North of Mexico and the Gulf of that name. Con- £nev. Mr. Maillouv, has commenced to make a clearance in the Townships lying to the south of the St. Lawrt-nce. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, found- ed in 1846, is employed in visiting and sncconiina the sick, and in procurinir work forthose fathers of families who are of them- selves unable to find any. DIOCKSE OF MONTREAL. The diocese ofMontieal was founded on the 13th of May, 1836. It is iroverned by Msr. lirnace Pourjret. who was consecrated under the title of bishop of Telmes?e, the 25lh Jiiiy, 1837; and who became bishopof Montreal, the •23r(l Ausnst. 1840. Mgr. J. C. Prince, his coadjutor, was consecrated bishop under the title of Martyiopolis, the 25ih Jii'v, 1845. This diocesecontains about 350,000 Catho- lics; 125 parishes canonically erected, and 12 missions. The Cieriry is composeil of 270 priests, inclndinnr the members of different reliirions communities The number of students in theology amounts to about 60. A chapter has been established in the Cathedral. It is composed of four Cnnns of honour, four titulary Canons, eight honorary Canons and three chaplains. The colleges of Montreal, St. Hyacinthe, Assomption, St. Theiese, Chambly and the Jesuit College, give a clasbical education to 900 student.s. The villages of Terrebonne, Joliette and St. Lawrence posiste&s High-Schools that en- joy an excellent reputation. All the above mentione, have existed for many years in the district of Montreal. The Temperance Society reckons more than 200,000 members. CANADA WEST. Canada West contains about 150,000 Catholics, scattered thronjrhout the dioceses of Kingston, Toronto, and liytown. The diocese of Kingston, established the 17lh January, 1826, has for bishop Mgr. Remi Gaulin, consecrated the 20th October, 1833, under the title uf Tabr .f^a, and become Jitular in 1840. M'zt. Paliiidc Phelan is his coadjutor,, and was consecrated bishop of CarrhoB the 20th Auirust. 1843. The clergy of this diocese number 32 priests, lotions : and it contains ihe following insti- The College of Regio|x>lis situated in th» most elevated part of the City of Kingston ; it was opened to receive students in 1846 and can accommodate 150 boarders. The Hotel-Dieu, founded in 1845 for the indirrent sick and for orphans. The Congregation of Notro Dame ; an establishment conducted by four Nuns who keep a boarding-school, in which young ladies receive a solid and comprehensive education, and a school for externs in which girls of the humbler classes are taught. The total number of scholars is about 250. The establishment of the Grey Nuns at St. Andrew's, Glengarry, under the direction of three of the Sisterhood, who have an ex- cellent school there. Tlic Diocese of Toronto, founded the 17th December, 1844, is governed by Mgr. A. F. M. de Chai-bonnel, who was consecrated by His Holiness Pope Pius IX in 1850. Forty priests have charge of the missions of this dioces... The Convent of Notre Dame de Loretto established at Toronto for the education of young ladies, is directed by Nuns of that order. The Diocese of Btjtown, founded the 25th July, 1847, has for Bishop Mgr. J. C. E. Guignes, consecrated the 30th July, 1848. The Clersy is composed of 20 priests. The RR. PP. Oblals established at Bytown in 1843, are charged with visiting the mis- sions of the lumbering-posts on th6 Ottawa and its tributaries. They have also the di- rection of a College at Bytown, which was opened the 26th wSeptember, 1848. The number of students is 90. Another religious house has been found- ed at Bytown. It is a Grey Nunnery, and there are at present twenty-five Nnns in it. Seven of these eood ladies have charge of the schools, and instruct about 150 children. The others are occupied in taking care of the hospital and in visiting the sick at their domiciles. The dinrese of ihe North-West, formerly known under the name of the Vicarship- Apostoiic of the Red River, was founded the 4th June, 1847, and annexed to the eccle- siastical province of Quebec. It contains all the territory comprised between Canada, the Rocky Mountains, the 49° degree of North latitude and the North Pole. It is under the spiritual diiection of Mgr. J. N. Provencher, consecrated the 12th May, 1822» under the title of Juliopolis. His clergy is as itiiated in th» ■ of Kinirston ; ts in 1846 and i 1845 for the B Dame; an ur Nona who which young omprehensive eins in which » are taught. i about 250. irey Nuns at r the direction ) have an ex- nded the 17th )y Mgr. A. F. on sec rated by 1850. the miasions le de Loretto education of Nuns of that comiwsed of seven priesta. Tlie Grey Nuns have an establishment at St. Boniface on the Red River since 1844; ttiey are occupied in giving instruction to vounjj girls. The diocese of Newfoundland, annexed to (he ecclesiastical province of Quebec in 1847, comprises besides the island of Newfound- land, that of Antioosti and the Labrador territory. Mgr. J. T. Mulloch, titular bishop .-.i'-.ce the 14th July, 1850, has tli priests in the service of the diocese. There are two convents in the City of St. .John. The Sisters of the Presentation give i[ii3truction to the female children of the poor ; llie Sisters of Charity are occupied in visit- in:; the sick. To sum up, exclusive of the diooetes of Newfoundland and the North-VVest, we will find that Catholic Canada contains : 1 arch- bishop ; 6 bishops ; 572 priestT ; more than 100 stutlents in theology ; 8()0,(K)0 members of the Catholic Church; 1,81K) young men who receive a collegiate education in eleven institutions kept by ecclesiastics ; 3 religious orders engaged in the elementary education of boys ; 50 female communities charged whh the instruction of children of their own sex, with the care of the sick and ui orphans ; 400,000 members of the Temperance So- ciety, &c. This is the position in which the penal laws, with which wo are menaced iti Eng- land, will And Catholicity in Canada. nded the 25th ^gr. J. C. E. I July, 1848. priests, ed at Bytown ing the mis- 1 thfe Ottawa e also the di- 1, which was 1848. The s been found- gunnery, and e Nuns in it. ve charge of 150 children, iking care of sick at their 'est, formerly e Vicarship- s founded the to the eocle- It contains I'een Canada, '° degree of Pole. It is " Mgr. J. N. ih May, 1822, His clergy is v-w"w"»- V»*'\,-'v/'VVX'''v--^"v'VX-'V-*U • '^'■\.-K/^^':y-\y ■' '. • r THE PROVINCIAL PENITENTIARY. " The table which we publish below is in- teresting in a moral and pecnniary point of view. The parties who thrcuv Upper Cana- da into commotion in their efforts to attain power, bring frequently on the tapis a salary of £100 (the relic of a by-gone stale of things) given to au old inspector of chimnies in Lower Canada, which, according to their statements, is an enormous charge entailed on Upper Canada. The. Penitentiary item, it would appear to us, may serve as a coun- ter-balance to this extravagant sum. As to the balance of crime, although it should bear 5 testimony to a superior degree of civilization, since the Examiner has stated that " Upper Canada is the brain of the country," we do not covet it — we gladly and fully concede it to our fellow-unionists, even at the risk of be- ing considered less intelligent and less pro- gressive than they. The number of convicts sent to the Peni- tentiary, military and civilians, since the Ist of October, 1840, to the Ist of October, 1849, is 2345, of which 1168 were soldiers, and 1177 civilians. Of this number only 110, or the 21st part, were of French origin. But 34 lh« Franoh populttion is to the British popu. Inlion as 6 is to 10 ; we mean throughout both th« Ciinaila*. If the morahly of both popu- lations wa.s equul, the number of convicU of French origin wuuld be to lliose of British origin as 12 id to 20 ; but it is not even in the proportion of 1 to 21. But, perha'w, it will be observed, that the xnilit-iry shouKI not bo considered as forming part of the population of Cunuda, because they are here to-day and away lo-morrow in Borne other portion of the Empire. Although this kind of reasoning appears defective to us, since it does not athoi in the slightest our calculation, which has reference only totho morality of the two origins who inhabit in common the same country, we have no ob- jection to deduct from the number of convicts the 1 168 soldiers who were sent to the Peni- tentiary since the 1st of October, 1840. The grand total of non-military being 1177, and the number of convicts of French origin be- ing only 110, it follows that the laiter do not form over a tenth part of the whole. If the morality of both origir>s was the same, the number of convicts of French descent would be to those of British desiceiit as 6 is to 10, whereas it is only as 1 is to 10^. So far we have taken as our point of de- parture the collective population of both Pro- vinces, placing on one side the whole jropu- lation of British origin, and on the other the whole population of French origin ; but, let us now compare them as they are found in Lower Canada alone. The total number of convicts from Lowei Canada, who have been sent to the Peniten- liaiy since IS^iO, is 283, of which 170 are of British ori;,'in and 110 of French origin ; but the population of British origin is to the other as 1 is to 3, at the very most. If the morality of both origins was the Mme, the number of convicts ot French origin would be b:i5; whereas it is not over a fifth part of that. Therefore, the French Cana- dians are five times more moral than their compatriots of the other origin, inhabiting, Iik» them, Lower Canada. If the question of morality was the only one at stake,we mii{ht stop at thi8,for we have ful- ly accomplished an act of justice towards n race which is sought to be annihilated, but whose viitues protect it in the sight of God. It is the work of that Catholicity which the sects would wish to destroy — it is the work of Catholicity, with its salutary teachings and nnsleepirig vigilance, searching into the folds of the human heart to nourish it with the balm which soothes moral sufferings and restrains brutal passions. If, we repeat again, the only question were that of comparing the morality of the two races, our task would be at an end ; but there is by the side of this question of morality a question of money, which is thfi only one of any importance in the estimation of our pure dear-grits, and which, consequently, we cannot but appreci- ate. The number of Upper Canada convicts is 894, while those of Lowe' Canada amount to only 283, although the population of Lower Canada, at least up to the psesent year, ex- ceeded that of Upper Canada. The support of the Penitentiary since 1840, has cost £96,257 7s. 9d. In comparing the number of convicts belonging respectively to each section of the United Province, we find that Upper Canada has cost for the support of its portion the sum of £73,112 Os. Od., while Lower Canada has only reauived for the same purpose £23,145 Os. Od. That is to say, Up- per Canada has cost in ten years £49,9t)7 more than Lower Canada for the sup|x)rt of its convicts, or, at the rate of £5,000 a year. It will be seen that this sum is a sutHcient equivalent for the salary of the ex-inspector of chimnies, to w' jm we alluded in the be- ginning of this article, and wh "^ salary shall occupy a place in the annual budget until the death of the pensioner. We have to remark, in concluding, to avoid all misunderstanding, that the military con- victs are supported at the expense of the military chest, and consequently are not in- cluded in the foregoing calculation. li 35 wa« Iheonly one j.W wehaveful- islice towards a annihilated, but e sight of God. icity which tho — it is the work y teachings and iig into the folds i^h It with the sufTeriiigs and we repeat again, of connparing our task would the side of thia tioii of money, iniportance in dear- grits, and not but appreci- lada convicts io Canada amount ilatioij of Lower iesent year, ex- i. The support 1840, has cost ng the number ctively to each ;e, we find that e suppoit of its Os. Od., while red for the same at is to say.Up- years £49,967 r the supjwrtof £5,000 a year. I is a sufficient he ex-in.spector Luled in the be- ='> salary shall budget until the ludin^, to avoid e military con- jxpense of tho >tly are not in- atioD. I'able uf tht No. o/cun\icl$ luhnUted. liitnited, aiui reiMunin^ detained in the I'rov. Feniten'y. from Oct. I, 1840, to Oct. I, 1849, i(c. During the year ending 1st October, a a K , . , na ooeO'Xoooooocxoooo B go .^ its. ^ 4:> |lk 4k i^ 4^ 4.» o . 3 §5 JO hO"- — '— — — (a ~ Sio05i(k^O Military in U.Cf. ;^ ooooo>cu to '3 — cwai*-co^cn 63COCOa)^-0 0<4'CO Civilians > a 00 ^.^ "-^ Jk CO — M« 1.^ 1-^ O-J-JQOC — OOiOt ^5coou3(;l0ouloo Upper Canada. -4 CO Lower W coiucoit^^mcocoi-' Canada. t-i i..c.,Brit. -J CO ►- hs to hs CO '— «-' »^co~<*>.~*«o--io ish orign. French i-i © 1-4 1-4 M^ ^2 MA N' Mk ►-coa>ooo*»ii— -JO ongin,LC 2192 CO CO (o ro CO Ks to — ^O'OJOOiOtOCJX — coiU(ocoui4k,^co Total. K3 to — — '-' I-' to *' *» cj' ui 00 I-" 4*-^^0CW"-i3>CO© Military. 05. wto — ©WCncjT-^jcs ►-tC!Otoo3aia.ooio Civilians a hi 01 CO -4 00;O«O00COWCJ»-^Oi «oo — oooeoojooto Upper Canada. Lower ^.A 58 to 1^ Co to to *"-^ hscooocoooco©©© Canada. L.c, Brit- > H g toooooo^^©©o ish origin "French ■ Vt •^ 0«000 — 00 — ©©o or'gn L.c ^•^^©^©tO-^-JO* Total. s coooiKoi — -JtoMO Military. it CO oocococo^-4i^c;ioco Civilians > N4 ^•A tpCOCOCOCOKSt-"-"-"-' c;<«oooo>ac;tto©©co Upper Canada. 4 n g N.4 h^ N4 )-4 h-t co^w^Sjo&wo© Lower Canada. 5 ooooQooooico^^^^^ to — Opt^CO'O^OOOO L.c, Brit- ish origin CO 00 4k CJt CJT lU 1^ CO — — coco— ^9cooo•>40© French or'gn L.c M a 1 1-4 — — -1 « 00 m IX. (0 © w Total. KKCUMTl'LAilON. ADMITTXn. Military 1168 Civilians 1177 Up|)er Canada 894 Lower Canada 283 Do of British origin. . 173 Do of French origin. . 110 LIBERATED. Military 1129 Civilians 796 Upper Canada 637 Lower Canada 159 V>Q of British origin.. 102 Do of French 01 igin. . 57 REMAININO I.M PRISON ED. Military 43 Civilians 368 Upper Canada 245 Lower Canada 123 Do of British origin. . M Do of French origin. . 41 Died during the above period 13 EXPENSE. Paid out of Consolidated fund, 1841 £1.0,143 18 Do do do 1842 3,150 Do do do 1843 3,950 Do do do 1844 10,901 8 Do do do 1845 12,700 ■ Do do do 1846 13,850 2 Do do do 1847 12,762 1 8 Do do do 1848 15,000 Do do do 1849 13,800 Total Expense £96,257 7 8 If Upper and Lower Canada had contributed in proportion to their respective number of Con- victs, the result would be as follows, to wit : — Upper Canada.... £73,112 Lower Canada. . . . 23,146 9 £96,267 7 8